The Tiger Print — May 2019

THE TIGER PRINT

blue valley high school | vol. 49 | issue 8 | may 2019 | bvtigernews.com | overland park, kansas

2 | may 2019 | senior columns “Moving forward, things are going to change. I can feel it.” noma kreegar editor-in-chief What words do I want to leave the school with? What do I want everyone at BV to know about me before we all leave and I never see a majority of you ever again? Does anyone even care about what I have to say? Will anyone even read this?

Well, for those of you who are reading this, if we’ve never met, my name is Noma. I have two dogs, I prefer crunchy peanut butter over smooth peanut butter and my favorite number is eight. Now you know a few things about me, and maybe whatever BS advice I’m about to drop in the next few paragraphs will have a little bit more substance behind it.

If you aren’t a senior this year, I’m going to tell you something that I’m sure you’ve heard before.

The days you spend in high school will be over before you know it. Trust me. I’ve heard that advice hundreds of times in my life, and I never really took it to heart.

High school can be a hard time for a lot of people, including myself. My own insecurities tend to get the best of me and make my life a living hell sometimes. That’s why it’s extremely important to find something that makes it worth going through.

For me, that something was newspaper. It gave me a group of people I could not only call friends, but family. It also gave me something to be proud of.

I’ve learned to not shy away from giving myself credit where credit is due.

If you are a senior, I hope things are going well for you. I hope you got into the college of your dreams, I hope you’re pursuing what makes you happy in life and I wish you the best.

Some of you who are reading have a vivid picture in your head of what that looks like. Maybe it’s attending the Florida Atlantic University to major in marine biology and minor in education. Maybe it’s taking a gap year and seeing the world. Maybe it’s joining the military.

For the rest of you who have no clue what the perfect future looks like, join the club. All I know is that the perfect future cannot be dictated by anyone but yourself.

In truth, this is something I struggle with a lot. I wouldn’t even be in newspaper if my friends didn’t pressure me to sign up on a whim. I ended up in Tiger TV for a year and a half when I randomly decided to apply after Mr. Reeves convinced me that I should. These were both things that I wanted to do. I’ve realized that my problem has always been recognizing my self-worth.

I wanted to do newspaper and Tiger TV, but I needed someone to convince me that I was talented enough to even bother applying.

Moving forward, things are going to change. I can feel it. I’ve learned so much this year about embracing failure, accepting my f laws and learning to put myself out there a little bit more.

After all four years of high school, I still felt the need to introduce myself to you at the beginning of this article because, in truth, I feel as though I haven’t gotten to know many of you. I

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID | DESIGN BY NOMA KREEGAR

stay relatively quiet in my classes, I don’t start conversations and I keep to myself.

That’s the one thing I’ll regret from all of these years.

I owe it to myself to step out of my comfort zone in college, in life and in whatever my career ends up being.

For the version of Noma who stumbled upon this column while looking back at old memories — you should probably go plug your phone in.

Chances are, it’s at like 20 percent right now. Oh, and go listen to “Still Fighting It” by Ben Folds. It’ll remind you of senior year and the people who got you through it.

senior columns |may 2019 |

3

“...be a crazy teenager while you still can.” mckenna cole managing editor Before I watch a new movie, I look up the plot on Wikipedia so I can know the ending. I spoil movies for myself. It’s not because I like to spoil it for everyone else or that I find comfort in having more knowledge than the person sitting next to me — it’s because I can’t stand the unknown.

The unknown scares the living crap out of me. So you can imagine how terrified I am to move over 1,000 miles away from the people I love and the only home I’ve ever known.

Unfortunately, the unknown is something that I have to accept, so here are the daily mantras I use to get me through: Put the Phone Down I was standing in the second row at The 1975 concert as the lead singer, Matty Healy, with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, uttered these words of wisdom that would forever alter the motivation behind my actions; We feel the need to validate our experiences.

He said that we as humans have a toxic mindset of, “If I don’t post it, then it didn’t happen, and it doesn’t matter.”

Whether we’re eating an açai bowl, hanging out with friends or watching the sunset, we can’t help but pull out our phones and post a picture to our Snapchat stories.

We allow things like social media to be the measure of our importance, when instead, we should look to those

close to us for validation.

No number of posts online can replace the authenticity and comfort of real-life people and experiences.

You only have one life — don’t live it through a screen.

Defy Expectations I was born with speech delay, A.D.H.D., Panic Disorder and General Anxiety Disorder.

