Daezha Fisher
She/her
What’s next: Moving to London for a year
What is next for you?
After graduation, I plan on getting ready to go to London with my mom for a year just to see other people’s styles, because the following year I plan on attending FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) in LA. So I’m just basically going to get creative inspiration to work on my portfolio for school.
What inspired you to go into the field of fashion?
I’ve always been into fashion since I was younger, like when Kimora Lee Simmons’ “Life in the Fab Lane” used to come on TV. I’ve always been really interested in fashion, so now I’m just trying to take the big steps to get up there and get connections and stuff … I mean, you know everybody else wants to be lawyers and basketball players and all this other stuff, but with me, I’ve always been pretty set on fashion. I mean, I’ve tried to venture out and think about doing psychology or something, but my heart’s pretty into fashion, so that’s my main focus.
Do you think psychology and fashion are connected?
Kind of, because you do express yourself through your outfits and it’s kind of like what you think looks good and how it expresses your emotion for that day. If you’re feeling gloomy you might wear sweats or something, but if you’re in a good mood, you might put on a dress or something of that sort. So I guess it kind of does (relate) because it depends on your mood that day of what you would wear.
How do you think you have changed since freshman year?
Fashion-wise, it was kind of a mess freshman year. It was real interesting. It was a lot of Timberlands just not worn correctly, like with leggings and then a random shirt. It just wasn’t how I am now with fashion, but that’s how I was expressing myself, I guess. But freshman year me was more to herself, not as outgoing as I am now.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years I see myself living in LA with my cute black pitbull in a penthouse apartment. I would be happy, have my own online clothing brand and store, be styling and designing for A-list celebrities, making lots of money, dressing well and taking lots of vacations.
Mishya Mitchell
She/her
What’s next: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
You won a National Scholastic Gold Key in ceramics. Can you talk a little bit about your inspiration for that piece?
I think that one specifically, I was supposed to … make a piece based off an artist, and I decided that I was just gonna do it based off Greek pottery … I had this photo from — I think it’s Dog Mountain — my dad and I hike a lot, and I just kind of drew it straight onto the pot.
How has your art improved since your freshman year?
Freshman year and mostly eighth-grade year, I was trying to find my own style … I applied for multiple art classes but then got P.E., so most of it was on my own freshman year. Sophomore year, I got into ceramics, and that’s where I found out I really like working with my hands. And from there, I’ve … been drawing what I want to draw.
What school are you attending next year?
It’s in Chicago … It’s the school that’s attached to that museum. It’s actually the only school that’s still associated with a museum to this day in the United States. So my plan is to go to SAIC (School of the Art Institute of Chicago), do that for a year, see how it goes.
How was the art program at Grant?
Before Grant, I never really thought I’d ever do anything with my art, but we have great mentors, great programs … I think Grant’s allowed me to try things that I never thought I was going to try.
What are the things you will miss the most about Grant?
Friends, being able to see them on a day-to-day basis … I’ll definitely miss some of my teachers. But I don’t know, it’s a new part of my life, and I’ve done Grant for four years. I’m happy to move on.
Luke Wilson
He/him
What’s next: International Christian University in Japan
What are your plans for after high school?
After high school I’m planning on attending college in Tokyo, Japan at International Christian University.
Do you know what you are going to major in?
Right now, I want to major in international relations. But this is a special university where we … have time to decide on a major up until the end of sophomore year. During that period, I’ll take different classes to narrow down on a major.
Why Japan? How did you choose going international?
Well, I’ve been in the Japanese Magnet Program since kindergarten all the way up to my senior year in high school. And throughout those years I’ve developed a passion for Japanese, for the Japanese language and Japan. And going to Japan my sophomore year to study abroad in Sapporo, Japan, made me really want to study in college and live there for years. Because the people there are really nice, the food’s super good and I want to become more fluent in Japanese.
Colwyn Joehnk Dylan Petersen Noah Baskin
He/him He/him He/him
What’s next: What’s next: University of What’s next:
Oregon State University Puget Sound Oregon State University
What is Grant Rag?
Colwyn Joehnk: A satire, Onion-y kinda … yeah, we’re the “smonion,” I guess.
Dylan Petersen: Yeah it’s like The Onion but for Grant.
Noah Baskin: There was that one post where we said that Grant Rag is for the people.
CJ: That’s the most poetic.
When and why did you start Grant Rag?
NB: I would say around this time last year … maybe a little bit earlier, March or April.
CJ: The idea’s been there for a long time though … One day in Flex, Noah and I sat down, and we wrote like 20 headlines … we were like, “Oh, let’s just do it right now.”
DP: I thought it was kind of stupid but I had a couple ideas, and I eventually got the password and started adding things more frequently.
Did you expect it to get so popular?
