Senior Section of Issue 16 from the 2012 - 2013 Harbinger. by The Harbinger

class of lancers

2 SENIOR SECTION

DEVIN BURTON

ANNE RECKER

Heart of a Hurdler written by Vanessa Daves “He who says he can and he who says he can’t are both usually right.” -Confucius I can do this, Senior Devin Burton tells

himself. It’s what he tells himself before a big meet. A test. An interview. Burton weighs 173 pounds, is six feet tall and can bench 225 pounds. Nobody would guess that he reads in his spare time, or quotes Confucius to himself when he needs a pep talk. But that’s what gets him through the day, and that’s what helps him through every obstacle he faces. It’s these kinds of quotes and philosophies that speak to him and inspire him every day. It’s this kind of spirituality that defines him as a person. *** When Devin was in fifth grade, his grandfather took him to his first track meet. “You’re going to be good,” his grandfather told him. “You’re going to be an amazing track runner.” But Devin always thought football would be what got him through high school and took him to college -- not track. He spent countless hours training in the gym, trying to get bigger for football. He did track, just like his grandfather thought he would, but only to help him train for football. And at his first varsity football game junior year, he thought it would set the pace for the next few years of success. But, to his dismay, he was benched for the entire game. He didn’t even know why. All his hard work

— for nothing. He chose not to be bitter about it. He decided football wasn’t his forte, and instead promised himself he would have a stellar track season, and that’s exactly what he did. “As the years went on I never really blossomed the way I thought I would for football,” Burton said. “I was a good athlete but I wasn’t where I wanted to be and track as always there like a hidden gem. It’s always kind of been there and I didn’t really notice it until last year.” It’s this kind of thinking that Burton uses to motivate himself. He doesn’t consider himself religious. Rather, he thinks of himself as spiritual, that mindset and thinking affects where you end up. When he decided he would throw himself into track and become one of their most invaluable athletes, he did it. “I believe in a higher power and what you think about you bring about,” Burton said. “So I think what you think about kind of persists. I just focused all of my energy towards track and it really worked for me. [Track] was there and I saw that it was there and I went after it.” And that’s what got him to where he is now. He’s signed to run with UMKC next year on the track team doing hurdles with half tuition scholarships. “It’s a D-1 school and I love the diversity and atmosphere — everything to do with Kansas City,” Burton said. “I’m excited to meet new people and broaden my spectrum and everything I’ve learned.”

Vetting the Large Life written by Leah Pack

As the top student in her class, Anne Recker is hoping to continue on her academic success at Kansas State University. When Recker began her college search, Colorado College was a top choice, but she decided to only apply to K-State and Iowa State because she knew she wanted to attend a big school. “I really want to meet a lot of cool people,” Recker said. “That’s why I chose to go to a big school.” When it came down to it, Recker decided she wanted to stay closer to home. She also received an academic scholarship for admissions and a scholarship to major in math. Although Recker’s primary focus will be in meeting the requirements to go to veterinary school, she will be double majoring in the animal science industry and math. Recker was offered the math scholarship a month ago and jumped on the opportunity. She plans on applying for early admittance into the K-State veterinary school. This allows her to enter directly into the graduate program after meeting the prerequisites and maintaining a 3.5 GPA throughout college. “My two career ideas are being a large animal vet, or I have also been pushed to be a math teacher,” Recker said. “I’m going to keep my options open, but as of now, I am still going to be a vet.” Recker has always been interested in being a veterinarian for large animals. She

works with horses year-round, spending her summers in Colorado at the YMCA Jacksons Stables. During the year she commutes back and forth to Willow Springs Ranch, just north of the Legends. Along with double majoring in the animal science industry and math, Recker is looking into joining the Rodeo club at KState which would allow her to continue riding horses in college. She is also considering joining a club volleyball team, another hobby of hers. Keeping up with activities she loves throughout college is important to Recker, and with the help of the International Baccalaureate program she feels prepared to take on a busy schedule. “I did the IB program and that helped because it was a lot of work all the time so you had to keep up and stay focused,” Recker said. “Also just having to balance everything because I ride horses, play volleyball and have a lot of school work so once I’m in college I can do that better.” K-State’s veterinary program is the main factor that drew Recker to the school, but having visited, she saw how friendly and helpful both the staff and students are and knew that K-State would be the right school for her. “When I visited on the open house day I saw a lot of students, especially around the vet school, wearing boots and jeans which feels like home to me,” Recker said.

SENIOR SECTION 3

ETHAN TUCKER

CHARLIE CROSSETE

Monster’s Ink

Studying Slopes

written by Maggie McGannon Senior Ethan Tucker has taken every art class at East -- twice. He also has built an 8 by 14 foot wall in his backyard to practice his graffiti, fuel his inner creativity and to use as a place to express himself. “I have drawn my entire life,” Tucker said. “Not until like last year I started taking it seriously, and [thought] ‘I guess I could probably do something with my life with art’, so I started trying a little harder.” Tucker’s ideas for his art simply come from his imagination. He creates much of his art with Prismacolor and Copic markers, but also uses computer-based programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. “Whenever you go out and paint, it’s like an entire experience,” Tucker said. “Usually I go by the river where there are train tracks and underpasses. It is fun spending hours screwing around.” Tucker’s artistic ability and tendency to fill the margins of all his assignments with drawings while growing up have rewarded him with a prestigious scholarship that very few people receive. Not only will Tucker be attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in the fall to begin college, but he will be attending with much of his tuition already paid for. Of the 2,577 students currently enrolled, Tucker was one of three to receive the Creative Honors Scholarship. This is a four-year $55,000 scholarship.

written by Morgan Krakow Anyone can apply for this scholarship, and applicants are based solely on the portfolios they send in. Tucker’s portfolio consists of observational drawings and his imaginative, colorful monster drawings. It also includes different mediums such as marker, ink, printmaking and paintings done with spray paint or acrylics. “I knew I applied to the school and sent my portfolio, but I wasn’t really expecting that much,” Tucker said. “When I got it in the mail I was like, this has to be a mistake. My mom called [SAIC} and was like, ‘Are you sure this is right?’” Tucker first became seriously interested in SAIC when he attended a two-week college program at the school the summer going into his senior year. While he was there, he took classes such as Graphic Design Through Storytelling. Following his visit, he knew he wanted to live and go to school in Chicago. Tucker’s first year at SAIC will be a foundations year, just like any other art school. These classes lay down the base for what he will learn and decide to focus on in the upcoming years. Tucker has plans to major in either illustration or animation. As his long-term goal, Tucker has dreams to have his own cartoon TV show, but he knows that he needs to focus on getting through college first.

Senior Charlie Crossette prefered he be interviewed outside, not inside on a breezy May evening, because Crossette is outdoorsy. Having spent time on a host of East sports teams, from track to baseball, Crosset developed a love for athletics and the outdoors at East. Crossette did his favorite sport, cross country, the longest, floating between JV and C team. But there was one sport Crosset developed an affinity for that couldn’t be done around Prairie Village: snowboarding. That’s why this spring he didn’t join his peers in the rigorous college admissions process, and why he won’t be headed off to university next fall. Crossette will be headed for the mountains to work at a ski resort and be able to have access to Colorado’s state tuition after establishing a residency for a year. He hasn’t decided on an exact school, but he’s not too worried. Next year he’s most excited to be outside, and be around likeminded people who run and snowboard like him. Some of his peers think he’s crazy, living alone, paving his own way, but that just motivates him. “It makes me more excited to prove them wrong, that I’ll do fine working and living in Colorado by myself,” Crossette said. While he’s determined to succeed, Crossette admits that he’ll miss seeing his friends all the time, and that it’s a little scary to be living on his own. But he’s ready, and

his parents are too. Crossette isn’t too sure what he wants to do with his life, and hopes that a year to himself will help him figure it out before jumping straight into colleges and majors. He might take a few classes at a community college while living there. “I think it’d be good just to keep studying so I don’t lose all the knowledge I have,”Crossette said. Crossette said he will also probably have to retake the ACT and get a better score next year. He felt a little strange while all of his friends were working on their college applications and stressed that he was going about things differently. “It was a little weird knowing that everyone else was doing something different than I am,” Crossette said, “Most people are going to college but it’s not necessarily what you have to do.” In regards to finding a job, Crossette isn’t too concerned. “My dad knows someone that works with Vail Resorts,” Crossette said. He will most likely work at a hotel or as a cook at a resturaunt. He’s afraid that he won’t make enough to keep living there, because his parents won’t be supporting him. His parents will pay for his tuition to a university after he is accepted next year. He’ll miss his friends, and will be living completely on his own. “It will be fine, it’s just everyone I know is here, so it will just be different,” Crossette said.

