Ben Gallagher is a senior who has been attending CSD since eighth grade. He is looking forward to his fourth and final year as a part of the Journalism team and hopes it’s the best year yet. This year in the class, he wants to branch out from the usual stories he writes and explore styles such as opinion pieces, podcasts and photo stories. When not at school, Ben is often found on the sports field. Baseball and recently football take up the majority of his calendar and he loves it. On the diamond he plays middle infield and outfield while in football he plays receiver and free safety. Outside of school, Ben enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, eating food and spending time outdoors. His favorite books are The Count of Monte Cristo and The Hobbit. His mom’s lasagna is his favorite food. Quote? “Put on the full armor of God that you may withstand the schemes of the Devil.” -Ephesians 6:11   Walk-up Song? “Can’t tell It All (Remix)” -Hulvey, KB, and Lecrae

Callie Hobbs is a Community School of Davidson (CSD) senior. This is her second year in Journalism and throughout her first year she discovered a variety of related skills including multimedia and podcasting. She is excited not only to grow her skills and explore more opportunities/areas of journalism but also to grow as a leader in the program and continue to push herself out of her comfort zone. Callie hopes to continue chasing this passion by majoring in media/journalism, marketing or communications in college. Callie cares about leadership and kindness. She is also an avid runner who is the team captain of CSD’s Varsity Cross Country team, a 2x half marathon finisher (with plans to run a third this year), and a Girls on the Run Junior Coach for a local team. She is also an aspiring triathlete. Outside of school, Callie likes running/training, spending time with family, watching movies in theaters, thinking of ideas for her leadership roles/passion projects and writing. Quote? “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  -Plato Walk-up Song? “Ready For It?” -Taylor Swift

Kate Saussele is a senior in her second year at CSD. She has participated in journalism outside of school, but this is her first year as an official staff member of the Spartan Sentinel. In her writing, she enjoys exploring the intersection of entertainment, science and aspects of human interest. Over the summer, Kate was accepted into Boston University’s Summer Journalism Academy and had the opportunity to publish two articles she wrote during the program in their online newspaper, The Terrier. While in the city, she also explored the greater Boston area and met other like-minded journalists from all over the country. At CSD, Kate is president of the Women in STEM club and is a member of Model UN. She hopes that what she learns in the Journalism class will help her make an impact in a future career. Outside of school, Kate enjoys playing piano and guitar, antique shopping and taking day trips with friends. She also loves to rewatch 10 Things I Hate About You, scroll through Pinterest and decorate her room. Quote? “Live your life with arms wide open; today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten” -Natasha Bedingfield, Unwritten Walk-up Song? “One Way or Another” -Blondie

Liam Bradley is a CSD senior who hopes to build a portfolio of written work both to follow up his freshman year in Journalism I and to contribute to the school’s online news site. In his spare time, Liam plays the drums, works out, sleeps and watches classic films. Interesting, fun and unique about Liam is that he, as a senior, is not at school very much and gets dismissed pretty early. If Liam Bradley could interview one person, it would be Christopher Morris, the creator of the show Brass Eye. Liam respects Morris’ work  and is enticed by the challenge of interviewing a somewhat reclusive celebrity. Quote? “I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.” -’Number Six’ from the TV show The Prisoner. Walk-up Song? “Good Times Bad Times” -Led Zeppelin

Jaelyn Nguyen is a senior who has been attending CSD since freshman year. She hopes to improve her writing skills in the Journalism class. She likes to read manga, web novels and printed novels. She also likes scrolling through art, generating story ideas, watching anime such as Wind Breaker and Tower of God, watching donghuas like Link Click and listening to Kpop and Jpop music in her free time. Her favorite web novels so far are Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (ORV) and Lord of the Mysteries (LOTM). Fun fact: LOTM has almost triple the amount of chapters compared to ORV’s novel (ORV is completed at 500+ chapters). She enjoys reading reincarnation, transmigration and regression stories. Quote? “This story is just for that one reader.” -ShinShong, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Walk-up Song? “Shhh” -KISS OF LIFE

Avery Nardone is a junior in her second year at CSD and first year in Journalism who hopes to explore the art of writing and media in the course. She dreams of experiencing as much of the world as possible and wants to capture it through writing. On top of classes, Avery practices diving eight times a week but on the rare occasion she has free time she’s running, playing pickleball or reading. Her friends are very important to her and they enjoy going to Chili’s, road tripping and exploring new places. Traveling and adventures are something she would feel incomplete without. Quote? “To define is to limit” -Oscar Wilde Walk-up Song? “You are the right one” -Sports

