Revolutionary, handsome, charming, earnest, all words used to describe the great Ryan Reynolds, the idol of Andrew Aguiniga, or as I call him, Andre Miguel Penguin boy. Aguiniga joined The Aztec in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, writing such intriguing stories like “Aztecs football season is brief,” and “Aztecs win football game over Temple City Rams.” You can truely see the variety of stories Andrew produced. Andrew is always able to take a joke. For instance, I tell Andrew I hate him on a daily basis, and he thinks it’s a joke. As his graduation is nearing, Andrew has taken up a more important role in his life, responding to my texts.

Andrew served as Sports editor for two years and wrote a total of 12 stories. He chose to take up the sports section because according to him, he, “really likes sports. I know I wouldn’t seem like that type.” Andrew’s affinity for sports extended beyond just writing, he also played tennis for Mark Keppel High School, so that’s a thing he did. Now as the year is coming to a close, he is handing over his position of sports editor to his close friend and former tennis teammate, Brayton Andrade. But sports isn’t Andrew’s only thing, he has one more.

From his humble beginnings as a staff writer during the pandemic to his meteoric rise to CoEditor-in-Chief, one thing about Andrew has stuck, he is a massive Marvel nerd. In fact, according to a source provided to The Aztec, Andrew wrote in a private letter to his future self, “I hope I stay a Marvel fan and one day work at Marvel Studios or Marvel Comics.” Unfortunately, The Aztec does not have a dedicated Marvel Section, nor have we produced a single story about Marvel, somehow.

When asked about what it was like being in charge of the editing team, Andrew said, “Oh I forgot about that!” Truely inspiring. According to Andrew, the editing team, made up of himself, Selina Zhang, Jasmine Kwan, Amy Li, and Machu Suh, had great chemistry. However in a separate private comment, Andrew stated, “I think we are all hateful towards each other, especially Machu towards me.” It is not known if Andrew made this comment based off of his own personal beliefs and biases about Machu (Me).

Andrew is a Repetto Alum, alongside Jasmine Kwan and Selina Zhang. During our interview he asked Selina, “Did we talk at repetto?” Selina responded, “Yeah we were deskmates in English.” A great friend indeed. He recalled a story of how their teacher had to move Andrew because he was talking too much, which is believable because Andrew is problematic.

Shockingly, Andrew has been a student at Mark Keppel High School for four years. He claims that Keppel was a learning experience. In comparison to Repetto, he said, “They were both really, really fun in their own separate ways.” When asked to give his former self some advice, he said, “Go to the gym.” Finally, advice Andrew wishes to give next year’s editing team, “Don’t be as lazy as me.”

Following the January 20th shooting in Monterey Park, all the editors on the team had a new view on their jobs. It became more apparent that their roles in society beyond just the school was an important one. In the words of Andrew Aguiniga, “[the moment] was perspective shifting.” It changed the work The Aztec put out, delaying many stories that felt too insensitive and raw to publish. It also changed the work we wanted to continue putting out, as it felt wrong to not point out such big issues societally.

Addressing the other editors, Andrew said, “It was really nice working with you guys. I had a lot of fun.” Andrew is going to be attending Cal Poly Slo, unless UC Irvine accepts him. Either way, he will be studying Journalism. All the editors hope to one day work in a newsroom together again, and we all agree it would be an awesome documentary on Netflix.

Editor’s Comment: I’m going to keep this short to the point as I’ve already left Andrew a note in his yearbook. Andrew seriously is one of my best friends. Since starting out in Journalism a little under two years ago, I looked to Andrew for guidance. I’ve found that I can generally always trust his takes, and I’ve learned that he is a very level headed person. It should be clear to anyone, even outside of the newsroom, that Andrew is a fantastic and capable individual who can seriously do anything he puts his mind to, except answering texts. Thank you Andrew for always being around when I’m in crisis, and thank you for always knowing exactly what to say and do. I consider myself lucky, as much as it is an honor, to be your friend. Love you tons, Machu.