The Harbinger 19-20: Issue 16

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S H AW N E E M I S S I O N E A S T 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208 M AY 1 1 , 2 0 2 0 VOLUME LXII ISSUE 16

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02 | INSIDE COVER

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STAFF LIST

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STORIES

NCAA CHANGES

Read about changes in NCAA student athletes’ compensation.

JUSTICE FOR TARA READE Staffer’s opinion on the hypocrisy of Joe Biden’s campaign regarding sexual assault.

by | riley atkinson

by | thomas paulus

STAYING ENTERTAINED IN QUARANTINE

COVID-19 TESTING

Kansas has the least amount of COVID-19 tests given, which is a problem. by | sydney newton

FOREIGN EXCHANGE A Q&A with the foreign exchange students saying their goodbye after their year was cut short. by | allison wilcox

PRINT EDITORS Lila Tulp Carolyn Popper Caroline Chisholm ONLINE EDITORS Ben Henschel Jackie Cameron ASST. PRINT EDITORS Catherine Erickson Rose Kanaley ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Lauren West Riley Atkinson ASST. DESIGN EDITORS Celia Condon Sarah Bledsoe HEAD COPY EDITORS Carolyn Popper Jackie Cameron ASST. HEAD COPY EDITOR Natasha Thomas PHOTO EDITORS Aislinn Menke Kate Nixon ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Sarah Golder Trevor Paulus Julia Percy VIDEO EDITORS Maggie Schutt Ryan Gossick Lawder DeSantis ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Sydney Williams BROADCAST EDITORS Alex Dinyer Lucia Barraza ASST. BROADCAST EDITOR Natalie Scholz Megan Stopperan PHOTO MENTORS Noelle Griffin Megan Biles Megan Stopperan STAFF WRITERS Lyda Cosgrove Kaia Monaco Caroline Gould Caroline Wood Kate Heitmann Cesca Stamati Lily Haw Grace Tucker Peyton Moore Kelly Murphy Jilli Foley Campbell Wood Winnie Wolf Sophie Henschel Brynn Winkler Elizabeth Mikkelson Tommy Paulus Lauren Dierks Sydney Newton Emma Brown Lily Billingsley Allison Wilcox Phoebe Hendon Grace Allen

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04 | senior section

THE LAST

Graduating seniors and their families say their final goodbye to East as the last in the Lancer line by annabelle moore

LAUREN DORNBUSCH

PA I G E C U E L E

W E S L E Y COST E L LO

PEERING OVER THE Shawnee Mission East

SENIOR PAIGE CUELE always knew she’d end up at East — she didn’t really think

student section at Lancer basketball games, she saw students draped in columbia blue and black — six-year-old (and now senior) Lauren Dornbusch knew she wanted to be a part of that someday. Her brother, Ryan Dornbusch, played basketball at East. Lauren went to every Friday night game. There was no doubt in her mind she would end up at East, but she didn’t expect to be the last Lancer in her family and ‘graduate’ on these terms. With an abrupt end to school, Dornbusch says that leaving East without proper closure will be tough, because it’s been her home for almost eight years between her and her brother. Dornbusch and her family know they’ll still come back to home football and basketball games, decked out in blue and black. Watching the games from the adult section, she said, might finally give her some closure.

there was another option. Both her parents and her brother were Lancers and with Cuele being the last child, her family’s time at East is over. Cuele left the last day of school early after she turned in her senior paper, not knowing that would be her last day as a Lancer. She wishes she would’ve stayed. Cuele will miss being able to relate to her parent’s high school years, because they’re similar to hers: “[The] same school, same building, same neighborhood and knowing everything they talk about and living through it myself,” Cuele said.

SENIOR WESLEY COSTELLO will never forget his elementary school Friday nights spent at basketball games, watching his older sister, now 22, dance at halftime. Being the last of three, Costello has watched his family’s involvement in the East community grow over the years — knowing their time at East was wrapping up, his parents tried to attend as many basketball and football home games as they could.

Walking into East as a freshman, Costello was overwhelmed by how big East is. “That first day it was the freshman that went, so there wasn’t much intimidation you know,” Costello said.

“The last day at East it was unexpected, [which was] the day before Spring Break, so we were all looking forward to leaving and getting out of there, but we never realized it would be our last day.” He’s going to miss seeing the class of 2020 in the hallways, and hopes one day to tell his kids how impactful Shawnee Mission East was for him.

CAROLINE SEITZ WHEN GRADUATION TIME would come in May, senior Caroline Seitz remembers her young self standing on the silver bleachers, blowing air horns for all six of her siblings to celebrate a life-marker moment with them. Seitz couldn’t wait for her siblings to sit in the stands at North, blowing air horns for her when her name was called, though she knows she may not get this experience. Being the last Lancer in her family, Seitz is hopeful her large family has left an impact on East. She will miss everything that comes with wearing Lancer blue, but especially the overwhelming amount of school spirit that floods Mission Road on Lancer Day. “[I will never forget] the memories of when I was growing up,” Seitz said. “Being able to be involved in the community for twenty years [has been] an amazing experience for me and my family.”

SENIOR SECTION | 05

design by | rose kanaley

DEAR

REBECCA SCHAUWECKER

LANCERS, Teachers who aren’t returning to East in the fall write a goodbye to the school

A L A I N A S H E LTO N

SMEAST – THANK YOU for allowing me to fill Room 128 with the joy of Geometry, and Algebra 2 the last three school years. It’s is a blessing to work alongside passionate and creative staff and build learning together with students. I have enjoyed designing blended learning, building Lego towers to model similar triangles, and throwing tennis balls to model parabolic motion. I hope these experiences remind each of you that math exists all around and it is beautifully designed. I’ve loved sharing my world map in our classroom and glimpses into cultures abroad! I might see you again, the next time you travel to Bogotá, Colombia!

RACHEL SCHALLER LANCERS, I AM writing this with a heavy, saddened heart. Never would I have guessed that I would be leaving Shawnee Mission East High School without the opportunity to say goodbye to you all properly. Teaching Math these past 4 years at East has been an honor and a true joy- an experience that I will treasure forever! The East community is unlike any other, and it has been a privilege teaching, learning, coaching, and growing with you all.

To the class of 2020- You were supposed to be the first “graduating class” of my career as an educator. You are the first group of students that I have had the pleasure of working with from freshman year all the way through to graduation. It’s difficult to imagine not having a true graduation ceremony to celebrate this milestone with you.

I wish you all nothing but success and happiness as you move forward in life.

J A N E L C AT E S AS MY 35-YEAR teaching career ends, I take fond memories with me. I’ll remember celebrating student birthdays every month, Baby Think It Over, Mock Interview Day, Quilting Bees and, Interior Design open houses. I’ve taught over 12 different courses since I came to SME and over 30 different courses since I began my career. One thing I won’t miss after I retire is spending so many hours at home on schoolwork! I know there are many things that I will miss however, such as preparing my classroom for the first day of school and watching the nervous freshmen parade through the gauntlet on their first day. I’ll also miss seeing the amazing projects created by students every day and the excited anticipation of a potential snow day as we await the announcement. I’ll also miss seeing all the seniors at graduation looking so mature and watching all my former students walk across the stage into their next phase of life. The thing I will miss most however, is hearing my students say “thank you Mrs. Cates” as they walk out the door each hour. So now it is my turn to say, “thank you Shawnee Mission East.”

KELSEY SWIGGART IT’S MRS. SWIGGITY SWAGG. It has been an incredible three years! Everyone at East feels like family and it is really hard to say goodbye to family. Writing this letter has brought tears to my eyes. My students know how much I enjoy teaching. The reason I love teaching so much is not only because I love math but because creating relationships with students is so rewarding. Every year I think I can’t bear to love another set of kids like I do these ones. But my heart grows larger and larger. My last year at East was for sure interesting, I was pregnant for the first few months, gone on maternity leave, and now Covid. The faculty and my students showed me so much support. I am going to miss my amazing students and East Faculty so much!!! Thank you for all the joy you have brought me the past three years.

My favorite quote in class and life is, “If you are going to do something, then do it well.” No matter what you do Lancers, give it your all.

Swiggity Swag Out!

IN JANUARY I decided it was time to submit my resignation in order to formally retire at the end of the school year. Sadly, the school year ended before I could personally express my appreciation to my students and the Shawnee Mission East community.

Therefore, I would like to say thank you to the students I have served over the past four years in Advisory, Biology, Global Issues, Anatomy and Physiology, and Introduction to Biotechnology. I hope that each and every one of you will be happy, healthy, safe and successful. I truly enjoyed watching you grow personally and academically over the course of each school year.

I am especially appreciative of all of the help and support I have received from the amazing parents/guardians, teachers, custodians, and administrators at SME. It has been and honor to be part of your team!

N I C K PA R I S FOR THE PAST 34 years, I have been extremely proud to be a member of the Shawnee Mission East faculty! Every time I tell people where I teach, I see a look of respect on their faces, which speaks volumes. I’ve had so much fun being Categories sponsor, Pep Club sponsor, social studies teacher, and colleague. Thinking back, I must say that every Monday morning I looked forward to the week ahead. One can’t say that about many jobs!

I was eager to share a favorite film, tell a story about my tragic youth(actually it wasn’t that bad), watch the kids enjoy a simulation game, or listen to student comments about current trends(as an oldster, I was generally clueless; only recently did I learn about Tic Toc!).

People have often asked me why I got into teaching, and I usually reply, “Because I like working with young people.” That includes the faculty as well as the students! Everyone is younger than I am, and it’s a lot more fun listening to stories of young parents than listening to stories about hip replacements!

Farewell to all of you Lancers! I have many, many wonderful memories, and don’t be too surprised if I may show up as a substitute one day!

KRISSSY WIGGINS IT’S BEEN MY honor to serve you as coordinator for the SHARE program the past six years.

Though SME wasn’t my high school, I am a Lancer. I get goosebumps remembering first days of school, spirited assemblies, musical and theater performances, and my favorite, Senior Service Day. I’m so proud of your amazing academic achievements, your creativity, and especially your heart for serving your classmates and community. Continue to look for the need around you and imagine ways you can use your many gifts to help. The world needs you now more than ever and, as I always say, if not YOU, then who?

I’ll miss hearing, “Hi, Mrs. Wiggins!” across the crowded hallways. But, I’ll carry your smiles, your spirit and your big hearts with me. Wish I could have given a few hugs, but consider this letter a big one!

M A L LO RY GAU N C E THANK YOU, LANCERS: The last eight years as a teacher and coach at Shawnee Mission East have had such a profound impact on my life, and it’s hard to believe it is truly over.

Words cannot adequately describe how much I will miss being in the classroom with you all and watching you grow as individuals. Whether we were laughing our way through the question of the day, struggling our way through writing an essay, or “geeking out” together over rhetorical analysis (ok, I admit, that one was probably just me…), there have been so many wonderful moments that I will always cherish when looking back on my time at SME. I am proud to say I have been a part of this Lancer family, and I look forward to watching East continue on its path of excellence from afar. Keep up the good work!

MELANIE MILLER I AM TRULY privileged to have spent the last thirteen years at East and to have worked with so many amazing students and educators. I will miss East’s excellence, camaraderie, spirit, and many of the Lancer traditions like Lancer Day and singing the school song, but I will always be reminded of East whenever I’m in Ohio Stadium singing the alma mater. I may even sing the Lancer lyrics from time to time! Though this is a strange way to end my time with the Lancers, I’ll never forget that Lancers we will ever be, and it’s always great to be a Lancer. Thank you, East!

06 | SENIOR SECTION

design by | rose kanaley

RO L L E RCOAST E R OF EMOTIONS

Three seniors share their most memorable moments at East

by phoebe hendon

FROM THE DAY we walk into freshman Link Day to the day we walk across the stage, diploma in hand, high school is a rollercoaster of emotions. When it’s over, we’re left with the memories we’ll tell our kids about when they urge us to share the details of our adolescence and the ones immortalized only in the depths of our Snapchat memories.

But for the seniors who’ve long awaited their movie moments, the most anticipated times of high school have been taken away — prom and graduation, a true last day of school, grad parties — gone. Even with the loss of their grand finales, as their last four years come to a close, the class of 2020 shares memories they won’t soon forget.

PRIDE NERVOUSNESS, EXCITEMENT, A tinge of fear and a soon-tobe-increased dose of confidence. Then-junior Jack Slaughter’s first soccer game as a varsity player was one of the most anticipated moments of his life. He’d stepped on the field with the varsity team for a few minutes at the end of one of their games when he was a sophomore on JV, but this was different. This time wasn’t a test — it was real.

Though it was the same game he’d played for years, Slaughter spent his first minutes on the field tentatively. He’d worked hard to move from JV to varsity, logging extra practice hours the season before and going all out during drills and scrimmages during that year’s tryouts. But his only focus that game was being exactly where he needed to be — no more, no less. Now wasn’t the time to take a risk.

Shortly after the start of the second half of East’s first game of the season against rival Shawnee Mission West, Slaughter had the ball and was driving up the field.

“I remember being on the edge of the [goal] box and ... I realized I might have a shot, so I kind of just went for it — not even really thinking, just being in the moment, it was kind of a blur,” Slaughter said.

Instantly after his shot landed and became scoreboard official, Slaughter noticed a change. He’d reminded himself that he belonged on the field, that he was just as capable as his older teammates.

Everything felt a bit more natural. He’d found his groove, and it felt good.

Just minutes after his first goal, Slaughter got the ball on a breakaway. A well-placed shot landed in the back of the net.

Slaughter was elated.

“After that goal, I felt like, okay, maybe it’s gonna work out after all,” Slaughter said. “It felt really good; it felt like I’d proved myself.”

When he first ran on the field, Slaughter was just happy to be representing East, happy that his mom, dad and sister were there to support him and happy that he’d made it to that moment. But when head varsity coach Jamie Kelly acknowledged Slaughter’s accomplishments — “I think it was something like, ‘Hope we see that again next game,’” Slaughter said — it sealed the deal: that game was one of the proudest moments of his life.

SADNESS FOR REILLY MORELAND, one of the most memorable moments of high school happened to be its end.

Moreland was at a loss when it was announced school was canceled for the rest of her senior semester.

