As senior year comes to a close, members of the Class of 2025 are reflecting on what they’ve learned—both inside and outside the classroom. From time management tips to lessons in friendship and confidence, their advice offers a glimpse into the highs and lows that defined their high school experiences.

Linda Gabele: Be Open and Reach Out

“Be open to meeting new people and try to connect with them as well,” Gabele said.

Gabele also encourages students to step outside their comfort zones. “Stay locked in and make friends with people you normally wouldn’t be with,” she said. “It’s easy to stick with familiar faces, but some of the most meaningful friendships come from unexpected places.”

Casey Watkins: Try, Connect, and Slow Down

For Watkins, high school has been centered around connection, effort, and reflection. One of his most meaningful experiences has come from being on a team. “Being part of a sports community like water polo is a sense of brotherhood, and it’s so awesome,” he said.

He also encourages others to take initiative socially. “You should never be shy. You can’t go out and make friends without trying,” Watkins added. “Definitely try to make the best out of every difficult situation, and don’t forget to slow down and enjoy the time.”

Kasra Motamedi: It’s Okay, Just Keep Going

Senior Kasra Motamedi has learned a lot—sometimes the hard way. “Talk to your teachers when something is wrong. Teachers want you to succeed and they don’t want you to fail,” he said.

Motamedi also regrets waiting too long to finish assignments. “I wish I didn’t procrastinate as much,” he said. “I wouldn’t have had so much stress and I’d be able to have more fun.”

For Motamedi, keeping perspective is key. “It will be alright in the end—what college you go to, your friends, and everything else,” he said.

Don’t care too much about what people think. I used to think too much about what others thought, and it would ruin my mood. I’d even change how I act in front of others,” Motamedi shared.

Juliana Gamez-Diaz: Don’t Hold Back, and Study Hard

To Gamez-Diaz, social advice is just as important as academic tips. “Don’t be scared to talk to new people and  to do things that are embarrassing,” she said. “If you’re too scared to be embarrassed, you can hold back on a lot of things.”

When it comes to academics—especially in a big school—her biggest takeaway is the value of focused studying. “Focusing a lot on doing deep studying is better because multi-tasking is just a waste of time,” she explained.  “If you’re so distracted, it takes like hours to do things, but like, if you’re in deep focus, you can get it done in, like a small amount of time. Short forms of content and, like, TikTok, it’s like, it’s like your attention span decreases.”

Lainey Egnal: Stay Organized

If there’s anyone who figured out how to manage senior year wisely, its Lainey Egnal. As a Dance Team captain juggling college applications and a social life, Egnal found that planning ahead made all the difference. “Do as much as you can as a junior and the summer before senior year,” she said.

“You have UCPIQS (personal insight questions) and the Common App questions summer before senior year. If you get those done, by the time you get to first semester senior year, all you have left is supplementals,” she explained. “It will make your life ten times easier.”

“Don’t stress too much about doing something all the time, usually you are doing exactly what you need to be doing,” Egnal concluded.

Phoebe Matin: Live while you can

Matin encourages underclassman not to waste their time worrying about the wrong things. “Don’t care what other people think,” she said. “Do what you can to have a good time and live—these years go by so quickly.”

Her favorite memories were not made in the classroom, but rather outside with friends. “Go out on the Green and play spikeball with your friends,” she said. “The small, joyful moments stick the most.”

Alessandro Delfin Novoa: Work Hard and Enjoy

Alessandro Delfin Novoa has one big tip for balancing academics and fun: plan ahead. “Take all of your hard classes your junior year,” he said. “Taking hard classes junior year means you can enjoy your senior year.”

For Novoa, authenticity remains crucial in high school. “Just stay true to yourself. High school goes by a lot faster than you think, and I feel like every moment you have to make the most of it,” he said.

His biggest piece of advice? Embrace failure. “Don’t be afraid to fail. I feel like part of my high school journey was definitely shaped by my downs,” he said.

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• Deal also covers Team USA and includes media buy with NBC
• LA28 has now secured as many sponsors in 2025 as it did during whole of last year
• Automotive category made available to local organising committee after Toyota chose not to renew IOC TOP deal

Japanese carmaker Honda has been named a founding partner of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, making it the first brand to join the event’s top sponsorship tier in nearly four years.

Financial terms of the deal, which also sees Honda become the official automotive sponsor of Team USA for the next two Olympics, have not been disclosed. However, it has secured the highest designation available for local sponsors of LA28, with Delta Airlines reportedly paying US$400 million to become the inaugural founding partner of the Games in 2020.