These disabilities are nothing I’m ashamed of or prone to hide, but they have caused many barriers in my life.

As a kid, I was severely shy, had huge mood swings and was unable to learn or communicate.

My childhood therapist predicted I would never make friends or make it to my high school graduation.

It would have been easy to have accepted this fate, to not push for greater things and be content with this limited forecast of a future. Fortunately, I took the more difficult path.

Despite an angsty teenage rebellious phase my freshman year, I worked hard, and now I get to walk across a stage next week and accept my diploma. It’s not easy to defy expectations, but you’ll never achieve great things if you don’t.

Let things go Life sucks — it has good moments, but it can really suck.

You lose friends and family, stray from interests you previously loved and fall victim to the overwhelming pressure placed on you.

You pull all-nighters just to fail your history test. You stand up for your friends just for them to later stab you

SMILE !

FLASH

in the back. You devote all your time to one sport just to be cut from the team.

Life is filled with sorrow, stress and struggle, but what you do with that hurt is more important than the hurt itself.

You could ruminate endlessly about the past and something that cannot be changed, or you could reflect on the situation and move on.

Don’t waste your energy and wallow in the sorrow, heartbreak, stress or struggle — take a deep breath, and let it go.

Take Risks Get the tattoo your mom swears you will regret. Reach out to the childhood friend you’ve lost touch with. Take the AP class that intimidates you. Apply to the college of your dreams.

My point is, take risks.

This is the only time of your life that your mistakes and spontaneous acts can be blamed on you being a teenager.

This is the time to be reckless, unorganized and impulsive.

Your entire adult life will present you with opportunities to act responsible and mannerly, so be a crazy teenager while you still can.

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK: SMILE | DESIGN BY MCKENNA COLE

4 | may 2019 | senior columns “Maybe if I had woken up with a positive attitude, I would have had more good days on my calendar-of-life than I do now.” nick lamberti design editor Whenever my ELA teacher announces that we’re going to the library and checking out a new book, I roll my eyes in anticipation of how boring the new book will be.

I like to read — really, I do.

I would read books every night when I was young. But ever since we started reading in school, I’ve scowled in the face of all the books we were handed.

I’m not sure why. Maybe cartoons conditioned me to think reading in school was awful, or maybe I didn’t like that I wasn’t in control of what I was reading and was afraid I was wasting my time. Whatever it was, that mindset lasted a long time.

As you go on, the books you read in school become denser in theme and meaning. The façade of the novel can be quite boring, though. Every time we checked out a book about war or 1960s southern American lifestyle, my “school-books-are-bad” mindset became stronger and stronger.

I’m not alone, though. In fact, most people in this school would say they’ve probably never read a book for ELA once … ever.

I would still read these books for the purpose of passing the class. Despite my negative attitude, there were some books I actually liked. “Romeo and Juliet” was pretty good; so was “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” But I never liked the books like “All Quiet on the Western Front” or “A Separate Peace.” | DESIGN BY NICK LAMBERTI

That’s why I was surprised when just this year, Mrs. McClain had us check out a nonfiction book about a military-college student’s life in 1960s South Carolina — I actually enjoyed it.

Sitting down to actually read the book, I was entranced by the stories it told and the picture the author painted with every chapter.

My change in attitude toward the book got me thinking: I feel like I enter so many things with a negative mindset.

I had a negative view of high school when I first started it. I was scared people weren’t going to like me, I was scared I wouldn’t have any friends and I was scared I wasn’t going to achieve anything.

For four years, I’d wake up annoyed and distressed at the thought of going to school for the day.

Sometimes I’d have bad days, and other times I’d have good days.

I have to attribute some of my bad days to my negative train of thought, though. Maybe if I had woken up with a positive attitude, I would have had more good days on my calendar-of-life than I do now.

What I’m saying is — embrace new things with a positive attitude. Just like Will McLean in “Lords of Discipline,” I entered freshman year thinking I was going to hate the next four years of my life.

It turns out that, through the high highs and low lows, I loved every single second of it.

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK: FROG & TOAD

senior columns |may 2019 |

5

“So say ‘Hi’ to a kid you’ve never met in the hallway, be friends with everyone — just smile a lot.”

cassidy carpenter staff writer Putting four years of experiences into a few hundred words is hard to do. I learned that quickly when trying to write this column.

I spent a lot of time learning throughout my time at Blue Valley. The ironic thing is that what I will take away has little to do with academics at all.