4 SENIOR SECTION

LIAM MURPHY

WIMMER SISTERS

On to the Next Round

Two by Two

written by Pauline Werner

Senior Liam Murphy will tell you that he’s the kind of guy that likes change, that he gets bored with doing the same thing over and over again. That’s exactly why he’s loved debate through his years at East, because it’s never the same thing. And that’s why, next year, he will debate for the University of Kansas (KU). “Debate never bores me because there’s so many different topics and so many things to learn, you’ll never be ahead of the curve,” Murphy said. In high school, Murphy’s debate career has been marked by success all across his four years. He’s ranked in the top twenty debaters in the country, and he’s part of one of the few debate teams in the state to qualify for Nationals in the Catholic Forensic League (CFL) as well as the National Forensic League (NFL). The main differences between high school and college debate are the pace of the round and the nature of the arguments and the issues that are being discussed. Murphy says that right now he can speak about 400 words per minute, which is above average for high school debaters. In college, he says that he will be just at or below average, which he says is about 450, and that he will need to work on his speed over the summer to prepare for the heightened competition. High school debates could be about a lot simpler issues compared to college. College arguments tend to examine deeper, more psychological subjects. “So, instead of about the [affirmative]

costing money, it’s about how it will affect the United States’ mindset,” Murphy said. Because of his successes in high school, Murphy was recruited by several debate coaches in the area for him to assistant coach for their programs. He was hired as an assistant debate coach at BV Southwest. There, he will be working one-on-one with teams in order to make them more successful. The job with require him to make the 45 mile the trip once or twice a week from Lawrence to work with the teams. He’ll also travel to tournaments with them and sometimes judge. Even with all of these other things that will be going on, grades will be Murphy’s number one priority. Five years from now, he sees himself in law school studying to be a lawyer or a politician. “My biggest focus is getting into law school,” Murphy said. “Because I’ve never, in my whole life, wanted to do anything else besides be a lawyer.” He will end his high school debate career this summer when he goes to Philadelphia for CFL nationals and to Birmingham, Ala. for NFL nationals. Then he will begin a new debate career in college, pursuing new challenges and opportunities. “While a hobby’s a hobby, it’s about competitive drive and about opportunity,” Murphy said. “I don’t know if I would debate [in college] if I don’t think there was opportunity for me to succeed there.”

written by Julia Poe

The longest time Mariah and Eliza Wimmer have ever been apart is three days earlier this year. Mariah was in California, visiting her boyfriend, and Eliza was in Florida with a friend. They could text and talk on the phone, but it didn’t matter. The distance made the girls uncomfortable. “It was hard,” Eliza said. “We missed each other a lot. We’re best friends and we don’t really want to be apart.” Knowing that they didn’t want to be separated, the twins approached the college search as a team. They already knew their top choice -- Brigham Young University (BYU) -- but also applied to several other schools, including Kansas State University and the University of Kansas. The Wimmers weren’t alone in applying to BYU in late November 2012; it’s where their senior friends at church are going. It was their parents’ alma mater. BYU had always been a hopeful part of the sisters’ futures. The environment will allow the Wimmers to get away from Prairie Village and yet always keep a piece of home close -- especially their church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a home for Mariah and Eliza since they were born. The fact that BYU has an affiliation with the Mormon church was one of the main factors in the twins’ decision. “Church is really important to us,” Mariah said. “It’s where most of our good friends are, and basically everyone we know is going to BYU, too.”

Although the sisters feel that their religion hasn’t estranged them from other students at East, they are looking forward to going to a university where a majority of the students will be Mormon. With a variety of options for churches and bible study groups, they will be able to keep a strong connection to their faith. “Sometimes people tease us, ask how many moms we have, but it’s not really a problem,” Eliza said. “Still, it will be nice to go somewhere where we all have our faith and our denomination in common. We’ll all be on the same page.” This security will help the Wimmers as they work through the uncertainty of college. Neither girl has decided on a major yet, making their plans tenuous. What they do know is that they’ll still be close -- but not too close. The sisters decided to room across the hall from each other in their new dorms in Provo, Utah. “We knew that if we roomed together, we wouldn’t go out and meet new people,” Eliza said. “But we still wanted to be close, especially since we won’t be able to live that close forever.”

SENIOR SECTION 5

JACOB LANAN

BRAD THOMAS

Don’t Cry for me, Argentina written by Paige Hess Jacob Lanan won’t be attending college next year. But when he does the following year, he won’t be going to school close by. He’ll be 5,550 miles away at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa. Though he may miss family and friends, Lanan thinks it is worth it to go that far away because the price is about the same as an in-state school and he gets an international experience. Deciding to go to Universidad Argentina de la Empresa wasn’t a hard choice for Lanan. Not only does his aunt live within minutes from the school, but his mother’s whole family originated from the area. Having the chance to live and experience some of the same things his family did when they grew up excites him. He had little trouble finding a suitable school in Argentina. “My mom suggested that I look at schools in Argentina- I looked on Google and I talked to her family members who told me about schools there,” Lanan said. “It was the one that contacted me back that I went to visit over winter break.” Even though Lanan may stay in Argentina after he graduates, he still wants to be involved with America. Because of this aspiration, he plans on studying international business. He does not yet know specifically what fields he wants to work in yet, however. Lanan will have to take a few classes in Spanish, but most will be in English. But he will still be able to experience cultural differences through his teachers, because they

SEALing the Deal written by Morgan Krakow

come from all around the world. A new start in a new place also means Lanan will have to be away from family and friends and only be able to visit once during his winter break. There are parts of American culture that he will struggle to keep up with from the opposite hemisphere. “[I will miss] American football games,” Lanan said. “They do not have that down there. It’s all soccer.” Because Lanan has played soccer for 10 years, he is looking forward to Buenos Aires’s popular soccer scene. He wishes he still would have American football, but there isn’t much in Argentina. “My winter break is during summer break here, so I will have a two week break while everyone is on summer break here,” Lanan said. “I will probably be able to come home once a year and my mom will come visit once, too.” Aside from school, Lanan is looking forward to getting to know the city that he will be living in for four-plus years. He’s planning on exploring the music scene in Buenos Aires. There will be many concerts held around his campus, so all he has to do is find them. Because Buenos Aires is one of the largest cities in South America, Lanan will be able to get involved with many out-of-school activities that differ what the United States could offer, such as authentic tango lessons, Argentinian art tours or South American cuisine classes.

Junior Brad Thomas won’t graduate with his class; he’s leaving East early because next year he will be at boot camp. He’d always known that he wanted to join the military, because that is what his stepfather had done. “We went through all the recruiters, and thought the Navy was the best, because of the opportunities,” Thomas said. Opportunities like higher education, and the special forces. “I got all the jobs I really wanted,” Thomas said. He wants to be a part of the action, in a Special Operations Unit. Thomas was assigned the choice of SEAL (Sea, Air & Land), who can operate in any environment but especially around marine areas. He also got Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC), which protects the SEALs, taking them in and out of missions and Master at Arms which is a cop in the Navy. Since Thomas is technically a junior, originally scheduled to graduate in 2014, he had to take a rigorous year of both his senior and junior classes, to join as soon as possible. “I had to take all core classes, except for a couple, and just double up on some of the classes,” Thomas said. He thought it was better to graduate early, even though he didn’t have to. Thomas is sad he’s missing his wrestling season next year.

He’s ready, but he’s also afraid of not having his family around, because they all live here, and he could be deployed thousands of miles away next year. His mom is okay with him joining the Navy because of his stepdad being in the navy, but doesn’t want him to leave. “My dad, he’s never really liked the military, but he suggested the navy more than anything else,” Thomas said. While he wasn’t able to make his father like the military, Thomas is happy that he got him to agree on the Navy because of the opportunities it provides. In regards to higher education, Thomas isn’t worried about next year at boot camp. “They have college advisors there,” Thomas said, “They’ll give you time to go class, they have college teachers that will stick with you when you’re deployed.” He’s not scared for deployment now but admits that he will probably be when his time comes, which could be as soon as this December. He could be sent to a Navy boat, or somewhere in the Middle East. Thomas swears in at Busch Stadium, of the St. Louis Cardinals, on Aug. 15, and leaves immediately after for boot camp in Chicago. During the ceremony he and others will repeat the Enlisted Officers Oath in front of the crowd before the game. In 10 years Thomas hopes to be working for the Navy in California or back in Kansas City with the rest of his family.

