Samara Phelps is a junior here at HHS and one of the newest additions to The Nugget newspaper team.

Before moving to Montana, she lived with her dad, a tattoo artist, in Wyoming, and has lived in Montana for ten years now. First living in Billings for seven years, she says she prefers Helena, and appreciates the sense of security she finds in HHS.

“I like Helena way better,” she said. “I miss my friends, but I feel safer here. I know there’s violence everywhere, but you can put yourself somewhere you feel safe. [There was] a lot of gun violence and I lost a lot of my friends to gun violence.”

Samara plans to move out of state after graduation. She is considering moving in with her Dad and apprenticing with him at his shop until she gets on her feet. “Me and my sister talk about it sometimes,” she said.

Joining The Nugget, Samara thought the class sounded fun, as she enjoys writing–especially topics related to poetry, songs, and true crime.

Her number one class is math because she enjoys how the class keeps her mind busy. Outside of the school walls, Samara enjoys painting, spending time with friends, and–most importantly–sleeping.

She treasures both her beanie collection and cargo pants, which her best friend, Sage Story, declared ” . . . is her personality. Period.”

“I have like 20 beanies,” Samara agreed. She and Sage met at the beginning of the school year and have become inseparable since.

Look for Samara’s upcoming stories on fashion trends at Helena High and on our new assistant principal, Ms. TeNyenhuis!