As the second semester begins, some students at South receive new schedules, with new classes and separated locations. With the Tower, students very rarely join or leave the class in the middle of the year. For Simon Justin ’26, however, the opportunity couldn’t be missed. He was able to take the class for one semester and performed well enough to get called up to the Tower staff.
Justin’s enthusiasm for journalism is not entirely organic. He cites his mom as one of his primary points of inspiration, due to her strong communication skills and her nearly having a career in journalism.
“She’s always been interested in it… all that stuff has been like a focal point of me and her’s relationship,” Justin said. “That influence, and then honors journalism was fun too.”
Justin joined honors journalism, the prerequisite for joining the Tower staff, in the fall of 2025, in hopes of potentially joining the staff for the second semester. Due to multiple scheduling conflicts, Justin’s timing never worked out to take the class before his senior year, but he’s ready to get started and be a meaningful member of the staff.
“I heard about a special way where seniors can fast-track the Tower process, and Tower is something I’ve thought about throughout high school,” Justin said. “I decided, ‘you know what, I’m a senior. This is my last chance.’”
