Biographies of the 12 participants in the Urban Journalism Workshop
‹ Raina Gaytan Story: Family's fencing tradition keeps sisters sharp, teaches them dedication, values  Most high school students are considered accomplished if they conquer two languages in high school. But Mia Victoria Cortez, 18, has mastered not two, but three languages. When she entered high school, the 2006 graduate of Taft High School was fluent in both English and Spanish because of her family heritage. Although Cortez's family does not have pure Hispanic ancestry, the language has been carried throughout the generations. Faced with the choice of Spanish, French, Latin or German as a foreign language, Cortez did not choose Spanish, although she could have completed the course with little difficulty, she said. Instead, Cortez chose German and continued studying the language throughout high school. "I like learning new things," she said. "It makes you more open-minded." Cortez said she wants to visit Germany, including the cities of Berlin and Munich. Working for her school newspaper, the Raider Review, for three years in high school, Cortez said she has come to love photography because it can provoke emotion. To Cortez, photography is a language in itself. "I can be as effective with a camera as some people are with a pen and a pencil," she said. ‹ Gretchen Mahan Story: Club sports help sharpen athletic skills for volleyball players  The thought of acting never crossed Cody Cruz's mind when he entered Edison High School, but a little pressure from a close friend during his freshman year is all it took to find his passion for theater.Now, the 14-year-old sophomore is happy to be a part of his school's theater productions. "Acting has given me the opportunity to be someone else on stage other than who I really am," Cruz said. Cruz said auditioning and making the cast for the first production of the year, "Blood Wedding," has benefited him in many ways. For example, comedy productions allow him to act while making people laugh. "I built a love for theater and made many friends while acting," Cruz said. Cruz said he likes taking roles that allow his character to joke and be someone everyone supports and laughs with. Working on his high school newspaper, Bear Tracks, and acting may have nothing in common, but they are both important to Cruz. "I finish my stories before deadline in class, and theater is after school at 6, so they don't interfere with each other," Cruz said. Cruz will serve as the editor-in-chief of his newspaper, a position he was appointed to after serving as the assistant editor his freshman year. ‹ Sam Garcia Story: Teen Jehovah's Witnesses share beliefs  Leezia Dhalla is a Canadian-born Muslim with an African heritage who speaks three languages and is working on a fourth.Other than English, Dhalla speaks Hindi, the most common language in India, and Kutchi, which is spoken in a small village in India. She's trying to learn Spanish. "Ever sice I was little, my parents spoke Kutchi around me, so it was my mother-tongue. It wasn't until I was 4 or 5 that I learned English," Dhalla said. Dhalla's family moved to San Antonio from Canada when she was 7. Her parents are from Tanzania, in eastern Africa. In 2005, Dhalla was the recipient of the gold Presidential Service Award for her humanitarian efforts, recognizing more than 250 community service hours. Dhalla, who is 16 and attends Reagan High School, is now taking on a new project. She is raising money for a friend with leukemia. Since Dhalla's family owns a convenience store, she put up a donation box along with a picture and a summary of the situation. Dhalla has raised about $5,000 toward the cost of a bone marrow transplant. "I feel like I am really helping and making a difference in my friend's life," Dhalla said. Dhalla volunteers at the Reagan High School Public Library, the Little Rattler Cooking School as a counselor, at her church and at the food bank. ‹ Jaime Rodriguez Story: MySpace not yours while on campus  Combining a love of Germany and her passion for music, Yvonne Freckmann, 17, has directed a German choir of children ages 3-6 for four years, spending her Tuesday nights directing the choir at the San Antonio Beethoven Halle und Garten, where the children sing in German.Freckmann is fluent in German because she was raised in Braunschweig, Germany. "It was the perfect childhood," she said. One of the things she loved about Germany is that the school day ended at about noon. "School is too long here. I feel like we waste a lot of time." Also, the schools do not have substitute teachers; class is simply canceled, she said. The 2006 graduate of North East School of the Arts was an instrumental music major and participated in orchestra, marching band, choir and theater. In true European spirit, she and her family have been watching the World Cup soccer competition religiously. Her grandparents and some other family members still live in Germany, and Freckmann and her family plan to visit in July to celebrate her grandparents' 50th anniversary. Freckmann said her childhood in Germany has had a great impact on her life. "It changed my perspective because I lived on another continent," she said. ‹ Layne Zolninger Story: Keep them caffeinated?  This fall, 17-year-old senior Sam Garcia will perform in front of the crowd at Warren High School's Friday night varsity football games. Filling a position nobody else would, he will run, jump and dance as the crowd cheers him on. When the game ends, Garcia will take off his uniform and head for home, waiting for the next Friday when he will once again perform as Winky the Warrior, the school's mascot. Garcia plays the reluctant hero as the school mascot while doing what he enjoys most ‹ making people laugh. "The cheerleading director asked me to try out for the role, and I figured that this would be a great way for me to make people laugh," Garcia said. Garcia spent four days at Southern Methodist University in Dallas at a mascot camp that made him six hours late for the Urban Journalism Workshop. "I hated that I was late for the workshop, but I did learn a lot from the camp, like how to act as a mascot and how to get the crowd on your side." To adjust to the heat of the costumes, the campers had to play soccer and rock-climb in costume. Garcia has found a plus to being the mascot. "I love feeling silly, and if one person is laughing, I'm happy," he said. ‹ Cody Cruz Story: Hookah  A typical high school student may wake up to catch the school bus and wait for the bell to ring for class, but Raina Gaytan is not a typical high school student.Gaytan's normal day consists of waking up, getting dressed and going downstairs to do her two to three hours of school work per day. Gaytan, 17, is a home-schooled student on San Antonio's Northwest Side. The youngest in her family and raised here her whole life, she decided to become a home-schooled student. "My brother wanted to be home-schooled," Gaytan said, because her brother didn't like school growing up. "So as a