Staff

I am a blossoming Poet of Media Club. I am the creative Writing Editor and Design. I also am in a creative writing workshop and was the first student to represent our school in a community poetry reading on Tuesday, February 11, at the Rourk Library in Shallotte. And it helped me get comfortable speaking in front of people  and getting my work out there for the public to see. To me, writing is therapeutic and helps me express emotions I usually can’t say out loud. I love reading others' creative writing works because I love to see how different others' writing styles are from mine. It’s fun to not only read others but talk to other people about what they were thinking while writing their story and getting more detail that you usually wouldn’t know just by reading the story. I love to craft and draw in my free time. I have made bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings and more. I love crafting and its even more fun when I get to craft with my mom since she got me into crafting in the first place. I value time with my friends and family since they support me the most and wouldn't trade them for anything because I want to be there for them like they are for me. My mom is my rock and my biggest supporter for anything I do and is my best friend. I have learned more about the different types of poetry and how I want my poem to look, sound, and feel. Creative writing has made me appreciate books and poems more than I ever had before and I’m so glad I started writing because It’s now my favorite thing to do.

Three hours of sleep and running on a cup of coffee while being outspoken and free is what journalism is all about to me. I love voicing my opinions and brewing up new ideas

without limitations, which I have learned is a major part of being a journalist. As I finish the semester in Journalism, I hope to become a strong writer but an even stronger articulator. When I am not interviewing and channeling my inner Rory Gilmore, I am instead either working at HWY 55 in Leland as a server or hanging out with my best friend, Lydia Laux. I love being a journalist, but I love being a server so much more. Working is an enjoyable experience for me and I love that with serving there is never a dull moment and always something to do. That is also how my friendship with Lydia is. Her and I are always laughing and doing crazy things together. Another big part of my life is music and I honestly do not think I can go a day without listening to it. One of my favorite artists is Taylor Swift and I love to collect her and other artist’s vinyls and CDs. It is always a great experience watching my music collection grow little by little and being able to go see some artists in concert. In conclusion, no matter how many cups of coffee I miss I am always going to have enough energy to express myself in journalism. It is important to me to be outspoken and free, therefore knowing journalism offers me this, it is why I want to continue to strive as a journalist.

Hello! My name is Kierstin Conner, I am a Sophomore and I am a part of the Media club. I live in a tranquil town with my parents, pets, and 2 siblings. I have a little brother that gets on my nerves and a big sister whom I love very much. She goes to BCECHS as well, and helps me take care of mostly college-related things. When I am not in school, I mostly just hang out in my room and watch tv, draw, or write. I am looking to improve my drawing skills, mostly in anatomy since I am struggling the most with body poses and hands. I also like to use my tv as a light source when the sky isn’t bright enough to do it. Speaking of, my favorite time of the day is probably 6-8pm because the sky is just the right amount of light and dark. It is not so bright to blind me but not so dark that I can’t see. It is more of an in between time of day and I love it. Fall/Winter time is probably my favorite time of year because of this same reason, but also because most of my clothes are more suited for the cold. My favorite person in the world if I had to choose would be my sister, Kailee Conner. My sister has always been there for me when I needed her help, not to mention that she is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. She is a good listener and buys me soda sometimes. I really appreciate her for that. If I had to choose favorite celebrities, I would choose Lady Gaga, Billie Eillish, Chappel Roan, Bruno Mars, Caseoh, Coryxkenshin, Kubzscouts, and Markiplier. They entertain me when I am bored and alone. Caseoh probably influences me the most since his humor is identical to mine. He really makes me laugh with how dramatic he is, it’s hilarious. I am really good at drawing, just not too dynamic poses. I have been practicing drawing hands for a while, it is still difficult but I think I am slowly improving. Anything I set my mind to learn, I try my best to get good at. I have lived in North Carolina pretty much my whole entire life, I never really left. I have been around though. For example, me and my family go to Southport at least once a year to get candy from the Christmas place. It is always enjoyable and I love going downtown. I have been wanting to visit Greece because of the Odyssey and my love for greek mythology, and Japan because of their advanced-looking technology and trustworthy streets. I have thought about moving to Canada when I get older but I will leave that thought for the future. I have accomplished writing a few pieces for both myself and The Firebird Times. I am currently working on a novel, and I am almost done with the first draft of it. Once I finish it, I will go back and add other details before officially being done with it. Once it is done, I’ll design a cover and attach it to the copy I print out. I plan to keep it in a safe space until I am eligible to publish it for the world. I may even write another novel to pass that time, I already have other ideas for stories I could write. That is my favorite thing about Journalism, it inspires me to continue writing no matter how much blockage I go through. I receive feedback from past pieces I have written and it helps me improve, I like that a lot. I got involved in Journalism because I wanted to share my stories and inspire others to write as well. In media, I can do that. As the team and I develop, I hope to write at least 1 or 2 more novels. In conclusion, many individuals have inspired me to become the person I am today. Even my little brother, even if he gets on my nerves every day. My sister especially since she is so supportive of the things I want to pursue in life. Journalism influenced this in me as well.