6 SENIOR SECTION

STEWART TWINS

LEXY JANNEY

Sticking Together written by Phoebe Aguiar

When it came to choosing a college, Sam and David Stewart first decided on one thing: that wherever they were going they would be going together. The two have been inseparable their whole life, even having the same dreams about a giant kung fu fighting black chicken. So when it came to choosing a school and what they wanted, they were driven by the same passion — service. Not only do Sam and David share a passion for serving their country but also similar interests and hobbies. The twins plan on playing the same intramural sports in college: beach volleyball, football or maybe start the sport of their own invention, Slugby, the winter version of rugby played with sleds, and both will be majoring in engineering. At Missouri, their dorm rooms will only be two rooms away — 602 and 604. “Wherever we go, if we did do something different, we would be completely supportive,” David said. “We would visit each other, but we were pretty dead set on going together.” The longest that Sam and David have spent apart was two weeks, which was last year when David went on the choir trip to Italy. The two have spent their whole lives working together. Very rarely can they be found away from one another. They are not only brothers but best friends. “I think it’s that our parents raised us

to work as a team, everything we have done we always have that bond and always wanted to do it together,” David said. “He’s my best friend, brother for 18 years, so it’s a bond that I can’t really explain because I’ve always had it and I don’t know what it would be like without it.” The two work the best when they are together, so when they were both offered the same ROTC scholarship for the University of Missouri, Sam and David made it their number one priority. Ahead of the 17 schools that they applied to and were accepted by. They decided to commit to the ROTC program at Missouri over opportunities to play football at Rice and Gustavus Adolphus along with other officer training programs and scholarships from other schools. “You get the same opportunities plus freedom, and with Missouri our whole family went there and it just kind of seems right,” Sam said. With their minds set on serving their country, Sam and David have made a college decision that would help them to best achieve that goal. It will also keep them as the inseparable team that they have been their entire life. “The opportunity to serve our country and the people in it is just an honor,” Sam said. “It’s not for everyone but for us, we are willing to give who we are.”

Fashionable Management written by Caroline Kohring

In fifth grade senior Lexy Janney became interested in fashion. Freshman year she focused more on jewelry design. And this year she decided marketing was her thing. But now she is sure of one thing — she will be attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in the fall. FIDM is located in downtown Los Angeles and educates students in fashion, visual arts, interior design and entertainment. Janney was originally accepted last year for jewelry design through early admittance. However this year she decided to switch her major to marketing. “I switched my major after I did two years of DECA,” Janney said. “I felt I was stronger there than I would be in design.” According to Janney, switching her major was simple. Next year, she will be studying subjects such as public relations, event planning, advertising campaigns and marketing tactics. Through the International Manufacturing and Product Development program at FIDM, Janney will have the opportunity to travel to China during her junior year. There she gets to partner with a department store or boutique and produce a clothing line. “They’ve had students partner with places like Bloomingdales and Nordstroms or smaller boutiques,” Janney said. “[Those stores] then produce their line and sell it,

which is a really good way to get started.” Janney has visited Los Angeles once and she loved both the city and the campus. “It’s really small and all of the classes are basically centralized in one main building,” Janney said. “They have a library across the street and then the FIDM archives which is a block away. Everything is really new, upto-date and high-tech. They get some of the newest technology there.” According to Janney, each professor at FIDM is required to have 10 years of experience in the fashion industry. This is one of the many things she is excited about, along with meeting her roommates and living on her own in Los Angeles. But most of all, Janney is excited to spend her college years doing something that she loves — marketing. “I like marketing because you get to tap into all different kinds of target markets,” Janney said. “For one account I could be marketing to teens and for another I could be marketing to adults. Marketing...helps you relate to all different kinds of people all over the world. Travel is really important to me and this major will allow me to travel throughout my education and career.”

SENIOR SECTION 7

JAYDEN ROBERT

ANDREW MANALO

Farm Fresh

Doctoring a Future

written by Maddie Hise

When senior Jayden Robert wrote her college application essays, she reflected on her experience in 4-H -- from little things like how it enhanced her writing, to how raising her pet goat Simba had been like raising a tempered child. 4-H is a program designed to motivate kids to get involved in improving their community. Robert got involved because of her father, who grew up in an agricultural home. He was a member of 4-H, and wanted his children to carry on the tradition. In 4-H, each of the H’s stand for something: head, health, heart and hand. These four words are the basis of the youth development program and the guidelines that Robert learned in high school and will shape her college experience. Robert said the first H, health, is usually mental health -- a balance in your life and shaping you as a person. Robert intends to continue on the mental health route next year at the University of California Berkeley by studying neuroscience. However, she is on the waitlist at Cornell and if accepted she hopes to follow her passion for animals by studying to become a veterinary technician there. The next two H’s, heart and hand, go together in their meaning, according to Robert. They both mean caring for your community and executing service for it. 4-H is

a program that puts on county fairs that the members compete in from sewing to showing farm animals. However, Robert plans to raise sheep and hogs this year, along with her Simba. She will no longer be a member of 4-H after she is 18 but will continue to be a leader in the program. In the program, “head” means intellectual development and growth. Also, it involves morals, emotions and the foundation of who you are. Being an International Baccalaureate (IB) student, Robert knows her share about intellectual health. Robert was originally on the track to go to SM Northwest and decided to transfer to East for the IB program. “I knew IB would help in the long run,” Robert said. “I knew I was going to do the academic route. But colleges don’t want just an academic student. They want kids who go do things. It just takes involvement.” Robert said 4-H helped with the admission process of college and she can’t imagine her life without the program. “I think of [the four H’s] as a guide,” Robert said. “You can’t really have one without the others. It’s just helped formed me as a person and what I’ve learned. It helps me make decisions.”

written by G.J. Melia

Senior Andrew Manalo is relieved to be following in his parents’ footsteps and will be attending the University of MissouriKansas City for the six-year medical program. For Manalo, his options were to the University of Kansas, Santa Clara University and UMKC. Manalo chose UMKC because it was close to home, but he would be able to meet new people. Having connections with his parents and other alumni of the UMKC medical program who went there in the past was also a large factor. “You are guaranteed into medical school at UMKC, and you don’t have to take the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test),” Manalo said. “That was the big influence that kind of swayed me towards UMKC.” Around 95 percent of students in UMKC’s six year medical program achieve a Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BLA), which is Manalo’s overall goal. Students are also required take part in a minor, so Manalo will most likely be minoring in chemistry. The first two years, Manalo will be taking classes towards the BLA and chemistry minor. Also mixed in there is clinical work. The next four years for him will be much more clinical work. Clinical work includes shadowing doctors, seeing patients and the normalities of a certain type of doctor. After that, he will not get his BLA until the sixth

year. When Manalo originally applied to the three schools, he figured he would attend KU because he was unsure if he would be accepted to UMKC and Santa Clara. “KU was kind of like my fall back school, and the big things about it was it was very, very inexpensive and I would be able to have a scholarship for a good amount of money.” Manalo tore his ACL in the past soccer season. He is interested in radiology because he was able see that at very exclusive basis with all the treatments and rehabilitation. “What I found interesting was because it was so personal, I got to see how my body worked, Manalo said. One of the questions I always asked was why did this happen, and was there something I could have done to prevent it? So because of that personal connection to it, I want [to study radiology].” No other East students are attending UMKC for the medical program, but that did not have much of an effect on Manalo. “I think that is one of the bigger things about college is taking a step away from the norm in your life at least, and experiencing new things,” Manalo said. “That is one of the things I was looking forward to, that I didn’t really know as many people going to UMKC.”