She “freaked out” and immediately called a friend to attempt to process the grief. It didn’t feel real for either of them, especially Moreland, who took the call as a complete gut-punch.

The next few hours were spent rifling through Snapchat memories and old photos, texting friends and reminiscing. Moreland, whose family had chosen to stay home from their previously planned spring break trip to Cabo, knew she was one of the only seniors home at the time. Even before the soon-tocome mandated isolation, she felt lonely.

But there was one place she felt could bring her comfort, one thing that could soothe the pain. In a spur of the moment decision, Moreland decided to give East a visit.

“I just kind of drove into the parking lot and pulled into my spot,” Moreland said. “It was just a really emotional moment for me; I started playing ‘Ribs’ by Lorde, and I was just sobbing and looking at the school.”

When high school came to an abrupt close on an insignificant day in the middle of March, Moreland felt a rush of emotions. Alone, scared, confused, lost. But most of all, she just felt sad. And though she’s come to terms with Gov. Laura Kelly’s decision, Moreland knows that moment will stick out for her as the worst feelings of the entire pandemic and one of the most heartbreaking moments of her high school career.

EMBARRASSMENT KATIE DRAKE DOESN’T consider herself an accident-prone person. Sure, she knocked over a bunch of desks on her first day of high school, but that had to be the most embarrassing thing you could do as a freshman, right?

Unfortunately, Drake would later one-up herself — her most embarrassing moment of high school came later freshman year. During her girls-only P.E. class, Drake was left with no lesson plan and practically zero supervision at the hands of a substitute, purely hoping to kill time with a casual game of wall ball.

Drake absent-mindedly booted the ball and watched as it soared high — higher than she expected it to. The innocent game of wall ball took a turn in mere seconds as the ball hit a fourfoot-wide lightbulb on the gym ceiling. Before Drake could comprehend what was to come, the fixture came crashing down, landing about two feet next to her.

“I was about to cry [because] I was a freshman and I thought I was gonna get in so much trouble,” Drake said. “People started putting it on their Snapchat stories, and I was like, ‘no don’t put it on your stories, I don’t wanna get in trouble.’”

Unsure if she would be met with the reprimand of angry administration, Drake quickly texted her mom in an attempt to cover for herself — ‘Hey, I broke a lightbulb in the gym so if you get a call about it, please don’t be mad.’

Drake went about her day with her lips sealed, hoping that by some miracle she wouldn’t hear that heart-stopping “Katie Drake to the office” call over the PA system.

But the office never called her and never reached out to her mom. By the time her gym teacher came back the next week, it was like the incident never happened.

“I felt like I just got away with it. Like it was definitely an accident — but I felt like something should’ve happened,” Drake said.

While it was one of the more nauseating moments of Drake’s time at East, her legacy lies in the main gym — one massive ceiling light with yellow hues that stands out from a fleet of white, installed to replace one that came crashing down.

GAP (YEAR)

design by | catherine erickson

MIND THE

senior section | 07

Many students are considering taking a gap year to allow the pandemic to settle down, rather than starting college off with another semester of online school

by caroline gould

W

ith COVID-19 still infecting millions and impacting all seven and a half billion people, graduating seniors are being forced to reconsider a monumental step in most students’ life — going to college — and in place take a semester or a full year off of school.

In Kansas alone, there are almost 4,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 100 deaths with cases still rising, according to The New York Times.

Though they may not be fighting on the front lines, the virus’s impact still hits East seniors with the disappointing possibility of not being able to attend their first semester of college.

Even though next semester is roughly three months away, Boston University has been the first American college and university to cancel the first semester, according to Forbes. Instead, classes are scheduled to start in January of next year. While they are the first to cancel, other schools are expected to follow.

For senior Emma Barickman, the thought of potentially not being able to go to the University of Arkansas next semester is disappointing.

“It’s really hard to comprehend [not going to college] because you look up to this moment of going off to college, finishing high school and having a normal experience, but not now with everything that’s going on,” Barickman said.

While the University of Arkansas hasn’t cancelled classes yet, Barickman has accepted the possibility of having to survive through yet another semester of online school, which she says is plan B.

I know that it doesn’t make sense for me to do online school if I’m still paying the price for the whole experience.

lizzie macadam | senior Having to do more online school could impede students’ progress in school, according to Barickman, who feels it’s been challenging to maintain motivation with East’s online school, especially when it isn’t already required. Being in a classroom environment helps her better grasp the concepts being taught.

“If I personally know my teachers and have that conversation and be in class where I can focus more, it would be better for not only me, but a lot of kids,” Barickman said.

Senior Lizzie MacAdam agrees it’s been difficult to find motivation in this quarter’s online classes.

Even though potential online classes at the University of Michigan would be mandatory unlike

East’s current voluntary online school policy, she believes there’s a difference between online school and attending classes in-person.

“Especially when the Zoom calls are not mandatory, it’s been a little bit harder for me to get on them and participate,” MacAdam said.

“Obviously in college they will be mandatory, but I think it’s harder to prepare for college in online classes than it is in-person classes.”

For this reason, MacAdam is strongly leaning towards taking a gap year next school year. To MacAdam, Michigan’s out-of-state tuition isn’t worth classes held over Zoom meetings.

“I don’t know exactly what my plan would be if I didn’t...but I know that it doesn’t make sense for me to do online school if I’m still paying the price for the whole experience,” MacAdam said.

MacAdam has been thinking about the possibility of doing online school at KU or a local community college to get in-state tuition, along with working and saving up more money for future in-person classes.

Even though a gap year may sound like a nice break over the competitive academics at the University of Michigan, for MacAdam it’s just a longer wait until she can start college, something that she’s been excited for since being accepted in December.

Between signing up for housing, collecting dorm room inspiration on Pinterest, getting to know her roommate and making friends through Facebook groups and Snapchat, MacAdam has spent a lot of time preparing for her freshman year of college — but the experience she’s anticipated may have to wait until 2021.

“When me and my roommate were FaceTiming to sign up for housing we were like, ‘well I really hope we get to live in this dorm and have this room together,’ and you really just don’t know,” MacAdam said. “And it’s just really a disappointment that [cancellation is] a possibility.”

While MacAdam hopes to participate in the college experience that she’s envisioned, she still keeps in mind that no matter what, she’ll still have the opportunity to get an education.

“I’m hoping that we’ll get to go and be there in person, but I don’t want anybody’s health to be at risk or that to be a problem,” MacAdam said. “I really don’t want it to be moved online but if it is, that isn’t the worst thing and we’ll still be able to get an education, even if it’s from our bedrooms.”

Though right now the possibility of beginning their journey through college may seem low, Barickman and MacAdam are still hopeful — along with the rest of the class of 2020 — that they’ll be able to start this chapter of life as planned.

WHAT’S NEXT?

What are your plans for your gap year?

C H A R L I E H I L L | stay i n g i n Ka n sa s to wo r k I just want to see how everything settles down with the pandemic and just save up money. I’m going to see if I can be a server [for work] because I think the tips will add up over time...I just want to be certain that the year won’t be interrupted again with a second wave.

But I’m going to try to go to K-State once everything settles down.”

N I C K E D G E | t rave l a n d i nte r n s h i ps For my first part of my gap year I’m taking a three month trip to Ecuador, Peru and Patagonia [to do] various things like volunteering in various communities and then we get to study environmental factors in those areas...Then the second half I’ll be interning with various companies to get experience in the business world to figure out what I want to do in the future.”

BY THE STATS

1 6 IN

students are revising their college plans due to coronavirus

13%

may be unable to afford their first choice school due to the recession caused by coronavirus

*according to a survey by the Baltimore based Art & Science Group

6%

plan on taking a gap year, as opposed to the usual less than 3%

08 | coverage

design by | catherine erickson photos illustration by| lilah faye

WING UNDER THEIR

Many seniors have developed bonds with underclassmen and become role models for them by cesca stamati

T

rying to avoid the crowded halls of East, freshman Anna Mitchell slipped out of the gym entrance as fast as she could. Checking the time on her phone, she received the traditional after school text by her ride home, senior Lucy Smith saying: “Book it.”

With her backpack weighing her down and an exhausting day at school almost behind her, she bolted across the senior lot and hopped in the backseat of Smith’s dark grey Ford Escape, with freshman Grace Knoff sitting in the passenger seat. Her stress and foggy head cleared up instantly from the familiarity of being in a car with two people she’d shared a close bond with since elementary school.

“It was kind of therapeutic in a way,” Mitchell said.

“Getting into that car after a rough day at school was like having all the weight taken off my shoulders.”

For both Smith and the freshmen, those 15 minutes driving everyday after school wasn’t just a carpool — it was a way for them to catch up and relax from everything going on in their lives, from tests in World Regional Studies to drama with friends.

The three talked about anything and everything, according to Mitchell. Lucy’s given experience from being

I think it’s important for freshmen to have someone older because it allows them to feel better about the scariness of high school.

tommy pollock | senior older allowed the two to have a more mature perspective on friends and school, and she also gave them a break from troubles in their grade.

The feeling was mutual for Smith, who met the two when she started babysitting Knoff’s little brothers in sixth grade. Despite any drama going on at school or with friends, going over to babysit the twin boys and having Knoff — and Mitchell who was always over — to spend time with was a stress-reliever and guaranteed fun.

“I would always know that when I was going to hang out with them that it was going to be fun and there wasn’t going to be any focus on the things that I was stressed out about,” Smith said. “When I was babysitting her brothers it was like, not only am I going to get paid to watch these boys, but Grace and Anna are coming over.”

Over the years, Smith has become more of an older sister than a friend to Mitchell and Knoff, and they are completely comfortable with sharing what’s

WO R D S O F

WISDOM Senior Lucy Smith's three best pieces of advice for underclassmen

1

Always keep an open mind about everything

2

Talk to everyone — you never know who you might bond with

going on in their lives with her and going to her for advice.

“If anything happens in my life that’s bad I’ll call Lucy first,” Knoff said. “Even my mom will be like ‘Why don’t you have Lucy come over and talk to her?’ when I have a bad day.”

The trio became as close as sisters by making their own vines and dancing videos with Smith while she wasn’t watching the boys. Some of the first things in Knoff’s camera roll were videos of the three laughing at the top of their lungs.

Though they are separated by age, Smith could always join in on the fun and never felt like there was an age gap when they would hang out.

“I’ve never thought like ‘They’re so annoying, I can’t do this.’” Smith said. “I was excited to have fun with them because they would always do fun things that I could be a

3

Go out of your comfort zone and get involved as much as you can

part of. I liked that they looked up to me and respected me but we could also have fun together.”

Though Smith is moving on to college at Kansas State University and won’t have as much time to spend singing in the car with Knoff and Mitchell, the three plan on visiting her and continuing to keep in touch.

Smith isn’t going so far that they won’t be able to see her every once and a while, Mitchell said.

“We will for sure go and see her at least once or twice next year. It will be different not seeing her almost everyday, but I’m so proud of her.”

Like Mitchell and Knoff, freshman Aidan Winne has always had someone older than him to go to for advice, thanks to his sister, senior Molly Winne, and her friends who he got to know over years of them coming over to his house, including senior Tommy Pollock.

Pollock, who has been family friends with Winne for most of his life, has helped him during his freshman year by giving him rides to school and advice on grades and friends.

“I think it’s important for freshmen to have someone older because it allows them to feel better about the scariness of high school,” Pollock said.

Just seeing the familiar faces of the upperclassmen who have already been through high school helped make Winne feel more comfortable adjusting to a bigger school and the stress of harder classes.

“They taught me how to get around East,” Winne said. “They helped me get a head start on my grades and told me they wished they had had better grades freshman year because it helps you in later years.”

With the help of these upperclassmen since the first day of high school, Winne feels prepared for the next three years, even without having them around at his house or seeing them in the hallways at school.

“I feel sad I don’t get to see them next year, but I will always keep in touch with some of them.” Winne said.

COME VISIT 5813 johnson dr, mission, ks www.energizingmission.com

design by | caroline chisholm and celia condon photos by | kate nixon

CLASS OF 2020

hadle y H YAT T

Senior Hadley Hyatt plans to work as an au pair in Germany by lily billingsley BEFORE SENIOR HADLEY Hyatt first watched

Savannah Tuma’s YouTube video about her experience as an au pair in Germany, she had never even considered the experience. But as she watched, she realized that being a full-time nanny in a foreign country would give her the opportunity to live abroad, while getting paid — an opportunity that isn’t likely to arise once she starts college and launches into adulthood.

After spending her junior year as a foreign exchange student in Austria, Hyatt found a passion for experiencing different cultures.

So after learning more about what being an au pair entailed, she knew she had to pursue the experience — the paycheck could go towards her European travel expenses. This January, Hyatt made a profile on AuPairWorld and matched with a family in Berlin, Germany who will provide an apartment for her to live in while she looks after the family’s children.

After traveling to Chicago to get an au pair Visa, she will be ready to leave in July to work with the family for a year, where she will speak English to the kids in the family to improve their fluency, as well as carrying out typical nannying duties like taking them to and from school and

keeping them entertained.

“I had never even considered it until after I got back last summer from my exchange year,” Hyatt said. “I was originally thinking about going to college in Germany, but it’s really hard to get accepted there because the U.S. credits aren’t the same. I found au pairing and I decided that would be a good fit.”

Hyatt will also be taking courses at a nearby college, allowing her to gain some credits before she returns to the United States where she plans to study nursing at the University of Mississippi.

With her weekends free, Hyatt plans to travel to Prague and Poland, taking advantage of relatively cheap and easy travel in Europe — especially since she won’t have to pay to live in the country. She also wants to visit some of her friends she met while studying abroad.

Although this will put Hyatt a year behind many of her classmates, she feels that entering college a year later is worth the experiences that she’ll gain as an au pair.

“After college, you immediately start working afterwards,” Hyatt said. “I felt like this was my last year before real life sets in. I wanted to be able to travel more, without having a lot of responsibility.”

NICK PROFILES | 11

Senior Nick Edge decides to take a gap year to study environmental issues and help communities in Ecuador, Peru and Chile by jilli foley WHEN MOST SENIORS will be decorating their dorm rooms and buying textbooks in the fall, senior Nick Edge will be packing his Chacos and hiking clothes in preparation for his three-month long trip to South America through the abroad program Adventures Cross Country.

