Issue 7 22-23

p rospector the

Reaching For Representation

Debates over diversity and inclusion in media loom over Gen Z

MOLLIE KEARNS

Editor-in-Chief

When she was a young, elementary school girl, now-senior Elise Gadson’s primary example of how she saw herself refected in movie characters was through Princess Tiana from “Princess and the Frog.” While she and her older sister became enthralled in the fairy tale, she didn’t realize this early lack of representation in the media she consumed as a child was an issue until later discussions and debates.

“My sister and I both had ‘Princess and the Frog’ dolls and we went to Disney right around that time as a family trip and we brought the dolls with us so it was great to have that experience, but other than that [representation] wasn’t really available,” Gadson said.

As conversations about representation of minority groups grow, companies such as Dis ney and Marvel have responded by increasing diversity in their productions, most notably in casting. Even as criticism looms over live action remakes like “The Little Mermaid,” Gen Z heavi ly debated the role of diversity in the media.

Media Analysis teacher Cambria Myers be lieves that while representation is increasing,the way that characters of diferent races and reli gions are being portrayed plays a critical role in how media consumers view themselves.

“It’s not just about numbers or representa tion, it’s about quality of representation,” Myers said. “What kind of messages are being sent to audiences through the stories that are told and the actors we see or don’t see on screen?”

Since 1923, The Walt Disney Company has been one of the leaders in flm in Hollywood, breaking box ofce records worldwide and pro viding generations of children with fairy tales and heroes to look up to. Yet even with the 100 years of existence, there has been a severe lack of representation in these flms, most notably with the Disney Princesses. For instance,“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the frst Disney Princess movie, was released in 1937 while “Aladdin” was released in 1992, meaning it took 55 years for there to be a princess of color in the Disney universe. Since Princess Jasmine’s debut, there have been fve other lead princesses of color.

Ebony Club sponsor and counselor Tim Franklin believes that many of the remakes are a way for Disney to make up for their non-in clusive past.

“The issue that I think is happening now is that all of these remakes are ‘Oh, let’s just switch out this character with a diferent race and we’ll call that representation,’” Franklin said.

Senior Carmela Annmarie Delvo, who is Fil ipino, has felt this lack of representation. Delvo had to rely on Filipino movies and TV shows to fnd characters that refected her family’s values given that there were no Filipino Disney charac ters to see herself in. She said that characters of color were only the white main character’s sidekick or were completely unrepresented.

Delvo also feels that there are often stereo types displayed in the media in order for com panies to “check a box” to say they had diversity in their cast. In regards to Asian stereotypes, Delvo has seen characters appear as nerds and unathletic because of their race. She saw this most recently in the Netfix show “Never Have I Ever” where the main character Devi, an Indian high school girl, followed the stereotype of being academically inclined.

“I became white-washed because everyone who I saw on television didn’t have the same values as me, or I would follow something that happened on the television and my mom would

say ‘that’s not how we do things’ or ‘that’s not how Filipinos do things,’” Delvo said.

While none of the famous Disney royals are of Filipino descent, Delvo felt most connected to the Chinese warrior Mulan as a child, as her movie showcased values such as paying respect to elders and the importance of bringing honor to the family.

“The frst time I watched ‘Mulan’ I was like ‘there’s fnally an Asian girl’ and I know it’s not the same as being Filipino … but I found a bit of my culture still in the values in the movie. I remember when they came out with the live action one I was really excited,” Delvo said.

Both Myers and Franklin said that media portrayals infuence

Disney have portrayed POCs has been a positive

“In the past black people specifcally have been portrayed in such a negative way through the media,” Gadson said. “

… I defnitely appreciate that Disney is doing this, especially with the ‘Black Panther’ franchise and how well it represents black

gave viewers a glimpse into traditional African family dynamics and traditions.

In Marvel’s “Ms. Marvel” TV show, viewers see a high school aged girl named Kamala Khan struggle with her social and academic life with her new-found powers. It also explores the Muslim culture and beliefs, while showing that a mosque is no diferent than a church or that Muslims should not be defned as villains. Senior Maliha Waheed, who is Muslim, feels that many flms and shows unfortunately do misrepresent Muslim culture. Unlike “Ms. Marvel,” they tend to follow the same stereotype that Muslims have a violent nature.

“The misrepresentation of Muslims around the world who have been labeled ‘terrorists’ after the 9/11 attack is beyond heartbreaking,” Waheed said. “… The problem lies back to people being uneducated regarding this matter. Many flms do tend to associate Muslims in that manner which can imply misrepresentation.”

While lack of representation of diferent races and religions can negatively impact POCs, as a multitude of studies have confrmed, it can in turn impact those of the white majority. Myers said that having multidimensional characterizations of white characters in movies or books doesn’t allow for that demographic of people to have a window into other cultures.

“Everyone deserves to see not only them-

“The Little Mermaid” cast announcement.

FRONT ROW SEAT: Ms. Marvel, Black Panther and Ariel, three of the most diverse characters in the media, sit in a movie theater and view the importance of seeing themselves on the screen. (illustration by Luca Nicolaie)

Superintendent switch in efect

BROOKE MICHALCZYK Online Editor-In-Chief

Scott Rowe’s contract as District 214’s superintendent will begin July 1, 2023. Having previously served as the superintendent of the Huntley school district over the past fve years, he brings a great deal of experience to the position. Rowe was drawn to D214 by the diverse range of electives and opportunities aforded to students, as well as his fondness for working in one of the neighboring townships (Huntley). Rowe has expressed that it was an easy decision to apply for the job in D214.

The role of a superintendent requires a near perfect candidate. They are chosen to be the top executive for the school district and are responsible for overseeing all aspects of the district’s decision making. They must be friendly and socially intelligent as they work closely with the school board to develop policies and budgets. The position signs them up for receiving all the support and backlash of teachers, staf, parents and students. Overall, the chosen superintendent needs to become the face of a community.

When D214’s school board found out Superintendent David Schuler, who served for 17 years, would be abruptly leaving his position halfway through the 2022-2023 school year, they immediately began a national search to fnd someone who met all the qualifcations. Schuler was awarded the position of executive director at the School Superintendents Association (AASA) and his contract be-

gan January 1, 2023. The association consists of superintendents all around America trying to help revitalize education across the country, according to AASA’s webpage.

Alva Kreutzer, who was elected to the D214 board of education in 1999, oversaw the process of hiring Schul-

er. According to Kreutzer, throughout Schuler’s years here, he brought a great deal of change to the district: internships, redefning ready, startup showcase and so much more.

“Dr. Schuler said that D214 was his frst dream job,” Kreutzer said. “And his second dream job was being

the executive director at the AASA.”

Among his many accomplishments in the township, he was also named the National Superintendent of the year in 2018. Schuler became the frst Illinois superintendent with this honor. Despite the school board’s admiration for his work and success,

the unique circumstances of his leave left big concerns for the district.

Until the ofcial start of the new school year contracts, Ken Arndt and Lazaro Lopez are flling in as co-interim superintendents. Lopez is a current employee at the district and is in charge of instruction, and Arndt is a retired superintendent and runs the board meetings. Together, for the time being, the school board members said they are running the district very smoothly.

Thankfully, many people applied for the job opening, giving the school board a good amount of people to consider. Rowe has a bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University, as well as a masters and doctoral degree in education and leadership from Aurora University. Within his time as superintendent at Huntley, he focused on productivity of hybrid learning and improvements toward the covid regulations in schools.

“I believe that student mental health coming out of the pandemic has been rough and we will be healing from that for quite some time,” Rowe said. “It’s defnitely a main area of focus [for this next year].”

He hopes to bring new ideas to D214’s students mental health approach, as he has two kids of his own and understands the need for support in classrooms. Rowe has big shoes to fll. However, he holds all the key requirements to be the perfect contender for D214’s next chapter.

“He seems to be a person who is really there for the students and the staf,” Kreutzer said. “He’s a family man and he certainly understands the family dynamic. And that really stood out to us.”

School encounters elevated spore counts

Sophomore Khy Williams was sitting in his chemistry class when he started coughing and noticing his eyes getting itchy. As he was wondering what was going on, his teacher Kurt Trenkle informed the class that out of safety concerns caused by an elevated spore count in the room, they were going to switch classrooms.

“I was really concerned, I didn’t know what was going on at the time,” Williams said.

Administration closed room 306 due to the spore count inside being slightly more elevated than outside. Administration found out about this increase while working with an air consultant out of caution for the students who studied in that area, according to Associate Principal for Activities and Operations Frank Mirandola. However, there has not been any mold witnessed so far.

Williams found out he was allergic to mold when he was fve years old while as he was cleaning the garage and came across mold on the wall. Williams found the mold gross and wanted to remove it. While cleaning off the mold, it soaked through the cloth he was using and the mold touched his hand.

“Next thing I know my hand was twice the size, red, swollen, itching and burning,” Williams said.

Just being upstairs on the third foor was enough to make Williams feel the effects of the elevated spore counts. He not only suffers from the spores’ effects on the outside of his body, but also on the inside due to his asthma. Inhaling too many spores could cause an asthma attack, which causes Williams to feel extremely short of breath and light headed. This could be dangerous for those with this disability, according to Williams.

When Williams feels an asthma attack happening, he fnds a shady spot to sit and calm down and takes two puffs of his inhal-

er. He fnds it helpful to have a good support system around while he’s going through this. Because of his asthma complications, Williams was relieved that his allergies wouldn’t be bothered, but also slightly annoyed to switch classrooms.

“Switching classrooms [to room 314] was weird because the class space feels smaller,” Williams said. “It feels different because when you get used to a certain classroom set up it’s hard to re-adjust.”

However, since moving classrooms, he is feeling much better.

The spore issue started because the seal around the vents on the third foor was not tightly secured, so when it rained and snowed, it caused water to get stuck in the ceiling tiles, according to Mirandola.

“There’s a lot of things you can look at with the mold counts,” Mirandola said. “First of all, the numbers are always fuid. What you test on one day is not always guaranteed [to be the same as] what you test the next day based on weather conditions outside, heat, [human infuence], because there’s a 70% exchange rate of all the air from outside to inside.”

