Issue 7 23-24

Bringing home the historic win

Girls’ track and feld team takes home frst state championship

AMANDA FEINBERG Editor-in-Chief

On the bright blue track at Eastern Illinois University O’Brien Field, sophomore Meg Peterson came charging around the last turn of the 4x400-meter relay. She felt incredibly inspired as she saw the rest of her teammates and coaches cheering her on at the 30 yard line with just seven meters until the fnish line.

Even as multiple girls tripped ahead of her, Peterson stayed focused and stayed strong hurdling over them until the moment she crossed the fnish line. Bringing the win home was one of Peterson’s proudest moments at state as that fourth place fnish sealed the team state championship title — the frst in the history of the program.

“After the 4x400, the four girls who ran the 4x400 [with me] were sitting in the tent taking of our spikes, and then all of the sudden all of our team came running in screaming and hugging each other,” Peterson said. “We [had] just found out that we won.”

The girls’ track and feld team took frst place at the IHSA state competition, which was held from May 17-18. For the state meet, frst place in each event receives 10 points, second place receives nine points and the pattern continues until 10th place receives one point. The points are totaled, and the team with the highest number of points wins.

Prospect had a fnal score of 53 points, putting them ahead of Huntley with 50 points, and placed top ten in ten events.

The 4x800 relay, composed of sophomore Meg Peterson, juniors Mary Laba and Veronica Znajda and senior Lily Ginsberg, fnished in frst place for the fourth year in a row.

“It was super exciting,” Ginsberg said. “We were all hugging [each other] and it was really fun.”

Ginsberg has won the state 4x800 all four years of high school. Being with new girls each

FINISHING STRONG: Sophomore Meg Peterson fnishes the 800-meter run. “It was really cool being able to ... cross the fnish line. Crossing the line brought it home for everyone,” Peterson said. (photo courtesy of Scott McDermott)

year, Ginsberg has had to adapt to diferent runners. Although the relay team may change, the girls always fnd a way to connect beyond the track.

“They’re some of my best friends,” Ginsberg said. “It’s really easy to warm up and race with them because we all kind of have a similar mindset with racing.”

Laba, who was the frst leg of the relay, feels the same way as Ginsberg, and she notes how the girls’ bond is one of the most special aspects of the team.

“We’re all best friends,” Laba said. “That’s one of the major reasons why we won. We can work together so well because we all love each other and we’re running for each other.”

Although she was anxious leading up to the race, Laba was determined to run for her teammates instead of just herself; she put the team goal of fnishing in frst place before her own nerves.

“[The relays] were more so about how we did as a team than me personally,” Laba said. “But I just wanted to make sure that I went out there and gave it everything I had and I didn’t leave anything left.”

Junior Amina Hadziahmetovic placed second in the 800-meter hurdles. Because this year was her frst at the state meet, she felt excited and proud that she was able to compete at the highest level.

“It just felt really natural to be there,” Hadziahmetovic said. “It was just a really cool experience to see everyone happy. Going to state, it didn’t click to me at frst. I was like ‘Oh my god.’ It was really cool.”

After running in the prelims of her event, Hadziahmetovic recalls feeling more pressure heading into the fnals.

“I was way more nervous,” Hadziahmetovic said. “At some point [when] we were close to winning, I felt all the pressure. Right before [I was in] my blocks something hit me. I felt all the adrenaline … and it was an easier race than prelims.”

Similarly to the other girls, Hadziahmetovic felt supported by all of her teammates whether it

BLUE ON BLUE: The girls’ track and feld team celebrates their frst state championship in school history. “[Winning] was the most unreal experience ... it was the coolest thing,” junior Amina Hadziahmetovic said. “Everyone cried ... I was happy for everyone.” (photo courtesy of Scott McDermott)

was going out to dinner the night before prelims or sharing a room with her friends.

“All the girls were so sweet,” Hadziahmetovic said. “Every time I was sitting in a tent I would al ways talk to some one and that felt really good. They were all really sweet and I feel like [state] wasn’t as intense because of that.”

Contributing 16 points her self in four

GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELD STATE PLACEMENTS

Long Jump - Charlotte Deines (6th)

Discus Throw - Adeline Wind (4th)

200-Meter Run - Charlotte Deines (8th)

300-Meter Hurdles - Amina Hadziahmetovic (2nd) (pictured to the right)

800-Meter Run - Meg Peterson (7th), Lily Ginsberg (10th)

1600-Meter Run - Veronica Znajda (6th)

4x100 Relay - C. Deines, A. Niebrugge, N. Niebrugge (7th)

4x200 Relay - C. Deines, A. Niebrugge, N. Niebrugge, S. Skowronski (3rd)

4x400 Relay - M. Laba, M. Peterson, D. Skolimowska, S. Skowronski (4th)

4x800 Relay - L. Ginsberg, M. Laba, M. Peterson, V. Znajda (1st)

events, senior Charlotte Deines placed sixth in the long jump and eighth in the 200-meter run.

Not only did she have a huge role in moving the team up the ranks, but she was also a runner who made a lasting impact of the track.

Head coach Pete Wintermute speaks highly of Deines’ leadership qualities and her ability to bring the sprinters together outside of just rac-

“Charlotte, being a great senior leader, organized a dinner for all the sprinters,” Wintermute said. “I think those are opportunities to bond with your teammates and to have those lasting memories, but it also speaks very highly of what this group means to each other.”

This positive and uplifting team attitude is an aspect that Wintermute sees as one of the most important factors in fnding success.

He also believes that both enjoying your time together and giving it your best correlate with each other.

“I think a huge part of the success in sports is related to the team atmosphere,” Wintermute said. “All we can ever ask as a coach is to have fun, and as teammates to give it your best … but really just working together as a cohesive program is what got us to this point.” Wintermute feels immense pride when refecting on the season, and his high expectations for the girls showed in their performance. One of his big keys to success is something he brings up often: sacrifce.

“We talked a lot about sacrifces,” Wintermute said. “I think one of the cool things is the sacrifces kids are willing to make for this sport itself or the betterment of the Sacrifce wasn’t the only word used to describe this season. Sprints coach Ian Arms used the word “perseverance” to describe the incredible season he got to witness in his frst year on the staf.

“It’s about getting past all those negative emotions … and knowing we are building to something greater,” Arms said. “And saying ‘it’s not the times I want but I have more to give’ and being able to push all that to the back of your head and focus on the race in front of you.”

Ben Mitchell, Stella Palm, Tessa Trylovich and Claire Wynkoop contributed to the story

Test changes fuel school debates

[students] a lot of practice [for standardized tests], but we don’t want it to be separate from normal schoolwork.”

Standardized tests are crucial, Minter believes, to show a student where they fall in comparison to others. However, since classrooms already emphasize incorporating SAT and ACT-like material, Minter maintains that too much testing is unnecessary for evaluating students.

AMANDA FEINBERG Editor-in-Chief

AIllinois schools shift from SAT to ACT for the 2024-25 school year 76.6%ofstudents

fter taking two ACTs and one SAT, sophomore Iza Nalepka’s strategy is to stay calm and not overthink the questions on the tests. She aims to understand each question fully, and even if she does poorly, she reminds herself that one test score does not defne her.

“I try to stay chill and make sure I’m not overthinking things and that I’m reading through everything … before I answer it,” Nalepka said. “[I] make sure that I stay on time … and relax during the test and not get too stressed about it.”

While Nalepka has found success with both tests, she is anticipating the upcoming change within standardized testing and how it will affect her. Illinois currently has a contract with the College Board requiring schools to administer the SAT to 11th-graders and the PSAT to ninth and 10th-graders. However, the contract is set to expire in June of 2024, and according to Horizon Education, the Illinois State Board of Education is in the process of replacing the SAT with a three-year $53 million contract to ACT, Inc. This change will afect rising juniors, as they’re frst in line to take the ACT instead of the SAT next school year.

The tests are relatively similar with the ACT–consisting of English, math, reading and science–being two hours and 55 minutes. The digital SAT–consisting of math and reading and writing–is two hours and 14 minutes. The cost of the ACT without the writing section is $68, and with the writing the price jumps to $93, according to ACT. The cost of the SAT is slightly less at $60, according to College Board.

While the swap may seem surprising, Illinois had administered the ACT for 15 years before moving to the SAT in 2016. The new contract, which calls for a switch back to the ACT, will provide assessments to ninth, 10th and 11th-graders in accordance with the Illinois Learning Standards in English and math, according to Chalkbeat. Principal Greg Minter plans on administering preparatory tests to ninth and 10th graders before the real ACT their junior year.

“We’re trying to give students experiences that mirror an ACT question or ACT reading passage,” Minter said. “The goal for us is to give

While his focus isn’t on students’ test scores, Minter still believes in preparing students through their classroom experiences in core subjects such as math, English and science. Associate Principal for Instruction Joyce Kim encourages students to take both the ACT and SAT to see which they perform the best on. While administering a test that accurately assesses all students is difcult, Kim believes there are specifc benefts that come from nationwide testing.

“[Standardized testing] allows for students to have access to opportunities, whether it be college admissions or scholarship money,” Kim said. “Because each state is responsible for its [own] standards and benchmarks … a nationwide test is hard to [use to] determine what to test on.”

Nalepka sees the value of standardized tests— since she has already taken multiple—as they can accurately gauge where a student’s knowledge lies.

“I think [standardized testing] gives a good benchmark for where you are in learning different material,” Nalepka said. “It’s important in determining what you need to work on and where you need to improve.”

retail sector alone, according to The New York Times. AP Economics teacher Chris Stanford believes that while private equity can make a frm more efcient, there are always going to be drawbacks with increased layofs and the merging of multiple frms. Stanford also believes that education should always be nonproft, and the ACT switching to a for-proft business model leaves her with some concerns over the integrity of the company.

In response to controversy over the recent purchase of the ACT, Nexus

maintains that this change will help the ACT bring new opportunities outside of standardized testing—such as more pathways to degrees, credentials and skills—as well as provide more value to learners, families, educators and states. Also, ACT Inc. claims the partnership will have no effect on the price or experience of taking the test

Nalepka prefers the ACT due to the lenient scoring and simplicity of the test. She notices that while the timing of the ACT is shorter, the questions seem easier to answer when compared to the SAT.