8 | SENIOR SPREAD ALABAMA

GEORGIA

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA Lindsey Grimm Erin Reilly

OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY Jeremy Williams SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN James Simmons

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA Halle O’Neill

ILLINOIS

ARIZONA

ARKANSAS

HENDRIX COLLEGE Molly Halter Andrew McWard Mimi Rebein UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS Max Blanchard Mason Bur Emily Cooney Tori Davis Michael Goss Alex Hilliard Chloe Hubler Mitch Kaskie Carter Olander Luke Rice David Sosna Hank Tamblyn

CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY Nash Reimer FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN & MERCHANDISING Lexy Janney Sophie Schaffer POMONA COLLEGE Matthew Williamson SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY Jack Sernett SCRIPPS COLLEGE Sarah Otterstrom UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Jayden Robert UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Helen Petrow

ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO Ethan Tucker BRADLEY UNIVERSITY Alex Ho Rachel Kephart COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO Miche’le Anderson Annie Sullivan DEPAUL UNIVERSITY Nate Anderson Nick Kraske ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY Meg Stanley KNOX COLLEGE Chloe Vollenweider Eden McKissick-Hawley NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Josh Light Addison Steiner UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Ingrid Starkey UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Drew Rusten

INDIANA

DEPAUW UNIVERSITY Tiernan Shank INDIANA UNIVERSITY Matt Kunin Kaitlin Morgan INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY Jacob Price UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME Joe Bahr

IOWA

COE COLLEGE Ali Felman Sarah Langtry

KANSAS

BAKER UNIVERSITY Elizabeth Arnold BENEDICTINE COLLEGE Hannah Dahlor COLORADO BETHEL COLLEGE COLORADO COLLEGE Allie Chesbrough Hanna Bautz COFFEYVILLE COMMUNITY COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Nora Van Ryzin Reed Harbour COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY Victoria Biles Courtney Dennis Seth Ortiz Rae Ehly FORT HAYS STATE Katherine Smith UNIVERSITY JOHNSON & WALES Cole Harrison Holly Martin HASKELL INDIAN NATIONS UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO- UNIVERSITY BOULDER Farrah Jazeh Emma Meara HUTCHISON COMMUNITY Elizabeth Morris COLLEGE Maaike Slosse Andrew Robinson UNIVERSITY OF DENVER JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY Caroline Creidenberg COLLEGE Tierra Aldridge Troy Demoss Gerard Algie Cameron Edwards Hailey Allen Sami Walter Ryan Baker India Borchardt FLORIDA Matthew Boyer FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY Lily Kaufmann Maddie Brown UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA Jeremiah Clark Chloe Stradinger Breanna Collier

Tomi Caldwell Jackson Dalton David Draxler Mady Drosenos Jacob Elifrits Alexandra Felman Danielle Gatewood Donald Gentry Ryan Gochenour Madison Grieve Sebastian Grace Sarah Guerricagoitia Emmilly Hayes Cole Hogan Amber Jones Brendan Kennedy Jordyn Liddicote Dane Lofquist Nicholas Lybarger Caleb Mason John Mack Logan Mackenzie Raef Maurer Bryce McClanahan Mariana Mizik Jacob Newton Ivan Novikov Adrian Pfantz Juan Ramos Cole Roberts David Robertson Alexandria Raymond Jenny Richeson Kaitlynn Richards William Sachs Kelsey Scott Daniel Sensintaffar Jennifer Sirna Matthew Steinbock Joel Thrutchley Kelley Tomlin Bennett Uhl Taylor Vana-Herrick OJ Viveros Sana Wadood Austin Webster Jesse Willeford Peter Winkler Ashlee Wrinkle KANSAS CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Malachi Fletcher Jackson Sublette KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Anthony Alvarez Thomas Allen Allison Bamford Sarah Baumann Lexi Belzer Tyler Benschoter Elizabeth Bittiker Chris Boucher Maxwell Braasch MacKenzie Bridges Drew Broeckelman Jessie Burnes Cadey Carney Sarah Colburn Maddie Connelly Emori Delphia Thomas Dettenwanger Sydney Edmisten Graham Eidemiller Alexandra Elattar Alic Erpelding Brooke Gershon Drew Gaar

PIN-POINTING

OKLAHOMA a breakdown of the senior class’ plans for the next year

their next move

SENIOR SPREAD | 9

OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Jacob Lichtenegger OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY Paige Hess SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY Taylor Guess UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA Morgan Bush UNIVERSITY OF TULSA Olivia Rogers Ann Schlotzhauer Gracie Tapp

PENNSYLVANIA BRYN MAWR COLLEGE Sarah Goldman

RHODE ISLAND

Emmy Hadley Benton Harkey Ian Harmon Chandler Harrison Audrey Hitchcock Riley Hunter Chipper Jorns Connor Knabe Kayla Koenig Benjamin Little Jack Longan Nick Mason Alex May Madison May Nick May David Martinez Chris McGee Brandon McNutt Jack Mitchell Kailey Morash Mary Kate Peterson Laura Rankin Rachel Rankin Anne Recker Evan Reed Mark Ronning Andrea Rutledge Haleigh Savage Mitch Sauls Scott Slapper Sarah Spradling Isabella Tomelleri Troy Wilkins Geordy Williams Anne Willman Emily Woltering Hannah Yeoman MANHATTAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE Dee Dee Guthrie OTTAWA UNIVERSITY Michael Steinbacher PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY Becca Blanner Jacob King Allison Lemon Tim Mais Cole McCabe Katelyn Reiff

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lauren Alvey Alyssa Amos Carter Ascher William Barbour Tuck Becker Clara Bernauer Patrick Blackburn Evan Bloom Dalton Boehm Connor Borgmier Madi Bradley Stephen Brophy Addison Brown Olivia Brzozowski Aubrey Burhart Grace Cantril Maddie Carver Liza Clough Emily Colebank Jordan Darling Andrew Doerflinger Grace DeGoler Joseph Demetroulis India D’ortona Jenna Engelken Jacob Fessler Anna Frame Will Fuhrman Chase Glaeser Gardner Grantham Liz Gray Lucy Griffith Sydney Griswold Haley Haines Chase Hanna Britney Hinote Kim Hoedel Parker Johnson Collin Jones Emily Kaplan Jeemin Kim

Morgan Kisler Max Kurlbaum Missy Linville Beth Liu Sam Lopez Vanessa Lovelace Adam Lynch Duncan Maclachlan Claire Maclachlan Michael Mansfield Nick Marak Sean Mcalister Brian McClannahan David McClannahan Tommy mcgillicuddy GJ Melia Laura Metz Tyus Morgan-Bell Mariah Morley Liam Murphy Jon Mytinger Zach Pearson Cory Perkins Hudson Peters Grant Peterson Thomas Petrie Grace Pickell Garrett Raibble Carson Rau Connor Rellihan Jon Reuter Connor Richardson Emma Robson Jack Rooker Madison Rowe Alex Samuel Will Short Joseph Simmons Patrick Simmons Mary Sniezek Melissa Stasi

Paige Steiert Matt Terry Callie Thrutchley Claire Tracy Chris Tuttle Leah Umstead Nathan Walker Chris Watkins Bennett Wendlandt Max Werner Elizabeth Wilcox Brennan Williams Zach Williams Elizabeth Wilson Kyle Winston Jocelyn Worner Lauren Wurm WASHBURN UNIVERSITY Kalvin Murphy WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY Hayley Johnston

LOUSIANA

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY- NEW ORLEANS Helena Buchmann TULANE UNIVERSITY David Katz Carey Schafer Sam Wetzler

MAINE

BOWDOIN COLLEGE Sarah Freshnock

MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON UNIVERSITY Ian Sharma-Crawford

SMITH COLLEGE Zoe Brian

MICHIGAN

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Jonny Lefko

MINNESOTA

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE Bill Skrukrud MACALESTER COLLEGE Ryan Dugan

MISSISSIPPI

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI Luke Faulconer Kassey Hughes Ben Sight

MISSOURI

COTTY COLLEGE Myisha Heinen KANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE Matti Crabtree Maddie Mossman MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Anna Pusateri MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY Anna Sheridan MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Ashley Allegri MISSOURI WESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY Grace Chaney Taylor Freeman

NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE Zach Schneider ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY Elizabeth Kashka Kailey Spero Tim Whittaker Connor Woodson ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY Abby Tierney STEPHENS COLLEGE Maggie Niven Jenna Westra UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI Keisha Layton Meg Rowley UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Emilie Bruyere Jeri Freirich Alex Goldman Polly Haun Sarah Horton Will Humphrey Bucky Kessinger Julie Kidd Nick Pirotte Madeleine Reynolds Jennifer Rorie Grant Sitomer Jackson Stephens David Stewart Sam Stewart Taylor Thompson Emma Vickers Graham Walter