The school performed an air quality test due to the amount of moisture in the ceiling. The tests are done by comparing the air in the classrooms and to the air outside to see if anything is out of the ordinary. They found an increase in spores in room 306 after the testing.

“[Air testing] was something we

CONTAMINATED: Room 306 was closed due to higher spore counts than other classrooms. The school worked to return levels back to normal to maintain better air quaility. (photo by Molly Mundt)

placing the insulation in the roof, given that the previous insulation was wet. Since there were cracks, the roof was peeled back and replaced with a temporary one that is expected to last about a year. According to Minter, the old roof had been aging for close to 18 years, and D214 is also making sure everything is airtight, taking additional measures such as installing multiple air flters to help ensure refreshed and clean air.

“Safety is defnitely our number one priority, so we are trying to be as productive as possible to take care of these issues and make sure what’s done is done,” Mirandola said.

Even though administration closed room 306 for instruction, there is no immediate danger in or near that room.

Outside, the mold count is 4000 and inside they are at 400 or lower, according to Mirandola. There are no government health standards for what the count should be. However, to be safe, the school wanted them to be lower than outside.

There are still a few unknowns to explore before opening the classrooms back up. However, there are big improvements to the overall air quality of the school, as the numbers have returned to normal, in the 400 range.

Minter and Mirandola have also worked with the teachers who use those classrooms.

“We told people if [they] have any concerns in the rooms [they’re] working in, we will move you,” Minter said.

thought was smart to do, given the amount of moisture,” Principal Greg Minter said.

The district and administration made sure to take action right away and are still consistently checking and replacing the ceiling tiles as needed, according to Mirandola.

District 214 (D214) paid for all the large repairs, and the frst course of action was re-

“There’s nothing that would specifcally say that [room 306] is unsafe,” Minter said. “We just said ‘you know what, [the spore count is] higher than the other spaces, until we get this all sorted out, until we get this roof fxed, until we get all this wet installation out of there, let’s just not use it.’”

Since making all necessary repairs, the mold spore count has returned to normal.

The school has been taking this issue seriously and continues to monitor for recurring and new issues.

“It’s really hard because I’ve had to really become educated on it and I don’t want there to be misnomers out there,” Mirandola said. “Were there elevated mold spores in one of the classrooms, yes…but if you look at the remediation efforts, it’s defnitely drastically reducing right now.”

SAFETY IS DEFINITELY OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY, SO WE ARE TRYING TO BE AS PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE,”

- Frank Mirandola, Associate Principal for Activities and Operations

MOLLY MUNDT News Reporter

APPOINTED: New superintendent Scott Rowe announced to public April 13, 2023. Rowe previously served in the Huntley school district. (photo courtesy of D214)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Drop o letters to the Prospector in the box in the library, in room 162 or email letters to prospectornow@ gmail.com. All letters must be signed. Limit letters to 400 words. The Prospector reserves the right to edit for style and length.

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The primary purpose of the Prospect High School Prospector is to report news and explain its meaning and signifcance to our readers and the community. We, The Prospector, hope to inform, entertain and provide an unrestricted exchange of ideas and opinions. The Prospector is published by students in Multimedia Communications courses. Some material is courtesy of MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service.

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Reform parking passes

Parking passes are something that many students look forward to obtaining their junior year. Having the freedom to drive of campus for either lunch or study hall can make students’ school days more enjoyable. All seniors are guaranteed passes, and leftover spaces go to juniors without 15 or more tardies or cuts, the only infraction that can deny a student a pass other than grade level.

Division Head for Student, Success, Safety and Wellness Adam Levinson notes that there are some infractions that can take away a student’s pass, such as tardies. A student with fve tardies will get a two week suspension of their parking pass, and a student with 10 tardies will permanently lose their pass for the remainder of the academic calendar year.

“Parking is a privilege, not a right,” Levinson said. “If you can’t be responsible enough to get to your number one priority, which is classes, you’re not responsible enough to be able to drive a 3,000 pound vehicle.”

However, not all juniors are able to get passes due to the process being a randomized lottery. Passes are given out to juniors with no regards to individual students’ merit, such as having before school meetings or after school work and sports, and sophomores are not even allowed to apply for a pass.

Although students without passes can park on campus after 3 p.m., they still are not allowed to park in one of the 475 spots during the school day if they do not have a pass.

Sophomore Maddie Bronder often parks at Fairview Elementary School in order to accommodate her school schedule. Bronder is on the Associated Student Body (ASB) leadership council, which regularly meets before school at 7:45. She is also involved in volleyball during the fall and softball during the spring, both of which practice after school until 5:30. Bronder, who cannot receive rides from her working parents, has been regularly parking at Fairview since getting her license in September. She is also responsible for bringing her younger

sister to school, and since she lives on the far end of Mt. Prospect, the walk to school would be over 30 minutes.

“With my sports and all of my activities, sometimes things change and I need to be able to have a ride somewhere in a moment’s notice,” Bronder said.

When Bronder isn’t able to get a ride from friends or family members, she has to sacrifce practice time to walk the 10 minutes to and from Fairview. Her unpredictable schedule can result in consequences from her coaches, such as being benched for a game.

Having a pass would allow Bronder to be on time to practice. She would not have to walk across the wet baseball feld, in the cold, at 5:30 a.m. to be on time for her 6 a.m. softball tryouts.

We, KnightMedia, acknowledge that individual students may have concerns when it comes to their parking privileges. However, we believe that junior and even sophomore parking pass applications should be based on which students have the most merit. For example, a student who stays for a sport or who has work directly after school should get higher priority for a pass.

After returning home for her seventh block study hall, Bronder realized she did not have a ride back to school. Since she had received a tick-

et for parking at Fairview a week earlier, Bronder avoided parking there and frantically called her friends to drive her.

“I had to inconvenience one of my friends to get me a ride back to school because walking wasn’t an option,” Bronder said. “My ride bailed on me and my mom couldn’t drive [at the last] minute.”

In response to sophomore concerns over passes, Levinson reminds students that Prospect has the most spots in District 214, 475 to be exact, and that they want to honor seniors by granting them seniority on passes. While Levinson wants to give as many students passes as possible, he notes that it is not realistic given the limited space available.

“You just have to wait your turn,” Levinson said. “Keep working hard and do what you need to do so that you’re guaranteed a spot your senior year.”

KnightMedia has multiple sophomore student-athletes who share others’ concerns with not being able to park on campus. Our staf members on after school sports, like lacrosse or swimming, often resort to parking at Fairview. Students’ frustration with parking is recognized by our staf and we understand how the rules may seem confusing and unfair.

“I think it would be helpful if sophomores had the option to apply for a parking permit,” Bronder said. “Obviously upperclassmen would get priority, but even after the school year begins, it would be easier for me and my family if I had the opportunity to drive myself to school.”

Anything but standard: SAT or ACT

KELLY JORDAN

Exec. Entertainment Editor

Trapped in a silent room, with no movement from a soul except the excruciating pain from the blisters appearing on my hand that is tightly squeezing onto a thin pencil, combined with my eyes burning like a wildfre due to the lack of blinking, I stared at a page flled with dreadful expressions. While some may think this is a torture mechanism for students, others might refer to this as standardized testing.

Standardized testing comes with pressure, stress and even unfairness. A test taken one day refects the past 13 years of students’ education and can often determine someone’s education for the next four years of their life.

D214 has recently ofered a variety of SAT and ACT preparation classes to its students to get them ready for the tests. Teachers across D214 provide remote or in-school test preparation in all four tests of the SAT or ACT (reading, writing and language, mathematics and science). The online course for ACT and SAT takes place on Wednesdays for three hours.

Junior Dimitriy Hutnyk, who took preparation classes in the fall, felt as if they weren’t worth taking because it was hard to focus and the general information that was given wasn’t a great help.

“I did preparation through school and by myself in a book that I owned,” Hutnyk said. “Especially going through the pandemic, it was not worth it to take ACT preparation classes over zoom for three hours a week.”

According to the New York Times, standardized test scores are connected strongly with the resources of the applicant’s family. This usually is refected by the ability to pay for test preparation costing anywhere from $50 to $3,000 and private tutoring costs around $25 to $80 per hour.

Meanwhile, students who are less privilliged are more likely to face barriers, such as inexperienced teachers, high-poverty schools and old textbooks and technology. Associate Principal for Instruction Joyce Kim felt that when she attended New Trier High School as a student, she felt the

pressure from her immigrant parents to perform well, which at times was hard to manage.

“It is defnitely stressful, even when I was growing up my parents wanted me to take prep classes since I was in 8th grade,” Kim said. Many students fnd themselves participating in activities or athletics that take part after school. Junior Kira Hammerstrom, who runs track and feld and is on the book staf, feels like she has had many setbacks in regards to standardized testing because of her extracurriculars.

“It’s hard to make time for preparation classes as a stu dent-athlete,” Hammerstrom said. “I prefer ones that I can take on my own whenever I feel like it.”

According to CollegeFi nance, preparation classes can improve a student’s score up to 60 to 70 points on the SAT. One aspect that is challenging to learn on your own is strategy. A lot of the SAT is strategy-based, which means a lot of time is needed to be set aside for learning those skills, which might cause students to feel overwhelmed.

Nancy Hamilton, psychology professor at the University of Kansas, conducted a study in 2021 that found the damaging efects of high-stakes tests on teenagers. Before exams, college undergraduates recorded their study habits, sleep schedules, and mood swings in daily diary entries everyday for a week prior to testing.

The anxiety caused by high-stakes tests was associated with poor health behaviors, like irregular sleep patterns and poor sleep quality, which led to a “vicious cycle” of cramming and lack of nightly rest.

“At one point I couldn’t fall asleep because I was so scared about the [standardized] test,” Hammerstrom said.

