St. John Bosco’s annual Culture Fair, which took place November 8th, allowed the student body to showcase and explore the world’s various cultures.
Photo by Nels Nelsen
At the fair, multiple tables were arranged, all selling various foods and drinks. English teacher and Junior Board Moderator, Mrs. Michelle Tracy, was running her board’s table for the Culture Fair, where chips, soda and water were being sold. Additionally, she hails from Mexican descent and takes great pride in her Mexican-American culture.
“I think [I’ve] just always found the traditions interesting,” Mrs. Tracy said.
Her family eats tamales at Christmas time, often getting together to make them.
Mrs. Tracy thinks the Culture Fair is important because it helps students and faculty connect with not just their cultures, but other cultures as well. With as diverse of a population as Bosco’s, students are definitely able to do that.
“I just think that having a connection to a culture can enrich your life,” said Mrs. Tracy.
Several students also helped share their culture by selling food, drinks and desserts. For example, the Filipino Club sold traditional entrees, such as lumpia. Additionally, Bosco’s Black Student Union sold a plate with ribs, macaroni and cheese and baked beans. Another student who participated in selling food was senior Noah Wayner, who was running the shaved ice table with his mother.
He sees and does things with his mother’s side of the family more, which makes him deem family as a majorly important aspect of culture.
“The concept of [how] family and food [connect is what’s most important to me],” Noah said.
Noah always wishes to build strong family bonds in things he is involved in. He did so when he played football, and he currently builds these bonds as a part of Bosco’s theater program.
Photo by Nels Nelsen
Noah believes that consuming other culture’s foods is the physical way of bringing culture to yourself.
“I think [the Culture Fair] is important because we get to see a lot of different cultures [and] how they celebrate. [That’s [primarily shown through] what their food is like because they are very food-oriented,” said Noah.
Junior Adrian Irannejad was working a table for the Speech and Debate Club he started. Like Mrs. Tracy, he aligns himself with Mexican culture and sees food as one of its biggest parts.
“In our culture, food brings us together after a funeral or during a party,” Adrian said.
This is extremely important because food is often a huge source of happiness that allows us to bond with others. He also thinks it is important that, as a human race, understand each other.
“I think the Culture Fair here is important because we have students from all sorts of [places], we have [Pacific] Islanders, Mexicans [and] Asians. [Students come] from all over the world,” said Adrian.
It’s important that students learn where their brothers come from because it teaches them to be more receptive toward people who aren’t the same as them. Bosco’s annual Culture Fair allows them to do that.
St. John Bosco and St. Joseph’s Academic Decathlon team has never failed to put forward some great teams to compete on the local, national and international stage. But for the past couple of years, some surmised that the program was in decline.
Photo courtesy of Josue Sanchez, co-Editor-in-Chief
For years, Mr. Edgar Salmingo, former Vice Principal of Academic Affairs, served as the decathlon team’s coach. After he left St. John Bosco at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, however, a period of high coaching turnover ensued.
This was no more apparent than in this current year, where the Bosco Academic Decathlon team has seen multiple coaches in the same season—something unheard of for the program in years past.
Ms. Drea Sanchez, a former teacher at St. Joseph’s, handled the program from the beginning of last school year to just about Spring break. She departed from the team over Spring break after coming to the difficult decision to switch careers and pursue nursing, a move that hurt the team.
“[Something] that was truly detrimental to the team was the lack of a stable teacher. [When Ms. Sanchez left] in the middle of our season, we kind of had to pilot ourselves for a while,” said senior decathlete Ben Garza.
While the coaching changes have been hard, Ben believes that it’s brought the team closer together.
“Because our team hasn’t had a permanent teacher in a few years, we have all sort of grown closer together. We realized that being cold to one another wouldn’t do us any good, especially if we would have to collaborate with one another to compete,” Ben said. “[We’ve] started to grow closer [because] most of us were returning competitors. This has helped our team chemistry tremendously. Almost all of us have gotten to interact and compete with one another, [which has led] to more synergy in our group.”
Ben believes this synergy will help the team tremendously, as they face off against the best the world has to offer.
Ms. Sanchez’s departure was the first coaching change of the year, and it couldn’t have come at a more crucial time. When she left, the team was preparing for the regional round of the World Scholars Cup, which was set to take place in Pasadena. Luckily for the decathlon team, they were able to find an extremely capable coach to take Ms. Sanchez’s place.
