Macjournalism, 5600 Sunshine Drive, Austin, TX (2025)

07/01/2025

Mr. Winter here. We don’t usually use first person or direct address in our posts to this account, but I asked senior Sofia Saucedo, the Shield’s rising social media managing editor, if I could make a post to say goodbye since I retired from teaching at the end of the school year. She graciously said that I could.

Before I post to this account for the last time, I just wanted to thank everyone for making MacJ a part of your day and a part of your McCallum experience. Helping to run this account and watching student journalists build this platform over the last 10 years has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my career.

So much so that it’s been hard to let it go, but it’s time for me to say farewell. Thank you again for following and supporting the work of this program.

DW

07/01/2025

We did not want to say goodbye to June without sharing these exclusive images of this month’s 27th annual Central Texas Juneteenth Parade organized by the Greater East Austin Youth Association. The parade featured dancers, floats, marching bands and more and coursed down Chicon Street ending at noon and kicking off a festival in Rosewood Park.

Hundreds gathered for the event, which commemorates the day that enslaved people in Galveston first learned of their freedom on June 19, 1865. Nearly 100 groups participated, and the crowd was festive. One organizer of the parade, Shanisha Johnson, told KVUE reporter Brianna Perez that the success of the 2025 parade came despite some financial hardship due to a decrease in sponsorship that she attributed to the recent government move away from support of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Johnson said that the success of the parade demonstrates the historic resilience of the African-American population.

Photos by Lucas Walker.

06/29/2025

The U.S. women’s pair of Olympians Kate Knifton, McCallum Class of 2018, and Teal Cohen finished fifth in a close finals race today at the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. They were narrowly edged by Croatia for fourth by just 0.12 seconds. Romania secured another gold in this event. The U.S. duo advanced to the final after finishing third in a Saturday semifinal where just 1.43 seconds separated the top four crews.

Knifton and Cohen advanced to the semis after delivering a standout performance in their preliminary heat on Friday, where they won in a time of 7:14.33. After a tight opening 1,000 meters, they pulled away from Great Britain with a dominant third 500.

The finals result at the Lucerne World Cup comes after Knifton and the U.S. team shone at World Cup Varese, Italy, where Knifton and her teammates earned gold in the women’s four and silver in the women’s eight.

There were two American boats in the women’s four final in Varese, but the crew of Knifton, Cohen, Camille VanderMeer and Azja Czajkowski delivered the win. Locked in a tight battle with Australia through the opening half, the Americans surged in the third 500 meters to take control, eventually pulling away to win by over two seconds in 6:21.50.

In the women’s eight, Knifton and her teammates took silver in a tough battle with the British. The British eight jumped out early, but the U.S. team found its rhythm in the third 500 meters, pulling away from Australia and closing in on the leaders. Despite a powerful sprint in the final stretch, the Americans ran out of water, finishing second in 6:03.50—just 2.06 seconds behind Great Britain.

–story compiled and photo accessed from the website

06/29/2025

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: McCallum High School is looking to fill two English positions.

Here is the job posting information from the school:

“Join a campus with a long-standing tradition of excellence and a vibrant, diverse community that feels like home. At McCallum, we’re proud that people build their careers—and retire—here.

“If you’re passionate about making a difference in students’ lives and want to be part of a supportive, collaborative team, McCallum High School is the place for you.

“ ⚔️💙”

06/28/2025

Class of 2025 graduate Conrad Bohls has chosen to attend Louisiana State University this fall.

“I chose LSU because I love Louisiana—the culture, the food—and the business school gave me a great scholarship,” Bohls said.

Bohls plans to major in accounting, a decision inspired by a class he took during high school.

“I chose accounting because I took a class with Mr. McLaughlin and really enjoyed it,” he said.

Looking ahead, Bohls is excited to apply what he’s learned in the future.

“I’ll take all the creativity and leadership skills I learned from art class ,” he said.

When asked about his favorite memory from McCallum, Bohls did not hesitate in answering that it was his senior prom.

“The dance was electric and something I’ll never forget,” he said.

Caption by Hudson Hensley. Photo courtesy of Bohls.

06/27/2025

CHEMISTRY AND INDEPENDENCE: Crystal Patterson plans on majoring in chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. Patterson was inspired to pursue chemistry due to her parents, who were both chemists. Patterson’s ultimate goal is to become a doctor.