“[The tests] are veered towards diferent types of test takers … and it’s nice that you can take both on your own time outside of school,” Nalepka said.

However, after taking the PSAT in April, Nalepka is unsure how that test will beneft her with the upcoming transition to the ACT. Given the fact that the ACT has an additional science section, she hopes that the new ninth and 10th grade tests incorporate more material that aligns with the ACT.

The future of the ACT became more uncertain as of April when the ACT was purchased by Nexus Capital Management LP, a private equity frm in Los Angeles. This changes the nonproft college admission assessment to a for-proft company, according to Higher Ed Dive.

The term “private equity” simply refers to frms that make their revenue by purchasing companies, changing them in some way and then selling them for a proft. However, companies that are bought by private equity frms are more likely to go bankrupt. In the last 10 years, private equity frms have lost almost 600,000 jobs in the

Furthermore, the future of standardized testing became more foggy when many colleges switched to test optional post-pandemic. Students now have the option to either submit their standardized test scores or choose to leave them of of their application without any drawbacks.

Although this was the case, certain schools are going back to test-required, including Dartmouth, MIT, Brown and Georgetown. Regardless of the future of standardized testing, Minter’s focus has always been on students’ success rather than a standardized test score.

“We are not driven by test scores,” Minter said. “I want our teachers to have a curriculum that is very engaging for students and [incorporates topics] that they are passionate about teaching.”

Automatic enrollment introduces barriers to staff and students

STELLA PALM Managing Editor

At the start of the 2024-25 school year, new automatic enrollment policies will ofcially go into efect. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, automatic enrollment (also known as automatic acceleration) is an act passed by the Illinois State Board of Education that ensures student access to honors-level courses through test scores.

According to the Illinois State Board of Education, districts need to have the automatic enrollment policy in place before the start of the 202324 school year. Then, districts will use scores from that school year to automatically enroll students during the 2024-25 school year.

Students will be automatically enrolled into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework if they meet or exceed the state standards in English language arts (ELA), mathematics or science on a state assessment. This amendment applies to grade levels 9-12.

For eighth-grade students in particular, the Illinois PSAT benchmark for ELA is a 390 and

a 480 for mathematics, according to the College Board. These are the benchmarks that will automatically accelerate a student into honors-level classes (the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework).

Honors coursework can be defned as any curriculum or course that is beyond the current level that peers of the same age would typically be enrolled in, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. At Prospect, these freshman courses are known as Honors Written and Oral Communications (HWOC), AP Human Geography and Honors Biology.

Enrollment in these honors courses has already increased from the current to the next school year. In the 2023-24 school year, there were 10 sections of WOC and seven sections of HWOC. In August, these section numbers will be fipped, with seven sections of WOC and 10 sections of HWOC.

Notably, there are nine sections of AP Human Geography and eight sections of Human Geography in the 2024-25 school year. There are more sections of AP Human Geography in the 2024-25 school year compared to the 11 sections of Human Geography and the seven sections of AP Human Geography in the 2023-24 school year.

The only section numbers that have stayed similar in both school years are the ones in Biology. There is only one more honors section of Biology in the 2024-25 school year than in the previous school year. It’s also important to note that there are 30 more students in the 2028 freshman class than in the 2027 class.As more students enroll in honors/AP classes, AP Human Geography teacher Michelle Fonsino acknowledges that automatic acceleration could present some challenges to students and teachers.

“Being an AP teacher, I wonder … how it will play out,” Fosino said. “What happens when students that didn’t test as high as [others] have in previous years are taking a class that is super, super challenging?”

The reason these classes might be challenging to new students is because of how the state standard is set. Principal Greg Minter notes that Prospects’ test score standards are signifcantly higher compared to the baseline Illinois standards.

Even though students who score at the state standard are automatically accelerated into Prospects’ honors/AP classes, teachers will continue to teach these classes at Prospects’ higher test score standard.

Minter explains that there has been a consid-

erable efort to inform freshman parents about this new change. He has sent out many email communications to parents as well as covering automatic acceleration topics at the incoming freshman parent night.

Minter states that there are more factors than just test scores that should contribute to a child’s decision to take honors/AP classes such as a student’s motivation and their participation in extracurricular activities.

To combat these potential challenges that automatic acceleration may present, Minter is planning to have a more robust tutoring center along with possible increased guided study time for students.

Fonsino highlights that, although new policies can be daunting, she has some hope in automatic acceleration.

“It’s really interesting to see the evolution of education,” Fonsino said. “Hopefully, the new ways to include more students and provide opportunities will be really worthwhile.”

Art by Siena Mirandola

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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

Problematic acceleration

Automatic enrollment presents new obstacles

Staff Editorial staff

HEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Amanda Feinberg

MANAGING EDITORS

Ben Mitchell, Stella Palm, Tessa Trylovich

ASSOCIATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Peter Radosh

COPY EDITORS

Xander Adkins, Jocelyn Farina, Sage Gilliland

ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Claire Wynkoop

ASSOCIATE ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Alyssa Kowols

KNIGHT TV EXEC PRODUCER

Kenny Munao

KNIGHTVOICES EXEC PRODUCER

Amelia Maslowski

KNIGHT TV LIVE EXEC PRODUCER

Ben Mitchell

PROSPECTOR EDITORS

Sienna Demonte, Sarah George, Meg Imherr, Alice Kelsey, Leanna Kewarkis, Frannie O’Grady, Matthew Pulver

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ADVISER

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a student to be truly successful … it takes a village right, it takes the support of the family. There’s a fnancial aspect of academic achievement, and we know that not everybody is so lucky.”

Automatic acceleration ensures that a student will be automatically accelerated to the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework if their test scores meet or exceed the Illinois state standard scores.

aving taught at Prospect since 2009, AP Human Geography teacher Michelle Fonsino has watched education evolve frst-hand. As of recently, another new evolution has risen to the surface of Illinois education.

Automatic enrollment policies will be going into efect as Prospect enters into the 2024-25 school year.

Automatic enrollment (automatic acceleration) is an act passed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) that uses a student’s test scores to determine whether or not they should be placed in an honors/ AP class, according to the ISBE.

This law is designed to give each student an equal opportunity to try an honors/AP class. This means that only test scores, not approval from a teacher or counselor/administrator, will be able to get a student into honors/AP classes.

At its core, automatic acceleration has nothing but good intentions.

“I think the purpose of the mandate is lovely. I think it’s wonderful to give every student an opportunity to try a higher class because we all know that education is a community thing,” Fonsino said. “For

Even though students at Prospect whose scores refect the Illinois state standard can be moved up to honors/AP courses, these classes will be taught at the Prospect test score standards, which are substantially higher than the Illinois state standard scores, according to Principal Greg Minter. He notes that the last thing Prospect would want to do is lower honors/AP class standards.

to provide support for a lot of new AP students who have never taken a rigorous course in their life?”

Being concerned about all of the new honors/AP students, Fonsino is well-prepared to help these students in any way possible. Other AP Human Geography teachers and her are trying to create structured, cyclic formatted classes, along with straightforward instructions and specifc study strategies. Fonsino believes that alongside increased communication with students and parents, these strategies will pave a road to success.

20 0 Against

Voting results of the KnightMedia staff in regards to this editorial. For

This presents a possible confict: what are students supposed to do if they can’t handle an honors class? In almost all cases, dropping the class is not an option simply because there are not enough spots in the standard-level classes to move more students to. Minter acknowledges that although there are some extenuating circumstances, there are not unlimited spots.

“I don’t want to fail students. I don’t like to see students struggle. So personally, I’m worried,” Fonsino said. “How am I going to be able

She is also ready to utilize outside-classroom time to help her students, as well as introduce them to peer tutoring.

“[During my sixth assignment this year], … I’m here with the peer tutors. I’m really realizing what a valuable … and maybe underutilized [resource] the peer tutors are,” Fonsino said. “I’m hoping to create some kind of a network, connection or relationship between the peer tutors and freshmen.”

Along with all of these strategies, Fonsino plans to continue to send frequent email blasts to parents. She believes doing this helps solve problems she doesn’t have much control over, such as uncompleted homework.

Ultimately, it is a student’s responsibility to advocate for themselves if they need help. Minter wants students to recognize that not everything can fall back onto a teacher.

Minter realizes that all of the factors of automatic acceleration can cause stress for students and parents, which is why the decision for a student to accelerate is so important. Without the correct information about automatic acceleration, students, teachers and parents can be sent through a whirlwind of stressful circumstances.

We, KnightMedia, believe that while automatic acceleration policies have good intentions, that there are faws in the system. A step in the right direction could be for schools to have the option to automatically accelerate students based on their own test score standards, rather than ones refecting performance throughout the entire state of Illinois.

It’s important to acknowledge that each school performs at a different level and that putting them all under the same state standard can lead to an inaccurate accelerated placement.

“The threshold scores that they’re using are very low for a high-performing high school like [ours],” Minter said. “So while it may make sense for some places in Illinois, it doesn’t make sense here. That doesn’t mean that the idea of it isn’t a good one.”

“[It’s good] having that parental or guardian at home that’s pushing you to do your homework and encouraging you to stay organized,” Fonsino said. “Even though it’s a pain in the butt, that support from home we hope will help.”

Online shopping infuences teenage girls

to the company itself,” sophomore Julia Watychowicz said.

It’s a Wednesday night in February and I’m sitting in my pitch-black bedroom, the clock next to me reads 12:37 am. The light from my phone is glaring of my face as my eyes lock in on the “purchase” button staring back at me. In a split second, my fnger presses the button and the “order confrmed!” screen appears.

A wave of relief and excitement fows through me, and as always, not a single drop of regret. I eagerly download the tracking link, knowing that I’ll be checking in on my package’s location every two hours for the next four days until it arrives.

This is not the frst time this has happened. I found myself in the same predicament last month, the month before that and the month before that one.