My name is Makayla Procter and I am a current Junior and Brunswick County Early College High School. I am the Editor in chief of the media team. I took on this role because I have a passion for writing and I wanted to push myself to try a leadership position. I also wanted to be a part time journalist when I am older so this will help me to get a foot in the door. I have always wanted to be an actress but the older I have gotten the more interest I have found in writing. When I first started HighSchool I was shy and was scared to write any pieces because I did not want to be judged. Now I write for the Firebird Flame and Cape Fear Voices and I do as much as I can to stay active in our media team and journalism in our country. Whether it is a local festival, or news story, or event being held in Brunswick County I am there filming reports and jotting down ideas for my next article. When I graduate I want to attend either NC State or APP state and major in child development and minor in broadcast journalism. Some of my favorite people are my family members and my friends but my favorite person is my mom. We often refer to ourselves as the Gilmore girls, which is our favorite show to watch together. My favorite celebrity is Jared Padelcki because he plays in my favorite show supernatural. He is not only a great actor but a great person as well. He has a foundation that stands up for people who may be struggling. It is called always keep fighting and he uses this foundation to help as many people as he can. Some of my favorite hobbies include acting, singing, painting, cooking, reading, watching movies and of course writing. In my free time when I am not spending time with my family or friends I am usually doing one of these activities. These are all some of my favorite interests but what I really focus on when it comes to journalism is getting my voice out. We are told at a young age to keep quiet or hold our tongue but the media club helps us to do the opposite. With the media club we are able to speak our opinions and even write about them. My number one goal is to travel the world using my voice but also helping others to get their voice out as well and the media club is just the beginning of my journey. 

My real name’s Coleman but people call me Cole, I’m a Junior at Brunswick County Early College High School. I also am the head of the photography department in Media, I was always interested in being a photographer.  Since I was little I would take pictures of my background or anything cool I could find. My older sister was also a photographer for Media Club almost 5 years ago, so I’ve had roots in the club before I even knew about this school, and so does my sister as I follow in her alumni legacy. I tend to enjoy a lot of the little things in life, you’ll usually catch me listening to music or just going on simple walks, I like remaining active. You’ll usually hear me talking about how much I wanna go back to the mountains so I can continue skiing, or talking about how eventful my weekend was. I like to stay social and connected, but I also enjoy being independent and working on my own time. I like the idea of staying in North Carolina, I plan to eventually get a place near Wilmington, but I also want to plan trips to exotic and tropical places. 

I am one of two representatives of the Engagement Department, I work on hooking readers to look at our website. I was born in North Carolina with an older sister and my parents. I'm sorry for anyone else with older siblings. I’ve been close to my sister for as long as I can remember. Being the youngest of the family, I was very reserved growing up. This is because my older sister, Amelia, usually did the talking for me anywhere we went. We’re basically twins, (we can only read each other's minds sometimes, I swear). Whenever I’m not in school, I like to read, hang out with friends, and draw whatever my mind comes up with. Is that relatable for any artists out there? After I hang out with friends at school, my favorite time of the day has arrived, going home. Yes, I like being able to go home and sleep. Another favorite of mine, in my opinion the greatest time of the year, winter. Winter is when North Carolina has that nice ol’ chance of snow, which is very slim. Waking up to snow on the ground in the morning is a great feeling. Speaking of morning, the time of day that I’m most active is honestly just when I sit in bed and start getting ready for the day, otherwise, I’m tired. (I love sleep, have I mentioned that?)

