Downey High School hosted the Every 15 Minutes Program in coordination with the California Highway Patrol on Tuesday, April 30th.
Every 15 Minutes
Trigger Warning: The following story contains some graphic and disturbing photos. Actions seen below were done by trained participants as part of a simulation and are NOT real.
April 30, 2024
About the Contributors
Viviana Alba, Co-Photo Editor
As the Co-Photo editor of The Downey Legend, Viviana Alba, 12, has returned to the staff for her third and last year. Alba’s passion for photography goes beyond the classroom as she plans to continue photography as a side job. However, photography is not her only passion. After high school, Alba hopes to pursue a career in veterinary medicine to follow her love for animals. As an introvert, Alba describes herself as, determined, intelligent, and compassionate.
Alba has decided to stay with The Downey Legend because she loves the new experiences that the newspaper has brought her such as meeting and interacting with new people. This year, Alba is hoping to make the most of it. “I’m most looking forward to to being able to lead a new talented group of staff members this year.” Alba shared. “I hope to provide them with the opportunities that I was able to experience during my past three years here.”
Alisson Naranjo, Co-Photo Editor
The Downey Legend’s Co-Photo Editor Alisson Naranjo, 12, looks most forward to guiding the team of photographers in the right direction to their full potential. She hopes to leave next year’s staff with an outstanding group of photographers who are ready to lead the incoming photographers to success and help maintain a diligent newspaper staff. “Newspaper has definitely strengthened my communication skills,” Naranjo stated. “It has allowed me to experience opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to get without it.” She also stated how it has definitely helped her with time management skills, and she hopes to use what she’s learned to prepare for college. For college, she aims to attend a 4-year, and earn her Psy.D. Naranjo would describe herself as ambitious, intelligent, and intellectual. Outside of the classroom, she likes to read, take photos, and go on walks.
Sofia Basulto, Writer
Entering her final year of high school, Sofia Basulto, is returning for the third and final year of being a writer on the Downey Legend. Although entering senior year can be bittersweet, Basulto is ready to start creating memories and writing them down along the way. After she graduates, Basulto plans to go to her dream school at NYU in hopes of becoming a screenwriter and an actress. Outside of the newspaper room, Basulto is also a part of ASB and loves helping out others. Out of Downey High, Basulto enjoys listening to music, such as Lana Del Rey, SZA, and Amy Winehouse; Basulto also enjoys reading. With her very kind and outgoing personality, Basulto hopes to encourage Dowey High and anyone out there to enjoy this 2023-2024 school year.
“ Sometimes, we just have to get out there,” Basulto stated. “ We only live once. We don’t know who can be out there. A person you have never spoken to, can be your soulmate.”
Ximena Solorzano, Editor-in-Chief
The Downey Legend’s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Ximena Solorzano, 12, aspires to break the family cycle and experience higher education as the first member. She anticipates the adjustment to various circumstances she might encounter in the near future. Keeping calm in the face of pressure, Solorzano is open to exploring the many routes of life the world offers her while finding comfort in things that are not people along the way.
Solorzano pursues the path of building her peak existence by discovering strengths and prioritizing beneficial opportunities. “Life does not follow a simple route. It goes through hills, roads, and unreal situations,” Solorzano stated. “I strive to adapt and not feel hindered by those challenges. Once I go through them and see the self-growth, my perseverance will be shown.”