Ms. Nicole Scalas stepped into the role of Head Decathlon Coach post-Spring break last school year. In addition to being the team’s new coach, she also served as St. Joseph’s Theology Department Chair, an English teacher and a child development teacher.
Ms. Scalas guided Bosco and St. Joseph’s decathletes through the regional and international rounds. While dozens of Braves and Jesters compete during the regional round, numbers tend to shrink during the second round. This year, eight students from Bosco and St. Joseph’s competed in Stockholm, Sweden over Summer break. There, the team faced students from many other countries, such as Turkey, China and Kenya.
Outside of the competition, one of Ms. Scalas’ favorite moments from the trip was touring Stockholm, which was very beautiful and green in the summertime. Although the team did their fair share of exploring, they came to Sweden to handle business—which they did.
The team, prepared by Summer months of studying and practicing, were able to secure several individual and team medals. Seniors Josue Sanchez and Ben Garza were two Braves that Ms. Scalas noted as top performers.
One of the biggest things that the team learned from the quick staff turnover during the Spring and Summer months was a Japanese term called kintsugi.
“[Kintsugi] means “to repair”—but by using gold to seal the cracks. [It makes] the ‘broken; item more beautiful,” said Ms. Scalas. “This team has been through quite a lot—with changes in coaching, teams being moved around, teams lacking all the members and a very difficult curriculum. But look what [they’ve] made!”
The team has truly made something beautiful with their strong teamwork, competitiveness and success. But with the final round, the Tournament of Champions, ahead, the team once again had to deal with coaching turnover.
This year, Ms. Scalas stepped into a bigger role as St. Joseph’s Director of Integration and Student Success, which meant she could no longer continue her role as Head Coach.
Despite this, she still maintains a strong support for the team. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that her daughter, Julia, a junior at St. Joseph’s, is a member of the team.
The transition from coach to fan hasn’t really been too difficult for Ms. Scalas. The decathletes are all extremely capable, passionate and enthusiastic, so it made her job easy as a coach. She knows that the qualities they possess will make them incredibly successful during the Tournament of Champions—strongly believing that at least one of the teams will place in the top five.
While Ms. Scalas cheers on the Braves and Jesters from the sideline, new Bosco English teacher and alumnus of the Class of 2021, Mr. Joshua Hernandez, has stepped up to guide the team through the Tournament of Champions and beyond.
The transition into his new coaching job was a little shaky at first. But he attributes Principal Mr. Ernest Antonelli, Assistant Principal of Academic Affairs Mr. Derrick Fernando, Dean of Academics Mrs. Elizabeth Hunt, Spiritual Director Father Mike Gergen and Assistant Coach Ms. Fatima Gutierrez-Castaneda for helping him make his adjustment.
Mr. Hernandez has been especially grateful for senior Josue Sanchez, who’s helped maintain stability and become someone that Mr. Hernandez has built a connection with—keeping him in the know with recruiting new scholars and future plans.
But Mr. Hernandez is extremely qualified for his new position because of his experience, which he believes will help him as a coach going forward. As a student, he competed in Academic Decathlon. In 2019, he received seven gold and three silver medals, notably placing 45th overall in Manila, where the global round was held in 2019, for writing and being in the top 45% of overall scholars.
At his own Tournament of Champions, Mr. Hernandez placed 155th overall in the debate and 415th in writing. This is incredibly impressive considering that roughly 2,500 scholars compete in this final round of the World Scholars Cup.
Mr. Hernandez wants the decathletes to approach this final round as their championship game. But no matter the end result, Mr. Hernandez is proud of all the team has accomplished.
Above all, he sees this as the first step of restoring Academic Decathlon’s glory.
“I am working really hard to make sure we can get this program back to where it was and really make it a staple on campus in the way Bosco Football is or extracurriculars like ASB and Ambassadors are,” said Mr. Hernandez.
A strong performance in the Tournament of Champions—which began yesterday and ends on November 20th at Yale University—will definitely help that goal.
St. John Bosco Football, ranked eighth in the nation, is heading into the playoffs with high expectations after a 9-1 regular season record and the memory of a tough Trinity League loss to the “Team in Red.”
Playoff Ready! Friday, Nov. 15 at Panish Family Stadium your Bosco Braves will take on the Santa Margarita Eagles in the CIS-SS D1 Playoffs. Be there! #DestinationBoscopic.twitter.com/9X37dlvMrR
Bosco has shown resilience and growth throughout the season, with their main focus on building a stronger offense while maintaining the high standard of their defense. They are preparing the first playoff game on Friday with the desire for redemption and the chance to prove themselves on the biggest stage.