Teens are always spending money and now with the rise of social media, companies are taking advantage of this circumstance through paid infuencer marketing to get straight to their audience.

Every single time that I open any social media app, ads food my feed from every direction. Ads are strategically placed in between Instagram stories, Snapchat stories, Instagram reels, Tiktoks, YouTube videos, Pinterest pins and anywhere else you can imagine. Besides these ads are the “hidden in plain sight” paid promo videos and brand deals with infuencers. These are agreements between companies and creators where the creator makes a certain amount of videos recommending and sharing a product or business in exchange for money or free items. They often provide a direct link and a discount code to guide you to purchase straight from their profle.

So why is this type of advertising so lucrative to brands? It’s because creators build a level of credibility with their followers.

“If you follow that person, you have more trust in them compared

When I follow someone on Instagram, I see links on their stories and in their bios all the time for their “favorite ever” or “most loved” purchases. Immediately when I see them I click the link, add things to my birthday list, add things to my online shopping cart and the worst of them all, purchase something that very day.

Not all of the items shared are paid promotions, which builds trust in the creator even more because it makes me think that they are sharing only the best with their follower base, regardless of whether or not they are being compensated.

I see direct ads made by brands all the time, but how often do I actually go out and buy it? Not very often. Infuencers make connections with their audience and followers likely share similar opinions, interests and experiences. After all, they are an “infuencer” and their job is to infuence people.

Social media is a daily part of most people’s lives. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 97% of American teens have used social media and 75% of teens have at least one active social media account. It’s hard to escape the draw to so cial media which is what makes this system of market ing towards teens and young adults so clever. In our own community, 85% of students have bought something because they saw it on social media or through a link on social media, according to a school-wide survey of 48 students.

If you haven’t noticed while walking through the halls of Pros

pect, some of the top trends on the rise are Lululemon athleisure, Stanley cups and UGG boots/slippers.

I have given in to many of these trends myself, having “invested” in a pair of ultra mini UGG boots, Lululemon dance studio pants and a Stanley cup in just these past few months. I saw every single one of these items in use in real life, day after day, each time I opened my phone.

A video about how much a girl loves her Stanley, how much more water she drinks, how pretty she thinks it is and how she takes it everywhere with her. It’s hard not to buy it when you are surrounded by so many diferent types of exposure to a product.

When these purchases add up I know it becomes costly, especially for teens who don’t have full-time jobs. For me, every single dollar that went towards those purchases was hard-earned through countless hours of babysitting. Regardless of where we get our money, many teens spend a signifcant amount of it. The Piper Jafray survey of 8,000 teens

with an average age of 16 said that teens made up more than $75 billion in spending power at the end of 2018.

With the internet more accessible than ever, I feel like I’m much more likely to spend my money in general. I discover new things I didn’t even know that I needed and probably don’t need if I’m being honest.

While the rapid spread of social media has been opening new doors for communication, a number of trends promoted through social media might be emptying some of our wallets faster than we want them to. So, next time you’re hovering over that “purchase” button think twice about exactly why you’re spending and what shopping habits you might be fueling. Taking a quick second to evaluate your spending choices is something everyone, especially me, can beneft from.

82% of female teenagers say that online influencers help them discover brands and trends

*According to Taking Stock With Teens

Summer school scares

ed,” Bassler said. “There’s zero discipline issues. They’re there because they want to be there … I never had any issues.”

They say fear is the greatest motivator, and 6th grade me couldn’t have agreed more. What terrible fear haunted my younger self to the point of action, you ask? Easy: the ominous symbolism of a report card that first showed A’s and B’s, which dropped to B’s and C’s, and finally left me with more C’s than my mother could accept.

Threats of unbearable torture came from my mother every time I came home with a medi ocre test grade. “If you don’t get those grades up soon,” she would de clare menacingly, “I’m going to sign you up for summer school.”

These words echoed through my head every time I took a test. Every time I didn’t want to study. Every time I tried to sleep. Summer school was the ever-present threat to my laziness, and the fear of sitting in a hot, stuffy classroom filled with delinquent peers and a lazy teacher when I could be at the beach was enough to put my grades in line.

Bassler teaches a Bridge to Honors Math class, which allows incoming freshmen to guarantee themselves a spot in Honors Geometry or Algebra II once they begin high school. Since the course is only for students who go out of their way to secure a spot in a harder class, everyone is always on task and productive.

Despite being a good student, Bassler frequently chose to be in summer school as a kid. When he started teaching and was offered the opportunity to teach courses over the summer, he saw it as a full-circle moment.

That summer, I narrowly avoided the hot, stuffy depths of summer school. And even though I ended up doing something MUCH more grueling (cross country summer camp), I always wondered what I’d passed over.

Had I dodged a bullet, or was I missing out on something great?

Spoiler alert: I wasn’t.

It’s clear I had a very distinct and negative view when it came to summer school - a stigma most students share, as 56.1% of students who haven’t attended summer school view it negatively (according to a KnightMedia survey of 164 students).

Students usually enroll in summer school to make up a grade for a class they aren’t satisfied with, though other reasons are apparent - such as advancing to an honors or advanced version of a class.

Of course, there’s also what I always assumed was the reason most students go to summer school: mandatory attendancemer school enrichment teacher-

“When I became a teacher and the opportunity was available … it [was] an opportunity to meet students from all over the district,” Bassler said. “Because I teach Honors Freshman Geometry, I got to see some of the students I got to [teach] over the summer … it solidified that the class does prepare them for the honors class. It was a nice affirmation.”

However, the schedule provides a major downside. The summer school program consists of five hour classes every day for three weeks, with another three weeks for a second session.

Junior and former summer school attendee Tirth Patel explains how the schedule was a large factor in why his summer school experience at Prospect was negative.

“We had to be there for five hours, [and] I didn’t think that was an appropriate time to do two quizzes and coursework,” Patel said. “I believe it could have been shorter.”

Patel attended two courses over past summers, those being Honors Geometry and Drivers Education. Drivers Ed was taken at Hersey and lasted from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The Honors Geometry course, which was a full summer unit taken at Prospect, changed Patel’s grade from a “C” to an “A.”

To me, summer school was always scary solely because school during summer sounded terrible, but factors like the schedule and … well, literally everything else went right over my head. Patel enforces this fear by explaining how he was left out on summer activities due to summer school.

“I felt like I missed out on a lot, especially during Driver’s Ed my freshman year since it was in the middle of the day,” Patel said. “I couldn’t really do anything in the morning or at night [due to the class].”

Despite Patel’s mostly negative experience, he still enjoyed certain aspects of the programs - specifically the connection he formed with his Driver’s Ed teacher, who also happened to be a wrestling coach. As a wrestler himself, Patel was able to bond with his instructor.

“Me and my instructor [made] some very good memories,” Pa tel said. “We got to connect over wrestling … we [still] see each oth er [all] of the time at meets.”

Despite being a very mixed expe rience, Pa tel is glad he commit ted to sum mer school to improve his grade, even if he’s also glad he doesn’t have to do it again.

Bassler’s Bridge to Honors Geometry class. As an incoming freshman, Bassler’s summer class was his first taste of high school. Once the school year began, Zeravica joined Bassler’s regular class, which the summer course helped him adjust to.

“It really ended up helping me,” Zeravica said. “It was a really good overall review … and it really did sum-

“I wouldn’t recommend [summer school] to someone who wants to understand the material … I would recommend it to someone [who] wants to make up their grade, and is a morning [person],” Patel said.

While those who did not enjoy their summer school experience (like Patel) are a very vocal fraction of its former students, they are actually a minority. According to a KnightMedia survey of 83 students who attended summer school, 65.1% enjoyed their time in the program.

One of these students is freshman Maksim Zeravica, who describes both the drawbacks of summer school and why it was overall a good decision.

“It was kind of early in the morning and [lasted] for five hours, so it was kind of tedious, but overall it did actually help [with] some stuff,” Zeravica said. “Even though while I was going through it seemed like a lot of work, at the end I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, this was good.’” Zeravica was a student in

school for nothing. Even though Bassler, Zeravica and even Patel rid most of my negative thoughts towards the program, I’ll always take hitting the beach over finding the circumference of a random shape twenty times in a

This is a totally fine mindset to have. Despite the negative stigma most have towards it, summer school presents itself as a great opportunity for students to improve grades, make up classes or just expand their knowledge of a subject.

Even if you’re like me and summer school is the last thing you want to be doing during your two months off, appreciating the efforts of teachers like Bassler and understanding why our peers take summer courses is crucial to eliminating the negative stigma surrounding them.

Because even if we don’t want to do it, we need to understand why we don’t want to, and why it’s there for those who do.

Bassler describes the importance of summer school to his students, and why it is a necessary aspect of school, even if most don’t want to take it.

“You don’t necessarily have to go to summer school,” Bassler said. “[but it] is 100 percent necessary to keep your skills sharp [during summer break]. If you can do things to keep your skills sharp [without summer school], go ahead, but if you’re like me [and think], ‘unless I am forced to [study] I won’t do it,’ [or] if you need to make up classes, then maybe summer school is for you.”

XANDER ADKINS Copy Editor

STIGMA: Many students use the fear of summer school as motivation for good grades. (art by Andrealou Lagueras)

Once a Knight, always a Knight

Prospect alumnus and teacher retires after almost 30 years of teaching

TESSA TRYLOVICH Managing Editor

Erik Hammerstrom was taking an interest assessment 34 years ago at his corporate job in a sales and marketing position at the Georgia-Pacifc Corporation. Throughout this test, there were many personality questions that were asked to see if he was right for the position. One of the questions that led Hammerstrom to put his pencil down and think was, “Would you rather be a salesperson or a teacher?”

“In my heart I knew [the] answer,” Hammerstrom said. “I went back and put salesperson, and it wasn’t really true.”

Three years later, Hammerstrom went into teaching because he knew in his heart that it was his calling. He attended Eastern Illinois University to receive his Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Teacher Certifcation and began teaching English, Communication and Media Technology at Wheeling and Prospect. Twenty nine and a half years later, Hammerstrom has made the decision to retire from his teaching career.

