Junior Aidan Stroup is ready for a year of looking ahead to the future, while still enjoying what his third chapter of high school has in store. He is excited about getting behind the wheel, spending time on the basketball and tennis courts and preparing for life beyond high school.

“I’m looking forward to being able to drive, getting ready to take the next steps out of high school and sports; I think it should be a good year,” Stroup said.

Stroup is a member of the varsity basketball and tennis teams. He enjoys playing both sports in his free time, and if he could only play one sport for the rest of his life it would be a hard decision.

“If I could play basketball for the rest of my life I probably would because I think I have the most fun playing it and I’m okay at it, but I would say if I had to choose to play a sport for the rest of my life at an older age it’d probably be tennis, because I definitely see a lot more elderly people playing tennis than basketball,” Stroup said.

Stroup also likes spending time at home with his family. He is one of six siblings and can always remember being surrounded by people.

“There’s always someone home, always something to do, but it’s not abnormal for me because I’ve had that my whole life,” Stroup said.

Stroup’s family is actually one of the reasons that he decided to become a part of The Sentry as a sophomore; his older sister Grace was a reporter and Business Manager. He also wanted to join because of  his passion for writing.

“I’ve always enjoyed writing and I also heard a lot of good things from my sister, so those are the two main [reasons],” Stroup said.

In addition to inspiring him to become a Sentry reporter, Stroup’s sister is also one of his inspirations in addition to some of his other family members.

“My dad, my brother, my sister, my mom … they all inspire me,” Stroup said.

However, if Stroup had to pick one family member to bring to a deserted island, he would pick his mom to help him survive.

“I would probably say my mom; she’s probably the most determined out of everyone in my family,” Stroup said.

Stroup himself is also an extremely determined person. He and sixteen others climbed a sixteen foot wall this past summer.

“I did a leadership program this summer in West Virginia and we had to get over a sixteen foot wall. There were sixteen of us and we all had to get over it just using each other,” Stroup said.

Stroup and his fifteen companions succeeded and managed to get over the wall.

“We did it; it took us thirty minutes and then we also did whitewater rafting and played different sports. It was a lot of fun,” Stroup said.

Now that summer is over, Stroup is anticipating another great year with The Sentry and the community within it that he has come to love.

“I like the community because I’ve met a lot of people this year and last that I don’t think I would know at all if I didn’t take this class, and I’m still good friends with a lot of people in this class,” Stroup said.

The Sentry is lucky to have Stroup as an integral member of its staff. He is an exceptionally well-rounded person with many talents and skills who definitely has a bright future ahead of him.

Snow White admirer and passionate English scholar Sofie Dalton has always dreamed of being a writer. This is Dalton’s third year on staff and it is clear that English and journalism are close to her heart. While being a regular teenager Dalton balances being in school clubs, teaching Sunday-school at church and more.

Dalton is one of two children in her family and she doesn’t have any recollection of being an only child. Her younger brother, Ryan, is just three years younger than her.

“There are just the two of us [and our] parents, that’s always been it. I don’t remember life before Ryan,” Dalton said.

In Dalton’s free time she enjoys volunteering in clubs like Young Life Capernaum and Best Buddies, which she is the co-vice president of. These organizations promote the inclusion of kids with disabilities.

“I’ve been doing Best Buddies [and] this will be my third year… I see all the good work it’s doing, not just here, but at other regional events. I went to the Best Buddies leadership conference last summer and I saw how amazing Best Buddies is and how it’s changing so many people’s lives. I also do Young Life Capernaum which is Young Life for people with disabilities and that’s also really helping to include people with disabilities in the community and it helps form friendships for people,” Dalton said.

Although Dalton has never seen Star Trek before, she is a fan of Star Wars. Similarly, she has read both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and has a clear opinion on which she prefers.

“I didn’t like Lord of the Rings, I tried to read it and it was really hard. I like Harry Potter, but I’m not a fanatic,” Dalton said.

Dalton is a true advocate for Disney’s Snow White character, as she has been one of Dalton’s favorite movie characters for many years.

“I have loved Snow White for as long as I can remember, Snow White has always been my favorite Disney princess, since I was little. I was her for Halloween two times in a row, I love Snow White so much, I adore her,” Dalton said.   

Along with being a big fan of Snow White, Dalton also gives out appreciation for the dwarves. She has two dwarves in mind that she would want to be friends with.

“I love Happy because he always has such a positive attitude, but then I also love Dopey because he was always the funny one in the back. I’d either want to be friends with Happy or Dopey,” Dalton said.

Although Snow White is Dalton’s favorite Disney princess, it is not her favorite Disney movie.

“When I was little I was scared of the Snow White movies so I don’t want to say that’s my favorite movie… I would say either Frozen or Pocahontas,” Dalton said.

Dalton dreams of having any job related to writing, and would major in either English or creative writing if she was in college now. It is crystal clear that Dalton would love for her life to revolve around her writing.

“I want to be a writer, I’ve loved writing since I was really little. I’ve always wanted to write books and write fictional books so I’d love to be doing that,” Dalton said.

Dalton has obvious passion for writing and helping others in her community. She will undoubtedly continue to grow as a writer and be a positive influence to her peers.