Edge decided to take a gap year and travel in the ACC program to Ecuador, Peru and Chile. There he will be staying and helping local communities with construction work and human resources while also studying environmental issues including the climate change in the Patagonia’s and the deforestation of the Amazon River with 15 other selected students for the program.

Though Edge is studying and helping the community during his trip, he will also spend time participating in white water rafting excursions and hiking to the top of Machu Picchu. He believes this trip will be thrilling and amusing, but also hopes to gain friendships with different people and feel more welcoming to diversity in his life.

“I feel like this trip will make me more of a worldly citizen and be more aware of what’s around me back at home,” Edge said. “Going through a trip like this will give me a new way of thinking when it comes to certain things.”

He first had the idea to take a gap year when traveling

DARBY GUNTER

to Peru last summer through the same program, helping the community by building greenhouses while also touring the cities. Since that service trip was only two weeks, Edge wanted to experience the cultural impact he made again but on a deeper level.

“The two week summer program I did last year was mostly just traveling around Peru, learning about the community and teaching kids English,” Edge said. “This trip is a whole new level of different experiences in various countries.”

After learning about how his sister's gap year in Africa expanded her mindset when living through cultural diversity and impacted her by making lifelong friends, Edge was finally convinced he needed to apply for the ACC program.

“I’m excited for Nick to see another country and see how their culture is different,” Caroline Edge, Nick’s sister, said. “I love the new independence of these trips, so I hope he feels he gained some worldly knowledge and is more prepared for college life.”

Even though he is pressing pause on his college experience at Elon University next year, Edge believes this trip will help give him a realization for himself of what he wants for his future.

“It’s a big interest of mine to do this trip because you get to learn about different aspects of the world we live in,” Edge said. “I’m excited to look at different cultures and get to learn about different people and lifestyles.”

EDGE

Senior Darby Gunter’s passion for helping others has led to a career path full of selflessness by campbell wood FIVE-YEAR-OLD Darby Gunter’s monthly visits to her great-grandma’s nursing home always had her leaving with a heavy heart — it was sad to see those who never received visitors. But she always talked to the other residents like they were her best friends, asking about their families and listening to stories about which birds visited the garden.

Darby was so interested in their lives, she never had the chance to talk about hers.

Darby, a senior now, puts others before herself. She always has.

So when making a decision about her future, she asked herself, “In what career would I be able to help the most people and feel fulfilled from my work when looking back at age 60?”

The answer suddenly became clear — a nurse.

Darby comes from a family of heroines, her mother having been an on-call sexual assault nurse for Children’s Mercy, her grandmother filling the void of an absent father and her great-grandmother being a nurse during World War II. “I really want to be a nurse because a lot of people don't care about the people who need medical help,” Darby said.

“They're pushed aside by society and if I could learn one thing from my grandma, my great-grandma and my mom, it’s that you are making such a difference by being next to that person and trying to take care of them.”

Darby knows nursing school isn’t cheap. After getting advice from a friend’s older brother, she learned that joining

the National Guard — reserve troops for the United States Armed Forces — would cover all college expenses. On top of that, it serves as yet another way for her to help others.

Even with Darby’s departure for Fort Sill scheduled for late May, she’s not nervous — just excited. Amidst her adventurous excitement, she’s not oblivious to the mental and physical challenges that come with being in the army. She’s witnessed the shell shock firsthand from her grandfather who served as a combat medic and marine in Vietnam. But he and the rest of her family support her decision, and Darby finds his service inspiring.

Anywhere people need help is where Darby wants to be.

She’s volunteered at Harvesters since her kindergarten Girl Scout troop’s first visit. During the coronavirus outbreak, Darby made sack lunches to give to the homeless, along with any spare change on her. She leads by example — something she’s learned from the powerful and selfless women around her.

“They’ve shown me how important it is to be strong even if no one else can be strong with you,” Darby said.

After finishing her commitment to the National Guard and getting her master’s in nursing, Darby hopes to hold a leadership position for Doctors Without Borders or UNICEF. She believes she can make an even bigger difference for the starved and disease-ridden third world countries.

“You can do so much with the way you take care of people, the way you talk to people,” Darby said. “You can change a person's perspective by just being kind and helping them and I feel like I could help a lot of people.”

12 | PROFILES

ABBY

Senior Abby Delaney has chosen a more unique major than others, in wanting to pursue estheticiology — the beautification of the skin by lyda cosgrove ABBY DELANEY DIDN'T expect an 18th birthday present facial to be the factor that changed her career aspirations.

Previously set on becoming a teacher, Delaney was captivated by the esthetician’s tranquil and friendly presence combined with the soothing environment, making Delaney want to become an esthetician herself.

“The spa environment was so relaxing and calming,” Delaney said. “I walked in and was like ‘Okay this is what I want to do.’”

Delaney will study skin and beauty treatments at Johnson County Community College, majoring in estheticiology — the study of the beautification of skin.

She is planning to work at and eventually own a spa, hoping to give customers the same calming and peaceful experience she had.

Another motivating factor for Delaney to help others with their skincare needs was the skin issues that she struggled with in the past.

Like most high-schoolers, Delaney experienced her own fair share of acne problems. After trying out several unsuccessful dermatologist-recommended products that were more damaging than beneficial for her skin, Delaney started doing her own research and experimenting with natural skincare solutions.

“I tried figuring out natural remedies for acne and dry skin and it totally changed everything,” Delaney

KARA A U V R AY

DELANEY

said. “I want to help other people figure that out so that they don’t have to go through all of the struggles.”

Although her family was hesitant at first towards this unique career path, they wanted to support her after noticing her admiration and dedication towards beauty and skincare.

“The past couple of years I’ve been doing a lot of research and [my family] has seen that,” Delaney said.

“They trust that I also have my best intentions.”

One day, Delaney wants to pursue her interest in natural beauty remedies further by creating her own line of skincare geared towards aiding damaging elements.

“If I were to make a skincare line I would want a line for people who are [exposed to] the sun a lot,” Delaney said. “It has a huge effect that a lot of people don’t even really know about so educating on that would be super important.”

In the midst of her research, googling different popular ingredients in name-brand skincare, Delaney has found the importance of using safe, reliable components in everyday products. According to Delaney, some common ingredients in skincare like alcohol can be more harmful than beneficial, due to its drying properties.

With her specific career goals in mind, Delaney wants to focus her studies on natural products and expand on them to help others with their skincare needs in the future.

Kara Auvray will return to her childhood roots in Paris for college. by elizabeth mikkelson THE MONTHS OF rigorous essay writing, presentations and never-ending application work all boiled down to one life-changing decision for Kara Auvray on March 20: she could continue her life in the United States at Georgetown University or return to her roots at her dream school — Sciences Po in Paris, France.

For Auvray, the answer was simple.

Auvray was born in France and moved to Kansas when she was 7. Her elementary years were spent in the Blue Valley district, but after learning about the International Baccalaureate program at East, she decided to transfer into the Shawnee Mission School District.

“I knew for a long time that I wanted to go back to France, especially for college,” Auvray said. “With East’s IB opportunities, I’d have a better chance of getting in.”

The Paris Institute of Political Studies, also known as Sciences Po, is the third best school in the world for politics and international studies, according to TopUniversities.com.

With a 10% acceptance rate, the application process was rigorous and lengthy.

Despite being accepted into Georgetown in December 2019, Auvray plowed forward to reach her goal of attending her dream school. The first round of the application process required the usual transcript, IB predicted scores, extracurriculars, a letter of recommendation and a letter of motivation explaining why Auvray wanted to study there.

After getting through to the second round in January,

Auvray traveled to Sciences Po where she was given 30 minutes to analyze an article on the Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans who seek to prevent Trump from being reelected. She then gave a 10 minute presentation on the topic to a panel of judges.

“They were looking at my analysis and how I was able to incorporate previous knowledge into my presentation, as well as my speaking skills,” Auvray explained.

Auvray was accepted on March 3, and plans to major in Politics and Government, along with a focus on human rights and law — a topic she’s been passionate about since middle school.

“Human rights in general has always been an issue I’ve been passionate about,” Auvray said. “With my own experience and privilege that I have to live here, I know it’s a very important issue that a lot of people struggle with.”

Auvray is most looking forward to the endless opportunities and experiences that await her, along with being able to interact with students from all over the world — with 43 different nationalities on her campus alone.

However, the excitement of new experiences certainly comes with new challenges of leaving her life in the United States behind.

“I’ve lived in the US for the past 10 years so I’m sure I’m going to have to adapt to the different way of living and living in an apartment and just being on my own,” Auvray said.

“Even though I’m a little bit nervous, it’s something I’m still very excited to be able to explore.”

PROFILES | 13

After a long application process and years of studying, seniors Sophie Sun and Meghma Pal will be doing UMKC's six-year medical program by celia condon ONLY A FEW DAYS into quarantine, senior Sophie Sun nervously stared at the highly-anticipated unopened email from University of Missouri-Kansas City. This was a moment that was months coming.

Sun has dreamed of being a part of UMKC ’s six-year medical program since elementary school. Having two uncles who had completed the program, the pressure was high to get in.

Senior Meghma Pal had the same dreams of working in the medical field, and she just so happened to grow up with Sun. “We’ve been friends for — I think it’s coming up on 14 years now,” Pal said.

And although having a partner to ride along the dream path made high school easier, it made the application and acceptance process a little more sentimental. When the decision letters were released, some of the nerves were rooted in the fate of the other friend's acceptance.

“Fifteen minutes after I figured out I got in, I texted and asked [Meghma] if she had checked her email yet, and she said ‘No,’ and I said ‘Go check,’” Sun said. “Then she FaceTimed me and we were both screaming and crying and she told me she got in.”

The six year program differs from other med schools because it squeezes eight years into six. Freshman year, the future doctors will get all of the same breaks that a normal college student would, but during the summer they will continue to take classes. After their first year,

lilli CAPLAN

they will have one week off every couple of months. The students also get to work in a ‘Docent Team,’ allowing clinical experience as soon as three weeks into their freshman year.

“The six-year aspect of it is pretty cool in the sense that it does get you to your profession quicker,” Pal said.

“Outside of that, also being able to interact with patients so early on — the location is also a really good thing.”

But the acceptance letter didn’t come easily. UMKC has around 1,500 applicants, and in the end, they’ll only accept about 100.

“The application was due Nov. 1,” Sun said. “I submitted it Oct. 30, so that I could have one day, if something went wrong, to fix it.”

While the girls haven’t pinpointed what exact area of the field they’ll be going into, the world of medicine was introduced to the pair long before senior year.

Starting her freshman year, Pal worked in her parents’ stem-cell research lab at University of Kansas Medical Center. Outside of that, she’s worked with polycystic kidney disease, shadowed an oncologist at KU med and co-wrote a research paper that went on to be published.

Sun's laundry list is no less impressive, volunteering at St. Luke's Hospital, doing research at KU Med and joining the Shawnee Mission School District's biotechnology program.

Although the original June initiation has moved to a virtual one, the girls plan to start their new lifestyles in the fall, continuing their best-friend-ship as roommates.

Sophie & meghma

Senior Lilli Caplan’s desire to travel and build confidence has led her to take a two-year course to become a National Park tour guide by winnie wolf SENIOR LILLI CAPLAN spent her junior year of high

school working towards entering the medical field.

Leaving East from second to fifth hour each day for her medical science course at the CAA got her one step closer to her dream — becoming a nurse practitioner.

But after attending a week-long float trip in the Grand Canyon last summer, Caplan knew she couldn’t sit indoors as college professors delivered lecture after lecture for four years. At least, not yet.

Through creating a close relationship with their tour guide Sarah, Caplan learned of the outdoor educational program, Outward Bound, that got her started and Caplan’s interest to become a guide herself was piqued.

“This is something I can do where I don’t have to go to college,” Caplan said. “School is not my thing, but I knew I wanted to do something instead of just sitting at home. So I decided to do this.”

Caplan will be attending Outward Bound for two years through Colorado Western University, where she'll go on global wilderness expeditions to learn survival training and build leadership character. Because the program is off-campus, Caplan will be a University student, but won’t be taking classes full-time with the college.

After a month of introduction classes, Caplan will set out to camp with her group of 15 peers in Colorado.

As students succeed though courses, they can work up

to longer trips in different locations. Caplan’s goal is to reach the highest level — a six month, cell phone-less trip — before finishing the program.

“You don’t have to know anything about camping when you enroll in Outward Bound courses,” Caplan said. “You can come from anywhere. I don’t have a lot of experience with that stuff, which is why I like the program.”

The target programs within Outward Bound allow students to learn the basics, get certified and use their experience towards their future. For Caplan, this means she can test her interests in the medical field by taking first aid courses and use those skills when she becomes a tour guide.

Ideally, Caplan would become a tour guide in the Grand Canyon or Yosemite for at least four years.

However if Caplan enjoys it even more than she anticipates, she’ll stick to it longer and potentially discover similar careers from her tour guide experience.

“I’ve thought about going back to school to become a nurse practitioner after I’m done with Outward Bound,” Caplan said. “But for now, I want to do something that boosts my confidence. I’m thinking about when I eventually come back, getting into school here and seeing where that takes me — but for now I’m just going to take a break and travel.”

14 | PROFILES

THE

COMM ITS

by lauren dierks ALTHOUGH THEIR SENIOR season was cut short, varsity soccer players Karoline Nelson, Izzy Zukaitis, Cate Nearmyer, Josephine McCray and Sydney Daris will kick-off their college careers with brand new teams in the fall.

After 19 years with East’s girls program, head soccer coach Jamie Kelly had never had so many girls in one class commit to play in college. Kelly played college soccer at Missouri Valley College himself, so he encourages his own players to play collegiately. After being so committed during his time with them, he was glad to see so many of his players give it a chance.

Center forward Karoline Nelson has always loved Colorado, which made receiving an offer from the University of Denver, a D1 school, an easy decision. After going to an ID camp at DU in 2019 — an on-campus, three day soccer intensive for college coaches to scout players — Nelson received her offer from DU last fall and accepted the offer shortly after.

While club soccer has taught Nelson the technical and fundamental aspects of the game, she credits the East team for helping her to regain her love for the sport by making each practice something to look forward to.

