The Featheralist: Volume 06, Issue 2 (Senior Issue) by The Featheralist

FOREWORD

Dear Readers,

Endings and beginnings are such funny things. They are two instances intertwined, though it may be di cult to see that in the moment. Each of you has reached the end of an era to start anew, whether as a budding sophomore starting to nd what it is you like, as a blossoming junior running around with dwindling hours of sleep, as a blooming senior stressing to plan next steps while holding on to every last memory, or as a new adult ready to take on the world in your own unique way.

To the underclassmen and juniors embracing a new term at the Nest: take advantage of this time. Cherish these moments. Talk to people, learn their stories. Join clubs and put yourself out there to fail miserably, for this is the time when you can make mistake a er mistake without facing any real consequences. As you read this issue and see how far your seniors have gone, remember that you will also be ready to leave when it is your time. It may feel daunting now, and you may want to burn the thought of college applications from your mind, but you will pass through this stage of your life—and I know this school will prepare you tremendously well for your next steps. Soon it will be your Senior Issue, your turn to share all that you’ve achieved. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and hope your fascination with the humanities and this publication remains long a er you’ve gone.

To the Seniors, my fellow Class of 2024. This is our issue, our nal mark on Del Norte High School. It bears our next steps and our well wishes as we join together one last time as a class. Personally, I am so proud to say I was part of this brilliant and exceptionally talented group of students. We arrived four years ago without leaving our homes, staring at the screens that would transform our learning environment and save us from swim PE. But we persevered, and soon we arrived on campus as blind as the new freshmen when it came to navigating the unfamiliar buildings. We laid down some roots, discovered our communities, made new friends, connected with mentors, and found our distinctive place at the Nest. Stressful APs, late sports practices, memorable dances and spirit days ew by. Senior year was full of fear and longing, the nostalgia and excitement for what was to come—and now it has come. Class of 2024, we truly did it. And we’ll keep on doing it for as long as we walk this Earth, tackling obstacles as budding changemakers and nding what lls us with happiness. I wish you all the best as you soar high and stay y.

And nally to the Humanities: my pride and joy, the lifeblood of this publication and what gives so many meaning in this great big world. Thank you for supplying us with art and understanding, opening doors to new perspectives and helping solve global issues. Thank you for four years on this beautiful magazine. Thank you for giving us all a platform, a voice, a chance to be heard.

Yours truly,

Nikki Hekmat Editor-in-Chief The Featheralist

TO THE CLASS OF 2024 TO THE CLASS OF 2024

We all know the story, we’ve heard the same words over and over: our rst year of high school was unconventional. We had Zooms instead of traditional freshman activities, we were confused sophomores and then we gured it all out, and then it was the whirlwind of junior year and now before we know it, we’ve graduated.

It’s cliché at this point.

But in this story — our story — we o en forget that these caps and gowns are not just for the last four years of school but all twelve thus far. It is not just 2 million minutes where the story begins.

So where does it begin?

Perhaps it was when we were just six years old, excitedly waiting for the last bell of the day. Or perhaps when we would stand in front of the swings at recess, counting down sixty seconds for our turn. Or really, perhaps it was when we saw the ‘24 at the end of our names for the rst time and didn’t understand what it was for. 2024 was an eternity away, a year that could never come. 12th grade was truly unfathomable. Every grade older than us seemed so much wiser and mature — and we embodied such wisdom and maturity as we grew the grades.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, in the middle of ridiculously hard math tests and foreign language oral projects and late nights full of regret a er procrastinating all day long and hour-long history notes and chapters of The Alchemist, somewhere in the middle we lost track of time. 2024 was no longer unreal but the date we were writing at the top of every assignment.

The end of this journey is just as foggy as the beginning. As we go beyond, to college and careers, there is still so much le in our journeys. To the class of 2024, know that the future is far more amazing than you can imagine, more amazing than what it’s already been.

