By Andrew Georgy
Senior Kevin Sears: cheerful, concise and hardworking were the attributes one could pull out from just a 15-minute interview. But really, anyone could be around him for less and still realize that he goes above and beyond, whether it’s being a social media manager for Baron Banner or through his day-to-day life at Fountain Valley High School.
When asked about why he puts so much effort into everything he does, Sears pointed toward his sixth-grade teacher as his inspiration.
“But looking back on it, it was very impactful for me when my 6th-grade teacher sat down the whole class, and he stood up to us and said what integrity is to the whole class,” Sears said. “And he said, ‘integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching’ … so what my teacher said really just stuck with me,”
Sears has been a part of Baron Banner for two years now, but for him, the most valuable experience has been his improvement in writing, his original reason for joining the class.
“I [wanted] to improve my writing. By junior year, I noticed that I wasn’t able to articulate myself very well, especially written and so I saw a new outlet to practice my speech or articulation. And so I joined Baron Banner,” Sears said.
As for his style of writing, Sears likes to switch it up a little bit every time he’s writing an article, whether he’s writing a feature article about a previous teacher, a news piece about the finances of Baron Banner, or an opinion on snapping frowns.
“Actually, at first I did news, but then I felt like the news writing kind of suppressed me because you have to maintain a certain tone. You have to cover all biases,” Sears said. “And I’m pretty biased sometimes. So sometimes I switch to lifestyle, and maybe I’ll switch to opinion.”
Sears’ day-to-day life revolves around his school and college applications, the latter being what he most loathes right now. Yet, he finds them crucial in the transitional process from high school to college and describes them a bit as therapeutic when he is asked about what he loves and hates the most.
“As a senior, I think it’s my responsibility to say college apps. I hate the process, but it’s kind of nice to be writing my essays,” Sears said. “It’s kind of therapeutic, so I do kind of love it, even though I’m probably not going to use any of those theopathic essays that I wrote because they aren’t good,”
Finally, when asked about his interests, Sears gave a multitude of answers. For starters, tennis is one of his beloved hobbies; he was previously on the team during his freshman and sophomore years. As for reading, he holds multiple favorite genres ranging from dystopian to nonfiction. But more recently, he went to a concert that changed his perspective on music.
“So last Saturday, I just went to a concert. Her name is Natalia Lafourcade. One of her famous songs is ‘Nunca S Sufficient.’ And I went and saw her in person at the Hollywood Bowl, and she was amazing. I love her,” Sears said.
In the future, Sears hopes to gain admission to Stanford University. But, for now, he focuses on enjoying his last year of high school and hanging out with his friends.