If Mikayla Simon thought that her life was going to be a leisurely walk in the park during high school, she was wrong. “I never expected to be so busy my first year of high school,” Simon said. Simon is a very involved performer in her dance studio, Van De Veere Productions.

Other than competing at least twice a year and performing the halftime show for both the Portland Trailblazers and the Harlem Globetrotters four years in a row, her studio is “offering me many opportunities for improvement and a great family environment.”

She dances an average of six hours at her studio a week, “that’s not including me dancing practically everywhere I go.” Other than performing, Simon is very interested in photography and being involved with what is going on in her school.

She chose to join journalism to hopefully put her love for her school and interest in photography together. Journalism style writing has been a challenge for Simon but she is hoping to widen her skills.