According to the Washington Post in 2021, 43 percent of students reported a test score in a college application, compared to 77 percent that previous year. Many schools have decided that

the test isn’t an accurate measure of a student’s intelligence given the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Dartmouth and Stanford have all recently announced that they will remain test optional through the high school class of 2023. Cornell decided that test optional will also be given to the class of 2024, and Harvard through the class of 2026. With that said, students still feel the need to prove themselves to others.

“I put a lot of pressure onto myself to succeed and get into a better college, but also to prove to my parents how much I can succeed,” Hutnyk

According to the College Board, taking the SAT at your school and at a time your brain is used to being in class will give you great confdence to perform your best. When taking these tests, the environment gives students a sense of familiarity.

“Although it takes up class time, it’s important to give students our support by giving them comfort in a testing environment where everything is familiar,” Kim said.

High school GPA generally captures the behavior of students in order to be successful in college. Standardized tests contrast this by measuring how well students can cram before a high-stakes exam, but say little about long-term study habits and work ethic. This is compared to students who might prepare for a long time that might not do well at all on standardized tests. I believe that when taking these tests they don’t accurately measure a student’s intelligence and ability.

“[For my children and students]I don’t focus too much on the SAT and ACT, I know that being a well rounded student is what truly matters and I know that by living in America there are a variety of colleges open,” Kim said.

PARKIN’ PROBLEMS:

Freshman reflection

Here I was. After eleven years at St. Raymond School, three years crawl ing on the foor and nine months in the womb, I was fnally at the front doors of Prospect High School.

It was a warm fall day, and I had ridden my bike to pick up a friend at his house, which was on the route that my mom had made sure was ingrained into my memory. Fourteen years had led up to this moment. Fourteen years of prepa ration. Fourteen years of stress. Fourteen years of sports, clubs, lifelong friendships, experienc es and bonding had all led up to this one day.

And I couldn’t tell you a single thing about it.

Okay, well, that’s not entirely true. I can give you a basic rundown of my classes, teachers and schedule, but why did my frst day of high school, a day that I had been building up and stressing over for 14 years, feel so anticlimactic?

Well, apparently it wasn’t just me who was underwhelmed. Freshman Written and Oral Communications (WOC) teacher Rebecca Boor man recalls having a similar frst day experience at Cary-Grove high school.

“The buildup was much bigger than the actu al experience,” Boorman said. “I feel like the day is not all that memorable … I think it was more of the buildup of ‘What’s it going to be like?’ and the unknown, not knowing exactly what to expect.”

Senior Stella Fitzpatrick also recalls feeling anxious for her frst day of high school.

“It’s honestly not really that stressful of an experience, I was just scared to start something new,” Fitzpatrick said. “I was more stressed about being ready for everything rather than actually experiencing everything.”

And, as the cherry on top of the stress sundae, 52.1% of freshmen say that their frst year has gone better than they expected, with only 14.9% saying worse and 33% claiming it’s about what they expected, according to a KnightMedia survey of 94 freshmen.

Now, there’s obviously nothing wrong with your introduction to high school being better than you thought it would be, but if the reason it’s better is because your expectations and stress levels were at polar opposites, then I have to wonder, what’s causing the stress in the frst place?

ADKINS Executive Opinion Editor

Personally, the majority of my stress came from how jarring the shift felt. I was one of those kids who went to a conjoined elementary and middle school, so I never had that initial hop to prepare me for the bigleap three years later.

I was also used to knowing everyone in my grade, so going from a tight-knit 25 student grade at a Catholic school to, well, high school only supported that feeling.

But most people weren’t weird like me and went to two separate schools, where they had other things to be their sources of stress, namely movies, TV and social media.

Freshman and non-weird South Middle School alumnus Quinn Davis describes his expectations being shaped by the media.

“I watch a lot of TV about high schoolers and stuf, and that defnitely impact[ed] my view,” Davis said. “I don’t really think it was for better or for worse, I think it just gave me some kind of understanding [of high school], whether true or not.”

in those shows [in real life].”

Fitzpatrick mentioned that both the media and hearing about others’ high school experiences had its efect on her expectations.

“I had a couple of friends who were older than I was, and I remember seeing their Snapchat stories, or anyone posting about being in high school, and I remember the impressions that I got of it,” Fitzpatrick said. “… It was less about the homework and more about the fun of high school.”

Much like Davis, Fitzpatrick’s media-afected expectations were shaped from a multitude of sources, like her older brother, rather than just one personal experience.

“[My older brother and social media] showed me a sneak peak of high school before I actually got there, and honestly it was pretty accurate,” Fitzpatrick said. “… It was nice to have [them] show me what high school was going to be like just so then I knew what to expect, but at the same time you never really know what to expect until you’re there.”

And, of course, the media made its rounds to Boorman’s expectations as well.

“I was a big TV kid,” Boorman said, “I remember watching shows like ‘Saved by the Bell’ or ‘Beverly Hills 90210’, so I had the TV version of high school [in my head] … I was expecting that it would make me feel more mature being there, and then I realized that it’s pretty much just school.”

Any form of media has the power to shape expectations, especially in young minds. I remember watching “High School Musical” for the frst time when I was six and wondering if people actually sang and danced during passing periods.

Most Freshmen report high school being even better than they thought it would be going in

Davis mentioned that there wasn’t a specifc show or movie that shaped his view the most, but the fact that high schools are the go-to setting for every stupidly-uninspired Netfix teen drama made the biggest impact.

“I mean, can you really think of a show that doesn’t have a high school in it?” Davis said. “Every show I watched as a kid had a high school … I think that trope being in the shows I watched made me expect the kind of high school that was

Needless to say, my frst day was very disappointing. I know this is going to be impossible to believe, but teachers were once in the same shoes as incoming freshmen, too. Their past experiences with their own teachers and classes now shape their teaching methods, techniques and attitude.

Boorman recalls a time in middle school when she sat next to a student who kept distracting her in class, but was nervous to ask their teacher about changing seats. After fnally working up the courage to ask him, he refused to help, claiming “that’s how life works.”

“I wasn’t expecting that response,” Boorman said. “I recognize now that’s a decision I wouldn’t have made as an educator, because that defnitely impacted how I was able to take in information in that class. I was more concerned about the person I was sitting next to as opposed to what the information being presented to me was.”

Now, Boorman has her freshmen fll out seating surveys to see who they’re most comfortable with, the goal in mind helping them get adjusted to the high school environment.

Boorman also implemented fve-minute breaks and frequent seat changes, both accessibilities stemming from that one fateful day of middle school.

As someone who’s in her class, I can tell you that these are much welcome additions, and I sincerely hope other teachers follow in her footsteps.

So, thank you, mean Cary Junior High teacher. By basically telling my WOC teacher “sucks to suck” a few decades ago, you’ve now caused her to become one of the most understanding and accessibility-supportive teachers in the entire school.

Things that everyone has experienced, and, in my case, things I just revealed to the whole

But, even if my brain during the middle of the night would disagree with me, I can’t see my frst year as anything other than great.

Sure, the frst few days were underwhelming, anticlimactic and all of the other synonyms for “disappointing,” but the process of learning skills (both educational and otherwise) that I know I’m going to be using for the rest of my than made up for that initial letdown.

How do I know that what I learned is as important as I’m saying it’s going to be? Well, I’m glad I pretended you asked, because Fitzpatrick using the skills she picked up freshman year to this day, even as she’s going into nursing at the University of Missouri.

“As a freshman I was really nervous and I was constantly worried about school, but now I’ve managed that and seen what It’s like to self-advocate and apply the lessons that I’ve learned throughout my experiences,” Fitzpatrick said, “ … now I’m ready to take all those lessons to

And, as the cherry on top of the much less stressful sundae, Boorman also continues to use the skills she picked up freshman year, which are put to use not only as a teacher, but as the mother of a four year-old and soon-to-be two year-old.

“I’ve defnitely seen myself in some kids … now as a parent I’m starting to think of freshmen more along the lines of [how] my kid is going to be a freshman someday,” Boorman said. “I want to act towards my students the way I want my kid’s teachers to act towards them … I want to make sure that [parents] know that their kids are well cared for when they’re at school with me.”

dumb things we all said freshman year

“I don’t need to charge my ipad tonight.”

“i’ll be in two sports this semester.”

“my grade is high enough, I don’t need that extra credit.”

“there’s smoke rising from the bathroom stall...i think the toilet is on fire!”

So, even if there’s a bad teacher or annoying classmate (which I know there were plenty of during my frst year), at least you can mentally use them as an example of what not to do.

And while I’m on the topic of things you shouldn’t do: my freshman year!

Jokes aside, my frst year went really well, even if I made a lot of stupid mistakes during the beginning of it.

No, I didn’t steal, kill or try to leave the cafeteria without a hall pass (truly the worst crime of them all), but there are more than a few moments that I look back on and have a good ol’ hearty cringe (like how I’m going to feel when I re-read this sentence in three years).

Not emailing my teacher when I submitted my Biology homework late, deciding to be pitcher when we played baseball during strength and conditioning, forgetting literally everyone’s name the second after they tell it to me during the awkward-as-hell icebreakers that we still do for some reason, y’know, just the little things that keep me up at night.

I don’t know if you’ve been picking up what I’ve been throwing down this whole time, but to me (a freshman who’s word should be taken with a grain or two or the whole bottle of salt), high school is a very short-feeling four year period of time where you’re not only allowed, but actively encouraged to try new things, meet new people and fnd what your passion is.

By feeling nervous, disappointed or stressed, you’re actively wasting time that could be spent exploring your interests. Don’t get me wrong, it’s obviously very normal and very warranted to feel like this from time to time, but it’s much more important to remember why you’re here: to learn. To try new things. To make fun of your past self for being so stupid on their frst day, and then realize how far you’ve come since then.

And, if some random freshman’s perspective on high school isn’t enough to convince you, I’ll (for the fnal time, I promise) call upon a trusty senior to vocalize my thoughts.

“Just appreciate the moment,” Fitzpatrick said, “It passes by really fast, which I wasn’t expecting, because the days feel long and the weeks feel long and it feels like it’s going to go along so slow in high school, but it really doesn’t. I know everyone says that, but it’s very true … just living in the moment and fnding those things that you love in everyday [life] is really helpful, and nice to look back on.”