“My brother played on the boys team [at East] and he always talked about how much he loved it,” Nelson said. “But I didn’t really realize how amazing of an experience it was

until I joined it myself.”

According to Kelly, the girls are fully prepared to play college soccer because they are so willing to work hard. He hopes they learn how to face adversity and grow on the college fields.

“Girls work hard and buy into what we, as coaches, ask them to do,” said Kelly.

“When we ask them to change formations or play a different style, they’re so coachable.”

Ever since eighth grade, senior Izzy Zukaitis knew she wanted to play soccer in college. She began looking in the Southeast for a small college with a good soccer program that catered to her preferred major in exercise science — leading her to Lincoln Memorial University.

With several international students playing on the LMU team, Zukaitis feels nervous about the chemistry with her new teammates coming from a team filled with all her best friends. Moving out of the bubble known as Johnson County, she feels forming relationships with so many different types of people will be a challenge for her.

“It’s going to be hardest for me to leave that behind,” Zukaitis said. “It’s hard to imagine I’ll find that again, I’m sure it will happen but it will be kind of sad to let that go.”

Wanting her family to continue to cheer her on at games, Cate Nearmyer decided to stay close to home and play soccer at Baker University. Since her dad played college

soccer and watched her career since she was a toddler, Nearmyer wanted to give her family the opportunity to continue supporting her from the bleachers.

Though she was nervous about a good first impression, Nearmyer ran drills and scrimmaged with the Baker team. After she calmed down and warmed up to the team, she was able to get through a practice.

My brother played on the boys team [at East] and he always talked about how much he loved it. But I didn’t really realize how amazing of an experience it was until I joined it myself. karoline nelson | senior

Nearmyer vied for Baker after her tour guide, who was a midfielder on the soccer team, showed her around the school and introduced her to the coach.

“I knew I’d be playing with her and she was so sweet,” Nearmyer said. “We ended up talking to the coach afterwards and both of them joked around and it just showed that they all had a good relationship and it made me realize that I wanted to go to Baker.”

For Josephine McCray, Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas checked off all her boxes — a small, southern school located in a big city. McCray was able to meet the coach, tour the school and play at their ID camp before committing last spring.

14 years with five different club teams and high school soccer has prepared McCray for the higher intensity level of playing that she will be sprung into in the fall. Although a change in temperature, proximity from home and a large team will all take some adjusting to, McCray is keeping a positive mindset.

“It’s already scary enough going into college, but having a team of girls that I’m close with and get to see everyday is going to make the transition a lot easier,” McCray said.

Thanks to Kelly’s connections, he was able to put Sydney Daris in contact with the head coach at the University of Central Missouri. From there, Daris drove out for an ID camp and shortly after was offered a spot on the team.

Being one of three goalies on the UCM team, Daris anticipates some competition for the starting spot — but that only motivates her to train harder. But similar to her time on the East team, the competition for a starting spot won’t keep her from supporting her teammates, according to Daris.

While each player is taking a different path in their college soccer careers, they can still rely on Coach Kelly to be an open ear.

“Enjoy the experience,” Kelly said. “It’s hard work but it’s good work. I’ve never been in better shape in my entire life than when I played college soccer.”

PROFILES | 15

Thanks to East’s robotics program, senior Ben Hazlett is on the path to running a smart home electronic technology company by lauren west EVERY DAY SINCE FRESHMAN year, Ben Hazlett and one of his current closest friends, Adam Justice, sat in the back of the band classroom drowning out their teacher’s lecture by playing “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” on their MacBooks.

As their friendship continued, Justice taught Hazlett how to build a PC so they could take their gaming to a new level. That moment of putting together the bits and pieces of a computer is what led him to major in computer science at Kansas State University this fall, with hopes of starting a tech company that focuses on smart home electronics.

For the past four years, robotics teacher Vincent Miller’s seventh hour class, along with robotics club, has been a place Hazlett could go to work on his passion.

“You meet a lot of like-minded people and some of the projects I did, I’ve put on my college applications,” Hazlett said.

Hazlett landed on Kansas State’s program after attending the Hack K-State event his sophomore year.

The on-campus annual event features groups of three to ten high school students who learn software and hardware skills and are tasked to create a project in 48 hours.

In the fall, Hazlett plans to focus on researching and

elise GRIFFITH

developing different types of smart home products.

“I’ve got a couple ideas but one of them, which I’ve only seen done on smaller scales, is a smart system sprinkler system,” Hazlett said. “Something that is linked through your phone or [Amazon] Alexa where you can just tap a button no matter where you are.”

He hopes to familiarize himself with these products so he can start his own tech company in the Midwest by the time he enters post-education. According to Hazlett, companies are just now starting to dip their toes in the smart home electronic industry, with things like Roomba’s — autonomous robotic vacuum — being built into Alexa’s.

“I’m a firm believer that it's only a matter of time before we will run everything from your lawn mower to your windows to your thermostat,” Hazlett said. “Once there is a secure network for [smart home technology], I think it will explode so I want to capitalize on that.”

While Hazlett’s dream of his own tech company won’t be acted upon until post college, he can definitely see himself in a place like Kansas City or St. Louis where smart home technology could be used in housing developments — or “ideally on a yacht somewhere in the Carribean.”

BEN HAZLETT

After learning about her heritage, senior Elise Griffith decided to attend University of Hawaii by kate heitmann BEFORE SENIOR ELISE Griffith had even decided to go to the University of Hawaii, her grandma had already given her a bundle of her Hawaiian shirts and anything else Hawaiian-themed she’d found. That made the decision easy Griffith has always heard of the beautiful waters of Hawaii from her grandma, who was born and raised on the islands. But even though her family has always been connected to Hawaii through her grandmother’s stories, they were never able to visit. The last time they tried to visit Hawaii, her grandma got cancer and they weren’t able to go. Her family decided it was best to wait and go another time.

Over President’s day weekend, Griffith and her mom were able to fly out to the Aloha state to visit for the first time and tour the University of Hawaii in O’ahu.

As Griffith toured the campus filled with bike paths and walking trails alongside roaming wild chickens, she grew to love the people and the island of Honolulu. After a meeting with the elementary and special education department — which she plans on studying — she discovered their program would give her a condensed

version of the traditional program at other schools.

After her campus tour at Hawaii, Griffith toured the University of Arkansas again — her other top choice — to meet with its education department. After hearing how Arkansas had sent someone over to the University of Hawaii to learn what Hawaii was doing, Griffith knew Hawaii was where she wanted to go.

“Other schools are sending people over to see what they're doing because their program is so cool and so efficient,” Griffith said. “It's just amazing. So I fell in love with that.”

Even though she has only been to Hawaii once, she’s heard her grandma gush about her experience in Hawaii all her life. She feels she has to try it out and experience Hawaii. It doesn’t matter if she changes her mind along the way.

“I just kind of knew that I would regret not trying it for at least a year,” Griffith said. “If I transfer after that then, no regrets. I still tried it.”

She’s excited to explore the island and be able to show her family all her favorite spots when they visit.

Soon, Griffith will be in O’ahu and experiencing the adventure her grandma has talked about all her life — laying out on the beach and learning how to surf.

design by | catherine erickson & rose kanaley

W HAT’S

NE T?

ALABAMA

AU BU R N U N I V E RS I T Y Bibb, Jackson

A RI ZO N A

UNIVERSITY OF A RI ZO N A D e c ke r, La u re n D r a ke, Ka t i e Hogan, Mary Ka m p s c h r o e d e r, E m m a M e n ke, A i s l i n n Thiemann, Jenna

ARKANSAS

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS Barickman, Emma Barraza, Lucia B r u n d i g e, We r n e r Coe, Jack Glidewell, Samantha Hanson, Luther Ko h r i n g , P e t e r Long, Elizabeth Mack, Gabriella Slaughter, Madison Smith, Brock U n d e r w o o d , Ly d i a Wa l d o, Ro b e r t Wham, Coleman Wo l f, C h a r l e s

CALIFORNIA

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA B a t t e y, S e a n

CO LO R A D O

CO LO R A D O CO L L EG E N i x o n , Ka t h e r i n e Thomas, Natasha C O L O R A D O S TAT E UNIVERSITY K n e e s s y, M y a Va u g h a n , S a m u e l REGIS UNIVERSITY We i fo r d , J a c k U N I T E D S TAT E S A I R F O RC E AC A D E M Y McAlister, Michael UNIVERSITY OF CO LO R A D O - B O U L D E R Phillips, Ellie

A list of where the class of 2020 is headed within the next year

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER N e l s o n , Ka r o l i n e

CONNECTICUT

YA L E U N I V E R S I T Y Kinsella, Aislinn

F LO R I DA

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI M c E l h i n n e y, J a m e s

G EO RG I A

S AVA N N A H C O L L E G E O F A RT A N D D E S I G N P e t e r s o n , Ka t h e r i n e

H AWA I I

U N I V E R S I T Y O F H AWA I I Fe r re n , Ad d i s o n G r i ff i t h , E l i s e

ILLINOIS

COLUMBIA COLLEGE C H I C AG O S u d e r m a n n , Av a We a ve r, J a c ks o n I L L I N O I S W E S L E YA N UNIVERSITY S t a n l e y, K a t h l e e n N O RT H W E ST E R N UNIVERSITY Raedle, Gretchen UNIVERSITY OF C H I C AG O Apodaca, Emory

INDIANA

INDIANA UNIVERSITY B LO O M I N GTO N C o m m e r fo r d , A m e l i a Hawes, Edwin Horton, Greta Stowers, James

I O WA

GRINNELL COLLEGE Wo r t h , M a x i m i l i a n I O WA W E S L E YA N UNIVERSITY Loscalzo, Hailey I O WA W E S T E R N COMMUNITY COLLEGE F r i e n d s , To n y U N I V E R S I T Y O F I O WA

Hill, Eva

KANSAS

BAKER UNIVERSITY Byer, Leonardo Cooper, Hunter Libeer, Thomas Nearmyer, Catherine Roesner, Evelyn Ta l g e , H a y d e n F O R T H AY S S TAT E UNIVERSITY Gardner, Alyssa M I DA M E R I C A N A Z A R E N E UNIVERSITY Jones, Nathan P I T T S B U R G S TAT E UNIVERSITY Gorman, Anna Greig, Thomas J u s t i c e, Ad a m JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Boyle, Ian C h a n e y, P i p e r Cline, Jessica C o n w a y, O s c a r Cribb, Skyler D e l a n e y, A b i g a i l Evans, Eli Fu c i u , N i c ko l a s F u g i t t , Wa d e German Santana, Ke n d r i c k Gird, Caden Groves, Hailey H a r v e y, D i e g o H e e n e y, J o h n Hood, Linn Jackson, Sarah McCann, Charles McGrath, Joseph Miller, Hailey Monroy-Hernandez, Edward M u r p h y, K a t h a r i n e Nicolarsen, Scott Pugh, Caleb Reaves, Jack Stamati, Alec Swan, Will Ta g t a l i a n i d i s , E l l i e Ta t s u m i , E r i c a Tu c k e r , Q u i n l a n Vo y s e y, C h a r l e s

C O N G R AT U L AT I O

CLASS OF 202

We e d m a n , J o h n We s t , L o t u s White, Brooklyn White, Ethan William, Sydni Williams, Kristin Winter, Shelby Wo o ft e r, J a c o b K A N S A S S TAT E UNIVERSITY Bahr, Emily Barreca, Ann Beikmann, Thomas Borger, Dawson Bowles, Palmer Clark, Ian D e e m y, Z a d e n Dirks, Chase Dornbusch, Lauren E d d y, A s h l e y Fisher, Cole Fisher, Jack Fredrick, Elizabeth Freeman, Ryan Gossick, Camryn Hardin, Maguire Hazlett, Benjamin H i c k e y, J e s s i c a Hilton, Jack Hobert, Hannah Hueser, Skyler K i r c h h o ff , F i s c h e r Klaudt-Zampieri, Gabriella Lawson, Owen L u c h i n s k y, W i l l i a m Luetje, George M i e ra , M a c ke n z i e M o ff i t t , C o r a Morgan, George Morgan, Henry Nease, Maxwell R a y, M i t c h e l l Sandstrom, Elizabeth Schuetz, Andrew Schwabauer, Grace Slaughter, Alexandra Smith, Lucy Stindt, Jenna Tu r n e r , L i l y Va n d e r l a a n , J o s e p h Va r d a k i s , M a l a y n a Wa g n e r, J o s e p h C .

Zillner, Nicholas UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Ad e l , D a n i e l Allen, Alyssa

Bolin, Patrick B r a n z a r u , Ka r i n a Breier, Axel Brock, Charlotte Brown, Ella Brown, Stella Burkhar t, Riley Campbell, Lily Carroll, Hudson Ceule, Paige C h a p m a n , Ta i n a C h r i s t i a n , Ka l a Clemente, Phillip Colvin, Grant C o n e l l y, A i d a n M .

