Issue 5 23-24

P ROSPECTOR THE

Weekend of champions

PJ O’GRADY Editor-in-Chief

Traversing through the cornfelds of central Illinois, Athletic Director (AD) Scott McDermott was determined to support both wrestling and the speech team at the IHSA State competitions on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16. McDermott had to make the hourand-15 minute long trek several times between the wrestling competition in Urbana and the speech competition in Peoria.

Refecting on his time, McDermott summed up the weekend.

“It was a pretty chaotic, fun [and] exciting [experience],” McDermott said. “You’ll never hear me complaining about being able to see kids do what they love doing.”

Associate Principal Frank Mirandola described McDermott’s dedication and the role he’s stepped into as the new AD.

“McDermott’s a champion of students, and he really embodies the idea of EveryKnight, where we want to elevate the arts, the athletics

[and] the activities to the same level,” Mirandola said.

While McDermott was traveling between the two competitions, Mirandola was in Rockford watching the girls’ bowling team, where senior Katie Ruszczak was competing, and Assistant Athletic Director Dan Deboeuf was in Palatine High School watching the girls’ gymnastics team, where junior Megan Goumas was competing. Throughout it all, Mirandola said they were all texting each other and sharing big news during the weekend.

The events came to a grand fnale on Saturday, Feb. 16 when three IHSA events won state and another earned third place. Ruszczak started the rally of by fnishing in third place for bowling. Later that night, senior duo Kelly Jordan and Emily Caravello won for Dramatic Duet Acting (DDA), then right afterwards, sophomore Jaxon Penovich earned frst place in the 190 pound weight class for wrestling. Lastly, sophomore Dylan Maye and senior Anna Parisi won for Humorous Duet Acting (HDA).

Following such an action-packed weekend, Prospect administration and state winners are still buzzing about the signifcance of such an accomplishment.

McDermott explained the magnitude of such a successful couple of days.

“I have not had a weekend like that where there’s so much coming at me in this role,” McDermott said. “That culminating weekend where there’s four [IHSA tournaments] is mind-blowing.”

Setting the tone for the weekend, while speech, wrestling and gymnastics were all going on, Ruszczak was amidst a whirlwind of stress in Rockford. Although she has bowled at state twice before, she had never won a state medal in those appearances. Coming into the big weekend, Ruszczak shifted her focus to a calmer state of mind rather than overthinking the competition — something that ended up paying dividends for her later in the competition.

“I kind of put my mindset to just having fun and enjoying and trying to do my best, and a lot of that came from also trying to show my college coaches what they’re going to get next year,” said Ruszczak, who is planning to bowl at Arkansas State University next winter. “I wanted to be up there, and I knew I could do it if I put forth the efort.”

In the end, Ruszczak reached a score of 2,588, averaging about 216 pins per game, over

the course of two days and 12 games. On Friday, she bowled a 1,286 and on Saturday bowled a 1,302. Although she said she performed below expectations on Saturday morning, she quickly picked it up during the afternoon and reached the weekend’s peak when she scored a 277 in her ffth game of the day. Her afternoon stretch, when she knocked down 740 pins, led to a huge jump in placement from 18th to third place to secure her IHSA state medal.

“To see [Mirandola] make that journey all the way down there to come watch us and cheer us on was really good to see,” Ruszczak said. “[It shows that] people besides our coaches actually care about our team.”

As Mirandola was watching Ruszczak bowl, McDermott just arrived at the State Farm Center to watch Penovich when he received a call. It turned out that the frst set of speech contestants, Jordan and Caravello, won state. A bit later, Maye and Parisi won their event too.

Something that made the celebration even better for Caravello was when McDermott came back to Peoria after the speech team won on Saturday night.

photo

by

Mollie Kearns

VICTORIOUS: From left to right, sophomores Jaxon Penovich and Dylan Maye and seniors Kelly Jordan, Emily Caravello, Anna Parisi and Katie Ruszczak stand in formation as they all earned a medal in their IHSA events. Penovich and speech won frst in state, while Ruszczak fnished in third for bowling.

IT security increasing in priority

Local cyberattacks occur often; more education needed

At Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, staf made an unexpected discovery: an outsider had attacked the hospital’s computer systems. All the systems went ofine on Jan. 31 to prevent patients’ digital medical fles and the hospital’s data from being leaked, according to ABC7 Chicago. It wasn’t until 8:00 PM on Mar. 1 that their systems came back online, according to cbsnews.com.

Erin Hutter, the mother of sophomore Quanin Brooks, works at Lurie’s as a cardiac imaging specialist. Hutter says that the cyberattack disrupted both hospital staf and patients because digital records were inaccessible.

“We had no access to medical history whatsoever: no prior examinations, no notes, no health history, no allergy information,” Hutter said. “So we’ve had to postpone patients’ cases for those that can’t wait until we can get access to their charts.”

Without access to sufcient patient information, performing surgeries and other operations would place patients’ health and safety at risk. For this reason, Hutter has relied on oral patient history from families and reports from previous hospital visits to decide which procedures can be done safely.

To help prevent repeat attacks, Hutter says that

hospital staf try to keep their online presence safe by changing their passwords frequently and not sharing them with others. However, this does not fully guarantee protection from cyberattacks.

“[Hospital administration] does their due diligence to try to prevent [cyberattacks], but … unfortunately, there’s always someone smarter,” Hutter said.

Cyberattacks are an ever-growing issue throughout the workforce, including the medical feld. Cyberattacks are defned as “unwelcome attempts to steal, expose, alter, disable, or destroy information through unauthorized access to computer systems,” according to Ibm.com, an information technology (IT) products and services provider.

As technology has become more widespread, cyberattacks have increased in frequency, which, in turn, has increased the demand for cybersecurity jobs.

At Prospect, juniors and seniors who are interested in studying cybersecurity can take a fullyear class called College Cybersecurity/Mobility. According to computer science teacher Paul Hennig, who has taught college cybersecurity for the six years PHS has ofered it, the class is dual-credit and follows the curriculum of Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills.

Students who pass the frst semester of the class receive college credit on their transcripts, which many colleges accept. In the second semester, students can choose one of two pathways within the class: IT Fundamentals or Cyber Defense.

One topic the class covers in the frst semester is ethical hacking, also known as “white hat” hacking. According to the Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), ethical hacking involves breaking into a company’s computer system (with consent of the system’s owner) to expose weaknesses in the system that

CRACKING THE CODE: Senior Gabriella Swanson works on a lab assignment in the College Cybersecurity/Mobility class. The class gives students exposure to practical skills used in cybersecurity jobs. (photo by Stella Palm)

make it less secure and more subject to cyberattacks.

For this reason, Hennig says that ethical hacking is an important and sought-after cybersecurity career path.

“If you look at any career in demand, cybersecurity is up there,” Hennig said. “[So] what course is better than [College Cybersecurity] to prepare you for the real world?”

To gain even more real-world experience, students in Hennig’s College Cybersecurity class can take an ethical hacking exam created by CompTIA at the end of frst semester, during fnals week. While students do not need to pass the exam to pass the class, passing the exam gives students a certifcation that is recognized by the cybersecurity industry; the certifcation is desirable in many cybersecurity job applications.

The College Cybersecurity classwork contains mostly self-paced videos and computer labs, which students work on in class and can attempt an unlimited number of times. Students take notes on all the labs throughout the semester and use those notes to study for the CompTIA exam.

The exam consists of 10 labs, and each lab contains fctional cybersecurity scenarios in which students apply ethical hacking techniques they learned in class. Students need to score at least 1,400 out of 2,000 possible points to pass.

Senior Leticia Rios passed the exam with a score of 1,538 points. She found her notes especially helpful in a challenging scenario that required her to use ethical hacking to fgure out an unknown password.

Rios discovered the college cybersecurity class last year while taking AP Computer Science Principles, also taught by Hennig. When Hennig informed the class about College Cybersecurity, Rios decided to try it and ended up enjoying it.

Rios and senior Gabriella Swanson, the only two women in Hennig’s class, are the frst two women to pass the exam in PHS history. Rios believes that computer science is accessible enough to girls, but not enough girls are interested in it.

“I wish there were more girls in computer science because I feel like it’s a fun class,” Rios said. “I enjoy it. You can be creative, and you learn while you’re in the class. So I hope in the future, more girls join cybersecurity … it’s honestly a great class. I would recommend it [to] everyone.”

Junior Christopher Monev, who takes College Cybersecurity and also passed the exam, found that the entire semester’s classwork had prepared him for success.

“[The exam] was actually really similar to a lot of our previous assignments that we did in class, as long as you did your work and took good notes,” Monev said.

Students were only given two and a half hours to complete the exam, and once started, the test could not be paused. Despite this time pressure, Swanson and Rios completed all parts of the exam ahead of the time limit.

“Not stressing about the time [was difcult], because there was a big thing in the corner [of my screen] counting down, so [I was] trying not to look at it,” Swanson said. “It was making me a little anxious … [so] I thought it was pretty crazy that I was able to pass [the exam].”

Hennig says it is unusual for high school students to be able to take, let alone pass, CompTIA exams; they are typically only ofered at the college level and beyond.

“It’s a big deal,” Hennig said. “Adults try to pass this [exam] to get a job, and I have high school students passing it. This is something you put on a resume to go get a job.”

Both Swanson and Rios plan to use what they learned in class and on the exam after high

school. Rios hopes to study computer science in college, although she is unsure of what type of career she wants.

Swanson wants to become a police ofcer but plans to study computer science so she can apply it to computer forensics, which is used to identify criminals based on their fngerprints.

Monev performed exceptionally well on the CompTIA exam, earning 1,870 points. Monev also plans to study cybersecurity in college, and he believes taking college cybersecurity gave him good foundational knowledge.

“Obviously, [the cybersecurity class] is not as good as getting a college degree, but I think it really sets you up for success in college,” Monev said. “You have prior experience, and a lot of other kids don’t have that.”

Besides job opportunities, Monev believes that a basic understanding of personal cybersecurity is important as attacks become more prevalent. In fact, cyberattacks have occurred on an even more local scale than the incident at Lurie’s.

According to District 214 (D214) Cybersecurity Supervisor Robert Voss, students were unable to access the Internet during a cyberattack by an unknown attacker that occurred two years ago. The internet outage, which was district-wide, was caused by a type of cyberattack called a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack.

Voss said that a DDoS attack involves overwhelming a network with large amounts of trafc until the network cannot function normally and temporarily becomes inaccessible. In this case, since the D214 network was attacked, students were prevented from accessing Schoology and Infnite Campus.

DDoS attacks are the most common type of cyberattack and are especially common in schools. According to Stationx.net, a provider of cybersecurity training, 75% of all cyberattacks on organizations in 2023 were DDoS attacks, and according to Zayo.com, a provider of data transmission infrastructure, 17% of all DDoS attacks in 2023 targeted schools.

