Issue 2 22-23

COLLEGE OR BUST?

cian rather than finish school.

Both Grandlienard and his family initially felt some hesitation because of the uncertainty involved with changing careers so suddenly. However, these fears soon melted away once it became clear that the trades was where Gran dlienard felt most comfortable, and he soon began to realize that his preoccupation with finding success solely through a college path was unnecessary.

have benefited greatly from having a better grasp on what career he was truly interested in pursuing before attending college, he also doesn’t believe that students should be forced into finding a career path as early as possible.

KEVIN LYNCH

For Colin Grandlienard, going to col lege had always been a given. Both of his parents, his siblings and even his extended family had all gone to college, and when discussing his post-high-school path with his parents, it seemed like there would be no room for deviation from the expected norm.

“It just never really came up because we were all going to go to college; that’s just what we do,” Grandlienard said. “It wasn’t like I was pushing back [on college] … because it just wasn’t even a discussion.”

Thus, Grandlienard attended Wheaton College, a local private liberal arts school in Wheaton, IL, where he pursued a degree in music education. Grandlienard didn’t really have a passion for music education, but he knew that he had been good at music in high school and therefore decided on the “path of least resistance” in spite of his reluctance to pursue the career.

Even after he had realized that music ed ucation wasn’t where his interests truly lied, Grandlienard remained in college, where he probably would have remained until gradua tion had he not taken a summer job with his father’s electrical company the summer before his senior year.

After realizing how much he enjoyed the hands-on work with his dad’s company, Grandlienard soon be gan to consider turn ing that work into a future career. With his motivation in college at a low, he made the decision to deregister from his classes with one semester left in his senior year, choos ing to continue work ing with his father’s company as an electri

“College is … at least for a lot of people, ob jectively good,” Grandlienard said. “I learned a lot in college, and I’m sure it made me a better person, but there’s no reason you can’t learn a lot of life lessons on a job as well.”

For many students, the choice of what path they will take after high school is clear: they will attend a four-year university or college, graduate with a specific degree and find a job that caters to their specific area of study. To say that this is the course that most Prospect students follow would be an understatement; according to data from Prospect’s College and Career Center, 67% of the 2021 graduating class went on to attend a four-year college, while 21% attended two-year colleges, making for a total 91% college-bound students.

However, as Grandlienard’s story displays, college is not always students’ best, or only, option. There are multiple other post-gradu ate opportunities that provide just as much, if not more, potential for success as a university, even if they are not given as much attention in classrooms.

While Grandlienard, who now runs his fa ther’s company, D.Grand Electric, after taking over in 2018, personally feels that he would

“It doesn’t seem worth it. You can enjoy high school and then figure out what you want to do,” Grandlienard said. “ … Even if you get to 25 and you still haven’t gone to college, who cares? … You can still have a 40-year career if you start then; it just doesn’t make sense to rush that and jump in.”

According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of college per student per year in 2022 is $35,551 when accounting for addi tional costs like books, fees and daily living ex penses. In spite of this, the National Center for Education Statistics has found that about 80% of college students change their major at least once before graduating.

Because of the unpredictability of students’ career passions coupled with the high cost of college, Grandlienard believes that even though not attending college directly after high school might seem like time wasted, us ing that time to find a specific area of interest will be more beneficial in the long run.

This is especially true, he says, because if students work during this time, they can amass savings that can be later used to either jump

start their career or pay for potential future college expenses rather than simply rushing ahead and paying for college outright; accord ing to U.S. News, the average total personal student debt in America is about $30,000, making college a costly venture for someone

While

“They

OPTIONS: Exposure proves crucial

Though taking a gap year may help some stu dents discover a career path of interest that they can then pursue in college, for others, this time can help them find different opportunities that they might not have considered otherwise by al lowing them to consider what they want without the pressures of the school year. Senior Jason Pet, however, already has a good idea of what “differ ent opportunity” he wants to pursue after high school: he hopes to attend a trade school in order to go into a career in welding.

Pet’s main reasons for not wanting to attend a four-year university or college is mostly to avoid being crushed under unnecessary student loan debts; however, he also hopes to find a career that he enjoys and finds fulfilling, leading him to welding due to his affinity for working with his hands.

The field appealed to him large ly because he could be trained in just six to nine months, allowing him to get into a job almost im mediately due to the high demand for trades workers. From there, he says, he has the potential to make well over $100,000 in a couple of years, allowing him to build sav ings early on.

Pet is also currently “going through the motions” of the college application process in case he discov ers a different career that he wants to pursue that requires a college de gree to study. However, he is not holding himself down to any one option at the moment.

“As long as I end up with a good job in the next four to five years, I think I’ll be happy,” Pet said. “ … I don’t want to be trapped in the stu dent debt of college and … as long as I end up good, I’m happy.”

Because of the low number of people entering the trades, Grandlienard says, it is relatively easy to find a tradesperson willing to give a young per son some on-the-job experience — either with a

summer apprenticeship or simple one-day shad owing — something that he says was highly im pactful in his decision to become an electrician.

Furthermore, while it’s true that there is much evidence to back up the claim that students who pursue a college degree will have greater opportunities for more stable and higher-paying careers, this does not mean that a path such as trade school cannot lead to high measures of sta bility and success as well.

According to career website Zippia, Illinois is the third most lucrative state for tradespeople, with the average salary being $49,320, well above the national average for tradespeople, $38,236, and even greater than the current livable wage in Illinois, which is $34,471, according to the World Population Review. Additionally, as in Pet’s case, some jobs in this path may offer higher starting salaries than oth ers.

Senior David Stoev, on the oth er hand, does plan on attending college. The only difference be tween his plans and the majority of students’ is that afterwards, he plans to enlist in the U.S. armed forces. To learn more about his path in the armed forces, check out the supplemental story on Pros pectornow.com.

One place where Stoev feels the military’s alternative benefits could be highlighted more is in high school classrooms. He remembers that when counselors met with students to dis cuss students’ various post-graduate options, the section dedicated to colleges lasted for roughly 30 minutes, whereas the section discussing trade schools was only a few sentences long, a differ ence that he feels undervalues and limits the potential for success that these pathways hold. If he had not already been a member of JROTC, he says, this presentation would not have represent ed many of the aspects of the program he enjoys the most.

“That wouldn’t have sparked any interest; they didn’t really say anything,” Stoev said. “They

just said, ‘Oh, talk to these people if you’re in terested’; they didn’t explain any benefits or any thing.”

Pet reiterates this, saying that though his counselor has been more supportive in terms of giving him advice and laying out different options, the majority of his knowledge and exposure to the trades has come from his own research rather than from information provided by the school.

While Bourn realizes that there is indeed strong interest in the trades and military among some students, she says that the nature of Pros pect’s student body, one that favors a typical college experience rather than one involving the military or trades, makes it difficult to give an indepth overview of these less popular options.

“When you look at the statistics here of 90plus percent [of students] going on to college, it’s hard for us to do specific [discussions],” Bourn said. “ … So most of our programs are very much more college prep-focused … Every time we do a presentation like that we try to say, ‘We know you may not be thinking that college is in your future, whether it’s military or trades; we

64%

of students* wish that more information was provided about Other Postsecondary options

would definitely like to help you through that process as well.’”

No matter what career or post-high-school plan they may gravitate towards, Grandlienard, Pet and Stoev all feel that students would benefit greatly from considering other options besides a typical four-year college or university. While these considerations may range from a short internship all the way to a different career path entirely, Grandlienard feels that the decision of what to do after high school is too important to simply make out of obligation or tradition.

He says that though college will likely benefit most students, his experience is proof that many more options exist outside of what students have

JUSTIN PEABODY Features Reporter

After a fun-filled evening, freshman Shea Lewis left campus one night during Homecoming Week when he was met with an unpleasant surprise. His green and yellow bike, a birthday gift from his parents, was missing from the bike rack outside the field house.

Upon Lewis’ discovery, one thought ran through his mind: “Some one stole my bike and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

While Lewis was tempted to tell police and administration about his bike, he decided not to, hoping that he would recover his bike by the follow ing Monday. Luckily for Lewis, a friend of his found the bike at the Stone gate apartment complex in Arlington Heights two days after the theft.

The crime has not stopped Lewis from biking to school; since he lives only five blocks down the street from Prospect on Fairview Street, cycling is his most efficient mode of transpor tation. However, the experience has made him more circumspect about

his bike’s safety. Before the theft, he sometimes neglected to lock his bike but now makes a point to thorough ly and deliberately lock it every single day.

Circumstances like Lewis’s are un fortunately common as bicycle thefts have been increasing in frequency on campus this school year, according to Division Head for Student Success, Safety and Wellness Adam Levinson.

One day during this year’s Home coming week, for instance, four stu dents anonymously reported missing bikes to School Resource Officer Lisa bikes have been stolen from every bike rack, almost always during school hours.

Since the start of school, a total of two bikes have been officially stolen from campus, and many others have been “borrowed” and then returned to different bike racks, according to Schaps. Last year, no “borrowing” oc curred and there were a total of three official thefts.

While they still count as thefts, Schaps says that these “borrowing” incidents occur so frequently that she never files police reports for them.

Security camera footage has revealed that all the thefts have been committed by other students, never people outside Prospect.

were shopping,” Schaps said.

Students who think their bikes have been stolen can visit Schaps in her office located inside the Atten dance Office.

Upon meeting with students, Schaps will first ask them to check every rack on campus because of the history of borrowing. She says that most students never come back to her office because they find their bikes on another rack.

have collected during the school year that are not claimed by their owners are donated or sold just before sum mer break.

Schaps says that most of the cul prits get away with theft unpunished because of high traffic around the bike racks, but security camera footage oc casionally reveals the culprit’s identity.

Bike thefts shift up to higher gear, school tries to steer almost Half

student safety and the safety of their property.