Or, at least that’s what I’ve picked up. Wait, you mean we can’t use our phones in class? Never mind, I take everything back.

The best and worst thing about each year of high school best best best best

XANDER

I can’t believe i said that...

THEN VS NOW: Prospect looks intimidating as freshmen enter for the frst time, but by the time they graduate, seniors can see the school’s true colors. (art by Luca Nicolaie)

Flying high and kickin’ into retirement

teaching both biology and oceanography this year was teaching the freshmen in biology and then having them again as a senior for oceanography.

“To be able to see the change and the growth that occurs in the four years has been really special for me to be able to do that,” Froats said.

TESSA TRYLOVICH Online Associate Editor-in-Chief

Tom Froats has been working at Prospect for 33 years and his journey as a teacher is now coming to an end. Froats judges how much he enjoys his job by how easy it is for him to get up in the morning: he never dreads heading to work.

“I think that for me, teaching was a lifestyle choice as much as it was a career choice,” Froats said.

Froats has taught environmental science, chemistry, physics, biology and oceanography throughout his 33 years at Prospect. He has also coached boys’ and girls’ soccer and is currently the girls’ varsity head coach.

One of Froats’ favorite parts about

Froats feels very grateful to teach students every day and to make his classroom environment fun. He has named each day of the week, starting with magnifcent Monday, on to terrifc Tuesday, wonderful Wednesday, tremendous Thursday and fantastic Friday.

“[The days of the week] keep things interesting and on fantastic Fridays we don’t get homework,” freshman Natilyn Ocasio said.

Along with having a fun classroom environment, Froats loves Prospects’ positive environment. Prospect is his happy place, and he likens his experience working at Prospect to working at Disney World.

“I think the one thing that we can control is how we feel about each and every day,” Froats said, “I try to be a very, very positive person. [That] doesn’t mean that there haven’t been tough times, [that] doesn’t mean that there haven’t been sad times, because certainly there have been, but I think for me the idea of trying to be a positive person is important.”

Being positive has helped Froats be less upset about saying goodbye to Prospect, a decision he has known for years leading up to his retirement. The ups and downs that he has experienced throughout the years has made him a positive and loving person.

Froats, who played soccer growing up and in college at Valparaiso University, has coached Prospect girls soccer for 32 years and is sad to leave the team behind. This has driven his passion for the sport. Froats’ main goal for the team is to create an environment that allows the athletes to reach their full potential.

“One of the things we try to do is create a lot of team chemistry where we care about each other as a team frst mentality,” Froats said.

The team chemistry involves doing activities on the weekend such as bike rides or karaoke. These kinds of activities really help the team bond on and of the feld.

Senior Margaret Rosenberg, a right wing on the girls varsity soccer team, says that all of the girls have a very good bond with Froats as he creates a positive, supportive environment for them.

“Froats has been an amazing coach and role model throughout the years,” Rosenberg said. “He pushes me, and my teammates, to be the best versions of ourselves. He is a very positive person and cares greatly about each player.”

During the regional championship game last year, Froats pushed the girls despite them losing due to penalty kicks. This loss was especially devastating for the girls, but Froats always found a way to reassure them.

“We were able to put forth the quality of eforts that we did, and a lot

like life sometimes you can give your very best and your best isn’t good enough sometimes,” Froats said, “and I think to be able to have to kind of bounce back and move forward is what we all are able to do.”

Moving forward from losses is very important to Froats when creating a good team mentality and it will be something the girls will miss when he is gone.

The decision to retire is a very big one, one that Froats has known for the past four years. He wanted to be young and healthy enough to pursue a second career as a fight attendant so he could travel the world and experience new places such as Australia, the Pacifc Islands, Iceland and Azores.

“We talk about lots of wonderful places in oceanography, and I want to go visit all those wonderful places,” Froats said.

Becoming a fight attendant frst came to him when he began teaching

oceanography. He has always enjoyed traveling and he loves interacting with people on a daily basis, and those two passions combine into the perfect career for him.

If becoming a fight attendant doesn’t work out for him he will always have his family to spend his retirement with. This includes his wife, four adult children and grandchild.

The fact that Froats is retiring hasn’t been able to hit him yet due to his commitment as a soccer coach. He says that eventually the shock of it will get to him. Froats will miss the students and staf at Prospect dearly and is very sad to leave but he will continue onto many wonderful and new things.

“I think the staf here at Prospect high school has been pretty special for me to be able to work with them for so many years,” Froats said. “I think we all have the same goal in common, which is to do our best for our students.”

PROSPECT 2023 RETIREE WORDS OF WISDOM

*graphic by Abby Damasky

Froats retires from coaching, teaching; looks forward to next adventure

TEAM BOND: Girls varsity soccer coach Froats fst bumps girls varsity soccer athelete Lauran Harrell (Sr.) as she walks off the feld. (photo by Sydney Lupo)

Kathy Klaczek, Driver’s Ed/SpEd, and Jen Genovise, Security, are retiring this year but requested to not be featured on this page. Frank Briody is also retiring this year and is featured on the website.

graphic by Abby Damasky

SUMMER SUN AND

PMK band-ing together, family

Bonds, love of band built through intense band camp training

STELLA PALM Copy Editor

Learning how to march, then-freshman trumpet player Dominick Pawlak was at Prospect’s band camp on a chilly, 40 degree Thursday in late June. Fast forward to the next day, it was 90 degrees and Pawlak was trapped inside the band room which was comparable to a sauna, likely due to the lack of air conditioning and abundance of band kids.

Despite these harsh conditions, all the current seniors were thrilled to meet the new freshmen.

“What are they all excited about? We’re all out here cold and miserable,” Pawlak thought.

Within a couple weeks, Pawlak made plenty of new friends along with some new inside jokes. Throughout the years he got closer with the band. Now, as a senior, Pawlak has made his own jokes.

his students are prepared for competitions along with being comfortable within the group.

Some things that he tries to focus on consist of making students feel welcome and creating a sense of ensemble, which means fostering togetherness.

With this added support from Barnum, his students are able to feel secure in the band camp environment.

In order to have low-stress practices, coaches and directors have found ways to provide support to their students.

Sophomore Charlotte Stolzer is a performer on color guard and orchestra. Although balancing two activities can present issues, Stolzer always makes sure to communicate with her coaches and directors to fnd a solution.

This support can help prepare members to solve conficts. With all the long hours of band camp, it is inevitable that schedules will overlap.

“The coaches are very understanding if there is some sort of confict, and they are able to work it out,” Stolzer said.

162 students are signed up for band camp this year

“As a freshman you don’t know and wonder ‘what the hell is going on with all of [the seniors’] inside jokes,’” as you go through freshman, sophomore, junior [years], you realize now, you’ll inevitably make your own jokes.”

Since Pawlak has experienced band camp for four years, he is not only aware of the inside jokes but also the camp’s schedule.

Band camp is a summer program designed to get band members ready for their competitive season. The camp consists of four weeks split into two, two-week sections over the course of three months. Each day of band camp starts at 1 p.m. and kids get a dinner break at 5 p.m. Camp promptly starts back up at 6 p.m. and continues for another three hours.

Despite the grueling hours that the camp might demand, Pawlak stays motivated by the success he knows the camp will produce.

“It’s a grind, but that’s how you get good,” Pawlak said.

He feels that without the camp and his Band Director, Chris Barnum, he wouldn’t be where he is now. Barnum notes that band camp is essential for beginners.

“It’s really starting with those fundamentals and then building from there that makes such a diference,” Barnum said.

If freshmen miss band camp, many of them would come into the competitive season with little to no experience. Barnum makes sure that all

during camp duration.

When students are away from band camp, a lot of content like choreography or music instruction is also missed. Pawlak does his best to help out the people in his section.

“I remember telling my section, ‘Hey look, family frst, we’ll get you caught up when you need to get caught up, don’t worry about that,’” Pawlak said.

For section leaders it’s important to act proactively in diferent situations that may occur throughout camp, like storms or accidents.

“Thor guards are going to go of, it’s going to rain, it’s going to storm, something’s going to happen,” Pawlak said. “This is going to break, someone’s trumpet is going to break, something will happen, so [you need to] be able to think on your toes.”

Along with being an important role model to his peers, Pawlak has also made some of his best friends in band. He explained that he never would’ve met some of his friends if he hadn’t done band camp.

how his section is able to develop.

“Truly my favorite memories are being able to take the trumpets section from the beginning of the season to the end and then watch the improvement of all 27 members,” Pawlak said.

Memories aren’t just made within a band environment. Pawlak explains that some of the best memories are made outside of band, with band kids.

These friendships in band help keep all the students motivated and grow even tighter bonds. Connections between students can help them get through the long days of rehearsal.

Band camp creates unbreakable bonds between students and possible lifelong friendships.

“There were times where it was hard,” Stolzer said. “I never wanted to quit. I wouldn’t want to leave these coaches, people and environment.

Barnum is aware that some of his students want to be involved in other things besides band. He does his best to allow his students to explore the opportunities high school has to ofer.

Many students have to make sure their priorities are set between band, school, jobs, clubs, and social activities. Students might have to make a decision on which activities they want to

“You make a lot of sacrifces,” Pawlak said. “A lot of them are little. You don’t realize [they’re sacrifces] until they’re

As a trumpet section leader, it’s important for Pawlak to be on good terms with the people in his section and to have clear communication concerning attendance.

Attendance is commonly afected by summer vacations

The tight friendships created through band can be credited to the vigorous hours that students spend with each other. All the moments spent together can form a family-like bond within the band.

“[It doesn’t] matter what grade you’re in, seniors are friends with freshmen and all of that,” Stolzer said, “It’s nice to have upperclassmen friends and people you can rely on to talk to.”