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI KANSAS CITY Devin Burton Harrison Clark Chris Denniston Matti Hayes Jamie Leonard Haley Linden Andrew Manalo Sasha Niehorster-Cook Emma Reno Taylor Smith Taege Thailing WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Max Hofmeister WESTMINISTER COLLEGE Billy Sutherland WILLIAM JEWEL COLLEGE Bryan Morrison WILLIAMWOOD UNIVERSITY Lillian Smith

MONTANA

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Vance Wentz

NEBRASKA

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY Stefano Byer Jake Glazer UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA- LINCOLN Jake Crandall Vanessa Daves Addie Hotchkiss Dani Mader AJ Orth Hannah Ratliff John Shook Sam Tulp

NEW YORK

CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK Samuel Rowe CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA Katey Magee Chris Tucker HOBART COLLEGE Clint Dunn

NORTH CAROLINA DUKE UNIVERSITY Max Duncan

OHIO

KENYON COLLEGE Seth Myers XAVIER UNIVERSITY Michael Kennedy

ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY Isaac Halberstadt

SOUTH CAROLINA

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Lacey Gasaway Isabella Weindling UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA Sam Bihuniak

TENNESSEE

BELMONT UNIVERSITY Mason Pashia RHODES COLLEGE Samie Fetzer UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS Austin Wilcox VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY Madison Hattaway Anamika Ratri

TEXAS

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Mary Grace Diehl Abigail Heying TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Hannah Smith TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY Chase Ainsworth Addie Anthony Alec Crampton Matt Hanson Katherine Higdon Connor McGannon

UTAH

BRIGHAM YOUNG Eliza Wimmer Mariah Wimmer

VERMONT

BENNINGTON COLLEGE Thais Reis-Henrie NORWICH UNIVERSITY Shane Parcels

VIRGINIA

RANDOLPH COLLEGE Sarah Biegelsen UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Anna Colby Will Cray Henry Legard COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY Leslie Hamilton

WASHINGTON

UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND Nichole Hine

WISCONSIN BELOIT COLLEGE Emily Sneed

WYOMING

NORTHWEST COLLEGE Hananiah Aldrich

INTERNATIONAL ARGENTINA UNIVERSIDAD ARGENTINA DE LA EMPRESA Jacob Lanan CANADA UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Gabby Magalski SCOTLAND UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURG Vannis Jones

OTHER

GAP YEAR Rolando Alfaro Promise Clutter Caelan Dolan Ida Hvam-Denmark Yuanchang Xu MILITARY Samuel Wydner UNDECIDED Benito Alvarez Nicole Blair Matt Ferrel Jaret Halberstadt Paul Hose Daniel Jennett Steven Joplin Daniel Kaplan Hailee Larson Joseph Moore Taylor Sheets Elisabeth Terry Chandler Vaughn Erik Wekesser U.S. NAVY Cecelia Clark Bradley Thomas WORK FORCE Charlie Crossette Kyle Hickey Scott Parman

KEY GIRL BOY go to smeharbinger. net for an interactive version of this spread

class of

2013

8 | SENIOR SPREAD ALABAMA

GEORGIA

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA Lindsey Grimm Erin Reilly

OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY Jeremy Williams SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN James Simmons

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA Halle O’Neill

ILLINOIS

ARIZONA

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA

INDIANA

DEPAUW UNIVERSITY Tiernan Shank INDIANA UNIVERSITY Matt Kunin Kaitlin Morgan INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY Jacob Price UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME Joe Bahr

IOWA

COE COLLEGE Ali Felman Sarah Langtry

KANSAS

PIN-POINTING

OKLAHOMA a breakdown of the senior class’ plans for the next year

their next move

SENIOR SPREAD | 9

PENNSYLVANIA BRYN MAWR COLLEGE Sarah Goldman

RHODE ISLAND

LOUSIANA

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY- NEW ORLEANS Helena Buchmann TULANE UNIVERSITY David Katz Carey Schafer Sam Wetzler

MAINE

BOWDOIN COLLEGE Sarah Freshnock

MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON UNIVERSITY Ian Sharma-Crawford

SMITH COLLEGE Zoe Brian

MICHIGAN

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Jonny Lefko

MINNESOTA

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE Bill Skrukrud MACALESTER COLLEGE Ryan Dugan

MISSISSIPPI

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI Luke Faulconer Kassey Hughes Ben Sight

MISSOURI

MONTANA

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Vance Wentz

NEBRASKA

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY Stefano Byer Jake Glazer UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA- LINCOLN Jake Crandall Vanessa Daves Addie Hotchkiss Dani Mader AJ Orth Hannah Ratliff John Shook Sam Tulp

NEW YORK

CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK Samuel Rowe CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA Katey Magee Chris Tucker HOBART COLLEGE Clint Dunn

NORTH CAROLINA DUKE UNIVERSITY Max Duncan

OHIO

KENYON COLLEGE Seth Myers XAVIER UNIVERSITY Michael Kennedy

ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY Isaac Halberstadt

SOUTH CAROLINA

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Lacey Gasaway Isabella Weindling UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA Sam Bihuniak

TENNESSEE

BELMONT UNIVERSITY Mason Pashia RHODES COLLEGE Samie Fetzer UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS Austin Wilcox VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY Madison Hattaway Anamika Ratri

TEXAS

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Mary Grace Diehl Abigail Heying TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Hannah Smith TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY Chase Ainsworth Addie Anthony Alec Crampton Matt Hanson Katherine Higdon Connor McGannon

UTAH

BRIGHAM YOUNG Eliza Wimmer Mariah Wimmer

VERMONT

BENNINGTON COLLEGE Thais Reis-Henrie NORWICH UNIVERSITY Shane Parcels

VIRGINIA

RANDOLPH COLLEGE Sarah Biegelsen UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Anna Colby Will Cray Henry Legard COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY Leslie Hamilton

WASHINGTON

UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND Nichole Hine

WISCONSIN BELOIT COLLEGE Emily Sneed

WYOMING

NORTHWEST COLLEGE Hananiah Aldrich

INTERNATIONAL ARGENTINA UNIVERSIDAD ARGENTINA DE LA EMPRESA Jacob Lanan CANADA UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Gabby Magalski SCOTLAND UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURG Vannis Jones

OTHER

KEY GIRL BOY go to smeharbinger. net for an interactive version of this spread

class of

2013

CHLOE STRADINGER

SENIOR SECTION 10

Fourth grade bet is won in more ways than one

My high school career was shaped by a soccer-field bet with my fourth grade coach. “I make this bet every year with all my girls and so far only one has won,” former East soccer coach Jim Ricker said one hot afternoon. “If you can make it through high school without experimenting with drinking or drugs, I’ll buy you dinner at any restaurant you want, no matter the price – if you make it through.” Cocky, yet naive, my teammates and I were sure we could win this bet. A free dinner we got to choose in eight years and proving to our soccer coach we could do something he didn’t think we could do? Fourteen handshakes later, we confidently laughed at the thought we’d one day even consider touching a drop of alcohol or smoking weed. After all, we had just learned in D.A.R.E. that people die from that stuff. Two soccer seasons later, we graduated from D.A.R.E. and headed into middle school knowing how to refuse leatherjacket clad drug dealers. To our bad, beer-offering friends, we were ready to say, “Hey, that’s not cool, drink a Coke instead!” We knew we could stay on the right track. High school came and our innocence vanished. As I started to find my way through the East social scene, I devel-

oped practiced answers to the constant question as to why I don’t drink: “calories,” or “I get invited more places as a designated driver,” in an effort to jokingly play off my choices as no big deal. The real reason, of course, is Ricker’s bet. Obviously I’ve been tempted by alcohol and even drugs; the thought of letting loose every once in awhile and ignoring responsibilities does sound tempting, especially when everyone around you looks like they’re having fun. Of course I know I won’t actually die if I don’t hold up my end of the bet. But I’m a girl of my word, and I know a good deal when I see one. Besides, I like winning, and I’ve won more than a few times and ways because of this bet. Flashback to junior year. I’m at a party, or what was a party before the six cop cars and one K9 unit showed up. (Officially) 31 of my friends are panicking; they know they’re about to get MIPs and all the house entrances are blocked off. I rub my key fob in my right hand, thanking Ricker and the bet that had doomed me to bringing my car keys to every party. I step up to the breathalyzer, sober as always, and blow a 0.0. I can’t wait to call up Ricker the morning after graduation and tell him about our 7 p.m. reservation at Capital Grille.