Putting disciplinary action aside, Schaps emphasizes that students must take responsibility for securing their bikes, saying the stolen bikes are al ways unlocked.

ONLY 5%

Schaps believes students mostly steal bikes to be able to go places off campus during lunch or study hall if they don’t have a car.

Some students go to great lengths to do this, thoroughly scan ning the racks until they find an unlocked bike or checking how much air is in the tires.

“It was like they

If this is not the case, Schaps looks over security camera footage to ensure the bike is truly stolen. If it is, students are asked the bike’s color, make, mod el and serial number.

According to Bike Lock Wiki, seri al numbers, unique to every bike, are six to 10 digits long. They are usual ly engraved somewhere on the bike’s underside, most commonly under the pedal crank.

If this information is known, Schaps will include it in her police re port because it makes it much easier for the police to match the bike with its owner. Any stolen bikes the police

Identified thieves are referred to Levinson and Division Head for Stu dent Success, Safety and Wellness Nicholas Olson for punishment.

Olson says the consequence ad ministered varies greatly with the se verity of the situation; students who steal a bike and then return it to cam pus receive less severe consequences than students who never return it. In the latter case, a school suspension could be administered.

Although it would be perfectly le gal for Schaps to charge these students with theft, she does not do so because of the school consequences given by Levinson and Olson.

She says getting students in trou ble isn’t nearly as important to her as

Thus, taking care to ensure their bikes are locked properly is the biggest thing students can do to put a stop to the theft.

Personal experience has sufficiently taught Lewis this lesson.

“Lock your bike no matter where you are because there is always a chance it could be stolen,” Lewis said.

Schaps, along with Levinson and Olson, recently walked around campus to survey the bike racks. She claims to have seen at least 15 unlocked bikes, if not more.

One bike was not even on a rack, just parked on its kickstand on the grass.

“If you value your property, you need to treat it like you value it,” Schaps said.

Of all stolen bikes are recovered by the police, but

Read about one senior’s plan for a military path after PHS

SPOKE-N FOR: Bikes rest in the rack outside door 30. School administration has gotten more bicycle theft reports than usual this year. (photo by Bella Brouilette)

*according to a KnightMedia survey of 403 students

to the

Bike Lock

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Staff Editorial

Extend sex ed school-wide Importance goes beyond classroom

While sitting in her sophomore year health educa tion class, senior Hannah Lifton watched a YouTube video called “Tea and Consent,” which uses the action of giving a person a cup of tea as a metaphor for consent. If the person says yes to the tea, they are consenting, and if they say no to the tea, they are not consenting. Two years later, Lifton says that the three-minute consent video was the only part of her health class she re membered, despite there being oth er important information.

“[The video] was helpful in un derstanding [consent],” Lifton said. “But you’re always told to ask for consent [and] not the implications of it.”

What the video and the entire health class failed to do was go in-depth on each topic that was pre sented. Lifton’s anatomy-based sex education ex perience consisted of only two weeks on block schedule, which ended up being about five 80-minute classes, even though the health education class lasts an entire semester.

try, including Prospect’s. Health teacher Aaron Marnstein, who has been teaching at Prospect for 20 years, enforces a strong focus on giving students accurate infor mation to make their own choic es.

information. This is why Marn stein stresses the importance of school-sponsored sex education.

“It’s really important to teach [proper sex education] in health class to show them that what they might think is normal isn’t really normal,” Marnstein said.

included a summer reading book that explored consent, maybe that could spark a conversation in class without the topic necessarily hav ing to be taught to students.

Against Voting results of the Knight Media staff in regards to this editorial.

The health edu cation teachers are given a number of other units to educate students on such as STDs, health and nu trition, consent and drugs and al cohol. The overwhelming amount of information needed to be taught can not adequately fit into one se mester, especially given the fact that block schedule cuts out nine classes on an eight-period schedule.

Although the exact start is un clear, sex education in schools be gan in the early 1980s, according to Planned Parenthood. Since then, the criteria for sex education that needs to be met in a classroom has drastically changed, with a shift to HIV and AIDS information in the late 1980s. The most recent shift has been towards pre venting teenage pregnancy and sexually trans mitted diseases (STDs).

After years of uncertain curriculum, in 1990 the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the Unit ed States (SIECUS) created a panel of experts which issued a national standard with which to teach the sex education curriculum the fol lowing year in 1991, according to Planned Parenthood.

These standards are implement ed in classrooms across the coun

“[Sex edu cation] is very focused on allowing stu dents to make whatever choice they need to make for them selves … it’s more than just anatomy and physiology and how things work,” Marnstein said.

For

Knowing that these ideas won’t go away, the only way to give stu dents reliable information is to have the uncomfortable conversations that come with the topic. However, these conversations shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable; instead, they should be normalized.

School assemblies and morning announcements are easily includ ed as part of the school day. Guest speakers for assemblies who spe cialize in building healthy relation ships and segments in the morning announcements about the danger of drugs and alcohol could both poten

Students whose parents choose to opt them out of sex education, or those who can’t access factual information, often go to Marnstein with inaccurate knowledge usually found on the internet.

The danger of misinformation comes at the cost of the students who are susceptible to the conse quences of a lack of sex education.

The most obvious of these con sequences include STDs and teen pregnancy, both of which are ad dressed in Prospect’s curriculum. The CDC estimates that youths ages 15-24 accounted for almost half of the 26 million new sexu ally trans mitted infections that oc curred in the United States in 2018.

Teen pregnancy is also a signif icant result from a lack of sex ed ucation, with 17.4 births per 1,000 teenage females ages 15-19 in 2018, and 16.7 births per 1,000 teenage females ages 15-19 in 2019, accord ing to the CDC.

Without proper and accurate education, we can’t expect stu dents to have access to the correct

“[These conversations] give students the chance to learn more, ask ques tions and be able to talk about it in a more controlled setting rather than just see ing information whenever,” Lif ton said.

We, Knight Media, believe that all aspects of sexual education are important to impressionable students and should be thoroughly taught in high school with reinforcement of these concepts throughout differ ent grade levels.

Although we acknowledge that Prospect teaches accurate, state-mandated sex education, we feel that the curriculum, more specifically the social-emotional in struction, such as healthy relation ships, consent and communication, should be going more in-depth, and that sex education should be rein forced even after it is taught soph omore year.

Even though the anatomy por tion of sex education is typically straightforward and quick to teach, the more emotional topics of the class, such as how to build healthy relationships and the importance of consent and communication, should be taught in more than just a health classroom.

Topics such as those can be in corporated into almost any class, for example in English. If Prospect

until it is around 25 years old. In addition, adults process informa tion with the rational portion of the brain, known as the prefrontal cor tex. This part of the brain responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long term con sequences.

Teens, however, process in formation with the amygdala, the emotional part of the brain. This means that teenagers are more sus ceptible to make decisions based on how they feel rather than thinking rationally with given information, according to the University of Roch ester Medical Center.

In order to help teenagers make the best possible decisions, high schools should be actively teaching students about sex education for their entire high school career so that they have the chance of making the best decision.

“The absence of education is al ways dangerous,” Marnstein said.

BUILDING: Core classroom subjects build yearly. Equally important, sex ed ucation is underrepresented in the classroom. (cartoon by Bella Brouilette)

SAFE-T Act releases criminals, restricts police

people in jail.

Let’s

say you have a gold fish tank with one pi ranha living in it. The goldfish are swimming peacefully around until suddenly you see the piranha eat a goldfish. After that, you would be inclined to take the piranha out of the tank for a time out, maybe even permanently.

Before the timeout, you still need to deter mine if the piranha is actually guilty of the crime, so you would de cide whether you want to detain it or not before the trial. Because you believe that the piranha will be honest and re spectful, you put it back in the tank, only to find the next day that more goldfish are lying dead at the top of the tank.

“The theory of, ‘A person shouldn’t be in jail because they can’t afford to get out [of jail],’ I think is what this bill is trying to accomplish,” American Law teach er Brock Collins said.

According to a study by Vera, pretrial detention has negative effects for alleged criminals like increasing their chances of being found guilty, which hurts their housing stability and job status and increas es the chances they will be convicted of another crime. Instead, the Illi nois government is re placing cash bail with what are essentially educated guesses by judges on the basis of whether someone has malicious intent or not.

PJ O’GRADY

This is essentially *Chicago Police Offi cer Mike’s analogy of Illinois’ new pretrial release laws — a 764-page act, also called the SAFE-T Act — that will be in effect later this year starting Jan.1, 2023. The law abolishes cash bail and al lows eligible alleged criminals to be released from any bond before the trial if the judge deems it safe to do so.

Copy Editor

In the wake of the recent Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and the death of George Floyd, many re forms regarding po lice procedures have and will change. One way that these issues will be addressed is through the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), which is included in the SAFE-T Act. Under this, Illinois will be the first state to completely abolish cash bail.

The PFA follows these rules: an alleged criminal will be held in detention pretrial if the judge de termines that the criminal “poses a specific, real and present threat to a person or has a high likelihood of willful flight.” It is the presump tion, however, that the criminal will be released with the judge’s discretion if it does not appear that they will violate these expressed rules. In certain cases, judges can hold the accused under special conditions like ankle monitoring or house arrest.

Some misinformation has been going around stating that a certain number of crimes are “non-detain able,” which means offenders can not be detained in jail pretrial, no matter what, but that is false; the judge makes the decision whether the supposed criminal should be released or not.

According to Illinois.gov, House Bill 3653, which is the bill version of the SAFE-T Acts, “ex pands safety, fairness and justice by transforming the state’s crim inal justice system and enacting statewide police reforms.” It looks to end systemic racism for people who cannot afford bail, a portion of which are people of color, which can make the justice system more equitable. For instance, Black peo ple make up 15% of the Illinois pop ulation, but they make up 49% of

That sounds wonder ful! We shall rejoice in the highly sought-after justice reforms. Let me clarify: on paper this plan looks good, but I’m disturbed by the possible negative outcomes of this law. A progressive plan that looks to remove irrelevant factors like money from the criminal jus tice equation sounds like some thing we need. However, there is one tiny problem; there is no easy way to tell whether someone poses a threat of running away or com promising safety.