C o n n l e y, L i l y Corbin, Alexandra Cosgrove, Quinn C o s t e l l o, We s l ey Cotton, Josephine Crane, Sydney Curran, John Currie, Rachel Dinyer, Alexander Foster, Thomas Frick, Davis F u n k e y, M e g a n Gorman, Abigail Green, Joseph G u a s t e l l o, Ly n n H a l e y, A d r i a n n a Hanova, Milla Harden, Hattie Harnden, Seth Herynk, Emma Hill, Lillian Hobbs, Gibson H o n n o l d , Wa l t e r Hsiung, Vincent J a nt z , M ka i Ji, Harvey J o l l es, Ad a m Krause, Joseph K r i v e n a , Ka y l e e Lail, Sophia Lemon, Hannah Lockton, Jack Lomshek, Emily Long, Cole Madden, Helena M a h a ff y, J a n i e Mitchell, Anna Mitchell, Austin M o n t g o m e r y, E m m a Moreland, Reilly Murrell, Matthew Nunnelee, Michael

Ogg, Lily P a r ke r, Ka z u Patterson, Mi Peters, Anna Pisterzi, Dom Popper, Caro P r u s t , Ta r y n Raile, Truman Revare, Grah Rieg, Cayden Roth, Matthe Ru f, J ay Ruiz, Nicole Schlote, Sam Schneider, W Schutt, Sydne Seitz, Carolin Shields, Chas Short, Christo Sidie, Eva Slaughter, Ja Smith, Olivia Smith, Sydne Sonnichsen, J Stepp, Pa r ke Stinson, Mad Ta y l o r , R u b y Traughber, M Tu c k e r , E l l o i s Tu c k e r , E m m e Tu c k e r , M a x Tu r o w s k i , P a r Uresti, Noah Ve l e z - M a r e i n Ve s a l i , S o u m Wa l b u r n , W i l We a ve r, C o l t Willett, Jacks Winden, Evan Winne, Molly Wo o d s , B r i a n

MASSACH

AMHERST CO Mohr, William BERKLEE CO MUSIC Williams, Abi B OSTO N CO L Kloster, Jack N O RT H EAST E UNIVERSITY H e n r y, O l i v i a TUFTS UNIVE Stechschulte Ve g l a h n , M a r WELLESLEY

senior map | 17

ONS

20

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McConville, Mary

M I C H I GA N

UNIVERSITY OF M I C H I GA N Brock, Lucy Ly n c h , P a i g e M a c Ad a m , D i a n e

M I N N E S O TA

C A R L E TO N CO L L EG E Wurst, Andrew UNIVERSITY OF M I N N E S O TA T W I N C I T I E S Falkner, Elizabeth

MISSISSIPPI

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI Pollock, Thomas

MISSOURI

THE BUILDERS’ A S S O C I AT I O N Collins, Alec KA N SAS C I T Y A RT INSTITUTE Earp, Emily Faye, Lilah M o n t r y, B r y n We a ve r, C a s s i d y M E T R O P O L I TA N COMMUNITY COLLEGE Ko t a r, S o p h i a M I S S O U R I S TAT E UNIVERSITY Gunderman, Anna Thuenemann, Sophia W i l t fo n g , E m m a N O RT H W E ST M I S S O U RI S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y Scott, Macar tney ROC K H U RST U N I V E RS I T Y Arensberg, Nicholas Lozano, Arlen Paddack, Sean T r u s t e r, We s l ey SA I N T LO U I S UNIVERSITY R i e c ke r, S i d n ey Schoeck, Cameron SA I N T LU K E ’S U N I V E R S I T Y O F H E A LT H AND SCIENCES Williams, Abigayle UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI

Burden, Evelyn Daris, Sydney H a w e s , Ta l l e Hughes, Olivia UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Chisholm, Caroline Erdner, Alice Gossick, Ryan Henschel, Benjamin Ives, Hannah Jiang, Jason Leinbach, Gabrielle Newman, Margaret Reed, Madison Schutt, Margaret Tu l p , L i l a Winkler, Brynn UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY Ad a m s, A l exa Green, Sophie H o o d , Ta t u m Pa l , A ra t r i ka Sowell, Henry Sun, Sophia WA S H I N G T O N UNIVERSITY IN ST. LO U I S Rogler, Maxwell

NEBRASKA

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN A l i b e r, Ka t h e r i n e Green, William Harding, William Hlobik, Eleanor Manning, Brooklyn Morse, Wyatt S u e v e r , G r i ff i n C R E I G H TO N U N I V E RS I T Y Beck, Brooklyn Blickhan, Benjamin Groat, Andrew Krebs, John Marasco, Jack Ve n n e m a n , M i c h a e l W a g s t a ff , P a t r i c k Zimmerman, Simon

NEW JERSEY

P RI N C E TO N U N I V E RS I T Y Uhlig, Emery

N E W YO R K

H A M I LTO N C O L L E G E

2020 D e e d y, K a t h l e e n THE NEW SCHOOL Wa g n e r, J o s e p h G .

NORTH CAROLINA

TRINITY UNIVERSITY M c C r a y, J o s e p h i n e

U TA H

E LO N U N I V E RS I T Y Salzman, Madeline N O RT H C A RO L I N A S C H OO L O F T H E A RTS D eVo l d e r , M e g a n

B R I G H A M YO U N G UNIVERSITY Wimmer, Wyatt

OHIO

CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE Har te, Jillian

DENISON UNIVERSITY B a t t e y, K y l e Louiselle, Jacob MIAMI UNIVERSITY Cameron, Jaclyn S a fe r s t e i n , M a r t h a

OKLAHOMA

O K L A H O M A S TAT E UNIVERSITY Higgins, Ella UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA Holzbeierlein, Helen We n t z , B r i g i d W i k l u n d , Ad d i s o n

P E N N SY LVA N I A

P E N N S Y L VA N I A AC A D E M Y O F T H E F I N E A RTS Hennick, River

SOUTH CAROLINA

FURMAN UNIVERSITY F r i s ke l , J a c k UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH C A RO L I N A K l a i b e r, Ky l e

TENNESSEE

LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY Z u ka i t i s, I sa b e l l e

TEXAS

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY Bledsoe, Sarah Carr, Jane Deering, Alyssa Gogel, Kimball Pa r ke r, A n n a Sowden, Chloe

VERMONT V I RG I N I A

UNIVERSITY OF V I RG I N I A Wo r t h i n g t o n , C o l e t t e

WASHIN GTON DC

G EO RG E TOW N UNIVERSITY Feigenbaum, Sabrina Gould, Ian

WISCONSIN

C A R RO L L U N I V E RS I T Y Buck, Gabrielle C A RT H AG E CO L L EG E Espinoza, Ashleigh UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON Stiles, Claire

A B ROA D

SCIENCES PO - FRANCE A u v r a y, K a r a

GA P Y E A R

C o n n e l l y, A i d a n C .

Edge, Nicholas Harrison, Henry H a u g h t o n , Av e r y Hill, Charles Hyatt, Hadley Lee, Vincent M o r l e y, Ta i O ’S u l l i va n , S a ra h O b ro c k, D a kota P o m e r o y, J a c k s o n Revels, James Trejo, Maximiliano

OT H E R

U . S . M I L I TA R Y A t t e b e r y, B e n Dawson, Rachael

Gunter, Darby F O R E I G N E XC H A N G E Dunoyer, Sarah LaForgia, Laura Pouteau, Emma Wo e g i n g e r, Eva SMSD POST HIGH SC H OO L P ROG R A M Wa t e r s , J a m e s TRAINING FOR WO R K FO RC E Caplan, Lillianna

UNDECIDED/ U N K N OW N

A b n e y, Te r r e n c e Anderson, Alex B a x e l y, K a t e l y n B o r n h o l t z , Ka d e n Branit, Jia Cardenas, Logan Crook, Emily Crook, Robert Daube, Alexander D o n n e l l y, S i d n e y Falk, Lee Gensler, Anthony Gunter, George Hetzler, Darren Jin, JiaYing Jin, Jiacong Jones, Ridgely Ka r t s o n i s , S a m u e l Kibler-Estrada, Olivia Kitterman, Asher Marcial, Jodar Marien, Elijah Martin, Noah Ortiz-Portela, Kimberly Peterson, Lauren Prosser-Gebhardt, Jackson Robinson, Simon Rutiaga, Alejandro Stevermer, Julia Te l k e n , G a b r i e l Wa l ke r, J e r r y We l c h , D r ew

HARBINGER SENIORS

COLUMNS | 18

columns designs by | lila tulp photos by | kate nixon & aislinn menke

READ OUR SENIOR STAFF MEMBERS' GOODBYES, THANK YOUS AND COLUMNS

PAGES 18-26

COLUMNS | 19

A R O LY N P O P P E R

I R A R E LY S H U T U P — I’m a talker, it’s who I am.

But right now, as I try to eloquently yet gut-wrenchingly wrap up my last four years of high school in a 400-word bow, I seem to have everything and nothing to say all at the same time.

First I tried to light-heartedly write about my reign as the nickname queen — how several strokes of my pure genius birthed Toes, Jackson and Cacks. And how I’ve used my power to flawlessly trick the underclassmen into being my friends and pick up my coffee on the way to deadline — thanks, little Ceils.

I was even planning on flipping the script and ranking all of the nicknames given to me on a scale from Tulp to Wiwa.

But the thing is, I couldn’t get any further than two paragraphs.

My second attempt was a whopping 13 words on my love of carpooling — not because I’m stingy with my gas, but because I can’t seem to go the seven-minute drive to Caroline’s without talking about the most dramatic season of “The Bachelor” yet or who was added to our #demoted list for this issue. It was going to be a roller coaster of emotions. Funny. Sad. Suspenseful.

But that draft got deleted once I started tearing up thinking about how my 1 a.m. post-deadline driveway heart-to-hearts with Popper turned into 3-hour off-topic Zoom calls in quarantine. As if I’d let you guys see me cry — especially not after last time.

My final resort was a series of thank yous to the JRoom.

To the third desktop to the left for being home to my most caffeinated breakdowns, a front-row seat to oogly sessions and daily lunchtimes with Cacks. To the suspiciously-stained blue couch that welcomed two other Tulps before me — we all know it loved me the most — and to my perfectly-crafted page sketch memes that lined the walls each issue.

But I quickly decided that all that sap would ruin the coldhearted image I’ve worked so hard to maintain.

Truth is, no matter what I say, I’ll never be able to adequately sum up all that The Harbinger has given me or give thanks to

I’VE WORKED ALONGSIDE Caroline and Lila on this newspaper staff since freshman year. My co-editors were there when we learned the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts in J-1 and remain by my side as we lead a staff of 60. The personalities of these girls are so ingrained in my psyche, I’ve nearly morphed into a combination of the two.

Instead of detailing our identities in an overly-heartfelt, emotional mess of a way, I’ll put this in terms that journalists relate to so well: coffee.

Lila, design prodigy, announces the following coffee order — usually to an underclassman who will fetch her beverage: venti nonfat skinny vanilla sweet cream cold brew with light ice and extra cream. I know, right? If anything is an indication of her personality, it's that coffee order.

The five-foot-one-inch authoritarian gets what she wants, when she wants it. Firstyear page designers tremble as they ask the InDesign mogul for a quick look at their page. A master manipulator, I found myself completing tasks for Lila because she asked everso-sweetly, with a hint of threat behind her soprano, valley girl tone.

But like the sweetness of vanilla shots in her lowfat cup of joe, Lila is comforting and soothing in a world of bitter.

When I'm sitting at writers' deadline in near panic because I barely have a draft up for a story, Lila assures me that it’ll all work out — and reminds me I always pull it together in the end, with promises of coffee in the morning. It’s her love language.

And for Caroline, not so precise. In the winter,

the people who’ve managed to change me for the better in a mere 400 words.

So here’s me giving up.

This is me not admitting that I’ll miss Lawder asking me out 30 times every day or Kimball always breaking “dark room, dark voices.” I’d rather sit through an infinite amount of Tate’s five minute spiels about the use of fonts than utter that I secretly live for Thursday design check-ins a n d Tuesday critiques.

The chatterbox

within m e would n e v e r dare get emotional about helping Carolyn whip out her lastminute page at 11 p.m. on our final deadline or brainstorming with an overly-excited Caroline for our 56th and final issue together.

So Harbinger, I guess this is it. It’s not you, it’s me. It’s time for me to say goodbye and leave you with the only words that come to mind: I love you, every single one of you crazies — even you Moore.

P.S. Happy designing!

she prefers hot coffee. In the warmer months, iced — usually with a pump or two of chai. Just like her pragmatic coffee order, Caroline is practical and an efficient leader, demanding order when Lila and I have abandoned Harbinger work for an extended amount of time during Wednesday deadlines. She has leadership in her veins, from Student Council Vice President to editor status.

Unwavering when laying down the law, Caroline detects a staffer lagging behind on deadlines, and wastes no time pulling them aside for a stern talking-to. She owes this to her youngersister status — needing to assert herself all while growing up.

Common strew of words from this one: “Guys, stop. We need to get s--- done.”

But like the fun, extra pumps of chai, Caroline is just as goofy as her co’s when she lowers her walls. She falls into fits of laughter at the lightest of jokes, slaps your shoulder out of excitement, and always, always claims her ideas are so good. The practicality and hard front disappears when a tornado alarm sounds — a oncecomposed general transforms into a blubbering fool. Unlike Lila and me, Caroline is unafraid to wear every emotion on her face, honest as can be.

Lastly, my specific coffee order: nonexistent. I drink whatever Lila orders for me, or even (grossly) what's been sitting on the J-room computer desks for who knows how long. Whether it’s an iced vanilla latte or a caramel macchiato, I’ll drink it. Just like when a staffer comes to me with a not-so-solid idea, instead of shooting it down and starting over, I’d rather be flexible and encourage them to build on that idea. When Lila and Caroline fight over a concept issue or who needs an attitude adjustment, I’m the go-with-the-flow mediator and peacemaker.

The more rule-oriented aspects of Harbinger, such as PDFing and grading the staff, I shrug to my focused and systematic counterparts. And where flexibility exists: brainstorms and copy editing, I’m in charge. For me, rules are unenforced and creativity flows. Just like my coffee order — unpredictable.

I've shared close to four years and countless cups of coffee with my co-editors, despite our differing flavors. But whether or not next year's heads are espresso, cappuccino or glorified milk people, I hope they’re nuanced personalities complement each others’ as mine, Caroline’s and Lila’s did.

COLUMNS | 20

MY FAMILY CALLS me Pipsqueak. It’s a nickname

ACKIE CAMERON

I’ve earned from being a whisper

couldn’t keep my thoughts to myself, especially since the

at family dinners and always being asked to repeat my Starbucks order.

publication runs on collaboration.

Stories can change on deadline night, resulting in a

I can’t remember the last time I actually

domino effect with the design and photos. Telepathy isn’t

yelled — and even then, each attempt is

the best way to let your designer know they’re going to

probably closer to a loud murmur. While my

design a new page. There’s no chance of survival on staff

quietness prevails in most situations, the only

if you only talk to your deskmates.

place I’m never silent is the J-room.

If I had a story idea and wanted it, I had to pitch it

You can’t exactly sit back and watch

during brainstorm (and loud enough so people could hear

while someone snags the story you want

and give me source ideas). If I needed help fixing a sidebar

during brainstorm or mime out classroom

for my page, I learned to speak up and ask an older staffer

announcements

to help. If I heard someone needed my lab partner’s

as

an

editor.

