Geneva quarterly issue 2,2016

G

GENEVA QUARTERLY Volume 3 Issue 2

‘TIS THE SEASON

Geneva students share how they celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year G|1

G|2

All About Us STAFF Mary Claire Brock Delaney Young Emma Ingram Summer Stolle

Editor-in-Chief Chief Editor of Content Chief Editor of Design Photoshop Editor

Ian Comuzzie Photography Editor Jessica Wheeler Indesign Editor Arianna Flores Editorial Editor Karlie Daniels Carissa Georgelos Skylar Tippetts Aisling Ayers Nathan Young Jacqueline Knox Noah Benson Katelyn Davis Nathan Zuniga Emme Owens Katherine Anderson Daniel Grover Sara Beth Stolle Kaila Daniels Ruth Wacker

Indesign Staff Indesign Staff Indesign Staff Indesign Staff Photography Staff Photography Staff Photography Staff Photography Staff Editorial Staff Editorial Staff Editorial Staff Editorial Staff Photoshop Staff Photoshop Staff Photoshop Staff

G Becky Ryden Adviser

GQ MISSION STATEMENT

The Geneva Quarterly is a student publication which serves the greater Geneva community with news, opinion, entertainment and sports. All pieces are written from a Biblical worldview and attempt to engage the reader with relevant information. We, as a staff, pursue truth and excellence through all of our work and integrate the basic principles taught at the Geneva School of Boerne.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR DEAR READER,

With the craziness of the holiday season coming to an end, I began asking myself why it is that we so often tend to expect a platform, a position, or a voice without even being willing to serve. Why is it that we, as a community, have been endowed with immense resources yet still homelessness is more than rampant in the Boerne area? Maybe it has something to do with the new year or maybe it has something to do with the second semester of my senior year: either way the days are passing and I don’t want to let yet another semester go by without seizing opportunities and realizing we, as Christ followers, have been gifted a plan and a purpose which is far greater than sinking down to what society tells us is normal. The “normal” of the holiday season has become hustle, bustle, lists and presents. What if the norm became serving? What if the norm became family? What if the norm shifted from an earthly perspective to an eternal perspective?

Our staff began reflecting over this past holiday season and found pockets of hope which remain the norm for many, rooted in giving, serving and community. Many of the Quarterly staffers gleaned from groups who selflessly serve on Thanksgiving, or from the graciousness of a few farmers in the community, or from the joy of families who gather in the mountains of Colorado to simply enjoy one another. We hope through these stories you too are encouraged to serve and to take each day as an opportunity to lead bold lives.

With much anticipation, I, along with my talented team of journalists, present to you the second issue of the 2015-2016 Geneva Quarterly.

Mary Claire Brock

VERSE OF THE QUARTER

“There also you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.”

Deuteronomy 12:7

BEHIND THE COVER

Each year, the stores on Boerne’s Main Street deck their doors with lights and dress each storefront with holiday decorations. Staffer Ian Comuzzie visited Main Street and captured this photograph in front of The Daily Grind.

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY IAN COMUZZIE

G|3

Features 8 ‘TIS THE SEASON

The holiday festivities continue as students tell how they celebrated in 2015

14 A GIFT GRANTED

The Gombert family’s tragic loss is transformed into a beautiful story of generosity

18 NOT JUST HORSING AROUND For years, a Geneva student has spent her time outside-of-school training and riding horses 14

INDESIGN CREDITS: Mary Claire Brock: 1, 4-5, 24, 30, 42-45, 54-56 Delaney Young: 1, 4-5, 14-17, Emma Ingram: 1, 3, 4-5, 6-13, 23, 31, 51, 57 Summer Stolle: 1, 4-5, 22, 50, 58-59 Jessica Wheeler: 38-39, 60-61 Arianna Flores:40-41, 63-65, 66-67 Karlie Daniels: 25-26, Carissa Georgelos: 18-21, Skylar Tippetts: 27-29, 46-47, 48-49 Aisling Ayers: 32-34, 62 Kaila Daniels: 2, 71 Ruth Wacker: 68-69 Jaqueline Knox: 35-37 Emme Owens: 52-53

52

G|4

COLOPHON

All verbal and visual content is solicited and selected by the Quarterly Staff of the Geneva School of Boerne. Approval is garnered from advisor and headmaster. All bylined writers are held accountable for their work.

MAGAZINE SPECIFICATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Created in InDesign and printed by SchoolPrinting.com.

Font families used: Kepler Std., Lust and Baramond.

Issue

SCHOOL INFORMATION

The Geneva School of Boerne exists to provide a classical education from a Biblical worldview, to equip students for a lifetime of learning, service and leadership to the glory of Jesus Christ.

Volume 3 Winter 2016

Rhetoric student population: 200 Rhetoric faculty population: 22

6 FEATURES 23 THE SCORE 31 CULTURE

TO BUY A SUBSCRIPTION, CONTACT: rryden@genevaschooltx.org

51 ALUMNEWS

TO ADVERTISE, CONTACT: TheGenevaQuarterly@gmail.com

SECTIONS

2 G

Table of Contents

57 OUT OF THE BOX

FOR ANY OTHER INQUIRES: maryclairebrock.gq@gmail.com

70 THE TALON

THIS IS A PUBLICATION FOR:

Geneva School of Boerne 113 Cascade Caverns Road Boerne, Tx. 78006

G|5

PHOTOGRAPH BY IAN COMUZZIE

G|6

Features

‘TIS THE SEASON

The Geneva community uniquely celebrates Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years pg. 8

G|7

‘TIS THE SEASON This holiday season, two staffers experienced the chaos of Black Friday firsthand; Geneva students put the hecticness of the holidays on hold to spread the true reason for the season; a local organization spent the morning before Thanksgiving serving the community; a Geneva family broke their fourteen-year-old New Year’s Eve tradition. Read all about it!

BACK IN BLACK A GUY’S TAKE

D

BY DANIEL GROVER

ark circles rim the eyes of the sleepy people who stand, anticipating the great deals behind the locked doors in front of them. Black Friday is a long tradition and a seemingly valid reason for people to fight one another over something as simple as a coffee maker that is 20% off.

As I walk into Best Buy at 6 a.m. and gaze at the people greedily running from one deal to the next, trampling over anyone who gets in their way, a shoe hits me. It flies off the foot of a lady, running to get the last pair of headphones on the shelf. But what surprises me the most is not that the shoe hits me but that she does not even notice the shoe is gone. As I return the shoe, she quickly apologizes and tells me that she is not usually like this, but she just has to get the headphones for her son because he recently

made the honor roll.

I continue my shopping finding great deals all along the way. As an employee restocks the shelves, I ask him, “How are you already out of something when the store just opened?”

He looks at me with his tired eyes and tells me that they have been open since six o’clock the night of Thanksgiving Day. When the Thursday shoppers rushed to the back of the store to grab the discounted TVs, they knocked down the shelves that he is now restocking.

With a pounding in my head, frustrated with everyone, I go home and lay down. While on the couch I try to think of a better way to shop these days, when I see an advertisement in the paper for”Cyber Monday.” I think to myself, “Next year, I’ll stay in and sleep and do all of my Christmas shopping online.”

A GIRL’S TAKE

O

BY KATELYN DAVIS

nce a year, extreme shoppers have the pleasure of receiving great deals on almost everything. The tremendous markdowns range from the newest electronics to underwear. Not only are the best deals of the season available on Black Friday, but also on Black Thursday and Cyber Monday.

According to the National Retail Federation, approximately 151 million people shopped online or in person on these days. The

most important thing to people during the three days that are considered Black Friday is paying the cheapest price for everything. I am one of these deal junkies who loves the thrill of saving money. I was psyched when I found out that a ton of stores opened at 6:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day, hoping that all the crazies wouldn’t show up until actual Black Friday. That was not the case.

As I walked into Walmart around 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, grabbing a cart, I strolled into the store.

G|8

Immediately, I was herded like a cow and handed a map of the store layout, as I tried to follow the huge crowd. The map had a plethora of electronics scattered across the store, where friendly associates were waiting, ready to receive and help the insane customers. The store had an aroma of smells— mostly body odor and pine trees.

I continued through the store, trying to beat the mob of people to the electronics, not able to take short cuts because everything was completely roped off. Occasionally I was shoved, but what can you expect when there are rows of 55-inch flat screen TVs that only cost $270 right next to you. After being shoved many times, I started to catch onto the game. You must shove back to survive the craze.

As I looked around, I realized that none of the adults were actually carrying the products they wanted, but their children were. I saw children holding four to six pillows, pajamas, towels, socks, sheets and boxes of shoes, all for their family members. This made me realize that the main focus during Black Thursday was to buy all the stuff that you can and then come back for the toys later.

Finally, making it to the back of the store, I waited to grab an X-Box, but unfortunately supplies were limited, and I was not “issued a wristband.” After asking around, I was told that you had to have a wristband to purchase the electronics. This wristband was given at the front of the store by the employees.

Frustrated, I just grabbed a pair of Batman pajamas and slippers and made my way to check out. Forced to walk around the whole store before reaching the registers, I got to witness women cat-fighting over shoes, pillows and towels. Racing to the register, one lady had about 15 shoe boxes in her cart. Additionally, the lines were around 25-40 people long. I waited an hour and a half just to buy some pajamas.

During my wait, I met Jennifer who was buying ten pairs of shoes for only $199.90, saving about $320. “I am here just to hide from my kids. My children are napping, and this is also

the only time I get to shop for myself,” she says.

There were two women ahead of me who spent $15.98 and saved $65.00. “We are just here to get a crockpot,” Ann said. “This is ridiculous, so many people are here!”

Finally making it to the register, I checked out and ended a successful day of shopping and saving money. Now to get a nap for tomorrow’s shopping.

Beeeeeep! Beeeeeep! The sound of my alarm clock woke me up at 5:00 am on Black Friday.

I rolled out of bed, tired, not ready for more pushing, shoving and insane shoppers. I pulled up to Walmart with dark circles under my eyes, walked in, and no one was there! No crazy catfighting ladies, no cranky kids holding multiple pillows while lagging behind their parents, no long lines; all was calm. Waiting there with my camera ready for action shots, nobody walked in. I strolled around, watching Walmart employees still picking up things from the night before, hoping that more people would trickle in. After waiting for about three hours, more people started showing up. Most of them bought 50-inch flat screen TVs and then left.

After being denied an electronic item just the night before, I walked to the electronics section which was still stocked up with rows of televisions. I asked my mom if she was going to buy me a 50-inch flat screen TV for my room. Her answer was a resounding, “No!” We left the store without purchasing anything, which left me a little upset.

But the experience itself made up for it.

G|9

AN ATTITUDE OF

GRATITUDE

BY EMME OWENS

A

s the wind rustles through the trees on a humid, overcast morning, almost 300 men wake up at 7:00 am to serve the needy. They all gather around smoking fires with coffee in hand as they cook turkeys, coming together to spread the light of the Lord through the act of giving the day before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a holiday brimming with family traditions. Whether it’s watching college football or baking grandma’s special pumpkin pie, families complete activities over the break together. However, some families choose to give forward during their Thanksgiving break and serve the local homeless community.

Christian Men of Boerne is an organization that specifically focuses on giving to the needy families in the Borene area. Established in 1999, Christian Men of Boerne cooks turkeys the day before Thanksgiving for Boerne area families who are in need. Celebrating 16 years of serving and fellowship this year, the ministry has grown immensely since its humble beginnings. Over the years, Christian Men of Boerne has expanded from serving 35 families to almost 400.

“It gets bigger every year, and it’s all about a bunch of men coming together to help others.

It doesn’t matter what religion you are. We are all here to help,” founder Marty Caroll says.

Fathers and their sons make up the majority of the 280 men who volunteer. They come together from nine different churches across Kendall County and gather at the Boerne

fairgrounds to cook the turkeys, which are donated by HEB. “There are a lot more hungry families in Kendall County than you would think,” annual volunteer Darrel Steubing says.

Christian Men of Boerne provides each family an entire Thanksgiving meal, allowing area families in need to gather their families and create memorable traditions without the financial stress that comes with preparing large amounts of food. Pre-qualified families are contacted through Hill Country Family Services and given a ticket to come to the Boerne fairgrounds to receive their complete Thanksgiving dinner which includes turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, dressing, rolls and a pie. The families who are pre-qualified through Hill Country Family Services are not homeless.

“Most of us do have jobs, but for how many we have in a household, turkeys are just too expensive. It’s hard. I have three kids at home, and only one is my daughter. The other two I’m taking care of are my niece and nephew, and they eat a lot,” says a single mom recipient. Not only does serving meals help to further serve the community, but “it’s a great fellowship gathering of Christian men, doing the Christian thing, being a light of the Lord for others to see during Thanksgiving,” Steubing says.

Christian Men of Boerne looks forward to growing each year and spreading God’s word to more and more people.

G | 10

RINGING IN THE 3

NEW YEAR

BY RUTH WACKER

, 2, 1, the clock strikes midnight! Another year commences as the cheering grows louder. Many families have unique traditions to celebrate the new year. For some people, New Year’s Eve is celebrated with parties and fireworks. For others, it might amount to gathering on the couch to watch the New York Times Square ball drop from the sky. Many have certain foods or drinks they celebrate with each year. Before this year, the Millett family celebrated New Year’s Eve in the same way for fifteen years.