Although the acts are supposed to help with systemic racism related issues, I can see some unintended consequences. I can’t fathom the crime rates of Illinois, es pecially Chicago, decreasing after this law gets passed. Logi cally, crime will have the potential to go up if repeat of fenders are released back into the streets.

Chicago already has an alarm ing crime rate. From 2020-2022, a Chicago Police Department (CPD) crime report shows that crime has already increased about 22% in the last two years.

Now, for the suburbs surround ing Chicago, crime may seem rela tively mild in compari son, but any release of alleged crim inals may be one more po tential crim inal on the street than usual.

If that’s not enough for you, Mike — a Chicago police officer — explained that witnesses have been reluctant to share in formation about criminals these past couple years. He continued, saying that from his 12 years of ex perience, it will be much harder to find witnesses after these acts start because of the perceived fear that alleged criminals may be released

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Tune in for a look into Dungeons and Dragons and its alleged link to demonology and cultism.

and try to threaten or harm them to destroy evidence for their case. Although this may be a far-fetched issue because not every case has eyewitnesses and they typically aren’t known to criminals before trial, it still creates reasons for concern in my opinion. Personally, if I witnessed a dangerous crime, I know I would feel some slight hes itation to testify if I thought there would be a chance the suspect would be released.

As a result, prosecutors will have an absolute nightmare trying to lock up criminals, and that will feed further into the vicious cycle.

Furthermore, it’s becoming in creasingly clear how police officers are viewed by the Illinois govern ment, as their ability to protect is being limited. Besides the pretrial release law, harsher laws, such as

lice officers joining the force is rapidly decreasing, and he only expects numbers to get worse next year. A table from a public record request showing CPD personnel information shows that on Jan. 1, 2020, there were 13,299 active police officers. Fast forward to March 30, 2022, and there were significant ly less: just 11,669 police officers. These reforms don’t just hurt po lice officers, they hurt you, the law abiding citizen, because less police personnel equals less protection and more possibility for danger.

With the PFA in particular, I’m not trying to bash the abolishment of cash bail. I do think the cash bail system is irrational because peo ple in jail who can’t afford release and don’t pose a safety threat are taking up unnecessary jail space, while people with the adequate amount of money can get released, even if they pose a safe ty threat. So yes, that sys tem should be revised.

kidnapping really necessary for pretrial release? I can’t think of any good that can come from re leasing an alleged kidnapper. Also, what qualifies as a “safety threat” anyway? Specificity in the act is key.

Collins thinks that overall, the PFA act is the right legislation from an equity point of view.

“From the standpoint of fair ness and from the standpoint of constitutionally not putting a dis proportionate effect on impover ished people, then yeah, it would be a step in the right direction; I think [that impact] remains to be seen in terms of the effect of this bill,” Collins said.

Ultimately, Collins says that he doesn’t know how this act will play out next year. He said it all depends on how people, criminals, police and judges react to this law and how it gets enforced. If the PFA isn’t enforced very regularly, then there is a possibility not much will change in regards to pretrial re lease and crime rates.

allowing investigations on anony mous complaints against police, re strictions on the ability to review body camera footage and specific spots where police officers have to tase criminals have all contributed to limiting the police officers’ abili ty to defend our neighborhoods.

Mike says the number of po

Listen to this podcast delivering the truth about the SAFE-T Act and clearing up misinformation.

What I don’t like, however, is how open to interpre tation the SAFE-T Act and the PFA are. How can a judge be sure wheth er an alleged criminal will behave and go to their court dates? They can’t! In reality, no judge can read minds, especial ly when alleged criminals are go ing to try their best to secure pre trial release.

Make some logical changes and add more specifications to the law rather than telling judges to decide if someone is safe. For example, is

Take a gander at this podcast that reviews the season premiere of the Bachelorette’s 19th season.

Collins explains that in places where similar pretrial release sys tems have been established, like New York, jail populations have remained the same or have even increased after the bail reform. Therefore, one of the main goals for PFA could potentially be a mas sive failure in Illinois.If impover ished people are not getting pre trial release like the bill intends to then, what’s the point? Yet another law that states it’s trying to end systemic racism, when in reality nothing is getting fixed.

I do believe the SAFE-T Act is on the right track, but people must wake up. Police are getting slammed. Prosecutors are losing battles that they should win. Trials are losing witnesses. While these issues may not have the greatest impact immediately after being established, they have a chance to further increase crime rates in Illi nois which affects everyone. Is that what we want in Illinois? You can be the judge of that.

Listen to a podcast about violence awareness which features Knights for Consent.

LOCKED: The cartoon displays a person living in jail pretrial. The Illinois SAFE-T Act is trying to solve the issue of cash bail by abolishing it and allowing most crimes to be eligible for pre trial release from jail time. Its goal is to provide an equitable system for impoverished people. However, these reforms may result in unintended consequences. (cartoon by Bella Brouilette)

Scan the QR code to find moRe infoRmation on the Safe-t act

‘Pop astrology’ pops off

Diluted star signs provide fun, identity

The first 17 years of my bleak existence are defined simply: short jokes (I’ve heard them all before), my inability to pronounce the word curtain without tossing in a mis cellaneous “d” (think: the cheese curd-ification of the word) and the fact that I am absolutely, positively, without a doubt, not an Aries.

Old practice star-ts anew

ELLA MITCHELL Editor-in-Chief

Professional astrologer and writer Leah Pel legrini is an Aquarius sun and moon with a Tau rus rising, “to a tee,” as she says on her website, the Core Stories. When she sees an Aquarius refrigerator magnet, for example, the buzzwords — creative, rebellious, freedom — displayed on it resonate with her sense of self.

In astrology, the sun and moon signs are iden tifiers of identity. The sun sign, Pellegrini says, is like the shining orb one can see in the sky: loud, overt and obvious. For Pellegrini, the Aquarius manifests in her creative avenues of work. One’s moon sign, on the other hand, indicates inter nal personality, like how one feels about the way they engage with the world.

One’s rising sign is how they show up in their own bodies, as well as impressions of how they interact with the space around them. Through Taurus, Pellegrini is able to get more in touch with her sense of self through her current work on an organic farm because the sign is all about the body, grounding and touching the soil.

ELLA MITCHELL Editor-in-Chief

An Ar ies wants to normal ize being the dra ma, needs to learn that yell ing louder doesn’t make them cor rect and thinks ev erything is a game they can win, according to the popular as trology app Co-Star.

In other words: the polar oppo site of me.

I mean, I’ve never once uttered a single phrase that could possibly be construed as dramatic in the en tire span of my mortal being, not even to the tiniest of degrees. No, that’s not yelling, that is projecting and articulating my objectively cor rect point to those in the back. And competitive? Ha! Not me.

Fast forward down a deep in ternet rabbit hole, and I’ve finally come to terms with an important self-truth: I am, to my core, a text book Aries.

But more importantly, I’ve offi cially graduated from the Penguins of Madagascar’s smile-and-waveboys life hack. That’s right. The days of understanding the tip of the iceberg of astrological conver sations are gone. Instead, I’m able to say something with a semblance of sense, thanks to my baseline knowledge of “pop astrology.”

That’s on character develop ment.

Astrology itself is the divina tion of the supposed influences of the stars and planets on human affairs and terrestrial events by their posi tions and aspects, according to Merri am-Webster Dictionary.

STARRY KNIGHT: Social media serves as a spreader for astrological knowl edge. The younger generations use this buzzword-based language to have fun and connect with themselves and others. (cartoon by Bella Brouilette)

seriously. I most certainly fall into that first basket of pop astrology followers: I have my silly little Ar ies necklace; I occasionally scroll through astrology memes and screenshot the ones that call me out or make me snort the hardest; I’m able to keep afloat in basic conver sations of pop astrology. No more, no less. This is my Goldilocks of as trology interaction.

Pop astrology manifests, in a lot of ways, from very limited stereo types about how certain signs work, which is a big reason why people, along with the Ghost of Ella Past, may not resonate with their sun signs.

Pellegrini says that, without deeper digging, these generaliza tions lack the necessary depth to fully understand one’s birth chart.

“People will be like, ‘Ugh. I’m a Gemini and people are always saying that Geminis are two-faced and evil, so I guess that [must be the case],’” Pellegrini said. “ … You hear these things and these state ments are such shutdowns that they tend to lead people away from [astrology].”

trology memes in the middle of the night. I mean, who doesn’t love be ing told that they “spew whatever pops into their head with zero fore thought” and that the best way to fix their life problems is by “[add ing] an extra hour in the day?”

Pellegrini also encourages skep tics to dive into the depths of as trology a bit more before making judgments.

“If you can have a little bit of curiosity about it and maybe take a second to look into the complexity of your chart so that it makes more sense, that’s a good place to be,” Pellegrini said. “But if it’s not for you, then it’s not for you; that’s your right.”

selves,” Pellegrini said.

To Pellegrini, there are lots of ways for people to find knowing within themselves. It doesn’t have to be through astrology — Pellegri ni is very pro-journaling or other therapeutic models — but having that understanding of self is key.

This best-of-both-worlds type situation seems to be a happy medi um for skeptics and believers alike.

76%

No matter if people are tun ing into astrology for fun sies, for langauge sies or for self-re flection sies, when looked at as a guide rather than a rig id set of instructions, then there’s absolutely no harm done.

All of these elements in Pellegrini’s chart manifest in her sense of self.

“There’s an interesting complexity to it be cause all of [my chart] is contextualized within the desire for community,” Pellegrini said. “The sort of overall mentality for Aquarius is, ‘I want to be free, so we all can be free.’”