When spending constant time with the same band members over long hours during the summer, band kids make some lasting memories. For Pawlak, he loves seeing

LASTING CAMP FUN

Ihate bugs; their long legs, beady eyes and blood thirsty lifestyle. Bugs truly scare me. They, however, do not share this loathing. I had the privilege to learn about the bugs’ love for me through an unfortunate experience of the wilderness when I didn’t bring bug spray. My parents left me in the arms of complete strangers in a cabin in the woods — not creepy at all — and without the much-needed insect repellent. For the next week, I was stuck getting

sucked on by unattractive vampires of the mosquito form. However, despite this traumatizing experience with nature’s Edward Cullen, I found myself falling in love with camp. While I was raised on YMCA day camps, these kinds of experiences come from overnight camps like mine, Camp Duncan in Ingleside, Illinois or the very popular Camp Vista in Wisconsin. Sophomore Wiktoria Andrezejewska has been going to Camp Vista for almost eight years, and now it’s just tradition for her.

“I’ve been going since I was really young,” Andrezejewska said. “It’s always been a huge part of me to go every year.”

Some of the amazing experiences I’ve gone through like falling of of the rock wall or falling down the main hill, or falling out of my canoe … actually a lot of my memories are of falling into or of of things.

Although the experiences are something you treasure forever, the best thing camp has to ofer is the people. Well, of course every camp has people but people are different when you have to live with them for two weeks. These are the people who you have to share a sink with and who will most

summers. We all went to the same two to three week sessions, requested each other for cabin assignments, and built the greatest kind of friendship.

The only reason these kinds of relationships are possible is because of how unplugged camp forces you to be. With no access to any form of technology, actually looking at people’s faces and being forced to have real conversations is a must.

CLAIRE WYNKOOP Exec. In-Depth Editor

“I feel like keeping myself away from my phone helps me grow as a person,” Andrezejewska said. “Not only do I get to meet new people, but I get to know new people because we’re not always on our phones.”

While on my own (forced) social

ally long time.

However, camp isn’t always sunshine and happiness. It can be really hard for a lot of people, and not just because they attract bugs like Taylor Swift attracts toxic men. Not seeing your family for two or more weeks can be really taxing on people. Andrezejewska talked about how it wasn’t her parents she missed while away, but it was her little brother who is like her best friend.

“It’s a little [hard]. I miss my little brother a lot when I’m gone,” Andrezejewska said. “… It’s always super exciting to hear his voice because I know he misses me as much as I miss him.”

At Camp Vista they allowed phone calls home, but in my rugged nature camp (cue eye roll because it had straight up air conditioning in the cabins) we only got to receive letters. My parents wrote sometimes, but camp didn’t give me much time to miss anything with all the fun activities I participated in.

While the cons of camp can seem big at times, they are overall few and far between. Camp is an amazing experience that allows you to unplug, be yourself, meet new people, and spend weeks “bonding” with nature. Camp allows for a kind of vacation that is diferent from any you will ever expe-

“It’s all so fun because [I’m] always smiling and laughing and having fun,” Andrezejewska said. “[Camp] is just the best kind of getaway.”

While the blood sucking insects, pudding fascos, and large bruises are not always fun at the time, they are the memories you will never forget. And though I’m not sure I look forward to all those things, I can’t wait to go back to camp next year.

Illustration by Alex Chengary

Old connections, new perceptions

Students travel overseas for fun and self-discovery

Features Reporter

Junior Jon Numani hiked on a trail through the expansive, mountainous woodlands of Albania with his cousins as the hot summer sun beat down on them. Numani was savoring the area’s natural beauty when he was treated to a remarkable sight. Barely 20 feet away from the hikers, two wolves were visible behind some sparse bushes, completely wild in their natural habitat.

“It was the frst time I saw a big animal up close; it was really cool and interesting,” Numani said.

This coming summer, one year after his encounter with the wolves, Numani plans to return to Albania, where his entire extended family lives. He has visited the country yearly since he was about two years old.

Both of Numani’s parents were born and grew up in Albania. His father moved to the US in the late 1990s, and his mother did the same in the early 2000s. Through his travels, Numani has enjoyed seeing the areas where his parents were raised as young children, such as their childhood homes and the school they attended.

“It’s very personal knowing that that’s where my ethnicity is,” Numani said.

*According to worldatlas.com

Numani’s entire extended family shares an apartment in the city of Vlorë, which is near many of the pristine beaches that he enjoys visiting.

Unlike American cities, Numani says that the Albanian cities he has visited have fewer skyscrapers and experience noticeable population fuctuations as seasons change. They are generally much more crowded during the summer than any other time of the year as the more pleasant summer weather attracts tourists from overseas.

What the city lacks in tall buildings, however, it makes up for in culture. Numani says he and his family have recently visited many historical museums and learned ample ancient history about his Albanian descent, allowing Numani to discover more about his ties to the past and the present-day world around him.

For instance, the ancient Greeks established many cities in present-day Albania, the ruins of which Numani has visited.

“[Your heritage] is something that can never change, and it is something that will always be with you throughout your life,” Numani said.

A short one and a half- hour fight from Vlorë across Europe’s Adriatic Sea lies the city of Florence, Italy, where sophomore Nicolette Gusic will be visiting this summer.

Gusic experienced the city of Venice seven years ago with her family. The area stands out in her memory as rich in both natural and architectural beauty.

More recently, Gusic’s parents surfed online and discovered an opportunity for high school students to study in Italy over the summer. Gusic had previously entertained the idea of studying abroad for college, but she now appreciates the reality of traveling without her family, which she has never done before.

“I’m so nervous but it’s also nervous excitement…I’ve never been away from home for that long and that far away from my family,” Gusic said.

However, Gusic looks forward to the opportunity to be more independent, socialize with new people with completely diferent perspectives on the world,

Graduates tip their caps to high school, move forward

SIENNA DEMONTE Executive Features Editor

Senior Lally Coleman’s face turned a pale shade of pink as the anticipation sunk into her bones. Her hands began to shake on her keyboard as the mouse of her computer hovered over her acceptance letter.

Coleman took a deep breath and clicked the email with an anxious smile on her face. After a moment of uncertainty, she opened the letter. She had been accepted into the University of Indiana.

As the 22-23 school year is wrapping up, senioritis is kicking in and this year’s class of 2023 is getting ready to end their high school

career and begin their adult lives. For some, college acceptance letters begin to roll in, and undeniably, choosing a school to spend the next four years brings a wave of stress strong enough to feel sufocating.

According to Statista, there are 19.67 million students projected to enroll in college in the United States this year, 5.2 million of these students enrolled in private colleges.

There are many factors that go into committing to a college, and everyone has their own list that checks of their boxes. For Coleman, having a spectrum of programs and classes for her marketing major and fashion merchandising minor, was very important when making the big decision.

Another factor on her ‘pros’ list was the bright school spirit the university has to ofer. In fact, Coleman’s fondest memory at Prospect was being a U leader and celebrating the pride she has for her school, so when deciding to go to Indiana, the school spirit was a big allure to her.

“I will never forget the love and pride prospects students have for our school, and I really hope to have the same love for IU as well,” said Coleman.

With the support of her family, friends, and teachers, Coleman was able to get the guidance she needed when deciding what colleges to apply for.

To help level the weight being brought onto their shoulders, some students chose to see our school’s

and explore the surrounding cities of Italy, immersing herself in unique, world-famous art and culture.

Gusic will make the fight to Florence with other students through World Class Programs (WCP), an international high school study abroad organization that provides educational travel opportunities for students. WCP ofers classes not only in Italy, but also France, Puerto Rico and Japan, according to learnworldclass. com.

Gusic says that WCP’s classes are tailored to be relevant to the cities in which they are ofered. Students traveling to Italy, for instance, can study traditional Italian cooking and art, which are major aspects of the country’s cultural identity.

Through WCP, students can choose one class to be their main focus of study (referred to as a “major”) as well as a “minor” class. Major classes meet three times a week and minors meet twice a week.

Gusic is interested in Italian architecture as her “major” and Italian language as her “minor” since she already takes Italian in school.

Since she is so fascinated with Italian art, Gusic was excited to fnd out that the architecture class focuses primarily on the artistic aspects of building design.

“[Italian architecture] interested me because I’ve just always thought that Italy’s art was something that couldn’t be found anywhere else,” Gusic said.

DRIVING AHEAD: Seniors shift gears and steer themselves into adult life (art courtesy of Abagail Damasky).

post-secondary counselor, Colleen Carroll. In her past 17 years at Prospect, Carroll has been a generalist school counselor, but starting the 22-23 school year, Carroll started her career as a post-secondary counselor helping students to navigate their lives after they leave the doors of Prospect highschool.

Growing up, Carroll never had access to a college and career counselor; instead, she had to go through the entire college search process by herself. She ended up following her older brother’s footsteps and getting her BA in Spanish and double majored in education at John Carroll University, then getting a MA in Spanish at California State University, and fnally earning her MA in counseling from Northeastern Illinois University. “I loved my high school, but I didn’t fnd any

support at all when making my decision [for college].. it really wasn’t ideal,” said Carroll. “I appreciate that I am now able to be that support for my students and ofer guidance to students who want it because that is something I did not have.”

Although starting a new chapter of life is exciting, leaving friends and family is frightening to most. Coleman has had a tight-knit relationship with her friends since preschool and an unbreakable bond with her family, so saying goodbye is scary to her.

“I’m not ready to say goodbye to my friends, they are like my family,” Coleman said. “It’s going to hurt, but I also know I have people there to support me, and we are always going to be there for each other if we ever need anything.”

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Jon Numani visits ancient Greek ruins while visitng Albania. Despite being a lesser known country, Albania is rich in ancient history and culture (photo courtesy of Jon Numani).

Anxiety skyrockets due to AP test mania

ALEX BONNETTE

Copy Editor

AP English and Language Composition (AP Lang) teacher Elizabeth Joiner could feel the coming pressure of the May 9 AP test looming over her students. As the date of the exam creeped closer, she noticed that more students emailed her about advice for the test, as well as an infux of students speaking with her about test preparation during class.