All the best,

Rini Khandelwal Editor-in-Chief

The Featheralist

California

Cal State Long Beach

Allie Basa

Catherine Chiu

Jaden Orosa

Chapman University

Drew D’Esposo

Duncan Engel

Sydney Paik

Pomona College

Jonathan Cong

Sophie Park

San Diego City College

Jessica Marcaida

San Diego State University

Valenitna Arceo

Bailey Barnhard

Liav Bar

Kamron Baha

Alexa Carlson

Ava Carlson

Claire Chen

Valentino Farre

Hannah Geng

Alizeh Gilani

Sammy Haruki

Derrick Huang

Azeem Khan

Suhani Kumar

Jordan Pham

Julia Pritchett

Chloe Rozell

Ella Song

Noah Teeter

WHERE IS THE CLASS

Derek Vargas

Ella Duggan

Santa Barbara City College

Benji Lim

Jorie Miller

UC Berkeley

Saranya Anandakumar

Kalina Atanassov

Gene Chang

Katelyn Chen

Shefali Chaubey

Mia Ha e

Nikki Hekmat

Simran Keertipati

Adi Khandelwal

Jace Kim

Lucia Kim

Sean Lobanov

Toby Leeder

Arya Nahavandi

Anna Prasouvo

Ella Separovich

Emma Shen

Sa n Singh

Leo Zhang

Nicholas Wang

UC Irvine

Anjan Arunsundar

Hanna Baterina

Aadya Daita

Sreeja Gangapuram

Dillon Holmes

Julia Huynh

Gannon Kaminetz

Reinhardt Lotter

Meher Notani

Maanasa Ramachandran

Paul Tassos

Trinity Thompson

UC Los Angeles

Brianna Busse

Brittney Huang

Gary Liang

Riya Patil

Vardaan Sinha

Justin Vo

Tyler Xiao

UC San Diego

Ryan Cao

Jacob Chu

Lauren Rozell

William Wu

UC Santa Barbara

Sophia Abola

Nicole Edelstein

Vivian Hoang

Shruthi Malayath

Bailey Say

Don Tran

Qian Yi Tan

UC Riverside

Sonali Pandya

Sean Fredricks

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Kiana Cadigan

Ella Echsner

Drew Lane

Zachary Lee

Lauryn Marshall

University of San Diego

JT Thomas

CLASS OF 2024 GOING?

Pepperdine University

Lolly Arvizu

Lydia Cho

Colorado

University of Colorado Boulder

Colby Blackport

Eli Duranceu

Jazair Tallman

Colorado State University

Serena Corenlius

Helena Dickey

Parker Tassan

Florida

Univeristy of Florida

Tyler Abalos

Georg ia

Emory University

Naman Keswani

Ally Zheng

Georgia Institute of Technology

Aadit Gupta

Krish Patil

Hawaii

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Miles Zamoyski

Illino is

University of Chicago

Izzy Mak

Daisy Zhang

University of Illinois

Urbana - Champaign

Vinay Rajagopalan

Rini Khandelwal

India na

Purdue University

Gavin Forrest

Aarya Nair

Gwendolyn Ross

Isaiah Villafanca

Sienna Wheeler

Indiana University

Anakin Alfano

Aarnav Chawla

Addison Cottle

Cameron Hughes

Conner Miller

Maryland

Johns Hopkins University

Connor Feng Massachusetts

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Leo Sun

Jocelyn Zhang

Harvard University

Ellie Lee

Northeastern University

Kaela Hamood

Katia Rodriguez

Samaya Sankuratri

Collin Schwarz

Sean Wayani

Michigan

University of Michigan

Shreya Ahuja

Alex Meservy

Rachel Wang Montana

Montana State University

Jenna Fallentine

Zackary Keller

New York

Columbia University

Vivian Ni

Conell University

Alex Tan

Chloe Tseng

Andrea Wang

New Jersey

Princeton University

Jessica Phelps Texas

Baylor University

Julia Vizzard

Texas Christian University

Brady Lane Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Norah Mejia

WHERE IS THE CLASS OF

OF 2024 GOING?

TO OUR SENIORS

To the class of 2024: congratulations! You all are amazing, and we will miss you all so much! Good luck in your future endeavors!!

To all the seniors I know, thank you so much for being who you are as I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for all of you. I'd also like to give a thank you speci cally to my friend group (you know who you are!) for always being there and being the highlight of my day whether at break, lunch, prom, during passing period, or outside of school. Honestly I feel the most accepted and open when I'm with seniors and you guys are all so down-to-earth and chill about everything, which yall don't know how much I appreciate. I love hearing about the tea, the senior trips, senioritis, senior assassins, goofy assignments, jabs at others, and the list goes on and on and on. I'm going to miss everyone next year but I'm sure we'll keep in touch. You don't need to hear it from me as you know this already, but keep being who you guys are. Every one of you are uniquely you and that will never change. Good luck in college and I'm sure yall will do amazing things!

Sophia Tang ‘25

Jason Gao

FROM OUR SENIORS

Congratulations to the class of 2024! So proud of all of our hard work, I will miss you

don't take your 4 years for granted & have fun. you have the rest of your life to work yourself to death, but you're only in high

We did it yall, through the trials and tribulations!! Good luck to all of you in

I hope our wrestling team wins a league title or has a state placer - Team Cap Zach

Lee ‘24

The last four years have not been the best for me frankly, but there are so many people who made it so much better. Thank you to Andy, Dofay, Madhura, Amelia, Ethan, Lily, Rohan, Shreya, obvi all of ib, and all my other friends from band, scioly, classes, and all the other places I’ve found myself in. To the people I’ve known since I still wore velcro shoes and comically large glasses. To the people I’ve grown so close to so quickly.I feel so welcomed and accepted by you guys and it has radically changed my life. Thank you. me over the last four years. But I can say, thank you. Thank you for believing in me when I was at my lowest and supporting me in every way you could and more. It means the world and I will never forget you.