Fortunately, Voss said that no other cyberattacks have occurred in D214 since he became Cybersecurity Supervisor in Oct. 2020. However, DDoS attacks are difcult to prevent, and the increase in classroom technology, such as smart whiteboards, has made schools more vulnerable to these attacks.

“Some [newer smart whiteboards] have network connectivity on them, so that’s a new expansion of our attack surface that we now have to worry about,” Voss said. “As things continually become more connected, the … opportunities for incidents to occur increases.”

Despite the constant threat of cyberattacks, Voss believes everyone can take measures to protect their personal information.

“The best advice I can give someone is [to] watch what links you go to; be careful what you download from websites, and [be careful] managing your passwords,” Voss said. “Try not to use the same password depending on what services you’re signing up for. Beware of passwords and what emails you use.”

Monev believes that studying cybersecurity helps people learn to protect themselves online in a world that relies more than ever on technology, and it can also help prevent incidents, such as the one at Lurie’s, from occurring.

“Everything’s digital nowadays, [so] everyone needs to at least know the basics [of cybersecurity],” Monev said. “I think people are going to become a lot more aware of the [cybersecurity] issue because [the attack on Lurie’s] is a big attack … people are going to become more aware that this is a growing problem.”

Copy Editor

JUSTIN PEABODY

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.

staff

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Amanda Feinberg

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

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Packed Prospect needs new gym

Staff Editorial

Turning the corner into the CTE hallway after school, it looks like a war zone. Weighted balls up to 16 lbs. fy across the small space, launched against the wall by some of the strongest individuals in the school.

Despite what it seems, there is not a battle going on in the back of the school; it’s a weekday practice in what boys’ throws coach Tim Beishir has dubbed the Prospect Auxiliary Throws Facility. The throwers are simply practicing, albeit in less than favorable conditions.

“It’s hot back there,” junior Parker Ray said. “I’m sweating the whole time, I get tired and I get lightheaded too.”

The throwers aren’t in the CTE hallway by choice. The cold weather during the late winter and early spring sports seasons creates a lack of space in the feldhouse and two back gyms, forcing teams to fnd additional areas in the school to practice. Having to practice in non-traditional spaces can present some issues, such as the efort being put forth during practice.

“When we’re in the feld house … people are more locked in and into the practice and doing what they’re supposed to,” Ray said.

“When we’re in the hallway, we’re all chatty in the back … We don’t really care that much [about] what we’re trying to get done.”

The diference in attitude isn’t the only problem. The workouts limit the throwers’ ability to improve.

“I’m throwing at a wall with a one pound ball,” Ray said. “I can’t really see what’s happening, and the technique’s all diferent [since] there’s no ring to throw in.”

The issues with space aren’t exclusive to throwers, as track runners have to do sprints in the academic hallways when feldhouse or gym space isn’t available. To keep his

OUT OF ROOM: Track throwers practice in the “Auxiliary Throws Facility.” The lack of space has forced teams to be creative during practice. (photo by Mollie Kearns)

runners improving while indoors, girls’ sprints coach Ian Arms has to mix up the drills he does.

“As a track coach, I [have] to be creative,” Arms said.

One week, inspired by the show “Survivor,” Arms hid batons around the school with instructions for a workout. He split his runners into teams, and they had to race around the school and fnd the batons.

The constraints of feldhouse space don’t only cause irregularities in practice spaces; they also cause diferences in practice times. For boys’ varsity volleyball coach Mike Riedy, changing practice times every day can cause problems with practice attendance since difculties can arise when athletes have to leave and return at a later time.

The scheduling of the times and locations where teams practice is a lengthy process. Athletic Director Scott McDermott meets with each of the coaches and discusses the parameters around each sport’s needs before creating a schedule.

When feldhouse space is limited, McDermott schedules each sport in a four-slot rotation after school:

3:30-5, 5-6:30, 6:30-8, or 8:00-9:30.

There is also a morning time slot, 6:00-7:30, but many coaches fnd that their athletes have difculties focusing so early in the morning.

Most teams instead focus on after-school practices, with time slots being an hour and a half, rather than two hours, when space is limited.

According to McDermott and Riedy, the frst two weeks of March are usually the busiest of the year.

“Between [Feb. 22] and spring break is absolutely hellacious,” Riedy said.

The unseasonably warm 70 degree weather this February has allowed for less conficts with gym space, but usually, at this time of year, the schedule would be packed. Sometimes, however, there just isn’t enough space for teams to practice at Prospect.

“I’ve sent teams to Rolling Meadows to practice; I’ve sent teams to Forest View to practice,” McDermott said. “Nobody sees that stuf in the background happening, but it is happening.”

The schedule congestion and space limitations aren’t anyone’s

fault; they are simply a result of the number of athletes at Prospect and the building which houses them. According to McDermott, Prospect has the most athletes in District 214 (D214) with the least amount of space.

“[At Prospect], kids like athletics, and this spring, we might hit 800 athletes,” McDermott said. “When you start thinking about that number, it’s enormous … Where do you put them all?”

For Riedy, Arms and Ray, there is only one solution to the constraints of feldhouse space and the packed schedule.

“Build a new gym,” Riedy said. “That will solve a ton of problems, but that’s not the fault of the administration. If we had more space [or] if we had bigger facilities, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

We, KnightMedia, believe that the best solution to the constraints of feldhouse and gym space would be the addition of a new gym. Prospect has the most athletes in D214 with the least amount of space. We understand that coaches and administration at Prospect are doing all that they can to work with the space that they have, and we are aware that the D214 administration has six schools’ needs to consider.

However, we believe the addition of a new gym should be identifed as a necessity — a need, not a want — due to the high level of impact it will have for a large portion of Prospect students during their athletic seasons.

In the meantime, we admire and appreciate that coaches and administration are willing to work together to make the best out of the situations they are currently in.

“One thing that’s great about Prospect is that 99.9% of the time, coaches are willing to work with each other,” Riedy said. “We make mistakes; we work it out. I want to believe that the ultimate goal is always what’s best for kids.”

Makeup and shampoo leaves big boo boo

As I was putting on my Milani blush whilst doing my makeup before school, I went to check the shade name and I noticed a little bunny on the bottom of the packaging. At frst I was confused, questioning why there would be a bunny on my makeup product. Then I remembered that it was the symbol for cruelty free products.

Animal testing isn’t putting lipstick on a pig, though I wish it was. It is a way for cosmetic brands to evaluate if their product is safe for human skin. Instead of being tested on humans, these brands are testing products on animals, but in very harmful ways.

through her bathroom searching for products that animal test and found alternatives for them.

Valentini’s lifestyle change made her support for cruelty free products clear. Out of all the animals on this planet, one in particular is used most for the tests Valentini saw via social media: rabbits.

My mom would never let me have a pet rabbit growing up because she always said they were too stinky. Unfortunately, that rabbit that I could’ve had is probably being tested on now. Along with rabbits, mice and rats are also some of the top picks for cosmetic testing.

According to Cruelty Free International, these tests include dripping cosmetic chemicals into animals’ eyes, shaving their fur and rubbing chemicals onto their exposed skin or forcing the products down their throats. Then after the tests are over, whether the results were positive or negative, the animals are killed and dissected.

Senior Julia Valentini knew what animal testing was, but wasn’t aware of the severity of it until she saw the video, “Save Ralph,” of an animated bunny being tested on her social media feed.

“It was so eye opening for me,” Valentini said. “After seeing that video, I just was like, ‘I need to start thinking about this.’”

Soon after, Valentini decided that she needed to make a change in what brands she uses. She went

Now you might be thinking, “Eh, I don’t really care that much about mice and rats.” Trust me, neither do I. If I saw a rat while walking down the street, I’d run the other direction. Surprisingly, however, mice and rats actually play an important role in the health of grasslands and forests, and they are a major source of food for many predators and scavengers, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

If you still don’t care about animal testing, imagine your pet being tested on. I myself have a dog, and the fact that other dogs are being tested on just breaks my heart.

The number one breed of dog that is used for animal testing is beagles. Because they are submissive and small, it takes less space and money for these animals to be housed, according to the American Anti-Vivisection Society.

If you don’t have a pet and if you really, really don’t care about animals, let me tell you this: animal testing is cruel. It’s in the name.

CHECK YOUR LOGO: Here are the three approved cruelty free logos that you can fnd on your products.

Many of these animals are violated because they are obviously unable to make a choice. A lot of these tests also have inaccurate results because the biology of animals is diferent from humans, leading to unnecessary pain and death.

According to Cruelty Free International, crude skin allergy tests on guinea pigs and mice only predict human reactions 72% and 74% of the time, respectively. But approaches combining chemistry and cell-based alternative methods to animal testing have been shown to accurately predict human reactions up to 85% of the time.

Also, the Draize skin irritation test is when substances are applied to skin that is shaved and abraded. The products are rubbed harshly on the skin. The Draize skin irritation test in rabbits can only predict human skin reactions 60% of the time, but methods using reconstituted human skin are up to 86% accurate.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “I don’t use makeup; this isn’t relevant to me,” but actually, it is. Two of the most tested cosmetic products are shampoo and deodorant, and if you don’t use those, I don’t think I want to go near you.

While Valentini was looking through her products, she noticed her shampoo wasn’t cruelty free.

“I have this one brand that I really liked, but it tests on animals, so I was like ‘OK, let me try to see if

I can switch to a diferent brand,’” Valentini said.

Through research and trial and error, she soon found one that works for her and is cruelty free.

It’s important to know what brands test on animals and what brands don’t. It’s actually quite simple to check: you might be able to fnd a bunny logo on the labels of your products. There are only a couple of cruelty free logos that are actually approved, so don’t trust ones that aren’t.

You could also do your own research to fnd out if your favorite brands use animal testing or not. One website that can help you fnd cruelty free options is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). If a brand you have been using does test on animals, PETA helps give you options for alternative products that are cruelty free.

While brands are making strides towards getting rid of animal testing, Valentini and I both feel that brands can still do better at being cruelty free.

“Just for companies to look for ingredients that they can use that don’t change what their actual product is without testing on animals [is good],” Valentini said. “If there’s companies that can make good products and make money of of them without testing, then the ones that do can fnd a way to as well.”

A ‘love’ letter to spring allergies

Seasonal allergies return as annoying as year before

When you hear the word ‘spring’ you might think about vibrant fowers blooming, chirping birds returning after a long voyage home from migration or the weather fnally climbing above 50 degrees. Winter has been so long and has arguably overstayed its welcome, so the change in scenery always garners at least some excitement.

For me, however, all it gets out of me is a sigh. I would have also rolled my eyes if they weren’t so itchy from the pollen.