The very utterance of the term “AP test” had a weight to it, as Joiner could see with each day that passed. Despite Joiner’s constant reas surance about how the test was nothing to lose sleep over, the stressful air in her class persisted. To combat this cloud of stress, Joiner continues to work towards lessening the anxiety that the test may cause. Joiner believes that the stress surrounding the exam is highly overblown.

“Yes, I took AP classes,” Joiner said. “Yes, I teach one. But do I think the trajectory of my life is diferent [because I took them]? No.”

When the calendar changed to May, the month of AP testing came with it. Students involved in these classes, striving for the fabled score of “5,” began to feel the demand and stress of recalling an entire year’s worth of information.

To prepare for this, Joiner starts each year of her AP classes with the test in mind. Even at the very beginning of the year, the skills taught in previous English courses were necessary to create a foundation for newer, more advanced skills that the exam would demand of the students months down the road. For instance, the development of synthesis essays is a much needed skill for the AP test.

“We’re practicing the skills constantly because I don’t want people to be unnecessarily stressed out about [the AP test],” Joiner said.

Given that the AP Lang test generally focuses on developed skills rather than memorization of events or terms, Joiner worked towards instilling the abilities needed to pass as soon as possible in the year.

As a result of her 23 years of teaching, 15 of which had her teaching AP Lang, Joiner learned what worked best for both her and her students in terms of skill development and stress management. Using her experience, she’s gradually changed how she taught the course, like allowing her daily agenda to be easily changed, as well as moving away from the year’s schedule that CollegeBoard recommends AP Lang teachers follow.

However, this structuring of Joiner’s schedule is most apparent in the due date for her AP class’ research paper: a seven-page minimum essay that typically takes over a month for the students to complete. The due date was on May 1, aligning with the beginning of AP testing, which she purposefully set to alleviate stress. This stress came especially from AP U.S. History

FEELING PRESSURE: The stress of AP preperation and testing can make students feel discouraged and cause excessive anxiety that can harm their and motivation and health. (photo by Claire

[the] research papers are due when they’re due.”

In addition, there are also a handful of students who take multiple AP classes in a school year. This year, senior Wiktoria Toflska was enrolled in four AP classes that were ofered to her: Economics, Calculus AB, Spanish, and U.S. Government and Politics.

“They were all classes that I was interested in,” Toflska said. “They just all happened to be AP at the same time. And because I was interested in the topic and material of the course[s], I decided to take AP because that was the only version they had.”

Given her large presence in AP cours es, Toflska’s schedule was made to where she would attend two AP classes each day. The organiza tion of these ad vanced courses soon made her realize that planning ahead of time was absolutely necessary to avoid missing material.

The impor tance of organiza tion was only am plifed for her as she also needed to balance both her job and dance, which she found difcult to handle at times. The act of splitting her time between multiple important activities resulted in her spending most of her time spent work ing or practicing. As a result, she found that she would sometimes have no free time in between her curricular and extracurricular activities. This was an issue that created a lot of stress for her, but despite this, Toflska stated that she never

work.”

Toflska believes that the amount of organization that AP testing demands is well worth the stress that it may create. Through AP testing, Toflska now has a better grip on how to balance work and life, as well as improving her time management skills and general attitude towards working hard.

“[My teachers] helped me prepare well, but it’s also what you take out of the class,” Toflska said. “It requires a good amount of efort outside of the class … because of the amount that you’re

Toflska said she usually prepares for her multiple AP tests about a week before. During this time, she would review her notes and prior work pertaining to material that she feels would be important on the test. She also added how the process is far from perfect and she wouldn’t consider it to be organized, which may have been a source of anxiety for her.

Toflska isn’t the only student to feel the pressure of May AP testing. While she displayed confdence in her ability to score high, there are others who may not share the same outlook. Counselor Tim Franklin has witnessed this frst hand when students come to him to share their concerns.

“I do think that there are students who have some anxiety related to testing,” Franklin said. “And they come down [to my ofce] and [we]

experiences on how it felt to take the test, as well as advice to aid in the diminishing of their stress; he feels that their anxiety towards the test is justifed, and sometimes even aids in their success.

“We talk about good stress versus bad stress with our juniors because that’s typically the [grade] that takes the most AP tests,” Franklin said. “Stress is inevitable. Everyone will experience stress in life. And I think that [stress before AP testing] is good.”

As Franklin elaborated, the presence of stress, if managed in a healthy manner, can act as a motivator for students to improve and aim for higher scores. Nevertheless, this wouldn’t have been present without the fear of failure. Yet, it’s very easy for the otherwise benefcial motivation of stress to derail into an encumbering obstacle.

Stressing over tests is normal, the intensity of such anxiety isn’t standard for all students. It is natural for the stress and anxiety of a certain task to difer from one person to another. This can be the result of dependency on college credit, saving money for higher education, or the greater chance to successfully enroll in more prestigious universities.

While others may be well handled in managing this anxiety to succeed, practicing strategies such as exercising or taking breaks, or a plethora of other activities can help reduce anxiety, according to school counselors. However, there are others who aren’t as skilled in stress management.

Fortunately for these students, Franklin believes that more afected individuals have access to a slew of opportunities to aid in the lowering of their anxiety. Specifcally, he believes that the school’s teachers are the greatest resource an AP student could ask for.

“Our teachers do an amazing job in preparing [students] throughout the school year,” Franklin said. “They’re in the thick of things. And so I think [the students] are prepared. And probably more prepared than they think they are.”

Pressure of AP exams make or break a stressed student

Wynkoop)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In Myers’ Media Analysis classes, students discuss the UCLA Hollywood Diversity report, analyzing patterns of representation over the years. The report gives hard data on who is directing flms as well as how diverse a cast is in proportion to the American public. Myers said that this data has shown that POC and women are steadily making gains in Hollywood in most areas, but the biggest gap exists between races. In the 2022 UCLA report, the trends showed that about four out of 10 lead actors in flm are people of color. It also allows for students of all races to realize the gap between white represen tation and minority representation. While forming individualized opinions about the weight of representation is key, Myers tells her students that it is important to stay grounded in the facts and data espe cially when analyzing things that are more subjective, such as messages that flms shows send to the viewers.

“Media has this mas sively powerful presence in society so the most important thing to me is that people recog nize that in order for you to be a sav vy, active member of society you can’t just blindly soak up information like a little sponge,” Myers said. “You have to think about and recognize why you are seeing things.”

Although having diversity in flm allows for all races to gain a greater perspective on cultures, there are some who feel that original characters should be left “untouched” and not altered in

remakes, including changing their race. When the casting announcement for “The Little Mermaid” was released, critics took to social media to voice their opinion of Bailey’s casting, claiming that it was appalling to have a black woman play a historically white mermaid.

Matt Walsh, a right-wing political commentator, claimed that from a “scientifc perspective” it was not possible for Ariel to have dark skin because of how deep in the ocean mermaids live. On top of this, the hashtag #notmyariel fooding Twitter feeds, and the ofcial teaser trailer for the flm which dropped last year reached 1.2 million dislikes on YouTube along with a slew of racist comments tagged with the video, according to CNN. Others also labeled Bailey as a Franklin feels that those who have negative ideas about this forward progression do not understand what it means to be underrepresented in the media and have a difcult time viewing this controversy from viewpoint of historically underrepresented groups.

“They haven’t had to think about it. It takes a lot of critical self refection,” Franklin said. “… Part of that starts at home and having adults who are not as refective and understanding.”

Myers noted that the topic of representation has become extremely political. Instead of celebrating the strides companies like Disney and Marvel have been making to display more characters of diferent backgrounds, critics claim that these changes are publicity stunts to make up for racist pasts.

“You can’t separate the politics from representation which is really unfortunate because people are people and deserve to see their stories

the box ofce serve as an extrinsic motivator for flm producers.

“I think it’s pushing Disney [and Marvel] in the right direction,” Delvo said. “They are probably thinking about their money, so the fact that they are thinking about representation of a black actress in ‘The Little Mermaid’ … is a great idea, and [they’ll] put out more representation from a business standpoint.”

Additionally, this fnancially-based mindset can be applied to females as well. For example, Marvel’s “Black Widow” (released in 2021) made $379 million worldwide while “Captain Marvel” in 2019 brought in $1.1 billion worldwide, both of which featured female protagonists.

told,” Myers said. “People need mirrors in Hollywood and need to see themselves represented … If you see someone make a decision, like Disney casting Halle Bailey as Ariel, within minutes of that becoming a decision the hashtag ‘Not My Ariel’ was trending on Twitter and Instagram.”

Making changes in cast or characters can be benefcial to companies fnancially. Both Myers and Delvo said that companies can see that increasing representation of gender or race brings more people into theaters since they are drawn to those of more diverse backgrounds or stories.

When “Princess and the Frog” was released in 2009, it brought in $267 million worldwide, while “Tangled” — featuring a white princess — in 2010 made $592 million worldwide. Since then, the gap has shifted as “Black Panther,” released in 2018, made $1.3 billion worldwide compared to “Doctor Strange” — featuring a white protagonist — in 2016 with $677 million worldwide, according to IMDb. These gains in

“There’s a pattern trending in the right direction and I think we’ve started to see the success fnancially of flms like ‘Black Panther’ or even ‘Captain Marvel’ and ‘Black Widow,’” Myers said. “Having leads as female superheroes is pretty new, and they are making good money from those which will only encourage these companies to make more of that.”

As companies like Disney and Marvel increase their representation, advocates within Gen Z hope other flmmakers or authors will follow the same trend and take away key ideas from conversations about the future of inclusivity in flm.

“It’s so cliche to call ourselves the people of tomorrow but that’s genuinely what we are, and I’ve seen our generation be very outspoken with what we value and what we need to change about this world,” Delvo said. “ … It’s clearly pushing the people in charge and have been running this world.”

Senior Maria Anzalotti hit send on her virtual audition tape for Mean Girls, in which she sang a spunky, rock-musical song and performed a monologue about her prior experience on the Speech team. One month later, the cast list was sent out by email, and Anzalotti will be playing Janis, the outcast who befriends the main character. Anzalotti gets ready for a second year of growing as a performer in District 214’s (D214) summer show. She is grateful to have this program to return to in the summer and sees it as an important change of pace for her performing life.