I learned freshman year that gym class really isn’t fun, and my biggest problem was figuring out how to get in my heart rate zone on block days when I had a broken ankle.

Sophomore year I started to figure out how to deal with friendships that didn’t go the way I expected.

Junior year I started studying to get my score on the ACT up in order to earn scholarships for college.

Senior year I figured out that I could only have so many dentists appointments and that unfortunately, my mom will not call me out every day.

So rude, I know.

As the years went by, my day-to-day problems that seemed so big at the time were gone by the next week.

For me, high school was a time that stretched me and forced me to become better in so many ways.

I found my support system and started to value time with my family even more than before. I learned that hard situations can be positive learning experiences and that attitude really is everything.

Most of all I learned that treating others kindly is the most important thing about your time here. When we leave here, no one will remember you for what you did but how you made them feel.

So say “Hi” to a kid you’ve never met in the hallway, be friends with everyone — just smile a lot. You never know what positive effect that could leave on somebody.

Senioritis is real — trust me, I’ve had it since sophomore year — but take time to slow down, look around and enjoy these years.

Though I’m heading to a new school out of state next year, I’ll always cherish the lessons I learned in these halls.

I am beyond excited for what is to come, and I am thankful for how this place has shaped me.

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK: GOODNIGHT MOON

| DESIGN BY CASSIDY CARPENTER

6 | may 2019 | senior columns “I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t wish away your days here because one day you will wake up and there won’t be many, if any, left.” molly holmes staff writer I always thought I would be ready. Since we walked into school in August for the last first time, the countdown has been on. We wished away the days like we were making wishing from dandelions, ready to pack up our high school career and be on our merry way.

But even long before then, I thought I would be ready. My pudgy, brace-faced freshman self walked into high school certain that I would float my way to graduation day unnoticed, insignificant and ready to get as far away from Kansas as possible.

But here I am, days away from graduating, watching all the lasts pass by, realizing how wrong I was and wondering if I’m really ready.

I believe we are always on a journey to find ourselves. A road trip with no destination. And I’m not just saying that because I believe “Life is a Highway” is the greatest musical masterpiece ever made. I thought high school would be like driving across Kansas — boring, uneventful and unimportant. But I found pieces of myself key to my existence in these four years.

I found my love for running, which is now a large part of who I am. As a timid sophomore, I sporadically joined the track team, and now I’ve run two marathons and can’t imagine a life without it.

I found my confidence. As a girl who entered high school constantly trying to blend in, I turned into the insane person making | DESIGN BY MOLLY HOLMES

signs at sports games, running the flags and doing my signature dance move, the cartwheel splits, every opportunity I could get.

Also shoutout to HoopFocus for giving “Sign Girl” her 24 hours of fame.

I found my love for coffee when I was riddled with hours upon hours of homework. I found my hatred for physics when I failed the final and watched my grade plummet 8 percent. And I found some of my best friends when I least expected to.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy about my last time getting cut-off in the parking lot by a freshman mom. Or about my last AP Lit essay or AP Calc Video.

I discovered a lot about myself in these years and as these lasts roll by, some are getting harder to grasp.

My last track race and last championship donuts. The last GRRR and last assembly. Even this last piece of writing for the newspaper. And pretty soon, my last time in BV as a Tiger.

I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t wish away your days here because one day you will wake up and there won’t be many, if any, left. Don’t get caught up in the daily complaints and hardships of high school that you don’t realize the little things that you can never experience again.

Pretty soon I am going to be as far away from Kansas as possible, as my freshman self predicted.

I am excited about the future and what is to come, but I was so wrong in that my time here was anything but insignificant.

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK: BIG RED BARN

senior columns |may 2019 |

7

“Two people can bond almost instantly when joined in harmonious laughter, as their differences melt away and become insignificant.” lauren reddin staff writer I run home as fast as my legs can carry me. I stop only for a split second to look for cars at the crosswalk that separates my elementary school from my neighborhood.

I look left, then right, then left again before hurtling across the street and towards my house.

As soon as I make it through my front door I hurl my Barbie Princess backpack onto the living room floor. With the excess weight off of my back, I achieve top-speed while running up the stairs and into my bedroom. I bee-line toward my alarm-clock radio that rests, so beautifully, on my small, white nightstand.

My little fingers urgently fidget with the buttons and dials, trying to tune in to the correct station. As the clock strikes four, I flip to 89.3, National Public Radio. I’m just in time.

I take a seat in my bean bag chair as the familiar voices of Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, come through my radio.