ANNE WILLMAN

Sometimes making sacrifices pays off in the end It’s senior year. Aug. 31,1:30 p.m. Everyone is making their way to The Village for the annual Lancer Day parade. Oh and me, well, I’m not. I’m sitting in the fifth floor stairwell, waiting for a phone call. I won’t make it to the parade because I have an interview with someone in D.C. I will never see the senior float and won’t make it to the balloon arch. Instead, I’m on the phone, missing my tradition for the first time in six years. Thank you, Harbinger. It’s Nov. 14 – a day that I’ve been looking forward to for three years – National Letter of Intent signing day. It just so happens that I have a Harbinger deadline on the same night. Perfect. As I sit at my table, pen in my hand, I know that I have another commitment. Following the signing, I will have to leave. I won’t get to spend time with my family to celebrate the big day. I will be in Room 521, editing and designing. Thanks, deadline. It is the South vs. East basketball game. Students pour in from the different entrances. I’m dressed in the theme: “Risky Business.” The entire student section is full and I can be found at half court, with a headset on. Chloe Stradinger and I go over our intros for the girls’ game. We broadcast the game and when it’s over, we squeeze into the student section. I sit near the top, behind underclassmen (come on, seriously). For some reason, I thought that seniority actually mattered. So for the duration of the game, I sit crammed, in the back, unable to see the offensive possessions. But, hey, who doesn’t enjoy a little man-to-man defense.

Thank you, journalism. And every other deadline, I have a calculus or AP Psychology test the following day. Believe me, there is nothing more that I enjoy than getting up at 4 a.m. to study -- especially after I edit and design for seven hours the day before. Thanks again. For the last three and a half years, I have made sacrifices. I won’t get the events or time back. But that’s fine. The Harbinger has changed me. And when I say changed, I mean transformed. I have had the opportunity to interview professionals from all over the U.S., a Time Magazine writer and most recently, a writer for Marvel. I’ve gone to 56 deadlines (I’m not kidding), where I was able to build long-lasting relationships. I’ve bonded over deadline dinners from Waldo and Chick-fil-A, going to the Dallas journalism workshop and random j-room dance parties to Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.” And commentating is something that I wouldn’t have been able to experience if I didn’t do Harbinger. Yes, I do keep myself entertained by taking selfies during commercial breaks. I suggest that Dickie V. tries doing the same next time that he has extra time in game (it makes the time outs fly). I survived the early mornings and the tests turned out fine. I would not trade those experiences. Not any of them. As I walk away from it, I will miss it. I will miss my time on staff, the people, my second family. For that, I thank you, Harbinger.

SENIOR SECTION 11

KIM HOEDEL Live in the moment

Why are we always waiting for something? My entire high school career has been one long waiting game. Waiting for exams to be over, waiting for Friday, waiting for summer. By the time whatever we are waiting for finally comes, we can’t even appreciate it because we are too busy waiting for something else. Weeks are spent counting down to weekends, and by the time the weekend gets here, Sunday becomes just a day until another nauseous Monday. We spend so much time with our focus set in the future, we are missing what is happening, here, in the present. Maybe it is because school has taught us to think for the future, and maybe we’ve convinced ourselves that every little thing we do today affects our future success. We are thinking so far in advance we actually worry that one measly vocab test could be the decider between success and failure 20 years down the road. As if every demerit and point lost is imprinted on our foreheads forever, marking our value in the world and hindering our success. It seems ridiculous how much of our success we believe is based solely on how successful we are as teenagers. We keep ourselves from going out and making the memories that will stay with us forever, to cram information into our minds that we’ve trained ourselves to delete at the end of each week. It’s not worth staying up the extra hour to study if it puts you in a hateful daze the next day. I have spent more

time with the textbooks I grew to hate than the people I could have grown to love. While discipline is the responsible thing to do, does that one math quiz really matter in the grand scheme of life? Will that one book report seal our fate as a homeless nomad? No, but we seem to think it will. We think so far into the future we even waste hours scrapbooking the present, only so we can look back later. It seems we are too busy archiving the present to actually be a part of it. We are glued to our phones tweeting and posting about the latest things in our life, yet we can’t manage to pull our eyes off our phone to enjoy what we are prematurely trying to share. Even at concerts, people stare through the backend of their phone watching the screen of the recordings and still shots that they are taking, so that later they can upload them to Facebook and remember the concert they forgot to watch. Take a minute, an hour, a day and just turn your phone off, lay back and listen to some good music. Make tea and read a book on your back porch. Drive to the nearest park with a sketch pad, no eraser, and just draw. Don’t think, just let your mind wander. We tend to suffocate ourselves with thoughts, concerns and worries. Live here, right now, in the moment. Enjoy your life and maybe, just maybe, your joy of learning will come flooding back to you and school may not feel quite so detaining.

MITCH KASKIE Making up for every mistake in one seven period day at East

Let it be known that senioritis hit me very hard -- that is, when I was a junior. My co-sports desk editor Alex Goldman and I have caused a lot of problems in our five shared classes. I’m sure I owe them a few apologies, so to make up for it this is what I would do if I had one last seven period day at East. Hour 1: It’s 7:20 a.m. and I walk into Ms. Fry’s class. She is absolutely shocked that I am on time. My companions, Goldman, Kyle Winston and Cory Perkins walk in shortly after, and Ms. Fry bursts into tears of joy. For the entire hour we listen intently and don’t watch Netflix on our phones. A solid start to the day. Hour 2: I make a quick stop to get one last cup of that heavenly Columbia Brew from the coffee shop. After the usual announcements in marketing, all the guys go into the computer lab next door and listen to music. While the rest of the guys play 8-ball pool on MiniClip, Goldman and I keenly work on a marketing plan to turn the Sports Desk into a segment on ESPN. Mercedes loves it. Hour 3: Mr. Lockard is waiting outside of his door, as usual, and I give him a firm handshake. As Lockard begins to lecture on renewable resources, Shane Parcels suddenly bursts out and admits that global warming isn’t a myth. Lockard, completely stunned, immediately retires. So far

the day is going well. Hour 4: I walk into the journalism room and tell Goldman that his last story was very well written. Goldman begins to fire back with a sarcastic remark before he trails off and realizes that I had just complimented him. I call it a day and cuddle up on one of the baby blue couches until I am awaken by James Simmons yelling the word “frat.” Hour 5: On a usual day, my friends and I would leave Mrs. Kurle’s psych class 15 minutes early and come back 15 minutes late. However today, as the bell rings for lunch, Kurle joins us in a limo which takes us to Capitol Grill in the plaza. I take the tab and we’re back to class on time. Hour 6: I show up to Mr. Stallard’s class and have an in-depth conversation on whether or not guns should be banned. Patrick Simmons chips in and Stallard actually admits that Simmons is right. For the rest of the class I force myself to laugh at all of Stallard’s jokes. Hour 7: I head back to the journalism room for Editorial Leadership, and all the yearbook girls are shocked that I am in the room. In less than five minutes, I realize why I always sit in the hall. As they talk about Miege boys and prom dresses, I get up and head to Tate’s desk. We begin a conversation about the Dallas Cowboys and I resist the strong urge to make fun of Tony Romo.