“It was very easy to get stuck in the same program where you can always pretty much tell what a production’s going to look like, and so it was nice to mix up who I was auditioning with,” Anzalotti said. “It was nice to have that experience to make me a better performer.”

D214’s upcoming production of Mean Girls marks the 10-year anniversary of the district’s summer musical program, which brings kids across the district to audition for and participate in a special musical performance, with shows in the Rolling Meadows High School theater from June 28-July 1.

The show, based on the hit movie “Mean Girls,” is about a 16-year-old girl named Cady who moves to North Shore, Illinois, from Africa. She attends a new school and meets the most popular clique of girls, The Plastics. As she contends with the quirks of high school, she slowly gets sucked into The Plastics’ world of betrayals and false friendships, learning along the way to look past her peers’ pompous exteriors and see the true humans in all of them.

Prospect High School’s Jeremy Morton is one of the founding producers and a director of the district musical, along with Stephen Colella, fne arts coordinator at Wheeling High School. The show being in the summer means there is much more time and energy to be spent on rehearsing. Even though students and directors often don’t know each other, this aspect of the preparation means there is ample time for everyone to connect while working towards a common goal.

The themes and heart of a show like Mean Girls were not lost on Morton when considering a show for the program’s anniversary production.

“I think the freshness of the show itself is going to have an immediate draw, but also the cultural phenomenon of the movie,” Morton said. “What I like about the movie is that there is this beautiful message about looking past the meanness. We live in a society and a world where it’s easy to just kind of be mean. But is that really worth it?”

For Morton, the bond between cast and crew members from schools around the district that is built during production makes the drawn-out process, from audition videos in December to the show dates in June and July, worth it.

“It brings kids from across district 214 and we celebrate art. We celebrate and become close in a completely diferent way. I love that our students go and support each other’s shows,” Morton said.

Anzalotti, who was in the district’s production of The SpongeBob Musical last year, recognizes the possible difculties in the summer show compared to the regular school shows, as students must perform with and in front of people they have never met before, creating a new challenge in connecting with cast mates and directors.

“It’s a lot tougher to establish who I am as a performer, establish what I want the directors to know about me, so I think the audition process is a lot harder, and that was something that I had to swallow last year especially,” Anzalotti said.

Despite these difculties, Anzalotti still fnds diferent aspects she loves about the summer productions than school ones, motivating her to return for a second year.

“I really love working with a really good, technically advanced choir,” Anzalotti said. “But we haven’t done a lot of dance-heavy shows at Prospect since I’ve been here, so it’s also really nice, in my opinion, to be dancing more frequently [in the summer shows].”

DYLAN MAYE Entertainment Reporter

4 out of 10 lead actors in film are poc*

*according to the 2022 ucla hollywood diversity report

- Cambria Myers, Media Analysis teacher

YOU CAN’T SEPERATE THE POLITICS FROM REPRESENTATION WHICH IS REALLY UNFORTUNATE,”

Deines makes a leap in history

EMILY TOROK

Exec. Sports Editor

Charlotte Deines is one of many talented runners on the Prospect girls’ track team – especially if you consider the fact that she’s a junior. On May 10, at Glenbrook South high school, Deines ran in the sectionals meet, reserving her spot to run and jump in four events at the state fnals this year. It was clear that she couldn’t be happier.

Deines qualifed for the 4 x 100-meter relay, the 100-meter, the 200-meter, and the long jump.

This accomplishment means so much to her, and her teammates are also pumped to have the opportunity of running in the state fnals.

“It is really special for me and my teammates to go down to state this season because we have a super good chance of winning state this year,” Deines said. “Our coach, Kenneth Johnson, is also moving after this season, so we really want to do good for him before he leaves.”

Running in four events at state is extra special for Deines as she only qualifed to run in state in the 4 x 100-meter relay last season.

“Last year I ran the 200 at sectionals, and I didn’t qualify for state which was disappointing,” Deines said. “I ran a 25:88 in the 200 last year, and this year I ran a 24:08, dropping my time by a whole second … I improved my jump distance

no longer playing on the girls basketball team. After being involved in both sports last year, she realized that she was more confdent on the track than on the court.

Although her passion lies in track, Deines still misses the team dynamic of basketball, but that is just one of the many sacrifces she had to make to better her track career.

“I sometimes miss my friends from the [basketball] team,” Deines said. “I really liked the girls and that group of people. But at the same time, I am glad that I cut the cord. I really enjoy track, and all my best friends are on this team.”

Since Deines only has one sport to focus on now, she’s found herself in the midst of an intense track schedule.

Deines’s weekly track schedule consists of practicing every day of the week except Sunday. However, each season her practice schedule difers. During the spring season, she usually has track meets on Saturdays and Tuesdays weekly. Over the summer, she continues to train with the coaches at Prospect doing sprint workouts, and during the winter she runs in the indoor competition season.

Although this schedule is hectic, it has really helped Deines improve as a runner.

“Now I train all year round, and it’s nice not to have to take a break from track to focus on a different sport that requires a diferent skill set and is not very applicable to track,” Deines said. “Focusing ally helpful, and my times have improved a lot. Committing to one sport has truly just been really good

Deines’s success does not stop at her ticket to the state fnals this

SOARING: Junior Charlotte Deines leaps in her long jump. Deines broke two school records and improved her 200-meter time by over a second since last year. (photo by Alyssa Degan)

year. She has also had a big year and broke two all-time school records in this season alone.

The 20:487 time she ran for the 200-meter and the 18’5” distance in her long jump were both good enough to be all-time record breakers for the Prospect girls track and feld team.

Deines has had an extraordinary amount of success this season, and she is hoping to fnish on a high note at the state fnals at Eastern Ilinois University on May 19 and 20. The state meet took place after the Prospector went to press.

“I really hope to place in my individual events at state,” Deines said. “I am hoping to get top fve in my 200-meter event, for my long jump event I want to get a medal,

‘PBaddies’ go statebound

PJ O’GRADY Editor-in-Chief

The girls badminton team fnished in second place at the Vernon Hills sectional on May 4. Led by junior Belinda Zhang’s second place fnish in sectionals, the rest of the team members who competed at sectionals all ended up qualifying for state with these results: Cassie Voicu (senior) got fourth in sectionals, doubles partners Izzy Klicker (senior) and Zoe Klicker (senior) earned third place, doubles partners Christina Ukkan (senior) and Ashley Smith (sophomore) ended up in fourth place.

The impressive performances of all six of those members can be attributed to the team’s chemistry, according to Zoe Klicker. From pasta parties, to organized movie nights, to prom photos together, the team knew how to form a successful culture.

“The team is very, very close,” Zoe said. “I think that’s one of our main strengths as a team. We defnitely all have a tight bond and we know to pick each other up and how to help each other when we’re down.”

While Zoe and Izzy may have been more bonded than other doubles partners, likely since they’re sisters of a set of triplets, they still had to overcome sibling-related obstacles. As sisters, they sometimes had issues with getting along during the season — especially when a confict arose during gameplay.

Izzy recalled her experience when she was playing with Zoe during the season.

and for the relay I would love to get a medal for that too.”

Head Coach Pete Wintermute thinks highly of Deines’ ability and is more than confdent that she can help the Knights bring home some trophies.

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, the Prospector had to go to press before the girls’ track and feld team competed at state. Use the QR code for full online coverage of their quest to bring home a second-consecutive state trophy.

“Charlotte has been an impact on the team since the day she joined the program,” Wintermute said. “Not only is she a great athlete, [but] she’s an incredibly positive person … adding a kid like Charlotte to [relay races] makes a group that may be in the Top 20, to a Top 10 or top fve potential. Being a [current] junior that went down state last year, that experience that she has had just competing at a very high level really just sheds light on other athletes.”

Giusti’s legacy lives on as he reaches 500 wins

EMILY TOROK

Exec. Sports Editor

After sophomore Matthew Fouch’s walk of single at the Larry Pohlman Field on April 6, the Prospect boys varsity baseball team won 6-5 against St. Viator. Fouch’s single was enough to score in junior Drew Terpins, earning Head Coach Ross Giusti his 500th career win. As much as this means to Giusti, the team couldn’t be more excited for his huge accomplishment.

“He has earned all the wins he’s gotten and he has fought through some tough times,” senior second baseman Jack Friar said. “He has brought some good teams through Prospect and has helped the team go down to state [in 2011], [and] led one to a super sectional [in 2021] … It is just so fun to be a part of all these wins with him. Its been awesome.”

The Knights have a 18-14 overall record and a 9-6 record in the MSL East Conference. The Knights currently stand third in the MSL East Conference, and Giusti plans to keep their momentum going from their milestone win against St. Viator.

Giusti’s tenure at Prospect has been long. He has been coaching for 26 years at Prospect. He played baseball at Arlington High School for two years and one more at Prospect High School. Then, he went of to play in college. He played shortstop for two years at Kishwaukee junior college and another two years at Ball State University. After graduating college, he began coaching

at Bufalo Grove High School in 1993 and then came to coach at Prospect High School as an assistant coach in 1996. A year later, he became the head coach at Prospect.

All those years of baseball is what makes Giusti’s 500th career win so special; however, to him it’s just another win in the books for the team.

“Quite honestly, I mean I know it sounds crazy, but you’re not thinking about those things,” Giusti said. “You are thinking about the game at hand. Those are milestones. They are great and it makes you refect on everybody that has been a part of our program. Everyone that has helped contribute is what it is all about.”

Through all his time of coaching so far, Giusti has developed a large appreciation for the program.

“I think that is what we are most proud of is that we’ve sustained successful teams and seasons for a long time,” Giusti said. “And when you build a program that has a good reputation, that’s all you can ask for.”

