The Plank

Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit college located in Los Angeles, California. When I visited, I saw the small yet beautiful campus and a few of the landmarks that made the university stand out from others. 

LMU has 7,000 undergraduate students and 2,800 graduate students on their 142 acre campus. LMU is one of top ranked film colleges in the nation and has a great STEM program as well. The school has a teacher to student ratio of 11-to-1, allowing students to have closer discussions and relationships with their professors. 

When you meet Koen Miyashiro ’25 for the first time, you’ll quickly discover two things about him: he’s exceptionally smart and exceptionally friendly. He’ll speak first, curiously asking a question or sharing an observation. When you respond, he’ll show genuine interest and will continue asking questions or sharing stories. Before you know it, you’ll be deep in conversation with him, trying to keep up as he speaks rapidly and excitedly. Because of experiences like this one, many people at Jesuit High School Sacramento call Koen a friend.

While working with Koen to organize Echelon Catapult classes and events, Director of Admissions Mr. Matthew Ramos ’05 has watched Koen grow into a capable and confident leader.

There is a variety of sports that countries and cultures find to be the “greatest sport of all time.” Cricket, American football, tennis, and basketball are globally popular sports with enormous fanbases. However, out of all the numerous sports celebrated around the world, I believe soccer is the most fulfilling and the greatest of all.

As someone who grew up with the sport, I fell in love with the game at a very young age. I believe that soccer tops all other sports in terms of the emotions it evokes in the players and audience, as well as its global reach to almost every culture on the planet.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was founded in 1919, in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. This renowned university offers a strong student life in addition to a top-of-the-line education.

Since UCLA is part of the UC system, it has many advantages over other universities. For example, they share a library with the entirety of the UC system, which allows them to access literature that many other universities do not provide. For me, this definitely gives UCLA a leg up on many other non-UC universities.

After an outstanding 2023-2024 season, the Jesuit High School Sacramento wrestling team aims to continue their success this winter. The team has refined their skills throughout the off-season, training to dominate the competition.

“A lot of the wrestlers, including me, have been doing off season practices throughout spring, summer, and fall,” said Xavier Pizano ’25. “And outside of just practicing, we’ve also been going to tournaments and wrestling camps. We’ve done a lot of off-season competition and practices to prepare for this upcoming season.”

The original “Beetlejuice,” Tim Burton’s eccentric and oftentimes disturbing 1988 film, released to good – if not stellar – reviews. Despite some gruesome elements, the movie established itself as a classic family movie.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which was released on Sept. 6, 2024, a sequel 36 years in the making, had big shoes to fill, and it largely fails to live up to the accolades of the original.

Last year, Max Troppman ’25 revived the Engineering club with the help of Math teacher Mr. Justin Tsai. The club works to showcase upcoming engineering inventions and concepts to foster student awareness and appreciation for the field.

“We typically bring videos regarding new and upcoming technologies and watch them as a group,” Max said. “We then discuss the content in these videos, discuss what we think of the implications that could be had in the future, and just talk a little about our own interests in STEM.”