Hammerstrom has known that he has wanted to be a teacher since his junior year of high school. When his guidance counselor was discussing majors with Hammerstrom, he brought up teaching. Unfortunately, his counselor shut down teaching since Hammerstrom hadn’t taken any of the teaching classes, so he decided to go into the corporate feld instead.

Fortunately for Hammerstrom, he had a leave of absence at the Georgia-Pacifc Corporation, which allowed him the chance to go into teaching. He felt zero pressure. Though he enjoyed his job at the Georgia-Pacifc Corporation for three years, it wasn’t what he wanted to do.

Once moving onto teaching, Hammerstrom had lots of diferent jobs in D214. He was a staf development coordinator, a summer school principal and an assistant principal. His favorite role in D214 is teaching and coaching at Prospect, being able to work with the many diferent students he has had over the years.

As well as being a teacher at Prospect, Hammerstrom is also a Service Club sponsor. One of

HELPING HAND: Mr. Hammerstrom volunteering at the Service Club booth during Prospect’s Haunted High School. (photo by Danielle Gerdes)

his former teachers at Prospect, Dave Jacobson, was also a sponsor when Hammerstrom came to work at Prospect, and his oldest daughter, Kari, was a part of it. Eventually, the job opened up for him and he jumped right on it. Hammerstrom describes it as one of the highlights of his teaching career.

“I get to encourage kids to go assist, help out in diferent ways and give back to the community. That’s just [so] cool,” Hammerstrom said. “That’s something I’ll continue to do [for] the rest of my life.”

When Hammerstrom thinks about the root of his decision to teach, he thinks about a teacher and football coach he once had in high school, Stan Grabarek, who also happened to be his neighbor. Being his neighbor, Hammerstrom knew that Grabareks family was going through some tough times at home. Seeing his neighbor’s passion for teaching through troubles really inspired him. He recalls a moment when he saw Grabarek turn on “teacher mode.”

“I [was at] my locker and he didn’t see me; I looked over my shoulder and I watched him come to the door, and stop, [take a deep breath], pump it up and walk in: ‘Hey what’s going on?!’ and he

came walking in and he just brought it,” Hammerstrom said. “I [thought,] ‘wow that was so cool’ cause I know this guys got the weight of the world on his shoulders… and it was just so cool to see him bring it… That really was a powerful infuence on me.”

Hammerstrom attended Prospect his senior year after his previous school, Arlington High School, shut down. Hammerstorm credits his decision to come back and teach at Prospect to a former teacher, coach, parent and member of the community, Jack Cutlip, that he once had in high school. Cutlip really inspired Hammerstrom to be a teacher that you see around the town at the grocery store, or other community events. That is why he decided to come back and work at Prospect, as well as send his four kids here. He loves seeing them throughout his day and getting to know their friends.

“It’s kind of funny when you put on the dad hat and take of the teacher hat, and sometimes you’re both,” Hammerstrom said.

Two of his daughters have already graduated, and his third daughter, Kira is a senior, and his youngest son, Kirk, is a sophomore. Hammerstrom coached Kirk in football and lacrosse. It is

From classroom to court to retirement

BEN MITCHELL Managing Editor

A week after a devastating loss at Hersey, the sophomore boys’ basketball team was determined to end the Huskies’ perfect season on Feb. 2. The Knights were trailing by double-digits in the third quarter, it looked unlikely that they would be able to break up the undefeated season for the Huskies.

While sophomore games typically only have parents in the stands, in the fourth quarter Jean Walker Field House was packed with students in suits and business attire — ftting the student section’s theme of “strictly business.”

The night was to honor longtime boys’ basketball coach and sophomores coach Mike McColaugh called “Mac’s last dance,” and there was even more anticipation and nerves in the feld house. As the fnal minutes ticked by, all of the Prospect fans hoped that Mac’s last dance would end with a win.

With 23 seconds left, Prospect trailed by four. While the night was partially about honoring him, McColaugh only remembers wondering about how the team would be able to score fve points in those feeting seconds.

“At the end of that game, [there] was nothing going through my mind except just trying to react to the game situations,” McColaugh said. “I kind of forgot about all of the hoopla and all of the attention surrounding the night. It was just basketball at that point.”

In the end, Prospect was able to hand Hersey their frst loss of the season, defeating them 47-46.

“With the biggest crowd we had all year and our team’s best win of the season … it was like a Hollywood script,” McColaugh said.

After the big win in the sophomore game, McColaugh was recognized for his impact on the program with a speech from varsity head coach Brad Rathe. Following the quick recognition, the varsity team won, 48-46, on a last-second basket from senior Drew Terpins. Because of the large crowd, the huge sophomore win and thrilling fnish to the varsity game, the night will not be forgotten soon, according to McColaugh.

McColaugh’s contributions to Prospect don’t just end at boys’ basketball. He has taught math for 24 years and has been the head coach of varsity girls’ tennis for 13 years. Because of his retirement, his impact in the classroom and on the courts, both basketball and tennis, is appreciated and will be missed.

McColaugh has coached basketball at all levels, but he was primarily the coach of the sophomore team. In addition to coaching so many athletes, he has also mentored and advised both varsity coaches, Brad Rathe and John Camardella.

Rathe and McColaugh coached together for 17 years in basketball and nine years in tennis. McColaugh’s ability to draw up plays has greatly helped Rathe, but the biggest thing he has done for Rathe is by being a role model for him.

“Being an example as someone to follow is the biggest way [he has helped],” Rathe said.

Besides coaching basketball, McColaugh coached girls’ tennis. During his time as head coach, he built the

program into a well-known tennis powerhouse.

During his tenure as head coach, girls’ tennis won the MSL East for the past six seasons. He also routinely sent players down state and even won a sectional championship in 2022 — the frst since 2006 — where the most players qualifed for state since 1998. He said this accomplishment was an important milestone in his career.

“That was a great feeling of pride because we didn’t always feel like we belonged in those situations, but now Prospect is viewed a little diferently in tennis,” McColaugh said.

His impact isn’t just on the teams and programs at Prospect, but also on the individuals that he works with. He hopes all members of Prospect have learned a few things from him.

“I hope that I’ve been a good role model,” McColaugh said. “If you want to give yourself the best chance for success, you have to be consistent in your eforts.”

Junior tennis player Kara Pescaru, who has had McColaugh as a coach for all three of her years at Prospect, recognized this consistency and thinks it is part of what makes McColaugh so special.

“His energy [will be missed],” Pescaru said. “His energy was always 100 %. He never showed his bad days, he continued to show his best self and continued to motivate us.”

Now that he has fnished his coaching career, McColaugh plans to take a “gap year,” using his increased free time during retirement to travel. After a recommendation from a friend, McColaugh and his wife decided that their frst trip would be a road trip around Lake Michigan. They are familiar with

going to be difcult for Kirk to not have his dad in the building next year, since he is so used to it.

“[Him retiring next year is] defnitely going to be diferent because the whole time he’s been here… it’s going to be interesting [next year] being here without him in the building,” Kirk said.

As a football coach, Hammerstrom says that he’d rather coach freshmen than any other level. He loves teaching newcomers and getting to see them succeed throughout their years. A big thing that he decided to bring to the freshmen football team was starting 22 players on the feld to get as many kids to play as possible.

Hammerstrom was able to have the chance to coach Kirk in football and lacrosse during his freshman year. Kirk thought the experience of having him as his coach was always fun, but his dad also pushed him.

“He’s harder on me cause I’m his son and he just expects more from me,” Kirk said.

Up to Hammerstrom’s retirement, he kept lessening his load to spend more time with his family.

“I’m appreciating being a parent and being in the stands with my wife,” Hammerstrom said.

“This spring I’m not coaching lacrosse, I’m in the bleachers watching my son play or I’m going to track meets to catch Kira… It’s kinda cool to be a parent for once [and] step out of that [teacher/ coach] realm.”

Kirk also appreciated having his dad come watch and support him of the feld, but it also was a huge change for him.

“My whole time here at Prospect he’s been my coach [and then] this year he’s defnitely had some fun in the stands,” Kirk said.

As well as watching his kids, one of Hammerstrom’s most exciting plans for retirement is a reunion that he is having this June with all of his friends he graduated Prospect with in 1985. Every time they come together, it’s like nothing has changed.

“We have memories and we all fall right back in[to]... when we were 16, 18, 14, 10 [yearsold],” Hammerstrom said.

Some of the biggest advice Hammerstrom can give is to live everyday to the fullest. He’s had experiences where he’s lost friends and students, and he makes sure to cherish every moment.

“Life can be shorter than you think; nobody is promised tomorrow,” Hammerstrom said. “If you wake up it’s a good day.”

scan the qr codes to read q&as about retirees lisa cottrell & santos soto

LAST DANCE: McColaugh (right) recieves basketball trophy for his fnal game. (photo by Priyanka Shah)

the area because they own a lake house in Michigan. The familiarity with the trip also contributed to the decision to make this the frst destination for McColaugh’s retirement travels. In addition to playing a lot of golf, which he already does, he wants to explore other hobbies as well. Although he is admittedly not great, he loves to play a round every so often.

While he might be retiring, and won’t be at school everyday, McColaugh is sure that he will continue to support Prospect at home basketball games and Saturday tennis tournaments.

“I’ll be back on campus a lot for the fun things,” McColaugh said. “I’ll be a familiar face at a lot of [sporting] events.”

Exposing interests fosters

Sky’s the limit on pursuing unconventional professions

MEG IMHERR

Exec In-Depth Editor Prospect parents with unique jobs share their stories

Prospect parent Wendy Altschuler is a freelance writer, but maybe not the kind most would imagine when they hear that. Instead of sitting and typing away all day long, a big part of her job as a professional travel writer is going on adventures in amazing locations around the globe. She has paraglided of of a volcano, swam with a mama and baby humpback whale in the wild, gone camel riding in the Sahara Desert and skydived twice, just to name a few.

