There are few people who can say they’ve had quite as much of an impact on The CHAT newspaper as Evan Omana. For two years, he served as the Digital Editor-in-Chief, and he’s won the most Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA) awards in Charter history. However, even more than he’s changed The CHAT, The CHAT has undoubtedly changed him.
Omana’s story began in his freshman year at PPCHS when he took the class Digital Art I with the teacher Jack Foreman, where he began to work with digital design, finding great success and also a love for the subject.
“I immediately fell in love with the class and made lots of art,” recalls Omana. “One day, before course cards came out, [Foreman] asked me if I had any interest in pursuing this more.”
Foreman would not only recruit Omana to the CHAT, but go on to grant him the position of Graphics Editor, making him the leader of a team of 8 in his sophomore year. Between his aptitude for graphic design and his skilled leadership, lots of eyes were on him, and it wouldn’t be long before he made CHAT history.
“Sophia Lopez, the Editor-in-Chief before me, pulled me out of class with Mr. Foreman and told me that she was impressed with how I did in graphics, and that she wanted me to lead the entire class,” Omana says. “I wouldn’t be where I am without Sophia Lopez and Mr. Foreman.”
Despite the fact that his talent landed him an Editor-in-Chief spot in his junior year, something that’s usually unheard of, Omana faced unique challenges due to his grade.
“My biggest challenge in The CHAT was my confidence in myself,” he remarks. “This especially affected me in my junior year when I first became Editor-in-Chief. I remember all throughout the year I was so scared of other peoples’ opinions, since I thought, ‘I’m a junior in a class full of seniors; they probably don’t like being told anything by a junior.’”
Despite his self-doubt towards the beginning of his time as Editor-in-Chief, both himself and others were able to see the talent he possessed and the hard work he put into making the newspaper a better organization.
“Just because you may be younger and maybe a little less experienced doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice. It just means you have to gain the respect to lead.”
Omana considers overcoming this hurdle his greatest success during his time in The CHAT. In fact, pushing past this challenge gave him the resolve to make The CHAT even more successful during his senior year. Given the fact that he had a second year as a leader to make things perfect, he wanted to push the newspaper even farther.
In his junior year, the paper didn’t win an All-Florida ranking or a Sunshine Standout at the Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA), which made Omana all the more dedicated to improving during the 2025-26 school year.
“Senior year started, and I felt more determined to win that Sunshine Standout at FSPA,” he recounts.
During that senior year, Omana saw his commitment to The CHAT pay off. Not only did the paper see great improvements in collaboration between the Digital and Content classes, but it finally reclaimed its status as an All-Florida publication. Even though the newspaper never won the Sunshine Standout that Omana had strived for, the community around him will still remember Omana’s hard work as the “best Editor-in-Chief ever”, as teacher Jack Foreman put it during the CHAT’s annual luncheon.
It wasn’t just the paper overall that saw incredible success, though. Omana individually won 8 All-Florida awards at FSPA, the most for one student in Charter history. In his final month at the school, he also claimed a third-place spot at the Sun Sentinel awards in photography.
The Editor-in-Chief believes his success is not only due to his hard work, but those he’s surrounded himself by. “I attribute my success to a couple people in my life. The first I want to say is my family, since they always teach me to have a voice for myself. They also taught me that I shouldn’t be discouraged by any setbacks because there’s always the possibility to make things right. I also want to attribute my success to Mr. Foreman; he taught me how to see things more creatively, he taught me to have more confidence in my voice, and he believed in me even before I believed in myself, which I thank him a million times for.”
Omana’s time at The CHAT, though, has come to a close.
“It definitely feels bittersweet that I’m leaving,” Omana comments. “I put so much hard work and dedication into this that at one point it felt like I was doing it for nothing. But that’s not true at all. I did it for the future of the newspaper. Me and the other editors built such a strong foundation for the future that we can hope the future editors can thrive off of. I’ll definitely miss interacting with everyone in the newspaper, having my silly moments, and watching everyone grow as people.”
As this chapter of his life closes, another opens, and Omana will make his way to FIU for college, where he will major in civil engineering, and aims to eventually go into law. There, he will do Model UN, mock trials, volunteering, and he’ll attempt to join a newspaper.
“I’ll definitely carry forward what I’ve learned, there’s no experience possible that can recreate those life lessons. Go Panthers!”
Omana leaves behind just one last message for those in The CHAT in the coming years: “Every one of you has a voice and has a place to be, you just need to find it. My place was newspaper and my voice was found deep in the photos and graphics and videos and social media. You all have so much potential for greatness, don’t waste it!”