“The vision for the Young Life family ski trip is for families to come together, focus on each other and Christ, build relationships with other families, laugh a lot, and get a glimpse into the ministry of Young Life,” says Annie Millett, wife of Steve and mother of Geneva senior Greta Millett, and two graduates, Hans (2012) and Dakota (2014).

Young Life Family Ski Trip began in 2001 when five families from the Young Life staff decided to take a trip together for the holidays.

Afterward, they had such a great time that they decided to invite all their friends the next year.

Now, many families join the Milletts every year at Young Life’s Trailwest Lodge in Buena Vista, Colorado. The trip includes skiing, sledding, games, skits and home cooked meals. Some of these adventures turn into stories that families will tell and cherish forever, and some lead to less enjoyable experiences they will never forget (especially when sledding in negative eight degree weather).

“It was the coldest I have ever been. It was freezing and miserable. I thought my fingers, toes, and nose were going to fall off. I’m pretty sure I had icicles on my eyelashes,” says Greta Millett.

Of course, some of their great memories

from the trip are not so painfully gained. In fact, each year New Year’s Eve is celebrated by all with lots of laughs and dancing, and then New Year’s Day is spent driving back home.

“For New Year’s Eve, we usually have a Young Life club with all the families that then moves straight into a New Year’s Eve Party complete with a Father Time, Baby New Year and a Rave Party,” Mrs. Millet says.

The party includes several traditions every year. Each year, a big room is decorated with balloons and streamers. The kids then pass out party supplies like hats, necklaces, glow sticks and horns. Finally, the party starts. Dancing ensues at the beat of the DJ’s music. Every person shows off their dance moves until the final year’s end countdown. But some New Year’s Eve surprises can change the party plans entirely.

“My favorite memory from the trip was when all the power went out in the lodge on New Year’s Eve,” says Greta Millett.

So instead, they celebrated a little differently than in the past. The night was spent playing games, singing to the guitar and enacting funny skits. The room was lit with a warm fire accompanied with flashlights and glow sticks. The morning of New Year’s Day, the Trailwest snack bar is opened for breakfast as the families pack up. Since many people stay up late, the trip ends with parents driving their sleeping children back home.

This dance party sensation had occurred every year since 2001, but the trip was canceled this year due to severe weather in Colorado.

Nonetheless, the Milletts plan for the trip to be in full swing next year with all sorts of new adventures, memories waiting to be made, and a New Year’s Eve party to top all the previous years.

G | 11

ALL ARTWORK BY NOAH BENSON

IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

BY ARIANNA FLORES s the sunlight fades and the cool nighttime air settles in, 30 people gather on the porch of a house. A young girl stands on her tiptoes to ring the doorbell. A hush falls on the crowd, until a warm face greets them with a wide open door.

“Merry Christmas!” come the shouts from the red-nosed, bundled visitors. With the strum of a guitar, they break out into song.

“Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shining.” The all-too familiar lyrics reach the ears of the entire family now gathered in the door frame. Sometimes a flash or two goes off, preserving the moment in Christmas memory, and most always a few new voices join in the fun.

The Village Green neighborhood caroling is one of those inexplicable experiences that define the Christmas season for many of the neighborhood’s residents. Geneva senior Mack Vaught has lived in Village Green for the majority of his life, and has been a part of the neighborhood community’s annual caroling trips ever since the tradition started around ten years ago.

Their idea stemmed from the need to form a community during the neighborhood’s earliest years of development. With this now established Village Green tradition, carolers focus on the true reason for spreading Christmas cheer.

“We aren’t singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” says Vaught. Rather, the songs sung are deliberately Christian, such as “Oh Holy Night,” “Away In a Manger” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

“I think of them as a way of sharing what

A

we’re all about,” he says of the Christmas carols.

This ministry brings the light of Christ to each neighbor who listens in. “Hopefully they see us, and the fun we’re having singing to them, and want to be a part of our community or get involved in what we’re doing.”

Carolers visit houses in hopes of ministering to both newcomers, and those distant from Christ during one of the most holy times of the year, but sometimes challenges present themselves.

“There were some years where it was raining and we still did it. I had to learn the songs on guitar last minute. It was really cold, and I remember being really stressed out about that,” says Vaught with a laugh. “We cut it off early and drank hot chocolate.” It turns out there was a silver lining, and this post-carol gathering proved a bonding experience.

“I don’t know any other neighbors who have this kind of relationship,” Vaught says.

“This is where I grew up, and having this kind of neighborhood has been really good for me.”

The fellowship of Village Green is a reallife example of God’s first and foremost commandment being lived out by His followers; caroling helps to bring awareness of that truth.

Neighbors aren’t the only fellowships that gather to spread the true message of Christmas; every Christian family holds traditions that symbolize the Christmas story. For senior Ashley Masso, the origins of her family’s traditions quite literally touch base with the very root of Christmas.

G | 12

Masso’s grandfather was born in a city just outside of Bethlehem. At age 13, he came on a boat with a few of his siblings to North America, where he later met his wife.

The day after the two were married, Masso’s grandmother learned to cook Arabic food to feed her in-laws in celebration of the marriage.

From this celebration grew an exotic tradition: Masso’s grandmother cooks Arabic cuisine every year during the holidays for her family. “The highlight of getting together is my grandma’s food,” says Masso, smiling.

“In Arabic cooking, you use lots of spices like cinnamon,” she says. Kibbeh, one of her favorite dishes, is made with ground meat and a variety of seasonings, similar to a meat pie.

Arabic baklava is a sweet, nutty pastry that her whole family enjoys.

Her grandmother’s cooking brings the whole family together, cousins and all, even after the passing of Masso’s grandfather. “It’s really important, especially to my dad, that we recognize the importance of what my grandpa did to get us here and create a stable family,” she says.

Masso’s acknowledgment of her family’s origin during Christmastime serves as a reminder of the most important birth in history.

Although each family tradition points to the same overall event, they come in all shapes and sizes. Junior Caleb Nilsson explains one of his family’s most unique activities at Christmastime.

Like Masso, Nilsson usually spends his holidays with his grandparents. The week before Christmas, he and his siblings hang out

with their grandma, who has hidden a pickle ornament for each grandkid in her Christmas tree. “The first person to find their pickle wins first prize,” he says excitedly.

“The ornaments are always hard to find because they’re the same color as the tree,” says Nilsson. Once each kid has found their ornament, they get a present to tide them over until Christmas Day. “It’s great to get a gift in advance,” says Nilsson, winking.

However, his parents always stress the importance of seeing beyond these entertaining yet material blessings. He says, “My parents make sure that Christmas is about Jesus and not just the gifts. Always.”

The example they set has influenced the mindset of Nilsson and his two younger siblings, even though they “talk about Jesus all the time.”

In fact, some of Nilsson’s favorite Christmas memories don’t involve receiving gifts, but giving gifts to his family and to other children who have less. “It’s awesome to see people’s excitement as they open up my presents,” he says.

Despite the differences between all three families’ traditions, they all point to the same person. Through all of the songs, food and gifts, through the countless welcoming faces and selfless spirits, “He is what it’s all about,” says Vaught. As the neighbors leave the final doorway and face the cold winds of December, the sound of laughter and the sight of smiles say more than any Christmas card ever could.

G | 13

A GRAN

THE MORNING THE MORNING ROUTINE ROUTINE ThingsThings at the at the Gombert’s Gombert’s barn barn have fallen back have fallen intofull the daily back into swing. rhythm.

A Genev

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATELYN DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATELYN DAVIS G | 14

T

A GIFT NTED

neva senior tells of the generosity of his livestock-breeding community

BY DELANEY YOUNG

he clock read 3:30 a.m. The dog, Gus, was barking and outside she could see her husband running down to the barn, flashlight in hand. “It was just an awful moment at 3:30 in the morning… Really sad for all of us,” Mrs. Jessica Gombert, Geneva Grammar School headmaster and mom of senior Grant Gombert, says.

On October 22, 2015, a stray dog broke into the Gombert’s barn. The mastiff killed two of Grant’s lambs and mauled another. “The dog went for the lambs’ necks… the dog catcher said that the dog was probably playing with [the lambs] like he would play with other dogs, except the lambs don’t fight back, so it kept getting more and more rough,” Grant remembers.

Brick, the lamb that was mauled, survived the attack but was badly injured near its jugular vein. When Grant saw what had happened, he immediately took action. “I didn’t really have time to think because when I woke up, Gus was barking, I saw there were lights down at the barn, and didn’t have any idea what was going on. It was of course really shocking to see two of my lambs dead. But I immediately called the emergency number at the vet here,” Grant says.

Unfortunately, the veterinarian in town would not be in her office until later that morning, so Grant drove the individual lamb to Fredericksburg emergency care. Brick was there for two weeks.

“He’s had a rough time of it, but he’s actually coming around again and getting a lot better,” Gombert says optimistically.

Grant has been buying, raising, showing and selling lambs since he was in third grade.

This process is year-round, and requires a lot of time and effort. As Grant describes it, he and other showers from all over Texas purchase their livestock from breeders in April or May. Every year, Grant spends the summer, fall and winter feeding his lambs the right kind of food, training them to become comfortable around people and follow his directions, and leading them around the pen with a halter (this is an important part of lamb shows and tests whether the lambs can keep calm around the loud throngs of people watching).

He says that some of the biggest lessons he has learned through showing lambs over the years have been from this kind of day-to-day care for his lambs. “The caring for it was hugely valuable, especially when I was younger. It taught me how to be mature because you can’t just leave a lamb without food or care for a day just because you have too much homework or something. They are high-maintenance… And if you have a sick lamb, you can’t just look the other way and go back up to the house. You have to take care of them and G | 15

KEEPING WATCH OVER HIS FLOCK

Gombert is raising and taking good care of his new sheep to sell at the stock show so that he can make money for college. He checks up on his flock twice a day, making sure they are fed and well taken care.

give them your full attention,” Grant says. dollars. Despite this enormous loss, Mrs. The two lambs that the Gomberts lost in Gombert says that many of the details and October were Grant’s best—he was planning so-called coincidences in this story were to show these, along with Brick, in March reminders to her of God’s provision. “We were at a couple of major livestock shows. Mrs. always looking at it, trusting that God would Gombert says, “I provide for Grant,” says look at all his years Mrs. Gombert. of fruit, and all his For one thing, the “IT’S A STORY OF GENEROSITY; HIS hard work—he pays Gomberts did not think LAMBS THAT HE LOST WERE REPLACED vet bills and buys Grant would even be OUT OF THE GENEROSITY OF THESE feed and learns qualified for competition a lot about hard after losing his two best MEN… I TOLD HIM, ‘THAT’S A GIFT FROM work, responsibility, lambs. Mrs. Gombert THE LORD, AND THIS IS A GIFT THAT sticking with says, “As God would have THESE PEOPLE WANT SO MUCH FOR YOU something… So, in it, the next day after it TO HAVE.” that moment, there happened, he had to have was just a lot of all his lambs validated -MRS. JESSICA GOMBERT, loss.” through the county, tell GRAMMAR SCHOOL HEADMASTER The lambs them which ones he was were very valuable, going to show… you have she says, not only to have tags for them, it’s because they were an expensive purchase; this official procedure. So [Mr. Gombert] had Grant had invested a substantial amount of to call and say we wouldn’t make it. One was money on food and vet care to keep them in at the vet, two were gone, and we only had shape for the spring shows, when he could four at the barn which Grant was not planning have sold them for potentially thousands of to show.”

G | 16

BRICK BY BRICK

Grant (pictured) is slowly but surely nursing his injured lamb, Brick, back to health.

The same day, Dale Crenwelge, a local livestock breeder from Kerrville and friend of the Gomberts heard the news, and his heart went out to Grant. “I heard through the grapevine that morning, and we’ve got a lot of common friends with the Gomberts, including the vet… I know that Grant works so hard, and everyone was especially sad that this happened to him in his senior year. We really wanted to help him out.”

Grant had received so many generous offers from people in the community. Several friends and near-by breeders had even told him that he could go to their house and pick out any of their lambs to replace the ones he had lost; Grant’s friends and family sincerely wanted to help him out. “The thing that he didn’t want to do was to go take [a lamb] from anyone,” says Mrs. Gombert.

Crenwelge, however, took a different approach. He picked out and brought two of his own lambs to Grant. He said it was a gift, free of charge. “The Gomberts have been family friends and great role models throughout the years… We’re going to miss Grant next year, but always remember his G | 17

family’s kindness, and this was just a small token of my appreciation,” Crenwelge says.

Another friend of the Gomberts from West Texas followed suit and sent Grant one of his best lambs. The Gomberts are so grateful for God’s provision in this way. Mrs. Gombert recalls, “It’s a story of generosity; his lambs that he lost were replaced out of the generosity of these men… I told him, ‘that’s a gift from the Lord, and this is a gift that these people want so much for you to have.”

Things at the Gombert’s barn have fallen back into full swing as Grant begins to raise and train his new lambs in preparation for the shows this spring. Grant and his family feel blessed by God’s provision and the generosity of the community they are surrounded by, and cannot wait to see God’s plan unfurl in the upcoming months. “I believe that the way people know your testimony is through stories that you tell of God’s goodness,” says Mrs. Gombert. “So even though this is just about lambs and it’s just Boerne, Texas, it’s still a story we want to tell about how God provided… and it’s not over yet. This is just the beginning.”

