Tristen Diaz, multimedia specialist
Tristen Diaz, a junior and second-year staffer on The Shield, is taking on the role of multimedia specialist this year. She’s excited to contribute multimedia content, including videography and podcasts, to The Shield. Outside of journalism, Tristen enjoys playing soccer and spending time with friends. She hopes to pursue a career as a biomedical engineer or go into the medical field, while also aiming to play college soccer.
![READY FOR THE CHALLENGE: Junior defensive end Nehemiah Trejo listens intently to head coach Thomas Gammerdinger's instructions for the team's next offensive possession against Anderson. Trejo praised the coaching staff for its work leading up to game.
“Our coaches did an excellent job preparing us for this game,” Trejo said. “They spent a lot of time game planning and reviewing our strategies. We saw many of the things we expected, and we came into the game focused and ready to give it our all.”
Trejo praised Coach Gammerdinger for his role in adapting during the game.
“Coach G was great at addressing what was working for us, correcting mistakes and improving communication,” Trejo said. “He reminded us that our defense had the capability to hold them back and make crucial stops.”
As for the game’s outcome, Trejo noted it was an intense fight but did not come as a surprise.
“It went exactly as we anticipated,” Trejo said. “Anderson came out with a strong offense, and it turned into a shootout between who could score more and who could get the most stops. We showed in the third quarter that we weren’t giving up and fought hard throughout [the game].”
Caption by Tristen Diaz.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/53969271626_31e4eaaa3f_o-1200x800.jpg)
![A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: Teachers Cynthia Roberts, Amy Smith and Jessica Garcia check students into prom. Smith said being a chaperone instead of an event planner was very exciting as well as much calmer.
“There are a lot of details that go into planning prom and taking care of all of the finances like raising money and selling tickets,” Smith said.
Being a chaperone, Smith decided to go out on the dance floor with the students along with the other teachers at the registration desk.
“Ms Nix and I went out on the dance floor and danced with the kids for a little while, which was a lot of fun for us,” Smith said.
Going on the dance floor, Smith was reminded of the time she went to prom.
“We had live bands,” Smith said. “There was no such thing as a DJ when I was growing up.”
Despite the time difference between Smith's prom and Saturday's prom, 2024 seniors and seniors back in the day still had similar experiences.
Looking at all of the fun and energy around her, Smith thought that this night is a very important moment in any person's life.
“It [prom] is kind of a right of passage,” Smith said. “You get to go and see all of your friends, and it doesn’t have the stress of school. You get to let loose and have fun.”
With prom being the last big dance of students' high school career, Smith thinks it's very important.
“It [prom] is the beginning of the march toward graduation,” Smith said, “so it is a little bittersweet.”
Caption by August Gleason.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/53675317610_1f29602b51_o-1200x800.jpg)
