Mr. & Ms. T Contestant Interview

If you’re new to the Tualatin High School and the Mr. & Mr. Timberwolf, read the article on page five to learn what it is. If you are already know what it is, here is a Q&A with the contestants:

Dylan Ngyuen & Maile Johnson 

Mr. & Ms. Fall Sports

Q:Who do you think will be the biggest opponent and why?

Nguyen: Sidney and Sophie because they got off to a good start with their basketball tournament and are two very well-known, kind people.

Q:What do you anticipate to be the hardest part of the pageant?

Johnson: Probably fundraising throughout the entire time considering it is two whole months. While people get off to good starts throughout the first 2-3 weeks, maintaining the same pace is probably one of the hardest parts. 

Athena Fontanilla & Jenna Gaston 

Ms. & Ms. Full IB

Q: How do you feel about carrying the Ms. & Ms. Full IB legacy after Laurel and Simran won last year? Does it add any extra pressure?

Fontanilla: I’m excited to continue the tradition of a Full IB team! Going into this we were aware of team Full IB’s impressive showing last year, but I view it as motivation rather than something to be afraid of.

Gaston: I think it just shows that IB students are winners. 

Q:What skills that you’ve learned this year from being part of the IB Program do you think will be useful as the contest progresses?

Fontanilla: The power to make something intensely meme-able is something that will come in handy for us. It’s the only way the Full IB group chat knows how to cope. Our team of knights can be found on #IBRoyal.

Gaston: I’ve learned how to juggle a lot at once and how to organize philanthropic efforts.. I also have a whole bunch of other highly-motivated IB students behind me. 

Taylor Corcoran & Kayli Depweg 

Ms. & Ms. IB Bio

Q: How has the science department (Rott, Baker) influenced you?

Corcoran: Mr. Rott has given us lots of support in everything that we are doing for Ms. & Ms. T, and he is super excited that we’re representing IB Bio.

Q: Why did you want to participate in the pageant? Have you ever had any affiliation with Doernbecher in the past?

Depweg: Personally, I’m very interested in the medical field so anything medical-related is great. I’ve also volunteered at Doernbecher in the past. 

Abby Blank & Max Morales 

Mr. & Ms. Yearbook

Q: How is fundraising for Mr. & Ms. T going?

Blank: Fundraising is going well. I feel very confident about how we’re doing so far. We’ve earned quite a bit of money on the online system. We’ve done a couple small fundraisers, and we’re working on some upcoming ones that I’m pretty excited to announce.

Q: What do you feel is your team’s biggest strength over the other couples participating?

Morales: Shouting out that we need their money for an important cause, as well as thinking outside of the box in terms of normal fundraising methods. 

Stephon Lemari & Huy Truong 

Mr. & Mr. Pep Band:

Q: What portion of the Mr. & Ms. T contest are you most excited for? (pageant, assembly, field trip, video shoots, etc.)

Truong: Originally I was very excited about the pageant, but now that fundraising has kicked off, that has excited me more, and I have even created a personal fundraising goal. After going to Doernbecher, I was able to have more information about the hospital and what it does for kids not only in Oregon, but also other parts of the country, too. The competition between couples is also really fun, but in the end, we’re all on the same page in terms of reaching a goal that we all believe in. 

Q: Who is the most underrated couple?

Lemari: Abby and Max because Abby has successfully done a lot of fundraising, I believe she’s in the lead, but not a lot of people support them because they’re not as well-known as the other contestants. 

Alicia Winters & Hannah Schmid 

Ms. & Ms. Civil War

Q: What was your biggest takeaway from the field trip to Doernbecher?

Schmid: Personally, it was good to see where everything we’re fundraising for goes to. 

Q: What Mr. & Ms. T couple would be the best real-life couple and why?

Winters: Elyse and Sophie because they work really well together and they’re both really nice, smart and gorgeous.

Megan Kindle & Natalie Murray 

Ms. & Ms. Rec Basketball

Q: What do you hope to get out of participating in Mr. & Ms. T?