“The best part of my job is that I get to do things that excite me, stoke my curiosity and keep me connected to a global community,” Altschuler said in an email interview.

Altschuler began her career by taking a gap year before college and joining the domestic Peace Corps, Americorps. Americorps works to help improve communities around the US through partnerships with nonproft groups.

Doing so allowed her to start traveling for the frst time because she grew up in a small town in Montana without the resources to travel. She had an incredible experience traveling for volunteer work with people her age for an entire year.

“I knew I wanted a life of

adventure and substance after I graduated from Americorps,” Altschuler said.

After her time in Americorps, Altschuler attended college at DePaul University and currently works as a freelance writer in a variety of countries like Bali, Dubai, El Salvador, Dubai, China, Iceland, Japan and Sri Lanka.

During her time as a freelance writer, she has written for a luxury boutique travel company, daily newspapers, award-winning travel websites and magazines.

of students think that their parent has an interesting job 43%

For Altschuler, the other great part of her job is being able to go on one-onone trips with her sons. Her sons at Prospect are junior

Remixing traditional occupations

MEG IMHERR Exec. In-Depth Editor

Standing above an enormous, cheering crowd of 3,000 people with music blasting at him from all directions at the Winter Music Conference in Las Vegas, Prospect parent Tony Garcia had a shining moment in his career of being a professional DJ. The only new thing about this for Garcia was the crowd size, as he had been DJing since high school and it had been his dream for a long time.

Though he didn’t go to college for music production, Garcia had a lot of experience from participating in breakdancing competitions and DJ battle competitions in high school. He loved many types of music from an early age.

“That’s what inspired me to want to be able to get behind turntables and be the person that creates the music [and] creates a vibe on that dance foor,” Garcia said.

His 30 year career started out with around 10 people gathered in a garage and eventually spiraled into audiences of 100, 1000 and 3,000 people. A widened audience allowed Garcia to become very good friends

Bridger Altschuler and sophomore Sage Altschuler.

with other well-known professional DJs like Daft Punk, Avicii, Kaskade and Tiësto.

“Kaskade used to watch me DJ … before he was a DJ,” said Garcia.

To get to this point, Garcia had to dedicate a lot of time and money to his career. In the beginning, he put all the proft he made back into his business by buying more vinyl.

Sometimes being a full time DJ can also come along with the uncommon and very long working hours of anytime between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The tough hours have defnitely cost him sleep and impacted his family life as well. Garcia says that to get through it, you really have to have a passion for it, which is what has kept him going. Ultimately, Garcia decided that the impact his career was having on his family of fve kids was not worth it to continue DJing full-time. He has two children at Prospect, Junior Roman Lucero-Garcia and sophomore Theresa Lucero-Garcia.

“My family is what changed me because I love my family, and I will do anything for them,” Garcia said.

“Being a DJ takes a lot from you, and I don’t want to get that in the way of my family.”

Garcia has pivoted his career path and now works as a data analyst

who creates interactive visual dashboards for customers. One example of a visual dashboard is a graph that you can click on that shows data for population or disease. It’s interactive because you can click on a certain part of the graph to pinpoint an exact number.

While he works in an entirely diferent feld now, the skills and qualities that he picked up through DJing still apply to his life today and his current job.

“When it comes to data and analytics and visual dashboards, that’s my creative side too. I’m very technical,” said Garcia.

Garcia stresses that the key to success in a career is really concentrating on what you want.

“In any kind of creative career, you have to be really focused and if you’re going to pursue that and devote yourself to that, don’t let anybody get in your way of doing so,” Garcia said.

“It’s truly a special experience to bring each son somewhere new and have quality time together,” Altschuler said. “It makes me feel incredibly proud that I get to give my kids big adventures, something I didn’t have growing up.”

On the opposite side, though she gets amazing opportunities with her sons, her job often prevents her from having a consistently “normal” life. It can be tough to manage friendships, remain active in the community and overall maintain a healthy lifestyle while constantly on the road.

Altschuler’s advice for high schoolers when it comes to choosing a career: don’t get caught up in being on the “right” path.

“Follow the path that feels exciting at the present time. The trajectory doesn’t have to be a straight line,” Altschuler said. “It’s OK to pivot and try something else. Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.”

fosters new careers

Providing the pathways for student’s bold future plans

DYLAN MAYE A&E Reporter

For sophomore Ali Melachrinakis, one of the best parts of having a mom who worked as a babysitter growing up was constantly being around little kids. As she grew older, she became enamored with the way their brains worked and the positive impact she saw her mom having on kids every day.

This is why she was ecstatic when she got to high school and discovered she could take an Intro to Teaching class her freshman year as part of an education pathway. She was able to be in that pathway her freshman and sophomore year to learn about the methods and psychology behind teaching. This afrmed one thing to Melachrinakis: she wanted to be in the education feld as an adult.

“It’s shown me what it would be like to have my own classroom, how to handle parents [and] how to handle making the plans for diferent types of kids, so I love it,” Melachrinakis said.

Many students agree with Melachrinakis that the career pathways are benefcial, since 68 percent of students felt that their career pathway helped them fgure out what career they wanted to pursue, according to a

KnightMedia survey of 250 students.

There are currently 16 diferent career clusters at Prospect, ranging from STEM felds, like Finance or Health Science; to more creative clusters, like Arts, Audio/Visual Technology and Communications; as well as hospitality clusters, like Human Services. Within the clusters, there are 39 individual pathways that a student can pick from when meeting with a counselor near the end of their eighth grade year.

However, the electives that Prospect ofers were not always as organized as they are today.

In spring of 2015, a national initiative called “Redefning Ready” was launched by The School Superintendent’s Association (AASA) in order to assess how ready high school students were for college, a career and their future lives by studying diferent metrics other than standardized test scores.

These metrics include things like a student’s attendance, GPA in certain advanced classes, community service and pathway. It also considers whether or not a student is taking a class in that pathway. As part of “Redefning Ready,” District 214 implemented their career clusters and pathways to better help students choose what felds they might be interested in.

For many students like Melachrinakis, the metrics and pathways included in “Redefning Ready” helped push them to engage with their school and discover ways to pursue their interests. Prior experiences with her past teachers and with kids through her babysitting career also moti - vated Melachrinakis to pursue education. In particular, she has fond memories of her second

grade teacher Karrin Musich at Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School.

“She was patient, but then also made sure we did our work,” Melachrinakis said. “She was just special in a way.”

Rising freshman Paige Imherr also had positive experiences when she was younger that pushed her toward an education path. She recalls her third grade teacher at Alcott Elementary School in Chicago giving her gifts and letting her keep the cards with problems on them that they used for assignments.

“I still have [the cards], and she’d give me things like that,” Imherr said. “It was really fun because I thought that I could teach it.”

Once she got to eighth grade, Imherr started learning about the career pathways that she would have to choose from during her high school career. She remembered do ing a project in English class where she had to do research on a specif ic career path. She chose education, and later on decided to enroll in Intro to Teaching and Foundations of Learning for her freshman year.

Art by Cora Richer

prospective eighth graders.

“The goal is not to pigeonhole kids,” Soderwall said. “It’s to just start to groom and gear their minds towards the decisions that are ahead for them before its time to make the decision” Melachrinakis will be taking College Intro to Teaching Methods and College Inquiry Teaching during her junior year, which will help prepare her for a possible career in teaching and give her college credit in the process. Her personal preparation has already begun since she became a babysitter, which gave her the opportunity to observe children’s thought patterns and behaviors, something that always fascinated her.

of students think CAREER PATHWAYS HELPED THEM find what they wanted TO PURSUE

According to a Knightmedia survey of 250 students

“I felt pressured to fnd [a pathway], but at the same time I’ve always known that I kind of wanted to be a teacher,” Imherr said.

Despite the pressure some students may feel, school counselor Todd Soderwall believes the career pathways at Prospect actually have a lot of intention behind them. As part of “Redefning Ready,” the pathways are intended to strategically help students pick an overall topic they are interested in, then hone in on it over the course of their high school career via elective classes in a pathway.

This way, the student can discover what they are interested in at school. It also allows them to explore what they may want to pursue once they leave school and have to fnd a career.

“As counselors, and as a district even, we feel like it’s not enough to just get a student to graduation day,” Soderwall said.

Even though Melachrinakis feels very confdent on her current education pathway, she is thankful for the fexibility she feels when exploring her interests during high school.

“My parents are really supportive, they’re always kind of like, ‘If this doesn’t feel right, you can switch,’ which has been really nice,” Melachrinakis said.

“It made me like [being in the pathway] even more.”

This fuidity in choosing electives is a big focus for counselors when students are choosing career pathways, according to Soderwall. Given that 61.5 percent of students have changed what career they wanted to pursue during high school (according to a KnightMedia survey of 252 students), counselors stress how easy it is to switch pathways and their low impact on future schooling when meeting with

That is why this year, she was happy to take a class a little of track from her pathway that would still be benefcial by taking Psychology 1.

“I like how this year I kind of got to go of of teaching in a way, but still be close to it with psychology [because] it’s close, but it’s not the same,” Melachrinakis said.

Imherr has always enjoyed going to school and recalls always being the “teacher” when she and her friends would play as children. Now, she feels confdent she can achieve her goals with the pathway she has chosen.

“I think it could help me be more specifc on where I want to teach and go more into the part of teaching I want to do for classes and college,” Imherr said.

Though high school is the testing ground for fnding your interests and possible future paths, it is not the end-all of where your life is headed, according to Soderwall.

“The process of choosing a major and a career is just that,” Soderwall said. “It’s not anything that you’re gonna wake up one day and say, ‘Eureka, I’ve got it!’ … it’s actually a lifelong thing, because even after you get out of high school and college, you still should be open to diferent career possibilities.”

ageperson changes their career5-7times during their life

Reflecting on Asian American education

How teaching Asian American history affects discrimination

PETER RADOSH Associate Editor-in-Chief

Prior to the Joint Session of Congress with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on April 11, under the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, two men sat down for a conversation. One was the U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois; the other was his guest, Ross Harano, a businessman and Asian American cultural activist. Born on Sept. 17, 1942, in the Fresno Assembly Center, a detention facility for Japanese Americans during WWII, Harano talked about his experiences as an Asian American with Sen. Durbin.