Seasonal allergies are a rite of passage in a way. Can it really be spring if I don’t yet need to take Benadryl every night so I can breathe through my nose? But when I do start needing it, oh boy! That’s when you know spring is in full force.

I’ve even begun to see Groundhog’s Day as an omen to the all familiar feeling of waking up to a dry throat and having to refll my humidifer every night. If it were up to me, I would be the one scaring the groundhog back into their den, not their shadow.

What can I say? Another six weeks before allergy season is a lot longer than it sounds. When the alternative is whatever my immune system has in store for me, I’d take the cold weather any day.

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that seasonal allergies suck. They come out of nowhere, make you feel terrible for a few months and then disappear; it’s a cycle that countless people go through each year.

with, oh no! For me at least, nature decides to hit me over the head with a metaphorical baseball bat and give me all four and then some.

The most common and easily recognizable symptom of most seasonal allergies is just how much you sneeze. Now, I try to keep the volume down whenever I sneeze, but I’m not always successful.

The last thing you want is to interrupt a dead quiet room with a sound so loud that it rivals a jet engine (looking at you, Dad).

There’s also a point where people stop saying “Bless you.” I’ve noticed that after the third sneeze people just give up on it, which I at least understand, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t even the slightest bit embarrassed.

Unfortunately, seasonal allergies (and allergies in general) aren’t just sneezing. The main attractions are the more subtle symptoms that nobody but the poor allergic schmuck gets to live with.

I’m talking congestion. I’m talking eye bags. And how could I forget about losing taste and smell? That’s where the real fun is.

To set the stage real quick: my parents are big fans of cooking new things. My mom has a whole bookshelf stacked with recipes ranging from vegetarian to Mediterranean meals. My dad, on the other hand, loves to cook with both his regular grill and smoker.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 25% of Americans have seasonal allergies to some degree, which isn’t an inconsequential amount.

Seasonal allergies are at most inconvenient, and usually aren’t as life threatening as some more severe allergies, such as tree nuts, but they are still able to really afect people (people being me). I can’t say that I’ve ever met a person who was excited to get congested and have eye bags.

According to the CDC, many people expirience allergy symptoms like nasal congestion, itchy skin, sneezing or pufy eyes.

It’s not like you only get one and it’s over

The point I’m trying to get across is that they like experimenting with new foods. So naturally, they want to know what my sister and I think of their cooking.

I don’t think they appreciate my answer of “I can’t taste any of it.”

It’s bad for them, it’s bad for me; nobody really gets anything out of it.

They then ask my sister, who gives an actual answer, and I sit quietly to the side as I wonder what the food in front of me tastes like.

So, family dinner wraps up and we all go our separate ways in the house. I go back to my room and start working on anything due the next few days for school. After that’s all done, I start getting ready for bed.

As I lay down, I feel my eyelids growing heavy as I prepare to drift of to sleep.

Four hours later, I’m staring at the ceiling trying to hold back rage only found in a sleep deprived, allergy ridden gremlin.

My nostrils take turns congesting and decongesting like a tag-team wrestling match. Then, my throat starts getting dry as I realize my hu-

WINTER WONDERLAND: Spring is around the corner, as is allergy season. A Cottonwood tree sheds snow-like seeds covered in white fuff, blanketing the ground and triggering a plethora of symptoms. (cartoon by

midifer is almost empty, and no matter how many Kleenexes I go through, I still need to blow my nose.

“Wow!” I hear you saying in the neighboring classroom. “That sounds annoying.”

You’d be right! However, that isn’t to say it’s entirely hopeless.

A humidifer can be a lifesaver. Allergies can cause your throat to feel like a desert, so upping the humidity in a room really helps to either prevent or greatly diminish it.

But what can you do at school? The last time I brought a humidifer into the building, I was asked, “What are you carrying?” and “Why are you here at 3 a.m.?” What does it look like I’m doing? I’m making the school less dry! The nerve of some people, I swear.

Obviously, lugging around a big water tank spewing mist isn’t generally seen as something ‘school appropriate.’ So what is?

For one, allergy medication. Whether you choose Benadryl or that weird of- brand product you found in the Walgreen’s back alley, it doesn’t matter.

But as a warning, make sure YOU bring them.

School nurse Cheryl Novak, as well as the whole nursing staf, aren’t legally allowed to hand out medication to students without a prescription.

“[Students] come in with itchy eyes and runny noses and ask [for allergy medicine]. We can’t do that,” Novak said “My nursing license only allows me to give medicine [to students] if they have a doctor’s order.”

As someone who also has seasonal allergies such as pollen, Novak understands how irritating they can be, so she tells these students to call their parents and have them drop of medication for the child to pick up.

Now, this doesn’t negate all of the sickness or endless teasing from my friends that I am “literally allergic to grass” (stop telling me to touch it, I’ll get itchy). However, it can be a great help.

Just try to avoid this whole fasco and carry a few pills with you in your bag while at school. Trust me, it’s worth it. Who knows, maybe it can be the thing that can help you appreciate an otherwise beautiful spring day.

I, for one, appreciate the ability to not be choking on pollen the exact nanosecond I leave my house, but that’s just me.

2024 FAFSA proves more daunting, confusing for seniors

Many people can fondly remember the feeling of trying to buy tickets to a popular musician’s tour online. Maybe you were an unlucky Swiftie logging on to Ticketmaster, trying frantically to get onto the right page, only to be met with technical issues or a website that’s “down for maintenance.”

Well, no big deal, you’ll just refresh and try again. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you won’t be met with the same message over and over as the panic slowly sets in. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll not only get in, but you’ll get your hands on those sweet, sweet tickets.

Senior Liam Ziegenhorn recently had that feeling. Except, instead of refreshing the page on websites like TicketMaster, he was trying to get into the Federal Student Aid website over the course of weeks. Instead of getting concert tickets, he was met with questions about taxes that he barely understood that he would need to fll out every year for at least four years.

When asked if he’s excited to do it again next year, he said “nope!”

Understandably.

questions, according to Pacifc University Oregon, and most people would take one to two hours to fll it out. Thankfully, in 2020, Congress told the DoE to make it shorter, easier and more helpful. Now, with the new FAFSA, applicants only need to fll out around 36 basic questions, and the IRS provides your tax information for the more complicated stuf. Yay!

Most people who’ve flled out both versions of the FAFSA would say the new version is unbelievably easy. 2023

Prospect alumna and current freshman at Illinois State Maya Denic said it took her an hour. Karen Zeug, a local parent, said it took even less time. Clearly, this means that the government did their job and made everyone’s lives easier, right?

Ziegenhorn, along with hundreds of thousands of people across the country, was trying to get into the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, more commonly known as the FAFSA. The FAFSA is a form created by the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) for students who are going into or attending college.

Families input their fnancial situation, and the government gets the form and creates a Student Aid Index (SAI) that shows how much fnancial help you need. That information is then sent to the universities you applied to, and those universities tell you how much money in scholarships you get.

Sounds simple, right? Well, last year, it wasn’t. The old FAFSA had up to 108

Right?

Well, not really. Because the FAFSA needed new equations, it opened at the end of December instead of early October. Annoying, but I’m an optimist, so I’m choosing to believe that they had a good reason for it. OK, so you wait a little while and eventually you get into the form. Now you just type in a few responses and hit send.

But wait!

Make sure you hit that little checkmark at the end to ‘sign’ the form. If you or your parents don’t sign it, you won’t qualify for certain aid from the government, and you won’t be able to fgure out your SAI.

Well, me and my mom signed it, and guess what? I got an email a few days later saying I didn’t have all of my signatures. What the hell?!

According to Joseph Doner, the Prospect representative for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission , this is a surprisingly common issue. Sometimes, it’s because the form saved itself without your signatures and you sent it without checking; other times, it’s because you literally just didn’t click the button. According to Doner, you’ll be able to edit the form once

ROADBLOCK: Filling a FAFSA, while important for college admission, can be intimidating. Due to oversights, seniors faced multiple problems that overcomplicated the already famously confusing form. (cartoon by Nicole Antczak)

it’s done processing, including adding your missing signatures.

“Cool!” I thought at the time. “When the FAFSA opened in December, they told us our information will be processed by the end of January. I’ll be able to add my missing signatures in no time!”

Oh, how naive I was. Only days later did the DoE announce that forms won’t be done processing until “the frst half of March,” and that colleges won’t send you your need-based scholarship info for “a few weeks.” Considering the fact that “it opens at the end of December” apparently means December 31st, I don’t think we’ll be getting our college cost information until at least April. It somehow gets worse! Most, if not all, scholarships are keeping their old deadlines. When are their deadlines? The majority are February or March. Some are January or earlier. A handful are in early April. How am I supposed to know how many scholarships I should apply to if I’m not gonna know how much college costs

until AFTER the deadlines?!

Ziegenhorn said the stress was “pretty bad,” and he was one of the rare, responsible seniors.

“I didn’t have a ton of stress about deadlines, but I started pretty early,” Ziegenhorn said. “And even then, I had to spend a lot of time [working]… there’s still things I have to fll out that I still have no time to do.”

Pause. Remember how I said Congress told them to make the FAFSA more helpful? One of those requirements included adding an equation that would account for infation. If you make $60,000 a year in 2020, that’s not going to be as good as making $60,000 in 2024.

Guess what ‘math mistake’ the DoE made? According to the Washington Post, NOT INCLUDING IT AT ALL. Now, they’re scrambling to add the equation to the forms that we already flled out.

So yeah, I’m pretty stressed. However, Denic said she isn’t worried about the later deadlines. Zeug said she prefers the

new form over the old one. Even Ziegenhorn said the new form is “fne.” Why am I so stressed, if they’re not?

Well, Denic is already enrolled in a college –– I’m not. Zeug hasn’t been dealing with fguring out her entire future for the past few years –– I have. Ziegenhorn isn’t a part of the 15.3% of Prospect students who are low income –– I am.

And, heck, just cause I’m low-income doesn’t mean the people who aren’t are coasting along right now. Ziegenhorn has been dealing with the same deadlines I have. Everyone has to deal with homework, extracurriculars, college applications, and the crushing weight of being alive.

Just check out the r/FAFSA community on Reddit. Try scrolling through month’s worth of posts from people who don’t have access to their birth certifcates or tax records, or people who waited for hours after calling the hotline only to be told there’s no solution to their problem. Heck, I should be grateful my only parent is a documented immigrant ––people whose parents don’t have a social security number straight up cannot fll out the form at all right now.

According to the ofcial Federal Student Aid Issue Alerts website, “there is currently no workaround” and these people will be able to fnish the online form “once the issue is resolved,” whatever that means.

Be grateful that I’m not struggling as much as others. Be grateful that the government is handling your entire future so poorly. Be grateful that you might have to take on debt just to get a job that barely pays above minimum wage. Be grateful that, according to a study done in 2014 by the American Psychological Association, teens’ stress during the school year is HIGHER than that of adults.