Comcast is currently the only other founding partner of LA28 after Salesforce opted to end its sponsorship less than three years into the deal.

As part of the agreement, Honda will supply a suite of vehicles to help transport athletes, officials and other stakeholders during the Games, offering an opportunity to showcase the company’s electric range, such as its upcoming Honda 0 Series and Acura RSX.

Honda, which first established a presence in the US in Los Angeles in 1969, will also benefit from a multi-platform media collaboration with NBCUniversal, which will spotlight the brand during its coverage of both Milano Cortina 2026 and LA28. 

Local organisers have a stated aim of securing US$2.5 billion in sponsorship revenue for LA28 and are planning to have US$2 billion of that total secured by the end of 2025.

John Slusher, who is the chief executive of US Olympic and Paralympic Properties, the joint venture selling combined partnerships on behalf of LA28 and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), told Sports Business Journal (SBJ) that the deal with Honda means more than US$1.5 billion have now been generated from sponsorship sales.

Meanwhile, speaking to the Los Angeles Times, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman said the backing of Honda was both financially and strategically significant.

“As a privately funded games, our mandate is to generate the revenue we need to produce these Games,” Wasserman said. “The biggest line item of that is sponsorship revenue. To be able to announce another big partner with a really spectacular brand who has been invested in Southern California for a long time is both [financially] important but also, in many ways, strategically important.

“It’s another brand that sees the power of our Olympic platform to tell their story in a community that’s very important to that industry that they’ve been invested in for a long time.”

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The Kansas City Royals announced Sunday night they are calling up their top prospect — MLB’s No.10 prospect overall — former Gators first-baseman Jac Caglianone.

Caglianone has been making his rounds in pro baseball. The left-handed power bat has been dominating the minor leagues — and can now dominate in the majors.

Caglianone was a dynamo at Florida. In his three years at UF, he broke countless records. Not only did he have the record for the most home runs hit in a season, but he also broke the career record with 75 home runs at UF — one more than Matt Laporta‘s 74.

Go call your dad, Jac! pic.twitter.com/AtWHPDmAzW

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 2, 2025

Life After College

Caglianone’s power has translated well to pro ball. Since getting drafted last July, he has climbed his way through the minors. He started his career playing for the Quad City River Bandits in 2024. In 29 games, he batted .241 with two home runs and 14 RBIs.

He then got called up to the Royals’ Double A affiliate — the Northwest Arkansas Travelers. During his time in Northwest Arkansas, he played 38 games batting well above .300 and hit the cover off baseballs with nine home runs and 43 RBIs. This quick offensive explosion got him a call up to Triple A with the Omaha Storm Chasers.

In just 12 games as a Storm Chaser, he continued his offensive tear — hitting .319 with 6 home runs and 13 RBIs including five home runs in his first four games.

The (very quick) rise of Jac Caglianone:

2024:

Drafted No. 6 overall by Kansas City

2025:

38 Games in AA
.322 BA + 9 HRs + 43 RBIs

May 18th – Promoted AAA
11 Games in AAA
.326 BA + 6 HRs + 13 RBIs

June 1st – called up to the Kansas City Royals pic.twitter.com/4lKsCwR8oK

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) June 2, 2025

Power Outage

The Royals have been getting their wins from their pitching staff. Kansas City’s team ERA is 3.13 — fourth best in baseball — and their strikeout to walk ratio as a team is just under 3-1. They are currently above .500, sitting at 31-29.

However, their run-scoring ability has left a lot to be desired. Kansas City has struggled to get their bats going all year. In 60 games played, the team has 198 runs scored on the season — tied for second worst in baseball.  Kansas City also only has 34 home runs on the season — one less than the amount of homers Caglianone hit in his last year at UF and the least in the MLB.

Royals’ manager Matt Quatraro believes Caglianone could be a major spark for a struggling offense.

“He’s super talented,” Quatraro said during Spring Training. “When you see him step out onto the field, you can see that he’s athletic… he moves around the bag well and the power clearly stands out.”

JAC CAGLIANONE HOMER OUT OF THE BALLPARK @nwanaturals | @Royals | @KCRoyalsPD pic.twitter.com/WDLWHuvAG0

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 6, 2025

What’s Next for Cags?

The Royals have an off day before they hit the road. They will start their six-game road trip in St. Louis to take on their in-state rival Cardinals.

Caglianone is expected to make his major league debut tomorrow and it’s something that Gator fans and Royals fans have been looking forward to since draft day. He will be joining former Gator Jonathan India in the big leagues. First pitch at Busch Stadium is set for tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.