Thanks

to

Harbinger, I’ve evolved from being a hesitant

number for a story then I’d jump in the conversation.

mute to someone who won’t shut up about their

Cut to senior year and I’m an editor — someone

horrible posture or my rivalry with Patrick

who’s literally required to run brainstorms, make

Mahomes’ girlfriend at deadline.

announcements and talk to every single staffer.

My first story brainstorm as a sophomore was a living hell. Speaking wasn’t my thing. Especially not

Sophomore me would be hiding my shaky legs under the desk. But I’m louder now. A lot louder.

in front of upperclassmen. I could barely tell a joke to

During the lulls in brainstorms, I keep the convo

my family without my dad or brothers talking over me.

going, asking what everyone’s weekend plans are or

How was I supposed to pitch a story idea to a circle of

sharing some bizarre encounter I had during lunch. Call

experienced editors?

me a chatterbox. And if I’m not blabbing about a movie

True to my nature, I didn’t utter a word until someone said we needed a news briefs writer. I semi-mumbled an “I’ll do it!” and the story was mine.

Flash forward to senior year and I’m yelling at a staff of 70+ to quiet down so we can start announcements. I’ll admit my yelling is still sort of a half-shout, half-normal

SPACE BAR (PLAY).

My Harbinger adventure began in the fifth floor hallway across from room 521, too scared to enter the back room or to ask anyone if a lead and a lede are the same thing.

Command K (open J-data). I spent every fourth hour playing with my now-laughable designs and clicking through folders to find anything that would improve my designs and stories on J-data –– the journalism server on school MacBooks. You would have definitely found me dragging every pre-set from Design Libraries to try to take the attention away from my multi-triangle Indesignmade evergreen trees that fateful first semester.

Command D (place, to put an object, picture or file onto an InDesign document). By sophomore year, with one semester under my belt, I began placing myself in the back room –– absorbing when Daisy, our notorious head copy editor, taught me how to finally write a gripping story and laughing at every ridiculous word that came out of Meg Thoma’s mouth.

Command Z (go back, to undo or review a previous action). Sophomore year was the ultimate era of Harbinger of my four years –– the staff personality raised the roof. I thank God that I faced my irrational fears and grabbed a desktop in the back. Being in the middle of the chaos helped me grow as a writer, designer and a comedian –– or at least I hope it did.

Omit. The tornado-ridden deadline of 2018. That’s all.

Command G (group, when a designer combines several objects into one). Although we’d all been together on staff since freshman year, junior year was the real conglomeration of Lila, Carolyn and me. The three amigos. The three musketeers. Despite Lila constantly making fun of me and Carolyn never failing to deny my FaceTimes because she’s too busy watching or reading

voice but hey, that’s progress. In the J-room, I realized I

who-knows-what, I know these two will be long-time friends of mine –– something for which I’m so grateful.

Command N (new document).

Senior year was the start of our group’s regime. A clean slate, the opportunity to decide what the next year would look like. Our strong friendship easily translated to a comfortable leadership team.

We revamped the design aesthetic, focused on telling stories and coached the staff on all we know, trying to leave them behind with all the tools to be successful.

Shift W (full screen, commonly used when a designer wants to view their completed design).

My four years on Harbinger were the most transformative years of my life. I learned how to be a listener, a confident speaker and a caring storyteller. I grew into being a better team player, being open to change at any given moment and being a strong leader, despite it taking awhile to get the hang of.

Command S (save, to keep a file forever).

Saving and savoring these past four years as I write this reflection. I will forever hold onto the memories created in rooms 521 and 413B. I want to save every memory, moment, laugh and cry from my time on staff. This staff and these people have influenced my life for the better and are sending me away with a passion to pursue for the next four years.

review or where my hooded blanket is in the J-Room, then something’s wrong.

So thank you Harbinger for helping Pipsqueak find her voice — even if I do still get talked over by my family at dinner.

COLUMNS | 21

LEX DINYER WAKING INTO THE j-room was nerve-wracking for me.

Journalism was never something I saw myself doing. But I was welcomed with open arms to a time-honored group known only as the Harbie boys — a legendary brotherhood I would soon become a part of.

Who exactly are the Harbie boys? Males who happen to be on Harbinger? An exclusive country club? A cult? I came to learn it’s much more than a label. Read further for the most valuable information from these boys.

When I first joined, then-head video editor Dalton Reck recognized a new Harbie boy in need and taught me video production. I learned the basics of Adobe Premiere from his video on Tereré club — a masterpiece full of highsaturation effects, audio distortion and heavy use of radial blur. The skills Dalton taught me in Premiere would prove to be handy as I later produced the video aspect of group projects, especially marketing commercials.

Ty Browning, a legendary photo editor, taught me to put my body on the line for the sake of authentic journalism.

One day at a golf practice, Ty laid down six feet in front of the tee box, completely in harm's way as my teammates and I hit the ball straight over him. The images he captured were full of wild facial expressions and unique positions from each golfer. He risked getting hit by a golf ball going over a hundred miles an hour just for these photos. From that moment on, I knew the best way to capture authentic shots was to take risks like Ty did that day.

Ben Henschel, el patron, online editor in-chief, taught me how to consume ungodly amounts of coffee in a

“IS IT TOO LATE TO GRAB ONE?” Tate’s eyebrows furrow. Ben Henschel — that’s who that is, right? — took J-1 the year before, but wasn’t anything special. Not the journalistic archetype and a surprise to see in room 521 again. Tate shakes his head and points to the table of application brochures.

It was the day before Harbinger applications were due, and after quitting two sports sophomore year, applying was my last-ditch swing at something I might actually enjoy in high school. I banked everything on the chance it would work out, on the chance I could prove my self-doubt wrong.

Luckily, things worked out. Two years removed, and the way my life and The Harbinger have competed for my time and sanity is a tired joke. I could write a billion words about who and what I’ve come to cherish about this publication. But for the first time ever — queue jaw drop — I’ll be nice to the designers and stick to my word count.

The Harbinger and its decades-long legacy gave me something to chase, and taught me how gratifying it is to tear tracks after the runner ahead of you. The best way to live? On the heels of your goals.

There’s a heavy bag to carry with me once I finally log out of our site’s admin page, chock-full of indispensable traits I’ve picked up leading the staff and in the midst of tough stories. At first I was addicted to a pace that competitive sports never gave me, and the chase was out of hand before I could blink. So I kept my eyes open.

Sleeping became the secondary use of my bed, instead taking the role of an overstuffed shelf. Picture a fun assortment of transcription packets from lawmakers and illegible notepads strewn about the covers. Here was a kid who woke up each morning with his face uncomfortably embossed in the dirt speckles of his desk.

Ten hours with tired eyes fastened to both laptops — and he’s smiling? Somehow, yeah. Maybe because the espresso shots flowed like water.

Eventually I learned to channel my drive into something healthier, calcifying my lacks and bolstering my vigor without completely upending my health. But I never compromised. Harbinger has produced Pulitzer winners and business heads, real role models.

Anything less than a full gas pedal would be a shame.

I extrapolated that ideal to my life at large — where there isn’t a stopping point, nothing’s quite enough, the wolf is always scratching — and my envisioned limits dissolved a bit. I realized the impetus to succeed isn’t hard to grip when you insist on persistence.

Of course I didn’t reach a few of the farfetched goals I set. There’s always more for me to finish, a stack of to-do lists left, mainly offbeat op-ed ideas and new website plans.

But all of this, what I never thought I’d be able to say goodbye to — the routine, the staffers, the elegance of waking up to an exciting responsibility — is a bit easier to part ways with knowing that next year, someone will follow suit and start chasing too.

Meanwhile, I’m onto the hardest chase yet: moving forward past the most rewarding part of my life. But if my time here’s taught me anything, it’s that crossroads like these aren’t for hesitancy.

I owe every bit of grit I carry to The Harbinger — and probably you too, Tate. I had to prove that furrowed brow wrong.

twenty-four hour period. But more importantly he taught me that no amount of success comes without hard work.

He spent every night deep in a pile of work he deemed worth sacrificing his sleep for. On Countless mornings where I'd wake up to "Snapchat from Ben Henschel" with a 4:01 a.m. timestamp. Ben was the one who introduced me to Harbinger, recognizing my work ethic and desire to get involved. Whether it was an all-nighter for our DECA project or cramming an extra hour to prep for a test, he’s pushed me to always go full steam ahead both in and out of the J-room.

I still remember making my first announcement as head broadcast editor in front of staff. I timidly said, "Hey guys, so we have a broadcast tonight," and after a moment of silence, Tate said, “yeah, we’re gonna need more than that, chief.”

I froze in embarrassment and wished I had never applied for a head position. But then, I realized I was learning the importance of confidence in public speaking. This is one of the many times Tate — leader of the harbie boys — imparted the value of marketing yourself, which is greatly impactful as I venture out of East.

Some of the more seemingly-insignificant moments in Harbinger ended up teaching me more than I could’ve imagined. I've come to see that all the Harbie boys are not just brothers, but bros helping bros soar to new heights.

EN HENSCHEL

COLUMNS | 22

AT E N I X O N

IF SOMEONE TOLD ME my first semester on staff that I'd eventually become head photo editor, I would've laughed at them. Being on staff hasn’t only given me a slew of general life skills like how to compile a portfolio or how to create cut outs, but it's brought me life-long friendships.

Being a photog is a unique and occasionally terrifying experience. Shooting games filled with your peers and taking student-life photos isn't easy for someone like me who already has difficulty talking in front of large groups. It's hard to focus on lighting and composition without your eyes straying to the classmates pointing at "the girl with the camera."

These struggles are inevitable, but they’re the reason that I’m so close to the other people holding cameras on the soccer field at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night.

To the ‘togs — thank you for everything. I never thought I’d be the one leading you guys.

You taught me how to be a leader and showed me that it was OK to yell at people sometimes (even if it wasn’t really yelling), because it’s important to remind people what this staff expects from them.

Thanks for sticking it out through our rough first semester, thanks for the endless laughs at deadline and most of all, thanks for always

having each other's backs. There was never a day I didn’t rant to at least one of you about my struggles with photo ideas or communication issues, but you always listened. I’ll miss our stairwell potlucks, conference room brainstorms and sideline chats at games while we were supposed to be shooting.

This is not the way we wanted to go out. When they announced the cancellation of school and spring sports, we all mourned the photos we wouldn't be able to capture and the stories we wouldn't share.

But it makes me that much prouder when one of you steps up and shoots something so powerful and telling despite the pandemic-shaped obstacle standing in your way.

I’ve been a part of this family for the past three years, and I’ve loved every minute of it. From togsgiving to photo critiques, the community of photographers on this staff is unlike any other group I’ve been a part of before. The time, commitment and effort you all put in while still making it fun amazes me. I’ll miss all the tears at end-of-season games, the glares from game officials and deadline fiascos, but above all, I’ll miss the passion we share for photography.

And to the freshmen I only got to spend a semester with but impressed me so much — I can’t wait to see all the award-winning photos you’ll take next year.

ISLINN MENKE I O F T E N T H I N K about how much le s s st re s s ful high school would’ve b e e n i f I h ad n’ t f i lle d ou t th at Harbinger applicat io n d u r i ng M r. B u r row ’s freshman geometr y cla s s. I would n’ t h ave to fe el the 160 0 eyes on me wh i le t ak i ng p ep a s s e mbly photos. I wouldn’t h ave to get u p at 5 a . m . to shoot Mol day. And I would n’ t h ave to d r ive 3 0 minutes to Olathe to bro adc a st a fo ot b all game .

But if I’d never tu r ne d i n t h at a ppl ic at io n , I never would’ve met a S phy n x c at fo r a photostor y or been a mot he r to 2 0 c rack he ad ‘tog children. I never would ’ ve b e e n pla g ue d by amusing GroupMe not i f ic at io n s o r e ate n all those delicious Chick-f i l - A de adl i ne d i n ne rs.

I’m so glad I stepped ou t of my c o m fo r t zo ne and was able to experie nc e To g s giv i ng s, t he Can Drive assembly of deat h , Re i lly ’s te ars, t he hot guys folder, Ty shotg u n n i ng L a Cro i x , D i ana being my lord and savio r, ou r h allway p ic n ic s — the list could go on.

I may never h ave be e n a K SPA photo g ra phe r of the month or NSPA photo jou r nal i st of t he ye ar — props to all my photog s for winning those, y’all h ave more t ale nt i n a d rop of swe at th an I h ave in my whole b o dy. I n ste ad , I to ok a more relaxe d a ppro ach to be ing o n st aff. Tate and my fellow staffers would a g re e I m ay neve r h ave been the most fo cu s e d wo r ke r o r t he o ne to take major initiative ( and t h at 's o n do i ng t he b are m inimu m).

No , my go al i n ste ad wa s to b r i ng a s much fu n and c o m fo r t to ou r to ggie b rai n sto r m se s sio n s a s I c ould . I k now wh at it fe el s l i ke to b e a f i rst ye ar photo g whe n you ’ re to o s c are d of t he e d ito rs to a sk fo r help . I wante d to m ake s u re all my to g ch i ld re n fel t c o m fo r t able , and mo st i mpo r tantly, love d.

To all my photo g b ab ie s : I am go i ng to m i s s you r b e au t i ful , sm i l i ng fac e s and I am s o p roud of e ach and eve r y o ne of you .

T h ank you fo r m ak i ng me c r y - lau gh w it h all you r s p az z y mo me nt s and fo r d i st ract i ng me wh i le sit t i ng o n t he sidel i ne s at b a sket b all game s.

I ’ m go i ng to give y ’ all s o me adv ic e : ke ep you r he ad s u p , st ay p o sit ive and st and u p fo r you rs elve s. I k now it c an b e i nt i m idat i ng to wo r k w it h w r ite rs and de sig ne rs, bu t let you r ide a s sh i ne . You c o nt rol wh at photo s you t ake , and you should b e able to cho o s e wh at go e s o n you r p a ge . D o wh at I d id n’ t — t ake i n it i at ive . L e ar n how to de sig n , how to w r ite , and how to m ake v ide o s.

A l t hou gh I to ok a mo re “ relaxe d a pp ro ach” to b e i ng o n st a ff t h i s ye ar, t h ank you H ar b i nge r fo r giv i ng me my s e c o nd fam i ly and an abu ndanc e of me mo r ie s.

