The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
Tristen Diaz

Tristen Diaz, staff reporter

Tristen Diaz is a sophomore and first-year staffer on The Shield. In her free time, she loves to play soccer, travel  and hang out with friends. This year on The Shield, she is excited to bring a fresh perspective and a passion for journalism to the team. Alongside her interest in journalism, Diaz is also interested in pursuing a career as a chemical engineer and playing college soccer.

All content by Tristen Diaz
READY FOR THE CHALLENGE: Junior defensive end Nehemiah Trejo reflects on the varsity football team’s intense game against Anderson. “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. 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 second quarter that we weren’t giving up and fought hard throughout,” Trejo said. Caption by Tristen Diaz.

Old rivalry creates crowd fun at 2024 Taco Shack

Chloe Lewcock, Fletcher Vandegrift, Tristen Diaz, Carson Duncan, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Beatrix Lozach, Josie Mullan, Mira Patel, Lillian Gray, Daniela Di-Capua, Camilla Vandegrift, Maya Tackett, and Shila Gill
September 3, 2024
On Wednesday May 22—his last official day as a high school student—senior Ohad Klein celebrated his signing day, officially committing to Trinity University, where he will play college soccer. “I’m very happy,” Klein said. “I have worked really hard to get to the next level, and I’m really glad it’s with Trinity.” At Trinity, Klein intends to prioritize his academics while enjoying playing soccer with his new teammates. “The team is really strong,” he said, “and I’m really happy to be a part of it.” His coach, Nick Martin, said that Klein’s approach to the game is a big reason he has secured an opportunity to play at the next level. “Ohad has always been very dedicated to improving his game,” Martin said. “He’s always asked how he can improve and takes the answers well and works to improve in every aspect.” Martin added that Klein brings that same attitude to the classroom. “Ohad is serious about what he does,” Martin said. “He always wants to be the best.” He added that Klein’s success was a big moment, not just to Klein, but for the entire boys soccer program. “When you’re a coach, you become so attached to your players and want to see them succeed at the best level possible,” he said. “Any time you have the opportunity to see someone go to the next level, it’s just like icing on the cake.” Caption by Tristen Diaz.

[Photo] Senior sports stars sign off

Priya Thoppil, staff reporter
June 29, 2024
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.

[Photo] Students enjoy an ‘enchanted’ night at prom

JoJo Barnard, Naomi Di-Capua, Gaby Esquivel, Shila Gill, August Gleason, Eliza Jensen, Chloe Lewcock, Josie Mullan, Alice Scott, and Priya Thoppil
April 23, 2024
Let the record show that senior forward Cash Kershner squared off against Anderson senior Campbell Duncan for the opening tip of the first ever Taco Shack Shields Collide basketball showdown.

Shorthanded Knights top Trojans to claim inaugural Taco Shack Shields Collide title

Tristen Diaz, staff reporter
November 23, 2023
WHERE STORIES COME TO LIFE: For the new cinematic arts teacher, Ben Slamka, teaching has been his dream for over a decade. When Slamka saw the posting for this job he was immediately drawn in. “McCallum’s reputation piqued my interest,” Slamka said. Slamka graduated with a MFA in film production from the University of Texas. Before becoming a teacher, Slamka had many different job roles in the film industry. He worked a summer film camp at Austin’s Film Festival, which is where he was exposed to students that attended McCallum. He also worked with ESPN, where he built cameras and ran cables. Slamka will infuse more storytelling into the curriculum. He also will incorporate hands-on learning in order to help enhance this program. “If you don’t use the equipment then you’re not going to get anything out of it,” Slamka said. In the future Slamka hopes to display his project that he has envisioned for a while. He is working on a creature film entitled Hyde Park Variant. Even through the difficulties of working in education, Slamka finds enjoyment in teaching. “I am here to stay,” Slamka said. “I want to see some storytellers.” Caption by Chloe Seckar-Martinez.

WHERE STORIES COME TO LIFE: For the new Cinematic Arts teacher, Ben Slamka, teaching has been his dream for over a decade. When Slamka saw the posting for this job he was immediately drawn in. “McCallum’s reputation piqued my interest,” Slamka said. Slamka graduated with a MFA in film production from the University of Texas. Before becoming a teacher, Slamka had many different job roles in the film industry. He worked a summer film camp at Austin’s Film Festival, which is where he was exposed to students that attended McCallum. He also worked with ESPN, where he built cameras and ran cables. Slamka will infuse more storytelling into the curriculum. He also will incorporate hands-on learning in order to help enhance this program. “If you don’t use the equipment then you're not going to get anything out of it,” Slamka said. In the future Slamka hopes to display his project that he has envisioned for a while. He is working on a creature film entitled Hyde Park Variant. Even through the difficulties of working in education, Slamka finds enjoyment in teaching. “I am here to stay,” Slamka said. “I want to see some storytellers.” Caption by Chloe Seckar-Martinez.

[Photo] Even the faculty has a freshman class

JoJo Barnard, Violeta Dimova, Zane Joly, Josie Mullan, Chloe Seckar-Martinez, Maya Tackett, Chloe Lewcock, and Mira Patel
September 5, 2023
TAKING CHARGE: Senior Miles McCollum leads the Knights onto the same field where he suffered a season-ending injury a year ago. Although he and his teammates were unable to turn the final score the Knights' way, McCollum made an impact on the game, often drawing multiple Lehman blockers when he lined up on defense.

MacJ’s ATPI Top Program thematic portfolio wins … nada, but we thought you might like to see pictures, read captions anyway

Evie Barnard, JoJo Barnard, Isley Cameron, Julia Copas, Tristen Diaz, Jolie Gabriel, Lillian Gray, Gergő Major, Charlie Partheymuller, Alice Scott, and Francie Wilhelm
June 6, 2023
LOVE AND JOY: As she dances in her beautiful dress, sophomore Amy Love reflects on the joy it brings to see her father so happy during the McCallum Quinceañera. "I think that this event was really beautiful and fun to experience especially for my dad, seeing him so happy and having my family experience this," Love said. "My family isn’t big on doing huge celebrations so me and my sister weren’t able to have a quinceañera, but we loved being able to share this day with all the other quinceañeras and their families." Despite the stress of daily meetings and practices leading up to the event, Love found it all worth it for the fun and memories made on the quinceañera day. "It was really stressful doing the whole entire meetings and practice because it was every single day, but whenever it was the actual day of it, it was actually really fun," Love said. Overall, Love found the quinceañera event to be a very meaningful experience, which could not have happened without the hard work of Spanish teacher Juana Gun. "I want to give a huge thank you to Ms. Gun for making it all possible and being such a sweet person to all of us," Love said. Caption by Gergő Major.

McCallum Quinceañera celebrates comeback

Kate Boyle, Tristen Diaz, Chloe Lewcock, Gergő Major, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Priya Thoppil, Camilla Vandegrift, Grace Vitale, Francie Wilhelm, and Dave Winter
April 11, 2023

PALS pie the Maculty at Pink Week pep rally

Tristen Diaz, Lily Hobbs, Gergo Major, and Charlie Partheymuller
October 2, 2022
Ceiling panels bloat and sink, forming brown rings due to water damage in room 113 as Ashley Friedman teaches her AP World History class during sixth period on Tuesday.

[Photo] Torrential rain leads to costly ruin

Ingrid Smith and Francie Wilhelm
August 29, 2022
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