My name is Joe Pearson, and I am a junior at Saint Joseph Catholic High School. 

I live in Flora, Miss., with my mother, father and twin sister. 

I became involved in high school journalism in the eighth grade when my English teacher, who was and still is the St. Joseph Catholic School journalism advisor, read my essays on my English tests and insisted that I write for the newspaper. 

I hesitated at first because I saw myself as a novelist and a storyteller, not a writer inclined to the hard, straightforward, abbreviated diction of a newspaper writer. I thought newspaper writing was boring, lacked creativity and forced all kinds of rules on writing. I just didn't want any part of that.

But Mr. Cassreino and I struck a compromise of sorts. I agreed to come on the staff as a columnist for the sports page, where he said I could best use my skills of imagery, details and storytelling. 

So, in my freshman year, I became the sports editor of the newspaper, The Bear Facts.  I wrote sports columns and designed sports pages. I learned how to use Adobe InDesign to compose news and sports pages. And I stayed in the same role until the last month of my sophomore year, where I assumed the role of editor for the last edition of the paper that year. 

Ever since then, I have been the editor of The Bear Facts. 

While I have grown to enjoy writing sports and news, my high school journalism work is not limited solely to print. At Mr. Cassreino's suggestions, I have tried my hand in other things: anchoring special editions of our award-winning high school newscast Bruin News Now, providing play-by-play of varsity mens basketball games over our streaming TV service and our live radio broadcasts on WJXC Jackson, 107.9. 

This year, I hosted the "Coach Michael Howell Show," an pre-game interview show with St. Joe's head basketball coach.  The "Michael Howell Show" aired before every home district basketball game we webcast and broadcast. It also was and is a podcast anyone can download from our school website.

Besides having an extensive background  covering sports for the student newspaper and live streaming TV and radio broadcasts, I also play sports. 

I am a member of the varsity football and baseball teams. I was the starting linebacker on the football team last fall. And I was the starting third baseman for the Bruin baseball team last year that captured the 2018 2A Baseball Championship. As sports editor, I led efforts to publish a special edition of The Bear Facts newspaper commemorating and celebrating the state championship. I put that newspaper tigether after school was out. It proved to be incredibly popular with students, facuylty, parents and alumni. 

I hold a 4.2 GPA, and membership in the Mu Alpha Theta Club, English Honor Society, National Honor Society, the Latin National Honor Society and the Quill and Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalists. 

I belong to the campus ministry team at school, where I organize retreats for students. 

I am a parishioner at Saint Richard Catholic Church in Jackson. I am a member of the youth group, and I serve as a liturgical minister and alter server.