Dylan Sherman is a new CSD freshman. He moved to North Carolina from Connecticut in 2019 and has enjoyed living in North Carolina. He is new to Journalism and joined because of his love of sports and writing about them. This opportunity is a new chance for him to get to write about what he loves to do. He also wants to be a student journalist because he describes himself as being creative. This year Dylan is looking forward to sports at school whether it is playing them or writing about them. He wants to go into detail both about the sports world and the school’s sports teams by writing impactful stories about different topics. In his spare time, Dylan plays travel baseball and his main position is third base. He also enjoys traveling to new places with his family and going to the beach because of the relaxation of being on vacation. When he has the time, he likes to play video games with his friends. If he was not at school he would be at the beach or doing something sports related. Quote? “Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.” -Kobe Bryant Walk-up Song? “For Sure” -Future Islands

Mia Kirsch is a senior who is in her first year both at CSD and in Journalism. Mia hopes to take the lessons she learns and apply them to a future career in the fashion industry. She is looking forward to writing creative stories about fashion, music and student life. Mia likes to spend her free time listening to music, spending time with her friends and watching television. Mia’s favorite show is Gilmore Girls because of its witty humor and comforting fall energy. Her favorite activity to do with her friends is thrifting vintage clothing. Mia started dancing at age three, took a break from it, and is taking dance classes for fun this year. Quote? “I’m just being dramatic it's what I do” -Lorelai Gilmore Walk-up Song? “Overprotected” -Britney Spears

Evan Mulligan is an eleventh-grade student who started at the Community School of Davidson (CSD) in ninth grade. Evan has been participating in Journalism class for three years and sees this as a stepping stone to continue the study in college. He has a passion for politics and foreign policy and writes about these topics on both the Spartan Sentinel and his own blog. Evan is passionate about Model United Nations and has participated in several conferences in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Washington D.C., as a member of CSD’s Model UN club. Outside of school, Evan enjoys going on walks in the woods and listening to ABBA in his free time. Quote? “The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.” -Benjamin Disraeli Walk-up Song? ”Summer Night City” -ABBA

Elena Cunningham is a sophomore in her second year at CSD. She spent her first year learning and growing in Creative Writing class and is excited to explore a new area of writing. She has loved reading (especially fiction) even longer than writing and her favorite book is The Outsiders for its characters and their dynamic relationships. A recent favorite is also the layered storyline of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. Elena also spends a large portion of time playing volleyball. She has bounced around positions since starting high school, mostly playing as a middle blocker (despite being 5’3”), and she loves changing positions because she is constantly learning new aspects of the game. Quote - “Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary” -J.M. Barrie Walk-up Song? “Hall of Fame” -The Script

Conner Shelton is a CSD senior who is returning for his third year of Journalism. Conner loves all things sports, so you will typically find his work in the sports section of the Spartan Sentinel. The ultimate goal that Conner has in mind is to become a sports broadcaster once he graduates. He wants to be just like his favorite sports broadcaster, Kirk Herbstreit. Conner has always enjoyed writing more than reading, so Journalism has been such a great fit for him over the past three years. Conner loves to spend his time playing baseball and piano. Fun fact, he has actually been playing the piano since he was five years old. You will typically find him outdoors hanging out with his dog, Charley. He loves to watch all sporting events and will most likely catch at least every single day. Additionally, Conner has a younger sister named Carsyn who is in 8th grade and has been at CSD her whole life. Food is one of Conner’s favorite things in the whole world, and he especially enjoys any kind of pasta. Conner is excited for his senior year and for the opportunity to produce more sports content throughout the year. Quote? "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9 Walk-up Song? “Cowgirls” -Morgan Wallen

Brandon Amaya is a CSD senior. He attended CSD high school for his first two years but then moved to Florida for his junior year because of his mom’s job and is now back for his final year. He took Journalism in his sophomore year and is now back again. Brandon hopes to use the class as a way to expand and sharpen his writing skills. He hopes to pursue a career in sports journalism and wants to know more about the different styles of writing and media. Brandon enjoys playing basketball and his favorite team is the Chicago Bulls. One of his favorite foods is pizza, specifically deep dish from Chicago. He also enjoys hanging out with friends and watching movies whether comedy, action or drama. Two of his favorite movies are Knives Out and DUNE (Part Two). “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” -Michael Jordan Walk-up Song? “24k Magic” -Bruno Mars