KISS A FELLOW

Midnight spends some much-needed bonding time with Yarbrough.

PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY MORGAN YARBROUGH

G | 18

Features

Not Just Horsing Around Morgan Yarbrough lives out her dream to journey to the top of the equine world

N

BY KATHERINE ANDERSON

ot many people know exactly what they want to do with their life when they are in high school. Even less know what they want when they are in kindergarten. It has always been obvious, however, that junior Morgan Yarbrough has a passion for horses, and that passion will not fade anytime soon. Since she was a little girl, Yarbrough dreamt of owning and competing with horses, and today she is making that dream a reality.

On an unusually warm December evening, Yarbrough sits in her car and gazes at her nearby barn, reminiscing about how it all began. “I first started riding when I was four,” she says. “My friend had a pony at her birthday party, and I literally wouldn’t let anyone else ride. Then I begged for a pony, and my parents got me a miniature pony named Princey for my fifth birthday.”

Many little girls ask for ponies as birthday presents, but few are as dedicated to their animals as Yarbrough. At six years old, she began to take dressage lessons—learning how to ride in an English saddle while maintaining form, posture and balance. Starting equestrian lessons so young was one of the earliest signs of her devotion to riding.

“Riding horses was all I wanted to do with my time,” she says. “I would want to stay at the barn until the latest my mom would let me stay, and go the earliest my mom would let me go.”

After about a year of training, Yarbrough competed in her first amateur competition. A year after that, the level of competition began to intensify as her fellow riders became older and more refined.

While most girls chose ballet or soccer over horseback riding, Yarbrough stuck to what she was really passionate about and soon bought her first competition horse, Midnight. With Midnight, she was able to compete in eventing, the combination of dressage, jumping and cross country riding. While dressage focuses on the presentation and obedience of the horse, jumping is a timed course of serious obstacles and cross country riding is a timed distance. At fourteen, she switched from eventing to hunter/jumper, where presentation and etiquette are judged in all events. As the competitions got more serious, HORSEPLAY Yarbrough Yarbrough poses with and her family Red after a tough competition. decided to further invest G | 19

in her sport and buy two more horses for specific events.

Neville was the horse she rode when competing in equitation, where riders compete in a course of jumps as well as a flat phase where judges look at presentation and poise. Red was her jumping horse for timed obstacles. First place awards were not uncommon for Yarbrough and her horses. Her success only increased her desire to invest so much of herself into riding.

Unfortunately, Yarbrough’s Neville recently underwent emergency surgery. The surgery has

sent Neville out of the competition for almost eight months, leaving Yarbrough without a horse to compete with. This could jeopardize potential college scholarships or major competitions, just like any athlete who is injured while being scouted by colleges. Staying calm through the catastrophe, Yarbrough knew that she was committed enough to riding to invest in yet another horse, this time from a barn in Germany.

“I went over to Germany planning to get a new equitation horse,” Yarbrough says. “I originally was going to continue with my aspiration to head straight for the equitation ring in college, but then when I got there and rode all the horses, I found that they had good equitation horses but even better jumpers.”

Yarbrough left Germany having purchased not one, but two horses for equitation and jumping. One horse is trained in equitation but specializes in jumping and will be an immediate replacement for Neville. The other, a younger mare, is not as experienced.

ALL I DO IS WIN (top and left) Neville and Yarbrough jumping, and finishing to boast three first place ribbons in competition.

G | 20

THE JUMP OF A LIFETIME

Yarbrough shows Midnight after an equitation event.

Yarbrough plans to continue training the mare and eventually compete solely with her. This is a lifelong commitment to one animal, and one that not everyone can make.

The addition of new horses and the absence of Neville has changed Yarbrough’s plan for college and future competitions. “I am still going to be showing equitation, but instead of trying to make a collegiate team by trying to make it to Nationals in equitation, I will be focusing on jumpers. That should still get me to a scholarship or riding on a collegiate team,” she says.

A rider changing equestrian events after years of hard work is just as hard as a volleyball player suddenly switching from middle blocker to setter or a soccer player playing goalie after years of playing forward.

Yarbrough continues to train her horses four to six days a week for at least three hours at a time. Her goals remain high as she hopes to ride on the equestrian team for a D1 university and possibly compete in the Olympics.

Competing in the Olympics in the future is a very real possibility for Yarbrough, or at least training with Olympic riders. Michael Page, three time Olympic medalist, mentored her own trainer.

“My trainer has a good connection with him and so do the trainers at the barn I went to in Germany,” Yarbrough says. “Hopefully, I will

be training with him in New York this next year and showing with him in Florida.”

Although all of her hard work and dedication is paying off, Yarbrough has had to make sacrifices to get where she is now. “I definitely think I was pulled out of the social scene a little bit, because as you get older riding gets really competitive and time-consuming,” she explains. “With school, I definitely have to plan a lot more to stay on top of things.

I’ve had to kick [school] up a notch since I’ve kicked my riding up a notch. I just have to work.”

Yarbrough has not been able to enjoy some of the perks of high school that most students take for granted. She is unable to play high school volleyball due to the amount of time riding at her level takes up. She has had to miss close friends’ birthday parties and cannot be as involved in clubs and other extracurriculars as her friends are. Even though she has had to make sacrifices, her passion for riding is worth it.

“There’s not really a moment when I realized how much I love it,” she says.

“It’s just always been there. All I’ve ever wanted to do is ride horses.” Yarbrough has dedicated an immeasurable amount of time and effort to competing with her horses, a sport which will hopefully carry her through the rest of her life.

G | 21

Only the Oscars Will Tell

With the Oscars just rolling around the corner, the Quarterly guest movie critic takes his best shot at predicting which nominated movies will win awards

BY KENNY KIDD For me, the holidays aren’t really over until the Oscars have happened. I love movies, and seeing the best movies of the year win certain awards for being the best of that category in a year is just a blast for me. So for anyone who cares, I’m going to predict what will win in some of the major categories of the Oscars this year, (because frankly no one gets excited over sound mixing).

like a movie. It was almost indescribable, and that’s thanks to Inarritu’s amazing directing, and he could become the third director to win best director two years in a row.

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston: “Trumbo” Matt Damon: “The Martian” Leonardo Dicaprio: “The Revenant” Michael Fassbender: “Steve Jobs” Eddie Redmayne: “The Danish Girl” Predicted winner: Leonardo Dicaprio for “The Revenant.” It’s been almost a joke now that it’s impossible for Leo to win an Oscar, and I think that will stop this year for what was his most grounded, brutal, hard to film performance.

Best Picture

“The Big Short” “Bridge of Spies” “Brooklyn” “Mad Max: Fury Road” “The Martian” “The Revenant” “Room” “Spotlight” Predicted winner: “The Revenant” The Revenant is nominated for 12 Oscars. 12. It’s one of the most beautiful movies ever filmed, it’s amazing, and I think it’s going to win. I could potentially see “Spotlight” winning too, but I really think “The Revenant” is going to take it.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett: “Carol” Brie Larson: “Room” Jennifer Lawrence: “Joy” Charlotte Rampling: “45 Years” Saoirse Ronan: “Brooklyn” Predicted winner: Brie Larson in “Room.” Throughout the entirety of “Room,” I cried more frequently and harder than I can remember in a movie theater. And that’s thanks almost completely to Brie Larson being completely amazing as the mother.

She absolutely should win.

Best Director

Adam McKay: “The Big Short” George Miller: “Mad Max: Fury Road” Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu: “The Revenant” Lenny Abrahamson: “Room” Tom McCarthy: “Spotlight” Predicted winner: Alejandro G. Inarritu for “The Revenant.” The effect “The Revenant” had on me didn’t even feel

Brief thoughts on other awards: I think “Mad Max”

will won the most awards for technical things like editing, because those were perfectly done in it, and Sylvester Stallone will win his first Oscar for best supporting actor for “Creed.” And Ennio Morricone should totally win best original score for “The Hateful Eight,” because that music is amazing.

G | 22

The Score

DEDICATION OF STUDENT ATHLETES Student athletes share their experiences participating in competitive sports pg., 27

PHOTOGRAPH BY NOAH BENSON G | 23

54795 54795 9 7 4 5 54373 54373 37 4 5 72066 72066 206 7 7 40274 40274 402 0 07403 07403 074 9 7 54796 54796 54 7 3 4 54372 5 54372 06 2 7 7 2068 7 72068 402 0 40274 0 0274 074 907403 45 8 72 547 7 78 7 54354793 2 6 960 554370 0 78 1 2 4 9 Athletes are known for superstitions: whether it be a certain shirt, particular 2 7

Behin d

9

3

the

umbers

shoes or some other absurd notion. Above all, the number on the athlete’s jersey seems to be the most notorious athlete superstition. Some of Geneva’s top athletes share their reasons for picking the numbers by which we know them.

3 2 10 Campbell Petrie, Senior

“I have always picked number ten since I was really little. It’s a really big deal for soccer. Most number ten players in the pros are the best on their team. I always looked up to players who were number ten, especially Messi (one of the best soccer players in the world). I passed it down to my brother Hogan when I got injured because it is his favorite number too, and I wanted to share having that number with him. Even though I am playing this year, I let him keep the number.”

Ashton Rodgers, Junior “My mom told me about this football player and he always picked two because even if he won he wanted to be number two to God.” Since the beginning of her sports career, Junior soccer player Ashton Rodgers has picked two as her jersey number. She goes on to say that it soon became a superstition to her that she must play as the number two.

Hogan Petrie, Junior

“Wearing jersey number ten has a much greater meaning to me than simply having two digits on a shirt. It was Campbell’s number originally. He chose it as his number in the very first Geneva soccer season. When he injured his knee, he let me have the number because I loved ten, too.

Thankfully, Campbell’s knee was healed enough to play this year. I was going to give the number back to him for his senior year, but he told me to keep it. That was a really big deal.”

soccer PHOTOGRAPHS BY NATHAN YOUNG

G | 24

Con

The Score

Makeup During Sports Two staffers share their opinions on a common girls’ sport dilemma

Why Girls Should Not Wear Makeup During Sports

BY EMMA INGRAM

S

ix seconds left until halftime. Beads of sweat roll down my face as I exhaustingly sprint down the court yet another time. During the very brief moments of rest I have between plays, I wipe my brow with the collar of my jersey in order to get the sweat out of my eyes. Once my face is no longer glossed with sweat, I continue to play the basketball game. This motion of wiping my face with my jersey or towel is a habit for me and many other athletes.

In fact, it is a necessity. Since this habit often results in quickly smearing some sort of absorbing fabric on my face, I almost never wear makeup while I play. I find that my makeup is gone or, worse, smeared across my face.

When I accidentally leave foundation on, my white jersey is tinted with its color. Not only does this look weird on the court, but it actually stains my jersey, even if I try to wash it. Eyeliner and mascara usually don’t smear while I play, so I normally leave it if I have already put it on for the day. Not once have I taken time to put makeup on right before a game for the point of looking good while playing. If anything, I take time to remove makeup before playing. I do not even bring makeup to weekendlong basketball tournaments because I just don’t care. It is not worth it because we play multiple games in a very short period of time and I am never going to see most of those people again. The people I do know will hopefully remember how I play, not how I look while playing. This is true for every game. I want people to leave remembering how hard my team and I have worked, not how attractive we look while working.

“I’m not a fan of the raccoon look. I mean raccoons are ferocious and all, but on the court I prefer to be my own kind of animal.”

- Gabi Griffey, basketball “Just a touch of mascara to make the ‘crazy’ in my eyes pop. My red face is like my war paint, I don’t want to cover up my fierceness.”

- Mariah Lowry, basketball G | 25

The Score

Makeup During Sports Two staffers share their opinions on a common girls’ sport dilemma

Pro

Why Girls Should Wear Makeup During Sports

BY KATHERINE ANDERSON

I

t’s the state volleyball game of your senior year. Half of the student body is cheering you on as your entire team watches you anxiously, hoping you can block the opposing team’s six foot outside hitter. As the ball ricochets off your arms and hits the floor on the other side of the net, as you score the winning point for your team, you think to your self that you will want to remember this moment forever.

Unfortunately, the only picture of this unforgettable play doesn’t show you gracefully leaping in the air with a determined and intimidating look on your face. Instead it shows what looks like a crying baby trying to catch a ball with their elbows. This crying baby is you. It doesn’t matter how pretty you are. Forty six points into the fifth set of a competitive game, you are not going to look good. Your face will be red and sweat will be pouring down your forehead. Any and all “fierce” expressions will only look like you’re in pain. Don’t forget: the more candid a shot, the worse you will look. However, this horrible, traumatic experience can be avoided by applying the miraculous product known as makeup. Foundation and concealer will provide you with a flawless, contoured face, and waterproof mascara defines your eyes really well.

Anyone can be good at sports, but not everyone can look good while doing it. Plus, it is way more intimidating to be stared down by a girl with smoky eyes and fierce eyeliner than a girl who looks twelve but is somehow on the varsity team. So, next time you’re prepping for the big game, make sure your face is ready to dominate.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATHERINE ANDERSON

“I wake up in the morning and put makeup on, and I’m too lazy to take it off before a game.”

– Abbey Giddens, soccer “You gotta intimidate the other team by your looks.”