In early 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, Harano’s family was forced to leave their home in Hanford, Calif., and moved to the Fresno Assembly Center. Then, just a month after Harano was born, his family was shipped inland to another camp in Jerome, Ark. In Jerome, like many other incarcerated Japanese Americans, Harano’s family lived in poor conditions.

“[The house was] just wood and then tar paper on the outside,” Harano said. “That was the only insulation there was.”

Around a year after they were shipped to Jerome, Harano’s father signed a loyalty agreement, where he had to reject allegiance to the Emperor of Japan and state that he would serve in the U.S. military. Through the loyalty agreement, Harano’s family was freed from the incarceration caused by Executive Order 9066.

INTERNMENT TO INSTRUCTION: (Left) Ross Harano poses with his parents outside of their home in the Jerome War Relocation Center in Jerome, Ark. (Right) Harano speaks with U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois about Asian American history. Harano teaches about Asian American history by giving lectures and sharing his experiences. His next talk will be on June 7 in Jerome. (photo courtesy of Ross Harano)

camps because it was an unpleasant topic, according to Harano. Because Nisei wouldn’t talk about the camps, many Sansei, like Harano, grew up without knowing their history.

“When [Nisei] mentioned camp of some sort, we would think it was church camp,” Harano said. “There was never any mention that it was a concentration camp.”

Executive Order 9066 was the U.S. government’s reaction to Pearl Harbor and the war against Japan. While riding a wave of anti-Japanese American sentiment and using national security as their reasoning, Executive Order 9066 resulted in the evacuation and incarceration of an estimated 117,000 Japanese Americans, twothirds of whom were American citizens.

After leaving Jerome, Harano’s family frst moved to Alton, Ill., and then Chicago. When Harano was growing up, he was unaware that his family was incarcerated for a year. Harano is part of his family’s third generation of children who live in America, known in the Japanese American community as Sansei. His father is Nisei, the second generation.

Nisei wouldn’t talk about the internment

Furthering the issue, Harano was never taught about the internment camps in school. He wouldn’t learn about the incarceration until he was 19 years old when he went to a Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) meeting where Mike Masaoka, a Japanese American author and civil rights activist, gave a talk about the history of discrimination against Asian Americans in the United States.

Masaoka covered various topics relating to discrimination against Asian Americans and the contributions of Asian Americans to the United States, according to Harano. He spoke about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. He covered the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907, which restricted Japanese immigration to the United States. Masaoka also covered the Immigration Act of 1924, which, inspired by eugenics, prevented immigration from Asia. Then, Masaoka discussed the incarceration.

But Masaoka didn’t stop with the discrimination that Asian Americans experienced at the hands of the U.S. government. Masaoka also talked about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an infantry regiment of around 4000 Nisei who fought mainly in Europe. Hearing Masaoka teach about Asian American history sparked Harano’s interest in his family’s history.

“For the frst time, I realized that one of my uncles was killed in France, and I remembered going to his funeral when they reentered his body to the United States from France. Another uncle was wounded in Italy, and I remembered his whole back was scars.” Harano said. “All those [memories] came together while listening to Mike Masaoka talk.”

Listening to Masaoka sparked Harano’s interest in understanding his history. However, it had taken him 19 years to get to that point. According to Harano, the lack of awareness in U.S. history courses about Asian Americans as a part of American history is a signifcant cause of the discrimination faced by Asian Americans.

“[Because] the history of Asians has never been legitimized in the history books, we’re still viewed as foreigners,” Harano said.

Specifcally, Harano has noticed this view of Asian Americans appears when discussing his origins with people. Although Harano speaks perfect English, his father was born in the United States and he was born in the United States, he is still treated differently.

“People walk up to [me] and ask [me] ‘Where are you from?’” Harano said. “Now, if I see a white person, I don’t say, ‘Hey John! Where are you from?’ … but [for] Asians, they’ll ask you where you’re from.”

Furthermore, Harano has noticed that whether Americans view Asian Americans as American changes as the United States’ relationship with Asia changes. As anti-Asian American sentiment rises, stereotyping and generalizations about Asians also rise.

“In World War II, I was a ‘jap.’ During the Korean War, I was a ‘chink.’ During the Vietnam War, I was a ‘gook,’” Harano said. “People don’t know the diference. Vincent Chen was murdered in Detroit because [people] thought he was Japanese — he was Chinese American.”

Similarly, the level of discrimination felt by the Asian American community changes based on the United States’ sentiment regarding Asia; when relationships are strained with one Asian country, not just that country’s diaspora sufers, but the whole of the Asian American community sufers.

“Anytime there’s issues with a country in Asia, because we’re [a] visible [minority], we’re afected by it,” Harano said.

It’s not just the older generation of Japanese Americans who feel the discrimination due to a lack of education about Asian Americans.

Junior Wynn Yanagihara, whose great-grandfather moved to Hawaii from Japan in 1896, making Yanagihara Yonsei, or fourth generation, has also noticed that Asian Americans are treated diferently.

what took place,” Harano said.

Recently, in Illinois, strides have been made in the education system regarding Asian American history.

In April 2021, the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act was passed, amending the Illinois school code. It was signed into law in July 2021.

The TEAACH Act was frst implemented in the 2022-23 school year, and it mandates that all K-12 public schools include a unit of instruction where the students learn about the contributions of Asian Americans to the economic, cultural, social and political development of the United States.

U.S. history teacher Mike Sebestyen has made an efort to adhere to the mandate. Sebestyen believes that the mandate is part of a broader efort to better educate about the cultures that make up the United States.

“There has defnitely been a focus that we’re doing a better job than in the past at addressing the wide variety … of groups that make up American history,” Sebestyen said.

While the TEAACH Act ofcially required schools to teach Asian American history, Sebestyen doesn’t necessarily think that it has changed the U.S. History curriculum too much at Prospect.

“I think [the TEAACH Act] has just made [teachers] more aware that we are hitting on diferent issues within Asian American history,” Sebestyen said. “It has not radically changed the way we teach a lot of things because we were already starting to do that.”

THIS WHOLE AAPI MONTH HELPS LEGITIMZE THE FACT THAT WE’RE HERE,”

- Ross Harano

Although Yanagihara recognizes that progress has been made in teaching Asian American history, he still believes that more can be done. Yanagihara explains a possible addition to Prospect’s English curriculum.

“People would ask me, ‘What type of Asian are you?’” Yanagihara said. “But, you wouldn’t go up to a white person … and be like, ‘What country are you from; where are you actually from?’”

On a more grave note, during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, when anti-Asian American sentiment was high, Yanagihara felt worried for his father after seeing reports of Asian Americans being attacked in the street.

“I was scared for my dad because he lives in New York, and [some people there] are crazy,” Yanagihara said. “I watched news of [an] Asian woman being beat up in the streets of New York … and it was scary.”

However, despite the issues still faced by the Asian American community, both Harano and Yanagihara agree that the United States has made some progress. When Harano was a young man, because there was practically no education about Asian American history, the voices of Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated were silenced.

“In the ‘60s, I gave a talk to some high school out in the western ‘burbs about the camps, and the teacher basically said that I was lying, ‘That couldn’t have happened in the United States,’” Harano said.

Now, as the United States has gotten more accepting, Harano recognizes that more people understand the history of Asian Americans in the United States.

“Today, more and more people are aware of

“For [AP] Lang, we got to choose [literature circle] books. Maybe include some internment camp [books],” Yanagihara said.

On the other hand, Yanagihara also believes that Asian Americans should work alongside education systems to better their representation in history books.

“We can do more, too,” Yanagihara said. “If we’re complaining that we don’t have enough recognition, I feel like we can do something about it too.”

Harano is doing something about it. He has worked with several cultural and governmental organizations, such as the JACL, an Asian American civil rights charity, where he served on JACL boards at the state, regional and national level.

Along with his organizational work, Harano has been giving lectures about the internment camps and Asian American history since the 1960s and continues to this day.

While Harano is still personally teaching others about Asian American history, in a broader scope, he believes that the ofcial recognition of May as Asian American and Pacifc Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month by the U.S. government has helped the broader American population acknowledge Asian American history and is symbolic of the progress that education about Asian American history has made since he was a kid.

“It’s a recognition that Asian Americans are here, and we are third, fourth [and] ffth generation,” Harano said. “This whole AAPI month helps legitimize the fact that we’re here.”

On the move, changing dynamics

ALYSSA KOWOLS Online Assoc. Editor-in-Chief

It was a beautiful spring day in Frisco, Texas as the birds were chirping and all of the neighbors were outside. Sophomore Ella Cook was at her house and decided to go outside to talk to her parents. When she went up to them, that’s when she found out. She would have to move for the 12th time because of her dad’s work and to be closer to her dad’s side of the family.

“It was really hard for me,” Cook said. “But I had kind of expected it. We have never stayed in one place for that long.”

Like Cook, so many students have moved throughout their lives. Maybe not moving states like her but their lives have changed in an extensive way. According to a Knightmedia survey of 216 students, 68.6% of them have moved at least once in their life.

For Cook, it is hard to have long term friendships since she has moved so many times. Because of that, she hasn’t really stayed in contact with many friends from Texas, and only gets updates on their lives from SnapChat. Since Cook came to Prospect her freshman year, it was a

and everyone was coming from diferent schools. But there was always one thing in the back of her mind.

“Coming here and going into a new school, I knew I had to be more determined to actually make friends,” Cook said.

Junior Kate Kremer has also moved many times. For her, the last few times she has moved, it has been in the Prospect area. So there was no reason for her to change schools. That helped her when it came to her friendships. If anything, those friendships got stronger.

“They checked in on me and helped me,” Kremer said. “And just showed they were there … it was like, ‘oh wow you’re a real friend.’”

Kremer’s moving experience was a lot diferent than Cook’s since she was only moving 15 minutes away. However, the moving process still raised her anxiety.