Continuing with favorites, everyone has a favorite person. My favorite people involve my best friend since 8th grade Megan and my best friend since childhood Ally. Then my school friends that I’ve met in my first semester of 9th grade. They are Cady, Vivian, Zoria, Tylah, and Alyssa.  Speaking of favorites, my favorite celebrity is Ryan Reynolds and my favorite band is Twenty One Pilots. The main influence of my life comes from my sister, since I look up to her for most things, and my friends since they help out whenever I need it. Looking up to someone can even turn out to you trying new things that those around you like, and you can find a new hobby. This can help you learn more about yourself, and sometimes of how life can turn out. My hobbies include reading, but not the ones I’m forced to read. I'm invested in the ‘Percy Jackson’ series at the moment, so far I’m already in the fourth book of ‘Trials of Apollo’. I enjoy swimming in the ocean, eating good food (Who doesn’t?), and getting to sleep, which, as I might have said, I love to sleep. One more of my hobbies is listening to music. I can barely walk around my house without my Airpods in my ears, which makes my dad a little mad when I say ‘Huh?’ 12 times in a row. A pretty cool fact about myself, If I say so myself, is that I have been to three different continents in my life, the first and most obvious being North America, then I’ve gone on cruises with my dad and sister to places in South America, and to Europe (England to be exact) a couple times to visit my grandparents. In the future, I’d like to travel to Italy, since there is good food, and Greece since I like Greek mythology. Being a Percy Jackson fan has really influenced my choices of future travel. I've got to go, the Argo II crew is calling!

I burn, I pine, I perish… for books! When I’m not writing in journalism, I am rapidly reading through all of the novels on my shelves. Sometimes I feel as if I am Miss “I have an opinion on everything”, but I think that is what makes me a good writer and journalist. Even though my resting face may say otherwise, I am an incredibly empathetic person and I care very deeply for those I love. I am an older sister by four years which is why I strongly relate to Kat Stratford. I only have one sibling, but I have four pets (as of now!). I moved to North Carolina a few years ago. I am from Arizona and I have lived in California as well. My favorite time of year is fall and winter so being able to have cold weather here is really nice, except I hate the inconsistent temperatures and when the cold goes too far into the new year. Something I really want to do in my life is to travel the world and be able to see different monuments and weather like heavy snow. I want to go everywhere I can and be able to have a bunch of different stories to tell. If I’m not reading or doing homework, I am with my best friend Sadie Chapman. We usually binge shows and movies together like Grey's Anatomy, Gilmore Girls and all the rom-com movies we can find. While I have never had a problem speaking my mind, I have always found it hard to put myself out there and get out of my own head. As I develop in journalism, I want to push myself to do things I wouldn't usually do and fill my writing with my opinions on things that genuinely interest me.

Who is the Leader of Features? Here I am! Hi! My name is Gabby Okun, a junior at BCECHS and I work in Journalism as the leader of features. Features include, content planning and strategy, editing and overseeing on stories, collabing with others or clubs, etc. Being the leader of features is important to journalism because I work on planning out stories and seeing what draws attention to our page. I want our audience to feel engaged to read our stories and check out photos. Plus, introducing stories about diverse topics, reviews on movies or books, or even addressing special holidays that draws attention to our work. Wanna know some fun facts about me? Well, I love art and theater so much I want to major in it for college! I also love music, plus music artists, such as Gorillaz, Laufey, Tyler the Creator, T.V Girl, and more! Another fun fact is that I am a super extroverted person. I love to hang out with my friends and spend time with them. I also have a half brother named Joey who just turned one last Sunday. My favorite thing about journalism is creat+ing stories for our audience and helping out the yearbook club with the yearbook for this year. I represent our school media because I’m in a club called Media Club which focuses on journalism, the yearbook, and podcasting which are involved in school media. The reason I wanted to be in Media Club was because I joined for the fun of it and to craft stories for others to enjoy. Plus, I want to be able to improve my writing and share my stories with my friends. Overall, I am a part of journalism, who loves art, theater and music, while also having the role of the features for our website and club. I want to be able to show how much I give to my role as being the leader of features.

My name is Natasha Rivera. I'm the head of design on our website. I took on this role due to the fact that I enjoy design and being creative with my work. When looking at some of my stories you might notice that I focus the most on interactive stories to get more people to read The Firebird Times. I'm an older sister. I usually take care of my brother whenever I'm not at work. Outside of school I enjoy crocheting various things like stuffed animals, bags, trinkets, ect. I also enjoy cooking and baking especially when trying out new recipes. My favorite time of day is sunset and my favorite season is spring. Just looking at a bunch of flowers in bloom as the sun sets is one of my favorite things to do. In my life my greatest inspiration is my parents. They both came to this country, built up their careers and eventually met each other. Once they had me and my brother. They made sure both of us had the best life possible and they've given me everything they never had. My favorite celebrity would have to be Sabrina Carpenter. I enjoy her music and I've watched many of the things she's acted in. A personal goal of mine is to be able to travel as much as possible before I settle down and get married. So far I've gone to Mexico and Japan and have a trip to France and Costa Rica planned for the summer. Hopefully I'll be able to plan more trips and see more of the world. In the future, I hope I inspire someone else to take my role and inspire them to incorporate their own creative touch into the website and our school.

