By Kimia Ashraf

One of the many talented new additions to the Reynolds staff this school year is Parker Hunt, who has successfully taken over managing Pine Whispers as well as mentoring the student writers involved with the paper. Hunt was brought to Reynolds through his student teaching last year, during which he taught alongside Mrs. Wiley and Mrs. Kirkland.

   “During the Spring Semester last year, I was a student teacher [through Wake Forest University] and I knew that there was going to be an opening,” Hunt said.

    From an early age, Hunt began to pursue his passion of the English language.

   “What sparked my passion was a book called Ender’s Game, Hunt said. “I read Ender’s Game when I was a freshman, and at that point I knew I loved English.”

      He owes much of his drive to a teacher from his high school years.

    “I had a really great teacher that year,” Hunt said. “I was a struggling reader in high school and she was the first person who looked me in the eye and told me that I could do it.”

   Hunt is continuing his passion through his first year of teaching with classes such as Newspaper and Intro to Journalism, where he brings his love of stories to the classroom. His appreciation for novels and memoirs stems from the simple background behind them: they are all from people who are telling stories.

   “When we break down journalism and newspaper, we are doing the same thing,” Hunt said.  “We are using a different medium, but we are still telling stories… and I think that’s really exciting to get kids fired up for story telling.”

   Hunt’s main goal is sparking passion in his students through the content that he teaches. He encourages positivity and perseverance and believes both of those qualities are valuable in high school and beyond.

    “Don’t give up, just keep going.” Hunt said.

    This year’s Pine Whispers staff has been progressing efficiently, with a monthly collection of articles readily available for teachers, students, and members of the community alike. Hunt and the Pine Whispers editors have not only changed the physical format of the paper, but have changed many other elements.

    “I came in and tried to be really honest and open about the kind of culture that I wanted for the paper…I am taking this seriously. I also think that I’ve taken a very active role in the students’ working process. There isn’t a lot I can do in a student-produced paper, but what I can do is make sure students are on task.”

   Hunt also has a clear vision for the future of Pine Whispers, in which he hopes to tell person-driven stories and share personal experiences.