“Hello and welcome to Car Talk” were the best words I had heard all day.

The stress from the long day of third grade melts away as I settle in and listen intently to concerned car owners call in with questions about their automobile troubles. This is the best part of my day, the time when I can unwind and laugh freely at the humorous banter of Tom and Ray Magliozzi.

For me, listening to Car Talk wasn’t for the advice about cars; it was for the comedy, the running jokes, and the self-deprecating humor. Listening to Car Talk was not another perfectly good hour wasted — it was a perfectly productive hour that I spent taking mental notes on what made a good

joke perfect.

Over time, my comedic strengths grew as I listened to more episodes. I eventually began formulating jokes of my own, eagerly awaiting recess, when I could test out my newly crafted quips on my peers under the monkey bars.

After the recital of one my perfectly thought-out jests, I would wait with bated breath to see the evidence of laughter in the form of off-white teeth. As the years progressed, knockknock jokes turned into puns and clever plays-on-words, which, in turn, transformed into drier humor and jokes that needed a few minutes of pondering in order to take effect.

Although my humor evolved over time, the end goal always remained the same: to spawn even the smallest hint of a smile on a person’s face was good enough for me.

The feeling I get when a good joke lands is that of pure adrenaline.

Being able to take a person’s mind off of daily stresses through comedy — even for just a few seconds — is one of the most rewarding feelings on earth. Two people can bond almost instantly when joined in harmonious laugher, as their differences melt away and become insignificant.

The capacity of a good pun, play-on-words, or the simple (but effective) knock-knock joke to break down barriers between strangers is something I find utterly fascinating and beautiful.

My childhood enchantment with Car Talk enlightened me in two equally important ways. One, it taught me that comedy transcends far beyond simply making someone laugh, but rather gives a person the ability to connect with others on a more intimate level. And two, unless he has successfully built a nuclear reactor out of wood, no man should ever attempt to change his own car’s coolant.

favorite childhood books: junie b. jones series | DESIGN BY LAUREN REDDIN

8 | may 2019 | superlatives

life of the party

most likely to be president

most school spirit

most likely to be on broadway

worst case of senioritis

best glo-up

best dressed

cutest couple

maddie umentum & aaron jung

august liberty & caitlin hoy

carly vandervoort & cameron nangia

angie yu & sabine fardoun

| DESIGN BY NICK LAMBERTI

niki joshi & kendrick kramer

carlie sauntry & cat farrell

valentina diaz & lauren reddin

ally rhea & andrew dennis

superlatives|may 2019 |

most likely to lead a protest

most artistic

most likely to brighten your day

class clowns

peyton mott & mckenna cole

jeffrey greenfield & hanna jones

most likely to win the lottery but loose the ticket luke crawford & allie ament

kassidy wagner & keaton buchert

chase arnold & sean sexton

9

10 | may 2019 | moving forward

oh, the places you’ll go Kansas

Avila University Brandon Freeman Baker University Kinsley Alley Lauren Alley Taylor Gutschenritter Griff Hardeman Benedictine College Jennifer Franey Halley Rindom Blue Valley Access House Noah Boeckmann Jacob Doebbeling Cowley County Community College Hunter Edwards Emporia State University Ellie Anderson Emily Brown Patryk Hernandez Flint Hills Technical College Ellis Halliburton Johnson County Community College Brian Ainsworth Mackenzie Allen Zachary Armentrout Chace Arnold Mitchell Bartsch Nolan Bemiss Davis Blair Risa Bornstein Jordan Branson Madison Burns Braden Davis Lindsey Dickinson Kolina Feliciano Emily Freese Noelle Green Payton Green Hayden Gunnar Kiron Hattingh Jessica Hernandez Audra Hockett Nicole Holub Nick Huber Mikaela Huggins

Noma Kreegar Malik Lawrence Jordan Lewis Jay Long Shanyn Longsworth Josh Marchesano Allyson McCartney Makaila Mitchem Kaylee Morton Mitchell Navran Hadley Nguyen Faith Nitzel Natalie Numair Joey Nuss Ben O’Brien Tanushree Pant Adam Parish Max Piero Sarah Prickett Ian Raymond Blake Rodgers Dylan Runyan Emma Stachowiak Claire Stein Haley Styczykowski Matin Tavacoli Hedieh Tavallali Remy Terry Austin Thuro Hunter Vasquez Alicia Ventura Dawson Walleck Steve Welker Reed White Robbie White Mason Winter Kaila Wolf Saeed Younes Kansas City Kansas Community College Alexis Carrillo Kansas State University Jackson Allen Ayla Alves Borges Faria Matthew Andry Bella Bade Shane Bergeman Emma Blackwood Hank Boylan Allie Bratton Hamilton Brown Kia Cornley Luke Crawford

