Editors-in-Chief
Rida Ali, Editor-in-Chief
Proud owner of 734 makeup palettes, senior Rida Ali enjoys playing with colors — and design. When she isn’t fervently rewatching The Office, you can find her pining over fonts. She is the co-editor-in-chief of The Prowl, the president of Interact Club, vice president of MSA and the scholarship chair for NEHS. Her pet peeves include being late to class, being late to class for a cup of instant coffee, and instant coffee. And Elise.
Elise Tsao, Editor-in-Chief
Shakespeare aficionado Elise Tsao is a senior who loves correcting people — actually, she’s just the co-editor-in-chief. She is the vice president of the Interact Club and is a part of the NEHS and NHS. When she isn’t scrambling to make instant coffee in the mornings, she can be found sharing (not so) friendly banter with her friends. In her spare time, Elise can be found clattering away at her laptop, editing frantically at 3 a.m.
Editors
Grace Butler
Grace Butler is a junior this year. She is an officer for both Independence’s Model United Nations Club and Independence’s podcast, Tiger Talks. She is also a member of Sources of Strength, Educator Rising, Indy Serves, and the Independence chapter of National Honor Society. Grace enjoys listening to music on her record player and spending time with family and friends.
Olivia Danley
Olivia Danley is a junior and this is her second year on the newspaper staff. Olivia’s interests include reading comic books, playing the guitar and all things music. She is part of the Podcast Club at Independence where she serves as the Editing and Tech Director. She also participates in competitive field hockey and plays for Metro HC.
Staff Writers
Eva Anderson
Eva Anderson is a Sophomore at Independence High School. She enjoys playing travel soccer through her club, Loudoun Soccer and plans to try out for the Independence team. Eva is also a part of different Independence Clubs such as Educators Rising, Indy Podcast, and P.A.S.T.A. In her free time she loves to spend time with her family and friends, adventure outdoors and play with her two golden retrievers. Eva is super excited to be joining the Prowl staff again!
Madison Bach
Madison Bach is a 10th grade student at Independence High School. She is the oldest child in her family of four. In her free time, she likes to play soccer and hang out with friends and family. She is a part of the Indy Podcast and Indy Serves clubs. Madison will be trying out for the high school soccer team and is excited to be a part of the newspaper staff again this year!
Kaitlin Espejo
Kaitlin Espejo is a junior with an intense love for ramen and only a slight (?) caffeine addiction. She plays volleyball and is a member of the Indy Serves club. Kaitlin enjoys watching one of her many shows on Netflix while she snacks on Pringles. The only time she willingly wakes up early is to watch Formula One races on the weekend with her family, which is a random hobby she picked up during quarantine.
Paulette Frexias
Paulette is a sophomore here at Independence. She is passionate about philosophy and her admiration for AOC. She is a member of the Youth Democratic Socialists of America, Model United Nations Club and Indy’s Lincoln-Douglass Debate Team; she’s also looking to join the crew team in the spring. When she isn’t devouring dark chocolate, she can be found doing hours of homework or watching movies with her two little dogs.
Ariel Garcia
Ariel Garcia is a junior at independence high school. She is a cat lady and has her own cat named Breeze. She plays piano and writes poetry. Ariel has four siblings. Over summer she lifeguarded and now babysits.
Arav Goswami
Arav Goswami is a sophomore. He plays guitar, piano, drums, and the synthesizer. Outside of school he works on making his own music.
India Ismael
India Ismael is a junior, and this is her second year on the Prowl staff. She’s part of Independence’s podcast club, Tiger Talks, and is in a couple service clubs at the school. Her favorite shows include Friends and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and she loves watching movies. When inspiration strikes she likes to cook and bake, and she is constantly listening to music.
Jaismeen Kaur
Jaismeen is a Senior and Journalism staffer. She likes to read and write a lot. She likes to listen to music when she is bored and stressed. She thinks her voice is not sweet, but she still likes to sing. She loves to eat and cook by herself, and she also loves playing with dogs. Her other hobbies are drawing and sketching portraits of people. She is funny and friendly to talk to. She is also a hard working student who always tries to get the best grades in her every class.
Shreya Malkar
Shreya Malkar is a freshman at Independence High School. She likes to write poems, collect new vocabulary, learn about psychology and philosophy, and laugh during horror movies. Some loved, yet less common hobbies of theirs is that they sketch and try baking new things. Shreya is fond of thunderstorms, milk chocolate, and alternative/indie or alternative/rock music. Her obnoxious puns may be bad, but her poetry is “verse.”
Sebastian Nazario
Sebastian Nazario is a Junior at Independence High School. He’s also a political activist. His hobbies include going to protests, reading, and listening to music. He loves his dog a lot too. He wants to join a commune in the future as well.
Layne Sheplee
Layne Sheplee is a sophomore who loves to stay busy. When not procrastinating her school work, Layne can be found playing sports, exercising, reading, or spending time with family and friends. Layne is a part of the Independence Varsity Field Hockey and Girls Lacrosse teams, as well as a travel lacrosse team called Pride. She also participates in ITPA, Indy Serves, Cappies, NEHS, SCA, and holds the title of 2023 Class Secretary. Layne is ecstatic to join the Prowl Staff this year and explore her love of journalism.
Teagan Sutherland
Teagan Sutherland is a sophomore at Independence High School. Between classes, you will regularly see her watching The Office. When she isnt in school, you can find her at the softball field; her favorite place to be. She started playing when she was five and hasnt stopped since. This year she is looking forward to being on the newspaper staff!