MATTHEW LYONS

Matthew Lyons has been an official member of the “Green Wave Gazette” for three years. As a sophomore he co-created The Weekly Wave program along with Aaron Johnson for the newspaper.

At the end of the 2021 school year, their “Weekly Wave” YouTube channel had hit over 10,000 views. Impressive for a small school like Abington High.

“The Green Wave Gazette” itself is hosted by SNO (School Newspapers Online) and reaches a wide audience. This year a digital article on Rick Collins, produced by “The Weekly Wave” team, received a Best of SNO award.

And for the second year in a row, “The Green Wave Gazette” itself earned a Distinguished Site award.

There are many reasons students join a school newspaper. With Lyon’s interest in film, it made sense. He wanted to create a digital program where he could meet a lot of interesting people and create something unique. Thus, The Weekly Wave was born.

“Through the ‘Green Wave Gazette,’ I have learned to be more creative and how to speak my mind more often and more clearly,” he said.

Lyons [along with Aaron Johnson] has invited dozens of guests to appear on  “The Weekly Wave” program. “The Weekly Wave Season 2, Episode 10, with guest Jerry Thorton” was the one for which he felt the most pride in co-hosting and producing, Lyons said.

Although many memories were made as a member of the newspaper club, Lyons said his favorite one was “When Ms. Pflaumer, Aaron [Johnson], and I stayed at the ACAM Studio until 5:00 filming the ‘Weekly Wave’ announcement video, editing it, and creating the GWG YouTube Channel.”

After three years of interviewing guests, honing his skills, and winning newspaper awards, this fall Lyons will be attending Emerson College in Boston to major in Film & TV Production.

AARON JOHNSON

Aaron Johnson, the co-host of “The Weekly Wave,” has been on “The Green Wave Gazette” for three years.

Johnson joined the newspaper midway through his sophomore year in order to co-host a show he and his friend Matt Lyons wanted to create in the town’s cable studio ACAM.

“It was such a new and exciting experience for me and is something I will remember for a long time,” Johnson said when looking back on highlights of his involvement in the newspaper club.

Johnson cohosted many episodes of “The Weekly Wave” but did have a few standouts. “My favorite broadcast has to be either the interview with Ms. Corbett about Covid-19 [which won a Best of SNO award] before the pandemic started, or the interview with Barstool Sports reporter Jerry Thorton,” Johnson said.

Being on the student newspaper helps to hone skills that will be important in college and career. Johnson said that “the GWG has tremendously helped my time management skills and my overall poise when it comes to public speaking. I used to get pretty nervous about public speaking, even though I knew I could do it fairly well. Now, I feel totally comfortable voicing my opinions and questions to whoever, because I know how to properly articulate my thoughts.”

The next step for Johnson will be attending Northeastern University, majoring in Computer Science and Physics. He said, “While I do enjoy and appreciate the entertainment arts, my mind is 100% more geared towards STEM and I can’t wait for the challenge of these next five years.”

Although he will be majoring in the sciences, Johnson said he does “want to continue doing journalism/broadcasting in the future because I love to perform.” He said that he is “a very confident person and broadcasting gives me an outlet to portray my personality.”

Through the student newspaper and “The Weekly Wave,” Johnson and his co-host Matt Lyons have become familiar faces around town.

DEREK TIRRELL

Derek Tirrell first joined the student newspaper as a man behind the scenes. He was an intern in the ACAM recording studio and helped produce the Green Wave Gazette’s weekly program “Coffee with Cam“, hosted by Cam Curney [Class of 2020].

In his junior year, Tirrell also joined “The Weekly Wave” team of Matt Lyons and Aaron Johnson as cameraman and producer. However, the 2019-2020 season was cut short due to COID-19 when the school shut down on March 13. Tirrell continued with “Coffee with Cam” remotely; however, The Weekly Wave cancelled its season.

Tirrell also was a student in the year-long journalism course in his junior year and produced articles for the student newspaper through that class, such as this student spotlight on John Mueller.

As a member of the class and the student newspaper, Tirrell said he “learned cooperative skills as many of my projects were collaborative.” Working with others is imperative in journalism.

Tirrell and Matt Lyons created the show, “Movie Time with Matt and Derek” which was short-lived due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the cinemas.  This show was Tirrell’s “favorite program” the Weekly Wave produced that he was involved in, he said.

A special moment on the “Green Wave Gazette” was “When “Chronicle did a story about us,” Tirrell said. That was in the fall of 2020.

“Abington High-schoolers Working Towards Degrees in Journalism” aired in November of 2020 with host Shayna Seymour on WCVB TV and was aired again on Channel 5 in the spring of 2021. The show focused on Abington’s student newspaper and what they were producing.

When asked if he will continue with journalism, Tirrell said, “It is possible that I pursue broadcast journalism, but I am more interested in fictional storytelling.”

He will attend Fitchburg State University and major in communications with a concentration in Film and TV production this fall.

The “Green Wave Gazette” is an important vehicle for student voice, and these three students have contributed a lot to many conversations.

Congratulations to these other senior members of this year’s “Green Wave Gazette”:

• Editor in Chief Abigail Joyce, a member since her freshman year, is off to UMASS, Amherst’s Biotap [honors] program to pursue biology with her eye on medical school
• Staff writer Elizabeth Roy, a member since her freshman year, is off to UMASS, Boston to major in Nursing.
• Class Valedictorian and School News Insider reporter Emily Coulsey, a member since her sophomore year, is off to UMASS, Amherst to pursue Nursing.
• Staff writer James Mulkern, a member since his sophomore year, is off to UMASS, Boston