By Justin Hsieh
Senior Charlyne Nguyen is here to express herself.
As a first-year staff member of Baron Banner and a passionate writer and artist, Nguyen is diving into her interests in journalism and animation during her final year at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS), and is excited to grow as a person and an artist.
“I’m interested in animation and possibly journalism in the future; that’s why I’m in [Baron Banner] this year,” Nguyen said. “I also took [the Animation class at FVHS] this year to learn more and get into depth with it, and I think it’s going pretty well.”
For Nguyen, the appeal of animation is in the creative freedom it affords artists.
“With movies, especially, I like the colors, and I like telling a story without having to worry about [technical limitations],” Nguyen said. “Because it’s animation, anything’s possible.”
Although professional animation, a career path which Nguyen thinks would be exciting for her, is often associated with film studios, like Disney and Pixar, she is also interested in a less well-known avenue for animators: medical illustration.
“I’m interested [in medical illustration] because I want to do something where I can feel like it’s meaningful,” Nguyen said. “Working for Disney or Pixar sounds pretty cool, and I know movies inspire people, but I want to help people in a way where they can stay healthy too.”
That urge to help others also informed Nguyen’s decision to join Baron Banner.
“I like the idea of being the voice for people and letting them know what’s going on,” Nguyen said. “Because I’m just like them; I don’t really know what’s going on sometimes. So I joined to force myself to know what’s going on.”
Given Nguyen’s desire to be an active contributor to her community through Baron Banner, especially as a staff writer, it’s unsurprising that one of her favorite parts of school is participating in discussions in her English classes.
“Even though I don’t really talk a lot in class, I like discussions,” Nguyen said. “It’s kind of hard for me to raise my hand, but I just force myself to do it and force myself to talk.”
When she’s not in school learning about animation, honing her skills as a writer or adding to literary discussions, Nguyen enjoys reading and watching TV shows. Her current favorites are Shannon Messenger’s “Keeper of the Lost Cities” and the all-time classic “Friends.”
“I can watch like any episode of ‘Friends,’ anytime,” Nguyen said. “I haven’t watched all the episodes, because there are too many, but I think it’s easy to catch on when you’re watching a random episode. And it’s just funny; it’s nice to watch when you’re not feeling great.”