The Spartan Shield is the news publication of Huntington Park High School and is produced by all journalism students, ranging from beginner to advanced.
Mr. Nelson Ta has been the adviser of the program since 2018. Besides journalism, he also teaches English 11, AP Language and Composition, and AVID courses.
Monserrath Bucio Mondragon is a senior and Editor-in-Chief in Spartan Shield after being News Editor the previous year. She is the President of the Debate Club, and entering her 4th year competing with her partner Jazmin. She is also involved in the Youth Action as a core leader. This year she hopes to make it to nationals again for debate, and apply to college as a public health major to pursue research.
Jazmin Prado is a senior and News Editor of Spartan Shield. She is the Vice President of the Debate Club and is entering her fourth year competing with her partner, Monse. She is also involved in Youth Action and has received an Outreach Award through robotics and recognition from the Huntington Park mayor for her involvement in debate. Outside of journalism and debate, she hopes to pursue public policy in college with the goal of becoming a human rights advocate or lawyer. This year, she hopes to compete at nationals and qualify for the Tournament of Champions with debate.
Sebastian Portillo is a Senior and the Features Page Editor in Spartan Shield. His interest are playing video games, pokemon, exercising, and listening to music. He is a leader in Key Club, Avid and enjoys hanging out with his friends. His goals this year is to finish Senior year strong and plans to major in aerospace engineering.
Nancy Portillo is a Senior and the Opinions Editor in Spartan Shield. She likes to play indie videos games or games produced by Nintendo, other thing she’s likes to do is to listen to music and watch TV shows. In school she is a part of the Debate club as treasurer and the school’s marching band playing the Saxophone. Nancy hopes to attend UC Berkeley and study social welfare. Another thing she loves to do is discover new coffee blends to taste.
Gabriel Rea is a senior and is in sports editor and photographer in Spartan Shield. He is a very outgoing person he like to play a plethora of sports including soccer,football,volleyball,basketball,and boxing.He also enjoys playing guitar which he’s been playing for 5 years now. Avid has been a huge part of his educational process.He has been in Avid since 6th grade and has changed his approach about school since the very beginning. He hopes to graduate highschool with a 4.0 Gpa and get into tcu to become a mental health therapist. He also wants to make new connections with people in and out school to build new friendships and relationships.
Adrian De Jesus Reyes Lizaola is a junior and editor of culture. Adrian likes to do many things one being going to local hardcore shows with his friends. He likes to play video games it doesn’t matter what genre he plays anything, some of his favorite games are Life Is Strange, Disco Elysium, Project Zomboid, and Persona 4 Golden. Adrian has a diverse music taste, he’ll listen to any type of music because he likes to genre hop. His goals in the future are to become a therapist or social worker to help people manage emotional and mental problems. Lastly, his favorite food is pizza and milk.
Mia Olivarez is a current junior and an Assistant Editor for Features and a Anchor for Broadcast in Spartan Shield. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time in nature, especially visiting botanical gardens and the beach. She is currently involved in ASB, serving as the media manager and secretary for the junior class. Her goals for the year include maintaining good grades and making fun memories with her friends. In the future, she hopes to travel and pursue a career in journalism, focusing on multimedia journalism.
Diana Morales is currently a junior and Assistant Editor for the Editorials committee in Spartan Shield. When outside of school she enjoys listening to music, hanging out at coffee spots, and spending time with loved ones. She is currently involved with AVID, TELACU, Key Club, and the Catholic Church of Saint Martha’s catechetical youth group. Her goals for this year is to maintain a GPA of 3.50 and above, make new friends outside of school, pass her AP exams, and develop new hobbies. As for the future, she’s unsure of what she’s going to major in, but she’d like to attend a UC and either become an actuary or a mathematics educator. A fun fact about her is that she loves to play Roblox
Alyssa Torres is a senior and a NewsAnchor for broadcast and sports editor in Spartan Shield. Her outside life consists of being an adventurous person who loves meeting new people and exploring the outdoors through hiking and running. She balances her time being in AVID, cheer, and yearbook, she also spends her time as a caretaker for children ages 3-5 at her church where she loves helping them learn and grow. She is working hard to reach a 3.8 GPA and to get into a UC school, still exploring her future path as a entrepreneur, pediatrician, or teacher. However, she leans on her faith for guidance and strength to navigate her future.
Aileen Zuniga is currently a Senior and an Anchor of broadcast, she is also one of the scriptwriters. Outside of school she likes to bake, watch Supernatural, and rewatch her favorite Marvel movies. She is apart of the Varsity Softball team at HP and has been playing softball for 4 years. In the future, she wants to be accepted into one of her top UCs and majoring in finance or accounting.
Kenny Alvarado is a 12th grader and a broadcast anchor, and article writer for news in Spartan Shield. Talk about your interests outside of school. He loves to play sports being involved in 5 different sports: soccer, volleyball, football, XC, Track, soccer, loves to listen to music in his own time and workout. His favorite sport to play is soccer, supporting his favorite team Barcelona. This year he hopes to pass with all A’s and get into the UC he wants to get into. In the near future he hopes he be playing D1 soccer for college and go into the pro league, if not to do mechanical engineering in college.
Isabella Lujan is a Junior and is an Assistant Director for Broadcast, and News Anchor in Spartan Shield. Outside of school, Isabella enjoys spending time with her family, trying new coffee spots, running her own desserts business, and going to Disneyland. She is also involved in cheerleading, and this will be her third year on the team as she continues to strive for more! Her goals for this year are being able to compete in Las Vegas again for cheer and maintain straight A’s. This year, she also hopes to win another CIF Championship ring for cheer after winning one her previous season.