NB: I remember I never expected it to get really anywhere near where it was … there was this one week of July or August last year where it went from 20 followers to 100. People started noticing it, and it was this kind of crazy takeoff.
DP: It was kind of all at once.
NB: It was getting crazy … I never expected it to get, really anything like it got. I think we kind of just wanted to make it a thing, and people just started liking it which was pretty cool.
You guys finally revealed yourselves as editors. How did you come to that decision?
DP: It was a long span of bickering.
CJ: We made a treaty, or kind of a compromise, that we would have a draft of the physical magazine by the end of two weeks, or else we would do the reveal, and we didn’t have anything, I think, by the end. We had the cover page.
What is the plan for Grant Rag as you all leave Grant?
NB: We’re probably going to pass it on to a worthy person.
CJ: We have a successor.
What is next for you guys?
NB: I’m going to go to OSU and live with (Colwyn) until he gets tired of me. I want to keep up with some kind of … podcast, or like a magazine at OSU. And maybe it’d be cool to … make a column in somebody else’s magazine. There’s a way that you can just do that at OSU, it seems really neat. Kind of like media stuff. I kind of regret that I never really did that stuff in high school … It’d be cool to follow through with that.
CJ: I’m going to Oregon State as well … I might do more creative stuff in the future … I’m surprised that I actually mustered up enough creativity for Grant Rag because I feel like I’ve never been that creative of a person writing-wise.
DP: I’m probably going to go up to the University of Puget Sound to study music education. I like making fun of things, but it’s not (a career).
Anything else to add?
NB: I would like to thank the Grant administration, teaching faculty and student body for all the material they gave me. I didn’t write any of this, I just kind of witnessed it and put it on a piece of paper. Or screen. I feel like the best headlines of Grant Rag have kind of written themselves, and (Grant Rag) just (has) been the vessel of that to put it somewhere.
Zoe Shaw
She/her
What’s next: Wellesley College
What is next for you?
After high school, I’m going to Wellesley (College) in Massachusetts, and I’m going to run track there, and I think I’m on track to do the Internationalism and Political Science major.
What got you into both track and politics?
Soccer got me into track because I did track to keep in shape for soccer, and then I kind of got hooked. And then political, internationalism stuff because my dad works on that, and also (Constitution Team) kind of got the ball rolling.
What inspired you to join Constitution Team?
I wasn’t originally going to do it, but once I realized I couldn’t do soccer, I was like, “I want to be on some sort of team.”And it’s really, really fun because I like the topic, so I never feel tired about learning about everything. I feel like a completely different person than I was before I did Con Team … I didn’t even know how the government worked, and now I do, and I feel like once you learn about it, you can find ways to change it instead of just … complaining about it.
What are you looking forward to at Wellesley?
I visited Wellesley for two days, and on the first day I met girls from 10 different countries, so it’s super international, and there’s a dining hall where they only speak certain languages at certain tables, so it’ll just broaden my sphere … and I feel like the world’s very messed up right now but it’s not just an American thing, it’s a global thing. So yeah, I think I want to minor in Spanish or double major or something to see if I can go and help our country deal with all the climate issues. It seems like a good way to help the Earth and the people in it.
Nick Rogers
He/him
What’s next: Traveling around Europe
What is next for you?
Right after high school ends on June 14, the Royal Blues are going to Europe,very exciting. We are going to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic and singing a bunch for two weeks and after that, I am going to stick around and just stay in Europe and travel.
What are you looking forward to in Europe?
Well I was born in Prague, in the Czech Republic and I haven’t been there in 11 years, and I have a bunch of family there, like family friends and all that. So, returning back to my home city is going to be an amazing experience, especially to do it with all my friends. My mom’s also going to meet me out there. And we are actually going to be having a concert in the church where my parents were married.
What are you going to do there?
Well, I’m joining this program called WWOOF, which stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. So, you go sign up to work on a farm. And you go work for them, like for a family, and then they provide you with room and board in exchange, and it’s going to be really fun. I am hopefully going to do that in Scotland or England, and this is after we go on tour. I’m probably going to stay there for a couple months.
What inspired you to do WWOOF?
Well, it’s definitely going to be a good chance for me to clear my head and just really find out what I want to do after that. As of right now, I am deferring from (University of Oregon) for a semester. So I’m joining in spring semester of 2021, but yeah if (I) have some big moment when I’m working on a farm then I might not do that. But I just think it’ll be a good opportunity for me to see the world and see this certain part of the world. If not now, then when?
Jonah Herman
He/him
What’s next: Portland State University
Do you know what you are doing after high school?
I’m going to attend PSU (Portland State University) for two years and then apply to colleges … probably someplace in California, or Chicago or Florida. That would be USC (University of Southern California), UCLA (University of California: Los Angeles), Columbia, or Chicago or Florida State … Then hopefully, become a PA (production assistant) or start in PA or editing or cinematography, probably editing. Ultimately I want to do film directing and producing. Editing is where I’ll probably start off.
