STUDENT LIFE

18 STUDENT LIFE

theapachepowwow.com

October 2016

By FRANCES CHEUNG

Did you know that America’s second most popular holiday is Halloween? Every year on Oct. 31, children, teens, and sometimes even adults dress up in their favorite costumes, and go out in hopes of receiving candy from local neighbors and friends. On this night, you see some of the scariest, most unique, creative, and cutest costumes. Some homeowners even take it a step further and transform their entire house into a haunted house with spooky decorations opened for the public to walk through and be scared. However, most homes are simply stocked up with candy, ready to be given out when doorbells are rung by groups of trick-or-treaters that yell “TRICK OR TREAT!”

For some, that’s not always the case. Although it is traditional that homes give out candies and treats to trick-or-treaters, occasionally you might encounter some homes that give out really odd and unexpected items. Whether it’s an odd-flavored candy or something even worse, it’s just not something most homes give to passerby trick-or-treaters. Here are some of the things that your fellow AHS classmates have received from past trick-or-treating experiences. “This isn’t exactly a physical item, but my experience was I went knocking on the door, and this guy opened the door. He was all dressed up, had candy and everything. However, when he saw me, he took a deep breath in, pointed at me and said, ‘YOUUUUUU.’ Afterwards, he shut the door without giving me any candy, and I didn’t even know who he was.” —Jill Chen, 10. “Instead of receiving candy like what most trick-or-treaters typically get, this one home I encountered gave my friends and I entire pies!” —Mia Harder, 11 “This one year, I went to this home, and this very nice older woman who looked around 50 to 60 years old said that she wanted to give kids something healthy this year. She then proceeded to give us each milk cartons.” —Kristen Duran, 10 “The weirdest thing I’ve ever received was probably a toothbrush. Who gives a toothbrush on a holiday that’s all about candy?” —Kyla Dang, 11 “This one lady who lived on my street gave all passing trick-or-treaters candy canes, most likely from the Christmas of the previous year. I’m not even sure if they were expired or not.” —Christina To, 12 “I think the weirdest thing I’ve ever received was probably just one of those weird candies that looked like human eyeballs.” —Michelle Liang, 10

fcheung@apachepowwow.com Graphic courtesy of BHWILDLIFEREHAB.COM

Staff Writer

featured club Students PROMOTING LITERACY

By SIMONE CHU

Editor-in-Chief

Ernest Hemingway watches the room from his projected spot on the whiteboard, his mouth quirked slightly upward at the corners in the barest hint of a smile. It’s his week—he’s the first author spotlighted by Students Promoting Literacy (SPL), a club dedicated to promoting literacy in the community and renewing a love for reading among the AHS student body. The club aims to complete its mission author by author and reader by reader.

At the club’s weekly meetings, members “present about an author, and then do activities after,” said senior Cathleen Huang, SPL’s secretary. For example, after the officer team presented about Hemingway’s life and summarized a few of his works, members popcorn-read a passage written by Hemingway to get a feel for his style, noting how his signature economical and understated style made it easy for the story to be read out loud.

SPL is not just a club dedicated to an interest, however. “This year, the club is revamping itself,” President senior Tiffany Wong said. “We hope to do more outreach events in collaboration with the public library and retirement homes in the community.” Her favorite aspect of SPL is the opportunity to give back to the community through something she loves: reading. Cathleen shares her enthusiasm: “I’m most excited to get to read to the elderly this year,” she said. SPL’s officer team is also researching other organizations outside of the community to collaborate with, with the guidance of its advisor, Mr. Woodin. “The entire officer team has a lot of respect for each other, and we’re all working super hard to ensure the club’s success this year,” Tiffany said.

SPL is unique on a campus where so many clubs dedicated to a love of science exist, but clubs centered around reading and literature are scarce. SPL welcomes anyone who is passionate about reading, or who is looking to rekindle an old love for a favorite pastime. Because students’ schedules are so tightly packed, it can be difficult to squeeze reading time in each day. However, the weekly author highlights are a great way to hear about works that you might be interested in reading later on. It’s also refreshing to be around other students who share the same interests as you—you won’t find another club on campus with members as enthusiastic about sharing and talking about books that they’ve read. If you’re interested in making new friends and giving back to the community through reading, SPL meets every Friday in room C110. See you there!