“It almost feels like you don’t have your life together,” Kremer said. “Because everything is in boxes and you’re just living out of those.”

Cook’s moving experience was a little diferent. Since she was moving across the country, she depended on herself to get through things. When Cook moved to Illinois, it was a new start for her, and her whole dad’s side of the family lives in Illinois. Then she could be closer to her cousins, aunts, and uncles. When it came to school, there were gaps in what she had learned and had to redo Spanish and math classes because the credits didn’t count from her old school. Before Illinois, Cook has moved 12 other times. When Cook found out she was moving again, she was disappointed. Especially since her parents told her they would never move again. Her 4th grade brother, at the time, was even more upset about the move. According to Cook, he has trouble

making friends, and going into a school where all the friend groups have been made, makes it even harder. Since she joined cross country and track & feld, it has been easier to make friends and create friendships.

When Cook moved to Illinois, she was still fnishing up 8th grade in Texas. She and her family would come look at houses on the weekends. She even had to miss her 8th grade graduation to keep looking for houses. Cook’s dad would stay longer to try fnding a good place to stay while the rest of the family was in Texas fnishing everything up. Finally, they decided to rent a house nearby so they could continue to stay while looking. They brought all of their stuf from Texas and put it in storage until they bought a house.

Kremer recently just moved, but even before that she knew she’d move again. They were only renting an apartment, so she knew it wasn’t permanent. Unlike Cook, she has moved about fve times in her life. This past time she has moved, it was a little harder. Kremer’s brother was still at college and it was just her and her mom moving, so there was a lot more stuf laid on them.

“You almost have to mentally prepare yourself,” Kremer said. “Because your whole family dynamic changes and you’re living in a diferent place, so your routine is altered.”

Kremer’s brother is a freshman in college, so when they moved she had to pack all of his stuf too. The person that got Kremer through the move was

Safety concerns for student drivers escalate

JOCELYN FARINA

Copy Editor

Driving is practically second nature for sophomore Molly Beyna. No one would blink twice if they saw her driving around the Prospect community: getting Starbucks, picking up her freshman brother from St. Viator high school, driving friends around or helping her parents with errands.

Although Beyna is a sophomore and doesn’t have a parking pass, she is fortunate enough to have her last block of to go home and come back to freely

park at school. Whether it be for cross country or softball practice, Beyna usually fnds herself back in the student parking lot by the time 3 o’clock rolls around.

Beyna will pull in her car to a parking space, but she won’t immediately leave her car. Instead, she waits for the fnal bell to ring at 3 pm, which signals her to go into high alert. Beyna describes how the parking lot quickly turns into a nightmare as students begin to pour out from school and funnel into their cars.

“Everyone is trying to get out as fast as they can,” Beyna said. “And they aren’t really thinking about everyone else around them.”

Unfortunately, Beyna isn’t the only student who must brave

the student parking lot. Whether it be at the start, end or even middle of the day the student parking lot constantly poses a safety concern to just about anyone in it. In fact, the general area around the building tends to raise some red fags for a lot of people, students and parents alike.

From 1983 to 2021, the Federal Highway Administration found that the amount of 18 year olds with licenses dropped from 80% to 60%, while the amount of 16 year olds with licenses dropped from 46% to 25%.

With fewer teens than ever before getting their license, a closer examination at the relationship between teen drivers and their impact on the community may be necessary.

her boyfriend. He would be there all day helping her pack everything or unpack it at the new house. Even though she had a moving company come and help, he was always there.

Now, when Cook looks back at her life in Texas she misses the atmosphere there. Cook misses the restaurants, the stores and how spirited the football games are. Even though there are plenty of things she misses, she has made so many new memories and friends by moving to Illinois. Although Cook is moving again this summer, she will still be able to be at Prospect and stay with all of her friends.

“My favorite part of moving here is the people I’ve met at the school,” Cook said. “It’s been a lot better than my schools in Texas.”

WATCH

SHIFTING HOMES: Junior Kate Kremer’s living room full of boxes during her families moving process. She moved during the school year, so she had to pack and unpack all of these boxes while also catching up on homework. (photo courtesy of Kremer)

(photo by Alyssa Kowols)

Jimmy Awards insinuate stress

SYDNEY STRIMLING A&E Reporter

It has been well over a decade since Prospect last participated in the Jimmy Awards. 11 years ago, Prospect entered their 2013 spring musical “Zombie Prom” in their only ever submission to the awards. The show was so successful that 2013 alum Franco Longobardi was nominated for the “Best Actor” award.

Unfortunately, since 2014, the application due date has been a week earlier than the spring musical, rendering Prospect ineligible to qualify. However, because this year’s spring musical, “Mamma Mia,” took place from April 17-20, a week earlier than usual, Prospect could apply.

Even so, an opportunity to participate was not guaranteed. Due to the exclusivity of the Jimmy Awards, only 80 schools from each state are accepted to participate in just the preliminary rounds.

“We almost didn’t make it in,” Fine Arts Coordinator Jeremy Morton said. “You had to apply within a week, and it closed really quickly. There were plenty of schools that got turned down, and we were one of them on the waiting list.”

The Jimmy Awards were founded in 2009 to bring attention to high school arts. The process to qualify for the Jimmys is very competitive. Each state has a separate award show connected to the Jimmy Awards; for Illinois, this is the Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards (IHSMTA). Out of over 300 applicants in the state, only 12 boys and 12 girls are nominated. They must then win the award at the state level in order to move on to the Jimmys.

For Morton, the Jimmy Awards were not new territory. In 2004 he was nominated for “Best Director” for

the show “Merrily We Roll Along,” produced by his own theater company, White Horse Theater Company. Due to his prior experience, going into the process of applying for the Jimmys, Morton knew what scouts wanted to see.

“I think they’re looking for full quality, everything,” Morton said. “All of the components of theater working together. The performance, the music and the tech elements of it, all should be one unit.”

The students, in particular, were extremely excited to engage in this opportunity. Because of his lead role as Sam Carmichael in “Mamma Mia,” junior James Galanis applied for the awards. Given that the spring musical was an immersive experience held at a wedding venue in Niles, Galanis found that acting in a thrust theatre style, where the audience is on all

three sides of the performer; was the biggest challenge for him.

“It was getting over that, ‘you have to be acting for everyone,’ barrier, so I could give everyone a performance, not just the people in front of me,” Galanis said.

Because the performance took place at the Niles venue, the cast ended up blocking the show in the cafeteria. Morton told the cast to “just play” and get a feel for the general space, since they couldn’t actually rehearse in the real venue until tech week.

Moreover, knowing that people were attending the show to judge him specifcally, Galanis was nervous going into the performance, given it was his frst time playing a lead. He worried about executing all of his blocking and giving an enjoyable performance.

“For me, there was pressure,” Galanis said. “But when I was perform-

ing, I made sure that I didn’t let the pressure get to me. At the end of the day, it’s still a show I’m performing for people, so I can’t let that get in my head and let it afect the show.”

All in all, it wasn’t the awards that made the moment for Galanis—it was the experience of being a part of such an amazing show. He recalled the frst time he got into his fnal costume: a bright, sparkly jumpsuit. As he and the other leads took the stage, the burst into laughter.

“I felt like that concluded it and put everything where it needed to be. Even though Sam only wears it for one song, it made me feel most like Sam because it made that 1970s disco music complete,” Galanis said.

The process was exciting, yet stressful, as almost everything had to be done completely diferently in order to get the experience to come together. Prospect had never done an immersive experience in this capacity before, and it was a learning experience for everyone.

“The stress was putting on the show the way we did it, and the fact that we had an amazing audience the entire time was a stress release,” Morton said. “The fact that there was someone there who got to also see what we did was super exciting.”

Everything fnally became real for Morton when the audience breathed life into the show and the actors. Jimmy Awards or not, Mamma Mia was an incredibly special, creative production that Prospect was able to put together.

“Watching this crazy idea I had, bringing the show to another location and creating an immersive experience for our audience [was my favorite part],” Morton said. “Anytime that there was this inclusion of the audience was a great memory. Every time there was a new interaction, it was different and exciting, and that’s what I loved about the show.”

Concerts bring delight; saftey concerns take the stage

SARAH GEORGE Executive A&E Editor

Junior Nicole Lech squinted, trying to watch her mother through the blue and green lights. With the speakers blasting and the base music making the foor vibrate to the beat, the smile on Lech’s face was only one of the many indications that she was having the time of her life.

It’s not everyday that high school students get to see their parents moshing to Duke Demont, and for Lech, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Lech loves the vibe of concerts and continues to attend them. This summer, she got tickets to both Country Thunder and Lollapalooza.

With these Summer music festivals, including Summer Smash and Hinterland, becoming increasingly popular, high school students are still attending concerts despite safety concerns and grueling costs.

An integral part of major music festivals like Country Thunder and Lollapalooza is their ability to attract famous artists. For example, headlining Country Thunder this summer will be Bailey Zimmerman, Nickelback, Lainey Wilson and Eric Church. Meanwhile SZA, Tyler, the Creator, The Killers and Hozier will headline Lollapalooza.

Although the artists who are performing are important, for Lech, they are secondary to the experience that music festivals provide.

“Even if I didn’t like the lineups of [Country Thunder and Lollapalooza],” Lech said. “I would still go because the environment of [the festivals] is what I love.”

Senior Margaret O’Grady, who will attend Country Thunder this summer, shares a similar belief.

“It’s honestly just the social aspect,” O’Grady said. “I will go even if I don’t like the lineup.”

However, attending so many concerts comes with preparation. According to Lech, the most rigorous but entertaining part of concert planning is the wardrobe. Lech loves fashion, and she spends a great deal of time particularly drawing, making and ordering her concert outfts.

“I love the excitement that comes with picking out an outft that will be in all of your pictures and videos — the outft you wear will be one of the most-remembered things,” Lech said.

For O’Grady, outft planning started months before she had gotten her tickets to Country Thunder. While O’Grady paid for her outft, her parents paid for her ticket and any transportation and food she needed.