Well, if I have to be more grateful, then my mom’s going to have to learn that me trying to quickly de-stress after hours of homework and scholarship apps by sitting on my phone isn’t me being lazy. But I think we all know that’s not gonna happen any time soon.

Nicole Antczak)

ALEX BONNETTE Copy Editor

NICOLE ANTCZAK Staff Writer

Siblings ballin’ with the big kids

MARY ROBINSON

Features Reporter

The boys’ varsity basketball team played Elk Grove on Tuesday Jan. 30 in the Jean Walker Field House. The varsity cheer team arrived 30 minutes prior to the game’s start time and were surprised that the fve year old girl who cheers alongside them at home games, June Kenoe, brought them all individualized Valentine’s Day cards and homemade cupcakes. All of the girls on the team were so happy to see Kenoe excited about giving them her gifts and cheering with them.

Katie Kenoe and her three children, Graham, Nathan and June, have attended the games for the last two years. June cheers with the cheerleading team, and Nathan is the waterboy for the basketball team.

“All three of them just have found a lot of enjoyment and just smile a lot,” Katie said. “We just forget about everything when we are there.”

Inside the cards, June wrote the cheerleaders notes explaining how cheering with the team makes her happy and distracts her from her arthritis and brain condition.

June was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis when she was two years old. One morning, June woke up with a swollen right knee about the size of a softball.

Her parents took her to an orthopedic doctor, who was quickly able to diagnose it as juvenile arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes joint stifness and swelling, less ability to use one or more joints, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes. It afects 300,000 kids in the United States, according to the Arthritis Foundation. June was also diagnosed with Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia in Oct. 2023. Chiari Malformation is a condition in which brain tissue extends into the spinal canal.

Nathan cheered with the team last year, but his interest in basketball peaked, and he wanted to be more involved with the basketball team. Nathan wrote a formal email to the head coach Brad Rathe, asking if he could be the waterboy for the team.

Nathan is always ready to hand the players water once they come of the court and during timeouts. He also comes to the locker room for postgame talks with the team.

“He is the water extraordinaire,” Rathe said. “It sounds like something silly, but it’s actually really helpful. You have timeouts where you get 30 seconds or 60 seconds, and he’s all over it.”

Nathan also travels to away games to help the team. His parents and grandparents team up to drive Nathan to the games. Out of the 32 games this season, he has been to about 30 of them.

Rathe gave him some Prospect basketball gear as well as a signed basketball from all of the players on the team. For the last regular season game, Nathan got to ride the bus with the team to the game.

“For Nathan, especially this year, [his role] has been a really good distraction from everything going on with June,” Katie said. “He has his own thing, and now he has shown such a great interest in the sport that it makes him want to work harder.”

June and Nathan have brought so much cheer and joy to the basketball program this year. They are a prime example of what it is like to be a Knight.

“Its just given us a lot of hope and fun,” Katie said. “That’s what Prospect has honestly given our family this year … an ability for all three of my kids to fnd their niche within the community and be together and not worry about these conditions.”

GO TEAM: June Kenoe poses with cheerleaders senior Kira Hammerstrom, freshman Sophia Drogos, sophomore Mary Robinson, senior Maggie Lanza, and freshman Mia Michalek at a varsity boys basketball game. (Photo courtesy of Katie Kenoe).

lege with special education teacher Jackie Gronski, who invited Nathan and Graham to come to the sidelines when she was the cheer coach. Gronski and Katie’s friendship helped foster new hobbies for her kids that they look forward to and enjoy during challenging times.

Syringomyelia is a neurological disorder in which a fuid-flled syrinx forms within the spinal cord. Often, Chiari Malformation is the leading cause of Syringomyelia.

When diagnosed, the doctor wanted June to have brain surgery, but after consulting two other doctors, they decided to just monitor it closely. June visits diferent doctors’ ofces three to four hours a week to see diferent specialists.

She goes to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago where she gets infusion therapy to suppress her immune system as well as medication. She still has some permanent damage to her joints and is often very tired throughout the day; durin g games, June takes multiple rest and snack breaks.

When June is around the cheer team, however, her energy always boosts. Katie went to col-

June comes to every game in her own cheer uniform and cheer bow. She plays with all of the cheerleaders on the sidelines before the game or during timeouts. Senior Kira Hammerstrom always tries to make June feel like part of the team.

“I like being able to show her what cheerleading is about,” Hammerstrom said. “Being able to guide her through our game day routine is so fun. I love watching how happy it makes her when she gets to cheer with the big kids.”

June is one of the biggest cheerleaders for Prospect outside of the games as well. She will have her own “Big Blue Fridays” when she wears Prospect cheer t-shirts and her bow to her own school, St. Paul.

“I think she just likes looking up to [the cheer team],” Katie said. “She just thinks [they] are all her buddies.”

HYDRATION: Nathan Keneo flling up water for the boys varsity basketball

Dean Carlson features “Dads Slot Cars” recent closing.

family is a home,

PErservering through tough times

Military family persists during month-long deployment

STELLA PALM

Copy Editor

As mothers do, Monica Perez wanted to give a constant reminder in her nine-yearold daughter’s ear, now-sophomore Violet Cantu, to eat healthy. However, instead of being there in person, these reminders came in the form of lunch notes as Perez was away on a seven-month army deployment in Afghanistan.

Perez wrote and mailed about 30 notes at a time that would be placed in Cantu’s lunchbox every day by her father. One note Perez wrote read, “Mom says, eat your veggies.” Unex pectedly, she got a note in return. In stead of a snarky comment responding to the vegetable message, the note read, “Violet says, come home.”

This note reminded Perez of all the things she hadn’t been able to do with her four children while on deploy ment: attending dance recitals/sports tournaments, celebrating birthdays and giving her daughter the most sim ple support of all.

“The hardest thing [about be ing away] for me was knowing all she needed was a hug from mom,” Perez said. “And I couldn’t give it to her.” has served in the mil itary for around 20 years starting when she was only 17 years old. She serves in the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (404th MEB) for the Illinois National Guard. She was recently pro moted from captain to major on Nov. 18.

When Perez was frst commissioned as a parent, she was away for six months at training to become a military police ofcer. During this time, Perez’s cousin and brother served as caretakers for Cantu (who was four years old at the time) and her siblings in their home while Perez was gone.

“It was really challenging because [my siblings and I] missed [our mom],” Cantu said. “[On the contrary], we thought it was a little fun to not have both my parents home.

I don’t remember much, but I do remember the fun memories we made [with my cousin and uncle].”

In 2017, while Cantu was nine, Perez was deployed to Afghanistan. It was not easy for Cantu to be separated from her mom because of how close they were.

“That was the hardest month of my life,” Cantu said. “And it was just really hard because she left and [I couldn’t] really do anything about it.”

when her mom would come back.

This was not the last time, however, that Perez was deployed for a long period of time. Cantu remembers her mom’s year-long deployment to Kuwait being “10 times worse” than the frst to Afghanistan.

While her mother was away in Kuwait during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cantu had to go through half of her seventh and eighth grade year without her. Thankfully, before her mom left, she helped Cantu rebuild a support system by returning to the dance studio and spending more time with friends. Her grades improved over time as well.

However, the longer Perez was gone, the harder was for Cantu to remain positive, particularly at school. Cantu’s grades began to drop when she’d skip class (mainly math) to go to the nurse’s ofce. However, she wouldn’t spend her time in the nurse’s ofce for what you’d

Currently, soph-

HOME SWEET HOME: Currently, sophomore Violet Cantu’s mother is home in Mount Prospect. (photo courtesy of Cantu)

PASSING NOTES: While deployed in Kuwait, Monica Perez attempted to comfort her nine-year-old daughter by writing and sending notes that would be placed in her daughter’s lunch box every day. (photos courtesy of Violet Cantu)

Perez decided to join the military in high school as a way for her to gain an education and as a path to leave her hometown. Perez’s mother originally signed her up for the Army Reserve. Because of that, Perez graduated high school and went to training at 17 years old in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. After turning 18, she switched herself to active duty.

Shortly afterward, Perez was shipped of to her frst duty station in South Korea. After being in active duty for fve years, she decided to take a break for 12 years. During that time, she moved back to Illinois to start a family.

Perez eventually returned to the military. According to Perez, her rationale was to take advantage of all the benefts that the military has to ofer. But particularly, she felt like she hadn’t fnished her service, especially after the terrorist attack that took place on Sep. 11, 2001. She believed that it was her duty to help her country.

There are many reasons military personnel have to leave their families. For Perez, this included training, state activations (e.g. food duties) and overseas combat deployments, like when she was stationed in Afghanistan.

introverted, which is unlike her typical social personality. She recalls staying in her room more than usual and acting more shy.

“I felt like I shut myself out from everyone in my life,” Cantu said. “I didn’t want to do anything and I just wanted my mom.”

Luckily, Perez would come home soon.

Before a friend’s ice skating birthday party, Cantu’s family decided to go to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. Cantu didn’t think anything of it, after all, her uncle works at Outback and they went there all the time. As Cantu was scanning through the menu, she saw a familiar fgure out of the corner of her eye.

“I see [my mom] walk [in], and I just start sobbing uncontrollably,” Cantu said. “I run and I hug her. I wouldn’t let go of her. I wouldn’t let her hug anybody else … I was like, ‘You’re home.’”

Relief fooded through Cantu’s body knowing that she fnally had her mom home. Even though Perez was never in the feld while in Afghanistan, Cantu still recalls it being a scary feeling knowing that she was never sure

children’s birthdays. Right before she left, Perez and her family threw a huge birthday celebration. They got four dif ferent cakes, four diferent backdrops and four diferent balloons, a diferent number for each child’s age.

Celebrations like these helped Pe rez feel less guilty about missing these moments during deployment. Accord ing to Perez, it was still difcult for her to be absent and inevitably miss something. But, after getting used to being gone for long periods of time, it became somewhat more normal for Perez and her family.

“I wouldn’t say that it makes it easier or that you don’t feel anything, but… it is what it is at this point,” Pe rez said. “You just kind of have to deal with it and try to fgure out another way to make it up.”

Fortunately, Perez has been able to stress to her military administrators that she doesn’t want to go on deploy ment unless the military really needs her. After missing her son’s gradua tion, Perez is determined that she will make it to Cantu’s.

“She told her bosses, ‘I’m gonna make sure my daughter graduates. I’m gonna be there,’” Cantu said.

MOM’S SUPPORT: Monica Perez at her 3rd grade daughter’s dance recital directly after drill. (photo courtesy of Violet Cantu)

Out of the students at Prospect, are a multitude family types.

KnightMedia highlight a few distinct families unique experiences.

