![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
She’s in competitive cheerleading, JROTC, select choir and all advanced classes; to most people, though, the most shocking thing about her is that she’s also on the football team.
Freshman Nicole Soto plays for the freshman football team, and is the only female player in the lineup this year.
“I started playing football because everyone was saying that I couldn’t, that there was no place for females in the sport,” Soto said. “I really wanted to prove them wrong.”
At first it was strange to see a girl on the field. I didn’t think she would be able to hold up. After seeing her put in the work, though, it really changed how I saw football. She definitely deserves to be on the team.
— Chance Stovall, freshman
Soto is the third girl to ever be on the football team at this school, an accomplishment that doesn’t come without its challenges.
“Being a female in a male-dominated sport is really hard at times. You have to earn the team’s respect, it isn’t automatically given to you,” Soto said. “It’s also hard to bond as a team when they aren’t initially accepting of you. It can be lonely.”
Coach BJ Smith, the head freshman football coach, was supportive of Soto’s decision to join.
“My first impressions of her were that she was a good athlete, was very respectful and was very adamant about her goals,” Coach Smith said. “She knew what she was signing up for by being on the team, and she always held herself accountable to that.”
Because of football’s historic reputation as a boys-only activity, the appearance of a girl on the team was surprising to many.
“At first it was strange to see a girl on the field. I didn’t think she would be able to hold up,” Freshman Chance Stovall, one of Soto’s teammates, said. “After seeing her put in the work, though, it really changed how I saw football. She definitely deserves to be on the team.”
As a starter on the offensive line, Soto goes through the same strength and conditioning training as the boys to be able to bring her maximum power to the field, which means spending a lot of time at the school for practice.
“I wake up everyday at 5 for football, and get home at around 6:30 because of my other extracurriculars,” Soto said. “It’s a lot of work, and I honestly don’t know how I have any freetime. After we won our first game was when it really all became worth it for me; the empowerment from that moment just made me want to work even harder.”
Once football season concludes, Soto plans on tackling powerlifting as her next activity, continuing to be a trailblazer for females in sports.
This story was originally published on Blue Print on November 11, 2021.