My name is Kat Totten. I am currently a Junior here at BCECHS and one of the photography leaders in the Media Club. I am the youngest of 3 siblings, and since both of my brothers are much older than me, I’ve learned the value of hard work and independence over the years. When I’m not in school I am generally reading, or working. Reading has always been a passion of mine, and is what really motivated me to pursue journalism in the first place. My favorite people consist of my family, but also my friends as well. Many of my friends I have become closer with through this club, and they are my main support system when it comes to challenging myself and reaching my personal goals. My favorite celebrity is Taylor Swift. She has been a huge role model for me, not only through her music, but through her beliefs and willingness to use her platform to benefit others. 

Over the years I have found that I thrive in math and science classes. This has been a challenge for me considering my love for journalism as well, however I compensate for this by basing many of my articles and research on STEM related topics. Personally my favorite thing about Journalism is the familiarity among diversity. Although many of my fellow journalists may not necessarily agree with me, and vice versa, journalism gives us the chance to find middle ground, and hear different perspectives of the same story. Journalism brings people together, which I think is the most beautiful thing about it. Media has been everchanging for me throughout my entire high school career. Originally I joined the media club because I wanted to explore photography, however as the club has grown, I have found myself exploring new genres of media such as journalism and yearbook. As this team develops I hope to see myself taking on a leadership role in the marketing department of Student Media. This would be a new genre that I have never explored, and it would be a fun learning experience! Media Club has had a huge impact on my life and I am excited to see where this club will take me as it continues to grow and thrive!

I’m Zoria Roberts, a freshman that attends Early College High School who also works with The Firebird Times. I was born in Virginia Beach to a loving mother and who later on had two more kids. Being someone who had to move often, around ten times in my life all around the United states, I had to learn to adapt to new schools and new states quickly. Growing up I had developed a major interest in reading and writing. Quickly growing a large passion for books and literature, I have spent a majority of my free time on something involving a book. My favorite time is when I get to have a quiet area in the afternoons to either nap or get things done. One of my favorite celebrities of all time is Fiona Apple. In my opinion, I think that she's an amazing vocalist and songwriter; her poetry and lyricism are some of the most impactful and well thought out I've ever seen. Her albums are mainly the only music I listen to. I also look up to Eiichiro Oda, the author of my favorite book series and show, ‘One Piece’. I see his storytelling and character development as one of the best; it sparks up an emotional reaction in me whenever I engage with it. These two people are major inspirations for me, and I feel like their art represents me in a way. But in my real life, my favorite people are my friends. I often hang out with my really close friends like Angi Hill, Danielle Harrel, Kellan Flincher,Yullissa Garcia Flores, and Julia Savarese. These people are what make me happy on a day-to-day basis. Being around these people excites me and makes my life infinitely better. I would say outside of my writing, I have a strong suit for drawing. Being creative is something that makes me feel comfortable and excited. Being able to create something, like a drawing, makes me very happy. I also enjoy drawing out my favorite characters from the shows I watch. The walls that are in my room are covered in the drawing that I’ve hung up. I see myself as being a great writer for The Firebird Times. I think I’ll be able to pump out creative stories and influence audiences. I think as I gets the gist of everything, I’ll show more and more of what I’m capable of and will be able to show more improvement.

My name is Brayden Summerlin. As a freshman writer for The Firebird Times, the leader of Polls, and all my life, I have frequently enjoyed the act of writing. It holds no limit or length over me since I am the one who expresses my ideas, not anybody else. Throughout my freshman year, the journalistic aspect of writing has branched out since I realized how significant it is to inform and communicate with my peers. I have always enjoyed bringing attention to relevant matters and writing about them. This additionally influences me to wonder about the world around me. On a personal level, I’m passionate about my curiosity. My interest in traveling is from being curious since I want to see other regions of the world. Furthermore, this relates to my personality. My hobbies are reading, writing, listening to music, and going to the gym. When I read, I am in an ambient setting since it makes me more inclined to put my phone down. On the surface, I seem to be an introverted person. The gap between myself and my older siblings allows me to talk more with my mom since they live independently. However, this enables me to socialize with my best friends. My friends and family (my cat included) are my favorite people since I always go to them for advice, comfort, entertainment, or just the fact that I gravitate towards them because of my shared interests. My friends have inspired my music taste and shown me pop culture that if I had never met them, I would have never known of such a thing. In addition, they have played a role in my collaboration. In the past, I preferred to work alone regardless of any suggestions. Now, I’m more open to being a team player, a contributor, or someone to gives good feedback on anything. This deeply inspires my commitment to deliver the best result when possible, especially in a written setting. To conclude, I am someone who will express what’s on my mind, have fun with my family, read a book in the afternoon, and embrace my interest of writing.