Scan here to stories about Prospect families ProspectorNow.Com same-sex parents

not just a house

over 2100

Prospect, there multitude of different types. This issue, KnightMedia decided to few of these families and their experiences.

FAMILY OUTING: A young Mollie Kearns, relaxed in her stroller, poses with her parents at the Lincoln Park Zoo prior to their divorce. (photo courtesy of Kearns)

HUGS: Knight Media Editor-in-Chief Mollie Kearns hugs her parents at a weightlifting meet. (photo courtesy of Kearns) to read more about various families on ProspectorNow.Com adopted children

DIVORCE SHAPES FUTURE EXPERIENCES

When I was two years old, I had very few concerns in life: I bugged my grandma to make sure that her handmade bows attached to my curly, blonde pigtails matched my wardrobe to a tee; I required that my sippy cup be always flled with milk while I was leisurely pushed in my chariot (some nondramatic toddlers would call this a stroller). Most importantly, I had to make sure all fve of my Backyardigans stufed animals were with me at all times (especially the bright yellow hippo named Tasha that I dragged along EVERYWHERE).

One thing I knew for certain was that I was far from concerned about the fact that my parents were going through a divorce at that time. I did not begin to worry that my dad was moving out of our house in Wauconda, while my mom and I would settle into Mount Prospect. Divorce is actually a quite common experience that families in the United States go through; a grand total of 689,308 divorces occurred in the United States in 2021, according to Forbes. Based on the data, that’s quite a lot of divorces in a single year alone, leading to a variety of ways these divorced families may function in the fu-

tionship between both parents. I used to be able to say that I saw my dad at least once a week when he would drive me to weightlifting practice, but after obtaining my driver’s license I get together with him on occasion during the weekend for lunch or cofee.

Adding to the challenging nature of a schedule, children, especially in elementary school, may run into trouble wrapping their head around the idea of having to go between houses. I know that when I was little, getting me to connect with my dad was a constant struggle. Since I was incredibly stubborn when it came to being away from my mom, my parents settled on having me sit through an episode of “Good Luck Charlie” with my dad weekly to get that face-to-face time. Thank God for Disney Channel, I guess. You know that term “Daddy’s Girl”? Yeah, I was anything but that.

MOLLIE KEARNS Editor-in-Chief

Although the “cookie cutter” idea of divorce may be one in which kids switch between houses every weekend and dread having their parents in the same room, the reality is that divorce looks diferent for every family.

I genuinely have no memories of my parents being together. Sure, I can look back at old pictures of the three of us at Brookfeld Zoo or Disney World, but my reality growing up was that I didn’t have the “traditional” happily married parents; I didn’t blink an eye at this because I truly didn’t know any better. Since 2008, I’ve also adjusted to the idea that neither my mom or

For sophomore Josie Briggs, whose parents also got divorced when she was two years old, she can relate to a similar scenario of not knowing any

“I actually kind of liked that they got divorced when I was younger because … I just got used to it really quickly,” Briggs said. “When I was younger, it wasn’t as dramatic of a change because I kind of grew up that whole entire way. But then again, I kind of don’t really know what it was like when my parents were together.”

Briggs manages time between both parents during the week and weekends. She and her sister aim to see their dad on Mondays and Wednesdays, while they stay with their mom

Despite these visiting challenges my family went through when I was younger, there are no unspoken rules of divorce where you can’t grow closer to either one of your parents as you get older (at least not that I’m aware of).

As I’ve matured over the years, I have been able to spark more of a bond with my dad, even if I only see him for short periods of time. Your relationship with your parents has the ability to change, and I can say that I could endure watching many episodes of “Good Luck Charlie” with him now.

The impacts of separated parents doesn’t just leave a person when they get older — even as an adult it can affect someone. For math teacher Dominique Hernandez, her parents divorced when she was 12 years old. Because of his job as a U.S. Marshal, Hernandez’s father was out of the house a lot while growing up, leaving Hernandez with her mom almost full-time. Already in the awkward and drama-flled depths of middle school, her parent’s divorce added another burden onto Hernandez’s plate.

“I just remember feeling almost embarrassed by it because nobody was having that experience with their friends,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t have a lot of divorced parents that I knew of, but I’m sure that there were others, and I just felt like it was just me … But at the time it was just kind of feeling like you stand out … even though nobody necessarily knew unless I told them.”

I personally feel that this change in my own family dynamic was less painful when my brain was occupied with “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” over seventh grade algebra homework. Since she was older when this change hap-

I had just kind of grown up thinking this is just how it is for our family,” Hernandez said. “I’ve thought about the reverse, like if they had stayed together, and then [separated] once I was 19 or 20, but I don’t think that would have been helpful either.” Hernandez notes the way her parents’ divorce would go on to infuence her perceptions of her future relationships. Now that she has her own family, she said she is hyper-aware that a divorce would impact her kids.

“I defnitely am very cognizant of the fact of what a divorce would do to [my family],” Hernandez said. “I can’t fathom putting my family through that, and that’s obviously a huge priority is to not ever [experience a divorce for] my own children.”

While all kids of divorce share the truth that, well, their parents are divorced, each person’s reality can have vast diferences. I’m guessing most other teens — not named Mollie Kearns — who have separated parents can envision a doomsday type situation if parents get close in proximity on graduation day. I’m especially sure that most don’t take “traditional” family vacations. On the contrary, I have experienced this most recently with college tours.

Last spring break, my mom, dad and I traveled to some of my top university choices to take ofcial tours and to see where I felt most at home on campus. During our trip, I felt like I was able to bond with both of my parents over what the college transition would be like in the upcoming months, especially when I would be coming home to two households instead of one. I realized that even though my parents may not be living together, they would both be there to welcome me home on school breaks no matter what

This road trip could have been tense if my parents had separated more recently, but given that they have been divorced for almost 16 years, we have overcome the hurdles of traveling as a pack of three. In fact, I doubt that the other families in my tour groups could tell that we were a divorced family because of how well my parents got along. They were also probably too focused on the fact that they were slowly getting roasted by the minute in the southern sun.

Now, I’m not saying that this trip was completely sunshine and rainbows, but I’m lucky to have parents that can get along with one another despite not being married.

I also have to give credit to my mom and dad for working out their diferences to create a healthy style of co-parenting. Their collaboration and support for me over the years is something I have valued even more as a young adult, and I can imagine having to lean on one another wasn’t a joy at frst.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that when many people hear that someone has divorced parents, they immediately put them under the same umbrella: either assuming that it’s a touchy subject or that the grass is greener because they get double the amount of birthday presents. Sure, this can be the case for some, but even if each situation may seem similar, each has their own quirks and should be understood with empathy and an open mind.

14.5%

Of prospect students have divorced parents, according to a knightmedia survey of 179 students

Working her way up to the top

Senior’s academic achievements lead to NU acceptance

AMANDA

FEINBERG Managing Editor

While shopping for clothes at PacSun in Woodfeld Mall in December, senior Belinda Zhang was anticipating her decision for Northwestern University to be released at around 4 p.m.. Her friend encouraged Zhang to check an hour earlier, which led Zhang to open her online acceptance letter outside the doors of the store.

Although Zhang was confdent in her grades, essays and test scores, she still felt pressure when thinking about Northwestern’s measly 7% acceptance rate.

“I didn’t think there was a possibility of me getting in,” Zhang said. “… I have imposter syndrome, and I feel like sometimes I’m not enough so that I [feel that I] can’t get in. I had to reread [my acceptance letter] multiple times because I was like ‘No way.’”

After receiving her acceptance letter, Zhang felt overwhelmed with joy and excitement. She showed her friend, who was amazed. Afterwards, she FaceTimed her sister in Chicago, who congratulated her and texted her family group chat; her dad joked that she should have applied to Harvard.

Zhang plans on either majoring in biology or double majoring in global health policy and economics. Ever since her mom passed away from cancer when Zhang was six, she has always wanted to be a doctor because of how amazing the health professionals were with her and her sister. Her family got to connect with the doctors on a personal level, and they were able to explain what was happening to her mom in a way that made sense to Zhang and her sister since they were still young.

“I honestly can’t imagine myself doing something else that would fulfll me as much as taking care of people on some of their worst days,” Zhang said.

When deciding on where to apply, Zhang was initially conficted between Northwestern and Washington University in St. Louis, but after attending a college visit, where she saw the beauty of the old architecture campus and the friendliness of people passing by – with current students coming up to her tour to talk about the school –Northwestern quickly became her top choice.

Although Zhang would have pre-

ferred to be further away from home, she fell in love with Northwestern’s campus and could not picture herself anywhere else.

Refecting on her four years at Prospect, Zhang has been involved in badminton, volleyball, DECA, peer tutoring, Knights’ Way, National Honor Society and World Language National Honor Society.

Her experiences at Prospect have helped her become a well-rounded student and have prepared her exceptionally well for college. AP Chemistry teacher Cheryl Bergquist has watched Zhang grow into an intelligent and hard-working student. After having Zhang both her sophomore and senior year, Bergquist has noticed a diference in Zhang’s confdence and her appreciation of the subject as she has matured.

“She stood out as being somebody who enjoyed learning, and that’s different from having high academic performance,” Bergquist said. “Belinda doesn’t mind the grade, but she loves learning, and she loves to know the why.”

While Zhang has always been curious about human anatomy and the body’s systems, she credits her love for science to Bergquist; she appreciates how Bergquist makes her chemistry class feel like a family.

“She’s always looking out for her students, and there’s so many good things I can say about her,” Zhang said. “I absolutely adore her.”

Zhang’s love for science also stems from her jobs where she worked as a pharmacy technician the summer going into her senior year and a hospital volunteer during her senior year. As a pharmacy tech, Zhang dealt with customers about their insurance and sending in flls for medicine. At the hospital, she worked on the medical-surgical foor where she would assist mostly elderly patients who had come out of surgery.

Zhang would monitor the patients’ blood sugar after meals, change their gowns and sheets, pass out water during meals and let the nurses know what each patient needed. Both jobs helped her grow her social skills when dealing with upset customers, and she also gained real-world knowledge about the medical feld as being her potential career path.

In her chemistry lab group, Bergquist sees Zhang as a leader and often someone that other students turn to for help. Zhang’s constant communication and commitment after she tore her ACL in a volleyball practice was appreciated by Bergquist and stood out to her as both of her daughters have endured this injury.

Similarly, Zhang’s confdence in her writing style came from her English teacher Elizabeth Joiner. Joiner described Zhang as being an intelligent, strong writer who is able to work with any student in the class. Zhang’s biggest success in Joiner’s class was

TEAMWORK: Senior Belinda Zhang, who comitted to Northwestern, works with a teammate to set up the badminton net. Zhang is currently out for the badminton season due to an ACL injury during her volleyball season. (photo by Mollie Kearns)

her junior year research paper on generational poverty in inner city communities of color.