“If it’s something that I want, like a part of my outft,” O’Grady said. “It’s going to be me covering the cost.”

While outft planning and buying tickets are both important parts of the music festival experience, safety is also critical. According to Lech and O’Grady, having been to a handful of music festivals and concerts, they have never felt unsafe in their surroundings. Being encircled by countless fans and people their age, and with new technology like Life360 and FindMy, they have never felt the need to leave a concert due to safety concerns.

“It’s nice knowing the fact that you’re surrounded by so many people,” O’Grady said. “It’s also so fun because you get to meet so many people and even see people you know.”

Although Lech and O’Grady have both had positive experiences, this doesn’t mean that summer music festivals are without dangers.

A 2018 Center for Crime and Justice Policy survey found that 92% of female fans have reported experiencing harassment at a music fes-

CONCERT COUNTDOWN: Junior Nicole Lech (middle right) at the winter break Duke Demont concert with her friends. Concerts and music festivals are very important to Lech and her friends, which is why she bought tickets to Lollapalooza and Country Thunder this summer. “I cannot wait for the countdown for my summer concerts to start,” Lech said. (photo courtesy of Lech)

tival. Considering that this survey was conducted six years ago, it is possible that that number has grown.

Aside from the major dangers of any bigcrowd event, there are obvious safety hazards that fans should be aware of; for example, never take unknown substances from a stranger. Heat is also a safety concern at music festivals. With the summer dates of the popular Country Thun-

der and Lollapalooza festivals, the heat will be strenuous. Websites for both concerts express to people attending how important it is to pack necessary items like water bottles and lots of sunscreen.

Margaret O’Grady’s mother, Chrissie O’Grady, explained how she felt when her daughter went up to her asking to attend Lollapalooza.

“There was hesitation and excitement,” Chrissie said. “It’s never easy letting your child go to something like this on their own.”

While using Life360 as reassurance that her daughter is safe, she agrees with Lech’s perspective that phones and tracking apps are making parents less worried about these music festivals.

“You have to let your kids live,” Chrissie said. “You, as a parent, just have to be able to trust them and trust that they are going to be okay.”

For those attending music festivals this summer, stay safe, be aware and have fun! Make sure to capture the moment.

“[Music festivals] are such an adventure and adrenaline rush,” O’Grady said. “I’m just super excited.”

SPARKLES: Junior James Galanis in his favorite costume from the Mamma Mia. (photo courtesy of Galanis)

For more photos from the musical, check out Kaia Mavradas’s Mamma Mia photo album!

Chemistry created by boys’ tennis

Sports Editor

Having made state in his freshman and sophomore year, junior David Motorga, a member of Prospect varsity boys’ tennis, is looking to have success at state again this season from May 23 to May 25. For Motorga, who has played tennis for nine years, doing well at state is very important. Last season, Motorga placed top 32 in the state, and this success has led him to feel like he’s expected to place well at state this season. However, he tries to not let that get to his head.

“There is defnitely a little bit of pressure [heading into state, but] I am just going to tell myself, ‘go out there, compete and most of all, have fun,’” Motorga said.

In Motorga’s frst two years qualifying for state, he made it as a singles player. However, this season, he has been playing doubles because he wants to gain more experience from the other side of the game. In doubles tennis, having a good relationship with your partner is very important, as it helps your on-court chemistry.

Motorga and his partner, senior Dima Hutnyk had a 14-9 record heading into state. They keep a notebook together where they share plays in order to plan what they are going to do during matches to keep their chemistry strong. Along with the notebook they have, they go out to eat with the rest of the team to further grow the team bond. Motorga enjoys having a great relationship with Hutnyk because it helps take some of the pressure of himself.

“It feels great because you have someone to rely on, not just yourself,” Motorga said. “Even when I’m worn out, he can keep pushing me.”

Although Motorga and Hutnyk have good chemistry, they are very different players. Motorga thinks having difering play styles with his partner can help their efectiveness during matches.

“We’re kind of the exact opposite,” Motorga said. “He’s more aggressive at the net and more athletic, while I’m kind of the guy who sets up the shots for him.”

Outside of Motorga and Hutnyk’s relationship, the team generally has a good overall bond. Their connection can be attributed to eforts made by frst-year boys’ and three-year JV girls’ tennis coach Patrick Weber. Earlier in the year, he ran concessions with his players at a football game to both raise money for the tennis team and get the team together for an event. Motorga thought that running the concessions helped build a stronger bond within the team because everyone could hang out and have a good time with each other. Weber has enjoyed building this culture in his frst season.

“This year, it has been great to get to know everybody [on] a more personal level,” Weber said.

So far, one thing Weber has noticed about his team is that they care about one and other and have constantly supported each other throughout the year.

“Whenever matches are [ending], it doesn’t matter if it’s the fourth doubles match versus the one singles match, people are going out and supporting their teammates,” Weber said.

For sophomore Ondrej Subr, who made varsity as a freshman, having a close team is important. Being an underclassman, Subr has sometimes needed help from the more experienced players on the team. For example, the upperclassmen drive him to and from practices and matches since Subr doesn’t have his license yet. Subr appreciates how the older players have

helped him.

“They … [make] me feel like a part of the team,” Sophomore Subr said. “We go out to eat whenever we win … and have fun.”

Having a solid bond between coaches and players is essential, especially when heading into sectionals and state. To make his players as ready as possible for sectionals and state, Weber simulated game situations during practice. Along with changes during practice, Weber also switched up his lineup due to the competitive teams

like Hersey and Fremd being in the same conference and sectional as Prospect, to ensure the best possible results. His goal for the playofs is to get as many players to qualify for state as possible while still having a good time doing it. Weber highlights the methodology behind how he structures practices heading into the playofs.

“Make it enjoyable, still build that positive team culture in the last week, but then get ready, [the playofs are] coming up, we [have] to be prepping,” Weber said.

The team got its frst taste of the playofs in the conference tournament, which was from May 10 to May 11. Prospect placed ffth overall, with Motorga placing ffth as the highest single player on the lineup. Later on during sectionals, Motorga and Hutnyk both qualifed for state as partners.

In any sport, the playofs are full of high-pressure environments and big moments, and tennis is no exception. For Motorga, the mentality before matches is very important and is a factor in how well players can compete. Motorga highlights how he approaches matches.

“You don’t care what the opponent is thinking,” Motorga said. “Just play your game and … strive to be the best you can.”

For some players, keeping a level head during matches can be a challenge because losing a point can derail a whole match. Motorga and Subr both recognize that the mental game is one of the hardest parts of tennis.

“Tennis is probably one of the most frustrating sports in the world,” Motorga said. “It’s down to the millimeter, you have to be so [precise].”

Furthermore, the individuality of tennis can make the mental aspect of the game more challenging. In most sports, if you lose, it’s a whole team efort. In tennis, there are only one or two people to blame.

“Everything is on you all the time, Weber said. “Your success is yours, and your losses are also yours.”

In the end, whether or not the team has success at state, Weber appreciates how coachable the players on his team have been and hopes to continue building on that foundation to create a great program in the future.

“It’s great being with a ... group of guys who can win matches, who are competitive and who want to get better every single day,” Weber said.

TEAM BOND: Seniors Dima Hutnyk and Allen Chennoth celebrate after winning an important point during a match against Buffalo Grove on April 23. (photo by Priyanka Shah)

Learn about the differences between Prospect sports uniforms throughout the years.

TOP SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2023-24

Throughout the fall, winter and spring seasons, Prospect athletics made no shortage of history. In about 30 programs, athletes competed at the highest level to achieve their goals and surpass school records. Managing Editor Ben Mitchell and KnightTV Executive Producer Kenny Munao have the stories.

Jaxon

Penovich worked all season to perfect his craft and get revenge after his ffth place fnish last season. (photo by Priyanka Shah)

"GETTING THIRD IN STATE WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE AS A HIGH SCHOOL GOLFER."

-Luke Krueger, senior

"DO IT, EVEN IF IT SCARES YOU."

-Viola Pianetto, junior

"YOU'VE GOT HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS [OF PEOPLE] MAYBE EVEN WATCHING YOU. IT'S JUST AMAZING ... AT THE END, YOU'RE CELEBRATING [THAT I] JUST WON STATE."

- Jaxon Penovich, sophomore

The boys' golf team holds the third place trophy at the The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course, Bloomington. (photo courtesy of Scott McDermott)

Senior Katie Rusczcak poses with her team after the state fnal. During the season, she averaged 193 pins per game. At state, she averaged 215.7 pins per game across 12 games that helped her take third place at state. (photo by Ashley Ma- honna)

Luke Krueger

and Patrick Raupp (right) hold the third place trophy after their performances at state where Krueger and Raupp both tied for sixth place. (photo courtesy of Scott McDermott)

"I WANTED TO BE UP THERE, AND I KNEW I COULD DO IT IF I PUT FORTH THE EFFORT."

-Katie Rusczcak, senior

Pianetto practices for Prospect in the inaugural season. She etched her name into the Prospect record books by becoming the frst girls' wrestler to qualify for state. She fnished in third place fnish in the 130-pound weight class at sectionals. (photo by Priyanka Shah)

5. 'Shot of the year'

After the wild fnish to the second matchup against Hersey, the scoreboard remained lit, showing the narrow victory that the Knights enjoyed. It allowed them to control their own destiny to win the MSL East. (photo by Priyanka Shah)

Senior Drew Terpins fnishes a layup against Hersey. Later in that very game, Terpins hit a fall-away foater to give Prospect the decisive two point lead. It was considered to be the 'shot of the year' by assistant coach John Camardella. (photo by Priyanka Shah)

Junior Viola Pianetto wrestles at state, cementing her name into the Prospect record books by qualifying and wres- tling at state. (photo courtesy of Viola Pianetto)

"I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO AFTER I HIT THAT SHOT, I WAS JUST SO HAPPY TO WIN IT FOR MY GUYS."

-Drew Terpins, senior

Seniors

(left)

Sophomore

Penovich stands atop the podium after winning state in the 160-pound weight class. (photo courtesy of Scott McDermott)