12 SENIOR SECTION

ERIN REILLY

Fight for your fairy-tale experience Disney. The word evokes magic. The magic that opened doors to Wonderland, made magic carpets fly and a mermaid’s dreams come true. The magic spark of creativity that created Mickey Mouse. The spark that helped me survive high school. After my best friend moved away the summer before freshman year, starting high school seemed less than exciting. I wasn’t prepared to try to find new friends or take hard classes. I was hardly thrilled to be forced to take journalism, since my parents thought it would look good for colleges. Sophomore year I was pressured to sign up for newspaper, even though my self-esteem was totally unfit for having the confidence to publish my work to the hundreds of kids in my school. I hadn’t found my niche. Sure, I had a group that I hung out with, but they were involved in choir or theater or sports. I was worried because I hadn’t found the thing about which I was passionate. I thought the Harbinger could be my shot. The older staff members seemed nice enough, but I never really knew what was going on and my shyness kept me from asking. After a semester, I wasn’t feeling better about joining staff. But then Mr. Tate announced that he would be taking a group to Anaheim in April for the national journalism conference. I hardly knew anyone going, but convinced my one good friend on staff, Becca, to come with me. We signed up that week. I went to the conference on a whim, mostly as a way to

explore what journalism had to offer. I wasn’t optimistic, and worst case scenario I’d get to go to Disneyland. But when I sat and listened to the first keynote speaker that night, my expectations were shattered. The speaker was Steve Lopez, a writer for the LA Times. As he spoke about how stories can come from anywhere, I realized why I loved journalism. I became infatuated with idea of having the power to evoke change through telling people’s stories, and that was when I finally got hooked on journalism. That first night, we went to an Angels game, where I started to meet new people. The last night, when we went to Disneyland, I spent it with seven new friends. But the last night was beyond anything I had experienced on the trip. It was the only time I’ve sat out the infamous j-dance, but I still don’t regret it. I joined the group that went to Disneyland that night. The moment I will never forget was going on the Tower of Terror that night. During the moment before you fall in a series of drops in an “elevator,” small windows open so you can see the whole park. The fireworks show began to go off as we were about to be released, and that release was the moment I knew that I was finally where I was supposed to be. I knew I was among friends who made me happy, and I was excited to go back to use everything I had learned in classes at the conference. I knew everything would be OK after that, because, as far as high school went, I had finally gotten my happily ever after.

CAROLINE CREIDENBERG All good things must come to an end

High school used to be a novelty to me. The big mosaic Lancer in the gym hallway was like gold and the pizza line seemed like treatment for royalty. It all seemed so grand and wonderful. Junior boys were like celebrities, and the senior girls seemed to be young Anne Hathaways, put together and perfect. Homecoming was like the Jewel Ball and Prom was a distant dream. The Harbinger was class A material that I itched to read every-other Monday during class, but was required to leave in my backpack. The 32 pages of pictures and writing fascinated me. Sophomore year it became class A material that I contributed to. My opinion of the Harbie skyrocketed. The people, the room and the teacher were all so damn funny. Facebook was the ultimate social media site. Checking it 15, 20 times per day, I craved friend requests and couldn’t wait for the next opportunity to change my profile picture. It all felt so perfect and easy back then. Everything was exciting and perfect and fast paced. But things have changed over the past four years... I changed, and my perception of my everyday high school life changed with it. Maybe it’s because I spent a year in Germany or maybe it’s just because I grew, but all I know is my life lost the spark it used to have. The mosaic Lancer faded into the tiled floor and the pizza line became nothing but another long line. Junior boys

simply became immature, and senior girls merely full of drama. Homecoming is now just a norm in my calendar, and Prom only causes anxiety and worry. The Harbinger is now an activity that only adds to my workload-- more of burden than an excitement. The good mood I enter room 521 with tends to leave the second I hear someone say “did you remember to...” Facebook is now only filled with too many friend requests from middle schoolers and loaded with notifications from school groups. It’s now one of four social media accounts that I have to manage, unfortunately being left behind to gather dust with my other freshman year obsessions. It’s sad. My glass now seems half empty, or all finished off. I don’t feel that spark anymore when I hear about an upcoming dance. I just don’t get excited to go to school anymore. Maybe it’s because I’ve changed or maybe it’s because I’m just simply over it. But quite frankly, all good things do come to an end. It’s natural for a freshman to look forward to the rest of high school, just like it’s natural for me to have moved on to looking ahead at college. I feel the spark come back when I think of my dorm room. I feel the excitement reenter me when I talk about my future classes. I feel like a freshman all over again, energized for the new beginning.

VANESSA DAVES

SENIOR SECTION 13

For B - the good, the bad and the ugly

If there’s one thing I envy about my little brother, B, it’s his courage and confidence. And maybe that’s the perk of having a one-letter name, of standing out the way he does. But, I have one thing that he doesn’t have. I have four years of high school under my belt, and this time next week, I will have graduated from the place where he’s spending the next three years. So before I leave, I have some parting ideas, a few words of wisdom to leave him with. This one’s for you, little brother. You’ve always wanted to be featured in The Harbinger -- now is your time to shine. You’ll find that the best teachers are the ones who teach you more about being a human being than about their respective subject. You’ll find that even better teachers teach you both of those things equally. And you’ll find that if you come across a person like this, you’ll never forget them, and you’ll mourn leaving them behind when you leave for college. You’ll learn that the most memorable experiences aren’t the ones in class. They’re the ones that you do in your spare time. They’re the ones that you skip doing your homework for, the ones you know you’ll regret the next day, but still do anyway. The ones that sound weird to outsiders.

ALEX GOLDMAN Predictions for the next four years on planet Earth

Rather than telling you about my cherished high school memories like Lancer Day parades and screaming obscenities at basketball games, I’m going to make my own predictions for the next four years. As bold as these foreshadowings may seem, I have done my share of investigating through visiting psychics, studying astrology and eating every fortune cookie at Sakura, so you can trust that I know what I’m talking about. We’ll start off with July 13, 2014. Barely qualifying for the World Cup, the USA national soccer team fires head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. After seeing what he’s done with the East soccer program, USA decides to hire Jaime Kelly. Kelly immediately revamps the soccer program by substituting his drink of choice, Mountain Dew, for water during halftime. Miraculously, the Dew serves as a performance enhancer when taken in excess and America wins their first World Cup. March 25, 2015- I return to East for the first time since I graduated to see how my teachers are doing. As I make my tour around the school I notice a lit up sign that says “Club Baño, No Stallards allowed.” A 6’5’’ bouncer that is more jacked than The Rock opens the door and I witness how Club Baño has evolved from 20 dudes jumping up and down to Ke$ha to 600 teenagers dancing to... Ke$ha still. The urinals have been replaced with stripper poles and the stalls have been turned into a DJ Booth. The bathroom is very impressive except for the fact I can’t use the bathroom anymore.

December 25, 2016- Shawnee Mission South is closed down after having the worst test scores and athletics in the country. The state of Kansas decides to turn the school into the city dump seeing how it wouldn’t cost a penny because they can leave it as it is. February 5, 2017- Chiefs win Super Bowl LI. Empty out your savings and hit up your bookie. I’m positive about this one. November 11, 2017- I return to East for my first high school reunion. Walking into school I find head photo editor Jake Crandall and editor in chief Chloe Stradinger. Stradinger, whose body is now covered in tattoos and piercings, tells me about how she is working on a nine year college plan at Florida. After listening to her blabber about her crazy college nights. I ask Crandall how life is going. He gives me a sly grin and tells me he scored a job with Playboy magazine as a photographer. “Dude, I’m living the life man,” Crandall tells me. “I ran into Pamela Anderson at Nebraska and showed her my photos. She instantly fell in love with them and recommended me to Hugh Hefner.” Before he can finish his story, two beautiful blonde supermodels call for him to come in the limo so they can fly out to the Playboy Mansion. Lucky son of a gun. Only time will tell whether these predictions become reality but one thing’s for sure; it will always be great to be a Lancer.

You’ll discover love. Again. And again. And again. In activities -- like choir, or soccer. In people -- like your friends, or maybe your girlfriend. In memories -- those events and experiences you wish you could replay, revisit, over and over and over again. And you’ll discover that when you fall in love with something, you’ll fall hard. And that’s okay. You’ll experience emotion at a greater extent than you could ever imagine. You’ll experience tragedy and loss. You’ll cry, and you’ll see sorrow. You’ll experience joy, and freedom, and serenity and bliss. It’s taken me four years to develop the kind of spirit that you have. It’s taken me four years of 8-hour days filled with classes, with drama, with losses and gains, with high school life. And I still lack that belief in myself that you have, that assurance that no matter what happens, I will be successful. I can promise you, B, you’ll hear and see and smell and feel all of these things, and even more. But if there’s one thing that I can promise, more than anything else, is that life will get in the way. But when that happens, you’ll know what to do. That courage and confidence and spirit that you have -- it’s not just an envious trait. It’s going to get you through all of this. And I promise, it won’t fail. And neither will you.

