The Hatchet » Staff

Mazher Ahmed, The Hatchet Online

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:44:41 +0000

Mazher Ahmed was born on October 17, 1994. He is involved with three big clubs in Washington, which are Key Club, Interact, and Model U.N. in order to gain community service hours with his friends and impress colleges at the same time. In addition, he enjoys reading books, taking pictures with his Nikon D3100, and video games. He also plays Varsity Badminton for Washington High School. Although he doesn’t play basketball very often, Mazher spends time keeping up with the Lakers, his favorite basketball team. After high school, he plans on majoring in political science in order to become either a lawyer or a doctor. He decided to take journalism in order to improve his photography skills and get involved with the Hatchet. When he was young, his favorite snack was Gushers and his favorite color is green. As far as traveling goes, Mazher has been to Hong Kong, Singapore, India, London, Pakistan, and Canada.

Karen Arayata, The Hatchet

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:40:13 +0000

Karen Arayata is a confident senior who is incredibly excited to be in journalism. She was inspired to join journalism because of her love for writing and the urge to spread the truth in the school. Living in San Diego, Tracy, and Fremont and going to ten different schools, Karen has seen much of central California. She says that her
grandmother is her role model because she was able to persevere, “through cancer because she always, always, always put family and friends first but also kept her hobbies close.” Karen is trilingual! She speaks Spanish, English, and Tagalog. Passions play a large roll in Karen’s life. She has been in choir, singing alto, for seven years. Over these years of experience she has been in three different choirs, all a part of her church. One other interesting passion Karen contains is Tigger, the tiger from Winnie the Pooh. She likes the way he is always optimistic and takes challenges on. Karen has a bright outlook on life and she will surely do well as time goes on.

Yasmin Akbari, The Hatchet Online

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:35:54 +0000

Standing at 4’11” doesn’t daunt Yasmin Akbari. This first-degree black belt in taekwondo and New York native has plenty to stand for. After moving from New York, she spent three years north of the border in Toronto, Canada until moving to Fremont. Alongside her eight years of martial arts, she also practices gymnastics and has represented Washington’s track and field team in long jump, the 100 meter, and the 200 meter last season. Beyond athletics, Yasmin is also the secretary of Washington’s Muslim Student Association and a member of WHISPER, Baker’s Club, and the California Scholarship Federation. She joined The Hatchet staff to find another outlet to express her love of writing, and also to better integrate herself in school activities.

Nishita Battula, The Hatchet Online

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:30:51 +0000

Nishita Battula is president of the Speech and Debate club and a committed member of the Link Crew program. Her favorite subject in school is math because it’s something she can “grab on to”. After high school she hopes to attend college at either UC Davis or Northeastern University. School may seem like her first priority, however, she also enjoys activities outside of school such as shopping. She was born on June 16, 1994 with a unique personality and a love for the color pink. Her food choice usually depends on her mood, but she admits to the fact that Olive Garden is her favorite restaurant. Growing up, she enjoyed snacking on Cheetos and watching “Good Morning America” with her mother. It was actually Diane Sawyer who inspired her to take journalism. Other than Diane Sawyer, some of her role models include successful businessmen, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. She’s visited two countries, Singapore and India, but anticipates visiting many more.

Ninon Becquart, The Hatchet Online

adviser — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:25:38 +0000

Ninon Becquart is involved in tennis, track, Link Crew, and Hatchet-Online at Washington. Her favorite subject is AP Biology because she feels she truly learned in that class. Singing and dancing are the only two things she is not skilled at, however she wishes to better herself at them. Ninon enjoys food from many different countries, and when asked what her favorite restaraunt was, she gushes that her mother’s a great cook. So far she has visited France, Taiwan, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia. Next her sights are set on Africa! Ms. Becquart takes great pride in her family, culture, and school. When asked if she could change one thing about the world, she stated “I wish that people could be more sensitive towards others. The world would be amazing if we could learn to treat each other kindly, even on our bad days.”