| DESIGN BY NOMA KREEGAR

David Dixon Jacey Eastham Mikayla Enyart Amanda Epperson Braden Funk Tyler Gerry Chandler Gianni Cameron Green Rebecca Ha Jackson Halliburton William Halliburton Henry Heitman Taylor Hinman Caitlin Hoy Lauren Huck Evelyn Hughes Sean Hurt Julia Jones Matt Kennedy Lila Kubas Michelle Le August Liberty Katie Luemmen Alec Metz Danielle Milich Reece Miller Zachary Molitor Jake Morris Brielle Murray Harrison Nabity Sal Norris Lucas Oliver Ayden Raza Brady Rick Anna Shamblin Andre Shea Chris Simkins Morgan Skinner Abby Solomon Devin Sommerville Catherine Stagner Cale Ummel Paige Vespestad Mary Walters Gehrig Westermajer Wyatt Wolstenholm MidAmerica Nazarene University Wesley Damron Ottawa University Brayden Mooers Brady Scheer

Pittsburg State University Braden Balmanno Julia Bock Valerie Kramer Ellie Lewis Jared Vickers University of Kansas Ken Akimoto Gabrielle Arnett Luke Arney Angelina Borisky Courtney Brown Ella Ciochon Nick Clark Thomas Coole Kate Cunningham Nick Cygan Renuka Dabli Bennett Dale Aidan Delahunt Valentina Diaz Yepes Nathan Dodson Tori Donnici Lexi Drosos Andrea Elliott Lunden Elston Ethan Enneking Macy Erickson Josie Euston Sabine Fardoun Jack Fitori Peter Gessler Patrick Gilchrist Lexi Graves Rachel Graves Jackson Hadley Megan Hanna Josephine Harding Josh Harrington Anna Herrin Emily Hess Sydney Hoffman Olivia Hough Sheriden Hoy Tyler Jackson Alex Jacobson Joshua Jeng Aaron Jung Marcelle Kadosh Katie Kenison Courtney King Kayla Kolseth Karen Le Justin Lee Meghan Lemons

Paul Lind Sindhu Manda Allie Manning Connor McCartney Nick McClain Luke McCumber Maggie McKain Aurora Meza Keelan Moegerle Rachel Moran Neeka Morelli Cameron Nangia Sophia Nangia Austin Nguyen Josh Olinger Zach Olson Johnny Palmieri Neel Patel Ally Porter Gracie Rice Blake Richmeier Thomas Rodriguez Elaina Root Sherrie Sarwal Carlie Sauntry Logan Schmalz Sean Sexton Bailey Sibenaller Kevin Singh Nash Sloan Jack Small Keat Stein Sydney Stewart Rhylee Tridle Owen Tse Evan Turner Maddie Umentum Brooke Urczyk Dylan Vanatta Connor Vande Garde Lauren Walters Olivia West Curran Whited Hunter Wilcox Sutton Williams Thomas Wormington Washburn University Paige Robbins Lydia Vespestad Wichita State University Maggie McGuire Lauren O’Donnell Christian Taylor Jackson Truitt Zik Wamkpah

moving forward | may 2019 |

Arizona

Arizona State University Carly Kaster Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Reece Marney Grand Canyon University Katie Alexander Carson Foley Kaylie Nagel

California

University of Arizona Davis Bax Andrew Dennis Britta Fahler Jeffrey Greenfield Peter Lane Ellen Nangia Will Rankin Ally Rhea Hank Sherman Hunter Thorup Lauren Winter Will Stubbs

California Polytechnic State University Lauren Brucker

Pepperdine University Luke Oldroyd Emma Sullivan

American Academy of Dramatic Arts Jake Demo

University of California, Berkeley Lauren Reddin

California Institute of Technology Steven Yee Claremont McKenna College Gabby Lee

University of Southern California Sydney Ahmed Jack Litwin

Loyola Marymount University Maddie Lair Kevin Lee

Arkansas

John Brown University Jillian Blackman University of Arkansas Bailey Begin Cassidy Carpenter Emily Heidemann Kenzie Keyes Grant King Lydia Nickell Alison Tinberg Carly Vandervoort Nate Wingfield Anna Yang

