Hannah Underwood is a 16 year old junior and is in her second semester of journalism.  Underwood was born in Wilmington, North Carolina but grew up in Ocean Isle Beach.  In her free time, Underwood participates in many extra curricular activities like sports and clubs.   “Right now I am the junior class president,” said Underwood. “I do wrestling and theater, both of which the majority of my time is spent.”   Underwood lives with her two sisters and also has two dogs. In her free time she likes to read and hang out with her friends.  She has big plans for the future, including going to a four year university to pursue a career in biology.   “I plan on going to NC State,” said Underwood. “ and majoring in biology.”   Her interest in joining the West Wind sparked because of the nice environment that the class has, she is also familiar with the teacher Anna Saunders who she is very fond of. Underwood also has interest in enhancing her writing skills while she is in the class.   “I’ve always been interested in writing,” said Underwood. “And I love Mrs. Saunders, I’ve had her in the past and she is a good teacher.”

Fifteen-year-old sophomore Alexis Mullins, sister to five, soon to be six, and aspiring photographer is attending her first year as a part of the West Wind. “I like reading, drawing, photography,” said Mullins. “My mom is a very artistic person, so she was the one that got me into drawing and painting; she used to encourage me to paint with her.” In earlier years, Mullins wanted to pursue a career in culinary, but over time, she has grown a passion for photography and plans to go to college for it. Mullins enjoys spending time with her neighbor to help improve her skills. “My old neighbor is a photographer, and she let me go with her on a few photo shoots a couple of weeks ago,” said Mullins. “I also plan to study photography at App State after high school.” Mullins played softball at a young age and cheered throughout middle school. Since starting high school, Mullins has been more interested in her extracurriculars, like drama club. Mullins started attending drama club at the beginning of the 2022 school year and expressed how much she loved the community of people. “I’ve taken drama club for about a year now,” said Mullins. “My favorite part is definitely the people.” Mullins expresses that what piqued her interest in the West Wind was the photography aspect. Photography is Mullins's passion, and she will take any opportunity for more practice. “I think being able to take pictures and write is what I was most intrigued about for journalism, I'm also excited for the memories I’m going to make.” said Mullins.