“Closet Justin Bieber fan” is not necessarily what first comes to mind when one catches a glimpse of the tall, imposing, varsity athlete Ben Stoffel. However, with visible passion is his eyes, the junior reporter stated (to deaf ears) his case for the Biebs.

“Not gonna lie, Justin Bieber is pretty nice,” Stoffel said. “I think a lot of people give him a bad rep because all of these girls focus all of their attention on him,”

If his secret love for the Canadian pop star with vandalistic tendencies and ‘90s boy band hair had not already turned Stoffel into a fan favorite, his celebrity crush might. The apple of his eye is none other than a certain Australian “rapper” whose fame may or may not have doubled overnight due to a video of her splicing together nonsensical words into a “rap”. Yes, Stoffel is also secretly in love with Iggy Azalea.

Stoffel is not only adventurous in his musical and romantic tastes — nay, he is also a bit of a thrill-seeker. At the top of his bucket list happens to be possibly the most hair-raising, stomach churning activity imaginable: skydiving. Stoffel takes his inspiration for his dangerous dream from his grandfather.

“My grandpa once said never jump out of a perfectly good plane, but it seems really fun,” Stoffel said.

While a hypothetical documentary made about Stoffel’s life may indeed end with him jumping out out of a perfectly good plane, it would certainly be filled with lots of bowls of Fruity Pebbles — the self described “cereal aficionado” rarely eats anything else for breakfast. Also, when watching his documentary, be sure to bring a pen and some paper to take some notes on his prodigious parallel parking skills.

While in reality he is a fun loving guy who is rarely seen without a smile on his face, Stoffel’s ideal director choice revealed that he envisions his documentary going in a different, possibly more tense direction.  

“I would probably say Clint Eastwood,” Stoffel said. “I like his dramatic movies, and I feel like around here, he could make a cool one.”

While only a first-year staff member, his smile and infectious positive attitude have already made an impact on The Sentry. Although Eastwood once stated that “a man’s got to know his limitations”, Stoffel may not have found his.

It is a rare privilege indeed for one to meet a person as kind and as unique as senior Andy Belilos. Walking into the classroom with a bright smile on his face, his presence is never mistaken. Belilos has lived in Arlington his entire life, born here in 1998. As he grew up, he began getting involved in sports like baseball, with influence from his dad. He sees his father as his biggest role model.

“He’s a really honest person. He’s good with people, and I value that,” said Belilos.

Following the encouragement of his father, Belilos picked up playing baseball as one of his out-of-school hobbies. While he did not play baseball for Yorktown as a freshman, he did try out during his sophomore year and made the junior varsity team; he played on the varsity team during his junior year. Another sport Belilos takes pride in is basketball, but he has yet to try out for Yorktown’s team.

“My best basketball skill is being better than Sean Muth,” said Belilos.

In addition to sports, Belilos also has varied musical tastes. From listening to country while he drives around in his truck, to hip-hop while he’s grinding at the gym, to rock when he does his homework.

He has usually challenged himself in school, and has taken particularly intensified classes. Belilos also considers himself quite competitive, and believes Yorktown to be a competitive place. Belilos also commented on how his environment has shaped him as a student.

“I’ve always taken pretty tough classes. I’m a pretty competitive person in most aspects, academics included, and Yorktown is a competitive place. You kind of have to rise to the occasion to be successful at a place like Yorktown,” Belilos said.

As for college, he is looking to expand his horizons from the Washington D.C. area to somewhere further away, to get away from the Arlington scene.

“My top choices are probably Notre Dame and Wake Forest,” Belilos said.

Overall, Andy Belilos is probably the type of guy who you would see in the hallway and really want to give a pouncing bear hug to. He is genuine, amiable, and has a great personality that radiates from him like a beam of light.