The Inside Voice is an online platform students can use to explore the art of journalism and write about things they are interested in, or passionate about. They get a taste for researching, interviewing, and writing with freedom, before posting their projects on the internet for the world to see. On this page you can get to know these students a bit better through a fun personality Q&A.
James Eastman (he/him) – Faculty Advisor
James Eastman is a teacher at the Mendocino Community School, and New Media class leader. Surfing, reading, writing, foraging for mushrooms, and fishing are just a few interesting hobbies Eastman enjoys doing in his free time. His favorite ice cream flavor is not any one flavor, but ice cream mochi, the Americanized version of the Chinese bean paste and sweet rice dough dessert. If Eastman could be anywhere in the world, he would like to be on “a sick tropical island with like, waves for days, a white sand beach, and some bomb rainforest.” If he could see any one person in concert, Eastman would like to see Kanye West.
Alma Salyer (she/her) – Student Journalist
Alma Salyer, student of the New Media class and budding journalist, enjoys cooking, creating art, and working on her garden in her spare time. One of her favorite books is called Unholy Night, a historical fiction novel about the birth of Jesus Christ with “plot twists, dark humor, and people burning to death” to quote her directly. If she were to become a time traveler overnight she would travel to the 70s for the cool fashion, music, and worldly events, and her go-to snack is bagels with cream cheese, tomatoes, and capers. Finally, if she were to start a cult she would gather followers to worship mother nature and plants, kill everyone who didn’t care about the environment, and then start a new, healthier civilization.
Hadley Powers (she/her) – Student Journalist
When Hadley isn’t reading and writing, she likes to spend her free time creating art, and being outside. She enjoys reading any and all kinds of books, but is especially fond of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen. If she could travel anywhere in time, she would go to the last day of in-person school Mendocino had, so she could process the roll of film that has been sitting on her shelf for over a year due to the corona-plague. A strange, favorite snack that she’s been eating recently is yogurt and jam on toast, and if she were to start a cult, she would like to worship sweaters. The leader of this cult would automatically be the person who owned the most sweaters, and the goal of the cult would be to “spread the warmth and joy of sweaters around the globe, and we would drink cocoa and be very cozy and happy all the time” I imagine that the cult might be based somewhere very cold like alaska, or the north pole.
Jaren Hodder (he/him) – Student Journalist
Jaren Hodder — a dedicated explorer of the art of media– enjoys practicing music, acting, and playing with his VR headset in his spare time. His taste in books is pretty all over the place apparently, but one of his favorites is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Given the opportunity to travel anywhere in time, past or future, mr. Hodder would simply choose to travel upwards. He offered no other explanation for this answer except “I wouldn’t go forward or backwards, I would go upwards.” and when I asked what time period upwards was he said “that is up for you to interpret yourself.” By far the most mysterious, thought provoking answer to this question I think ive ever gotten. A strange food combo he enjoys is rice with mayonnaise and avocado(a monstrosity, I know) and if he were to start a cult he would bring back faith in the greek gods– but he wouldn’t force anyone to worship them, only if they wanted to. A consent based cult, if you will.
Mija Biggie (she/her) – Student Journalist
Mija spends her free time making music, participating in various plays and musicals, and playing legend of Zelda. Her preferred genre of literature is fantasy, and she particularly likes the Percy Jackson series. If she were given the opportunity to travel anywhere in time, she would decide to go 20 years into the future just to see what it was like– and she wouldn’t tell anyone that she went, she would keep her travels a secret. A strange but common snack ms. Biggie enjoys is popcorn with salad. Sometimes mixed together, sometimes separate, but always with each other. Buttered and salted? Perhaps, we shall never know. If she were to start and lead a cult, they would worship all rats, and the goal of the cult would be to eliminate all humans who disliked rats. She would set up a rat conversion therapy program to try and change these hater`s way of thinking and recruit them to the cult, however if they still didn’t like rats after they went through the therapy, they would be killed.
Savion Biggs (he/him) – Student Journalist
In his spare time, Savion can be found either making music, or listening to some bangin tunes. He likes reading nautical books, like Master and Commander— a story about naval life in the early 1800s, and given the opportunity to travel anywhere on the timeline of the universe, Savion wouldn’t travel anywhere. He would decide to stay right where he is, in the present moment. “ Of course there are a lot of problems, but at least I know I’m not going to die of dysentery.” he said in his interview. An uncommon snack mr. Biggs enjoys is microwaved potatoes, to be eaten like apples. If Savion were to start a cult, him and his followers would worship music and its connection to the spirit world, and their goal would be to achieve enlightenment. Their schedule would include meditating, dancing, playing music, and building a great campfire every night after sunset. They would learn and eventually teach how to not feel self-conscious and embarrassed of oneself, and they would become happier people in general.
Willow Jakovac (she/her) – Student Journalist
Ms. Jakovac, student of the New Media class and animal lover, fills her free time with creating art and walking her dog. She likes to read fiction of any kind, but particularly loves Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. If she were to accidentally stumble across a time machine one day, she would transport herself to the 80’s– the city of san francisco specifically– and she would go for the music and fashion style of the time. She enjoys eating toast with avocado on top, and in the event of her becoming a cult leader she would gather a following to worship all animals.They would fight for animal rights and, together, end animal abuse and cruelty.
Natalia Kawczak (she/her) – Student Journalist
Natalia Kawczak, a dedicated student of the MCHS New Media class, spends the time she earns for herself creating art, listening to music, and spending time with her friends. She doesn’t read much, but the books that do grab her attention always have something exciting happening in the first few pages, or else she loses interest. If she were gifted the ability to time travel, she’d have a hard time choosing between the 1800s, the 20s, the 50s, and the 60’s, just because they all look like super interesting times to live in. A snack she often enjoys is avocado with crackers, and if she were to create a cult it would have something to do with crystals, energies, and spiritual things.
Blanca Marie (she/her) – Student Journalist
Blanca likes using her free time to listen to music, read, and obsess over fictional characters. She’ll read almost any kind of book–as long as it’s fiction– but particularly enjoys fantasy and mystery/thriller novels. If she could travel anywhere in time, she would go to either the 1800s for a grand ball or to the 80s for a QUEEN concert, and she likes to eat a bagel with peanut butter and cream cheese as a snack. She wouldn’t create a cult, but instead, a coven. She would recruit all types of witches from all over the world and it would be a safe place for people who wanted to practice and learn the art of witchcraft. Men would be allowed, but the coven would be strictly run by women.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email James Eastman at jeastman@mendocinousd.org.