result, I felt that I should've been home-schooled, too." So, just like her older brother, Luis, Gaytan was home-schooled by the age of 8. "It was exciting; I have no regrets," Gaytan said, beaming with pride. "I believe if I had attended a school, I would've been easily susceptible to bad influences," Gaytan said. After one more year of home-schooling, Gaytan plans to attend San Antonio College to prepare to teach elementary school or deaf education. "I want to be a teacher because I want to contribute to the school system to make it better," Gaytan said. ‹ Torrie Bethany Story: Web puts family relationships on highwire  Participating in mission trips in the seventh and eighth grade gave Gretchen Mahan a fresh perspective on the world.The San Antonio Christian School High junior collected shoes and blankets, and made lunches to give to children in an orphanage in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. During the mission trips, Mahan also passed out toys and school supplies and played with children. "It opened my eyes to the extreme poverty in the world and showed me how blessed I am," she said. Mahan was home-schooled until the fifth grade. She has never attended a public school and wonders what public school would be like. "I would like to meet different kinds of people, but I love how everyone in my graduating class of about 80 students practically all know each other," Mahan said. A strong Christian faith has remained constant in her life since she was baptized when she was 6 years old at Oak Hills Church. Even though her school does not normally teach about controversial issues, she still finds it necessary to be informed. "I think too many Christians ignore what goes on in the world," Mahan said. "They need to be knowledgeable so they can explain themselves." ‹ Mia Victoria Cortez Story: 'Study drug' Adderall creating a buzz in schools  Jaime Rodriguez's interest in other cultures was demonstrated in middle school when he participated in an activity to write monthly letters to a 13-year-old pen pal named Pierre in Troyes, France."It was interesting to interact with another person my age from around the world who had different interests in music and clothing than most Americans I know," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez has learned to appreciate the uniqueness of other cultures through his Mexican-American heritage. As the grandson of Mexican immigrants, Rodriguez visits distant relatives in Mexico once every few years. In February, the 16-year-old International School of the Americas junior visited Zacatecas, Mexico, with his high school sophomore class to learn more about the Hispanic culture and his Roman Catholic religion. "Being a devout Catholic has taught me to accept others, no matter where they come from or what languages they speak," Rodriguez said. Along with meeting people of different faiths, Rodriguez enjoys traveling. "I hope to visit Ireland one day," Rodriguez said. "It seems to be so peaceful and a great country to learn more about Catholicism while meeting people of a different culture." ‹ Leezia Dhalla Story: Community service may be ticket to college  Jeanette Scarsdale recently gained attention around school when her MySpace profile was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. A guest on the show was revealing how easy it is to access someone's personal information through the Internet, particularly on MySpace. So when he typed in "15-year-old female from Texas," Scarsdale's profile came up. "I didn't even see the show, but people started calling my dad telling him how they saw me on television," she said. Scarsdale has never been away from home before, so attending the Urban Journalism Workshop has been a learning experience. "I cried when I left home to come here," Scarsdale said, joking about leaving her family to attend the workshop. Her best friends are her younger sister and Emily Sprout, her friend since the third grade. Sprout and Scarsdale became friends in a very odd way. "On the first day of third grade I asked the first person I sat by to be my best friend. She said 'yes' and we have been friends ever since," Scarsdale said, smiling. Scarsdale attends Health Careers High School, and writes for the school newspaper, The Voice. Even though she wants to pursue a degree in journalism first, she wants to go to medical school to become an oncologist. ‹ Lindsey York Story: The long road home  Locking herself out of her dorm on the first day of the workshop was just the first sign of Lindsey York's knack for having embarrassing things continually happen to her. The 18-year-old graduate of Warren High School has had the "privilege" of unknowingly pulling off a man's prosthetic leg at a bus stop, catching the oven on fire after leaving pizza boxes inside and opening the door of a moving car to throw up Mexican food. York will be entering San Antonio College in the fall to begin focusing on journalism, after participating as a staff writer on her school's publication, The Chariot. "I can't sing, dance or play video games," York said. However, she is able to write, placing second in a University Interscholastic League competition for newswriting. Although participating in the workshop has been a fun, new experience for her, York has missed her younger sister, Allison, who has played the role of "best friend" and "prom date." Listening to music, attempting but never finishing books and playing poker are just a few of the ways York spends her time. ‹ Jeanette Scarsdale Story: All about activism  Her eyes light up and affection colors her voice when she speaks of children. Layne Zolninger, 17, a senior at San Antonio Christian High School, recalls church mission trips she has taken. "I love little kids," Zolninger said. "If you sit down and show them a little attention, they fall in love with you." The trips with youth groups from Wayside Chapel, which she has attended since the fourth grade, have helped her nurture needy and neglected children. Her summer trips to Jamaica and Mexico also have acquainted her with poverty. Most of these children, such as the children at a Jamaican orphanage, have lives much more tumultuous than her own. Most of the orphans, who greatly outnumbered their caretakers, were dropped off because their parents did not want or could not adequately care for them, she said. "We don't really understand what poverty is," Zolninger said. "I am trying to get a better worldview." While working with inner city children in San Antonio, she noticed how much better off American children were compared to those of other countries. But essentially, the children are the same, needing playmates and caretakers. Whatever their circumstances, the children are willing to love, she said. "Once they get used to you, kids can be friends with anyone," Zolninger said. ‹ Yvonne Freckmann Story: 'Helicopter parents' lead to spoiled, unhappy children |
Torrie Bethany, 18, a 2006 graduate of Brackenridge High School, looks up to her mother, a single parent with multiple sclerosis.