- Mikaela Evans, volleyball G | 26

THE DEDICATION OF STUDENT

ATHLETES. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears involved in high school-level sports

By Nathan Young

T

he crowd is roaring. The cheerleaders are cheering. The student section is going nuts. The scoreboard is counting down. With just a few minutes left in the game, the athlete’s mind is churning on the sideline, recalling all the work that has lead up to this moment: the early mornings, the late evenings, the extra time, the bumps, bruises and scratches. With these thoughts racing, the athlete re-enters the game, ready to make it worth the sacrifice.

Sports play such a huge role at Geneva that it would be a completely different school without them. Athletics are something that the whole school can rally around and support. The student body can unite behind teams by doing things like chartering a bus to a game, putting up fliers supporting them, and talking them up on campus and in pep rallies.

Junior Skylar Tippetts recounts the crucial volleyball games during the playoffs when over half the high school came to cheer them on and even rode a bus out to one of their games.

“It was one of the most encouraging moments of the season to hear an entire section of my Geneva family cheering us on at the state finals.

I really appreciated all the support and energy our fans brought and I’ll remember it forever.”

Times like this when the student body comes together to support a team are memorable and truly valuable.

Being a Geneva student athlete requires a lot. It takes heart, hard work, self-control, and most of all, sacrifice. They go through highs, lows, wins, losses, injuries, achievement and disappointment. Student athletes typically spend two to three hours a day, three or four times a week preparing for their sport. This is not to mention the extra hours dedicated to early morning practices, games and weekend tournaments. Some of these athletes are also on club teams that demand even more of their time. Not only do they have to do extra work, but they also must give up some things like favorite foods, homework hours, sleep, relaxing weekends, and time with friends.

G | 27

DEDICATION. VICTORY. HARD WORK. DETERMINATION. CONFIDENCE. POWER. PRIDE.

However, these grueling schedules do not apply just to the students…they affect the entire family. If the student athletes cannot drive, their parents must take them to and from their practices, games, etc. When practice runs late, the amount and time of family meals is changed.

And when game-day comes around, the homework-crammed siblings either stay at home or are reluctantly dragged out to watch.

Freshman Nathan Zuniga sums up the attitudes of many of those in the family forced to tag along by saying, “I’m probably one of the most unsupportive siblings in the world. The majority of my brother’s games are out of town anyway. The only way I’m going to sit in the hot sun for two hours of listening to moms yell at the ref is if I’m forced to.” It may not be like this all the time, but everyone has days when they just want to go home, and a sibling’s game is the last place they want to be.

So, why do they do it? What drives these students to sacrifice time and energy season after season? Why do they risk injury and give up free time? These are surely questions they ask themselves, but the answer cannot be summed up in one reason, nor is it the same for everyone, but there is definite value in what they do.

The first thing that comes to mind when considering why one plays a sport is certainly the fun they have. Playing and competing with friends, traveling with your team for away games, getting to know the players; these are all appealing components of playing a sport. This may seem obvious, and well, it is. If you’re not having fun in a sport, then why bother, right?

Junior Jeff Rosinbaum speaks about his favorite moments with the basketball team: “I like doing things with the team that are not necessarily about basketball like getting together, having team dinners, and stuff like that.” Small team bonding moments like these can be some of the greatest parts of playing a sport and being part of a team.

There are other apparent reasons for playing sports like fitness and the straightforward satisfaction of winning games, achieving goals and shooting for state competition. Whether you’re perfecting your shot, nailing your cheer routine, or getting your swing just right, it’s great to have bigger goals in mind.

While enjoyment, competition and community may be the primary motivation for G | 28

most athletes, there are other benefits that are intangible and may be overlooked by some.

Athletics are exceptional for building qualities like perseverance, discipline and excellence.

These qualities will carry them far beyond the bounds of their sport and into their careers and households. At the beginning of the season, one may not even consider these advantages, but when it’s over they have developed character qualities that will last them a lifetime.

Coach John Brock reflects on the effect that high school sports had on his life: “Growing up without a dad, my high school coaches were the influential men in my life. I went to them when I needed a man, and my mom couldn’t help.

Sports taught me the discipline that other things couldn’t, and helped me to become the man I am today.” The role models of coaches along with the lessons that athletics teach are unique and valuable properties of sports.

Another observation to be made is the positive influence the coaches have on the players. Especially at Geneva, the coaches are men and women whom the players can look up to. These coaches can be more than just the people who yell at you during practice. They can be role models, examples, guides and friends.

Surely, all athletes at Geneva can agree that their coaches have played an influential role in their lives. Many of these coaches are willing to give up their time and go the extra mile for their players by doing small things like setting up before practice, staying after practice or coming at lunch to offer extra help, giving players ice packs, and all the other behind-the-scenes work that they do. Coaches often counsel students who are making decisions about important things, too.

Freshman Devon Ahrens voices his appreciation for his coaches: “They are very dedicated and care about individual growth, not only as players, but as godly young men.” These qualities can be ascribed to practically every coach in the Geneva athletics program.

So, in the end, the true value of sports comes down to more than surface-level assumptions that some would make about them.

In reality, athletics require a great amount of commitment and perseverance, which in turn yield equally great rewards, both short and long term. However, these rewards do not come easily. They require time, effort, and most of all, dedication.

G | 29

SKILL. ENDURANCE. INTENSITY TEAM. FAS ER. PRACTICE. INSPIRATION STRONG. PRACTICE TEAM.

54795 54795 9 7 4 5 7 54373 54373 43 5 72066 72066 206 7 7 40274 40274 402 0 07403 07403 074 9 7 54796 54796 54 7 3 54372 54 6 54372 0 2 7 7 2068 7 72068 402 0 40274 0 0274 074 907403 45 8 72 547 7 78 7 54354793 2 6 960 554370 0 78 1 2 4 9 7

Behin d

3

the

umbers

12 2225 Emma Ingram, Senior

“I first picked number 12 because it had a good ring to it, but also because I was a bit superstitious (well, I wasn’t really superstitious, but I was a little ‘stitious).

Abby Leeder had the jersey number 12 the year before me, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take that jersey and hope that her ability to drain threes in basketball would magically transfer to me. ”

David Runnels, Senior

Katie Drees, Junior

“My favorite number is 24. I am huge fan of Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant. He is my idol so I wanted number 24, but it was taken. I went with 22 instead.”

“I have always been number 24 since second grade. But in ninth grade, they did not have it so I switched to number 25. The first year I had number 25, I always blamed it on my number when I didn’t play well. Now that I’ve had it for a couple years, I’m good and wouldn’t change it.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NATHAN YOUNG

basketball

l

Culture

NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES An inside look at the lives of some of Geneva’s employees

PHOTOGRAPH BY JACQUELINE KNOX

pg. 42 G | 31

Culture

BEAR MOON BAKERY&CAFE A Hill Country Favorite; 401 S. Main St.

THE WANDER’N CALF

A Unique Specialty Espresso Bar; 116 W Blanco Rd.

Boerne’s Coffee Culture Exploring the diversity of Boerne’s local coffee shops

BY AISLING AYERS

The Wander’N Calf is not an average espresso bar and bakery. This quaint coffee shop is the only one in Boerne that grinds their California-imported beans made to order; there’s no brewing here! The gourmet coffee bar, owned and operated by a motherdaughter duo, provides a workplace where people with special needs can intern. The owner’s daughter herself has autism and is able to learn, alongside her mother, how to make the best quality coffee in the small town of Boerne.

The Wander’N Calf serves “the best pourover cup of coffee I have ever had,” according to Geneva journalism teacher Mrs. Becky Ryden.

CINAMMON ROLL LATTE $4.00

The Bear Moon Bakery and Café’s

warm and friendly atmosphere is the icing on the cake of this small-town charmer. It is not uncommon to see delighted children begging their mothers for one of the café’s popular, colorfully iced sugar cookies. A glass case at the front of the café displays impressive homemade cakes and elaborate desserts.

Local art covers the walls and adds vibrant touches to this Main Street corner shop. Bear Moon offers breakfast and a classic hillcountry brunch buffet.

The cozy atmosphere of Bear Moon Bakery and Café invites both the occasional visitor and the weekly regular to sit and stay for a while.

G | 32

PEPPERMINT MOCHA $4.60

A JA

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACQUELINE KNOX

The Dienger is a charming new coffee shop and boutique located on Main Street.

The Dienger building, established in 1890, was the original location of the Boerne Public Library. Locals love the delicious homemade pastries and the gourmet lunch menu, along with its convenient and historical location. The bistro offers a hearty breakfast menu in addition to cookies and pies baked from scratch. The coffee shop and bistro boasts a Parisian ambiance with its black and white floors and marbled tables, and is always full of happy, returning customers.

G | 33

THE DIENGER TRADING CO. A Boerne Legacy; 210 N. Main St.

PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE $4.00

STAY CLASSY SMOOTHIE $4.50

FREEDOM CUP

situated just minutes away from the Geneva School of Boerne. But its bright red building bursts with character inside and out. Sofas, chairs and tables fill the interior, perfect for sitting down with a good book and a cup of coffee.

This Geneva family-owned coffeehouse offers gluten free options along with a convenient drivethru. However, this business is about more than coffee. Its proceeds benefit those interested in adoption, provide financial aid to local and global partners in ministry and help provide fresh water to those in need around the world.

Coffee With A Purpose; 118 Old San Antonio Rd.

Freedom Cup coffee shop is not hard to miss,

THE DAILY GRIND A Local Favorite; 143 S. Main St. GENEVA’S PICKS

VANILLA CHAI LATTE $4.40

Boerne’s historic Main Street also houses The Daily Grind, a coffee lounge and espresso bar.

Walk through an open door on the side of The Daily Grind, and customers will discover a business known as The Boerne Grill, which serves breakfast, lunch and homemade ice cream. The Grill also bakes a variety of baked goods and pastries.

Lining its walls are vintage photographs from an old-timey Boerne. This Boerne classic is a mustvisit for amazing coffee and a bite to eat.

The Quarterly staff surveyed a portion of the Rhetoric School student body, asking them which local coffee shop they preferred. Taking into account taste, atmosphere and service, here are the results of the poll.

freedom cup 19% wander’ N calf 12%

daily grind 23% bear moon 23% dienger 23%

G | 34

Culture

WISH WE WOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU Every student has heard a teacher say, “I was a high schooler once too.” It is kind of hard to imagine Geneva teachers walking around with backpacks on and books in hand, right? They were the ones being graded instead of the ones grading. Maybe they even failed a test or two. The thought of Mrs. Mimi Stricker attending boarding school or Mr. Shawn Harrild actually being a tough guy and getting in fights never comes to mind. Have you ever imagined Mr. Rick Poole blowing up a toilet, or Mrs. Amanda Easterling having a “burn book”? But every teacher went to high school at one point in their life, and each one of them had a different experience.

BY JACQUELINE KNOX

Did you consider yourself to be in a particular crowd?

Mr. Harrild: “I kind of hopped from crowd to crowd. I [had] a TV/film personality. I was all over the place. I didn’t really have a group that was uniquely my own. I was a floater, a James Dean.”

Mrs. Stricker: “I went to regular high school for two years and then I went to a boarding school. When I was at regular high school I hung out with the athletes, the cheerleaders, as well as the dance team, choir kids, theatre kids and band kids. I was definitely a social butterfly.

I have never been a ‘one group’ kind of person.”

Mrs. Easterling: “Not the cool crowd. I wasn’t weird enough to fit into the theatre crowd. So I guess I wasn’t really in a crowd.

I will just say I was in the nerd group.”

Mr. Poole: “I was definitely in the theatre crowd. I started out as a jock but my athletic career was not as successful as I wanted it to be.”

What were the cool trends when you were in high school?

Mr. Harrild: “Baggy Jeans.

That was kind of always a thing. Guys were overly obsessed with their Jordan’s.

Is that even a thing anymore?

The hairstyle was disheveled and grunge like. That’s what my hair looked like. I just put gel on my fingers and ran them through my hair and I was ready to go.”

Mrs. Stricker: “Guess jeans in every color, [from] leopard to hot pink to blue; everything.

Also, high top Reeboks in bright colors.”

Mrs. Easterling: “Uggs were really popular, skinny jeans were just starting to be cool G | 35

[and] girls had feathers in their hair. I remember Abercrombie and Fitch being really popular [and] really straight hair, almost to the point where it looked like it was burnt.”

Mr. Poole: “Levis 501, Nike anything, [and smoking].

When I was in high school, kids were allowed to smoke.

There was a smoking section at school where all the bad kids would hang out.”

What is your funniest memory from high school?

Mr. Harrild: “Well the first one that comes to mind I can’t repeat because it is inappropriate. It was a public school, come on. It was probably in a humanities class.

I got in a fight with this guy.

Actually it was more of a scuffle, not really a fight. He started it. It was like watching little children play. He kept

shoving me and at one point he came over and slapped me in the face. I grabbed the closest thing I could find, which happened to be an eraser. I threw it at him and it hit him on the forehead and then bounced on top of his head twice. Everyone in the class started laughing, which dissolved the whole situation.

That guy and I actually became friends. The story that I want to tell you that I can’t, is funnier.”

Mrs. Stricker: “One time at boarding school there was a skunk that lived on campus.

He would spray people, chase you and spray you. We were out one night and we were walking back from our dorm when the skunk chased us down. I ended up getting away but my other friend got sprayed. It was funny.”