Colorado

Colorado Film School Brandon Hurley Colorado School of Mines Sean Bowers Kyle O’Keefe Eric Olson

Illinois

Columbia College Anna Gorsuch

Florida

Florida Gulf Coast University Blake Shalberg Lorenzo Walker Technical College Matthew Schoessel

Rollins College Anna Todd University of South Florida Sarah Schellhase

DePaul University Christina Milich Kate Rider Maddi Sanchez Loyola University Chicago Jenna Fulton Harley Thursby

Colorado State University Carson Wolf Marco Papazafiropoulos Regis University Ella Palmer University of Colorado Boulder Sophie Bell

Northwestern University Atrik Patel School of the Art Institute of Chicago Mallori Kabel Nick Lamberti University of Illinois Ani Ammula Andrew Liu

11

12 | may 2019 | moving forward Indiana

Indiana University Jordan Kaseff Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Ashley Pinkham University of Notre Dame Mohammad Abualnadi Kaitlyn Dehais

Iowa

Central College Brendan Barber Cali Coffman Max Hernandez

University of Iowa Alexa Campbell Nick Downey

Drake University Catherine Farrell

Upper Iowa University Mitchell Maupin

Iowa State University Tyler Cummings Grace Doolittle

Louisiana

Louisiana State University Walker Kinney

Maryland

United States Naval Academy Alex Totta

Michigan Minnesota

St. Olaf College Abby Hullinger

University of Michigan Avery Dunton Karina Howey

Mississippi

University of Mississippi Jackson Berning

Missouri

Evangel University Taylor Thomason

Montana

Montana State University Faith Himmel

International House of Prayer University Charisma Gochenour Kansas City Art Institute Kassidy Wagner Missouri Western State University Julianna Burriss

Nebraska

Chardon State College Tori Strickbine Creighton University Ethan Meuret University of Nebraska-Lincoln Hanna Jones Carlee Lyerla Luke Philgreen Carson Simeroth | DESIGN BY NOMA KREEGAR

Northwest Missouri State University Breck Dickey Olivia Hamilton Sam Reeves Lauren Wood

Rockhurst University Kendrick Kramer University of Missouri Allie Ament Drew Azan Ashley Clark Ryan Clark Hannah Gill William Schloegel University of Missouri-Kansas City Hiba Atra Ann Barker Niki Joshi Tristan Koehler Shreya Menon Audriana Pena Brandon Piotrowski Adam Pribyl

moving forward | may 2019 | Ohio New York

New York University Mateo Garcia Uribe

Oklahoma

Ohio State University Jordan Keith

Oklahoma State Kenny Ross

University of Dayton Elaina Ismert

University of Tulsa Celie Strain

University of Toledo Cate Harrigan

Pennsylvania

Drexel University McKenna Cole

South Carolina

College of Charleston Hannah Min

Point Park University Megan Nasche

Texas

Baylor University Chinmay Dabli Grace Rosenbaum

Texas Christian University Abigail Wolff

Sam Houston State University Salim Klinge

Texas Tech University Michael Stark

Southwestern University Chloe Penrod

University of Texas at Dallas Easton Anderlik

Texas A&M University Angie Yu

Other

Gap Year Blake Basler Haley Birnbaum Keaton Buchert Kallie Haun Alex Kennett Kris Mally Levin McGrath Hannah Patterson Mahidol University International College in Salaya, Thailand Anna Vorapatropas

Carthage College Lauren Williams

Washington George Washington University Jack Reeves

Qatar Aeronautical College in Doha, Qatar Taher Ramahi Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario Peyton Mott Studying for Chile’s Standardized Test (PSU) Magdalena Witting Torrealba

University of South Dakota Siler Tschirhart

Wisconsin

Washington, D.C.

Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon, Portugal Isabel Burguete

South Dakota

Senior Year in Italy Gian Marco Alberici Pier Schiavone Trade School Peyton Eichelberger Kate Masterson Derek Sharp United States Army Clayton Gabel Karlis Mendoza United States Marine Corps Jake Hill Brandon Noah

University of Washington Molly Holmes

United States Navy Andrew Bell Work Force Hosea Berryhill Lily Goodwin Lance Tucker Jordan Gutierrez Undecided or Unknown Josh Felling Joe Pair Dymon Preyor Trenton Wade

13

14 | may 2019 | statistics

senior survey BASED ON A POLL OF 81 SENIORS

Have you ever gotten pulled over while driving?

