Hope Weaver leans forward in her chair, her eyes fixed on the computer screen. She’s rewritten the lede of her news story several times and now she’s staring at the latest rendition. Hope gets up, grabs a Snickers bar, then returns for more careful scrutiny.

Writing is something Hope knows well. Hope,17, will be editor-in-chief of Cox High School’s site, the Falcon Press, her senior year. As editor she wants to make the paper more serious and to add more diversity to the stories. During her junior year, she wrote or contributed to 12 articles and the production of seven videos. Her love of journalism is intertwined with her other great passion-- reading.

“I like reading and getting transported to the places in the books I read,” Hope said through text, “And with journalism I get to transport others without writing 500 pages.”

The 500- pages she referred to is her less successful try at writing a book. “ “I don’t have the discipline for it,” she said. “I could do short stories but not huge books.”

Hope considers herself a responsible person and she said it comes from being the oldest of four siblings, their ages ranging from 15- to 2-years-old.

“I’ve also become easy going from being the oldest, because plans can always change and things come up and,” she said through a text interview…“you just have to take life as it comes at you.”

Her friends say she also takes care of others.

“She’s really kind and supportive,” said friend Nicole Borda.”She’s definitely someone you can go to for any advice you need.”

Jordan Houston is a rising junior at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.