As much as Giusti appreciates the program, the program also appreciates Giusti. Varsity player and junior, Alex Tabbert, is grateful for all Giusti has done for him as a player and for the team. Tabbert has only had Giusti as a coach for a year, but in this short amount of time, Giusti has already had a huge impact on Tabbert.

“I love how he is so passionate and always gets fred up during the games,” Tabbert said. “I can tell he is excited to be there and wants to be there to coach us.”

Friar, who has been coached for three years now, remembers exactly what Giusti told him his sophomore year when he made varsity.

“When I frst met [Giusti],” Friar said, “he told me I was going to be a very important part of this team. He saw it in me the frst time I stepped on the feld. He believed in me and just went all the way with me.”

Friar is not the only athlete whose baseball career Guisti helped shape. He also coached 2009 graduate Jason Leblebijan, who went on to be a Triple-A all-star in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and 2005 graduate Matt Davis, who ended up being a third team Division I All American player for Eastern Kentucky University.

However, to Giusti, coaching Leblebijian and Davis was an easy gig.

“I give Jason all the credit,” Giusti said. “You know, as coaches when you get a kid like Jason, there’s not much you can do other than let them thrive … We [coaches] try to instill discipline, punctuality, understanding, teamwork, dedication, and from there physical skills take control, and Matt was another kid that was self driven and successful. He was a kid that grabbed the bull by the horns and went out and did it. He deserves all the credit.”

Giusti has not only made an impact on the athletes he has coached, but also on other coaches.

According to Assistant Coach Phil O’Grady, he shares a bond with Giusti that is unbreakable.

Like Giusti, O’Grady has been coaching at Prospect for 26 years, making their bond a strong

“It’s been alright, we’ve had our ups and downs, and defnitely had a little rough start,” Izzy said. “Sectionals we picked it up, but conference we didn’t play too well. Overall, we’ve played pretty well together throughout the season.”

Their connection was accentuated at sectionals. During the competition, after an unexpected frst round loss to a lower-seeded Barrington pair, Izzy and Zoe picked themselves up and won four straight matches to clinch a spot at state.

Qualifying for state proved meaningful for the sisters since last year they lost as partners to the top-seeded Stevenson. According to Zoe and Izzy, their head coach Heather Hepner loved to see them succeed together since Hepner won a doubles state championship with her sister when she played at Bufalo Grove.

On May 12 and 13, the girls competed at the IHSA state competition at DeKalb High School. They ended up tying for ffteenth place with Geneva High School. The end of her season yielded mixed feelings for Zoe since it nearly marks the end of her high school career as well.

“It’s defnitely bittersweet,” Zoe said. “I can’t believe it’s over … you just got to take every moment while you can.”

Now that she’s about to graduate and her season is over, Zoe explained how much she will be missing her team, also known as “PBaddies.”

“I’ll miss the people the most,” Zoe said. “The coaches are incredible, the people, the players. Just everything.”

one.

“We are like brothers, and I think what makes us so successful is I’m not afraid to question him,” O’Grady said. “He’ll present something to me, and I don’t necessarily always agree. We don’t always see eye to eye, but like family … at the end of the day we always had the interest of the team and program at heart. We challenge each other to do our job the right way and what’s in the best interest of the kids.”

Read the full story on Prospectornow.com

VICTORIOUS: Head coach Ross Giusti (left) holds his 500th win plaque with assistant coach Phil O’Grady (right). (photo courtesy of Omar Alebiosu)

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TOP 5 SPORTS MOMENTS OF '22-'23

Once again, Prospect sports this year exceeded expectations. From winning state championships to breaking program records, the Knights made this year truly one to remember. With 30 different sports teams competing throughout the year, the opportunities for success were endless. Although every athlete and team at Prospect deserves to be recognized for their hard work, KnightTV Sports Director Zoe Brown ranked the top fve moments in sports this year along with some honorable mentions.

1second time’s a charm

Falling short of the state title in 2021 did not stop the girls' cross country team from pursuing a frst place trophy. They dominated the entire regular season and went on to win conference, sectionals, regionals and then state.

All seven runners placed within the top 50 at the state meet, three of them within the top 10. The team also set the lowest team score in state history of 39 points with a competitive York team only 20 points behind them.

And although the team had many talented runners, the team dynamic played a big role in their success.

“One of the most important pieces of the team is how un-

2a cinderella story

selfsh these girls are,” head coach Pete Wintermute said. “They train really hard together, they encourage one another, and it’s not about whether or not I’m better than you, it is respecting each others’ performances and congratulating each other on it, and realizing at the end of the day as a team we are only as good as the pieces around us, and that’s from the best girls on the team down to the 45th girl on team.”

The preparation for the state meet didn’t just take place the week before, it was the nine months of training done in the ofseason that was what truly prepared the team.

However, they also did things throughout the season to help them be ready. The team

The boys' basketball season did not start of the way they had hoped; after going 1-5 within their frst six games, the outcome of the rest of the season was up in the air. But when playofs came around, momentum started to build, they won 12 of their last 15 games, ending with an overall record of 20-12.

The Knights entered the playof as a sixth seed and breezed past Waukegan in the frst round on Feb. 22, with a fnal score of 62-35. Next, on Feb. 24 they faced MSL Champion and number three seed Palatine. The game was a nail-biter until the very end when junior Drew Terpins hit a big three with 13 seconds left in the game to claim the regional championship with a fnal score of 47-44 .

Soon afterwards, they faced the strong number two seed Stevenson on March 1st. The game was back and forth but the Knights pulled through on a buzzer beater three made by sophomore Ben Schneider with almost no time left, ending the

4competing around the country

The girls track team was invited back to the Oregon Relays for a second year in a row. Last year the team went to the relays for the frst time in school history, but with only the distance runners. This year, a combination of distance and sprint runners made the trip out to the west coast because of how well the entire team had been performing.

“We have an experienced senior class, and we have a lot of really good freshmen. Our team is so well rounded, and that is why we have been so successful this year,” Junior sprinter Melody Patterson.

Being invited to the Oregon Relays truly shows how good the team has been. Only the top teams in the country are invited to this competitive meet that takes place at Hayward Field, which is the University of Oregon’s track facility.

At Oregon, the Knight’s distance medley relay set a new Illinois state record for the event, and they ran a new school record of 11:57.25 while placing fourth overall. As the state championship meet nears, the team’s success has only continued.

The team won the MSL conference meet, and then went on to win sectionals. They scored 165 points, while the second place team scored 76. The Knights had people in 14 out of the 18 events qualify for state which began on May 18th.

game in a score of 45-44.

“It felt unreal in the moment, it was crazy,” Schneider said in a boys' basketball podcast.

took a trip in the middle of the season down to Peoria, where that state course is located, and they were able to use the experience as a prerun before the meet.

The Knights were also invited to the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational in Indiana to compete against the best teams from surrounding states.

Even with the amazing competition, the team still dominated and placed frst.

“Ultimately I think that was a place where we walked away with a ton of confdence. We went down there and beat the best teams from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, and we pretty much dominated that race. After that trip we knew we had something special,” Wintermute said.

pinning down history

Listen

dive

the depths of the boys' basketball season

In a historic season, this was the frst time they made it to a sectional fnal since 1991. The Knights advanced all the way to the sweet 16 in the state tournament until they fell to number one seed Libertyville with a fnal score of 60-42. The run that this team made was truly something that most people never expected to happen and it will be one for the books.

passing to success

Every football season always has one unforgettable game. For this year’s team, that would be the Maine South game.

Throughout the game, the score went back and forth between the Knights and Hawks, who were ranked number eight in the state. With 44 seconds left in the game, Prospect quarterback Brad Vierneisel threw a touchdown pass to running-back Gavin Flanagan to get the Knights within one point. They decided to go for the two point conversion and Vierneisel was able to get past a Maine South defender and to the end zone.

The Knights won with the score of 42-41.

“Winning that game meant that we could compete with bigger and better schools, and that we are a team that should be respected,” Vierneisel said. Throughout the season Vierneisel broke multiple records. He threw for 452 yards to break the previous single game passing record of 396 yards during the Sandburg game. He also broke the season passing record by throwing 3,002 yards.

“I didn’t even know what the previous season record was before, but it was week eight and Coach DeBouef told me that I threw the most yards in Prospect history and I was like, damn, that’s pretty cool,” Vierneisel said.

The Knights ended with an overall record of 9-2 and made it to the second round of the playofs.

The Prospect boys' wrestling team had seven wrestlers qualify for state, breaking the previous program record of six. The wrestlers who made the trip down to state were Elijah Garza, Joel Muehlenbeck, Will Baysingar, Damien Puma, Connor Munn, Michael Matuszak, and Jaxon Penovich. In past seasons the most state place winners the team has ever had was two, and one of those occurred during the 1960s.

However, this season they broke the record and had three state place winners. This meant that three wrestlers placed within the top six in their individual bracket. The Knights were regional champions for the eighth time in ten years, and for the frst time in school history they qualifed all 14 wrestlers for sectionals.

At “The Flavin” Dekalb Wrestling Invite the team placed third and beat a top-50 ranked team in the country. They also won the Mudge-McMorrow invite, which is hosted by Prospect.

Illinois wrestling commit Will Baysingar ended his senior season placing second at state, and had an overall career record of 164-5. Although Baysingar had a lot of individual success this season, all of the team records set are because of the team’s culture.

“During the season everyone is always together, we are in the practice room together, we are lifting together," Baysingar said. "The team aspect is very important. You can have individual success but you also want to see the team succeed. I want to see the people who have helped me and supported me along the way succeed."

honorable mentions

• The girls bowling team placed 11th in the IHSA State Meet.

• The girls tennis team was Sectional champions for the frst time since 2006, and they qualifed three entries for the IHSA State meet.

• Boys' and girls' golf sent three golfers to the IHSA State meet. Junior Patrick Raupp placed seventh overall, and Junior Luke Kruger placed 16th overall. For the girls', junior Emily Torok placed 76th in the State fnals.

Full story on the girls' State cross country meet

to Zoe Brown

into

*Photos by Emma Letzig, Bella Brouillette, Alyssa Degan