Sam Roberts, the face behind The Warrior, covering the 2017 West Point Christmas Classic on Thursday, Dec. 28. / Nick Griffin
WEST POINT – It’s fair to say that most of the schools in the area have an active presence on social media. Some are more active than others, but West Point High School has a unique element in its coverage: The Warrior.
The Warrior pumps out up-to-the-minute scores and play-by-play coverage of West Point athletics, and also produces graphics, videos, schedules and sports and general news about what’s happening at the school.
And who’s the mastermind behind it all? Senior Sam Roberts.
Roberts runs the dedicated Twitter account, The Warrior (@WP_WarriorNews). Fans can also find The Warrior on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WPWarriorNews.
Roberts is one of West Point’s most involved students, both athletically and academically. He is the senior class president, vice president of the Student Government Association, and a member of FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America), Beta Club, National Honor Society, Spanish Club and FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) to name a few. Roberts also announces all the Warriors’ baseball games and operates the music for basketball games while live-tweeting score updates.
Roberts drives himself to all of these club commitments along with all sports events. He hasn’t missed a basketball game in his four years at West Point and is a fixture at all football and baseball games as well. Roberts has been running the Twitter account for two years, but it didn’t start with him. He inherited the account from another student and has worked to try and improve it ever since.
“A senior had started the account a few months before he graduated and after that he gave it to me. That’s kind of when I started working with graphics and stuff trying to get better and learning every day,” Roberts said. “Back when I started I was just learning basic media and graphics stuff, but after just working with it constantly I’ve been able to teach myself and figure it out.”
Roberts has a plan ready for what he wants to do after graduation in May; he intends to build off the success of his high school media career going forward.
“I’m going to be launching a freelancing business in May after I graduate, and I’ll be doing videography and graphic design and that kind of stuff,” he shared. “I made the Snapchat filters for Birmingham, Arab, Tuscaloosa, Athens, Decatur, Hartselle, Cullman, West Point and Smith Lake. I’ll be able to sell those graphics on apparel like hats, visors and all that kind of stuff. I’m holding off on starting that right now just because I don’t want to load myself down too much. I have started doing a little more professional stuff like weddings and had some ads run in the Senate campaign last year.”
Roberts also has some interest in a career in politics after school. His ads that he designed during the campaign were some of his most-watched videos during the year.
“Politics is definitely something I would want to do eventually,” Roberts said. “I plan on starting in business and maybe law. I’ve thought about going into law school and then moving into politics later.”
Few schools have students who are as committed as Roberts is to covering as many school activities. In a growing digital age, Roberts is one step ahead of most students his age and has set himself up well to use his skills professionally in the near future.
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