Humans at FCS

By Madi Plesser 26' (Reporter)

Humans at FCS was a previous special issue in the FOCUS newspaper, capturing the mini-stories of the faces of our school, of which there are many. These photographs capture some of the personalities within the FCS community and offer small glimpses of the daily lives of those we do not encounter often.  Thank you to all who participated!

CJ Keller (teacher)

“Why do you do what you do?”

 “...Well…Because it started as a hobby then it became something I could do as my job. I’m very private. I’m a private person. Leave me alone. You’re invading my privacy.”

Ozzy (left, ‘29), James (second-most left, ‘29), Nolan (right of James, ‘29), Leon (middle, ‘29), Jasper (behind Ronald, ‘29), Ronald (second-most right, ‘29), Sahaj (right, ‘29)

“Why are you guys friends? Do you guys like FCS?”

Ronald: “Because all of these people are chill guys.”

Nolan: “Yeah, we’re all weird.”

Sahaj: “No we’re not!” 

Leon: “I donated my friendship to their cause.” 

Ozzy: “What was the other question? Oh, and I love FCS.”

Ryan Carter (left, ‘27), Brooke Dallas (right, ‘27)

“How did you guys become friends?”

Ryan Carter: “I was, like, lost. Then she helped me. I’m very thankful.” 

Brooke Dallas: “Yeah, I just came up to her randomly and said, ‘hi.’”

Aniyah Muse (‘26)

“What inspires you? Why?”

“Probably my hope for the future. I wanna make something of myself and be able to enjoy life to the fullest, and the possibility of going to college and trying new things gives me hope. And making lots of money. But you don’t necessarily have to add that part. Am I talking too fast?”

Fisher Haggerty (‘28)

“Who inspires you? Why?”

“My mom. She does all the things for me: she puts food on the table, she drives me where I need to go, and it's rewarding for her to watch me succeed.”

Noa Dankoff (‘27)

“Who’s your favorite celebrity?”

“Oh, that’s a very important question. It’s either Billie Eilish or Harry Styles. I fear it’s Harry Styles.” 

Jade Nichols (‘26)

“What motivates you? Why?”

“I would say turning my hard work into success for my future. I’d say I do that because I continue to work hard and stay focused and… yeah. Thank you.” 

Peter Hu (‘27)

“What makes you happy?”

“I enjoy a lot of things. I enjoy watching the maple leaves fall from the tree. I enjoy ketchup on the burgers, and I enjoy the breeze in my hair. I also enjoy the sense of unreal when I’m looking up at the stars, and then I realize how small human beings are. I feel really happy also when I hug somebody. When I hug the ones that I love. I feel happy being interviewed, that’s all.” 

Remy Teel (left, ‘29), Ali Ohanlon (middle, ‘29), Niko Humbert (right, ‘29)

“What makes you happiest about each other? Why would you say you guys are friends?”

Ali: “They're very funny.” 

Niko: “I didn't really have much of a choice.”

Remy: “They're very friendly. We went to the same school.”

“Oh, really? What school?”

Together: “TPS.”

“Remy, what do you do in your free time?”

Remy: “I play volleyball, and I watch TV, and I volunteer, actually, with the Philly Goat Project.”

“What’s that?”

“It's a non-profit organization, and they have goats, like real goats, and they do different events. The goats know sign language and stuff.” 

Ali: “How do you know they know sign language?”

Niko: “How do humans know they know English?”

“Ali, what makes you happiest?”

My family. My mom. And my dad and my brother. And volleyball. And my friends. And music. Listening to music.”

Kade Anderson (coach)

“What are you passionate about?” 

“Music. People dig it. It’s an act of creative expression that allows me to represent my true self. And people dig the guitar.”

Olivia Edsell (left, ‘29), Addy Geyelin (right, ‘29) 

“Addy, what inspires you?”

“The idea of not being able to live my dream life.”  

“How come?”

“It inspires me to be a good student, so I can get into a good college. Actually, maybe we should just scratch all that and say my single mother.”

“Olivia, what is your passion?”

“I love singing or being on stage, and I want to do something that helps people…so helping people.”

Mason Vail (‘29) 

“What are you doing right now?”

“Uh, I’m building a baseball bat because I want to try and use it. It’s made out of wood.” 

Jasper Holtman (‘29)

“What inspires you?” 

“I guess like the hope that I can make a meaningful difference.”

“How would you hope to make that difference?”

“By helping people and changing the way we think to be more accepting of others.”

Ava Edsell (left, ‘26), Señor Calvo (middle, teacher), Corey Sutton (right, ‘27)

“Señor Calvo, what is your passion?”

“My passion? Why would I tell you my passion? Uh, well, my passion is reading. Reading and hiking. You know reading…I'm very disappointed because I don't have as much time, but reading was always my dream. And writing. Was that a good response? Nice. Thank you.”

“Corey, what makes you happy?

“What makes me happy…I would say music makes me happy. It just brings me to a different place than where I am..physically, you know? It can mean so many different things to so many different people. It’s like no song means the same thing to the same two people. So yea.”