She uses the knowledge of her birth chart to guide her decision-making process and stay true to herself.

“[Astrology allows people] to make those decisions from a more authentic place that’s grounded in, ‘This is what I need; this is what I value; this is who I am,’ instead of trying to steer our lives according to rules that someone else made that don’t necessarily apply to our per sonalities,” Pellegrini said.

When faced with skeptics, Pellegrini likes to remind people of astrology’s roots.

“The one thing to remember is that this is an ancient, ancient, ancient practice that has been around in multiple cultures since pretty much the beginning of human time. It’s not something that one person sat down and one day made up spontaneously,” Pellegrini said.

It’s true; astrology was not pulled out of a ma gician’s hat. In fact, in several ancient cultures, it was inseparable from astronomy, according to Britannica. Originating from Mesopotamia, as trology spread to India before developing into its Western form in Greek civilization around 323 B.C.

Of students heard about astrology most through social media

For those who are scratching their heads at those top-earning Scrabble words that were just thrown around, as trology is, like, the thing with the Zodiac signs.

While many people discount it completely as a pseudoscience (OK, haters), when used positively, astrology can be a fun outlet, grant people verbiage to identify with or provide clarity that allows for self-reflection.

Writer and professional astrol oger Leah Pellegrini is an Aquar ius sun and moon (creative, rebel lious, freedom) and a Taurus rising (grounded, kind, steadfast). Her in teractions with astrology fall within the latter two categories.

“It helps you find shared lan guage and framing for complex pieces of who you are,” Pellegrini said. “[Astrology allows me] … to be able to go, ‘Oh, who I am is true, who I am is valid, and there’s mean ing and purpose there.’”

Now, I’ll be the first one to ad mit that I don’t take astrology super

Through her astrolog ical counsel ing sessions, Pellegrini infuses more complexity into the con versation, using peo ple’s percep tions of their own sun sign to guide it. This nu ance is the distinction between astrology and pop astrol ogy.

No matter which of the two (if at all) you subscribe to, I do realize the need to address the elephant in the room: “But astrology is stupid and fake and I don’t understand why anyone enjoys it.”

OK, fine. You don’t believe in astrology. So what? Some people do. In fact, one in four Americans believe in astrology, according to a 2022 Youth Gov survey. The oppo site is also true: 51% of Americans don’t believe in astrology, according to the same survey. The remaining chunk answered with a compelling, “I don’t know.”

My brother, for example, scoffed (quite aggressively, I might add) as I was scrolling through Co-Star’s In stagram feed. His sentiment echoed that of the elephants: “Why are you wasting your time with that? It’s fake anyway.”

Sure, maybe it is. But that doesn’t negate the fact that some times it is fun to scroll through as

Lo and behold, 20 minutes lat er, my brother was peering over my shoulder, laughing at the Gemini callouts with the rest of ‘em. All it took was Co-Star’s proclamation that Gemini procrastinate on “fold ing their clean laundry instead of sleeping next to it.”

Maybe you don’t have to be a fully-fledged believer, but indulging in a skosh of pop astrology never hurt nobody.

Pellegrini also says that she has never seen astrology be unsuccess ful. Through the reading of the birth charts of clients she’s worked with or even quick discussions with randos on the street, the verdict is always similar: “‘Wow, I feel so seen.’”

Seeing people, Pel legrini says, doesn’t mean she is clairvoy ant or giving them a crystal (literally!) clear road map to their lives. With great astrological power comes great respon sibility, which is something that Pellegrini takes very se riously in her approach.

“I’m really deliberate in the way I work with astrology in not giving people clear, direct ‘This is what you should do’ instruc tions, but rather opening up the space to find that own knowing within them

The point is: sure, the stars can guide you, but they should not be the ones driving the bus. Have fun with it; reflect with it; do whatever you gotta do, it’s really up to you. At the end of the day, those astrol ogy haters are gonna hate, hate, hate. You just gotta shake it off and shoot for the stars (or, you know, look to them for guidance or the next Aries callout.)

After extending its tendrils of influence during the Middle Ages, astrology also played a key role in ancient China when creating horo scopes for newborn children became standard practice in imperial times.

Nowadays, astrology is widely believed to in fluence personality.

Of students know their star sign, according to a Knight Media survey of 403 students

Read the full story on prospectornow.com

A Spook- Tacular Scary service brings festive fun

Decades-old event Haunted High School starts spooky season off right

CLAIRE WYNKOOP Exec. Sports Editor

With his mom running behind him, a little boy in a Superman cos tume sped past then freshman Dylan Chung, giggling, with the biggest smile on his face. Buzzing past ban ners covered in ghouls and goblins, the glee of the participants was pal pable.

As he was directing kids through diferent Halloween themed games, Chung looked at this boy and couldn’t help but be reminded of all the times he himself dressed-up as Superman at previous years of Prospect’s Haunted High School.

“I got to be a superhero a lot grow ing up, so it’s the best thing to see kids and know, like, ‘Hey, I used to be just like you,’” Chung said.

Now a senior, Chung is a part of the Service Club which sponsors the not-so-scary event of Haunted High School and coordinates other school organizations to help run it.

Haunted High School is a com munity event meant to provide a safe trick-or-treating experience for young community members while simultaneously kicking of Associat ed Student Body’s (ASB) season of “Provide” with a food drive. Families attending are encouraged to bring canned food items to donate, which will be delivered to the Mount Pros pect Food Pantry and Northwest Compass.

This decades-old event is flled with games and trick-or-treating sta tions for young kids in the commu nity, with stations ranging from “Pin the hat on the Strega” to “Boo”sical chairs. Chung looks forward to help ing out with some of these diferent stations at this year’s Haunted High School on Oct. 25.

The 2022-23 Haunted High School is exciting for the young kids and stu dents running the event alike. The high schoolers involved always have a great time, according to Service Club sponsor Erik Hammerstrom.

Junior Sarah Stavnes can attest to the great experience. Since her frst

Haunted High School. Stavnes, similarly to Chung, says Haunted High School is a favorite ac tivity that her club takes part in.

all [the kids’] little smiles,” Stavnes said. “It brings a smile to my face to know I made someone else happy.” ing the kids and designing games for Haunted High School. She thinks that Haunted High School is the best way PHS is able to reach the young er generation and “be present in the community.”

loves interacting with the kids, his favorite part of the event is

Tacular School Season

To trick or to treat? That is the question... Recent tropes

it is not, and giving people the wrong impres sion of teenagers. This could ultimately lead to

picked on fortrick-or-treating and it’s just sad,” Bradbury said. “Growing up and going trick-ortreating with my family was always so exciting for me. I saw all of my friends and everyone was outside and having fun together; it was like a community. Now [that] nobody really goes, it’s just not the same.”

Schaps agrees with Bradbury, as she her self trick-or-treated until she was 17 years old. Schaps believes Halloween is for all kids — no matter the age — and thinks everyone should go out and have fun with their friends regard less of what others think.

When I told her my past experiences trying to trick-or-treat as a teenager, she was heartbro

“That is absolutely horrible. I hate that,” Schaps said. “If you get a teenager that’s dressed in a costume and is trick-or-treating, be nice and give the kid a piece of candy. I mean, there is no room to be judgmental to a smiling face on Halloween night.”

Spice up the season with fall classics

August: the month of temperatures that feel 100-plus degrees, back to school season and the start of fall. But wait — fall doesn’t start until late September, right? Well, not for me. Fall ofcially starts when Starbucks releases their famous lineup of fall drinks, including the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL), which was re leased on Aug. 30 this year.

MOLLIE KEARNS Executive News Editor

The early start to PSL season doesn’t deter customers from running to their nearest Starbucks to grab one of these con coctions.

Consumers can get the full essence of a jacko-lantern in a few gulps, prompting them to come back time and time again to fulfll their craving. According to ABC 7, Starbucks alone sells 20 million PSL’s annually. Addi tionally, the beverage gave the company its most successful sales week of all time this year when it came back to stores.

Don’t get me wrong, I feed of of the latte’s popularity as I too make an efort to head to Starbucks on the release date each year. I love a good PSL to get me in a spooky state of mind, but it isn’t my favorite fall drink Starbucks has to ofer. In fact, this year’s seasonal menu has alternatives for those who don’t like to feel like they are drinking a fake, liquifed gourd in a cup. The Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, for example, still gives you a taste of seasonal goodness with its pumpkin cold foam layered on top of the cold brew with a hint of vanilla syrup.

As one of those smiling faces, I can’t help but agree with Schap’s sentiment: there’s noth ing as soul crushing as getting a door slammed on your face in the pursuit of candy. For all of those community members, ofering out sweet treats on the last night of October, I ask: please don’t let your misguided perceptions of teens haunt the rest of our spirits.

As for the rest of teen-kind, at the end of the day you do you. If that means wanting to sit in the corner of your dark basement watch ing a CGI Halloween movie from 2005, then go of! If that means you want to don some fippers and relive your Mako Mermaid dreams, then do that. No matter which path you choose, there better be no judgment when you see my friends and I strutting down the streets of Mount Pros pect in our #Girlboss costumes with a sack full

For those who aren’t fans of pumpkin, the Iced Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato is reminiscent of the caramel apples available to snack on at apple orchards. Additional ly, the pastry case in stores also features harvest-themed treats such as the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Mufn and Pumpkin Scone, as well as the new Owl Cake Pop.

Even though these all sound delicious, the drink that gets me in the fall spirit the most is the classic Chai Tea Latte. Even though this drink is available year round, I love being able to add pumpkin cream cold foam on top to give me just enough autumn-inspired sweetness.

With all of these options on hand, why is the main focus of people’s fall taste buds still the PSL? Even though it will forever be a staple in my fall bucket list, a switch-up can be benefcial for those wanting to ven ture out. Fans can still wear their oversized sweaters, ankle boots donned with fuzzy socks and listen to “Red” (Taylor’s Version, of course) while sipping on a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew instead of a PSL for the fall vibes they crave.