To all my friends: you are the most awesome people on the planet. I'll look back fondly on every memory we've made together — from our late-night gam(bl)ing to our devious adventures and everything in between. Each will remain a core part of me forever. I cherish you more than words could ever begin to express, and I want you to promise that you'll share the gi of you with the people around you in your future, just as you've done with me. Promise that you'll keep being the incredible people you are. Until we meet again, Alex Jiang

Alex Jiang ‘24

Thank you to everyone who made these last 4 years memorable ones!!

I would just like to say how proud I am of every single one of you for what you have done and accomplished to get you this moment. This is such an accomplishment and I can’t believe I get to celebrate it with my entire class as we close out this school year. Going forward, just know we will always be nighthawks and even as we part, this will always be the nest we grew up and were raised in.

Yessss we did it! It was so awesome getting to know everyone; best of luck in the next

Daisy Zhang ‘24

Don't use college as an excuse to be miserable during high school.

Sophie Park ‘24

Zachary

Jordan Pham ‘24

Good luck 2024

Don Tran ‘24

Ella Duggan ‘24

TO OUR TEACHERS

To my teachers who have provided invaluable experience and knowledge, thank you. Your e orts and lessons have le a lasting impression. Your contributions have been remarkable.

Thank you Ms. Huang for never giving up on me! I wouldn’t be here without your support.

Shout out to all the teachers who guided me throughout high school, I had a great time in your classes and learned a lot of valuable lessons!

Patil ‘24

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly articulate how grateful I am for all that Cheskaty and Ms. Kihneman have done for me over the last four years. But I can say, thank you. Thank you for believing in me when I was at my lowest and supporting me in every way you could and more. It means the world and I will never forget you. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Swanson for being my teacher! My day was brightened just by walking into your class, and my friends and I really enjoyed being in your APUSH class!

Special thanks to Mr. Liao and Mr. Swanson for being the greatest teachers during AP Physics and APUSH in my junior year. You both really helped me progress through high school.

Mr. Luna and everyone at Mending Matters, thank you for putting up with me.

Shoutouts to Mrs. Marron for being such a helpful part of not just the college application process, but my entire time in high school, supporting my ambitions, goals, and mental health.

MR LIAO MY GOAT �� Your character, teaching style, and insights have shaped the thinkers I and many others have become. Thank you for being the best teacher ever!

Alex Jiang ‘24

Thank you to Mr. Krenz for making online school fun each day! And thank you to Mr. Buxton for being the best mentor and friend through all my highs and lows. :)

Shoutout to Mrs. Heinen(3a, 3b) and Mr. Swanson(APUSH) for being my favorite teachers throughout highschool and teaching me to be the best student possible.

Hightower, Swanson, and Liao are actually the greatest teachers of all time.

Obviously throwing one shout out at a teacher is hard to chose but Mrs. Dafoe was super helpful in supporting me be a better writer and thinker! Thank you so much for all the help!

I would like to thank my art teacher that I had through all my years of high school and through AP Studio Art, Mr. Coleman. I’ve never known a teacher to have so much positivity and encouragement like Mr. Coleman. He is such a down to earth person and I always looked forward to class with him and even now just seeing him in the hallway and still taking an interest in my plans for my future. He helped my home my artistic abilities and challenge myself in an artistic environment where I felt I didn’t need it because I already had the talent. He truly made my high school experience the best that it was. Thank you Mr. Coleman.

Sophie Park ‘24

Tyler Xiao ‘24

Mr. Coleman is the best!!!

Hannah Geng ‘24

Zachary Lee ‘24

Nikki Hekmat ‘24

Ella Duggan ‘24

Miles Zamoyski ‘24

Saranya Anandakumar ‘24

Riya

Nicholas Wang ‘24

Vinay Rajagopalan ‘24

Derek Vargas ‘24

Ella Song ‘24

Gary Liang ‘24

Thank you to our amazing sta :

Art

Andrea Wang, ‘24

Graphic Design

Daisy Zhang, ‘24

Samhita Lagisetti, ’26

Angela Chen, ‘25

Joann Xie, ‘27

Olivia Li, ‘27

Writing

Nikki Hekmat, ‘24

Rini Khandelwal, ‘24

Cover art “time ies” by Andrea Wang ‘24

And our incredible advisers:

Mr. Thomas Swanson

Dr. Trent Hall