“I would be remiss to say her junior year research paper … showed me how ready she was for college,” Joiner said. “Even as a junior, the way that she was able to evaluate very tricky and complex topics, not only thoughtfully, but with a level of maturity, was evident in her writing.”

Zhang recalls nights where she would stay up late to work on her paper and remembers the plethora of information she had to sort through. She had to take into account both the history of the issue, and also the current economic state that was perpetuating the issue.

“I felt so much relief because it was such a long paper and I put so much work and efort into it,” Zhang said. “It was defnitely rewarding when I got her positive comments back.”

Being in her class for two years, Zhang believes Joiner to be a very understanding teacher who is passionate about the material being taught. When asked to write Zhang’s letter of recommendation, Joiner remembers it was one of the easiest letters to write for a student as diligent and hardworking as Zhang.

“When I have a student that I feel like I have a nice relationship with and a good rapport and I have evidence of her good work, it was just very easy for me to write about her,” Joiner said. “[I wrote about] her attributes and why she’d be excellent at any university, but I also knew some of her real

strengths that I could [talk about].”

One of Joiner’s favorite memories was reading Zhang’s college essay where she mentioned diferent songs that describe her. Zhang mentioned “Me and Your Mama” by Childish Gambino as being a song that describes her driving around with her friends. Joiner, who loves to play music during her class, was inspired to add the song to her playlist and bonded with Zhang over their shared enjoyment of the song.

“It made me think of the fun side of her,” Joiner said. “She’s such a serious student but you can also tell she’s super … silly when she has fun with her friends.”

Something of an athlete, Zhang has been on both the girls’ volleyball and badminton teams for all four years. Her biggest accomplishments have been placing in the top 12 at state for badminton during her sophomore year and being frst in conference in her junior year.

“All of the varsity team was watching me and I felt so much support coming from the P-Baddies (Prospect Girls’ Badminton),” Zhang said.

Girls’ volleyball coach Katherine Miles always appreciates Zhang’s support for the team and she sets a high standard for the rest of the girls.

“Her work ethic and the way she worked hard gave other girls on the team an idea of what was expected,” Miles said. “She set a tone and she was able to get along with everyone on the team and make everyone feel comfortable … especially being a senior she

helped set a precedent for everybody else.”

Even after tearing her ACL in practice, Zhang continued to show up for the team and kept a selfess attitude to better the team rather than make the injury about herself.

“[An injury] can make you feel displaced from the rest of the team …,” Miles said. “Belinda did a really nice job [of always being] at practice and she was always encouraging. She was always doing something positive for the girls. To not only be a part of the team for her but also to show the girls ‘Hey, just because I’m not on the court doesn’t mean I’m not here with you’ was a really huge thing to do.”

Although participating in sports is important to Zhang, fnding a balance between athletics, academics and her social life was difcult for her. She used to believe her whole life was school, and only recently has her perspective changed by focusing on the good in each day and spending time with her friends.

Whether it’s going on drives while blasting music, going to the movies or just getting something to eat, Zhang cherishes the time spent with her friends and appreciates how she shares special moments with each of them.

“It’s so easy to burn out and to think that your whole life is school,” Zhang said. “I think something that’s helped me is realizing that there’s so much more to life than just school … but recognizing the beauty in every day and … surrounding myself with good people helped.”

Fighting fires and saving lives

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 334,000 frefghters in 2022 in America. Prospect Alumnus Josh Damasky wanted to add to this number in 2023, so after he graduated from high school, he became a frefghter. As a frefghter, Damasky puts his life on the line, but also gains new friendships and meets people he would have never known before.

“[I love] going to work everyday with my favorite people,” Damasky said. “They really make going to work enjoyable. Not only do you get to go out and help people … but you’re doing it with people that become your best friends and literally your second family.”

Damasky is currently a frefghter at the Village of Schaumburg, and he took fre science classes at Harper Community College in Palatine. By going to these classes, Damasky realized that frefghting was something he wanted to pursue.

He entered college unsure of his future plans, but taking these classes helped him decide what he wanted to do as a future career. He took these classes to learn more about frefghting and what it involves. Shortly after, Damasky worked on getting his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) License and then his Paramedic License.

By the time he got to a fre station, he had also gone through a 9-week fre academy. The fre academy that he attended was in Romeoville, and he learned about the key fundamentals of frefghting.

The classes Damasky started of with were very basic as they mostly covered the history of frefghting

and the preliminary information that all frefghters need to know, like the behavior of fre and chemicals that go into it.

Despite having been on the job for almost a year, Damasky explains that he is still learning so much every day.

“Communication is the biggest one,” Damasky said. “Just communicating with the people you are serving and also the people you are working with, that isn’t something you can teach people; it is something that comes with time and practice and just real world experiences.”

While Damasky started attending these classes in college, senior Jacob Brunetti is currently enrolled in courses before he graduates. Brunetti has

been interested in becoming a frefghter since he was young. Since he has a lot of family already in this workforce, he has been infuenced his whole life. Brunetti’s uncle, for instance, is a frefghter in Chicago.

Brunetti’s plan is to go to Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan. to take more classes on fre science and get his EMT license. After that, he hopes to work for a private ambulance company before becoming a frefghter. He was also able to do an internship with Station 12 and Station 13 in Mount Prospect last summer to get more experience.

The internship that he did was very infuential and he got to see a side of frefghting he hadn’t seen before. He

arrived at the fre station at around 7 a.m. and stayed there all day. He got to experience being a part of the crew as well as going on calls and helping the frefghters.

While the internship was through Prospect, the ride-alongs he did with his uncle in Chicago were a lot diferent. They were much more hectic but still nice, according to Brunetti. The frefghters welcomed Brunetti more since his uncle was part of the team, which made it seem like a lot more fun.

21.2% of

Both Damasky and Brunetti have had family members in frst responding. Damasky’s dad was a state trooper, and his grandfather was a Chicago frefghter. Brunetti’s grandfather was a fre chief, and his uncles are frefghters in the area.

Since Brunetti has so much family in this career path, his parents fully support him and his choice.

“Just being around all of the frefghters and seeing how good of people they are … has a big infuence on me,” Brunetti said.

Damasky also thinks that having family in the feld is important. His family in the police force and frefghting had a big impact on him choosing this career path. He wanted their opinion and support, and he eventually got it.

Damasky’s experience with frefghting has also allowed him to grow close to his coworkers. When he is at work, he and the other hires have had lots of fun and have grown close in the past year.

Damasky also thinks that frefghting is a good way to meet new people

and see diferent cultures and perspectives on life.

Brunetti looks forward to helping people and moving up in the ranks. He thinks frefghting is a well respected job, and it is another opportunity to save people’s lives. However, frefghting can be extremely dangerous, and the next call a frefghter responds to could be their last one.

Both Damasky and Brunetti believe that the main hardship that comes with frefghting is being with people on the worst days of their lives.

“You just have to go there and be professional and help them with whatever they need,” Damasky said.

Damasky’s advice to those who want to become frefghters is to stay out of trouble and to talk to people in the profession to get more information. Firefghters help people through difcult times, and going into this career path requires them to regularly see that and comfort them.

“You just have to make sure you are showing up, being the best you you can be and help them through whatever [problem] they are having,” Damasky said.

SPARKS FLY: Alumnus Josh Damasky hopes to serve his community through frefghting. (photo courtesy of Damasky)

SUFFERING SEQUEL SADNESS

XANDER ADKINS Executive Opinion Editor

One gift. Out of all of the colorful, lovingly wrapped presents under the tree, 11-year-old me was only allowed to open one early on Christmas Eve.

It was an ofer that required heavy consideration (along with a lot of gift-shaking), but eventually I decided on the only small, rectangular present hidden behind numerous bigger ones.

What could it be? A video game? A movie? Anything other than socks would be sure to hold me over until the big day.

Tearing of the packaging, I unveiled the “Home Alone Collection” on DVD. Amazing! Now I could fnally watch the other “Home Alone” movies after the frst two!

Overjoyed to see how Kevin McCallister would manage to isolate himself from his family this time, I giddily popped “Home Alone 3” into my player and started the flm.

But as I watched the frst scene play out, terrible realizations started to hit me.

Wait a minute, that’s not Kevin!

Wait a minute, those aren’t Harry and Marv!

And, suddenly, I was hit with the hardest-hitting truth of my life.

Wait a minute, this movie sucks!

My spirits were crushed. The trust I had in the brand was gone, and my childhood impressionism was manipulated and abused more than the Sticky Bandits ever were.

When you have success on your hands, what do you do? Well, if Disney (and the 50% of the world they own) has taught me anything, it’s that you should milk the everloving hell out of it through remakes, sequels, prequels and the devil’s other creations.

Through my traumatic of-brand Home Alone experience and comparison to the devil (which might have been a bit of an exaggeration), you might think I’m totally against ex panding a franchise through sequels.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Like I said, sequels can be awesome, even outside of the movie realm. Video games like Sonic Adventure 2, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Red Steel 2 absolutely blow the originals out of the water.

The diferences between these and most modern sequels (beyond not sucking, of course) we see for movies and games alike is the time between releases and the creators.

All of the sequels I just mentioned came out only a few years after their originals and were made by the same guys who worked on the frst one. This means their experience with the product would be greater while also having the original vision of the series (I mean, who would know where to take a series better than the people who conceived it?).

Oh, what’s that? You don’t think it matters whether the original creator makes the sequel or not? Oh, and you think it’s fne if it comes out a decade later? Well, Mr. Strawman, what kind of studio would be so desperate to reignite attention in their brand that they would tarnish numerous franchises just to be slammed in reviews and at the box ofce?

Hey, did someone say Disney?

Disney is the absolute KING of making sequels so terrible and unnecessary that they make me want to purge my memory of ever watching them. While nowadays they release their trash publicly in theaters and on Disney+, they used to do so exclusively on DVD.

SHOULDA’ STAYED HOME ALONE: The success of the frst “Home Alone” resulted in many sequels; some good, others that are ... well, they’re “Home Alone 4.” (graphic by Xander Adkins) OF STUDENTS THINK SEQUELS ARE TYPICALLY WORSE THAN THE ORIGINAL 96 %

cuts out all the other sequels … It’s trying to get in suckers like me who are going to go see that because I liked that original movie and [wonder] ‘what are they going to do with it this time?’ Turns out not much.”

the second season, it’s tied back into the movies. Instead of being its own unique and interesting thing that just happens to take place in that world, it all has to tie back to that, which was a huge bummer for me because I was enjoying it so much.”

ACCORDING TO A KNIGHTMEDIA SURVEY OF 192 STUDENTS

However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I love a good sequel, sometimes even more than the original (blasphemy for a critic, I know). They have the potential to expand and improve on the world and characters from the original, while also introducing new ideas and being unique in their own right.

