Sammy Nishihama
By Haley Hart
“In the word ‘scent,’ is it the s that’s silent, or is it the c?” This is the type of question that plagues Sammy Nishihama, a girl that has felt responsible for other people’s grammar since third grade.
According to the source herself, when Nishihama was in third grade she had a class with two teachers, “A weird split class, one teacher the first half of the week, and the other teacher the last half of the week.” She said, “One of the teachers noticed how quickly I finished my little word searches and made me sort of go around and help the other kids.” Nishihama even shared that her teacher displayed discontent with her when the other students didn’t have proper grammar on their worksheets, and that the teacher felt Nishihama should be responsible for that. However, this skill that caused 8-year-old Nishihama anguish, has now opened a door of wonderful opportunities for 16-year-old Nishihama, the new Co-Editor-in-Chief of Spyglass News.
Last year, Nishihama underwent an “exciting, yet stressful” interview process held by former journalism teacher, Kate Kostecka, and former Spyglass editor, Claire Wilson, in order to secure her position as editor. She said, “It was some talking, and some article editing. When I walked in Miss. K was just sitting there, waiting, which was awkward and a bit scary.” Despite all this, Nishihama’s confidence wasn’t shaken, she knew that when it came to applying for editor, she had it in the bag.
If you were to only speak to Nishihama about her position in journalism, you’d have the idea that she must simply be the most confident woman to ever walk the planet. However, according to her, that would be a very false statement. Nishihama shared that there are plenty of things in her life that she has a great deal of confidence while doing. For example, math and science are two things she has excelled in from a very young age. On the other hand, Nishihama did not shy away from speaking about the things that she doesn’t always have the most confidence in. She said, “I don’t always feel confident in social situations, sometimes I don’t feel confident in golf, except for when we’re chipping, that boosts my ego a bit, and maybe also in history class.” However Nishihama also explained that she doesn’t let these feelings of doubt affect her, she tries to just stay focused.
In fact, this is something that Abby Tuller, one of Nishihama’s longest friends, can attest to, saying one of her favorite things about Nishihama is, “Just how focused she can be when she needs to.” Tuller described Nishihama as,“Intelligent, caring, extremely thoughtful, and a true smartie pants.”
Overall, teachers and friends alike can all agree that Sammy Nishihama is an extremely bright and kind individual. She is a person that embodies selflessness, someone who is willing to work hard, not just for herself, but also for the sake of others.
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