SENIORS
Michaela Elsbernd Senior started off using reading and writing as an escape, but it soon turned into a lifelong hobby. BY CLARE KIMMIS REPORTER
Lia Ehren
Michaela Elsbernd
University of Kansas
Truman State University
Major? Marketing. Freshman year memory? Being scared I’d get lost or walk into the wrong class accidentally. Song that sums up Sion? "Know Yourself" by Drake. What teacher would you take? Señora Gomez.
What teacher would you take? Engel because I can always talk to her about books, and she’s always willing to give a pep talk. Major? International Business and French. Song that sums up Sion? "Sing" by My Chemical Romance.
Rachel Ergovich
Frances Evans
Creighton University
St. Louis University, Madrid
What teacher would you take? Long because who else would I eat lunch with? Freshman year memory? I fell up the stairs on the first day. Where is your favorite place to go in Sion and why? Room 111 because they are the only one’s who like me.
What teacher would you take? The Spanish department so we could gossip about los guapos de Madrid. Freshman year memory? Aluminum foil beanie. Best outfit for a Sion event? I dressed up as Jack Freestone with Lia Ehren aka Alana B for Sprit Week.
Mary Beth Ferber
Anna Fotouhi
University of Kansas
UMKC School of Medicine
What teacher would you take? Conahagn because I can always listen to his stories. Song that sums up Sion? "Time of my Life" by 3 Doors Down. Where is your favorite place to go in Sion and why? Mrs. Koehlers office to grab a starburst and have a little chat.
What teacher would you take? Mrs. Blasdel. Major? BLA/Chemistry. What song sums up your experience at Sion? "Good Life" by Kanye West. Where is your favorite place to go in Sion and why? Mrs. Dreas Mobile because it was cozy and always bumping.
Michaela Elsbernd types for hours straight on her computer as she moves past a writer’s block and works to achieve her goal for the month of April: adding 20,000 words to her novel in progress. Elsbernd never really had an interest in reading or writing until junior high when she was bullied and books created a much needed escape. Harry Potter was the first book series that got Elsbernd interested in reading and allowed her to forget a reality she was desperate to ignore. Harry Potter helped her become interested in young adult fantasy fiction, which is now her favorite genre to write. The character Hermione Granger shaped Elsbernd’s goal of becoming a strong and brilliant young woman. “Harry Potter definitely inspired me because the characters helped me through some dark times,” Elsbernd said. “The fact that J.K. Rowling has the ability to touch so many lives through her writing is what I would like to achieve one day.” Harry Potter still serves as inspiration for Elsbernd to this day, as well as the other inspirational factors in her life. Cassandra Clare wrote the “Immortal Instruments” series, which is one of Elsbernd’s favorite book series. Clare came to Kansas City to speak, and Elsbernd got to ask her a question and listen to her speak. Through listening to Clare, Elsbernd related her writing to Clare’s literary style because both center around angelic beings and fantasy fiction. “I connect to fantasy fiction because I grew up with it,” Elsbernd said. “My dad is a big fan of the genre, and I remember watching movies with him and listening to audiobooks with him.” Today, fantasy fiction serves as Elsbernd’s own world. “Fantasy fiction doesn’t have the same limits as our world,” Elsbernd said. “I can do anything and create characters who can be anything. It offers an escape from the monotony of everyday life.” “Hidden Wings,”
a novel about a girl with Angelic powers, is what Elsbernd is currently working on. She wrote the first draft over the course of year but decided to start her second draft after her writing style changed. She has also written a set of short stories called the “Kate Smoke Files.” While she was always comfortable writing, Elsbernd never shared her stories with anyone until joining writing club freshman year. There, she gained a voice and is surrounded by people who have the same interests as her. Writing club was the first place she shared her short stories, “The Kate Smoke Files.” It is where she receives instructive criticism from her peers and from an inspirational figure in her life, English teacher Shawn Watts. “She has been working on a novel for a couple of years, and she sent me the first chapters to read. It’s very good, very suspenseful, and very professional,” Watts said. Though her stories are yet to be published, she hopes that one day her books will touch lives the way they have touched hers. In the near future, Elsbernd hopes to write 20,000 words to add to “Hidden Wings” in the month of April through participating in Camp Nanowrino. Camp Nanowrino is a program in which you join an online cabin and set a word count for the the month of April. The people in the cabin will help Elsbernd to achieve her goal and maybe even go above and beyond it. “Camp Nanowrimo is amazing. I think it will help me because it is giving me a deadline to work with. I usually don’t have one,” Elsbernd said. “I’m kind of struggling right now due to all the homework, but when I have free time, I actively try to write and meet my goal.” Elsbernd is planning on majoring in international business and French at Truman State University. Because of this, she decided to minor in creative writing in order to do what she loves most while majoring in something she is interested in. Even though she is not majoring in literature, she still hopes to publish her books one day. “I write because I have this interesting story that I think some people can relate to,” Elsbernd said. “I’ve had these characters in my mind, and I want to share them with people.”
LE JOURNAL May 2016
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