Murray: I just hope to raise more awareness of what Doernbecher is all about and what they’re doing to help out everyone.

Kindle: For me, I hope it encourages others to get involved in their communites and do something that’s bigger than themselves. Doernbecher is a place that is saving lives everyday and they can’t continue to do that without our help. Knowing I helped out to give kids the opportunity to have a future would be a crazy feeling. 

Q: Is there any beef between Ms. & Ms. Varsity Basketball? What makes you a superior couple to Ms. & Ms. Varsity Basketball?

Murray: Well, Megan and I are really good friends with Sophie, but we could take them on in a 2 v. 2. We definitely have more fun with it.

Kindle: I think it’s always good to have a little bit of competition and there is a lot between us because we are both representing basketball. But in the end, each one of us support one another since we are all doing this for one cause. I would have to say that we have to be the more fun couple and will do anything to make the most out of this experience.   

Halle Mitchell & Elle Sherman 

Ms. & Ms. Lifeguard

Q: Why is raising money for Doernbecher important to you?

Mitchell: I think raising money for Doernbecher is important because not only does it help the sick kids who are in need and families who don’t have the financial necessities, but also help improve the technologies at the hospital so kids and families can get better care.

Sherman: It’s important because this fundraiser is so much bigger than us. It teaches us how to give back to those who need it more than us and how to be thankful for our health through simply reaching out and helping those who are struggling. 

Q: What general piece of advice would you give for the other couples competing against you?

Mitchell: Try harder.

Sherman: Watch out.

Matthew Brown & Ava Melson 

Mr. & Ms. Student Union

Q: What inspired both of you to create a Student Union at TuHS?

Both: BEN BOWMAN! 

Brown: We worked on his campaign for the school board last year and he was the one who opened our eyes to all the things the school board does behind the scenes, and how the school board affects our education. That’s why we were drawn so drawn to his campaign because we wanted to continue to work with the school board after because they have a great deal of impact on our lives and we should have a say in the decisions they’re making.

Melson: We realized how little other students knew and how little the student voice was involved in it, so we felt like this was just a missing piece of our school district that we felt we could fill.

Q: Out of all the couples, who do you feel would be the worst real-life couple and why?

Melson: Halle & Elle.

Brown: They would just cheat on each other all the time and then they just wouldn’t tell each other.

Melson: Megan & Natalie would also just get mad at each other all the time.

Sidney Dering & Sophie Wong 

Ms. & Ms. Varsity Basketball

Q: Who is your team’s (teacher, coach, etc.) inspiration?

Wong: My inspiration for the pageant is all of the kids at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. 

Dering: My brother because of all the time he spent up at Doernbecher. Our family really knows the importance of having good quality care and everything that we’ve ever had at Doernbecher has been awesome so it’s a really important cause for us to be able to give back to the place that has given my family so much and we know that’s the same case for so many other children up there. If we can help in any little way to give back to the hospital that’s here in our community and nationally-ranked, then why not?

Q: Is there any beef between Ms. & Ms. Rec Basketball? What makes you a superior couple?

Wong: Varsity basketball is obviously more elite than rec basketball and so is our 

fundraising.

Dering: For us, basketball isn’t a joke. It’s not something that we take lightly. Double overtime playoff wins don’t happen in rec basketball. It’s important to us that we have fun but we also win. In the end though, all of the money is going to the children so we’re both happy to help such a great cause. 

Elyse Burton & Sophie Bennett 

Ms. & Ms. Girls Tennis

Q: Has Mr. & Ms. T been easier or harder than you expected so far?

Bennett: I mean I knew it was gonna be hard going into this just because being part of ASB and my older sister ran the event when she was a senior here, but I think it’s just the time constraints. You feel like you have so much time but you don’t have any time. Trying to figure out times to get things done with your partner is a little difficult. 

Q: Who is the most overrated couple?

Burton: Ms. & Ms. IB Bio because they probably think they’re smart.