Elena Ulack, staff reporter
(she/her)
It’s sophomore Elena Ulack’s first year as a part of the Shield staff! She’s delighted to be given the opportunity to work with MacJ. In middle school, Ulack worked as part of the yearbook team and as an editor for the poetry magazine to diversify her writing skills. Although doesn’t remember where her love for writing came from, she has been enjoying creative writing for as long as she can remember. In her free time, Ulack finds joy in making collages and earrings, painting, reading, watching movies/shows that make her cry, and getting overly invested in analyzing people’s personalities.
![SINGING FOR SCROOGE: To preface the choir concert, a group of choir members sang Christmas carols in a “Dickens-esque” fashion. Senior chamber choralist, Evelyn Griffin (second from the left), told Macjournalsim that the group stuck to classic Christmas songs. “[We sang] We Wish You a Merry Christmas, some Latin thing, Silent Night, that kind of thing,” Griffin said. “My wardrobe situation was a bit stressful, but I enjoy singing with tenors and basses.” Caption by Lucy Marco.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/dsc00040_51737185954_o-900x600.jpg)
![Sophomore Gabi Alfarache (left) mid-bout. Having a good coach is important to success, and Alfrache has just that. Coming from Yale University to central Texas, Michael Kim became another father figure for Alfarache, “My ultimate role model is my coach [Kim]. He came from Korea to the United States when he was a teenager, and didn’t start fencing until college. He’s coached world champions, olympians, and even left his coaching position at Yale University to come coach in Texas. I really do think of him as my second father.”](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/586587E8-F4BE-4135-9BAA-0FD8F0205275-1-e1638232353826-900x550.jpeg)
