By Isaac Villegas, Staff Writer
When freshmen first begin their high school journey on a campus usually much larger than their middle school’s with hundreds of new faces to meet and tons of unfamiliar activities to get involved in, it can mostly feel overwhelming. However, it has been clear that this was mainly not the case for the bold, now a sophomore, Jacob Flores (10) when he was first becoming acquainted with Poly High School last year.
Being the social and fearless individual that he is, Flores decided to join Poly’s choir and Mock Trial team as a freshman. He elaborates on why he chose to become involved in these two distinct yet significant organizations at Poly, describing how “they release different emotions” and make him “learn in great ways.” While he mainly joined these extracurriculars for fun, he still shows great enthusiasm in being a key part of them and does not plan on stepping down from these roles in the future.
In fact, it only looks like Flores is preparing to knock becoming a member of yet another extracurricular at Poly off his bucket list very soon; this time, one in the athletic zone. “Something I wish to be a part of is […] cross country and track,” Flores states when asked what additional groups at Poly he would like to be part of when he is an upperclassmen. He explains that this was due to his passion for running, which was further proven by how many of his friends have mentioned to him that they have spotted him running down Victoria Avenue nearly every day. He also believes that one of his favorite parts about running is the simple act of “going out, breathing in air, […] experiencing going outside, [and] seeing the world.”
With such a poetic way in describing how he feels when he runs, it is to no surprise that Flores is also a new member of the Poly Spotlight Newspaper for the 2025-2026 school year. Flores shows great excitement to embark on his writing journey as a beginning staff writer, and it is certain he will write plenty of thought-provoking and interesting pieces throughout the year, especially given his many unique opinions on certain topics pertaining to Poly High School.
When asked of an unpopular opinion he might have about anything regarding Poly, Flores vocalized his distaste toward the enforced cell phone policy and the new office hours period, which now occurs after 2nd period every Tuesday and Thursday instead of after 4th period on those same days. Regarding the cell phone policy, Flores describes that it “may be a problem” mentally for students who, say, cannot focus on work without music. Additionally, he says that the new office hours period may be too early in the day. He believes that “you just need to settle in” as the new school day gets started before already having to get thrown into an office hours period. Despite his dislike toward these new changes made at Poly this year, he makes it clear that he still wholeheartedly respects the school and the decisions they have made to keep Poly a safe and healthy environment for all students.
Flores, while still an underclassmen, is extremely admired by his classmates of all grade levels, and it’s not surprising to see why. His involvement in such a diverse range of Poly activities, his constant searching for new things to participate in at Poly, and his eagerness to have his voice heard will certainly be illustrated in his contributions to our Poly Spotlight Newspaper.