Meet our 2017-2018 Mercury Staff!

Meet+our+Mercury+members

Meet our Mercury members

Meet our Mercury Staff! The following are biographies composed by this year’s Mercury members to help you learn a little more about them. If you see them in the halls, pitch them your stories, tell them what YOU want to see in Mercury and follow them to the next Mercury meeting! Don’t forget, the club meets Tuesdays at 3 p.m. in room 228. All students are welcome to join or submit stories, poetry, interviews, etc. at any time.

Mya Guardino (President):  Mya Guardino, is a 16 year old junior, who has a passion for writing and community service. She is an avid member in the yearbook club, is a part of Student Council as the Vice President, and the Treasure for the class of 2019.  In addition to these clubs, she is also the captain of the Girls Varsity Swim and Dive team, and has been a competitive cheerleader for the last 11 years. She is looking forward to being President this year for the Mercury newspaper.

Aryany Garcia (Vice President): Aryany Garcia, a tenth grader, is a drama club enthusiast.  Last year, she performed various roles in The Little Mermaid, and this year she is excited to be playing the role of a cheerleader in the club’s fall performance of High School Musical.  Aryany likes to play sports, take pictures, and was a staff writer and Vice President of Mercury last year.  This year, she looks forward to serving as Mercury’s Vice President again.

Kathryn Czerwinski: Kathryn Czerwinski is a 16-year old junior at Peekskill High School.  She enjoys singing, writing, acting and helping other people out.  Besides doing Mercury, Kathryn is Vice President of the Peekskill Drama Club, a member of the Peekskill City Singers, a member of the Great Potential Club, and a member of the Yearbook club.

Moustapha Diallo (Secretary): Moustapha Diallo is a music enthusiast and sports loving 9th grader. His hobbies include video editing and hiking. Originally from Kingston, Jamacia, he was raised in Bronx NY for 12 years. Moustapha is secretary of the Mercury newspaper club.

Olivia Paul (Treasurer): Olivia Paul is a freshman at PHS. She’s a triplet and a 1st degree black belt in karate. Olivia is in the Drama Club as well and in 3 honors classes. She has been a Girl Scout for 11 years. She is looking forward to serving as Mercury’s Treasurer this year.

Nia Pack: Nia Pack was born in the south Bronx and moved to Peekskill with her family when she was nine. She’s in 9th grade, loves art and is obsessed with musicals. She is very much looking forward to joining newspaper this year.

Emily Perez: Emily Perez is a senior who is active with the PHS Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team as well as a member of the Mohegan League Soccer Team. In addition to this, she has served as a member of the Latin Culture Club (LCC). She is happy to be a new member of Mercury. Emily has one younger brother, one older brother, and is proud to have a closely-knit family.

BrieAnna Punter: A very ambitious, multi-talented young scholar, BrieAnna Punter is passionate about everything she says and writes down.  She is a firm believer who is not afraid to back down from a challenge.  BrieAnna is a member and event coordinator of the Youth Advisory Council, and an active community member who has completed over 100 hours of community service in one short year.  BrieAnna is now looking forward to sharing her voice through The Mercury.

Vivica Wilson: Vivica is currently a junior and an active member of two dance teams at Peekskill High School – the PHS Dancing Devils and the Halos.  She is also a member of the Great Potential program, where she visits various colleges in order to gain first-hand experiences and learn what to expect as a future college student. She loves animals and wants to go to college as a science major in order to become a veterinarian. Vivica comes from a large family, which includes six brothers and three sisters. She looks forward to sharing her voice as a staff member of the Mercury Newspaper.

Katherine Quezada: Katherine is a freshman who moved to Peekskill in January 2017.  Previously, she lived in Ecuador with her aunt, uncle and cousin.  Now that she’s in New York, she has been reunited with her mother.  Katherine loves reading mystery stories; she says Edgar Allan Poe is an inspiration to her.  She likes soccer and wants to learn how to play tennis.  She enjoys free-writing and sketching, and is happy to be a new member of the Mercury Newspaper Club.

Edwin Rivera: Edwin is a freshman who played on the JV Soccer team during the fall 2017 season.  He attends CCD at Assumption Church, and he is going to be confirmed in May, 2018. Since he was little, Edwin has been an avid reader.  His favorite books include both fiction and nonfiction, and he enjoys numerous genres.  This year, he looks forward to reading and writing more.  He is a new member of the Mercury Club and wants to share interviews as well as articles about sports and events.

Dr. Hannigan: Dr. Hannigan is a newcomer to PHS and is very happy to be a co-advisor of Mercury. She looks forward to helping students share their voices through words, images and photography.

Ms. Blefiore: This is Ms. Belfiore’s second year on Mercury. She is also a co-advisor for the PHS Drama Club. In addition to these tasks, Ms. Belfiore  works as the Peekskill City School District’s Communication Specialist and loves being behind the scenes at many of PCSD’s  exciting events!