So, next time you feel the inkling to mobile order a midday pick-me-up, maybe scroll past the frst option of the PSL and look at the array of other refreshments to get that sense of fall coziness.

To hear about Prospect''s Halloween cos tume guidlines, listen to sports reporter Louie Caldrone break down the do's and don'ts of dressing up for school.

From dance studio to school

to take care of. Frericks was offered the role.

Frericks happily accepted, and has led the program to success since with the help of assistant coach Melanie Monnich.

Placing fourth at sectionals, Mon nich and Frericks’ first year coaching was amazing.

JULIA BOSTROM & SOPHIA NUNEZ

Staff Writers

The lights were dimmed and the adrenaline was high in the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington for the IHSA State Dance Team Competition; math teacher and dance team coach Katina Frericks was attending for the first time as a shadowing coach. Making it to state was a huge accomplishment, as the team had to place in the top six within their sectional to make it there. Frericks and the team looked around the massive arena and took in every moment. “I was so excited because we had been through the whole season together and we were at state,” Frericks said. “Everything the girls [had worked] for morning, night [and] weekends; we [realized] we did it for a reason.”

The 2017-18 Prospect dance team had spent all season prepar ing, and this was the time that mattered. While the team didn’t end up ad vancing to compete on the second day of competition, the day was still far from un eventful.

After the team’s final performance of the year, Frericks re ceived surprising news: former dance team coach Kristen Burton announced that she would be stepping down as coach because she was pregnant with her third child and had oth er responsibilities out side of the dance team

“It was like a goosebumps reac tion,” Monnich said. “I don’t exactly know how to put it in words. Everyone was just over the top excited. It was an out-of-body experience.”

Beyond coaching together, Mon nich and Frericks are also good friends.

“She is the best to work with; she is my work wife, we balance each oth er really well,” Monnich said. “We’re both organized, positive people, but we both bring different energies to practice … She is really someone I can lean on, and she is always there for me, willing to listen or help when I need it, and I would do the same for her.”

Before the dynamic duo of Mon nich and Frericks were colleagues, they both had a passion for dance on their own.

Since she was young, Frericks has hoped to coach and teach dance. She began dancing at the age of three and studied technique at the Rebecca Mc Carthy School of Dance.

A big inspiration for her to contin ue dancing was Rebecca McCarthy, one of the leaders at Frerick’s studio as a kid. McCarthy has always been there for Frericks, even as an adult.

McCarthy is al

DANCING QUEEN: Math teacher and dance team coach Katina Frericks (lower left) poses with the 2021-22 competitive dance team at state in Bloomington, Ill. After being a performer from a young age and then studying dance in college, being a coach is a full-circle moment for Frericks. (photo courtesy of Frericks)

ways willing to share her go-to piece of advice: “If you’re five minutes ear ly, you’re on time, if you’re on time, you’re late and if you’re five minutes late, don’t show up.”

Frericks studied a wide variety of styles, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, tap and Irish dance. She also participated in her middle school and high school poms teams, becoming captain her senior year.

She continued her dance education into college as she joined the Loyola Universi ty Chicago Division 1 Dance Team. After college, Frericks knew she could not continue dancing in the industry while simultaneously working as a teacher.

Knowing that she wanted to be a coach for a dance team at any schools she taught, Frer icks immediately asked about the dance team at PHS when

she was being interviewed for a job as a teacher.

Frericks appreciates and respects the students and athletes that she works with; they are very dedicated to what they do. As Frericks watch es her students go from freshmen to seniors, she is amazed by how much they change.

“I watch them become leaders hands-on, which is so cool,” Frericks said. “I don’t have kids of my own, but they are like my kids because I’ve watched them grow.”

Senior Hannah Chung has worked under Frericks for four years, as both a dancer and a student in her class. Reflecting on her high school experi ence, Chung is thankful for Frericks’ impact.

“[She] has pushed me and encour aged me to always do my best, and I have grown a lot under her lead ership,” Chung said. “Frericks has helped me become a better dancer by giving me the confidence to perform

and dance my best. In the classroom, she has helped motivate me to work hard and make sure I understand what I am learning.”

Frericks’ favorite part of it all, though, is seeing her “baby” freshmen turn into adult seniors.

This rewarding process is one of the highlights of the job for Frericks, and seeing her students’ hard work motivates her to do better as both a teacher and coach.

It’s because of the connections that she has been able to create with students, dancers and fellow teachers that Frericks is happy to have found a school where she can continue to share her passions for both math and dance with students.

She could tell that she was join ing a good community, even before she ever walked through the doors of Prospect.

“It felt very rewarding that I got an offer and I knew that this was home,” Frericks said.

Michelis’ childhood culture extends through classroom

STELLA PALM Staff Writer

Angelica Michelis walked into lunch in fourth grade with all the other little kids eyeing her, noses up turned.

“Ewww, what’s that?” they asked.

Michelis could feel her heartbeat in her throat.

All of the sudden a girl named Cassidy yelled, “All of her slimy food exploded, gross!”

Michelis looks down at her tradi tional Greek lunch to see that it had, in fact, exploded all over her lunch box. No lunch and a huge mess?

Worst. Day. Ever.

When she got home, Michelis tried to convince her mom to pack a lunch more similar to Cassidy’s, asking for a sandwich rather than Greek lunches such as Spanakorizo.

Her mom replied: “Angelica, that’s not real food!”

Michelis’s parents are both from Greece, so she struggled in her child hood to bridge the gap between her Greek heritage and her American cul ture. Her mom grew up unfamiliar to American culture because her parents — Michelis’s grandparents — both worked two jobs and it was difficult to learn English and assimilate to a new culture. They grew up very committed to their Greek traditions.

“My mom felt like a minority a lot and [was] excluded when she was growing up,” Michelis said. “I actually felt the same too sometimes.”

With this discomfort, around fifth grade, Michelis decided that she would make her own lunch. But once she got older, she regained the confidence to

bring Greek foods to lunch again.

“In high school I felt more com fortable, Michelis said. “If it was my favorite Greek meal instead of a sand

wich, I was like, ‘No, I am bringing that to school.’”

Michelis says it takes time to be confident with yourself and your cul ture; it’s important to not care what others think.

Now, she enjoys fully immersing herself in her culture, and has been to Greece around 12-13 times. She says that it feels like a second home.

Michelis’ favorite visit was in 2007 when, as a 12-year-old, her Greek dance group went to perform. Not only was Michelis about to spend the week with her troupe, but also spend time with family from Greece. Miche lis says that it can sometimes be tricky to coordinate trips with her cousins from Chicagoland, so it was a pretty rare opportunity for us to overlap in 2007 and 2022.

Michelis also remembers spending time on the beach, near the family house in Koroni, with her three aunts, their young toddlers and their friends. Michelis says that they did such an amazing job at making her and her brother feel like they truly belonged, with their aunts truly taking them under their wings. Michelis has an unbreakable bond with her family in Greece after these trips.

Organizational logistics aside, Mi chelis values family, which is why be ing able to have the experience with both her fiancé, Alex, and family this past summer was special. The couple is getting married in June of 2023.

Beyond family, Michelis enjoys making connections at Prospect as well. One person Michelis was able to connect with was Arianna Fiore. One

of Michelis’s best friends, their yearlong friendship feels like forever. As soon as the two met, their chat ty personalities were a perfect match. But there’s one key reason they’re so close: Fiore’s family is from Italy, and Michelis and Fiore grew up with very similar family dynamics.

“If she tells me something about her family, I 100% know what she’s talking about and can relate,” Fiore said.

They both agree that this connec tion has brought them closer. Miche lis doesn’t just love her family and friends, she also loves teaching Biolo gy with fellow special education teach er Timothy Wolowiec by her side.

She grew up loving biology, but she admits she was never really the best at it in high school. This challenging class made her feel motivated to get better at it. She’s taught Honors Biol ogy before, but she didn’t enjoy it as much because she feels she has more freedom with curriculum design while teaching less rigorous content.

Collaborating with Wolowiec has really made their classroom a fun and friendly environment. They welcome all students and Michelis especially loves to connect with students who also have parents who immigrated to the United States.

“It’s hard because it feels like a lot of PHS teachers have had a typical high school experience, not that mine wasn’t, but I just have had this whole other layer with my Greek community that I’ve still kept,” Michelis said. “I’m still very Greek, and it will always be a big part of who I am.”

Frericks infuses teaching with passion for dance, inspires students

ON THE ISLAND: Science teacher Angelica Miche lis, who at times struggled with her Greek heritage as a child, has learned to embrace her roots and looks back on past trips fondly. (photo courtesy of Michelis)

[SHE] HAS PUSHED MEAND ENCOURAGED ME TO ALWAYS DO MY BEST, AND I HAVE GROWN A LOT UNDER HER LEADERSHIP,”

- Hannah Chung, senior

Teaching at home, learning abroad

Joiner uses past experiences to shape teaching

DANNY MARTINEZ Staff Reporter

location where they can live for half the year.

Hiking

up Villarrica, a volcano along the Ring of Fire in Chile, through the hot, black ash with boots up to her knees to protect her legs, English teacher Elizabeth Joiner made her way up and onward.

As she climbed the mountain, the ash turned into rocks and then ice; she was able to let her mind wander, focusing on the beauty of the natural world around her.

“There would be times, long stretches, where you’re just … in your own head,” Joiner said. “It’s almost … meditative.”

Even with the perils on the way up, the way down the volcano was far more terrifying. Sliding down the path carved into the icy moun tain, Joiner had to dig into the ice with her ice pick to steer and pre vent herself from speeding out of control. Joiner says the experience was akin to the feeling of going down a waterslide.