Bosco’s defense, led by a disciplined secondary and powerful line, has been a force.
“Some specific improvements I’ve seen in the secondary over the past few games would be just our confidence has been going up, and we’ve been doing really good together and everyone’s picking up on the little things,” said safety Jacob Holmes. “Going to the playoffs is just attention to detail because you know now the play is one and done and just making sure we get our scheme right for each team.”
Bosco will play a familiar Trinity League opponent in the Santa Margarita Eagles.
“The defensive line worked on strategies to disrupt Santa Margarita’s offense by containing the quarterback,” said linebacker Cole Clifton.
Bosco’s offense has also been well rounded with a balanced mix of passing and running that makes it difficult for defenses to predict, positioning them as strong championship contenders.
The prospect of facing the “Team in Red” again is a compelling challenge that looms over Bosco’s playoff journey. The regular season matchup resulted in a painful 59-14 loss for Bosco, a setback that has fueled the team’s motivation to reach the finals and face them once more.
“The biggest motivation factor going to playoffs, especially after a huge loss like that [against the “Team in Red”], is the chance that we get to have the possibility to compete against [the “Team in Red”] again, and with a possibility of winning a ring and another national title,” Cole said.
With the team’s motto being “control what you can control,” senior leaders encourage focus and resilience. The team’s journey through the season has been defined by both hard work and unity, with each player dedicated to the collective goal.
“Staying mentally prepared for potentially playing the “Team in Red” in the finals is definitely crucial in the season,” Jacob said. “[Some] say we should forget about what happened, but definitely going to the game again and the finals, we’re gonna be ready ’cause all the jitters should be out after the first game.”
Bosco’s first playoff game is set to bring some real energy with fans, students and alumni all buzzing to see if the team can make a deep run. For the players, every game is a chance to show the grit and toughness they’ve built over the season.
This isn’t just about chasing a championship, but to prove the growth, discipline and heart that define Bosco Football and Brave Nation. When they step on the field Friday night, these guys are ready to lay it all out there, putting their dedication and hard work on display one play at a time. Kickoff is at 7pm.
St. John Bosco High School junior and Frontier Selects LA/Bosco ice hockey goaltender, Logan Owens-Scott, got his Detroit Red Wings jersey signed by San Jose Sharks and former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman at an Anaheim Ducks game, a moment he shared with his Bosco brothers that circulated on social media.
Jake Walman is a professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Sharks in the National Hockey League. Walman spent the last three seasons in Detroit with the Red Wings. This season the Red Wings front office made the decision to let Walman go and traded him to San Jose.
This left Detroit fans stunned and angry to be losing a fan favorite. At the time, Walman described the trade as “heartbreaking” as he had no plan to leave Detroit, affectionately referred to as “Hockey Town” by NHL fans.
“My heart was there, you know? I wanted to bring that success and passion to Detroit. It was my first time, like I’ve said to you before, that I felt like I was in a place that loved me, and I loved that place,” said Walman, according to The Hockey News.
In a matchup between the Ducks and the Sharks on October 22nd, Logan made sure to take his Jake Walman jersey and go right up to the glass during warmups to put himself right in the eyeline of Walman.
Walman skated a few times shooting some smiles at Logan. Eventually tapping on the glass and waving him over towards the bench. Logan and his Frontier Selects/Bosco teammates walked their way over to the bench, and the training staff took his jersey and laid it out on a table for Walman to sign.
After warmups, Walman walked off the ice and personally signed the jersey with a written “Atta boy” on the top of the jersey number. The NHL media team wasted no time in catching this moment of a lifetime, and the Sharks posted it on their social media. The post’s video currently has almost 300,000 views.
“It was so cool to have my favorite hockey player, who was traded away from my home state and favorite team, recognize me and treat me the way he did – who had just released a statement about how much he missed the [Red Wings], then still showed support to his fans. [He is a] class act and [I] hope he will come back to Detroit,” said Logan.
Logan and his teammates want all Bosco and St. Joseph’s students to come out and support Frontier Selects/Bosco hockey. On Thursday, Frontier Selects/Bosco takes on Santa Margarita at the Honda Center, the home of the Anaheim Ducks, at 7:00pm.
