By Stevie Picot
Sentry Staff Reporter
High school offers a wide array of challenges and complications, and it takes a special kind of person to get through it successfully. Senior Ben Calvert is one of those rare individuals. He balances his social life, school life, and extracurricular life with remarkable precision and perfection. As an avid member of the football team, on which he has played for five years, he is swamped with games, practice, conditioning, film, and weightlifting all year long. He is also one of the most involved participants in the Best Buddies club, a commendable organization that pairs members with special needs students and creates a lasting friendship between them. Ben is able to find the time to do all this by working hard, staying focused, and getting his homework done whenever he gets the chance. In the small amount of free time he has, he enjoys watching football and hanging out with his buddy, Jasper, as football and Best Buddies are his passions.
When asked how he would describe himself in one word or phrase, Ben elected to quote one of his favorite speakers, sophomore Jackson Cummings, who once said “I am devilishly handsome”. His friends know him really well and would describe him as friendly, energetic, and supportive, all of which are desirable traits. After senior year, Ben would like to enjoy his summer, travel into Europe for a couple of weeks, and then prepare to go to college, wherever that may be. One of the biggest parts of his life since eighth grade has been football. He believes that football has astronomically improved his experience at Yorktown. It has given him a bigger and more diverse friend group, great relationships with all of the coaches and players andsomething to look forward to every upcoming school year. As far as his overall high school experience goes, Ben has loved going here and could not see himself going anywhere else for high school. According to him, the community is great, the environment is great, the teachers are great, and his friends are great.
After the bulk of the interview, Ben was asked a couple more fun questions to learn a little bit more about him and what kind of person he is. If he could travel anywhere in the world, he would like to go to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America. Ben has lived in many different countries and traveled to a wide variety of places, but the Galapagos Islands is somewhere he would really like to visit. When asked what kind of superpower he would want, Ben spent a few moments struggling to find the name he was thinking of. Then, he arrived at ‘Magneto’, the all-powerful villain from X-Men. In essence, Magneto is invincible. Ben is a friendly, well-rounded person who has handled high school magnificently. Any of his football teammates can personally attest to his hardworking and competitive character. In conclusion, if you ever need any advice on high school, Ben Calvert is the person to go to.
By Jackson Cummings
Sentry Staff Manager
Sophomore Stevie Picot is a respected member of the school’s athletic community. In his freshman year, he was voted the Most Athletic student. Now, in his sophomore year, he is playing football and will play lacrosse in the spring. Picot is one of the few sophomores who gets to participate on both varsity and junior varsity football teams. When lacrosse season comes around, he will be on the varsity team.
Aside from sports, Picot is recognized as a straight-A student here at Yorktown. Last year, he finished with a 4.0 GPA and avoided any academic obstacles that were thrown his way. Also back in his freshman year, he was the President of the World Issues club. However, Picot is not sure whether or not this club will continue this year.
Picot describes himself as “friendly” and “intelligent.” He believes his friends would describe him as “weird” and “funny.” Being one of his classmates, it is easy to agree that these words fit him as a person.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, home of Antonio Brown, Picot’s favorite player, is Picot’s favorite professional football team. His favorite college team is Texas. Brown and Picot both play in the wide receiver position; however, Picot also plays running back.
Post graduation, Picot hopes to get into a good school and play a sport if he is granted the opportunity.
“I wouldn’t mind playing a sport in college. If I got into a professional sport after college, I would definitely play” said Picot.
During his summer break, Picot went to Weekapaug Beach in Rhode Island with his family before his football season started in August.
When his schedule allows him to have free time, Picot says he likes to watch television and hang out with his friends. When he can squeeze in an hour for free time on his Sunday nights, he can be found watching his favorite show: The Walking Dead. However, when it comes down to it, he does not have much free time.
“I don’t really have much that much free time during the school year. I’m too busy with homework and sports” said Picot.
When asked where he would go if he could go anywhere in the world, Picot said,
“I have actually never been out of the country, so I would definitely travel to Europe and visit France, Italy and England.”
All in all, this dedicated athlete and student is a fun and friendly person that everyone should get to know. But remember: he is a little weird.
By Ben Calvert
Sentry Staff Manager
His friends describe him as devilishly handsome, when asked to comment on this he said “I agree.” That is sophomore Jackson Cummings. The Sentry staff as well as Yorktown High School have been blessed with his presence for over a year. Being so young he already has his life laid out ahead of him.
When asked where he sees himself in 10 years, Cummings began by slowly counting in his head until the ripe age of 25. Were without hesitation he responded with.
“I see myself as an engineer in which field I am not sure, settled down with a “bae” and living in a nice house.”
Posed the question is there anything else you see in ten years he stopped. After a few moments of hesitation, however, his answer was quickly clear.
“A Labrador, a Labrador chow mix”
Sounding much like James Bond with his response, he leaves many unanswered questions. But he truly is a simple man enjoying sports preferably soccer and cross country. A social character Jackson is loved all throughout the Yorktown community. Though he has never been called upon to reach for something on the top shelf Jackson Cumming is a young man with a big heart.
Photo by Libby Boda