Crystal Jimenez is a Senior, News Anchor, Reporter and writes for news in Spartan Shield. Outside of school she enjoys to watch movies, draw and listen to music. It is her first year in Spartan Shield and Yearbook but a 3-year member of the colorguard. Her goals for this year is to get good grades in each of her classes and get into a good college to study Criminal Justice.
Andrew Montano is a senior and is the Producer and Assistant Director of broadcast in Spartan Shield, as well as the Lead Photographer. Outside of school he loves connecting with nature and listening to music. He is involved in PHA and yearbook, he also runs his own separate photography business. This year he hopes to be more involved in his class in hopes to make the most of his senior year. After high-school he hopes to attend UC Davis and major in animal science . One thing he’d like you to know is that he loves pizza and milk
Angheli Kristal Diaz Torres is a Senior and Assistant Director of broadcast in Spartan Shield. She like play different instruments like piano and guitar, she also enjoy crochet and watch movies on her free time. She is part of Youth Action, the captain of the robotics C.A.N.E.L.O team and the Director of a new presentation at HP called Spartan Integration and Resources. Her goals for this year is learn a third language and apply to college. She is Peruvian and celebrated 4 years since she came to the United States.
Marilyn Hermosillo is a senior, Features writer, and Broadcast Reporter, and Scriptwriter in Spartan Shield. Outside of school she enjoys going to the beach, crocheting, or spending quality time with her cats. She is a first year member in both yearbook and Spartan Shield, but a 4-year member and head captain of HP’s colorguard. This year she hopes to keep up her straight A’s to improve her chances of getting into a UC.
Nelson Aguirre-Medina is a junior and a staff writer in Spartan Shield, along with being a Podcast member. He likes to draw on paper and digitally, learn about computer history and play in his church band. He does theater, and acting. His goals for the future is to get into college and become a private investigator. Something about him is that he likes to cook burgers. He also likes old media.
Lunah Chavarria is a Senior, and a Photographer and Producer in Spartan Shield. She is also part of Podcast. She loves reading romance books , watching movies and TV shows, and listening to music. She is in clubs such as Book Club, Youth Action club, and the Faithful club. During this school year she just wants to complete high school with passing grades. After graduation, she plans to get into ASU or any UC school and major in Computer Science and Cybersecurity with a minor in business.
Raven is a 12th grade culture writer in Spartan Shield, and a Podcast member. Outside of school you can find him playing video games, playing guitar, or shopping for clothes. He enjoys listening to music, traveling and going walking. His goals for the future are to travel around the country and around the world, and get into a college in either Seattle, New York, or stay in LA. His career goals are to go into education.
Laus Acevedo is currently a Junior and is a sports writer and photographer for spartan shield.Outside of school you can find him at the gym with with his friends or catch him at volleyball games with them. Something he is enthusiastic about is soccer he likes watching games and supporting his favorite teams,he is a big supporter of Real Madrid,and going to soccer games. He also enjoys playing pick up soccer at the park with his friends. His goals for the future are still unclear to him but he does want to go to a UC and study something he enjoys doing.
Rafael Navas is a current junior and a Broadcast Reporter/Photographer in Spartan Shield. He enjoys watching movies/shows, spending time with friends and working out. He is is involved in the Peer Health Advocate, EAOP, and Avid programs. This year, he hopes to maintain academic excellence, while doing multiple activities with friends. He hopes to major in Exercise Physiology.
Mia Figueroa is a current junior and is part of the Social Media Committee in Spartan Shield. Outside of school you can find her trying new coffee shops ,shopping,and spending time with her friends and family. Mia is involved in both flag football and soccer and has played both sports through her three years in highschool . Her goals for this year are to stay focused, continue improving in school and sports , and making the most of her junior year. In the future, Mia hopes to become a child life specialist and make a positive difference in the lives of children and their families.
Wendy Lopez is a Junior, she’s a member of broadcast and News writer in Spartan Shield. Outside of school she enjoys spending time with friends,going shopping with her sisters, and experiencing new things. She’s in her first year of Spartan shield but in her second year of colorguard, while also being involved in EAOP. Her future goals are to pass her future exams and get accepted into a UC her senior year.
Diego Gomez is a Junior and current sports writer in Spartan Shield. He is also a Photographer. Outside of school his entertainment is playing video games, staying indoors and staying updated with sports. Diego is apart of the football team and is involved with EAOP, TELACU, CSF and Key Club. His goals for this school year is to maintain his 4.0 GPA and to pass all his AP exams.
Ariana Hernandes is a junior and she is a staff writer and photographer. Outside of school she enjoys hanging out with friends. In school she is involved in flag football where she has a good relationship and bond with her teammates. In the future she’s hoping to go to a UC in hopes of becoming a registered nurse. As of right now she is focused on bettering herself and focusing on school.
Malorie Ochoa is a current junior and is a features writer in Spartan shield. Outside of her academic life, Malorie enjoys shopping, playing roblox with friends, and spending time with her pets! She is currently involved in AVID, TELACU, EAOP, CSF, Key Club, and other programs. She is also associated with the girls volleyball team. Her goals for this year are to maintain the same GPA as last year and become more associated with clubs. In her near future, she hopes to pursue becoming a dermatologist!