Mrs. Easterling: “My freshman year my friends and I had this spiral where we wrote notes to each other every day. We were passing it back and forth in class when we got caught. Our teacher picked it up and read all the notes to the entire class.

We had written a lot of mean things about people including that teacher. It took an entire class period. She just went through note after note after note. I didn’t really have any personal information in there.

I mean every one knew I liked Ross Winkler so it wasn’t a big deal. She read all these mean things we had said about her which at the time I thought was really stupid. I mean why are you reading all these mean things about yourself to everyone? Anyway, she didn’t get us in trouble besides that.

So for future reference, don’t keep all your notes in a spiral because if a teacher picks it up, they have months worth of information on you.”

Mr. Poole: “I blew up a toilet my sophomore year. My friend and I would light these quarter sticks of dynamite and throw them into the stalls so the person in the stall would come hopping out with their pants around their ankles. We were getting ready to light one when the lookout said there was teacher coming. We tried to flush it but we didn’t know that the fuse stayed lit under water. We never heard it but all of sudden there was water seeping out of the bathroom door.”

Any advice you wish to pass down?

Mr. Harrild: “Where do I begin? Do your homework, actually show up to class and put forth effort. You don’t want to be taking freshman and sophomore English classes your senior year. I didn’t really care about school until junior year and by then I had done a lot of damage. Realize the things you do in high school, you will regret later if you don’t give it your all and try.”

Mrs. Stricker: “Don’t grow up so quickly, because you can’t ever go back [and] take advantage of opportunities.

If you have the chance to go do something or to go see something, [do] it.”

Mrs. Easterling: “Don’t care what other people think. What [they] think doesn’t matter.

G | 36

Also really seek after God. Develop a relationship with Him so you can really get to know Him.” Mr. Poole: “It sounds really cheesy but be yourself. If you are honest to yourself and you love Jesus you will never go terribly wrong in life. Try as much as you can. Take risks, the right not the stupid kind.

Don’t shy away from anything because you are afraid to try it.”

Is there anything you regret not doing in high school?

Mr. Harrild: “I regret not having a lot of school spirit.

I did one year of football and then I stopped because it had too much school spirit. I wish I would have gone to more dances and maybe actually taken a leadership class or two.

They seem to be the fun classes that my friends always talk about when they talk about missing high school.”

Mrs. Stricker: “Not really. I have always lived life to the fullest. I was never one to sit around and watch things happen.”

Mrs. Easterling: “Sports. I was too into my academics that I didn’t want to waste my time doing sports. I wish I had been part of some sort of team.”

Mr. Poole: “Sure. I never dated Meredith Fisher. But I tried. I was a very lazy student. I never really committed myself to anything unless it was something I really wanted.

Some people get by on ‘good’, they don’t push themselves till they get ‘great’. I wish I had pushed myself more to be great. There are so many things I never knew I could be great in because I never worked hard enough to find out.”

In high school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Mr. Harrild: “I wanted to direct films for Hollywood.

That was probably the case because my world at the time was the advanced TV/film class that I was taking. We made films and I really enjoyed that.”

Mrs. Stricker: “Famous. It didn’t matter what I did. I am a performer so it didn’t matter; I just wanted to be on stage.

I always said I wanted to be famous, not for what I did but for what God has done in me.”

Mrs. Easterling: “I wanted to be a pediatric oncologist, which is a doctor that specializes in

cancer in children.”

Mr. Poole: “I wanted to be either a Jedi knight or a writer.

I already knew I could be an actor because I had previously worked as one. I really wanted to be a playwright. I wanted to write the words and have someone else read and perform them.”

Did you ever imagine yourself being a teacher?

Mr. Harrild: “No, I thought that would have been the most hilarious thing I could have become. I actually thought that if I became a teacher it would be for a public school in the inner city where the kids would be terrible. I deserved that because of the way I treated my teachers.”

Mrs. Stricker: “Teaching was the farthest thing from my mind. It was what I could do but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I come from a long line of teachers and I just

thought that teaching was so unglamorous. I still struggle with it, but I can see the fruit of what I do and the lives that I impact.”

Mrs. Easterling: “I thought teachers were boring. I saw teachers as being these weird people who sat at home and did nerdy stuff. I couldn’t see why someone would want to be back in a high school because I was so ready to get out. However, I am really glad that I chose to teach.”

Mr. Poole: “Absolutely not. If you had told me that in high school, I would have laughed myself silly. Getting to spend time with my students is what teaching is about. Being a teacher is not about the money or the prestige. I thought the best way to spend the rest of life was to help guide young people and have them learn from my mistakes.”

BACK IN THE DAY (l-r) Mr. Harrild, Mrs. Easterling, Mr. Poole and Mrs. Stricker “hanging out” the hallways of high school.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JACQUELINE KNOX

Culture

Salut, Hola, Hello Rhetoric students discuss the benefits of learning another language

BY NATHAN ZUNIGA PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACQUELINE KNOX

O

ver 61.8 million people across America are bilingual. At Geneva, only a handful of students can say they are fluent in any language besides English. Whether they learned another language at a young age or just out of sheer interest, each bilingual student has a story behind the additional language they speak.

Although she grew up in the United States, sophomore Grace Zara learned Romanian as her first language. Raised in California, Zara was

SALUTATIONS

first taught Zara greets her family and friends by saying “hello” in her first language, Romanian.

Romanian so that she would know when she was older. Once she knew Romanian well enough, her parents, who both grew up in Hunedoara, Romania, began to teach her English.

Zara has found many benefits from learning a foreign language before English. “If we are ever in public, just my mom and I, and we want to say something without anyone else knowing, we just speak in Romanian and it makes it a lot easier. My parents speak to me in Romanian all the time, but I usually just answer in English. I

still speak it at home to keep it fresh, since my church is made up of Romanians,” Zara says.

Fortunately, holidays in America are not much different in Romania. Zara and her family celebrate the same traditional holidays Americans do, although there are a few which are unique to Romanian culture. “In Romania, there is a Kid’s Day, similar to Father’s and Mother’s Day, but a day celebrating kids. It’s like a second birthday party,” says Zara.

This past summer, while visiting Romania to see some relatives abroad, Zara found herself in a comical situation where the people around her did not know she could speak their language.

“We were at a church in Romania once, and the pastor was introducing us as new guests. He kept saying that he didn’t know if we could understand him and that he was looking for a translator for us,” Zara says.

Although she has had some tough times communicating in Romania, she still is able to use the language to her benefit.

Growing up learning a foreign language in the United States might not be as difficult as some think. Similar to Zara, freshman Anna Gray and her sister, junior Maria Gray, began their educational route to learning Spanish in Houston, Texas.

As young children, both spoke Spanish as their primary language. “Our mom spoke to us in Spanish [as infants], and then later, when we entered pre-school, we started to learn English,” Maria says.

Gina and Scott Gray, the sisters’ parents, are first generation American citizens who come from different backgrounds—Gina is from Mexico City and Scott is from Houston.

Here in Texas, many expect people to know Spanish. But for some, it is just like any other

G | 38

SISTER, SISTER

Anna (left) and Maria (right) Gray greet the photographer in the language they learned first.

“I just kind of did it by myself, and I remember telling my mom and she didn’t really believe me at first,” Matson says. Unlike Zara and the Grays, Matson did not learn Japanese because she had any relational ties to Japan, but out of sheer interest in the culture.

She began her learning experience using the Rosetta Stone program, which consists mostly of vocabulary and sentence structure exercises.

“Near the end, you start to learn [the] grammar and how to word different phrases correctly. This program was just the basics, and took about three months to finish. When that program was finished, it gave me the option to continue on to the writing portion of the program, which I am still learning to this day… I enjoy Japanese culture and entertainment, and in order to really enjoy it, I needed to understand it by learning the language,” says Matson.

Matson has indeed found satisfaction in learning Japanese, and, like Zara and the Grays, continues to improve her proficiency in the language. These three show that, no matter who a person is or where they come from, anyone can learn new things, explore new places and find something that makes them a little more unique.

foreign language. “The other day at my church, there was this old woman who only spoke Spanish. [She] was trying to communicate with another guy who only spoke English [and] I was able to go up and help,” Maria says.

Like Zara, Maria and Anna have both surprised people who were unaware of their linguistic talents. “One time, we were at the beach and these girls were gossiping about us in Spanish; they didn’t know that we spoke Spanish too. Let’s just say, they were wrong,” Anna explains.

At home, the Gray girls frequently speak Spanish with their mom and her family.

When the holiday season comes around each year, the Grays participate in all the typical holiday traditions that Americans do. But because they usually celebrate in Mexico, a little twist is added to everything.

“In Mexico, we celebrate Three Kings after Christmas. It’s like Santa, but instead of getting a bunch of presents you get three presents representing the three wise men’s gifts,” Anna says. The Grays also celebrate Day of the Dead instead of Halloween.

Learning a new language at a young age may be relatively simple, but what is it like to learn a foreign language as a teenager? During the summer of 2013, freshman Aubrey Matson found out, and took it upon herself to OBSESSED WITH ANIME learn Japanese.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACQUELINE KNOX

Matson wrote “hello” in Japanese to show how unique the language is.

G | 39

The Feed

Today’s political stage spotlights everything from world leaders to state legislation

BY IAN COMUZZIE

GUNS DON’T KILL PEOPLE; IT’S MOSTLY THE BULLETS A short time ago, President Barack Obama gave a speech addressing gun control, a topic that has been on everyone’s mind over the past couple years. Three years ago, President Obama tried to pass laws enforcing stricter gun control because of the Sandy Hook shooting, but he was turned down by Congress. Fast-forward to present day, and the President has brought these laws back up, but this time he has taken action. Executive action. He plans to pass these laws without the consent of Congress. Gutsy move, Mr. President.

G | 40

Just recently, North Korea stated that they tested a hydrogen bomb. That’s right, an H-bomb! North Korea has been trying to pump up its nuclear scheme for a while, and has scheduled three nuclear tests in recent years. Although North Korea says that they dropped this bomb, the U.S. and China are calling their bluff.

Scientists from the U.S. believe that this so called H-bomb is inconsistent with actual hydrogen bomb explosions. These scientists are convinced that this bomb was really just a bigger, more powerful atomic bomb. Come on North Korea, quit lying! Even if it wasn’t an H-bomb, South Korea was still shaken up by the news and plans to take action if an actual H-bomb of this magnitude is released.

International Events

HEY, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!

National Events Not too long ago, Texas passed an open carry law allowing Texas citizens to open carry firearms in public. Now this can be viewed as pretty dangerous, and may possibly do more harm than good. Because of this new law, police are now a little confused as to whether they have authority to verify the license for the firearm.

Officials say that this system should be just like checking for drivers’ licenses when a driver is pulled over, or when buying alcohol at a store. All you gun-toting Texans out there better holster up and hit the town to show off that new piece.

G | 41

State Events

WATCH IT, HE’S PACKIN’ HEAT

BEHIND SCENES

Behind a desk. Filing papers. Taking temperatures. Directing traffic.

Answering the phone. Planning events.

Taking attendance. Locking the doors.

Opening the gates. A nurse. An office coordinator. A policeman.

Behind a desk.

Filing papers. Taking temperatures. Answering questions. Directing traffic.

Answering the phone.

Planning events. Taking attendance. Locking the doors. Opening the gates.

THE

Culture

An inside look at the behind-thescenes work of three Geneva staffers

BY NATHAN ZUNIGA

G | 42

E

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY JACQUELINE KNOX

Nurse Brittany Styles Styles proves she’s a pro at multi-tasking as she talks on the phone, takes a student’s temperature and answers a question for another child.

NZ: What is your job here at Geneva?

BS: I am a bachelor’s prepared registered nurse.

On a daily basis, I am in charge of all the things that come up during the day as far as injuries and sickness. I am also on staff in the event of a medical emergency.

NZ: How long have you worked as a nurse?

BS: This is my sixth year working at Geneva. Prior to this, I graduated college in 1995. I worked for twelve years as an ICU and trauma ICU registered nurse and primarily worked in hospitals in San Antonio and Dallas, but took a few years off when my youngest was born.

NZ: What was the process of becoming a nurse?

BS: Two years into my schooling at Texas State, I transferred to UT Health and Science Center and ended up graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1995. As far as Geneva, I had always wanted to work here . I was only qualified for one job, and that was to be a nurse. Actually, it was Mrs. Ryden who said, “Have you ever thought of being the nurse here?”

And I remembered being blown away thinking, “Yes! Yes I have, that would be great!” Two weeks later, the nurse who was here resigned her position, so I turned in my application and was hired.

G | 43

NZ: Do you recall any interesting stories regarding your experience as a nurse?

BS: I’m not sure if there is one that I could pinpoint from when I worked in the trauma ICU, but I do remember thinking that it was so neat to see patients and their families in the most critical moments and to be able to do things within my skill set to help them through an urgent situation. And while not many emergencies happen here at school, I always feel good about being here in case a child needs help.

NZ: Are you happy with your job?

BS: The reason I decided to go into nursing is because the sky is the limit. You can travel and work in all different settings. Really, there are many different carrier paths that you are able to take. As your life changes, your job changes with you. Working as a trauma ICU registered nurse is not conducive to having children, but working as a school nurse definitely provides time for that part of your life. Geneva is such a warm, nurturing environment. Of course, I love being around the kids, but I really enjoy working with everyone here. So yes, I am very happy with my job here at Geneva.