Jenna Bettencourt, The Hatchet Online

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:20:07 +0000

Jenna Bettencourt is a senior at Washington High School. She participates in the school cheerleading team, and enjoys watching baseball. When she’s not working hard cheering, she is usually listening to music and working. Jenna is unique on so many levels; she can speak to cats as well as copy a cats meow perfectly. One talent Jenna wishes she could have is being a shape shifter. She loves to eat, especially sushi! Yellow is definitely her favorite color. Unfortunately she has never visited any counties before. However, after high school she plans on moving to North Carolina. She aspires to be a teacher some day, since it’s what she has always wanted to be. Jenna decided to be in journalism because she wanted to become more involved with the school, and has always been pretty jealous of the huskies who got the opportunity to do WHTV! Her biggest role model is her dad because he totally understands her and is the coolest person she knows. Gushers are definitely Jenna’s favorite childhood snack. History is her favorite subject in school because of her interest with things of the past and seeing how things have changed until now. Sophomore year Jenna was Ariel for a class skit which was one of her favorite memories. But she definitely is extremely excited for what senior year has in store for her, especially since senior ball is on the day of her birthday, June 2!

Jack Champion, The Hatchet Online

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:15:32 +0000

Jack Champion was born on November 13, 1993. He is the second of three children, all boys. As his name states, Jack is in fact a champion. Jack is the best at the three jumping events (long jump, triple jump, and high jump) at Washington High School. Jack spends most of his time practicing year-round for these events to improve his skills so that he can hopefully take his skills to the college level. After high school, Jack hopes to attend a four year college on a Track and Field scholarship, and someday coach Track at BYU (his first choice college). But sports are not all that Jack likes to do. He is also actively involved in Boy Scouts of America. Jack recently finished his Eagle Scout project, one of the last steps in attaining the highest rank in Boy Scouts, Eagle Scout. Jack has also traveled to many places around the world including: Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and El Salvador. Jack was first drawn to Journalism because he found school news interesting, and wanted to become more actively involved with it. He hopes that he’ll be able to help the students be more informed.

Jennifer Chang, The Hatchet

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:11:55 +0000

Jen Chang, a senior, has interests that range from penguins to her passion of working with little kids. She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and moved to the United States in the 3rd grade. French was her first language. She’s a self professed outgoing teenager who loves to hang out with her friends and loves her family. However, her interest in penguins distinguishes her from others. Many of her friends are aware of her interest in penguins. She has many stuffed penguins, of which many of her friends have given them to her as a gift. Whenever someone sees a penguin, they send a picture of it to her. She even got asked to Senior Ball with a penguin poster asking, “Will you waddle with me to Senior Ball?” Jen’s love for kids has helped her enjoy her job. She currently works at a music institute in the Mission area as a receptionist. Not only does she enjoy her job due to its simplicity, but also is often entertained when listening to kids sing during their music lessons. Jen is a very versatile person from not only working at a music institute, but has managed her time to do gymnastics for a year, work in leadership for the last three years, and even make time for her friends and family. “I hope journalism is as great experience as it was for my friends last year,” she said as her final remarks. She is excited for this upcoming year, and hopes to make the best of it.

Kenneth Chang, The Hatchet

adviser — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:10:09 +0000

Christina Chen, The Hatchet

Janel — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:05:49 +0000

Christina G. Chen is 17 years old and a senior this year at Washington High School. She was born in Colorado. She didn’t move to Fremont until she was one year old. For five years, Christina lived in China. There she attended a public Chinese school, and also an international school from first grade through fifth. After those five years, she moved back to Fremont and has lived here ever since. Christina love art and loves music. She also loves to read. She wants to be a writer and a graphic designer. She has a bad habit of procrastination, and she knows it. She wants to explore and travel to Europe, and especially London. Her favorite movies are Pride and Prejudice and all the Harry Potter movies. Her favorite Disney character is Ariel. She likes to collect different kinds of Coca-Cola bottles and cans, and she has a pretty big collection.