They will take on Santa Margarita again on Saturday at 4:00pm at Great Park Ice in Irvine. Frontier Selects/Bosco is currently 11-5-0 in their inaugural season. Admission to all game is free.
St. John Bosco High School students Martin and Oliver Shiekh are hosting a volleyball tournament this weekend in order to raise money to help those affected by the rampage of Hurricane Helene in late September.
The event, called the “Hit Hard And Rally 4 Relief,” has given an example of the generous and altruistic activities carried out by Bosco students—both inside and outside the campus.
The initial idea for the event started shortly after the category four hurricane slammed into the Big Bend region in Northern Florida on September 26th. After making landfall, the storm moved north, flooding entire parts of the southern United States including Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
One of the people affected by the hurricane was Ms. Lori Vinskus, a Social Science and Latin instructor in Bosco’s online program, SJB Global. She resides in North Carolina, which was severely impacted by the flooding from the hurricane. Upon seeing this happen, Martin and Oliver decided to begin this project to help all those in need.
Teaming up with the Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), a non-profit organization based in Florida, the two will be sending all the funds to the GEM Hurricane Helene relief project.
In some way, they already had some experience with these types of events, having previously made one for the series of fires in the state of Hawaii in 2023.
“We’ve done similar tournaments for fire damage in Maui,” said Martin. “So, we decided to jump into action [this time around] with a tournament-style fundraiser.”
This tournament, however, will be different from the one held earlier. At this event, Martin and Oliver plan to increase engagement and participation among the Bosco youth by holding more than just a simple volleyball tournament.
Members from local high schools like Bosco and St. Joseph’s are involved in this event, as well as various volleyball clubs. These include the Pulse Volleyball Club, based in Anaheim.
Aside from the volleyball events themselves, the two highlight the other events that will occur, including events featuring AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) professionals and, of course, food.
Many external companies are also involved in the effort, including the company Slunks, known for its production of volleyball shorts and gear, and Shiekh, a reputable shoe store. Both companies are planning to give away select merchandise at the event.
The two were able to secure these sponsors and connections by simply asking around in the local community, as well as in some volleyball clubs.
“It’s just asking a lot of questions, basically,” said Martin.
They asked a large number of people, including reputable leaders at Bosco, in order to make this event more well-known and increase their outreach.
They believe it is possible for anyone to make these types of fundraiser events and that it’s a matter of getting all the work done while establishing connections with people in local communities.
“People want to help you, so just don’t be afraid to ask,” said Martin.
“Have a plan before you go into anything,” Oliver added. “Map everything out and try to get a list of all the steps you need to do to create an effective fundraiser.”
The event is open to anyone—students, adults and more—with no required level of experience in the sport. The two are hoping for an increase in turnout in order to achieve their $5,000 goal.
“It’s often easy to get people to say ‘yes,’” said Martin. “But, it’s a different thing to actually get them to come to the event.”
The event will be held this weekend on Sunday, November 10th at the Long Beach City College Sand Courts, south of Bosco in north Long Beach. Events will last from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and will include a variety of other activities and giveaways to those in attendance.
St. John Bosco High School’s water polo team was a force to be reckoned with from their electric start to their historic playoff birth.
Photo by Edwin Bray
The team started the season with high expectations and an intense hunger for success. Starting off incredibly hot with a series of victories, they moved their way up the rankings.
Freshman star Brayden Krakowski had a very successful season as a young leader for his squad, vying to win every game possible with a high-intensity and focused demeanor.
“I [saw myself evolve] into more of a leader, as that [was] needed to help keep the team locked in for this postseason,” said Brayden.
The team had a big momentum swing when they faced the “Team In Red,” who were ranked number eight in the nation. Bosco refused to be underestimated by their rivals, competing well through all four quarters before going down 8-4.
As a result of their stellar regular season, Bosco Water Polo made a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoff appearance for the first time in eight years.
Senior captain Julian Almanza was extremely happy with his experience with his team this season. Julian had a great time going to work with his Bosco brothers every single day.
He wanted to be a good role model for the underclassmen and help them perform to their very best. Julian is proud of his team’s technical advancement this season.
“I think the freshman on our team have surprised me the most. They’ve been able to keep up with our intense practice schedule and their hard work did translate to the games “ said Julian
Julian and his team gave it there all this season by dialing in every single game and maintaining 100% focus. The team’s motto this year was “control what you can control,” and this motto helped them to always maintain focus when they were hit with any kind of adversity. Bosco was a gritty and fierce team that battled to the very end.
