For this week’s Staff Pick of the Week, I’m happy to have interviewed my team member in The Anchor room, Fiona Smith ’27. Though we’ve known each other quite well from co-creating video content on The Anchor, I’d like to give the readers more insight into this freshman staff writer.
Fiona spent most of her Thanksgiving break bonding with her family. “We’ve played Phase Ten for two hours straight on Thanksgiving night,” Fiona said. “The good thing is I caught up from last place and eventually won the game.” She also volunteered for the first time for the Holiday Light Parade, it was an “amazing” experience for her and she plans to continue to participate in volunteering in the future.
Sleep Token is the artist that Fiona has been listening to recently. “They’re a rock and metal band,” Fiona explained. “The rhythms of their songs are like flows going through your body and I love that.” The music from bands like Postiljonen and Slowdive often feel like that for me too. Fiona has also been watching a lot of animated Disney movies, “for the sake of nostalgia.” When asked her favorite one, Fiona said, “Hercules. I think the film is really relatable, we all have that one sibling.” Though I’m more of a 21st century Disney person, it’s still wholesome to see that people could still derive joy and emotional values from the classics.
Having contributed almost ten articles and multimedia stories on the Anchor, Fiona and I eventually reflected on Fiona’s journalism journey. She pointed out her growth over her months on the Anchor staff. “To do interviews and interact with people in the room has helped me come out of my shell. Writing articles also made me a better writer in other English classes.” Fiona plans to make use of the Opinion section on The Anchor website to share more of her unique perspectives on things. Though she claimed that she still has difficulties composing some articles, or finding hot topics around school, I’m sure going forward she’ll be able to make progress.
Fiona was a delight to talk to. Her proactive and curious personality shine through her content, and I’m glad to see how The Anchor had helped Fiona grew as a writer and a person. I hope you’ve gotten to learn a different facet of her and be excited for more from Fiona.