Officer Roger Baker Baker directs morning and afternoon on-campus traffic, one of his many jobs as one of Geneva’s police officers.

NZ: How long have you been a police officer?

RB: I have worked as a police officer in the state of Texas for 25 years and in Kendall County for the past 13 years.

NZ: What exactly is your job?

RB: My job here at Geneva can be summed up in two words. Number one is safety; [the] safety of the students, faculty and parents who come on campus. The second is deterrent. Our presence here is a deterrent for anybody to come on campus and try something. If I am ever in uniform, without fail, every time I walk into a store, I hear a parent say to their child: “You better be nice, or those cops are going to take you.” But that is not what we do; that is not our job. For some reason, you guys are uneasy about us. I want a seven year old child to have the confidence to walk up to me, shake my hand and be okay with that.

NZ: What is the most groundbreaking story you have experienced?

RB: I was on duty one night in Brownfield, Texas, when my corporal stopped the car. He saw a car make a left turn on the wrong lane. It wasn’t a

big felony or anything, but he had a feeling that something wasn’t right. When I stepped out to talk to the driver, the man took off running.

It was when my corporal took off after him that I noticed a blanket in the back seat that started moving. There was a man in the back seat underneath the blanket. His hands and feet were tied and he was bound around. We discovered that the men who were driving the car were two brothers who were on an “across the country” crime spree. Those men were then sentenced to about 70 years in the federal penitentiary. And to this day, I still get a card from that victim, thanking me every year on that anniversary.

NZ: Do you have any fears about your job?

RB: Any cop that tells you that they are not scared is lying. Law enforcement is 98% boredom and 2% sheer terror. That call you get about a man with a gun or a kid trapped in a flaming car shakes you to your core.

NZ: Are you happy with your job?

RB: Absolutely. I’m going to keep on doing this as long as the good Lord keeps me here.

G | 44

THE Ms. Chelsie Jacobson A typical day for Jacobson is busier than most. Students visit her desk to make copies, ask questions or even crack jokes.

NZ: What is your job here at Geneva?

CJ: I think my official title would be the Logic and Rhetoric School coordinator, but really that just means that I do whatever Mr. Shelton and Mr. Desario need.

NZ: How long have you worked at Geneva?

CJ: I started working here in 2005 as a kindergarten teacher and then moved on to work for Mr. Shelton in 2008. So, I have been working at Geneva for a little more than ten years now.

NZ: What was the process of coming to Geneva?

CJ: I used to have a friend that knew Mrs. Gombert, who had told her about Geneva. My friend suggested the idea of working at Geneva to me one day but I didn’t think much of it.

I really wasn’t visiting because I wanted a job or anything. She just wanted me to come see it because they had just moved to the current

campus. After that, I knew I needed to work here.

NZ: What would be a piece of advice regarding your experience working as a school coordinator?

CJ: What I have learned working here is that even the most difficult tasks can be done with a good attitude. You should always make the best out of a difficult time. I never want people to see me in a bad mood and be afraid to approach me.

NZ: What is the greatest thing you have realized working here as a school coordinator?

CJ: Working in an office means I see and meet a lot of people, including the students.

Connecting with you guys has been great. It has also been really cool to see that God has put me here, because this was absolutely never my idea for my life. God has put me here and equipped me for what He has called me to do.

G | 45

Culture

Clubs Across the Board (Walk) A humorous look at the many clubs offered at Geneva and what they are really about

BY SKYLAR TIPPETTS

C

Culinary

I

f you have a passion for cooking, the culinary club is for you. Each year, the culinary club is divided into two parties.

The first party consists of. members who genuinely enjoy cooking. They are the only ones who actually contribute to the club. The second party consists of hungry students who have never made a sandwich or even know how to boil water. They are called the consumers, or, the ones who join the club just to eat the food their peers have prepared.

The latter behavior is usually frowned upon.

If you like free food, but are not willing to contribute you probably should not join; think about it. If the contributors are the ones frowning upon the consumers, who are doing all the consuming… the consumers could very easily consume the secret ingredient of revenge… put in what looks like a festive Christmas cookie, made by none other than a contributor.

Sci-Fi

T

he science fiction club is commonly recognized as one of Geneva’s most “unique” clubs. This club includes activities such as watching sci-fi movies, discussing sci-fi movies, watching trailers for sci-fi movies, playing sci-fi games, watching sci-fi videos about sci-fi game strategies and reading comics. In the words of one of the club’s faculty advisors, Mr. Paul Johnson, “There is not any other safe haven for nerds on campus.” So, if you like sci-fi, you might just love the sci-fi club. As Mr. Steve Tye (the other club advisor) once said, “We only use our forces for good.” But, don’t even think about joining if you don’t know what the Millennium Falcon is.

L

U

Cinematography I

f you don’t like the idea of committing to an organization, you should consider the cinematography club. The amount of dedication it takes to be in this club is slim to none. They haven’t had one meeting this year. In fact, it may not even exist anymore. Regardless, if you want a club to put on your college resume but don’t want to have to deal with actually doing stuff, join the cinematography club.

Photography

S

Shooting

T

he unique thing about Texas (specifically Boerne), is that people tolerate, if not encourage, the use of fire arms as a source of entertainment. That is why at The Geneva School of Boerne there is a club meant to exercise the passion our young men and women have for guns and using them to shoot things. If you want to be in the shooting club, you should probably be comfortable with holding a firearm, wearing boots, and frequently hearing the phrase, “If it flies, it dies.” In the shooting club, there are opportunities to get target practice shooting skeet, and if you’re lucky, some sort of varmint.

B

ince the cinematography club hasn’t been very active in the past, the photography club was created. The photography club seems to be pretty self explanatory, a club where people take pictures, right? Wrong.

Well, right for the most part, but a fair warning should be given to any photography noobs who are considering the club. Here it is: you should become familiar with photography jargon such as zoom, filter, flash, (shutter, zoom, macro, normal, telephoto, wide angle or tilt shift) lens, lens flare, (hard, soft, subtractive, fill, main or ambient) lighting, circles of confusion, aperture, chromatic aberration, gobo, camera shake, and ISO. You will be surrounded by people who speak this language and you must know how to translate it. Regularly using photography lingo can also improve your social status among fellow photographers and help you gain their respect. If capturing photos with your double TS 4.8 telearberration lens is your hobby and passion, sign up for the photography club today. And if you’re still new to the photography world, that’s okay, you can always learn.

“GOD CAN SHINE A LIGHT EVEN THROUGH THE DARKEST OF TIMES.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATELYN DAVIS

G | 48

HALEY HALLMARK’S

I

TESTIMONY

magine a long road. The road seems to go on forever, until you see a light at the very end.

Some take this drive in a luxurious car with seat warmers, air conditioning and cruise control. But others take this road barefoot, with only rags to cover them. When they reach the end of the road, who do you think will appreciate it more? This road represents life and the light at the end of the road represents the Lord welcoming us home. My road starts in a car, and while I ended up on foot for a period of time, I did not give up and I am still on the right path.

One day in 5th grade, I was just let out of school and was headed to my mom’s car, when I was surprised to see my dad driving instead of my mom. When he turned around to look at me, his eyes were yellow. “Don’t I look like a werewolf?” he said.

He thought it was just the flu, but after a visit with the doctor, he was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma to a cancer treatment center. The doctor’s suspicion was correct: my dad was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer. He was given six months to live.

You might think that this would have hit me like a truck, but I lived life as if I were in my own movie. I thought everything was going to turn around, my dad would recover and I would get a puppy out of it. But my movie became a reality, and took a dramatic turn for the worst.

After that school year, my grandpa was diagnosed with pancreatitis. He was alive, but he was in extreme pain, hooked up to machines. He had previously left a living will which said that he would never live sustained by a machine. The day before my first day of middle school, my grandpa passed away. While I was extremely sad, I was still living in my movie, thinking that somehow everything would turn out ok. I loved my grandpa like crazy. However, God had a plan, and this death only helped me to prepare for another horrible day that was still yet to come.

After two years of fighting cancer, my dad was helpless and suffering. I came home from school the Monday before spring break in 2013, two years since he had first been diagnosed, to find my mom standing in the driveway. She told me that hospice G | 49

was there at our house. These are words no one ever wants to hear. My dad was preparing to leave and go to his heavenly home. I didn’t believe it at first. Somehow, in my childlike faith, I still felt I was in that movie, and my dad would still survive the battle his body was slowly losing.

That very night, we were helping him into the hospital bed that had been set up in our exercise room when I said, “I love you.”

However, my dad couldn’t respond to me because he just did not have the strength. That was the hardest moment of my whole journey, because he almost always ended his sentences with, “I love you,” and yet he could not utter those words.

On March 4, 2013 at around two in the morning my dad went to be with the Lord.

This was a sad time; I was broken at this point, and went to my room. I knew God had a reason for it, and while I still do not know His reason, I trust Him. My father never complained through the entire thing. He became a role model for so many people. He truly was a light that guided many. My mom became his personal nurse and a gift to so many people in her life, even though she was going through her own pain.

Throughout the whole journey, I felt loved and supported. Geneva gave me my 12-year-old birthday party. I had received so many letters from friends. In fact, Mrs. Leslie Taylor canceled class so all the students could write letters to me.

I am well aware that the movie in which I thought I was living never existed. Now I live the real life God has given me, and I’m excited to see where He will take me next. One of the biggest gifts I received was the date he left, March 4, or written in my mind, “March forth.”

And me? I am thriving, not living. Thriving. I am living more than I was before my dad’s cancer started because now I am closer to God than I ever was, and I can help guide His people to Him with my story. I am living (thriving) proof that God can shine a light even through the darkest of times. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.” (Romans 2:12 NIV).

RING RING : KABLAMO PHONE

CRACK ADDICT

Brittney Lyons, junior, was at a mission camp this summer with little kids who wanted to listen to music. Lyons volunteered her iPhone 5C for the job.

The songs ended up playing all day in the heat of the Texas sun. In the evening, she asked for her phone back from her friend who was also helping out at the camp.

For some reason her friend wouldn’t give it to her. When Lyons asked what had happened, her friend told her that her phone had exploded. It was in the heat for so long that the plastic started shrinking and the screen expanded, causing the glass to shatter and the screen to pop out. When her parents found out, they showed mercy to their phonedeprived daughter, but only because it was an accident. The next week, Lyons received a new phone only to have a two year-old smash the smooth glass. Her parents were not as merciful the second time around.

Kaylea Burt, senior, is obsessed with shattering her phone. She has cracked 4 iPhones, some of them more than once.

She blames the destruction on anything from hugging Bailey Flint to simply dropping phones left and right. Burt cannot help but destroy the clean Apple glass. It has been months since her last accident. Some believe her addiction is slowly ending, but others are just waiting to see when the next expensive incident will occur.

Out of the Box

Get Crackin’ A GQ staff member interviews students with infamously cracked phones

BY SARA BETH STOLLE

JESUS CALLING

On one hot summer day, Marshall Shults, sophomore, decided to take a dive in his pool. Unfortunately, his iPhone dove in the pool with him. Glaring at the water-soaked phone, Marshall’s mom came up with a solution. She told Marshall to wrap his phone in a towel and then place it in a heated oven. Not hearing his mother correctly, Shults turned the oven to 350 degrees and set his phone straight on the oven rack. An hour later, Marshall pulled out his well-done iPhone 4, which to his surprise did not work. He decided to leave the phone in rice for two weeks.

One day the phone was sitting on the counter and a miracle happened. The phone rose from the dead. It was revived from the grainy grave. The Jesus of all cell phones is carried by Geneva’s own Marshall Shults.

G | 50

AlumNews

CASE CLOSED

Geneva alumni discuss one of the most transformative extracurricular activities offered at the school pg. 54

PHOTOGRAPH BY NOAH BENSON G | 51

AlumNews

Day In the Life of Callie Walker and Ryan Travis From Nashville to Oxford, Ryan and Callie, two Geneva graduates, show us a glimpse of their daily college lives.

Although I am an honors student from Baylor with the privilege of studying in Oxford for the year, one of my friends confessed his first impression of me was a blonde twelve year old from Texas. With that in mind, my day is written through the eyes of your favorite blonde twelve year old from Texas.

LIL’ CALLIE OXFORD

Callie Walker (2013) is a junior at Baylor and is currently in an inter-collegiate program returning to Oxford after studying there in the fall.

BY CALLIE WALKER

7:00 I am up and on my yoga mat for a little

morning rejuvenation and stretch after a long winter’s nap.

7:30 I am on my knees asking God to organize my thoughts and day because, boy, is life a lot to handle. “Let go and let God” is, as the yogis put it, my mantra. Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!

8:00 I commit my first sin of the day (thinking negatively of some of my dorm mates who aren’t huge fans of showering or cleaning up their rooms) as I walk across the smelly hallway to the shower and bathroom to freshen up.

10:00 I walk into city center past the Eagle and Child (Lewis and Tolkien’s old hangout) and the nice homeless man doing his morning reading (yes, even the homeless read in Oxford—no lie) to the Old Bodleian library (one of Oxford’s many libraries that together hold 12 million books).

10:05 I’m flirting with the book attendant dude, trying to get some extra help slogging through the bookshelves to find my books.

