Student story- The one-man J-band

By Caleb Chin

Tanner Maxwell, a junior at Goddard High, has a quiet, shy demeanor that belies his passionate motivation for journalism.

He’s the ads manager, online editor, visuals editor and editor-in-chief of his newspaper, along with co-editor-in- chief, ads manager and student life editor of his yearbook. He ticks off all seven jobs on his fingers, making sure he doesn’t lose track.

Maxwell is at his school until 5 p.m. every day working on the publications, once even staying until midnight. He’s the guy who carries the team, the one that does most of the work and makes the whole thing successful. If the Goddard High School journalism staff was Destiny’s Child, Maxwell would be Beyoncé.

“I started getting into journalism when I joined my J1 class in 7th grade”, Maxwell said. “I thought, ‘Hey, I like to write,’ and gave it a shot. Middle school wasn’t great, but it piqued my interest in it.”

Maxwell clearly enjoys high school journalism more. He attributes his dedication and overall domination of the journalism department to his adviser, Matt Deabler. Deabler won numerous awards and honors in his hometown of Omaha, Neb.

With all his responsibilities, Maxwell still finds time to fit in other activities. He has played violin since a young age and used to be in orchestra, but he dropped it in favor of his journalistic responsibilities. He is also an active member of Kansas Association of Youth and National Honor Society.

As for future plans, Maxwell has a lot of options going for him. He plans on a career in graphic design. He’d like to write for publications but just “good ones,” such as The New York Times, Portland Press Herald, The Washington Post or National Geographic. Who knows how many positions he could take there?

Caleb Chin is a senior at McPherson High School and a student in the advanced writing class at the Flint Hills Publication Workshop.