Despite the hard work of climb ing the volcano during her 2018 trip to Chile, Joiner says hiking up — and, of course, sliding down — Villarrica was one of the coolest things she has ever done.

This is truly saying something, because Joiner is an avid travel er. She has traveled both nation ally and internationally, going to places ranging from Philadelphia, Europe, Costa Rica and Chile. She goes on at least one big trip a year, often to international locations, sometimes for up to a month. Her favorite place to visit so far has been Europe, specifically England, but she loves traveling all over the world.

She has considered traveling the world when she retires; Joiner and her husband discussed wheth er they want to go on a wide array of trips or buy a home in a tropical

While she is still teaching, how ever, she settles for traveling the world during the summer. During the same trip that she climbed the volcano, Joiner enjoyed experi encing “authentic” Chile. Carla, Joiner’s husband’s sister-in-law, is from Chile and brought Joiner and her husband and son to the same restaurants, stores and beaches that she and her family frequented.

As Joiner explored, she learned about the culture of Chile, which resulted in her getting a tattoo of a three-eyed cat on her arm. She had first seen the cat as street art in the city of Valparaíso, and after seeing cats all around the city, she decided to get a tattoo of it.

Chile may have been one of Joiner’s favorite trips, but her most recent trip to Costa Rica last sum

Manuel Antonio National Park, an island close to Panama, when a capuchin monkey jumped onto their table. The capuchin monkeys Joiner had encountered had been extremely curious and brazen, but this one was even more so.

It stole the sugar packets from their table, then jumped to another table and stole its sugar packets as well. As Joiner watched, the mon key scrambled onto the roof and across the street, to where other monkeys sat waiting. The origi nal monkey passed out the sugar packets, and all the monkeys be gan pouring the sugar down their throats.

“For her, it’s part[ly a] relaxing vacation,” fellow English teacher Jill Corr said. “But I think it’s also [that] she wants to check out the world.”

This need to travel and explore helped Joiner decide to take her first teaching jobs in the city of Chi cago, which was a different envi ronment than growing up around

WISHLIST

mer was also something special.

Joiner and her family visit ed the beach, toured a waterfall, ziplined and stayed in a tourist town in the jungle where they were surrounded by sloths, vipers, cor al snakes, spiders and all kinds of monkeys.

“You know how the squirrels are nuts right now [in the fall] here?” Joiner said. “Just monkeys, monkeys, monkeys. All different types.”

In fact, when Joiner and her family were sitting at a table in

Joiner started her teaching ca reer as a student teacher at Ken wood Academy High School in Chicago, before getting her first official teaching job at Warren Township High School in Gurnee. She stayed for three years, before moving to Benito Juarez Commu nity Academy in Chicago.

She learned much from her time teaching before Prospect, learning especially from her time teaching

“I think it was good for me to meet different types of kids with … different adversities that they were facing,” Joiner said. “It was really hard, but it was really good for me.”

Problems and adversities were abundant at Benito Juarez, with gang problems, teenage pregnancy and poverty being normal occur rences among the high school kids she taught.

Additionally, Joiner contended with a rundown building and no supplies. There was no white board in some of the classrooms she taught in, and there were occasion ally not enough books for all the students. In addition, kids missed

school often, and overcrowding was a serious problem.

Additionally, being a public school teacher in Chicago, Joiner was part of the CPS (Chicago Pub lic Schools). As she soon learned, the CPS was, and still is, very polit ical and divided.

The biggest problems Joiner helped her students face were teen age pregnancy and gang problems. At age 27, Joiner was having a child at the same time as many of her high school students were.

“You’re so happy for them,” Joiner said. “[But] I worried so much about what that would mean for them.”

Joiner had to help her stu dents learn where they could find new-mother support, something she never had to worry about when she was their age.

With all the adversities Joiner encountered, she had to adjust.

“That experience probably taught her maybe as much as she taught [her students],” Corr said.

Joiner was able to learn about a different side to the Chicagoland area than the one she had seen growing up.

Grades, which can be so im portant to the kids at Prospect and the other D214 schools, were much less of a factor to the kids at Benito Juarez.

Everyone has different lives and different problems, which is a lesson Joiner brought with her to Prospect in her last 16 years.

Something Corr has always no ticed about the way Joiner teaches is that she teaches with empathy. She treats kids as she would treat her own kid, trying to work with them and help them.

“She is always thinking of other people,” Corr said. “And how to … help other people first.”

spread community vibe to classrooms

MEGAN GOUMAS & EMMA BROSIUS Staff Reporters

On a snowy night inside a one bedroom house in Chicago, English teacher Danielle Luka sat at a long dinner table, filled with endless amounts of food, that took up almost the entire living room. Gathered for Christmas Eve, Luka’s family gathering consisted of kids running about while the adults were yelling just to get into a conversation. Typically, if you wanted someone to pass the food, you were going to need to yell very loud.

“Over the years people get married and have

kids and have in-laws and kind of do their own thing, but Christmas Eve was really the holiday that we’re all still together,” Luka said.

It is very chaotic, but a tradition that Luka looks forward to every year. Family is very im portant to Luka. On her mother’s side of the family, she has seven cousins. They were raised together like siblings and became really close.

“I’m really lucky to have a lot of strong wom en in my life, obviously my mom but all of my aunts,” Luka said. “My one aunt in particular is kind of like the matriarch of our family.”

Even though she doesn’t have a large family inside her own home, Luka considers some of her co-workers as family, including fellow Associate Student Body (ASB) sponsor Jenna Sandstead.

In fact, Standstead and her husband attended Luka and her husband’s destination wedding in Mexico. This friendship makes Luka even more connected to her work.

Luka knew what she wanted to pursue teach ing since her sophomore year of high school. This is because when she was going into her ju nior year summer, she volunteered at her school, Hersey High School, to help incoming fresh men edit their writing and improve their reading comprehension.

She enjoyed it so much that she returned the next summer. In her senior year, she took on a Teacher Internship Program, spending time with elementa ry, middle and high schoolers around the community.

so she asked French teacher Sandstead if she wanted to split the position.

Even with her new partner in crime, ASB, in doses, still takes up a lot of time. Late nights in front of a computer screen trying to figure out the perfect theme and trying to place events into time like puzzle pieces, have proved harder than first expected. For example, ASB planned and created the special events that just took place with Homecoming week, which made them extremely busy.

SHE BRINGS ASB INTO THE CLASSROOM,”

Hersey English teacher Lisa Drapatsky, a mentor who took Luka under her wing for internships and as a student aide, helped foster her love for teaching.

- Bianca Walker, sophomore

“In my nearly thirteen years as an educa tor, I have never met a more solid, dependable, hard-working young woman,” Drapatsky wrote in Luka’s 2011 recommendation letter. “There is no limit to what she can accomplish.”

During her time observing and teaching a variety of classrooms, Luka learned different teaching styles. She realized teaching is less about the work, but more about making a safe and comfortable classroom for the students.

After graduating from high school, Luka at tended Illinois State University for a degree in English and Secondary Education. Now, Luka puts these skills to work, especially during her last nine years at Prospect in her Honors Written and Oral Communication and College Composi tion classes.

That being said, Luka’s role at Prospect ex tends far beyond the classroom. In fact, during 2020, Luka was approached to take on the posi tion as ASB leader. Taking on the full responsi bility was more time consuming than expected,

Ultimately it is still worth it, as Sand stead and Luka are able to work together to emphasize one of ASB’s goals, which is to “make mo ments matter” by ensuring that everyone leaves high school with a positive experience.

“Being able to see students talk about how much fun they had, those are the things that you’re most proud of because that is contributing to a positive school culture,” Luka said. “That’s why ASB exists.”

The coordinators are not alone; they have a whole group of students who help them with these unique student opportunities.

Sophomore, Bianca Walker, one of Luka’s former students, is an attendee of ASB meetings and is a part of the leadership program. Walker loved Luka as a teacher so much that she joined ASB.

“I like her a lot as a teacher and I think she brings ASB into the classroom which is pretty cool,” Walker said.

Through her work inside the classroom and out, Luka is happy to be making a difference at Prospect.

“As cheesy as it is, this really is the job that I love to do and I don’t know that I have a dream job outside of this,” Luka said.

CLIMB: Elizabeth Joiner, English teacher, hikes up Vil larrica, a volcano in Chile, wearing boots to her knees to protect her legs. (photo courtesy of Elizabeth Joiner)

ENGAGE: English teacher Danielle Luka helps guide ASB’s social media accounts. (photo by Bella Brouilette)

‘Puffs’ casts a spell on audiences

KEVIN LYNCH Editor-in-Chief

Leadinginto the auditions for this year’s fall play, “Puffs,” sophomore Will Siero slawski didn’t have many expectations for what role he would get. With his only other Prospect theater experience being last spring’s “All Shook Up,” Sieroslawski was slightly sur prised when, as auditions progressed, he re mained with the group of many upperclassmen he recognized from the previous production.

“It felt really cool,” Sieroslawski said. “I was trying not to focus on [it] because I didn’t want to get nervous or worked up about anything, but being in that last group with other people who I look up to and who really taught me to be a bet ter actor, that was really exciting for me.”

Sieroslawski, who was cast in the role of Oli ver Rivers, one of the show’s leads, was very ex cited for the production, particularly by the play’s humorous and quick-paced nature.

“Puffs” premiered in 2015, revisiting the world of the “Harry Potter” books through the eyes of several lesser-known students in the Huf flepuff house — the direct inspiration of the pro duction’s name. The play, which ran on Broad way for two years according to Playbill, came to Prospect’s Kulieke Theater with three showings, one per night on Oct. 13-15.

Though Sieroslawski had previously taken part in “All Shook Up”, as well as several oth er musicals for a private company such as “The Music Man” and “Guys and Dolls”, “Puffs” was his first experience being in a play, which he says forced him to be more conscious of aspects like standing and blocking during scenes than he would be in a musical. However, he says, under studying for alumni Dan White in “All Shook Up” gave him much of the confidence he needed to try out for his first play, an experience he says was invaluable going into “Puffs.”