Friday Room C110

October 2016

studentlife.powwow@gmail.com

STUDENT LIFE

19

CONTAC SPOTLIGHT

By BRADFORD YAU

Here at AHS, there are countless opportunities for extracurriculars, as evidenced by the vast number of clubs that were present during Clubs Day. However, a few students in particular have gone the extra mile—instead of creating a club, they have created their own business! Seniors Will Han and Siddharth (Sid) Rao, along with their cofounders Alex Xu, Jeff Xu, Mihir Shah, and Eon John, are the faces behind ContaC, a student-run Californian startup. The overall purpose of this company is to eliminate the need for businesses to buy bland, low-quality business cards that will most likely be thrown away and forgotten, which is a waste of money for businesses and actually hurts the environment. Instead, Sid believed that “streamlining the networking process and eliminating the need to carry around stacks of business cards is the future, which is what the cards designed by our company exactly do.”

Because Sid and Will were put under very strict time constraints and forced to move quickly in order to develop their product and business, the company received high accolades for its extended efforts. According to Will, some of the awards that have been allocated include “an article on the LA Times High School Insider, a sponsored hackathon (HackThe6ix), and... a grant of $500 from 1517 Fund.” Reviews have been very positive for ContaC as well, as they have an average Google rating of five stars and over 700 Facebook likes for its page. Although this company has yet to even hit its one-year anniversary, its growth has been tremendous, and its future looks bright.

Even though the road looks very successful from here on out, it wasn’t always easy: the process of trying to get the business on its feet was challenging and frustrating. Sid mentioned that the biggest struggle when trying to start up was the “communication, as we often had problems with people not delivering what we expected.” He went on to say that there was also an issue with “general information, as not every one of the members live in the same area.” However, the members of ContaC were able to spin this adversity into something positive. Will compared his hardships to his obsession with spicy food, as both require “constant need at the core of my being to find out what I’m capable of, where my boundaries are—and to push those boundaries, not despite but because there is pain involved.” By turning those hardships into a positive experience, Will has developed a grinding mentality that he has used to help ContaC become more prosperous. After facing early adversities, ContaC can look ahead to the promising growth and future in store for it.

Overall, ContaC has gone off to a great start, especially considering all of its team members are high school students! Even more so, the company has yet to hit its one-year anniversary of release, and it has the potential to reach even higher heights. ContaC isn’t just an amazing achievement, as Sid said ContaC has taught the team members that “there's a lot more to be learned from experience than school will ever be able to teach you.”

byau@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of CONTACCARDS.COM Photos courtesy of CONTACCARDS.COM Staff Writer

“All in all, my journey has been full of amazing experiences and failures alike, but it’s the addictive adrenaline rush that comes with the awareness of pain ahead that keeps me coming back for more.”

“Although we were very stressed, the results that we produced were really rewarding and looking back, we did a LOT in six weeks than the average high school student or company can do.”

Student Hobbies @ AHS

By CAMILLE MARQUEZ

Staff Writer AHS students are known for several traits, one of them being their continuous hard work. Students at AHS underestimate the importance of arranging enough time for their favorite activities. A concern is that pastimes take away time from their academics and there isn’t enough space in their schedules to fit it in. However, hobbies are fun opportunities that help to destress, socialize, and learn new skills. But besides studying for an exam or reviewing lecture notes, what do our fellow Apaches like to do in their free time? Sophomore Fiza Haroon stated, “My hobbies are dancing and playing soccer. I enjoy playing at the AHS field or in the park.” You don’t need to be a part of a team to truly enjoy a sport; simply gathering some friends at a park to play soccer is just as fun! Sophomore Vanessa Zhang greatly enjoys spending time with her two dogs.“I have a poodle named Jinny and a german shepherd named Bailey. I make sure to set aside time to walk, feed, and play with them.” It’s easy to get caught up in our school work and neglect our pets at times, but there are several health benefits our dogs and cats give us, including lowering our stress.

“Whenever I’m bored, I scroll through Youtube or watch K-dramas. It gives me the break I need from APENG,” commented junior Cammie Neo. “I do a lot of dancing at San Marino Dance Academy. I’ve been dancing since I was eight or nine and I enjoy it because it helps rid of the pressures I get from school, ” said junior Samantha Chen. Not only will dancing reduce stress, it keeps you active, develops coordination, increases flexibility, and it’s a way to meet new people while doing something you love. Junior Katherine Chen mentioned, “I watch Gossip Girls and New Girl on Netflix, but it sometimes leads me to procrastinate on homework. I’ll try to use it as reward for finishing homework instead so I can catch up on some sleep!” Freshman Bryanna Balian also loves to catch up on Netflix in her spare time. She remarked, “My favorite shows are Stranger Things and Pretty Little Liars. Although, I only watch them after I’m done with my homework assignments.” Why are hobbies important? Hobbies promote creativity. They’re a way to temporarily take a break from our academics. Additionally, they help to alleviate stress; they belittle your focus of personal or school issues. Hobbies reinforce your strengths, whether they may be physical or educational. Engaging in activities allows you to build self-confidence and motivation, which will positively affect your life in all aspects.