Why did you choose PSU for two years instead of going directly to one of those bigger schools?
Well, Grant doesn’t really offer a lot of film, so, I could have been on the Grant Magazine and (made) some films, but instead I’ve done a lot of sports videos for the school … I guess it’s not really taking up a lot of my time, I just haven’t really made anything that’s worth it for any of the schools to see. If I was wanting to go into sportscasting, that’s very different than film directing. So if I wanted to apply to USC to do sports video, not be in film directing, I might be able to get in, but it’s just not what my direction is. So, really, the sports videos were really just for me to see if I wanted to commit to (film) for the rest of my life basically, and then going into PSU will be me actually starting the process.
What are you most excited about for next year?
Actually getting a reel and having momentum into my career. Because, right now, I don’t really have that much momentum … People say ‘Oh, you have this vision, where is the work to back that up?’ And I want to work on that. And that will make me feel very prepared. It will be nice to actually be able to show some stuff besides just, ‘Oh, you can edit stuff, sports videos well, and film them.’ Because sports requires a different thing than film does … I look forward to actually being with people that want to create stuff for their reel, possibly other people (that) have the same vision as me.
Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Ultimately, the reason that I want to create movies is, there are a lot of people who just want to create movies because they want to create art, but I see the power of media and movies to really make people feel different things about things like electric cars, nuclear energy, new technology. “Black Mirror” is doing quite the opposite of what I want to do. Like, I want to make people feel good about actually moving forward and combating climate change.
Annika Reynolds
She/her
What’s next: University of Amsterdam
What are you planning on doing after you graduate?
I’m hopefully going to University of Amsterdam. That’s kind of complicated because I have to get (Advanced Placement) scores, but they come in June, so I won’t really know until graduation basically. I’m either going there for four years, or for three, depending on what happens.
Why did you choose to go abroad?
There’s a lot of reasons. Originally I wanted to go to Japan, and I went and visited schools there, but the ones that I could get into, reasonably, were kind of just not for me. I kind of wanted to go abroad (because) one, I can’t afford school in the U.S., I can’t justify how expensive it is, even in-state. And in Europe, it’s like $10,000 a year to go to school, full tuition. It’s pretty nice.
When did you decide to go international?
Pretty late, I applied to a lot of U.S. schools and then I kind of realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do after I applied to all of them, so I looked abroad … I honestly want to say it was directly after applications for U.S. schools were due, I was like, “Oh, (expletive).”
What made you choose Amsterdam?
The city. I’ve never been there, but I’ve had so many people tell me that it would be perfect for me … It’s cheap; there is really good student life. They speak English.
Liam Krug
He/him
What’s next: Moving to Los Angeles to make movies in 2020
What is your plan after high school?
My plan after high school is, I’ve got some other filmmaking/acting friends that I rely on sort of for my projects, so we’re trying to build a team right now to then move to L.A. in 2020 … Basically, we’re going to move to L.A. in 2020 all together, and we’re going to make a movie this summer. We’re planning on that now, and writing it and trying to find producers and sound people and lighting people to do that. It’s going to be fun. I really enjoy making comedy movies and acting, so that’s probably what I am going to be focusing on. As far as education, I got into New York Film Academy with a scholarship from my past filmmaking, comedy filmmaking, which is really cool. But it’s too expensive right now, so I’m working a job this next year. Just going to be making movies, not going to college, and then in L.A., moving to there, going to maybe go to New York Film Academy.
When did you become interested in film?
I want to say when I was 10 my parents gave me a flip camera … and I kind of just filmed so many things. I vlogged (video-blogged) as a 10-year-old. Not like actually vlogging, but more going around and just filming plants and my pets and stuff, and then that turned into using my parents’ desktop computer like on … Photobooth and like iMovie and just making stupid little projects. And that turned into writing script, and that turned into taking acting classes, and that turned into getting jobs, and that turned into getting an agent. And it’s been so much fun.
What programs have you been part of during your time at Grant?
I’m actually directing a one-act this year, so I wrote it with another kid named Jack Humphrey, and it’s about, it’s a satire comedy sort of making fun of “Into the Woods,” just because I find it dumb … It’s about “Rumplestiltskin”, and it’s making fun of fairy tales, and he needs an assistant, and it’s called Rumplesistant. It’s so fun. It’s so stupid but I enjoy stupid comedy so much; it’s my favorite comedy.
How have you matured as an artist since your freshman year?
I think it’s just understanding how you can emotionally manipulate people into having some sort of feeling from a art piece I guess. Like I’ve learned how (to) express one specific emotion instead of just being one big art mess.