Bosco Water Polo finished out the year with a 16-10 record losing to Capistrano Valley by a score of 18-11 to end their season. While playing in the Trinity League this season Bosco competed with several high class teams and gave them a run for there money, as Bosco shocked the water polo community with their stellar and fierce playing. Bosco Water Polo aims to keep climbing the ranks and developing for an even more remarkable season next year.
Bosco Water Polo starts in late September next year. Bosco students, staff and alumni are highly encouraged to come out to Bellflower Aquatic Center to support the young men next season in the pool.
The St. John Bosco High School sailing team has been improving and gaining recognition this season, earning top finishes in their last two races.
Photo by @boscosailing via Instagram
Currently operating out of the Long Beach Yacht Club, the team recently claimed victory in their latest regatta, with Kaya Marley and Elizabeth Nash finishing first, and team captain Jack Snow and Tanner Swagger coming in a close second.
Preparing for these events requires discipline, determination and a positive outlook.
“I prepare for an event by making sure our boat is ready and that I am mentally and physically ready,” said Snow. “If you go in having a bad mentality, then you will have bad results.”
Jack, who has witnessed the team grow from a humble beginning into a fully-sponsored program, expressed pride in the progress made over the years.
“We first started off as a very low-budget team, and now, we have a bunch of sponsors,” he said. “The team has grown; our results keep improving; and our coaching staff has been improved significantly.”
However, recent news has put the team on a new course, as they were informed that they can no longer continue as a co-ed team. Moving forward, St. John Bosco and St. Joseph High Schools will have to form separate teams.
Freshman sailor Elizabeth Nash, one of the latest additions from St. Joseph, is optimistic about the future, even with the impending split.
“We have a lot of new girls from [St. Joseph’s] with sailing experience, which will help expand the team even after I graduate,” Nash explained. “It’s a great feeling to be part of something that’s constantly growing.”
For Snow, this season is about setting a standard of resilience and passion that will inspire future sailors.
“I want to push the team to strive [to be] better and to keep going even when it gets hard,” he said
As the season progresses and the team faces new challenges, St. John Bosco Sailing remains focused on its journey forward.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, a regular powerhouse in the regular season, left their mark on the 2024 MLB Postseason, finishing as World Series Champions.
Photo by Yahoo Sports
From the beginning of the offseason, it was evident that the Dodgers were going to be something special this year, signing two-way superstar free-agent, Shohei Ohtani, and Japanese pitching prodigy, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Dodgers finished the regular season with an outstanding 98-64 record and clinched their twelfth consecutive postseason playoff appearance. Backed by a whopping $241 million payroll, it was certain that the Dodgers were going to make some noise in the Fall.
Although the Dodgers were highly favored, they were short-staffed. Key pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Glasnow and Bobby Miller were absent, meaning that their dangerous lineup was going to have to produce runs from batters one through nine.
Their postseason run began with a 2022 National League Division Series (NLDS) rematch against the San Diego Padres. The Padres won the matchup that year, but the Dodgers were going to make sure the outcome was different this year.
The Padres weren’t going down without a fight. After the Dodgers took game one, the Padres bounced back and won two straight, giving them a 2-1 series lead. One loss from elimination, the Dodgers refused to let the moment get too big for them, winning the next two games to advance to the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the New York Mets.
The NLCS was yet another rematch for the Dodgers. The last time these two teams faced each other in the playoffs was in the 2015 NLDS, which the Mets won in five games. The Mets, who had recently upset the Phillies, were on a hot streak, despite being postseason underdogs.
The Mets certainly gave the Dodgers a run for their money, but the Dodgers offense was too strong. They managed to tally 52 runs throughout the entire series. Despite lacking depth, the Dodgers bullpen came through and held the Mets, who have the highest payroll in the majors, down. In a series-clinching game six, the Dodgers put up ten runs, sending the Mets back home and advancing to the World Series.
The World Series couldn’t have been a better match-up, a clash of titans between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Game one did not disappoint. In the bottom of the tenth, down 3-2, Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Dodgers a 1-0 series lead, setting the tone for the series.
The Dodgers would take the next two games thanks to stellar performances by Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman, Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers’ pitching staff, as they took a commanding 3-0 series lead and found themselves on the brink of what could have been a rare sweep. The last time this happened was when the San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers back in the 2012 World Series. But the Yankees weren’t going to let that happen at Yankee Stadium. Their bats came alive with an 11-4 victory in game four.