65% No 35% Yes

67% No 33% Yes

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher?

What year of high school was the hardest?

38% Democrat 37% Republican

25% Independent/Other What political party do you affiliate with?

Do you believe in a higher power?

21% No 47% Yes 32% Maybe

7% No 93% Yes Have you read at least one issue of The Tiger Print?

| DESIGN BY NOMA KREEGAR

1% Freshman 13% Sophomore 72% Junior 14% Senior Have you ever cheated on a test?

14% No 86% Yes 95% No 5% Yes

Did you lie on this survey?

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15

16 | may 2019 | feature

FOUR YEARS OF “It has really strengthened my character, and being able to be a part of a team has been amazing.

I have learned so much from the experience and can’t wait to do it all again for another four years.”

GOLF

LAUREN WOOD

BASKETBALL

JEFFREY GREENFIELD “Words can’t describe it.

It was just special.”

GABBY LEE TENNIS

“It gave me something to do at the school so I felt involved, and I got to know a lot of people outside of my grade.”

feature|may 2019 |

17

BV SPORTS CAMERON GREEN “It was really fun to have everyone cheer you on, and I’ll never forget the memories on Friday nights.”.”

FOOTBALL

LAUREN O’DONNELL HUNTER WILCOX

“We’ve grown so much as a program. We went from the first year being with color guard and band to now this year, we got to go be our own dance team and go to Nationals. It’s been a really great opportunity to get to know people and to be a part of something at the school and have opportunities in the future.”

“It was hard. It was a lot of long runs, and I got to make some great friends on these long runs. It was a fun experience. I would do it again — maybe.”

CROSS COUNTRY & TRACK

DANCE TEAM

| DESIGN BY MOLLY HOLMES

18 | may 2019 | feature

O, CANADA Senior plans to pursue art in another country

Some seniors are making the brave choice to leave their home state of Kansas after graduation and start fresh in a place they’ve never lived in before.

Some are going to California, some are going to Texas, but for one student in particular, the journey after high school isn’t just leaving the state — it’s leaving the country.

This summer, senior Peyton Mott is

traveling 1,025 miles to attend Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

Mott said the idea of attending a school across borders came from her dad.

“My dad made a joke about going to Canada for college and I was like, why not?” Mott said. “I’ve always wanted to go really far away.”

The idea came from spontaneity, but the actual process of applying has been quite a bit of work.

“I had to fill out a different application for international students,” Mott said. “It took some time because I had to get my visa as well. I had to get the fingerprints, blood samples, all that stuff just to be able to enter the country as a student and stay there.”

Amid the stressful application process, Mott said she is excited about the future.

“I would love to [go to Toronto] because it’s a city,” she said. “I would say it’s similar to Chicago. My favorite part is how the people in Canada go slower than the people in America.

Everyone just lets things happen. The environment so friendly and nice.

It’s very stereotypical Canadian.”

Mott plans to pursue her passion for making art in Canada.

“I’m going to be studying photography and image arts,” she said. “They have this really nice image center — a whole building just dedicated to photography and film students. They have one of the world’s largest collections. It was a $7 million donation from the Canadian government.”

Mott has not only had to think about the next four years of her future but has also started to plan her life after college.

“I want to [stay in Canada after graduation],” Mott said. “But I don’t really know what degrees would transfer. The tricky thing [would be] finding a job within a small amount of time. [It] would be difficult, but I would love to stay.”

Despite the difficulty of finding work, Mott said she is willing to put effort into working toward her career ensuing college.

“Life is what you make it,” she said. “You just have to have a positive attitude and work hard.” faces, Peyton Mott

| DESIGN BY NICK LAMBERTI | PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY PEYTON MOTT

freedom, Peyton Mott

nick lamberti design editor

feature |may 2019 |

row,

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row,

row your boat

Senior joins K-State rowing team shotput and discus. Once K-State was like, ‘Hey, do you want to row?’ and I saw that it’s a D-I school, [I figured] it’d be great to say that Blue Valley offers plenty of sports I’m a D-I athlete, so that was part of it — just fulfilling that dream of for student-athletes such as track mine.” and field, soccer and baseAfter attending K-State’s ball. However, moving on to parent meeting and introcollege can open up a whole ducing herself to some of new world of opportunity the people she will be rowin the sports department. ing with, Skinner said she For senior Morgan felt confident about joining Skinner, who will attend the team.