While Patterson was an auto-admit applicant, meaning she was able to automatically be accepted into the university, the culture of the campus drew her in as well. According to Patterson, the campus also provides comfort due to the fact that it is in her hometown.

“I’m excited to go to the football games, and I also just love that it’s my hometown,” Patterson said. “I grew up here, and my mom will be close by but not too close.”

Patterson was also accepted into the Freshman Research Institute at UT, which means getting to research certain topics and perform experiments with the aid of professors. Patterson is excited for this opportunity.

Patterson will miss her friends at McCallum who have not yet graduated; however, Patterson is looking forward to also being able to make new friends and become more independent.

“I’m going to miss my friends, especially the ones who were younger than me,” Patterson said, “[but]I’m really forward to moving out and having the college experience and making new friends.”

Caption by Riley Pita. Photo courtesy of Patterson.

06/26/2025

Ricky Austin will attend the Massachusetts College of Art and Design this fall. They applied to three colleges: University of Vermont, Rhode Island School of Design, and MassArt, and chose MassArt after being accepted this spring.

“I chose it mostly because they were really nice in emails that they sent me, and they were really supportive,” Austin said.

They said the application process was stressful.

“It was really hard for me to even apply to a college,” Austin said. “I narrowed it down to seven schools, and then I only ended up applying at three because I was so stressed about it.”

Austin visited the University of Vermont before applying.

“I really liked it there, and then I got feedback from them and was like, ‘This is not the right place for me.’”

They visited Boston once and said, “I really loved it.”

They look forward to exploring the city.

“I’m excited about going to Boston,” they said. “I love the New England Aquarium, it’s one of my favorite places. I’m also excited just to explore, and I’m going to be right next to a UNIQLO.”

At McCallum, Austin was a visual arts major and said the program was meaningful to them because of the support and creative freedom.

“It was special because of all of the support that we got as visual arts majors from the teachers and how much freedom they gave us to do what we wanted to do and basically see our vision through,” they said.

Austin took multiple art classes at McCallum: Drawing 1, 2 and 3; Painting 1, 2 and 3; Sculpture 1; and AP Art. Their favorite class was Drawing 3 with Ms. Massey.

“I’ve known her for eight years,” Austin said. “She taught at the middle school I went to.”

They also named Ms. Burnham as a major support system.

Outside of visual arts, Austin studied Japanese and said they would miss “Bond Sensei and her funny quips.”

They also recommended the OnRamps English class for future juniors and seniors.

“My OnRamps English class definitely helped me with being able to research.”

Austin said their favorite part of senior year was “all the freedom I got with being a senior,” including more freedom in both academic and art courses.

Caption continues in comments.

06/24/2025

Class of 2025 graduate Josie Mullan will be majoring in psychology, and possibly international relations and history, at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. Mullan ultimately chose St. Andrews because of its flexibility and also its sense of community.

“I ultimately picked St. Andrews because it has a system really similar to the U.S., which is it’s like a flexible kind of liberal arts, more degree where you get to study a bunch of subjects, which really interests me, because I just think I want to learn more about the world in general and not specialize so early,” Mullan said. “And I also just feel like there’s a really good, tight-knit community there because it’s smaller and it’s like a small town, so you run into everyone all the time. And I also just really, really want to be by the beach. The beach is beautiful. And I just think it’ll be really nice to be in nature.”

Mullan knew that going abroad for college was what she wanted to do when she didn’t feel excited about any she toured in the U.S.

“I feel like everyone else kind of had, like, a dream school, and they felt really connected to one school, or maybe a couple schools, and I just was not feeling super connected to any of them,” Mullan said. “And I just decided, like, this is the time to try something different. I’m not gonna have the time to do this again. I visited St. Andrews over the summer, and I really, really loved it.”

A teacher from middle school left a lasting impression on Mullan.

“I’ve only been at McCallum for two years, but I remember, this is way back, but my sixth grade teacher was probably my favorite teacher of all time,” Mullan said.

Caption continues in comments.

06/24/2025

Class of 2025 graduate Sonya Petersen will attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she will major in psychology. Petersen was drawn to UT for many reasons.