Once Sieroslawski was cast, he says that the welcoming nature of the rest of the cast and crew helped him adjust quickly. While he was excit ed to be given the role, he also noted how much more work and attention was required from him on stage at all times.

Director and producer Jeremy Morton was particularly impressed with Sieroslawski’s com

SPELLING IT OUT: Senior Juliet Aquino (left) and junior Oula Pattie (right) practice magic in a scene from this year’s fall play, “Puffs.” The play ran for three nights on Oct. 13-15. (photo by Claire Wynkoop)

mitment when understudying, and felt that he was a strong fit for the role of Oliver, giving him con fidence in his ability to act at a high level.

“I knew it immedi ately once I had seen his audition and how he fit the role, and there is no question in my mind that I trust him,” Morton said.

Though Sieroslawski had never seen or read any of the Harry Potter series, he still did some basic back ground research about the books, like looking up plot summaries in order to better understand

some of the jokes and references in the show.

MATTER

However, while Sieroslawski had little pri or experience with the Harry Potter franchise, many others in the cast did. In fact, Morton was first drawn to “Puffs” because his daughter went through an “obses sion” with Harry Pot ter during quaran tine, lead ing him to hear about the show.

- Jeremy Morton, director and producer

Fur thermore, Morton said that the show’s connection to “Harry Potter” drew a lot of immediate interest in the show.

“There were a lot of people who came out and said, ‘I want to assistant direct; I want to be on crew; I want to build that world because I grew up with it,’” Morton said. “So I think for our cast and crew it’s been a really fun way to … bring it to life.”

Freshman Isaac Friedman, who played mul tiple ensemble roles in the show, was excited for the chance to take part in his first performance at Prospect; he was especially excited to under study for the role of Harry Potter having watched the movies himself growing up. He says having this experience also helped him gain a better understanding of the script and the story as a whole.

According to Morton, this overall familiarity with the source material was also what helped bring the cast together during their early re hearsals.

“They would be like, “‘Oh you’re Cedric? Awesome, I want to know Cedric!’ and they be gan to work together very quickly, almost to the point where they love working with each other so much that I have to remind them that we have to focus on what’s on stage, too,” Morton said.

This excitement translated to newer mem bers of the cast as well; both Sieroslawski and Friedman say that they enjoyed the lighthearted atmosphere during rehearsals.

“It’s amazing,” Friedman said. “Everybody there is so kind and … just wants to be your friend.”

Morton says, however, that outside of the experiences it would bring for cast members, he also wanted the show to be accessible to audience members unfamiliar with Harry Potter; thus, the moment that truly pushed him to put on “Puffs” at Prospect was when he went to see the show with someone who knew nothing about Harry Potter going in.

“They loved the show; they were enter tained,” Morton said. “For me, that was the golden moment where it’s like, ‘Okay, cool, it doesn’t matter if you know [Harry Potter] or not; you will find a way to connect to the themes and this story.’”

Up-and-coming teacher, coach, leader

JV girls’ volleyball coach Miles embraces new role

ALI COOK

Staff Writer

KatherineMiles walked into the gym at Carleton College, a place that felt like a second home. Time and time again, Miles had walked into this very gym. However, on this life-changing day, things were different. Miles did not walk onto the volleyball court as a player, but rather as a coach.

As an 18-year-old starting coaching, the opportunity of being assistant coach for the mens’ club team caused a mix of nervous ness and excitement.

Questions filled Miles’ head: “What if they don’t like me? What if they don’t take me seriously because I’m a freshman? Will I be a good coach? Am I ready for this?”

As the mens’ team slowly started show ing up for practice, she found herself talking with them, joking around and making new bonds. So many connections were made, many of which are thriving to this day. This, along with the start to a fruitful path of coaching, cemented this fateful morning forever in Miles’ life.

“It was truly one of the best experienc es of my life because you’re coaching guys that are your age and older, guys who have never played volleyball before and guys who could’ve played D1,” Miles said.

Miles is a first-year teacher at Prospect High School. Additionally, she coaches JV girls’ volleyball and freshmen girls’ basket ball. Miles went to Carleton for six years and played volleyball and basketball in col lege. Through these experiences and that of coaching at the summer volleyball camp, Miles’ passion for coaching grew.

“I always wanted to coach. I didn’t real ly care what level I coached … high school is just such a great age,” Miles said. “[I en joy coaching] freshman through seniors be cause it’s just such an impressionable time in your life; it’s when you decide whether or not you want to continue on playing.”

Miles attended Maine South High School and was coached by Peter King, who had a large impact on her. King is the current sophomore girls’ volleyball coach and boys’ JV volleyball coach at Prospect.

“[King] was a huge mentor and still is, and now I get to call him a friend and col league. It’s special,” Miles said.

Her first job out of college was coaching

CLAP: Junior varsity and assistant varsity coach Katherine Miles celebrates with senior Lally Coleman. Miles is a first-year coach and teacher here at Prospect and is quickly getting used to the environment. “I like that I can be myself here, and that the things I have to offer are accepted and acknowledged. To me, that means a lot to feel accepted right away. All of the coaches here have made me feel supported,” Miles said. (photo by Alyssa Degan)

volleyball at Maine South, and working with those athletes deepened not only her love for coaching, but also her passion for making meaningful connections with her athletes.

Her coaching career didn’t just contin ue; it flourished as she progressed into head coaching for high school teams. After grad uating college, the varsity coach told her to apply for the available coaching position, and that is where she coached her first high school team.

This passion for coaching has continued to grow at Prospect.

“The coaching environment is different because the philosophies of the coaches are different,” Miles said. “I like that I can be myself here and that the things I have to of fer are accepted and acknowledged. To me, that means a lot to feel accepted right away. All of the coaches here have made me feel supported.”

She brings enthusiasm and positive en ergy to the court to make an impact on the newly remodeled girls volleyball program.

To Miles, volleyball isn’t about whether or not her team has a winning record. It’s about having fun, growing and developing as a player and teammate. Her mindset is that

if you’re not enjoying yourself while on and off the court, something is wrong. Her goal for all of her teams is for her players to love the game more at the end of the season than they did at tryouts.

“Even if it’s a bad game, at the end of the day no one cares about the wins and losses. It’s more like, can you step away from a game and say, ‘The reason I’m here is because I love being here and I love playing with these people?’” Miles said.

Just like how she strives to make valu able connections with her players, Miles works to make those same connections with her psychology students.

Miles knew she wanted to teach from a very young age. She had several inspirations in her years at Maine South, such as chem istry teacher Ms. O’Halloran and Spanish teacher Mr. Fallico. Even though she hated chemistry and dreaded speaking in Spanish, she says both teachers brought so much en thusiasm to the classroom and really showed her how much fun teaching has the potential to be.

She uses this knowledge, along with her bubbly and optimistic personality, to con nect with and encourage her students.

“I really genuinely care about kids and I want to know what’s going on,” Miles said.

“I think that shows you that someone genu inely cares about you, and [O’Halloran and Fallico] did that and it made me think that, ‘OK, that’s what I want to do,’” Miles said.

This passion has allowed Miles to con nect with kids, something she hopes to con tinue to do in her years at Prospect.

“My favorite part of teaching is the kids,” Miles said. “Every day is an adventure, and that’s the part I love. Because I don’t know what’s going to happen throughout the day and no matter what happens … I got to con nect with the kids in some way, and that is the best part of the job.”

Miles believes being a new teacher will allow her to relate with her students on a dif ferent level than that of a teacher who has been here for 10-plus years. As a new teacher this year, she is excited to be entrusted with teaching and watching over the Knights of the future.

“There’s just so many things that I want to do, and the fact that I was able to do two of the things that I wanted to do … I have all these dreams that I want to make a reality,” Miles said.

Breast cancer awarness fundraiser makes strong return

ZACH MORETH Copy Editor

The first year of Volley for the Cure was underway thanks to the IHSA. It was 2008, and the IHSA came up with an idea to raise awareness and money for breast cancer patients around the state. Girls’ volleyball became the center of Volley for the Cure and would soon turn into one of the biggest events at Prospect, primarily due to the pas sion from two of the girls’ volleyball coaches.

When Volley for the Cure was introduced to the state, few schools took it as seriously as Prospect did. Hersey and Buffalo Grove were participants of the event during some points, but they never made it as crucial as Prospect did. For former sophomore girls’ volleyball coach Daria Schaffeld, it was sim ple.

“Since we were coaching girls and it’s such a dominant female issue, it was a great way for girls volleyball teams throughout the state to raise awareness,” Schaffeld said.

At the time, Schaffeld and varsity girls’ volleyball coach Michael Riedy loved the idea and wanted to make it a big part of Pros pect. Schaffeld explained how important it was to raise money and awareness for such a serious problem. “Riedy and I ran with it in an aggressive way; I think we took it more than what the IHSA had in mind,” Schaffeld said. “They didn’t really give us a lot of di rection.”

From year to year, the event has mold ed itself very differently. Schaffeld talked

about how Volley for the Cure strict ly ran through the volleyball program from 2008-2013. “It was special that the whole girls volley ball program rallied behind it,” Schaffeld said.

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the event made a massive change, which would be the start of something special. Volley for the Cure was still sponsored by girls volleyball, but was now inclusive to other fall sports like football and soccer.

Volley for the Cure shirts were then sold at all games, which allowed student sec tions to deck them selves in pink.

At the same time, the student section, known as the Underground, was becoming widely popular at Prospect. The meshing of the two created a new name for Volley for the Cure. It became UKnight for the Cure.