Finding themselves down five runs early in game 5, it was thought by many that the Dodgers just wanted to come back to Los Angeles to win it all in their own stadium. But the offense came alive in the fifth inning with the help of some lackluster New York defense, putting up five runs against Yankees ace, Gerrit Cole. The Dodgers would then put up two more insurance runs, as Dodgers’ reliever Blake Treinen put the Yankees’ bats to sleep.
In the ninth inning, Manager Dave Roberts decided to turn to Walker Buehler, who had an extremely rough year after coming back from Tommy John Surgery. After retiring two, former Dodger Alex Verdugo stepped up to the plate, representing the final out. Buehler was determined to close the game out. After not even knowing whether or not he was going to make the postseason lineup, there he was getting the final three outs of the World Series.
As the final out was recorded, the city of Los Angeles erupted in cheers and fireworks, as the Dodgers came out on top as the 2024 World Series Champions.
The Dodgers lived up to all the hype this season, and with this being their second World Series win in the past four years, there is still much more in store for this dominant Dodgers dynasty.
St. John Bosco High School welcomes a new teacher and coach, Mr. Kellyn Carlson, to lead the Entrepreneur Pathway and teach students crucial business lessons, as well as to serve as an assistant water polo coach.
Photo by Nicholas Valenzuela
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Tacoma, WA.
Q: What was your best subject when you were in school?
A: History. I like to learn from the past to be prepared for the future.
Q: Where did you go to school to get your degree?
A: The University of Washington and California State University, Long Beach. I have a B.A. in Political Science from UW and an M.A. in Sports Management as well as a Teaching Credential from CSULB.
Q: What jobs did you do before teaching at Bosco?
A: A lot. I started in the family business, Aqua Quip. I stocked shelves and cleaned, fixed and built pools and spas all the way to managing the logistics of the service department. I had many sales jobs at biotech that taught me that I am not a salesperson. I also had coaching jobs here at Bosco many years ago and spent time at Orange Lutheran and Millikan as a teacher and coach.
Q: Why did you decide to pursue a future in teaching?
A: During the pandemic, I lost my job like many other people and got back into coaching, that led me to realize that making a difference in people’s lives made me feel like I did when playing sports, and no matter how many hours I spent coaching or teaching, I never felt like I was working. When you love what you do, it’s not work.
Q: What is your favorite sports team?
A: Washington Husky Football might be my all-time favorite and Liverpool FC, as well.
Q: If you could have lunch with one person from history, who would it be and why?
A: Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome. The stoic philosophy he learned from Epictetus and other ancient Greek philosophers is something that I am using to make myself a better person every day. I find it fascinating how those philosophies helped him rule over one of the greatest empires in history.
Q: What is your favorite band or musical artist and song, and why?
A: Tough question. I think it depends on my mood. I love Bob Marley and his message, but at the same time, I think my musical evolution into jazz has me listening more and more to Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and other jazz legends. I grew up in the Grunge Era of Seattle music, so I always like a little bit of Pearl Jam, Nirvana and other 90’s era music.
Q: What’s your favorite cuisine, and what is your favorite dish from that cuisine?
A: Again, it depends on my mood, but I always go back to my northwest roots of seafood. I love oysters, clams, salmon, halibut and really anything from the sea mixed with fresh vegetables and a little rice.
Q: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
A: I would like to visit Eastern Europe and attend professional water polo games in Hungary, Croatia and Montenegro. Water polo is huge there, and I have never had the opportunity to visit that part of Europe and see the sport where it is most loved.
Q: What is the advice you would like to give to students in your class?
A: To be open to learning and not miss the great opportunities they have here at Bosco. It is an important time in your life, and you have a faculty that is passionate about helping you. Take this big step forward into the adult you want to become.
Q: If you could start a business, what would it be?
A: A small community pub. Pub is short for public place where people gather to talk, share stories, play music and connect. I like food, people, and talking, and would love to do it all while making a living.
Q: How much can you bench?
A: Today, not as much as I used to that is for sure. I couldn’t tell you. I think if memory is correct I was somewhere around 235-250 lbs. at one point, so not very much.
Q: What’s something that you learned from a hard experience?
A: When times are rough, those closest to you will be there for you without question. That is why keeping great relationships and honesty are so important.
Q: What sports do you coach and why?