14 SENIOR SECTION

JENNIFER RORIE The most important lessons in high school aren’t the ones you learn from the classroom I’ve learned many things in high school -- The Non-Intercourse Act has nothing to do with a mandated amount of children, and you actually have heart strings (they’re called chordae tendineae, if you’re curious). All of these things will help me later on in life, when I’m on J-Leno’s Streetwalking segment. But there are a few things I’ve learned that will help me beyond random trivia. Here is one lesson from each year that stands out to me. Freshman year -- never let your mom dress you on the first day of school. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother more than life itself, but sometimes I just have the better fashion judgement. I have worn a dress or a skirt every single year on the first day of school, from my uniform navy blue jumper in Kindergarten, to my blue button down dress this year. However, four years ago I let my mom pick out bermuda shorts and some sort of green flowery shirt that had puffy sleeves -- I hate puffy sleeves. Needless to say it was a bad choice. Sorry mom, but I think I’ll dress myself from here on out. Sophomore year -- it’s sometimes OK to be “Rorie’s little sister.” If you call me by my last name today I will probably give you a mean look and roll my eyes. But that’s all my older brother Alex ever went by in high school, so naturally people that didn’t really know me, attached me with that name. I fought it like there was no tomorrow. But looking back, I realized it’s a good thing to have someone to associate with. It gave me a place before

HANNAH RATLIFF

A healthy dose of reality about the future

I’m not going to sugar coat anything here -- I didn’t have the best high school experience. High school was messy, challenging and embarrassing. And there were very few parts of it that I’m going to miss. It wasn’t all bad -- the thought of leaving choir (especially Mr. Foley) and my high school youth group behind makes my heart ache. But high school definitely wasn’t the paradise it gets cracked up to be, either. My first day at East involved me missing the bus while getting lost looking for the counseling office (honestly, I didn’t know the difference between counseling and main until last year). There may or may not have been some very public tears involved while I relayed the day’s events to my mom over the phone. Even worse was when I became that girl that passed out in health class. My first three years of high school involved me saying or doing something nearly every day that left me red in the face. But I wouldn’t trade my embarrassing moments for anything. If I had spent high school being poised and perfect, I wouldn’t know how to laugh things off the way I can today. It wasn’t just the occasional self-humiliation that made high school hard, either. There were times in the last four

years when I felt isolated and alone on a daily basis because I couldn’t muster up the courage to talk to my classmates. It was even worse when I had to sit at home alone because I’d been in an argument with a friend, or the few that I had were busy. My lowest moment was after what my parents and doctors thought was a seizure my junior year left me feeling damaged and scared of myself. Even though I ended up healthy (turns out I just faint a lot), I still remember how bitter, heartbreaking and sometimes terrifying it felt to be in those moments. But I know that making it past those failures and hurdles means I can handle the next ones (a little) more gracefully. My time at East was not easy. If you’re feeling like I did for the last four years -- awkward, discouraged and frustrated -- listen to me when I say that it’s all worth it. Because even though high school wasn’t as perfect as I wanted it to be, my difficulties making friends, my fainting escapades, my darkest moments -- they all taught me how to be a better version of myself. And if you can figure out how to learn from your mistakes, you’ll be glad you didn’t have a four years of sunshine and rainbows, too.

I found my own. Junior year -- taking the hard classes isn’t the end-all, be-all of life. I took three rather challenging AP classes last year -- AHAP, AP English and AP Biology 2. I stressed myself out more than I should have. There is way more to life than getting an “A” on the Cold War unit in AHAP (sorry, Yoda). I wish I would have spent more time going to my friend’s soccer game or spending time with my family than reading my textbooks. I love school, but that’s definitely not everything. Senior year -- it’s OK to be yourself. I finally came out of my shell this year. I found my niche. Whether it be in the journalism room or in the viola section in orchestra, I’ve found that I can be who I am and stand out. I can make strange noises, answer all of the questions in Anatomy (much to the dismay of my classmates) and make jokes that only my dad and I would find funny. My true friends will love me just the same. Next year I’m following in my family’s footsteps and attending the University of Missouri where I’ll be studying biology. On Aug. 11, when I start sorority rush, you’ll be certain my mother won’t be dressing me, I’ll be making funny jokes that no one gets, people will say “Hey, are you related to Alex?” and I will not think twice about just being Jennifer.

MATT HANSON

SENIOR SECTION 15

Recognizing when the Harbinger becomes an addiction I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve been high for the last three years. Not just on weekends, but on weekdays -- even at school. But I’ve never been caught. My drug’s not the type Officer Porter will bust you for. In fact, I could use right before his eyes and he’d probably commend me for it. My drug is actually schoolsanctioned. You see, my drug is The Harbinger. Not the actual 32-page paper you read (or throw away) every two weeks, but my involvement in the publication of that paper. And like many drugs, Harbinger is addictive. My name is Matt Hanson, and I am a Harbiholic. Just like all addictions, mine started off innocently. I was just gonna try it; I never thought I’d stay with it. I thought I could walk away from it whenever I wanted. I was wrong. From my first day on staff, as I watched returning staff members greet each other like old friends, I was hooked. It wasn’t just the journalism that I craved: Harbinger’s allure to me stemmed from more than its intellectual offerings; my addiction was rooted in the community that I found in room 521. The high I got from journalism was something of a contact high -- contact with the wonderfully eccentric, funny and intelligent kids who worked on the paper. Every class, every deadline, we hotboxed the journalism room with unique social interaction, whether it was with one of Jack Howland’s comedic scenarios or an intellectual discussion of journalistic ethics. The kids on newspaper were unlike any I had ever met -- they were like me. For the first time since elementary school, I felt solidarity. I was where I belonged.

But that sense of belonging, of family, was addicting, and my addiction to Harbinger grew stronger over time. Like any drug, Harbinger has had its highs -- and they have been great. Awards, leadership experience, friendships, priceless memories. And my supply, thanks to my dealer Dow Tate, was nearly limitless, so there were a lot of highs over the years. But for every high, there’s been a low. As my Harbinger use increased, everything around it suffered. My highs in room 521 were matched by lows in the world outside of it. My academics wavered. My parents worried that I spent too much time and effort on newspaper. My friends complained that I never did anything but Harbinger. Things only got worse this year. As I did more Harbinger than ever before, everything else in my life hit all-time lows. My grades tanked and my relationships suffered, particularly with my parents. I’m surprised they never staged an intervention. But here I am now, taking my first step towards rehabilitation. I love Harbinger for everything it’s given me, but it’s time to face facts. Even though my Harbinger supply is almost out, it’s not too late to recognize that I have a problem. I always knew I’d be forced to overcome my addiction; I’m just choosing to do so on my own terms. By writing this column, I’m welcoming my rehabilitation with open arms. It’s time to sober up. Yes, there will be an unpleasant withdrawal stage, but I’ll welcome that now. I want to get to the other side. I love Harbinger. It’s been great to me, and I have absolutely no regrets. It’s just time to get clean.

Seniors we love you, and always remember, COE!

Good luck seniors!

-Love your Cheer Family

-Bruce Smith Drugs

We will miss seeing this talented senior class. All the best!

Congratulations, Class of 2013! -Lancer Lacrosse

-The Daves Family Good luck at KSU, CONNOR KNABE! Tee it high and let it fly! EMAW

Oh, the places you will go! Congratulations Clint! -Dede Dunn

-Karen Knabe

Congrats to our seniors Michael Steinbacher, Stephen Brophy, Kalvin Murphy and Brad Thomas. GO Lancers at Regionals!!! Good luck from the Bull Pen Club!

-The Bull Pen Club

Congratulations SME Orchestra class of 2013! -Orchestra Boosters

To the 2013 SM East of the Border Puerto Vallarta gang — Wishing you prosperity, happiness and many sunset cruises!

-Dede Dunn

The Pottenger Law Firm wishes the class of 2013 good luck! -Jason Pottenger

Good Luck Seniors!

For Mr. Wonderful, we love you and may God’s love shine on you for the rest of your years. -Dad and Mom

Congratulations Class of 2013! -The Nepstad Family

Congratulations Hillcrest Seniors! “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.” -Jer. 29:11

-The Rorie Family

Congratulations class of 2013. Go forth and drink good coffee! -Espresso AhLa Cart