Dylan Ruiz-Gonzalez, a 16-year junior, is a student at Birmingham Community Charter High School. Dylan was born on June 16, 2009, and grew up in the valley for most of his life, living with his mother, sister, two aunts, two uncles, three cousins, and my aunt’s husband. His main goal in life is to be a successful journalist and make his family proud as he keeps succeeding in his classes and hopes to attend an Ivy League University. He hopes to one day move to New York and work for the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times as an editor, but for now, he hopes to make his journalism class proud as a new editor-in-chief. As he thrives through high school, he will continue to do what he does best and execute his dream of being a journalist.

After attending elementary school at Kittridge Elementary and attending Millikan Middle School, his grades weren’t the best, as well as his behavior towards his peers, teachers, and faculty. One of his teachers helped him find his path and passion for reading and writing. After his middle school English teacher told him he has a future in being a journalist, he soon entered BCCHS with a different mindset in being the best he could be and trying to do well in his classes while making his mother proud in the process. After seeing his cousin go to the University of Oregon, he also wanted to follow in her footsteps and go out of state to college and be the first member in his family to attend college. He seeks to take his education to the University of Oregon, Harvard, or the University of Oxford to follow his dreams of being a journalist or architect.

During Dylan’s free time, he likes to stay active as he loves to play basketball, football, and trains as a boxer. Dylan has been boxing since he was seven years old and also wished to maybe one day take his boxing skills towards his amateur career. But outside his active lifestyle, he also likes to collect Marvel action figures as a hobby, and he has many displays of them in cool fighting poses!  He also likes to go thrift shopping during his free time with friends and likes to go to concerts and enjoy listening to music, which is one of his favorite things to do all day. His love for writing and reading all originates from him listening to music, or more specifically, J.Cole, who is his favorite rapper. Through J.Cole, he realized there is a deeper meaning behind words or rhymes as they tell a story, or they allow someone to picture their past. So this inspired Dylan to start reading to give him a better understanding of stories and what they mean in each chapter. Dylan deciding to pick up on reading helped him clear his mind and expand his understanding of literature, which made him work even harder towards being a journalist. Through this new inspiration of his passion for reading and writing, he hopes that this course in journalism will help him get even a better understanding, as he is coming into class with a new reason to better his intellect as a journalist.

When Dylan is not reading, listening to music, playing, doing any sort of sport, or collecting action figures, he is with his family. Dylan’s family has a staggering 11 members, who he dearly loves. His mother is from Guatemala, as well as the rest of his family, and she migrated here when she was 18 hoping to seek a better life for my sister when she was pregnant with her. His favorite moments growing up are spending holidays with his family, whether it’s Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, he loves when his family is all together appreciating his life with his family. His stepfather also plays a crucial role in his life as he supports Dylan in his dreams and helps his family by helping out his mother when his mother needs it or loving Dylan and his sister like they are his own children.

In conclusion, Dylan hopes to seek a successful future on achieving his dreams and his family by his side. Although he is an 11th grader, his role as editor-in-chief will hopefully satisfy and make his class proud. His main goal is to be an editor for the New York Times, and he hopes to live there or be an editor for the Los Angeles Times, hoping to live comfortably in the future. Through this opportunity as editor-in-chief, Dylan will work hard and take the responsibility to be the best he can to not only learn, but also be the best he can.