The Mix 2024: Meet the 2024 Scholars
Visuals Reporting Team
Flora Gomes is a rising senior at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. She has participated in Journalism/Yearbook as a social media manager and editor for the past two years. Aside from the world of pictorial graphics in Yearbook, she enjoys video editing, storytelling, and movie watching. In worlds outside of media and editing, Flora participates in the National Honors Society, is an IB and AP student, and works as a tutor for young kids. Her long-term interests lie in social media through marketing and PR – she uses curiosity as her guiding light to dissect consumer behavior, decipher trends, and unravel the intricacies of what makes a brand compelling.
Darren Powell is a rising senior at J.H. Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina. He has been writing for Rampant Lines for his third year and is currently a section leader for Opinion/Entertainment. He loves to write movie and album reviews and voice his opinion about politics or things going on in school. Besides writing for his school’s newspaper, Darren is a percussionist for his school’s band. He enjoys listening to music, playing video games, writing stories, playing the bass drum and writing beats for his drumline “Toxic Funk”. He looks forward to continuing journalism in college.
Melissa Nava Trejo is a rising senior at West Lincoln High School in Lincolnton, North Carolina. In her sophomore year of high school, she joined the journalism class, which kindled her love for journalism and graphic design. When she graduates, she hopes to go to a four-year college and major in graphic design with a minor in public relations. She was involved in the Battle of the Books Team, Interact Club, National Honors Society, and many more in high school. She loves music, movies, and TV shows in her free time.
Jessica Tobes is a rising senior at St. Thomas More Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her love for writing stemmed from a young age while watching Gilmore Girls, and now, she is going into her fourth year at her school’s newspaper as Editor-in-Chief. She is also involved in online literary publications like Cathartic Lit Magazine and BreakBread Magazine. Alongside journalism and writing, Jessica is a member of her school’s Creative Writers’ Club and will be Captain of the Cross Country team in her senior year. In her free time, she loves binging TV shows, rating films on Letterboxd, traveling with her family, and solving the New York Times’ daily Wordle. Jessica hopes to pursue political science and journalism in college, with a dream to promote equality and truth in media and law.
Payton Jamieson is a rising senior at Bakersfield Christian High School in Bakersfield, California. She is involved with several local charities, which include the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and the League of Dreams. Payton was LLS Student Visionary of the Year in 2023 and now helps mentor other student visionaries and teams. As an angel volunteer with League Of Dreams, she aids children with disabilities in sports such as baseball and gymnastics. Along with volunteering, Payton enjoys waterskiing, snowboarding, working out, playing pickleball with friends, and playing competitive soccer year-round. She is captain of her varsity soccer team, a member of the National Honors Society, California Scholarship Federation, ASB Commissioner of Communications, and president of the Good Clean Fun Club 2.0. Payton plans to attend a 4-year university and major in communications with a focus on sports media.
Reporting/Writing Team
Anika Arora is a rising senior at Hickory Ridge High School in Harrisburg, North Carolina. As an AP Capstone student, she has developed a strong foundation in research and critical thinking. Her focus on representing diversity can be seen through her activities as Executive Chair of the Harrisburg Youth Council, Youth Professional of the Global Students Leadership Program, and intern at local business Abhivyakti. In her free time, Anika loves to read, play tennis, and cross-stitch. Upon graduation, Anika hopes to attend a 4-year university to double major in business and public policy while minoring in media studies.
Grayson “Graysie” Casey is a rising senior at East Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is going into her second year of writing for the East Chapel Hill Observer, her high school’s newspaper, as co-editor-in-chief. When she isn’t writing, Graysie enjoys playing guitar, exploring new places with her friends, and fashion. She is also extremely passionate about equity in education and loves being involved in her school community. Graysie takes a keen interest in politics and law, as seen through her role as Mock Trial Club President, and hopes to study journalism and political science in college. Graysie’s career goals beyond college are ever-changing, though her desire to positively impact her community through her work is not.
Lila De Almeida is a rising senior at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She reads fiction novels and journals and travels in her free time. As an aspiring writer, she has served her school newspaper, the Raider Review, for three years, taking on the role of editor-in-chief as a senior. She also writes reviews for an online publication as her school’s lead Cappies critic, visiting plays and musicals of other South Florida high schools. In her AP Capstone program, she takes a special interest in proposing solutions to prominent social issues in the U.S. and abroad. In the future, Lila plans to study journalism and world languages in college, hopefully advancing to a career in writing and editing international news coverage.
Ava Drakeford is a rising senior at Hunter College High School in New York City, New York. She loves history and journalism and, as a result, has developed a love for research and investigation. She has her own column in her school newspaper, The Observer, where she reviews different albums. Ava will conduct an independent study on 90s music this upcoming year, focusing on iconic albums and how they’ve grown and shaped the music industry. She hopes to double major in journalism and education in college, with a minor in history and eventually wants to work as a writer or editor for Rolling Stone Magazine.
Beyza Guvenc is a rising senior at Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina. With a strong background in writing through the AP Capstone program and various writing endeavors, she is the rising Editor-in-Chief for her school newspaper, The Page. In addition to being a writer, she serves as the drum major for the nationally award-winning Cary High Band, the Director of Relations for tutoring non-profit Initiative Programs, the founder and president of her school’s branch of the Minds Matter Initiative, and the National Honors Society president for CHS. This coming year, she will also serve as the president of the CHS Muslim Student Association, protecting and amplifying the voices of a minority group in her school. Coming from a Turkish/Bosnian background, she enjoys learning about different cultures in her free time, in addition to crocheting and biking.
Sophie King is a rising senior at Athens Drive Magnet High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. She looks forward to becoming the Editor-in-chief of her school’s newspaper this year. Aside from journalism, she enjoys Environmental Science and is highly involved in Wake County’s world of sustainability, serving as the teen representative for Cary’s Environmental Advisory Board. She is also an intern at a local nonprofit, Toward Zero Waste. In addition, she works at a thrift store in her free time and enjoys playing the guitar and running her school’s civic engagement club.
Alan Shr is a rising senior at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina. He is entering his third year of writing for the Green Hope Falcon, working as the editor for the opinions and editorial section for the coming school year, and his interest in journalism was sparked by seeing influential works from other publications such as the New York Times and Dazed. He enjoys writing about various topics, from news to student life, especially editorial pieces. Throughout school, Alan explores his interests through his presidencies in the National English Honor Society and Psi Alpha Honor Society, along with activities such as HOSA, tutoring, and more. He hopes to attend UNC Chapel Hill for university and aspires to be a dermatologist, especially in providing essential care to underprivileged communities.