A: Water polo and swimming. I try to pass what I know on to others and help others go as far as they can. I like seeing athletes achieve more than they thought was possible.
Q: Do you prefer coffee or tea, and how do you make it?
A: I like my coffee black, but don’t mind having a cup of tea either.
Q: If you were on a stranded island and could only bring one item, what would you bring?
A: The book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius to remind me that I am so lucky and privileged to have every day on that island.
Q: If you found out you had 48 hours to live, what would you do with it?
A: Spend as much time with my family as possible. I am very lucky to have an amazing family where generations are connected so deeply and help each other with no questions asked.
Q: If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, what would you say?
A: I would tell myself that the journey is unexpected, not what you think it will be, and that the experiences will lead you to happiness and doing what you’re meant to do.
Q: What motivates you to work hard?
A: The desire to do things right and an innate sense that I always want to do it better than someone else. I am very competitive and that drives me to always be better than I was today.
Q: What’s your proudest accomplishment?
A: Having the opportunity to travel overseas after college and continue to play water polo in Australia and win their National Water Polo League Championship.
Detested St. John Bosco villain, Mr. McGueber, planned on creating an army using bio-enhanced pumpkins to cause mischief on October 31st.
Mr. McGueber was up to his old antics of trying to take over the world. This time, he ditched actual world domination, shifting his focus toward taking over Halloween.
“Look, world domination hasn’t really worked out in the past,” said Mr. McGueber. “[Doing something smaller] is nice for a change.”
Using pumpkins he stole from Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland, California, Mr. McGueber bio-enhanced them and built a full-on army.
“I had to steal [the pumpkins]! No one was even guarding the place,” said Mr. McGueber. “So, you can blame [Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm] when I take over Halloween.”
He brought the pumpkins to life using unethical practices before he tried to use them to cause trouble on Halloween, primarily by stealing candy from defenseless elementary school students.
“Think about it this way. Why should I go out of my way to buy candy from the store when I could just steal it from little kids?” said Mr. McGueber. “If I could dominate Halloween, then it means I’ll be able to dominate the world, right?”
Despite Mr. McGueber’s utterly ridiculous statements, some students found ways to stay calm during this extremely dire situation.
“If Mr. McGueber couldn’t take over a high school, I doubt he could take over Halloween,” said senior Roman Galindo. “I accidentally hit one of his pumpkin monsters with my bicycle.”
Students saw many holes in Mr. McGueber’s Halloween domination plan. The biggest problem was how the bio-enhanced technology failed to make the pumpkins look scary.
“I thought Mr. McGueber would carve faces so the weird pumpkin monsters would look intimidating but he didn’t,” said senior Jose Sedano. “He really didn’t. It’s very hard to be scared of blank-faced pumpkins with a metal stick ramming themselves into the walls every 3 seconds.”
Mr. McGueber seemed to know about these holes in his domination plan.
“Look, Squaddle usually checks my plans before I do them. But he was on vacation in the Netherlands for a couple of days so it was all up to me,” said Mr. McGueber. “Trying to ruin a holiday is much harder than ruining the world because I am very lazy.”
Although his constant complaints of how hard his plan was, he was still incredibly delusional about the plausibility of his plan.
He planned to take over St. John Bosco again using his newfound non-FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved pumpkin army. Unfortunately, he had too much confidence in his plans—his super evil attack being countered by stairs and his own pumpkins rebelling against him.
“I thought the bio-enhanced pumpkins would at least have arms and legs. But no. They’re just pumpkins that roll around over people’s toes,” said senior Marco Uribe. “They couldn’t even make it past the front office doors.”
Mr. McGueber expressed some disappointment and anger in this foiled plan.
“It’s not my fault that this plan didn’t come to fruition. These unethical practices aren’t cheap, you know,” said Mr. McGueber. “It’s also not like I am going to get arrested for this. What cop is going to believe that people were attacked by pumpkins?”
On Halloween night, Mr. McGueber had barely any pumpkin monsters for his crusade.
“Look, my plan was ruined. Now, I have to steal something boring like Halloween decorations to pay off my debts,” said Mr. McGueber. “Best believe that this will not hinder my crime spree at all.”
Mr. McGueber was promptly arrested after making these statements—not because of the attack, but his failure to show up for jury duty. This solidified the halting of his plans for holiday domination. Two days later, however, he was released from jail—back on the streets of Bellflower to cause more mischief and try, once more, to achieve world domination.
The Brave News 