Kansas State University | Skinner “Not only will I have next year, college will be her chance to try out a new sport — this family when I get there, but [I’ll also be] staying in shape,” Skinner rowing. said. “I know without athletics, I “[One of] my dreams in life is [wouldn’t] go to the gym. Having to play a sport in college,” Skinner someone to force me to work out said. “I had a lot of D-II and D-III [is] a good idea.” schools looking at me for throwing

noma kreegar editor-in-chief

Skinner said she feels glad to have companionship with some of the people she will soon be attending college with.

“I hope to room with a teammate,” Skinner said. “I don’t want to put some random person through me waking up at five in the morning [for practice] when they have class at 10.”

Although heading off to college can be a scary experience for some people, Skinner said she feels ready to move on from high school.

“I’m sad that I’ll leave my favorite teachers, coaches [and friends,] but I think that I’ve left like my impact on the school of what I wanted to leave here and what I wanted to accomplish,” Skinner said. “I’m OK to leave.”

| DESIGN BY NOMA KREEGAR

20 | may 2019 | feature

Staff Advice for the future

Señor Dean

Mrs. Mackey

Mr. Kennedy

| DESIGN BY LAUREN REDDIN

Mrs. Harris

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11- Allie Bratton 12- Rebecca Ha 13- Hank Sherman 14- Megan Hanna 15- Mikayla Enyart

16- Angelina Borisky 17- Julianna Burriss 18- Sean Bowers 19- Dylan Vanatta 20- Tanushree Pant

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1- Levin McGrath 2- Breck Dickey 3- Britta Fahler 4- Zik Wamkpah 5- Grace Doolittle

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WHO’S THAT SENIOR?

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SENIOR

I licked my friend’s papercut for $3, and now I might get HIV.

Confessions

I started smoking after the DEA agent came in to talk about the dangers of drugs out of spite, and honestly it’s the only way I was able to deal with the AP workload.

I lost my virginity in the junior parking lot.

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I went to Prom with a guy from BVNW and hooked up with him multiple times — only to find out he’s my third cousin.

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I had sex in a hammock by the baseball fields while there were people practicing on the fields.

I report people I don’t like to the office for vaping.

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I pooped in the urinal junior year.

I am gay, and my girlfriend has no idea. | DESIGN BY MOLLY HOLMES

feature |may 2019 |

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foreign exchange students share future plans Anna Vorapatropas, Thailand Plans after BV: “I’m going back to college in Thailand.”

Favorite part of exchange year: “I like my school friends and my host family.”

What you learned at BV: “The most important thing is English, because I’m going to a National College, so I have to learn everything in English. I came [to America] to prepare before college.”

Mateo Garcia Uribe, Mexico Plans after BV: “I am going to college at New York University. This summer I am staying back home with my parents in Mexico.”

Favorite part of exchange year: “Taking a variety of classes I can’t take back home.”

What you will miss: “My host family.”

Magdalena Witting Torrealba, Chile Plans after BV: “I have to go back to my country and study for the PSU, which is like the ACT, so I can go to college.”

Favorite part of exchange year: “I really like the sports [at BV].”

What you learned at BV: “English [and to]try different sports and try new things.”

Pier Schiavone, Italy Plans after BV: “I am going back to finish my senior year since [in Italy] it’s five years of high school.”

Favorite part of exchange year: “The people.”

What will you miss: “The community of Blue Valley, which is really different from my high school [in Italy].”

Isabel Burguete, Portugal Plans after BV: “I’m going to go back to Portugal, and next year, I’m going to go to college to study business management.”

Favorite part of exchange year: “The friends I made, going to the lake with my [host] family, learning how to wakeboard [and] going to Alaska and Florida.”

What you learned at BV: “I can handle things for myself more now, because I don’t rely on anyone. I have my host family, but I basically take care of things on my own.“

Gian Marco Alberici, Italy Plans after BV: “I’m going back [to] Italy May 28. I am going to have another year of high school. My plan is to get a law degree. My dream job is [becoming] a sports agent.”

Favorite part of exchange year: “Getting to know the different culture [of] American students and American schools — the first [few] months when everything is new is cool.”

What you learned at BV: “School activities and sports are sometimes more important than school. In Italy, we don’t have sports, activities or stuff like that, so it’s cool you can support and play for your school. That’s probably the best thing.” | PHOTOS BY NICK LAMBERTI & LIYA PATEL

| DESIGN BY MCKENNA COLE

24 | may 2019 | back page | ILLUSTRATION BY NOMA KREEGAR