12:00 I drop by Starbucks and use my gift card to grab lunch because when you’re a college kid in a pricey foreign country any day you can get “free food” is a good day.

12:30 I drop by the Tesco grocery store

on my walk home to pick up vittles for my best buds who team work in the kitchen with me to whip up some real darn good food.

1:00 I hustle back to the kitchen to drop off my groceries before going to read (AKA skim) the books I’ve picked up from the library at my favorite study spot—the tire swing on the kid’s playground in the backyard of Wycliffe Hall.

4:30 I’m finishing up stretching (in the dark, mind you, which begins about 3:30pm) after a run through the gorgeous parks of Oxford right across from my hall (complete with a couple cooing on benches, rugby practice, and people punting on the river, which is basically English canoeing) and am now bopping back inside for a quick shower and jam session to some country music to remind me of my roots.

5:30 I’m having dinner with my boys and practicing patience with my liberal feminist friends (who expand my horizons and meal time conversation virtues) because they always turn the conversation toward eliminating capitalism and gender.

9:30 It’s back to the library to finish up notetaking, and attempt to crank out 1,000 words before bed (which unfortunately 99.9% of the time turns into bed by 10 and getting up 7.5 hours later to really crank out those 1,000 words before I take a lunch break and crank out 1000 more that night before my tutorial the next day).

G | 52

PS- Currently accepting internship applications.

Email a brief cover letter and resume to ryanscotttravismusic@ gmail.com with a $300 application fee. You will be paid in bit coins.

ELVIS IN THE HOUSE

Ryan Travis (2012) is a seinor at Belmont and just released his first album “The Guadalupe Breakdown.”

BY RYAN TRAVIS 6:58 I wake up to a very cold Tennessee morning in a drafty basement bedroom that I share with my roommate.

7:27 I grab some scrambled eggs with leftover refried beans stuffed into a tortilla for breakfast.

7:44 I drive to class and am running a little late because I either couldn’t find my keys, wallet, or my phone. This is actually a daily problem for me.

8:02 I desperately need caffeine. I think I’ve developed a dependency.

9:10 I AM NOT SLEEPING IN CLASS. 9:45 I leave class and a sudden jolt of energy rushes through me.

9:51 I drive to my internship on Music Row, a place responsible for just about all the Country and Christian music most people will ever hear.

9:55 I’m always the first one to open up the creative space of the boutique publishing company. Songwriters don’t have to wake up very early, so they roll in around lunch time everyday and head up stairs to bang out new tunes.

10:36 I am responsible for remedial tasks; “they are really important.”

1:22 I need an intern. This semester, I recorded and released a full length debut album, so I’ll normally split my time in front of a screen at work between internship duties and my own music. Launching a record is an all-hands-ondeck process.

12:04 Songwriters begin to trickle into the office.

This one wrote a Hunter Hayes hit, that one wrote a Carrie Underwood smash and two of our writers have actually been getting some killer radio hits with Meghan Trainer, despite our being a country-centric publishing company. But it’s all just business and co-workers here. No oohs or ahhs. These are men and women who have jobs, and they really do treat it like one. In turn, the publishing company will try to get some country big wig to cut for radio. It’s a sort of an invisible factory that reminds me that this is not where I want to have a career. I’m not too jaded to miss a foot-in-the-door opportunity to work alongside such well known songwriters.

12:05 I’m off to get lunch for the office; Chipotle, obviously.

4:25 After work, I negotiate angsty rush hour commuters to get to Young Life Club.

I volunteer as a leader at a high school called Stratford Magnet, where most of the project and lower income kids go to school.

5:31 We set up for club and pray, which is the most important part of anything we do. We pray that our club will always stay a safe place, and I mean that in the best sense of the word. They should feel the freedom to dance, yell, and be themselves all in one room, with God to glue it all together. It’s no small prayer.

6:33 We pick up about forty or more kids from school in our cars; it’s almost more than we can legally fit. We head back to the church.

6:45 Chaos ensues. Everything melts into a blur of songs, pizza, skits and dancing.

8:59 By this time, I’ve dropped off all the kids at their homes all over Nashville. I usually take my time getting home and call Connor, Kate, Mom or Dad to reconnect with the real world.

9:20 I land back at home.

G | 53

AlumNews

STAND AND DELIVER Following the alumni from Genva’s nationally ranked debate program

BY CARISSA GEORGELOS

THE GREAT DEBATER

Hannah Vandiver in 2012 presenting her speech at a school assembly. Now a graduating senior at the University of Texas at Austin, she was one of Geneva’s Forensic Academic All American award recipients.

Y

ou spend your whole weekend representing your school, throwing yourself into the arena to battle it out and come out victorious. Your shirt is soaked with sweat, your eyes are out of focus, your adrenaline is pumping and you are ready to go back in when the coach calls your name: this is debate!

While not a contact sport, debate is a test of the mind and a student’s ability to winsomely (or in some cases forcibly) argue a topic. Geneva students do well at debate. While the debate program refines and takes those skills of dialectic to new heights, the groundwork for what happens in a debate round has been laid all along the way as part of a Geneva education. The teachers and students of Rhetoric knew this foundation was there and that this would be a natural evolution.

Mrs. Leslie Moeller, at the time was head of the board for Geneva, and Mrs. Debbie Ledoux, the dialectic instructor for eighth and ninth grade, then worked together to form a debate team as a club and ultimately an elective.

“They quickly put Geneva’s debate program on the map, ” Ledoux said, referring to the first team.

Over the years the debate tournament has had a profound impact on our graduating students. It is a program who continues to set Geneva apart from other schools of its size. There have been seven students that have qualified for the Tournament of Champions and eight students who have earned the award of Academic All-American, national distinguishing awards.

G | 54

R

JACK MOELLER “Debate class is where you put the theories of logic and persuasion that you talk about at school into practice. After four years of it, one does not merely understand how to think critically from a theoretical level; rather, it becomes muscle memory and instinct.

Because of debate, I never hear an opinion or argument from any of my peers in college without immediately identifying the weak

points in their argument and how I would respond. This has the twofold benefits of preventing me from being persuaded by an argument that is less than sound and preparing me to engage intelligently in a friendly debate should the opportunity arise. I believe my experience in debate has aided me in numerous other ways as well, from giving me

JAMES GROVER

WHITNEY YOUNG “I work best under pressure and debate added a lot of work to my life. But while I was working on debate, I became more interested in school, my grades were better and I was excelling in areas beyond debate. It was so worth it. Whether I felt good about a round or terrible, whether the judge affirmed me or ripped me to shreds, confidence was key. The current events I had to learn about

abundant confidence in public speaking to making me a more responsible voter because of the way I listen to political debates and think through the impacts of policy. Debate prepares students to realize the full benefit of their education in the real world. I would urge all students to strongly consider participating in it.”

and topics about which I had to have a strong understanding come up really often in my day to day life. It also helped me develop strong study skills that have been useful in college. The debate program teaches students to love learning and opens their eyes to important things going on the world, and is great preparation for a student’s college experience.”

“Debate gave me practice in examining both sides of an issue and coming to a conclusion based on reason rather than intuition. In college this is important as you are often asked to evaluate new issues or views different from your own and support your evaluation with evidence.”

CALLIE RAMSEY “If I am who I am because of my parents and my thirteen years at Geneva then I am where I am because of Geneva debate.

Debate was important to me not just because it took what Geneva taught me about arguing and speaking persuasively one step further, but because it gave me my ambition. Geneva tells its students that we are capable of great things for the glory of God and it took debate (and a blood contract to Leslie Moeller) for me to envision great things beyond the round tables and the 2A private school division.”

LOOK BACK AT IT

These debaters all earned Academic All American awards before graduating Geneva in 2013. (From left to right) Whitney Young is studying communications at Pepperdine University, Jack Moeller is in the ROTC program at the University of Virgina, and Callie Ramsey is pursuing an economics/English degree at Washington and Lee University.

G | 55

THREE MUSKETEERS

In the spring of 2014, while competing in the Tournament of Champions stands (left to right) Ethan Ryden, now studying architecture at the University of Texas-Austin, Gray Moeller, pursuing a history degree at the University of Virginia, and Davis Metzger, majoring in polical science at Gordon College.

ETHAN RYDEN “I started doing debate for a very simple reason: getting better at public speaking. Over the four years I was in it, I not only achieved that goal, but surpassed it, which has allowed me to share the gospel and Word of God more clearly and (dare I say) persuasively.”

GRAY MOELLER & DAVIS METZGER “We were both members of the program for all four years in Rhetoric School and saw it grow from a small unknown program to one whose name was heard coast to coast. Largely due to the humility of the instructors and the students in the program, many members of the Geneva community never realize the scale to which the debate program operates.

Since we are alumni, we have

no such qualms bragging on the program. The Geneva debate program competes and succeeds against the largest and most expensive schools in the United States. Debaters have the opportunity to hone their skills against the biggest and brightest 6A public schools in America. The skills we learned in debate have enabled us to think on our feet and defend our positions on various topics in the wide world of college.

We consider and root out the weakness in the arguments we and others use to defend ourselves and our worldview.

This skill for me has carried over the most into the realm of apologetics wherein I can better defend the truth I perceive and root out the arguments others would use to mar truth. In a sense, debate prepared us for the ‘real world’ better than many other things we did at Geneva.”

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN This is one of the National Speech and Debate Association’s highest awards and less than one percent of the thousands of students who are members of the Association in any given year win it.

You have to meet three requirements to qualify.

You must have a composite SAT score of at least 2000, you must have a GPA of at least a 3.70, and 750 NFL (National Forensics League) points. You earn

points by competing in rounds. For example, you earn three points just for competing and up to six points for winning a round.

Since most serious debaters spend at least 5 hours in preparation for every hour in competition, this award represents a tremendous commitment of time and energy to debate while simultaneously maintaining high standards in all of a student’s other school activities.

G | 56

Geneva alumni who have achieved Academic All American awards

Hannah Vandiver (2012) Callie Ramsey (2013) Jack Moeller (2013) Whitney Young (2013) Mary Katherine McNabb (2014) Davis Metzger (2015) Ethan Ryden (2015) Gray Moeller (2015)

Out of the Box

JUST AROUND THE CORNER A look inside Rhetoric School’s favorite convenience store pg. 620

PHOTOGRAPH BY IAN COMUZZIE G | 57

FIT TO BE QUEEN

19

Geneva students vote on their favorite princess

12 12

10

9

Whether it’s her glowing hair, or defiant side, Disney’s re-made Rapunzel has captured the hearts of many. A poll taken of the Rhetoric School student body shows that, of all the Disney princess movies, students liked “Tangled” the best.

23

#BLESSED

“GENEVA VALERO”

Geneva student Josh Russell is obsessively #blessed If you have ever looked at this Geneva Sophomore’s binders, backpack or Instagram you will find Josh Russell’s signature, #blessed. Russell’s newest way to remind his friends of their blessings are his tye-dye bracelets. For more information on how to get one of these exclusive accessories see Josh.

-#blessed

The GQ asked Valero workers their take on the after school crowd.

On some days there are so many Geneva students it is almost a part of the school, which is why the Quarterly staffed renamed it Geneva Valero.

Worker James Yueing said, “Yeah, we definitely see a lot of skirts and khakis, as well as the uniforms the little kids wear for P.E.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATELYN DAVIS

IT’S ALMOST COMICAL Photographs from this year’s house oratory competition combined to make a hilarious comic strip of two seniors, Grant Gombert and Josh Chandler.

YOU’RE SO DUMB JOSH!

FIGHT FIGHT

Your’re dumb josh!

EXCUSE ME SIR?

G | 58

YO! SQUARE UP MA N

GRAPHICS BY SUMMER STOLLE

I DO KARATE

ETYMOLOGY OF THE COMMON PHRASE

RANDOM HOLIDAYS

“Close, But No Cigar”

In case you felt some holidays were missing in this issue’s feature, GQ’s Noah Benson has made a list of a few that didn’t quite make the cut.

In the 20th, century cigars were given out as prizes at carnival games, so if you lost you were close, but no cigar

Now that the holiday season is coming to a close, here are some random holidays to help us get through the grueling last half of the school year.

Maybe without even acknowledging it, you appropriately celebrated the Festival of Sleep day on January 3rd.

On January 17th we have the National Ditch New Years Resolutions day. On this day, you can celebrate the end of your “year long” commitments, and go back to not working out and eating dough nuts.

March 25th is Tolkien Reading Day. Go ask Mr. Poole if you can borrow the “Lord of the Rings,” or if you’re really into Tolkien, the “Silmarillion.”

April 16th is National Stress Awareness Day. Just in time for mid-terms for the quarter, this day was planned with students in mind. You can really stress out, eat a ton of ice cream and freely express exactly how you feel about all your school work. This day was practically invented for seniors, and Mr. Johnson.

May 4th is, as everyone knows, the most important holiday of the year. Celebrate Star Wars day by talking like Chewy, watching all seven movies in a row, or making cookies shaped like R2-D2. And if you value your life, don’t forget to invite Mr. Tye...

!

