By Julia Teixeira
Staff Reporter
To kick off the new school year, junior Ryan Cole sums up his thoughts on the virtual beginning.
“It’s better than nothing,” Cole said.
Even with the never-ending perils that 2020 has seemingly plagued us with, Cole is excited to start his third year on The Sentry’s staff.
“I am really excited to edit this year, because it is my first year as an editor. I’ve been a reporter for the past two years, so I’m excited to take the next steps,” Cole said.
Although he is eager to start his new career on The Yorktown Sentry as an editor, he wants to continue to report for the newspaper as well.
“I’m excited to edit, but I’m also excited to continue reporting as often as I possibly can. I really love writing and the journalistic process,” Cole said.
Writing is not only used in school assignments for Cole, who names writing as one of his many hobbies.
“Well, I like to write. I actually started a sports blog that didn’t last as soon as school started. I like to write as much as I can,” Cole said.
It makes sense that, because of his love for writing, Cole’s favorite subject in school is newspaper. That has always been a no-brainer for him. The experience of being a journalist, even in a high school setting, is something that he cherishes.
“Every year I’ll tell you my favorite subject is newspaper.… I love this class; I joined when I was a freshman because I want to be a journalist when I grow up,” Cole said.
He channels this dream when thinking about his idol, Al Michaels. Cole’s aspiration of being a sports journalist was initially ignited after reading the beloved NBC football commentator’s book.
“My idol in sports journalism is Al Michaels. He’s the broadcaster for NBC for Sunday Night Football every week. One of the reasons that I became so interested in journalism was because I read his book.… I’ll always remember that book, because it started my passion for journalism, in a way,” Cole said.
His goal of becoming a sports journalist also grew from his love of sports. Cole describes watching sports with his family as a part of their home culture, and something that he looks forward to every evening.
“I also watch sports all the time, pretty much every night, usually with my brother or my dad, and it’s kind of like a tradition of ours,” Cole said.
Cole does not only spectate when it comes to sports, he also is an athlete for a number of teams.
“Definitely, to play, my favorite sport is basketball…. And that’s probably just because I’m like six-foot-two, roughly, so I’m pretty tall,” Cole said.
Still, he finds baseball more fun to watch.
“Some people find baseball incredibly boring, I understand it, but I’ve been watching baseball since I was a little kid,” Cole said.
Cole describes himself as a “homer,” meaning he roots for all of the Washington D.C. home teams. His all-time favorite is the Washington Nationals.
“I love the Nats, so when they won the World Series last year, that was pretty exciting,” Cole said.
Besides his love for sports, Cole also has a very strong love for music. Cole listens to a lot of music, and in his perspective, as long as it’s catchy, he will enjoy it. But, he has an interesting genre of music that he grew up with that one might not expect.
“I was kind of raised on an interesting music taste that my father has. He is a very big boy band fan from the nineties … so, Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC, that’s my thing…. But, I will pretty much listen to anything,” Cole said.
In spite of his very specific and somewhat unexpected taste in music, Cole has an extremely bright future ahead of him. But the number-one goal of his is to one day become a journalist. As another year on The Sentry begins, Cole will work his hardest to be a great asset to the school newspaper, as he has for two years already.
By Ryan Cole
Copy Editor
Julia Teixeira’s favorite episode of The Office is “Dinner Party.” That is not a typo. You read it correctly. She even described the scene in which Michael’s television is smashed by his own Dundy as “hilarious.” Does she also laugh during “Scott’s Tots?” I did not ask because I was afraid of what I might have found out.
Teixeira is a new reporter for The Sentry this year, and despite her apparent affinity for ridiculously awkward television episodes, all signs point towards her arrival being just the boost our newspaper needs.
Teixeira’s potential as a journalist is evident, but one thing that stands out is her complex understanding of the role journalism plays in society. Being a part of The Sentry, she says, allows her to actively participate in ensuring that journalism remains at the forefront of human understanding — even if she is just a student-journalist.
“I believe so much about the press and the freedom of the press and [joining The Sentry] was a good way of keeping that alive. Even if it’s just in the setting of a school, it’s a good way to be a part of the school community,” Teixeira said.
Teixeira greatly values the community aspect of The Sentry. A true social-butterfly, Teixeira has been searching for any sort of social interaction that she could find since quarantine started in March — safely, of course — and yearns for the days of interpersonal connection.
“I know that definitely [social distancing] was tough on me. It’s going to be nice to get back into that routine of school and, hopefully, one day this year, if it’s safe enough, we get to go back [into school],” Teixeira said.
If students are ever graced with the opportunity to walk through the doors of our school this year, Teixeira looks forward to living a much more typical teenage life than one dominated by online school and technology-related stress.
“[In a normal year] I would be participating in going to football games. I would probably be doing some clubs outside of school like Young Dems … But mostly [I would be] going to football games, going to pep rallies and stuff like that,” Teixeira said.
Attending high school football games is an important pastime for students, but many are also deeply invested in the world of professional sports. While Teixeira’s last name may remind sports fans of former New York Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira, her allegiances actually lie with the city of Boston. She maintains a mild interest in both the Patriots and the Red Sox, but when it comes to Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and the rest of the Boston Celtics, Teixeira simply cannot get enough.
“My dad is from Massachusetts and I basically grew up on [the Celtics]. I went to a couple of their games and I just love the atmosphere; it’s so fun…. They are so talented and it’s so cool to be a fan of a team that is good and that you can root for and have fun rooting for,” Teixeira said.
Whenever the boys in green take the court, Teixiera is watching, but on off days she enjoys playing board games and hanging out with her dog, Frank.
Teixeira is hardworking, driven and excited to begin her career as a student-journalist with The Sentry. Her advanced skill set and new perspective will be integral to The Sentry this year as we hope to turn in our strongest year of reporting yet.