Unfortunately, this is almost never done. Most sequels are lazy cash-grabs which don’t care about the original artistic intention, or tarnishing the brand, or, y’know, actually being good.

That’s right, sequels to classics like “The Lion King,” “Cinderella” and “Aladdin” do exist (hell, the three I just named have TWO sequels each). You probably haven’t heard of them because one, like I said they were only released on DVD, and two, to nobody’s surprise, they’re awful.

Am I gonna pretend that I watched every single one of these DVD sequels? No, I’m pretty sure if I did, I’d be writing this from an insane asylum instead of a classroom, but I guess there is a chance I missed some hidden gems by keeping my distance.

For the sake of my sanity, I’m not taking that risk.

Speech teacher and flm connoisseur (a.k.a movie nerd) Michael Piccoli shares his experience with unnecessary sequels.

“The new 2017 ‘Halloween’ is a good example of [a cheap sequel],” Piccoli said. “It’s a sequel to the original movies, so it

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Of course, I can’t talk about “bad Disney sequels” without inevitably crapping on the new “Star Wars” movies (“new” being relative, as Disney has been at this for about 10 years now).

This is where I’m forced to confess something, though. Brace yourself, you’ll never look at me the same after I reveal this.

I’ve never seen a “Star Wars” movie before.

Well, up until now. My extreme dedication to whining and ranting about my hatred for Disney sequels actually made me check the series out so I could complain even further (maybe as some kind of silver lining to the DVD-sequel torture from earlier).

My thoughts pretty much echo everyone else’s, as well as everything I’ve been saying. “It was good when the original guys were making it, then some guys who didn’t know what they were doing took over, and then it was bad.” I’m sure you’ve heard that a million times from the nerd in your friend group (which depending on who you talk to might be me), and they’re absolutely right.

The same thing happens when a TV show runs for too long. My mind immediately goes to “Spongebob” and “The Simpsons.” Shows that have had a huge drop in quality over the years, but they keep making episodes because, well, it’s “The Simpsons!” We can’t just put it out of its misery after decades of declining ratings. We have to keep making episodes until the company liquidates!

So, what am I getting at here? That other companies just aren’t allowed to try their hand at a beloved series just because there’s a chance they could mess up?

Absolutely not! The only reason most of these sequels suck is when the only goal of the new studio is only to make money. Yeah, the track record for this really oddly specifc aspect of media development isn’t great, but there are plenty of examples of new studios actually taking the time to consider the integrity of their franchise before crapping out some money-printing abomination of a sequel.

Going back to video games, I think games like “The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap” and “Dead Rising 2” were so good most people probably didn’t even know the developers changed, which is the best thing a new studio can accomplish.

I mean, “Dead Rising 2” was so good that Capcom, the guys behind the frst “Dead Rising,” bought the studio that made it and let them continue to run wild with the series (for better or for worse … lookin’ at you, “Dead Rising 4”).

Sequels can either be the best or worst thing to happen to a series. While, yeah, most of the time they’re nothing short of cash-grabs (especially when made by a diferent team), they’re necessary to keep franchises alive, even if that means switching developers at some point.

GRADES6-12

Piccoli mentions “The Mandalorian,” which was a great expansion to the “Star Wars” franchise, despite being made by Disney and eventually changing for the worse.

“‘Star Wars’ had a really good idea [with] the show ‘The Mandalorian,’ [which] was a way to keep the world going,” Piccoli said.

“They started of that way, with new characters, a completely new thing in parts of the galaxy diferent [from the movies]. [But] then, by the end of

Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, sequels are always going to be here to revive what is old or continue what is new. The only thing we can do is sit back with our movie ticket and overpriced popcorn and watch our beloved multi-million dollar franchises change for the worse. And maybe even publicly whine about it in a story that’s actually just a disguise for how “Dead Rising 4” is actually the reincarnation of Satan.

Hmm… maybe “Home Alone 3” wasn’t so bad.

“[Bad sequels] are something that are created to … make a quick buck. There are certainly sequels that exist that have an [original] idea. That’s really good. That’s going to continue the story or go deeper into it … [but] the current situation feels like everything is a sequel or a remake … because it’ll make money,” Piccoli said.

“They’re at a point where they’re just kind of throwing stuf out to grasp the audience to come back and watch it … [instead] of making it because it’s going to be a good movie, it’s to get audiences with something they’re comfortable with; a safe option.”

Tryouts spring into action

JUST RE(LAX): Senior Skylar Splinter passes the ball to her teammate during spring tryouts. Splinter has been on the girls’ varsity lacrosse team for four years. (photo by Mollie Kearns)

STRIKE THREE: Senior Justin Bjorgo felds a ground ball to throw the runner out at third base. Bjorgo hopes to make an impact during his last year at Prospect. (photos by Mollie Kearns)

TOGETHER: bonds built

CONTINUED FROM PG. 12

“Coach Beishir does a really good job of letting you know that this is a long process,” Shields said. “This is something that takes a while for you to actually get good at, and he instills that confdence within you. Once you have that, there’s pretty much no ceiling. There [are] no limits on you. You can take it as far as you can in this event, and it’s proven in the past so many years that a lot of athletes have done that.”

Beishir is grateful that his past athletes were able to try something new and have a ton of success, even after high school.

“It’s been rewarding,” Beishir said. ”What I really like is that at least some of them had never thrown before high school. I think when our kids go places they do well and word gets out, and so that helps with the recruitment process for the next kid.”

After throwing at Prospect, Shields went on to compete at the University of Illinois. Ever since he started coaching throws at summer camps during his college career, he has learned more about the coaching position through Beishir’s advice.

“You realize those little details that he puts into practice that most people wouldn’t understand,” Shields said. “Seeing that really gives me joy that I’m in the position where I can coach, and where I can try and afect athletes’ lives as much as he has done.”

TEAMMATES: Sophomore JT Freeman and senior Niko Aleksic fst-bump after fnishing a lacrosse drill. (photo by Claire Wynkoop)

Murray has yet to decide whether he wants to continue discus or shot put in college, though he said if the opportunity presents itself he would most likely take it. He thinks it would be a great way to continue athletics in college and to build friendships early on.

Over the course of his high school career, Murray has grown as a thrower. Ever since his win at the JV invite during his sophomore year, it gave him confdence to continue to put in work to improve. He has respect and is grateful for Beishir’s continued support and advice.

“I have been coached by Beish for three to four years now,” Murray said. “So I mean a lot of the stuf he does in football does translate to throws. When you’ve been around with someone like that you get pretty close to them. Beish is a great coach, so I can’t complain [about] any of that.”

AD Scott McDermott had a busy couple of days visiting PHS competitors at their respective tournaments, putting 622 miles on his car Friday through Sunday.

12:45 p.m. McDermott leaves Prospect and arrives in Champaign for wrestling by 3:40 p.m. McDermott leaves Champaign for Peoria to see the speech team and arrived at 8:15 p.m.

mcdermott’s travel timeline saturday, feb. 16

McDermott spends the morning with the speech team before leaving at 5:15 p.m. to see Penovich wrestle in Champaign

While at wrestling, McDermott hears Caravello and Jordan have won the state title in Dramatic Duet Acting McDermott witnesses Penovich winning the wrestling state title While in his car leaving wrestling, McDermott receives a call that Maye and Parisi have won state in Humorous Duet Acting

CHAMPS: 622 miles of state victories

It was especially touching to Caravello because over the years, Caravello explained that McDermott was instrumental in helping her flter out negative thoughts and instead focusing on the performance at hand.

“With McDermott this year, I feel like he lifted me up and helped me in a way that honestly no one really has before,” Caravello said. “For him to kind of take me and Kelly as a duo under his wing was really, really special.”

McDermott explained that he’s known Jordan since middle school and Caravello and Parisi since their freshman year.

“I know for four years for [Jordan, Caravello and Parisi winning state] was exactly where they wanted to end up,” McDermott said. “They really put the time in to make it happen.”

Additionally, Caravello described the experience as the perfect way to end her time with the speech team.

“Not only did I get to win state, but I won with my best friend of 13 years,” Caravello said. “The fact that me and Kelly got to experience that together, and [got to] soak in each other’s joy and just put in all the same hours and dedication that we have for the last four years was really, really special.”

To top the weekend of, Penovich had to capitalize in his last matches if he wanted to take home the gold. After placing ffth in his weight class last year at state, Penovich was waiting for the 23-24 state tournament all year. Entering state with an undefeated record against all Illinois opponents this year, he felt that nobody would be able to take the trophy away from him.

“I was pretty confdent,” Penovich said. “I knew this whole season that no one in the state [was] better than me … It was just going out there dominating, not letting these guys get a chance to breathe and just kind of pushing the pace on them and breaking them.”

In the state fnals, Penovich matched up with

Loyola Academy wrestler senior Quinn Herbert. Penovich knew him from previous wins in both the regional and sectional fnals. The result was the same in Champaign: Penovich won 13-5 to earn the state title in his weight class, and he became the third IHSA wrestling champion in Prospect history.

Penovich described the feelings that fowed through him during the fnal matchup.

TROUBLE: Senior Allen Chennoth prepares to hit a volley. Chennoth hopes to play his best season of tennis to end his high school career strong. He also hopes to have fun and make every last moment count. (photo by Mollie Kearns) friday, feb. 15 6:30 p.m.

“You[‘ve] got hundreds, thousands [of people], maybe even watching you,” Penovich said. “You[‘ve] got three mats: 1A, 2A and 3A, and you’re out there performing. It’s just amazing. I love that energy … It fre[d] me up when I was out there, and it was a lot of fun [with] everyone cheering for you. You’re at the end, you’re celebrating [that I] just won state.”

Penovich wasn’t the only one thrilled with his state victory.

“It was awesome,” McDermott said. “I’m so thrilled that I got a chance to see [Penovich] in that moment. [He’s] such an incredible athlete.”

Being able to watch and listen to each event unfold was something that Mirandola especially enjoyed during the weekend.

“It was kind of fun to just really sit back and be a fan of all the awesome stuf that was going on and just really be able to celebrate all the hard work that was coming to fruition … over the course of a really busy weekend for the IHSA,” Mirandola said.

Not only did Mirandola emphasize his pride in the students’ work ethic, but he also expressed his gratitude to the staf and coaches responsible for all the accomplishments.

“It’s really cool to see all the diferent things that are going on and the hard work for not just the students, but also I think it’s important to recognize the hard work of the staf that create these unique opportunities and put the extra hours in themselves to really put the students in [a] position to be successful,” Mirandola said.

One feature that the staf helps orchestrate is Prospect’s state send-ofs. McDermott explained

that Prospect’s tradition is unique since so much of the school foods the hallways to support their fellow classmates.