OH NOAVE H WHAT NE? I DO

G | 59

G Out of the Box

One For the Books

The personal library of the typical Geneva high schooler grows as they complete their four year education

BY IAN COMUZZIE

PHOTOGRAPH BY IAN COMUZZIE

G | 60

O

9 10

ver four years of high school, the education that students receive at Geneva builds up quite a sizable library. Although it doesn’t compare to Mr. Poole’s or Mr. Russell’s collections, it is still impressive that many Rhetoric schoolers read a significant chunk of “the Great Books” in a four-year time span. Not including books from any science, math or elective courses, a Geneva high schooler reads 10,467 pages over four years of literature, one year of dialectic and one year of worldview analysis. This collection begins with the ancient Greek and Roman epics and ends with American novels, with a bit of Japanese historical fiction thrown in the mix. A handful of current Geneva seniors and alumni discuss their favorite Geneva read.

Shelby Viereck (2015) “Silence” by Shusaku Endo

“At a huge university like A&M you come across every type of person imaginable. There are extremely difficult situations when people question your decisions and judgments, and it is hard to explain yourself or even stand up for what you believe. Being around such people makes you ponder where your values lie, just as Sebastian in ‘Silence.’”

11

Marcial Brock (2013) “Manalive” by G.K. Chesterton “G.K. Chesterton’s “Manalive” is a fascinating

read because of the outrageous characters and light-hearted plot. Although it is less serious, the novel reflects the oddities of humanity from a grace-centered, Christian worldview.”

Josh Chandler (2016) “Silence” by Shusaku Endo

“Bottom line is that [Silence] affects the way I need to witness to other cultures when spreading the Gospel of Christ. I cannot assume people from a completely different culture will have the same point of reference for building a Christian worldview.”

Daniel Wacker (2016) “Mere Christianity”

by C.S. Lewis “It would probably be ‘Mere Christianity’ because Lewis is a good writer. Everything he says makes sense.”

Wesley Wheeler (2015) “Letters to a Diminished Church” by Dorothy Sayers “[Dorothy Sayers] writes so boldly about what she believes. It really challenged me to know and not apologize for what I believe in.”

Allie Martin (2016) “The Road”

by Cormac McCarthy “‘The Road’ is brilliant! It totally shatters the way you think about life.”

G | 61

Culture

tweet To My Freshman Self Seniors give advice to their past selves in 140 characters or less

BY MARY CLAIRE BROCK

tweets

Kaylea Burt

@kayleaburt

@freshmanself

You will literally do the “cha cha slide” 800 more times before you graduate, so stop complaining now.

Drei Richardson

@dreirichardson

@freshmanself

Don’t take Calculus.

Delaney Young

@delaneyyoung You’re going to like everyone less each year, so go ahead and score a Senior prom date now.

@freshmanself

Austin Owens

@austinowens

@freshmanself

Sparknote it until senior year. The books will get better.

Addie Lipe

@addielipe RT @kayleaburt. Also if you ever have a Wacker in your grade, just accept the fact you will never ever have a test curve.

@freshmanself

G | 62

PHOTOGRAPHS BY IAN COMUZZIE

geneva’s teacher kids

“

He actually likes it! But not just Math. He really enjoys learning in general. He is the typical first born. He is very driven and excited to learn new things. He will say stuff like, ‘Mommy, did you know that 5+5=10.? It’s really great.

“

-Mrs. Catherine Davis, Rhetoric Geometry instructor with her first grader Braden

G | 63

“

I think at their age they are just too young to really have an interest in joining the military. Although, I knew I wanted to ever since I could walk. But in all seriousness, when they get older I hope that they will consider it.

-Mr. Curby Graham, Academic Dean, with his daughters, Claire, third grade, and Vivian, first grade

G | 64

“

“

“

“

What’s funny is I used to be the tallest one in the family, now people just ask me where he got his height.

-Mrs. Pam Jones, Logic Physics instructor with her son Marshall, ninth grade

G | 65

24 Hours With Shoes: Daniel Wacker 8:00 “Put on da shoos!”

8:16 “Driving with Shuze.

This is not going to be a fun day.”

8:20 “It is so weird to look down and not see feet. Where did my feet go?”

8:22 “I miss them…”

8:30 “With or without shuooooooooz…that is the question. (A great title).”

9:15 “People are pretending not to recognize me. I’m not as cool with shoes. Still have the awesome mane though.”

9:30 “Hunter is lying. I would never forget to record this day but nothing fun can happen on a day without shoooos.”

9:45 “Hey girl.” “Okay...no response.”

10:41 “My feet are tingling.

I’m losing feeling.”

11:00 “My feet are burning.

How do people do this all day?”

11:14 “Schuse are painful.”

11:45 “Hunter will probably make me go inside Whataburger to get his food.”

2:30 “Hunter’s feet are starting to hurt me. I’m tired of hearing him complain.”

3:28 “My mom just woke me up. She couldn’t figure out why I had shoes on while taking a nap.”

5:09: “I carry Hunter across the parking lot to watch some futbol. Hunter is starting to develop a co-dependency on me.”

5:23 “I don’t know how Hunter lives this way; it makes me sad.”

6:00 “It’s getting hot in here so take off all your shoes.

Hunter got cold feet.”

6:41 “I will never do this again, but it’s not so bad once you cry a little.”

7:23 “Don’t ever try this… nothing interesting happens with shoes.”

WALKIN’ IN ANOTHER MAN’S SHOES Senior Daniel Wacker frequently roams the Rhetoric School campus barefoot. The Quarterly Staff asked him and fellow senior Hunter Hamon to take a walk on the wild side and experience each other’s daily journeys.

G | 66

24 Hours Without Shoes: Hunter Hamon 8:00 “Is it really legal to drive without shoes? I am not sure. D-Wack does it but then again he drives the van and no policemen would ever stop the van.”

8:16 “Ouch, gravel! Seriously, are my feet really this tender?

This really hurts.”

8:30 “I miss my shoes. People keep staring at me. Why did I agree to this on the day of the Christmas assembly?”

8:40 “Somebody’s grandfather told me to put shoes on, ‘Cold feet, boy?’”

9:15 “Teachers keep calling me Daniel. Mr. Ryden just saw me in the admin and asked if I was channeling my inner Daniel?”

9:30 “My feet are numb, I hope Daniel doesn’t forget to record these events for posterity. He probably will.”

9:46 “Hogan, you stepped on my foot!”

10:41 “Reynolds, you stepped on my foot!”

11:00 “Going to Russell’s

history class. He is going to think I am from Montana.

The ground is much warmer now.”

11:45 “Going to lunch, have to go through the parking lot yet again. Ugh! Gravel is painful. Will have to do drive thru at Whataburger. No shoes, no service.”

2:30 “The pain, the pain. The pain is real, man.”

5:09 “Need to go watch my boys play soccer. Daniel carries me through the parking lot out of extreme sympathy. I heart Daniel.”

5:23 “I don’t know how Daniel lives this way; it makes me sad.”

6:00 “Sun goes down. Wow, it is really cold outside. My heart is getting cold, I’m even sadder.”

6:41 “I will never do this again, but it’s not so bad once you cry a little.”

7:23 “Don’t ever try this… shoes are important.”

500 MILES

Wacker (left), uncharacteristically dressed for a full day with shoes, takes a break with Hamon (right) who had a grueling day on campus without footwear.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JACQUELINE KNOX

G | 67

BY MR. RICK POOLE Coming To You From A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Geneva teacher, Mr. Poole, evaluates the newest addition of the “Star Wars” saga.

“Star Wars” has been called a modern myth, and rightly so. The “Star Wars” films have been more than movies; they have been a cultural event bringing generations of filmgoers together to explore the meanings of life, sacrifice and love. “A New Hope,” released in 1977, is one of very few films to be protected in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry as one of our national treasures.

2012 brought the biggest news in the “Star Wars” universe since a certain father and son revelation: Lucas was selling all of his created properties, including “Star Wars,” to the Walt Disney Corporation. That same day it was announced that at least three new “Star Wars” episodes had been green-lighted for production.

Two weeks ago, I sat in the theatre on opening night and wondered what I was in store for. It was exciting that “Star Wars” was back, but was it in safe hands with Disney? Would a company famous for homogenized plots and political correctness be a faithful guardian for the cultural treasure that “Star Wars” had become?

“The Force Awakens” did not rise to the level of its most famous ancestor. I’m not sure how any new “Star Wars” film ever could. What was once so original and groundbreaking has become the very standard by which these stories are now measured. If you are looking for a film to surpass everything that came before it, then “Star Wars” has become its own worst enemy.

G | 68

The bar has been set too high. But we needn’t expect more from “The Force Awakens” than it delivered.

The film was executed to near perfection by director J. J. Abrams. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver and the rest of the young cast deliver fantastic performances. The art direction is interesting and perfectly suited to the quirky, lived-in universe of “Star Wars.”

This film has action, suspense, humor- and it is thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

From the first scene we get a familiar but fast-paced plot driven by a new generation of heroes and villains: Ace Pilot, Poe Dameron; Stormtrooper with a conscience, Finn; the villainous Kylo Ren; and the mysterious desert scavenger, Rey. These fresh faces mesh perfectly with the old ones we have come to cherish.

Speaking of old faces, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill return to reprise the roles of Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker, thirty years after the events of “Return of The Jedi.” It is fun seeing them in action again, and while they all seem up to the task of carrying the films forward, it is important to remember that this is not their story.

As far as this newest chapter is concerned, there are few problems worth mentioning. The director perhaps bit off more characters than he could chew in two hours. Several of the lead characters lack enough development to make us care about them as much as we would like to. This is a minor problem and one that will perhaps be fixed as more of the story opens up

TEACHER RESPONSE THE DAY OF THE MOVIE RELEASE in Episodes VIII and IX. One thing Abrams did perfectly in “The Force Awakens” is to leave the mysteries alone. The film delivers far more questions than it answers and this is a brilliant way to draw in a new generation while keeping the older ones interested.

Our new generation of characters seems to all be orphans of one variety or another. Finn was taken from a family he will never know, Rey longs for the parents who abandoned her, Kylo Ren severs his relationship to his father in a permanent and painful fashion, all of these point to a larger question as a generation without parents struggles to answer the question: who are we? Perhaps this question is at the heart of the film.

The Force, as the mystical dimension of Star Wars, is one of the defining characteristics of the original trilogy. Yoda teaches us that at the deepest level, we are all “luminous beings, not this crude matter.” The “Star Wars” of my youth was more than a story of good vs. evil; it was also about a spiritual awakening.

Luke Skywalker’s triumph over Darth Vader was, first and foremost, a sacred one in which hatred and fear are conquered by hope and love. Luke is heroic because he comes to embody these ideals. We want to follow in his footsteps, and as we strive to do so, we become more heroic ourselves. This is one of the great values of myth.

Actress Daisy Ridley steals the show, but the journey of her character, Rey, seems more emotional than spiritual. While her heroism is undeniable, it stems from her perseverance and talent more than from any moral standard she is trying to achieve. It is interesting to note that of the seven films in the franchise thus far, all but two of them have referenced an afterlife. It wasn’t necessary to include in “The Force Awakens,” but the narrative felt slightly diminished to me without it.

I’m amazed at the continuing power of these films to bring so many people together in a spirit of wonder. Episode VII is a story about brand new heroes, and Rey’s tale in particular is just getting started. It shows a great deal of promise and I am excited to see how a new generation of fans will embrace this story as it unfolds. May the Force be with them.

“Excited to see it, but won’t be here for opening night; won’t be in a costume.”

-Mrs. Susan Greenlees

“I honestly didn’t know it was coming out until Mr. Graham was talking about it.”

-Mrs. Catherine Davis “I’m excited, but it’s still just a movie.”

-Mr. Paul Johnson

“I cannot wait to see it! Harrison Ford is the bomb.com! Just saying…”

-Mrs. Jill Daniels

“I have over 30 years of hope and expectation stored up. After suffering through the prequels, the stakes are high. I will either emerge a new man, alive in the glory of the light side of the force, or enter into a long period of depression from which I may never emerge.”

-Mr. Steven Tye

G | 69

The Talon A Publication of the School of Rhetoric The Geneva School of Boerne

Geneva Quarterly Spark Notes Edition

Character List

THE TALON

Take a Study Break!

Context Plot Overview

The best C.S. Lewis Instagrams!

Character List Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs & Symbols ----------------------------------------------

Eagle Talons: A logo that regularly appears.

Font: An underdeveloped minor character.

Geneva Quarterly: The bad guy.

Talon Editors: The protagonists often confused with Mr. Shelton.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Alliance’s only hope.

Analysis of Major Characters

Context

The Talon was first published in 2008 and it enjoyed a few years of much-heralded weekly success until the birth of “the magazine.”

The story of the The Talon takes place in a back woods Texas town where news of the outside world is controlled by a domineering journalistic publication, The Geneva Quarterly.

The Talon is a 21st century story of the little guy versus the big guy—one publication’s struggle against the man.

There are no major characters in this story. All are minor characters. For an analysis of the minor characters, see above.

Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Plot Overview See above. Readers should also note the witty subplot of Achilles’ rage against Boethius.

Themes: The Problem of Good and Evil.

The Talon is good. The Geneva Quarterly is evil. Similarly, why do bad things happen to good publications?

The Parasitic Nature of Evil: This is developed in the story by the continued practice of the Quarterly attaching itself to The Talon.

Appearance vs Reality: Many readers think The Talon leeches onto the Quarterly.

Motifs: Only One: Satire.

Symbols:

G | 70

G | 71

G | 72