T h ank go d I fi lle d ou t th at a ppl ic atio n .

E I L LY M O R E L A N D IT WAS A Wednesday night in January of my freshman year, and Harbinger’s head photo editors needed help transcribing interviews for a photostory. Though I only knew a few people on staff, I was dropped off at East by my mom with the hope of learning a few names and figuring out how this whole newspaper thing worked.

Although I stayed for only one hour while the cool, big league staffers stayed for a whopping six, I felt truly accomplished after transcribing just one interview.

This was my first ever deadline.

As soon as I stepped into the car after being picked up, tears ran down my face. It might sound cheesy, but this was the moment I realized I loved Harbinger and the journalism community.

Since then, just about every other Wednesday night has been filled with Papa John’s cheese pizza and Price Chopper cookies. Every Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 10:30 to 11:20 a.m. was filled with laughs and cries in rooms 521 and 413B. And almost every Thursday was dedicated to a lunch party in the fifth floor side staircase.

When I decided to join

RYAN WALKED INTO HER second hour Video Productions 1 class on the first day of sophomore year to see her good friend Maggie waiting for the bell to ring.

They soon realized that fate had brought them together – they were going to be unstoppable. Thus, the chronicles of the videographers began first with the visual masterpiece that was a music video they made with their classmates to “Waka Waka” by Shakira. With Mrs. Hunter as their guide, they became artists and the camera was their paintbrush.

As first semester came to a close, Maggie convinced Ryan to take her video skills to the next level by joining Harbinger. At the beginning, the mischievous duo spent most of their time in the back of the room making mediocre videos and gossiping with Lilah. On occasion, they would check in with Avery and Peyton (the original video boiz), but it was a rare sight.

Maggie’s first video was about an old, dying wolf owned by an East student. Ryan’s first video was about the infamous ‘Whips’, an East boy-band, so you would think they would fall under history as the forgotten kind. Like any new staffers, their work was torn to shreds by Tate, but they learned and improved together as time went on.

Junior year marked a split for the girls — Ryan was moved to fourth hour while Maggie stayed in sixth hour. Ryan made new friends like Megan and Rachel who helped patch the Maggie-shaped-hole in her heart.

Although being apart was hard, they still had third hour Advanced Video Leadership class together every day.

Together they began filming episodes for the SME Video Announcements — monthly episodes with things from DIY adventures to glamorous skits. But nothing could’ve prepared them for what the summer held.

As newly named co-video editors and a year of experience under their belts, the girls — excuse me, editors — ventured beyond Kansas to the great state of Texas. Thankfully, Ryan and Maggie happened upon a quaint barbershop and its enthusiastic owner, Robert Owens.

Without his tears, the Dallas convention’s first place video award would’ve gone to a sad waterpark ad. Needless to say, they brought home that dub. They got to celebrate that win dancing in handsome Squidward shirts and glitter at the infamous J-Dance, the girls left everything on the dance floor that night. And without their chaperone Mr. Fothergil, the girls never would’ve enjoyed their late night Canes – thanks for letting us break curfew Cody!

Senior year. Coming off a high from Dallas, the girls were ready to tackle whatever this year threw at them — what they didn’t expect was for their year to come to an abrupt end. But with the extra time on their hands, the girls were able to look back fondly on the people and programs that truly gave the best highschool memories. Without the video program and Harbinger, Maggie and Ryan might not have found a passion they would want to pursue in life. But the story doesn’t end there, catch them goofing around in the Journalism school at Mizzou next year together.

To be continued...

COLUMNS | 23 Harbinger, I thought I would be learning the fundamentals: how to set my F-stop to have a perfectly lit picture, how to spot the rule of thirds anywhere I go and how to tell a story through just one click of a button. But now, reflecting back on my four years on staff, for all of the camera tips and tricks I learned, I learned so much more about my fellow staffers.

For instance, Ryan Gossick possesses one of the funniest senses of humor and can easily send me to tears from laughing too hard. Or how the Paulus brothers have the absolute best British accents, no discussion. And how Kaleigh Koc can make my day brighter — even still, by sending me an invite to play Mancala on Game Pigeon despite being states away. And to this day, I still laugh looking through old pictures from in the iconic backroom with Annabelle Cook and Grace Padon.

To my tog babies, I expect nothing but amazing things from you guys. Learn to keep Megan on a leash (literally), and that Julia will probably need a hug once a day. Get your galleries done on time, and stay that extra quarter at a soccer game, even though it’s getting late and Chick-Fil-A is calling your name. Push out of your comfort zone and run across the gym for that one shot. I promise you, it will be worth it.

I love you Harbinger, thanks for all the mems.

Roast Club forever.

COLUMNS | 24

RY N N W I N K L E R THERE WAS NO doubt I would go to St. Teresa’s. I'd followed my older sister in terms of my taste in clothing and hobbies, so I'd follow her to high school, too. It was the safe option.

That was until I attended the 8th grade information night at East and stopped by room 521 (my mom had forced me to go to “keep my options open”). I was in awe of the staffers’ confidence as they spoke about their Journalism 1 trauma and Harbinger reporting in a room packed with parents and students.

Their conviction and poise intimidated me — yet I wanted to be just like them. I craved the confidence to walk up to anyone in the hallway and ask them for an interview or to speak in a room full of people with such ease. I also wanted to emulate Rory from “Gilmore Girls” and become editor, but that’s beside the point.

Partially thanks to that visit to the J-Room, I returned home that night with an East T-shirt in hand, certain that I was going to be back next year — even if the student body of 1800 and unfamiliarity of East scared me.

Flash forward to sophomore year and I was in the J-room again, this time as a

AFTER HUNDREDS OF East swim practices, my first one still sticks out to me. I was burnt out and coming off a horrible club season, but there was still an ounce of excitement in me for high school swim. I was already nervous, so when coach Rob winked at me before explaining our first set I knew one thing — he was going to make me swim butterfly.

I was terrified and the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass myself — this was the big leagues and there was no room for error.

All I could think in my teeny-tiny freshman mind was shit as the storm of self-doubt raged in my head as I held down what was almost vomit.

But right as I was about to push off the wall to begin swimming, something changed. My soon-to-be teammate Kathleen Deedy looked back to me, smiled and said “We got this.”

That was the first time I knew this team would have my back.

From the many times I threw up after my races freshman year to the time I threw up in my hands five minutes before 10 0 yard f ly at state my sophomore year because I was so nervous (yes, that actually happened), you guys have supported me through it all.

I’ve learned to never give up on myself — because you never gave up on me. When I collapsed on the deck in tears after a bad race, you guys came up and hugged me, telling me

it was okay. When you’ve faced vomitinducing and lung-scorching together, it’s impossible not to care for each other.

I’ve never seen an entire swim team get behind a lane to cheer like we do at a meet. I’ve never seen another team do a set of 36 x 50’s off the block like we do — sorry in advance to any underclassmen who have to do that set again, I’m praying for you.

But all of that is why I’m still swimming today.

I spent every club practice this year thinking about high school season. But our final season was ripped away from us. And although I haven’t fully processed that I don’t get my final season with you, I’m trying to reflect on the memories — the packed cars during hostage games and songs we sang on the bus rides to meets.

I’m proud and honored to be a part of this team. I’m forever thankful for the friendships I’ve made and lessons I’ve learned. To any underclassmen who are considering joining the swim team, do it — don’t let the fear of hard work hold you back, you’ll regret it if you do.

page designer on Harbinger. It wasn’t nearly as glamorous as I thought. To my surprise, I didn’t magically acquire the skill and confidence of the editors I’d admired.

My voice shook when I spoke with my senior copy editor every day, and my hands got all sweaty when I interviewed a teacher I’d never met before. And I’ll never forget hiding in the bathroom at my first deadline dinner so I wouldn’t have to answer who my staff crush was in front of everyone. Yikes.

I wanted to quit. But just like that night in February two years prior, though the prospect of staying scared me, being in room 521 somehow excited me more.

So, I stayed. And now I look back amazed at how much I would’ve lost if I didn’t. I wouldn't have met my best friend, who I got to know through hours of interviews for a feature story. I would’ve never felt the satisfaction you get when your interviewee says you told their story just right. I would’ve never witnessed all the good that can come from stepping out of my tiny, tidy comfort zone at 14 years old.

I know I never became editor-in-chief like Rory Gilmore, and my palms still get sweaty when I talk to crowds of people.

But now I call up researchers at Ivy League Universities and mayors’ offices for interviews without hesitation. I pitch my own developed story ideas to editors with conviction. And I’m attending college next year to study journalism despite all the voices saying it’s not a “safe” career option. Because I’ve seen what happens when you chase something even if it scares you.

YDIA UNDERWOOD

COLUMNS | 25

ARAH BLEDSOE I LOVE DIET COKE. Like I love love it. It’s got everything you could ever want for zero calories — which honestly still baffles me even after I Googled it, but whatever — it has a surprising amount of caffeine and it’s available at pretty much anywhere. And you can barely taste the chemicals, I promise.

It seems like I've sipped Diet Coke through all of my favorite high school moments. I've somehow managed to pass all my IB classes, stayed truant every year of high school and still made it home for mandatory family dinners, all thanks to this drink. And here I am with a virtual diploma, caffeine addiction and a whole lot of stories.

That includes when I drank two large caffeinated Diet Cokes before a debate tournament and literally shook while standing up at the podium, which prompted Kara — my debate partner — to ban me from all caffeine before any debate tournament.

And of course there was the time I brought three cans to school so I would be fully energized for my four-hour mandatory IB work night — which created a cycle of bouncing off the walls, deciding to rewrite my extended essay and

SITTING DOWN IN the wobbly, torn-apart pullout chairs of Room 201 and looking around the windowless, freezing cold room, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I’d signed up to take Chinese 1 because China seemed like a dope country and I loved Chinese food. And Spanish 1 was just too mainstream. I had no idea that I would be walking into a family, a program that would give me countless memories and the highlight of my high school experience.

It was in that isolated room in the art hallway that I met two of my now closest friends — Lizzy and Milla. Over the past four years, we’ve spent hours blasting K-pop around town at night, consumed way too much bulgogi and white rice at Gangnam, played many intense Uno games and cry-laughed over a slew of embarrassing moments and memes.

In my sophomore year, our Chinese 2 class only had seven people in it (including me).

Outside of class we were all in different friend groups and extracurriculars — Matt loved playing basketball while Griffin played trumpet in band.

But somehow, we all came together for the 55 minutes we had each day.

I’ll miss Addie’s spontaneous snack days, teasing Matt for being the so-called “tone king” and the day we all ran around the third floor hallway dressed up in traditional Chinese costumes screaming bloody murder — much to Lao Shi’s horror. It was my favorite part of every day and one of the only places where I felt like I

could be myself.

As the years went on, Chinese Club would teach me how to be a leader. Lao Shi would become my mentor — and honestly our class’s mom, always making sure I was eating healthy and keeping my grades up.

My dumpling parties may be over, and I’ll probably never break down laughing with Lizzy again over my many language failures or drool over hot Russian pop singers with Milla, but I’ll carry those memories and friendships with me for the rest of my life.

The Chinese program this past year looked a little different from my freshman year. We’re on the fifth floor now, with lots of windows, working AirPlay and many new faces.

But the feeling is the same, and I know that next year’s kids will carry on the legacy of family and community.

So always try new things and don’t be afraid to venture outside your comfort zone. Because sometimes the best things in your life are found where you least expect it — like broken down, freezing cold rooms tucked away in the art hallway.

crying in the library bathroom. Not my best moment.

Let’s just say caffeine really sends me through a whirlwind of emotions.

One time I even showed up to a writer's deadline for Harbinger with a large McDonald's Diet Coke — shocker right — and ended up laying in a dog bed with my soonto-be best friend. Which ultimately led to a required QuikTrip trip run before every Harbie deadline — Diet Coke for me and blue slushy for her.

Oh and it might shock you, but I was also drinking Diet Coke when the head editors randomly promoted me to a copy editor at 9 p.m. on deadline and I had to call my mom to tell her the news. Same goes for when I was in the middle of a QT run when the second semester staff list came out and I found out I was promoted to assistant design editor — sophomore Sarah would be very proud.

So basically what I’m trying to say is thank you, Diet Coke. For making it possible to stay up all night “studying” for finals, somehow allowing me to design two pages while putting my draft up on Sunday’s and most importantly for being there with me through all the amazing things that high school had to offer.

Oh, and I almost forgot — Diet Coke was even there for me when I got kicked off Harbinger and was convinced I would never be writing my very own senior column. But that’s a story for another day, and another can of Diet Coke.

UCIA BARRAZA

COLUMNS | 26

I L A H F AY E JUNE 21, 2016 MARKS the day I completely rebranded myself. My name, my clothes, my soundtrack, my color palette – all rethought, designed and presented to 1800 people I had never met in my entire life.

Those 1800 people soon became the faces I saw every day in the hallways of East.

I walked into freshman year no longer Eli – I was Lilah. Having spent the prior eight years at Catholic school confined to the version of myself outlined in my yearbook photo, I thought it would be an easy, creative task.

But I soon realized that finding a way out of even that small of a box was challenging.

I quickly realized that I wasn't creating a brand, I was giving myself a new story — the story of the person I wanted to show the world. Someone who has never turned down a chance to create whatever posters, social media post or yearbook spread I was tasked with. Eventually, I wasn't just telling my own story, but telling those of others — it took up every free moment I had. And still does.

I’ve learned that when the future comes, I want

I’VE MADE ONE big move. I’m confident and I’m ready for the second.

My first big move was going from a small preparatory high school to a large public school just ahead of my Junior year. Everytime I told someone my decision to move they would say “that must be so hard.”

It was not difficult at all. Sometimes the stars just align perfectly and you realize the decision you made was spot on. Shawnee Mission East was a breath of fresh air.

My very first day at East I made a point to speak to one person in each class. For lunch I followed a nice group of students, crashed their lunch table and never left.

My passion is art. This love I have allows me to

parlay what I enjoy most and ‘use’ it to build community. Being a part of The Harbinger community has been extremely important to me.