“I chose UT because I knew it was the highest level of education I could get without going into too much debt,” Petersen said. “While I was considering some out-of-state schools, UT’s academic programs and great reputation made it stand out as the best option.”

Petersen’s choice to major in psychology was to pursue an interest while also keeping her options open.

“I chose psychology because you can take that major in a lot of different directions, and it’s allowing me to keep my options open while pursuing a degree that interests me,” Petersen said.

Over her time at McCallum, Petersen has found joy in many places.

“I have loved doing yoga in Ms. O’Neil’s room during FIT, decorating the school for various events, Pink Week, lunches with friends and playing for the girls basketball team,” Petersen said.

Petersen is looking forward to this new chapter in her life, as she can explore a sense of freedom in life and opportunities.

“I’m looking forward to meeting so many new people, taking classes I never could in high school and having more freedom in all areas of my life,” Petersen said.

Petersen’s advice to incoming freshmen is to prioritize being open and kind.

“I would tell them [freshmen] to be open to everything and kind to everyone,” Petersen said.

Caption by Shila Gill. Photo courtesy of Petersen.

06/23/2025

Class of 2025 graduate Grace Schlegel will be attending UMass Amherst where she will be majoring in legal studies. Schlegel chose UMass because of its programs and a location with colder weather. The current state of the nation right now, influenced Schlegel in her choice to be a legal studies major.

“I decided to major in legal studies because I wanted to help people, especially with the way things are right now in our country and also because I’m interested in all the stuff they do,” Schlegel said.

Over Schlegel’s time in high school she enjoyed hanging out with friends, Taco Shack and spending time with her orchestra teachers.

“I would say Pringle and Elder were two major teachers during my time in high school because I spent a majority of my time with them all four years, and they really helped shape the person I am today through music,” Schlegel said.

In short, Schlegel’s advice to incoming freshmen is that time is precious.

“I would say try everything and do as much as you can while in high school because YOLO,” Schlegel said.

Caption by Shila Gill. Photo courtesy of Schlegel.

06/22/2025

Class of 2025 graduate Fin Kirsch will be attending the University of Montana in Missoula, where he will be majoring in environmental sciences.

Environmental sciences was so enticing for Kirsch because it wasn’t a typical job.

“I chose to major in environmental science because I want to pursue a career in the outdoors industry where I don’t work a 9-5 job in a cubicle,” Kirsch said.

Kirsch felt an instant connection with the University of Montana.

“After visiting the University of Montana in Missoula, I knew in my heart that it was a place I could thrive in,” Kirsch said.

Sports games and community service were highlights of Kirsch’s high school career.

“Some of my favorite high school memories are Taco Shack and going to cheer on the McCallum men’s basketball team this year,” Kirsch said. “I also really enjoyed the clubs that I was in and the community service that we did in Environmental Knights.”

Teacher James Hutcheson made a large impact on Kirsch throughout his high school career.

“One teacher who helped me tremendously throughout my time at Mac was Mr. Hutcheson,” Kirsch said.

Kirsch’s advice to incoming freshmen is to be open to trying new things and meeting new people.

“Be open to meeting as many people as possible and also take advantage of all the opportunities within clubs and extracurriculars,” Kirsch said.

Caption by Shila Gill. Photo courtesy of Kirsch.

06/19/2025

Mariana Silva plans to attend Texas State University after high school to major in business and accounting. Choosing Texas State was an easy decision since the school is close to home.

“I choose Texas State because it’s so close to home, and i really wanted to stay close to Austin and my family,” Silva said, “so I felt like that was the best option for me emotionally, and it was a beautiful campus.”

After being at McCallum for four years, Silva explained that her favorite memory was in November 2022 during the World Cup.

“In my digital media class sophomore year, that was when the World Cup was going on, and then everyone was like watching it while we did our assignments,” Silva said. “I remember I think it was a Mexico game, and they scored a goal. It was a really close game, and I remember everyone was screaming about it and being really loud. It was just super fun, and I love Mr Winter.”

As far as advice to the incoming freshmen, Silva says that you should go out of your comfort zone and take some risks, safely.

“My advice would be definitely to not be scared to step out of your comfort zone because I feel like thats a big part of being in high school,” Silva said. “Being able to find new things to do and new people to meet, especially in your freshman year.”

Caption by Piper Norfolk. Photo by Dave Winter.

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