By Candice Tran
You sit down in English class. The two-minute bell just rang, your classmates are still chattering and you notice a stack of intricate newspapers stacked on a table nearby. The crisp paper draws your attention and you can’t stop reading. This is how junior Shayan Abbasi was inclined to join Baron Banner as a sophomore; only after a year did he become the new sports editor.
“I looked at the work people do and I was like, ‘Hey, this is something I want to do,’ and it kind of matched up well with what I want to do in the future … I know that journalism is going to help me no matter what I do—it’s a valuable skill to have,” Abbasi said.
Writing is one of Abbasi’s favorite aspects of Baron Banner because there are countless stories and topics to be covered, all while “really amplify[ing] the student voice.” As this year’s sports editor, he has the responsibility to oversee the coverage of all sports.
“My goal as the new sports editor is to ensure we get to cover as many home games as possible,” Abbasi said. “I think sports are crucial to Baron culture, and they’re just really lots of fun and great for the school spirit.”
Despite being excited to cover all sports, Abbasi is particularly interested in flag football since this is the first year Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) has a flag football team because CIF has just regulated it as a CIF sport.
He may be the sports editor, but he’s also a history enthusiast. Whether it be American or world history, Abbasi’s top class this year is AP United States History.
“If I go into law or politics, I think having a good knowledge of what happened in American history is very helpful to both of those things,” Abbasi said.
Abbasi is a multi-faceted force to be reckoned with. Not only is he on the mock trial team, in debate club, Key Club and California Scholarship Federation at FVHS, but outside of school he partakes in congressional internships and works on campaigns.
Another one of Abbasi’s facets is his compassion and sympathy for people. Using his expertise in history and politics, he strives to become a criminal lawyer for those less fortunate.
“I would like to be a criminal lawyer. I would like to defend people. I would like to be a public defender because you know people who get charged don’t really have a legal defense because lawyers cost so much money,” Abbasi said.
It’s not all just humanities and writing, but Abbasi also has a superior taste for movies, books, music and hobbies. He loves Taylor Swift, and more specifically her song, “cowboy like me” in her album, “evermore.” The “Star Wars” franchise, American sitcom “Seinfeld” and the “Harry Potter” book series are just a few of Abbasi’s favorites. He also enjoys playing basketball with his friends and has a great liking towards tofu.
“When you’re on a cut or when you want protein, you can do anything with tofu. You can have it as a snack, you can have it with a side of noodles, side of fried rice—it’s amazing,” Abbasi said.
The road ahead for Abbasi is bound to be eventful, while being treacherous and exciting at the same time, but that isn’t a problem because “we’ll go down that road when we get there.”