Javier Whitaker-Castañeda, The Rubicon, Editor-in-Chief
Javier Whitaker-Castañeda is the Editor-in-Chief of The Rubicon and a senior at St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Outside of The Rubicon, he is very active, playing on the Boys Varsity Soccer team and acting as co-president of the student group PLAY. Comparing PLAY, a student group that promotes lasting activeness through gym games, to The Rubicon, Whitaker-Castañeda notes that dedicated members of both are up for anything. He is no exception; as a dedicated Rubicon staff member since his freshman year, he has experience in reporting, editing, and design. Nonetheless, if he could only do one thing on staff, Whitaker-Castañeda would choose to copy edit because he values attention to detail and finishing tasks as strong as they are started. He can be reached at rubicon.spa@gmail.com.
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![one of my ideas was to make it My Little Pony themed [because] in beats we have four groups and they all produce work different weeks, so we split them into groups. And last year it was Minion-themed, so in my presentation, I wanted to have a little fun thing, so I was just like, ‘Oh, we should do a My Little Pony theme.’ And then, you know, we turned it into the theme of the year. And now we have four groups. We have team Twilight Sparkle. We have team Princess Cadence– is she a princess? Guys, I need to know my My Little Pony better. And then we have team Princess Celestia and team Princess Luna.](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Thomas-podcast-photo-1200x900.jpeg)
![The Boys’ Basketball program is very focused on making everyone feel included whether they are on or off the court. This year, most of the players in the program are ninth graders and sophomores who haven’t gotten to know the older players. The captains are very interested in making a change in the way new players are introduced to the team. “We have team socials throughout the year which mix all three teams, and we have mandatory team meals [before games], so that the boys will have time to socialize and mix,” said captain senior Emerson Egly. While they want to win, the Boys’ Basketball program at St. Paul Academy believes that socializing as team will help the energy flow better on the court. The program has lost many key players since last year, and is faced with a challenge on how to fill in those lost positions. Egly believes that they’re capable of reaching their goal by using team dinners as a way to get to know each other better and excel on the court. “We have a lot of young talent that we hope to bring together this year, and this year we will be learning how to play together as a team,” Egly said. Senior Tommy Dicke, also a varsity captain, knows what it is like to see the team change every year and bring up younger players. Dicke’s first year on Varsity was his sophomore year, and he understands the level of competitiveness that goes on to play at this level. “I’m older now, and I have some real experience. Last year was my first year playing big minutes [in games] so I know what to expect. I understand the intimidation that comes with playing juniors and seniors from other schools,” he said.](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/BVB-900x600.jpg)
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![Andrea Sachs receives her doctorate in American Studies. “[My studies] helped me polish my craft as a historian and also helped me polish my craft as a teacher,” Sachs said.](https://www.rubiconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Sachs-photo.png)
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