Of course, an integral piece of this community is our fearless leader, Mr. Tate. He recognized me, took the time to know me and assisted my transition to East by allowing me to be a part of the paper and ultimately helping me share my voice through editorial cartooning.

My next step is Philadelphia. I will be attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts / University of Pennsylvania for a combined BFA. However, this move is going to be easier. Shawnee Mission East was a practice run. Now I am ready to do it all over again in a bigger community and within a lively city. At this very moment I feel fearless and I believe that part of my attitude is due to my experiences at Shawnee Mission East.

CLASS OF 2020

to find new ways to create stories, immerse myself in every possibility and every medium and look for ways to incorporate them into my passions, hopefully finding new ones along the way too. I want to continue to collaborate with others and be given problems to solve — even if it means making mistakes. They teach me about myself and who we are as people. But most of all, I want to live and find new ways to rebrand myself again and again.

Learning how to evolve is one of the most important things an artist should know.

In the past 48 days since lockdown, our world has gotten a little weirder, and so have its inhabitants. Some of us are living it up while others are preparing for the worst. But everyone has their own story, unique to them and them only. And no matter what, we all have an equal opportunity to change — we just need to find the story we were meant to.

That’s what a good brand does. It tells a story.

And that’s what the world needs right now — now more than ever.

IVER HENNICK

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28 | PHOTOSTORY

RIGHT The East student section cheers during the Rock vs East basketball game. The Lancers won the annual game this year 4847. photo by | megan biles B E L O W Junior Sullivan Goettsch is interviewed by 41 Action News during the annual Mole Day celebration. photo by | trevor paulus

FA R R I G H T Junior Mac Muehlberger plays Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 10 on the piano during the STUCO talent show. photo by | annakate dilks RIGHT Senior Lucy Brock sings during this year’s musical, “Crazy for You.” photo by | annakate dilks BOTTOM RIGHT Senior Joe Krause hypes up the students during the pep rally on Lancer day while seniors Coleman Wham, Mkai Jantz, Adam Jolles and Cole Long cheer him on. photo by | megan biles B E LOW Senior TJ Libeer attempts to settle the ball in front of the Blue Valley West goal during the first half of the boy’s quarterfinal playoff game for State. photo by | sarah golder

A Y EA R I N

picTuRes

design by | sarah bledsoe

To wrap up the year, here are some of our favorite photos from some of the biggest events of the year

F A R L E F T Junior Preston Reynolds jumps up to score for East during the annual Shawnee Mission North vs East game. photo by | julia percy L E F T Senior Isabella Velez fights against freshman Jill Rice during the Black and Blue scrimmage. photo by | megan stopperan M I D D L E Senior Cameron Schoeck swims breaststroke during a boy’s varsity swim meet vs Shawnee Mission Northwest. photo by | noelle griffin B E L O W During halftime, senior Sam Schlote and his teammates sit in the locker room during a boy’s varsity football team to go over the game plan for the next half. photo by | noelle griffin BOTTOM LEFT Senior Will Mohr crowns senior Will Green during SHARE’s Mr. Cansas pageant. photo by | megan stopperan B E LOW Confetti rains over the crowd gathered outside of Union Station to celebrate the Chief’s win at Superbowl LIV. photo by | sarah golder

THE LANCER

30 | SENIOR SECTION

by sydney newton

SENIOR ELIZABETH LONG looked through her big sister’s dorm room closet to find something to wear for the Arkansas game, asking Claire what she thought would look good and what she was wearing. She was a high schooler attending a college football game, after all, and needed some sisterly advice.

After deciding on a black and white striped dress and Doc Martens, the two crammed in front of Claire’s closet mirror to put on makeup and met Claire’s friends to walk over to the stadium — stopping to tailgate at Hogtown, a food truck near the stadium, on the way.

Elizabeth was visiting Claire for the weekend at college, both to see her sister and get a feel for the campus. At the end of her visit, Elizabeth recalls that weekend as one of the experiences that solidified her decision to attend the University of Arkansas this coming fall.

While Elizabeth has always loved the school because of the genuine people and how cute Fayetteville is, the determining factors were the education programs and the social atmosphere — both aspects she noticed while visiting her sister. While having Claire there is a perk, Elizabeth ultimately made the decision because of what she wanted in a school, such as the nursing program and its proximity to home.

“I love Arkansas because I love it, not because my sister is there,” Elizabeth said.

“But having her with me is going to be helpful and fun.”

After considering schools such as Texas A&M and Samford, Elizabeth only applied to University of Arkansas and was accepted on Sept. 10.

“I was so happy,” Claire said. “I always thought it would be so fun to have my older sister go there and be able to experience college together. It’s such a fun time, so to be able to do that together is amazing.”

Claire can’t wait for sleepovers in Elizabeth’s dorm room and getting ready for game days, but is most worried that she will have to deal with the stress that comes with Elizabeth’s difficult class load, w h o ’ s taking classes like chemistry and biology.

S h e wants to buy a meal plan so she can eat with Elizabeth in the dining hall, where they can catch up on each other’s days and drama.

Elizabeth’s pre-college jitters disappear when she imagines the coffee dates and workout classes — activities from home that will carry into college.

The transition to college might be difficult because nothing will be familiar, so knowing that Claire, the person she looks to for advice, will be there makes Elizabeth feel more comfortable.

“I would say I’m kind of like her mentor,” Claire said. “Even when I was at school, she’d FaceTime or call me or text me with the most random questions. And now it will be in person.”

Elizabeth has always been a big family person, so it’s been hard for her to be an only child after her sisters went to college. ”I’ve been alone for the past two years,” Elizabeth said.

“Not just FaceTime, I can’t wait to actually be with her.”

Next fall, these seniors will be following their family members footsteps on the way to college

WALKING AROUND CAMPUS and eating in the Tufts University Dining hall, then-eighth grader Margaret Veghlan toured the university with her then sophomore older brother Robbie. After hearing about the professional opportunities that came with the programs and the friendly atmosphere of the campus from Tufts students, Margaret and Robbie both had a feeling that they were meant to be there.

Now a senior, that feeling has stuck with Margaret — leading her to join her brother, who will be a junior, at Tufts this fall and major in economics.

“I remember the idea of college that I had seemed to fit when we walked around,” Margaret said. “People were all really nice, everyone seemed like they wanted to talk to us and like they were really happy. It made me feel like if I went there, I would be happy with it too.”

For Margaret, having Robbie already at the school helped with her decision because it gave her a firsthand view. After talking to him and his friends about the helpfulness of their professors and how they liked how it was a few minutes outside of Boston, Margaret felt comfort in the fact that the students all were content — something she saw during her first tour.

After applying early decision, Margaret received her acceptance letter in early December. Considering she was at a show, she made her theater friends leave and immediately called Robbie, who had already cleared his schedule to make sure he was available when she found out.

“I was so so excited,” Robbie said. “We’ve been going to school together our entire lives.

I was so sad when I realized my last day of

senior year was the last time I would drive her to school. Knowing that we get to be at school together again was a really great feeling.”

Robbie can’t wait to have Margaret there as People were all really nice, everyone seemed like they wanted to talk to us and like they were really happy. It made me feel like if I went there, I would be happy with it too. margaret veghlan | senior

a part of his college life — especially having her over for dinner at his house and attending Spring Fling, a Tufts tradition to celebrate the end of the year involving a big outdoor concert and movie night, with her. Considering that she’s already met all of his friends, Robbie thinks she’ll fit in with his friend group — something that hit him when his best friend asked him if Margaret wanted to buy her twin comforter for her dorm in the fall.

“It was a weird moment of realization that my sister’s going to get to be best friends with my best friends, and she’s going to get to come over to my house and have dinner with us,” Robbie said. “I really cannot wait for her to be a part of my college life.”

Eager for independence, Margaret feels comfort in knowing Robbie will be there to make the adjustment to college easier, providing a support network for her through his friends and always being a five-minute walk away.

“It will be nice to know that he’s there,” Margaret said. “Even if I don’t see him every single day, it will be nice if I’m homesick or going through something that he would understand.”

design by | celia condon photos by | annakate dilks and coutresy of elizabeth long and margaret veghlan

by grace allen NEXT YEAR, SENIORS Alex Corbin and Elizabeth Sandstorm will be following in their parents footsteps, attending the same game days and living in the towns of their parents’ alma mater.

Planning to attend the University of Kansas this fall, Corbin has followed many similar paths to her mom. Both going to the same elementary, middle and high school — and now college — the two will have an almost identical education.

“I went to Westwood View and all of the class photos are on the wall, so when I was little I used to point my mom out all the time because her photo was right by an exit we used to stand by in PE class,” Corbin said.

When the college decision process started, both of her parents wanted KU to be one of the schools she looked into among Saint Louis University, University of Arkansas and Kansas State University.

“When I was

applying to colleges, both of my parents really pushed me to KU, not for just the cost but the closeness and they thought I would really like it,” Corbin said.

Corbin had always imagined herself going to college outside of Kansas because she liked the idea of being farther away, especially since she had low points during her high school experience. But as her senior year came, she had changed her mind.

After hearing so many good things about the school from her mom and getting accepted into the honors program, Corbin knew that KU was the school for her.

She believes that her younger twin brothers, sophomores Ben and Zach Corbin, will follow in —her footsteps and attend KU as well. Her brothers were a factor in her decision because she wanted to be close enough to visit them frequently.

For Sandstrom, her exposure to Kansas State University, her future school, started at a very young age. Since her dad’s an alumnus,

for her.

“It’s far enough away that it takes two hours to get there so my family isn’t coming up a bunch, but also close enough that I could catch a ride home with a friend to go back for a weekend,” Sandstrom said.

When I was applying to colleges, both of my parents really pushed me to KU, not for just the cost but the closeness and they thought I would really like it. alex corbin | senior

Sandstrom has other family members who have graduated from K-State, like her aunt, and expects one of her younger siblings to end up attending.

Both Sandstrom and Corbin have grown up hearing about their parents’ colleges since they were kids – and starting next fall, they’ll be experiencing the college stories they’ve heard about their whole lives.

she’s heard about the school while driving around the campus and has been going to football games since she could walk.

Sandstrom said the fact that she was already familiar with the campus made her decision easier because she knows where everything is, from the best restaurants to Bill Snyder Family Stadium and loves the fun atmosphere in Manhattan.

When she toured K-State, Sandstrom said it was different from any of the other schools she visited and knew the campus was perfect

W H E R E T H E Y ’ R E H EA D E D A peek into a few students futures, who are following in the steps of their nearest and dearest

ALEX CORBIN

LAWRENCE, KS B EHAV I O RA L NUEROSC I E N C E

M A JO R :

ELIZABETH LONG FAYETTEVI L L E , A R

M A JO R :

B EHAV I O RA L NUEROSC I E N C E

MARGARET VEGHLAN BOSTO N , M A M A RK E T I N G

MAJOR:

ELIZABETH SANDSTROM M A N HATTA N , KS

MAJOR:

A N I M A L SC I E N C E

THE BUCKET LIST

32 | ALT-COPY

design by | celia condon photos by | taylor keal

by peyton moore

Seven classes every day for four years can get a little boring.

After a while, it’s hard not to pick favorites or find ways to make the day fun, so here are a couple must do activities you should try before leaving East — sincerely, the graduating class of 2020

H E L BY W I N T E R

VA SUDE RM AN N

JOIN CLUBS

DRAMA CLASS

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR STUDENTS TO GET INVOLVED?

“Being cognitive of what people are doing around you and even paying attention to announcements is a great way to learn about what East has to offer.”

WHAT IF YOU CAN’T FIND A CLUB THAT FITS YOUR PASSIONS?

“East has so much to offer, but if you can’t find something that seems fun to you, make your own club or team. It is

truly limitless.”

WHY DO YOU THINK FINDING A PASSION AND GETTING INVOLVED WITH THE COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT?

“Finding a passion at East connects you further with the community and shows a whole different side of yourself and others. Working with others in clubs or sports also is a real world application that goes beyond just the highschool years.”

L E X C OR B IN

ART PROGRAM

WHAT ELSE DOES THE ART PROGRAM HAVE TO OFFER OTHER THAN CLASSES?

“There are so many clubs that anyone can do, and you meet people while you are in the classes because everyone is working individually.”

HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE ART PROGRAM?

“First I would listen to the announcements and look around the school because they definitely have a ton of posters and showcase a lot of artwork.

I would also meet with the teachers to ask about the different classes and clubs

available. If you are interested in the arts just sign up as an elective.”

DO YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD AT ART TO JOIN THE ARTS PROGRAM?

“Not at all but you do have to try because the teachers recognize if you want to learn and then help you with your techniques later. Even if you are not an artist or good at art don’t be hesitant to join any of the art classes. Most of the classes are more about having fun and exploring the right side of the brain over the left which is the majority of what we do in the school day.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE DRAMA PROGRAM?

“My favorite part of drama is definitely the ability to explore what you like to do and can bounce around until you do find your niche. Also, in drama there is a place for everybody.”

HOW DO YOU TELL AN UNDERCLASSMAN TO GET INVOLVED?

“Show up to a work day after school.

There is always someone to talk to

who can tell you how to help or point you in the right direction. I’d also recommend just signing up for a class because they are super fun and lead to my favorite class by far, advanced rep.”

IS DRAMA A RELAXING CLASS?

“I think theatre is definitely a break in my day, as when I arrive at the little theatre or room 213 I feel an instant rush of relief as it is a relaxed and fun program.”

AT I E D R A K E

VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENTS

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT ANNOUNCEMENTS ENTAILS?

VIDEO

“I think originally the idea was to actually announce stuff, but it has turned into making creative videos that you enjoy.

The curriculum is fun, interactive and super loose as you can make every project your own. It’s one of the only classes I have been in where the students drive 99% of the class based on random ideas.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROJECTS YOU HAVE DONE IN VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR

INSPIRATION FOR YOUR PROJECTS?

“I have done parodies of shows that I like watching, like ‘Cody Ko’. We also did a parody of the Bachelorette where I was the Bachelorette and we pulled a bunch of people out of class to be my bachelors.”

HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED WITH VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENTS?

“There is no audition or application, so it is a regular class you can take [Video 1] but to be at the high level [Video Leadership] you have to take the prerequisites first to work your way up.”