Meet Lauren Rodriguez, first year writer and senior, known by everyone as Lola. Rodriguez joined The Downey Legend staff because her grandfather, who is also a journalist, inspired her to. She looked up to him when she was younger because they are similar in many ways. They both like to write, enjoy history, and dislike the same food, such as ketchup and rice. She also joined because writing is something she feels she is good at. Rodriguez has been published many times in an award-winning anthology, through various writing workshops; she has been involved in this since the 8^th grade.   Rodriguez enjoys politics and campaigning. She also enjoys community service, attending concerts, and taking pictures with her instant camera. She hopes that in the next few years, she will have graduated from a good college, such as Berkley, UCLA, UCSB, or UCSD, and will be working for a newspaper, such as The LA Times, and will be living in her own apartment in Downtown Los Angeles or San Francisco. “It’s like the eyes of the school,” Rodriguez said when asked what she likes about newspaper. “It’s our jobs as writers to find out what’s going on in the school and tell people things they don’t know about.” She hopes that being part of The Downey Legend will give her a newfound confidence in her writing, and she hopes to gain new friends through this experience.

Marianne Aguilar, one of The Downey Legend’s photographers, is one of the newest members on staff. Aguilar entered her senior year with a determined mindset taking on the responsibilities of being a part of newspaper, as well as Downey High School’s yearbook staff. “Recognition is the best feeling,” Aguilar said. “I like being a part of this school.” Former Downey Legend photographer, Monique Munoz, was the person responsible for pushing Aguilar to apply, “She [Munoz] is like a sister to me, and I would always tag along and help her while she would shoot games,” Aguilar said. “The CIF Football game was insane!”   Before Aguilar began living the life of a busy high schooler, the 16 year old grew up witnessing her grandma, Esther, living as a professional photographer, traveling around the world and having her shots featured in underground ads. Although many of her family members constantly reminded her of the potential she had when she held a camera, Aguilar did not wish to explore that field. It was not until her junior year, years after the unfortunate passing of her grandma, that Aguilar began to get behind the camera and understood the enjoyment her loved one felt when photographing. “Once I tried it, my grandma’s daughter would tell me ‘that’s the Esther in you’ and that’s when I realized I liked taking pictures,” Aguilar said. With college right around the corner, this senior hopes to attend Texas Tech University to major in Sports Therapy. Wishing to have a future full of travel, it is clear the timidly kind yet hard worker is persistent in becoming the first in her family to go to college. Eager to begin shooting school events for this year, Aguilar said, “My goal is to have my picture framed in the C building next to my best friends,” in reference to the victory featured in The Downey Patriot Munoz shot after the Vikings won CIF. It is up to Aguilar to decide the kind of mark she will leave on Downey High School’s campus.