Our co-editors-in-chief Claire Roach and Ava Wittman have been a part of The Wolf for three years, but I bet you had no idea that they both can’t leave their houses without their roadside car assistance information, or that Ava may or may not resemble two strangers’ dead ex-girlfriends or that Claire’s irrational fear is linked back to a graphic scary story she wrote for the newspaper in 2020. To get to the bottom of who Claire and Ava really are, we sat down with them as they reflected on their time with The Wolf and discussed the most defining facts about themselves. 

Why did you join The Wolf?

C: Basically, I had a lot of upperclassmen friends that were on the newspaper that said that I would really enjoy it, so they convinced me to join. 

A: By accident. It was over COVID, and I requested Human Body Systems, and they told me they couldn’t give me that, so they put me in Drawing 1. I told my counselors I absolutely did not want to be in Drawing 1, so they put me in newspaper.

Favorite memory from newspaper?

C: When (former staff member) Ryan Ehrhart and I won the Quill and Scroll ‘Superior Award’ for our Opinion and Editorial page design last year. 

A: When we went to Media Day at The University of Oregon, especially when we were trying to get someone to review our newspaper. It took us three or four sessions to get anyone to review it, and we were running around and missing sessions. It was very odd, but it was a good time.

What’s been your favorite section to write for?

C: I think my favorite is Opinion, but I have the most fun writing for Humor. 

A: Personally I’m loyal to News. It’s where I started, both in writing and editing. Recently, I’ve been doing movie reviews in Entertainment and that’s been really, really fun. 

What’s been your favorite issue of The Wolf over your time on staff?

C: The most recent one, Issue 5 this year. 

A: Senior Issue last year, it was also fun to work on it as a junior supporting the seniors because it was a little less stressful. 

Do you have a favorite type of media that you would recommend someone to read, watch, or listen to?

C: My favorite media source is The Atlantic, but I would recommend that everyone listens to the albums Clean by Soccer Mommy and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco.

A: Honestly, read stupid news from time to time. Like, it’s great to read the New York Times for relevant world news, but, from time to time, read silly, smaller-scale stories or sweet human interest stories. It helps quiet the noise of horrible news. 

If you could spend one day as the other person, what would you do? 

C: I would complete all of the missing English assignments that I have, because Ava is an incredible writer and I would get all A’s. Then I would take apart a computer and put it back together. 

A: I would enjoy being good at math for a day. And being able to write humor articles because I’ve never been able to do that. I would also definitely go thrifting and raid Claire’s closet. 

What’s your worst irrational fear?

C: That I’m going to adopt a dog and in the middle of the night it unzips its skin and inside is a hairless cat…or a human, that would be bad, too. 

A: I have such a fear I’m going to drop someone’s computer. I’ve never abided by the two-hand rule in my life. Don’t write this, but it did happen one time. 

What’s one item you can’t leave home without?

C: My wallet keychain with my “sexy” keychain and unicorn pop-it that I won from being really good at history. Also it has my car auto-insurance in case my car breaks down because that happens a lot. 

A: I always leave with my AAA card. I also have an unreasonable amount of Chapstick, but I will not use it. I always leave the house with like four. 

What was the first concert you’ve been to?

C: Death Cab for Cutie. 

A: My first was Pink. It was a wild first concert. 

What’s your most used emoji?

C: (Claire acted it out for us) The tongue out winking emoji. Or the sobbing one, or the fingers crossed one. My favorite one, though, is the teddy bear. It’s so cute. 

A: The salute emoji. It’s the only way I’ll respond to coworkers. 

What’s a song you’re embarrassed to admit you like?

C: “Love yourself” by Justin Bieber. It’s sooooo good. 

A: I pregamed every IB exam by listening to “Fireball” by Pitbull on blast in my car and was lectured by my peers for getting it stuck in their heads before the exam. 

Tell me two truths and a lie. We’ll let everyone guess which are the truth…

C: I only have one: I’m an ordained minister.

A: I am banned from a crepe restaurant in France for an inability to pay because I didn’t have enough Euros. 

I fell off a cliff once on a hike, and I managed to catch myself on a branch and had to be pulled back up. 

I have been told by two different total strangers that I look exactly like their dead ex-girlfriends. 

What advice would you leave with The Wolf staff?

 C: I would say that actually having a balance in your life doesn’t mean neglecting homework and committing to a ton of stuff outside of school, because it’s not worth it to overwhelm yourself. 

A: In regards to The Wolf specifically, don’t forget who you’re writing for or the purpose of each section. In general, I wish I had viewed high school more as an experience rather than a stepping stone. It was always very much a get-it-done attitude, and I wish I had spent more time actually learning instead of just getting through it.