Picture this: We’re back at school post-pandemic. Students walk into the chilly halls of C-building, and after passing a few classrooms, spot two senior pictures. One picture has Maxine Martinez and the other says Alan Mathew. Who are these seniors and why are they hanging in the hallway? The answer is because they’re The CHAT Co-Editors in Chief. 

It may sound crazy to imagine a world back at school post-pandemic, but nevertheless, both Maxine and Alan are the Editors in Chief, and they’re here to stay. 

 Meet Alan Mathew

Alan Mathew was once a freshman in journalism 1, eager to make a splash at PPCHS. “I joined the journalism class in 9th grade because I didn’t really know what it was, and pottery seemed beyond me.” Little did Alan know what the future would hold for him. Every year, Mr. Fagen, the newspaper advisor, selects a few lucky freshmen in his journalism classes to make the journey to the newspaper class. Alan was a part of that fortunate few. “I didn’t know that  convoluted schedule change in the middle of my freshman year would bring me into the content class for the CHAT.” While the seniors did intimidate him, it wasn’t long before Alan was comfortable with everyone and became a member of the newspaper family. The next year, he made it his goal to pay it forward to his new classmates in the next class. 

   Becoming editor in chief has been really rewarding for Alan already. “Here I am teaching and leading an amazing group of writers and people. I wouldn’t have known I would’ve been Editor in Chief because I came in not even understanding how to be an editor.” Joining newspaper has given Alan an opportunity to grow through all of his high school years, and would change his freshman year schedule to newspaper again if he had the choice to start over. “Four years, and it’s been the most impactful thing I’ve engaged in throughout my high school career. All because pottery confused me. Imagine.” Mr. Fagen and newspaper have molded Alan into a better writer and person, and he’s grateful for all of his lessons learned, not only for newspaper topics, but life lessons.

Meet Maxine Martinez

Maxine Martinez has loved to write since she was a child, and thought joining journalism in 9th grade would bring her writing hobby to fruition. “At the time, journalism was the only elective I was really interested in, because I knew it involved writing and communications, which I liked.” For Maxine, these two topics were something of interest to her not only in high school, but also for college. Like her Co Editor in Chief, taking journalism her freshman year and then joining newspaper was a pivotal moment in her high school career. “Newspaper taught me life lessons, like how to become a better leader and communicator, but also lessons for the journalism industry, like how to be a better writer.” Maxine says these lessons and more have made the transition to becoming Editor in Chief much easier than she once thought. Once Maxine joined newspaper her sophomore year, she quickly became accustomed to it and rose through the ranks, becoming business manager a few months in. Her junior year, she was promoted up to Features Editor, where she began to learn more about brainstorming section themes and what it takes to run a section. “I think the nice thing about the class structure is that members have to start from the bottom and work their way up. From me experiencing being a staff writer, a business manager, and section editor, I know what the needs are for each position and am better suited to lead the class as a whole.” Maxine is not only excited to see what the future holds for The CHAT, but also perhaps reaching a point where she can see the class in person again.