A sporting chance: McCluney has stepped up to plate as sports editor
Fine Arts Student of the Week
Brainerd High School senior Ally McCluney can't imagine not being the sports editor for the Fifth Street Journal, the school's newspaper.
McCluney, who was named Fine Arts Student of the Week, enjoys the challenge of the position. The newspaper adviser said McCluney has brought creativity to laying out the sports pages and she puts in a lot of time after school, despite her busy schedule.
This is McCluney's first year in the class. She decided to take the class because she thought it would be fun and she wanted to improve her writing skills.
When deciding what position to take on the Fifth Street Journal staff, McCluney wanted to be the sports editor because she is a cheerleader and loves sports. She said she understands the scheduling of events, which is helpful as sports editor.
McCluney is in charge of which sporting events students cover. She then edits the stories, lays out the two sport pages and writes headlines and photo captions.
"I knew it (the position) would have a lot of responsibilities," she said. "I like the challenge and I work harder for it."
McCluney said students try to cover two different sporting events per issue and write four or five stories. Fifth Street Journal is published every three weeks.
"We try to go to the big seasonal games, like sections," McCluney said, "and to sports we haven't done this year."
McCluney also writes stories on sporting events and daily school news. Two stories she wrote this year that she's most proud of were on the wresting team and on the Fifth Street Journal class. She said the wrestling story was about the team's overall season.
"I like wrestling," she said. "I cheer for it. They are good and not a lot of people know that."
ALLY McCLUNEY
Art focus: Fifth Street Journal
Art activities: Fifth Street Journal
Year: Senior
Age: 17
GPA: 3.074
Favorite subjects: Fifth Street Journal and sales promotion
Most memorable fine arts achievement: Being named sports editor in Fifth Street Journal
Favorite movie: "Finding Nemo"
Favorite TV programs: "Friends" and "ER"
Parents: Mike and Amy McCluney of Brainerd
The story on the school newspaper was challenging, said McCluney. The story was about students' thoughts on the class and what they do in class.
"I tried to get their honest opinion on the class," said McCluney. "There are so many different people in the class who do different things."
When laying out sports pages, McCluney tries to make the pages look different from the news pages. She adds sporting logos for each story to help it stand out. She also created a sports calendar of events with all the team logos.
McCluney said her strongest quality in the class is her communication skills. She said she works well with other students. McCluney said being in the class she hears a lot of different viewpoints on issues, which makes her think more.
Knowing the sporting events schedule better is something McCluney said she needs to work on. She said with all the sports it is difficult to keep track of all the events, especially during section and state competitions.
After high school, McCluney wants to enroll in a small community college in the Twin Cities area. She would like to study business administration or business management.
Honorable mentions:
Mike Andres, senior, Mock Trial: Andres played a lawyer on the team. The mock trial adviser said Andres' cross examinations of the witness were extraordinary and earned him a perfect score from the judge.
Mallory Smith, senior, metal art: Smith's art adviser said, "Mallory has excelled in advanced metal arts beyond her best work in beginning metal arts. She is a hard worker and a talented craftsperson."
Anna Zimmerman, freshman, orchestra: Zimmerman plays second violin in Chamber Orchestra; plays principal first violin in the Sinfoina Orchestra; and teaches lessons in the Brainerd Community Education program Learn to Play in the Orchestra.