HUDDLE UP: UKnight for the Cure returns here at Prospect on Octo ber sixth. From 2008-19, the event raised over $100,000 for the Susan G. Komen foundation, and currently, the Gift a Mammogram Program at the Northwest Community hospital in Arlington Heights. (photo by Alyssa Degan)

“I thought that it was really really spe cial that it became this behemoth,” Schaffeld said.

In 2011, due to the birth of her son, Schaf feld stepped down from her coaching position. Although she isn’t as involved in volleyball as she used to be, she has continued to show her support, especial ly when the event was at a low during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I hit Instagram and Twitter big. I was do ing a lot of throwback things. It became more awareness than fund raising,” Schaffeld said.

After 2016, due to coaching changes, the event turned back to be ing primarily volleyball run; therefore, the offi cial name was changed back to Volley for the Cure.

Although Riedy and Schaffeld had both stepped down by this point in the girls pro gram, Riedy was and still is coaching the boys’ varsity volleyball team, while current varsity girls’ coach Kevin Kolcz coaches the freshman boys.

With Kolcz being a brand new coach, Schaffeld has full belief in his ability to bring Volley for the Cure back to where it

once was. With Riedy and him both coaching boys, it gives Kolcz a great opportunity to be able to understand the process a little easier due to Reidy’s previous experience.

Another aspect that can make Kolcz even more successful is his communication abili ty to reach out to other staff members. Schaf feld said Kolcz is not afraid to ask for help and is open to any suggestions that would help with the event.

Specifically for this year’s Volley for the Cure game, Kolcz has taken to Twitter to promote a new and updated raffle plan. The raffle includes Bears and Blackhawks tick ets, prom tickets, fall themed baskets and more.

Throughout all of the years of success, Volley for the Cure has been able to raise over $100,000 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, and now for the Gift a Mam mogram Program, at Northwest Community Hospital. Both foundations are meant to cre ate an increase in mammograms for women and continue research for a cancer cure.

Looking into the future, under the lead ership of Kolcz, Schaffeld is extremely opti mistic about how popular this event can be again. Her main goal is to bring it back to the capacity of 2014, 2015 and 2016, when it raised over $30,000.

“That would be the hope, to bring it back to that size. Being a new coach, Mr. Kolcz has got a lot going on, but I think he’s motivat ed, and I think it’s an important lesson for the student body... So that would be a great goal,” Schaffeld said.

CURRENTLY

'PTen' mentality serves girls' tennis season

ELLA MITCHELL Editor-in-Chief

Playing against Glenbrook South — a historically well-ranked tennis team — senior two singles player Kate Seyer was deep in the throes of a two-hour-long match. According to Seyer, her biggest challenge while playing singles is her mentality, seeing how she only has herself to rely on out on the court.

After losing the first set and then winning the second, Seyer and her opponent were locked in a tie-breaker, 10-5. Her opponent was a strong player, but Seyer was able to use her consistent speed to fight back. As the match progressed, Seyer could see her opponent getting more and more frustrated.

Seyer, however, remained focused, some times talking to herself to get out of her head. Her mentality to get through tough dura tion-matches is to stay strong — no matter what happens — in order to push her body’s physical strength.

Ultimately, Seyer’s perseverance paid off; she emerged victorious.

“The adrenaline after that was amazing,” Sey er said. “[My opponent] actually kind of yelled at me on the court; she screamed that the ball was out when it was not, which everyone saw. I was proud of that because she tried to mess with me mentally … and how I kept pushing through and never gave up.”

The rest of the girls’ varsity team — lined up along the fence of the court once they were done with their own matches — was there to cheer Seyer on and support her, even creating a hand bridge to usher her off the court. This support ive team attitude, or “PTen mentality” is not un common, according to Seyer.

“PTen mentality is kind of like being one big family,” Seyer said. “Supporting each other, al ways being close as a team, and always working hard together to pick ourselves back up and be ing stronger together … [We] use the PTen men tality to get through tough matches and support everyone on the team.”

The 2022-23 girls’ varsity tennis season is primarily shaped by this go-to phrase of unity. PTen — short for Prospect tennis — is the type of culture that the team has been trying to fos ter throughout the season through boosting up teammates at tournaments, like Seyer against Glenbrook South, or participating in themed Fun Fridays. This culture and support has made for a strong season for the varsity girls, going 5-0 in the East division and 8-6 in dual matches.

Additionally, the Knights pulled out their first sectional win since 2006, sending five play ers to the IHSA state tournament. Junior Lucy Nunez and senior Zoe Klicker became section als double champions, third place doubles duo senior Cassie Voicu and sophomore Anna Liz ama placed third and sophomore singles player Kara Pescaru came out in fourth place. This is the most state qualifiers Prospect has sent to the state tournament since 1998, according to girls’ varsity tennis coach Mike McColaugh.

The tournament took place on Oct. 20-22 at Buffalo Grove High School (before the Prospec tor went to press), with matches spread around the Northwest suburbs and parts of Lake Coun ty.

For senior varsity doubles player Christina Ukkan, the team culture that contributed to this achievement is nothing new. Last year, Ukkan remembers going to each of the sectional team members' houses to deliver care packages on the eve of the sectional tournament. This tradition — orchestrated by the members of the team that were not going to sectionals — was meant to send good vibes and luck for the girls facing the upcoming sectional matches.

However, as Ukkan and the other girls be gan to de liver the care packages to the houses, the sec tional girls decided to tag along on the rest of the delivery stops as well. By the end of night, the en tire girls’ tennis team was riding around the streets of Ar lington Heights and Mount Pros pect, build ing up the team

MAKING A RACKET: Senior one singles player Kate Seyer watches the incom ing ball, focusing herself for another solid hit. (photo by Alyssa Degan)

morale in the process. The tra dition carried into this season as well, much to Ukkan’s excite ment.

Senior night was another op portunity for the team to go all out. The team was able to celebrate nine varsity seniors.

Not only was it a big night for the seniors, but in terms of com petition as well. Prospect faced off against Hersey for the division championship. Even though Hersey flipped their lineup — meaning they put their top-ranked players against lower seeds to make matches easier for themselves — Prospect was able to come out on top.

“We had a lot of emotion; from cel ebrating the four years of the seniors, … the sadness of realizing it's coming to an end, but then also the joy of achieving one of our major goals,” McColaugh said.

Each senior athlete received flowers and a Squishmallow as well, something that was coordinated by the underclass men, with sophomore Erin Coleman leading the charge. While Coleman was out picking up supplies for post ers, inspiration struck to purchase Squishmallows for the seniors as an extra gift.

Seyer received a dragon Squish mallow because of her nickname, “Seyer Fire.” She greatly appreciated her Squishmallow, but ultimately found senior night to be bittersweet. you’re playing with your best friends.”

Along with those connections, seeing people

go all out for different themes on Fun Friday has definitely been a highlight for Ukkan. Themes have included neon, Adam Sandler and super

These themes are determined on a weekly basis, with each girl pitching potential ideas be fore the team collectively decides on one. The sky's the limit for the themes, so long as they don’t overlap with the football themes.

Ukkan says that her favorite theme to partic ipate in was the “imitation of your coach” day. She remembers all the varsity girls pulling up to practice with bucket hats, sunscreen lines and cargo shorts — all meant to mirror McColaugh’s signature style.

“It’s all in good fun,” McColaugh said. “I thought it was pretty hilarious; it was pretty spot on, all the way to the white sunblock not being rubbed in. Clearly they feel pretty comfortable harassing their old man coach a lit tle bit and that’s good. I want them to feel like they can have a little fun with me.”

With strong team morale and the accomplished goal of becoming MSL champions under their belt, the team was also able to have success at the sectionals tournament.

Pescaru says the wind and cold were challenging, but ultimately she was able to harness it positively in her matches to come out with a fourth place finish.

Pescaru says she was thrilled not only for herself, but also to make history as part of the largest group of state qualifiers since 1998.

“I was really happy,” Pescaru said. “ … Not only was I happy that I was able to qualify for state, but four other people on my team quali fied. It was such a good moment for Prospect.”

McColaugh was running between the two doubles matches, and they each found out they qualified within 90 seconds of each other. Just 45 minutes later, the fifth Knight qualified for

“It was literally the greatest hour of Pros pect tennis in the last two decades; it was one of those, ‘Is this really happening?’ moments,” McColaugh said.

This “greatest hour” was one filled to the brim with emotion.

“They knew they had a chance to do well at our sectionals … but to actually get it done?” McColaugh said ahead of the state competition. “There were lots of tears — happy tears — and excitement. There still are. We practiced togeth er yesterday indoors, and it was [one of] the happiest practices of all time because they all realized what they accomplished.”

Riding the high of this accomplish ment, Pescaru’s goal at state was to play ag gressively, taking every chance she could get. She didn’t want to let her opponent take control of the point, so she aimed to just go for it.

Pescaru is proud of herself and her team, win or loss, and knows the support of her team will carry her through anything.

“No one ever gives up,” Pescaru said.

“There’s been really long matches, … but ev eryone gives it 110% on the court. No matter the outcome, everyone is proud of them because they showed the team, ‘Hey, I care for this team; I’m going to do whatever it takes to show … I’m proud of this team.’ PTen mentality, always.”

Scan to read more about the state qualifiers

News Director Matthew Niemczyk and Sports Reporter Billy Buelow dive into the girls' swim and dive team's season, impact of a French Foreign exchange student on the team and look ahead at the end of season invitationals.

SENIOR SLAY: Nine varsity athletes pose with their posters and Squish mallows on senior night against Hersey. Prospect pulled through with a victory against Hersey, securing their title as the MSL East Division Champions on Sept. 22. (photo by Alyssa Degan)

MATCHING McCOLAUGH: The varsity girls sport floppy bucket hats and sunscreen lines, meant to replicate head coach Mike McCo laugh's signature style. This popular Fun Friday theme boosted team morale and brought the girls closer. (photo courtesy of Niki Gusic)