“None of the schools that I have been [to] before does it like this, and not only do we do it in a really fun way, but people show up,” McDermott said. “It’s big to the culture … [Teachers] embrace it because they know that part of being at Prospect is celebrating all of our kids and all of our coaches and all of our peers.”

Taking in the weekend’s huge wins, Mirandola acknowledges the champions that pulled of the IHSA sensation during mid-February.

“It’s inspiring to see the mass recognitions that we have,” Mirandola said. “You never want to take that for granted because winning state titles [and] winning state medals does not constitute success. There’s a lot of ways to defne success, but along the same breath, being able to say that you are the best in the state of Illinois is really impressive and something we want to celebrate.”

In order to add to the supportive culture at Prospect, McDermott stated that it is a goal of his to have either him or another recognizable face at each and every state appearance, whether it’s a sport or an activity.

Noting the challenge of being present at every IHSA event, McDermott said there may be instances where staf cannot watch a competition. In order to combat this, he and his team have already held meetings to determine their whereabouts for any IHSA contests in the spring.

When given the opportunity, McDermott said there’s no place he would rather be than watching Prospect students perform on one of the biggest stages.

“To me, that’s not only important, but it might be one of the best parts of the job,” McDermott said. “At the high point of your training, for me to just be able to sit there and say that I got a chance to absorb your awesomeness, I don’t want to miss out on that.”

DOUBLE

Brooke Michalczyk and Zoe Brown jump in to the new season of girls' water polo.

Relationships thrown together

Athletes enjoy supportive environment inside the ring

NICK EYLES

Exec. Sports Editor

Before walking into Jean Walker Field House during his freshman year, now-senior Aaron Murray had almost no idea what to expect at his frst discus and shot put practice, both track and feld events. Like many past and present ofensive linemen like himself, throws were something he had little familiarity with prior to high school.

“I went into throws thinking to just do this as a thing I can do on the side for football, but I ended up having success in it,” Murray said. “I remember it was my sophomore year [that] I got frst in a JV [invite] … which was exciting. And then I was like ‘Oh OK, well now I can do this.’”

throws is from January to May. There’s not a lot of months that don’t fall in that window.”

Despite throws being an individual sport, there is a value in having teammates since the team is with each other most of the time.

“They defnitely push you past what you think,” Murray said. “If you’re not competing with anybody then it’s no fun. When you’re at practice or you’re at a meet and you’re chopping it of and staying competitive, that’s always the best part. And then on the other side, just supporting each other through [each] throw.”

Each member of the team has a responsibility to coach his teammate, especially since Beishir and the other coaches oversee the girls and boys practices. Since there can only be a maximum of fve people throwing at each of the fve rings at a time during practice, Murray and his teammates are held accountable to push each other after each attempt. The sport requires more than just chucking a heavy object: it requires footwork and mental strength, which is where team morale is important.

Division I throwers under Coach TIM Beishir

The team of 25 athletes is coached under boys’ track and feld throws coach Tim Beishir, who has been in charge of the program for 10 years. He is also the ofensive line coach during the fall. Like Murray, many ofensive linemen translate from football to throws. However, there are still some kids who do throws as their only sport. Beishir refers to this concept as a “Venn diagram.”

Billy matzek ('17) - Univ. of illinois

Vince shields ('17) - Univ. of illinois

Michael Shafis ('19) - Univ. of illinois

Sebastian Swistak ('20) - EIU* & UNI**

ERYC MALINOWSKI ('21) - EIU

CLAYTON KAMP ('22) - DEPAUL & MIZZOU

“They spend a lot of time together because of the Venn diagram, but not all of [them] are football players,” Beishir said. “[Many] of them spend a lot of the year together because football [is] from June to November, and

”It’s very technical, some people think ‘big guy throws thing far,’ it’s not,” Beishir said. “So they really are important for each other as coaches, like ‘Oh I noticed your right foot did not turn enough here, or keep your chest up’, because it is just impossible for me or coach [Vince] Shields to see everyone’s throw every time.” There are several ways to train for throws during the ofseason, but Beishir said being in the weight room makes up almost 40% of a thrower’s performance. He and Murray credit both zero hour PE and strength and conditioning classes for getting stronger in preparation for both football and track and feld season.

TRUSTING THE PROCESS:

“All of the weight training helps you progress because I think for throws, weight training is defnitely the most important part of it,” Murray said. “As I was training for football, that helped translate to throws, and then as those two mixed together it boosted me in the right direction.”

At practice, however, the team is not strength training; they focus solely on small details and technique to improve their throwing motion. For example, the footwork drills Murray works on in the ring are similar to those on the ofensive line.

“The frst steps of the ofensive line are taking your two steps, and then

based on those you are able to progress through whatever assignment you have,” Murray said. “That’s similar to throws because if your starting steps aren’t good, then your throw isn’t going to be successful.”

Beishir expects his athletes to throw the way he has coached them for the entirety of their career in order to get better results. If they don’t, the performance gains and constant work with throwing techniques at practice won’t pay of when the athletes compete in meets.

“We want to be very process focused,” Beishir said. “I don’t want them focusing on distance and results,

because when you do that, you tend to just try to throw hard and do what feels natural … it just ruins everything. So we try to just be very mentally processed.”

According to Beishir and Murray, throwing is a very mentally-challenging sport. Every thrower sets a goal of trying to beat their “personal record” (PR). They constantly work on attention to detail during practice, and when a thrower does not meet his own expectations, it can be irritating.

“In throws you’re constantly chasing perfection, even though you know you will never reach it,” Murray said. “I would say throws is a very challenging sport because you can have a mark where it is around your personal best or not, but you’d still be frustrated because it’s not the best performance you have ever had in your life.”

Ever since he was a freshman, Murray has mainly been a discus thrower. In his frst year, Murray's PR discus throw went 17.3 meters at a meet against Elk Grove on May 25, 2021. Now as a senior, his best discus throw is 36.94 meters he set as a junior last year at the MSL East Championship on April 18, 2023.

Beishir is aware of how important it is to his athletes to PR, and said this determination makes track such a diffcult sport standards-wise. Each athlete in the program is always going to talk about their goal to PR, which constantly provides pressure when their attempts really count.

Beishir has been in the program long enough to know that throwing discus and shot put is a process that lasts all throughout high school. Each thrower’s growth by senior year is the most exciting thing to watch as a coach.

“If you don't [PR], you leave mad,” Beishir said. “That’s a hard standard. So trying to understand that it is a four-year process trying to build kids into a top-level thrower, that’s what we want.”

These standards and the dedication to improve led six Prospect graduates to become Division I throwers in college during Beishir’s time. Not to mention, there have been several throwers at other college sports levels throughout the country. Vincent Shields, an assistant coach for girls’ track and feld, credits Beishir’s support in high school to help him excel and eventually compete at the Division I level after he graduated from Prospect.

IHSA approves fag football, paves new path for girls

MATTHEW PULVER

Sports Reporter

Girls’ fag football was ofcially approved by the IHSA on Feb. 5, making Illinois the ninth state to do so. The announcement was made by IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson in Halas Hall in partnership with the Chicago Bears. While this approval doesn't mean Prospect will adopt it right away as a sport, the acceptance of it has brought some excitement around the building.

Athletic Director Scott McDermott explains he would enjoy bringing a new sport to Prospect because of the opportunity it gives students.

“I’m a big fan of making sure everyone in this building has … a space they can enjoy,” McDermott said.

A few years before it was approved by the IHSA, girls’ fag football was a big sport in Illinois. The popularity started in 2021 when the Chicago Public League (CPL) partnered with the Chicago Bears to create an unofcial state competition for girls in fag football. This helped garner support for the sport, as the number of teams in 2021 increased from 22 to 100 by 2023. The increasing support for fag football helped persuade the IHSA to approve the sport statewide.

For freshman Jaylah Calhoun, it’s exciting to possibly play fag football at Prospect and she appreciates that it could be an option for girls in the future.

“[It gives a] lot of opportunities for the girls that want to play football,” Calhoun said. “I feel

like … it's just a good start.”

Before the approval, Calhoun often played football with her friends on the weekends, so this addition is important for her because she would be able to play in an organized league for the frst time. Calhoun thinks the new addition will bring more attention to Prospect as a whole.

While enthusiasm for fag football may be present, the interest level is the deciding factor in adding a new sport to the athletic programs of Prospect and around District 214 (D214). If the interest is high enough at all of the D214 schools, it has a bigger chance to be adopted as a sport here at Prospect. If the interest level isn’t as high, D214 schools can also employ a Co-Op where two schools combine into one program. For example, Prospect and Wheeling did this previously when water polo became a sport.

Prospect sent out an interest survey, on Feb. 20, regarding girls’ fag football and boys’ bowling as possible new additions to the already packed sports schedule at Prospect. While he is unsure of the exact number of students willing to participate, McDermott said that the interest level for girls’ fag football at Prospect is high.

Along with others, Associate Principal Frank Mirandola also likes the idea of adding girls’ fag football and boys’ bowling to Prospect.

“All of the involvement increases relationships with other students,” Mirandola said. “It increases relationships with staf members and it creates a greater sense of belonging. When you feel like you belong, you could really be the best version of yourself.”

As much as Prospect and the athletic department want to add the sport right away, it’s not as easy as it sounds. The school has to buy equipment, hire coaches and fnd space for the team, which can end up stretching out the process to approve both sports. Despite this, McDermott is still excited for the future of the sport at Prospect.

is a very important part of the athletic culture at Prospect. He thinks hiring a coach can be a make or break decision for any sports team.

“Our programs are about experience, belonging and relationships,” McDermott said.

Girls' flag football rules

Roster: 25 players

Game play: 7 on 7

Positions: one Quarterback and six receivers

Whatever is decided for the sport at Prospect and around the district, Mirandola wants to make the high school experience as best as possible for students.

Timing: QB has 7 seconds to get rid of the ball

“Any time you can truly add something that is wanted and can elevate the high school experience is something we defnitely want to look into,” Mirandola said.

With an emphasis on development, one thing that the athletic department is zeroing in on is the selection of coaches. To McDermott, hiring

“If you don’t nail them [with new coaches], we wind up with problems in our programs.” However long it takes for girls’ fag football to be brought to Prospect, McDermott knows that new sports and activities that students can thrive in is one of the main reasons people join Prospect athletic programs.

"Kids and families that come to Prospect really value the experience that our coaches provide through our athletic programs,” McDermott said. “Giving kids a chance to experience these really elevating opportunities in athletics is … wonderful for kids not currently participating [in a sport].”

Senior Aaron Murray winds up to throw the shot put at practice hosted at George Gattas Memorial Stadium on Feb. 27. He was selected by his team as the sole captain for the throwers on Feb. 26. (photo by Mollie Kearns)

*According to an unofficial IHSA rulebook from Assistant executive director Tracie Henry.