The C&G | Volume VII | Issue 4 | Senior Edition by The C&G

Volume VII, Issue 4, Senior Edition

May 2019

CONTENTS FEATURES | 4 Map | 4

Senior Stats | 6

REFLECTIONS | 32

A Tale of Two Seniors Part IV | 32 The Chrysalis | 34 College Admissions | 35 Senior Staff Reflections | 36

EDITORIAL POLICY The C&G is a student-run, quarterly magazine published by the Crimson and Gold journalism staff at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School of Atlanta. All opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual author, and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire staff or those of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School. The magazine is written and designed as part of the journalism curriculum, and contributing writers can be included. The C&G values inclusivity and would appreciate any feedback or contribution. The staff strives to publish a diverse set of writing and perspectives while maintaining a standard of excellence. Please contact thecrimsonandgold@gmail.com for more information. The advisor and the editors have the ultimate say on content and have permission to edit contributions for grammar and taste. The staff will only publish legally protected material and keeps the privacy of individuals included in mind.

MISSION STATEMENT The C&G staff aims to be honest, accurate and accountable as they convey news, ideas, events and opinions that are relevant to the Holy Innocents’ community, including but not limited to students, faculty, staff, parents, administrators, and prospective families. C&G aspires to publish complete and accurate coverage through journalistically responsible, ethically reported and edited content that values diversity of perspectives.

AFFILIATIONS

CSPA // GSPA // JEA // NSPA

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School 805 Mt. Vernon HWY Atlanta, GA 30327

STAFF

Editors-in Chief Olivia Martin Ethan Mullen Managing Editors Jaylee Davis Miller Reid Production Editor Matthew Raeside Associate Editors Tiana Momon Shea Fleming Columnist Annie Sager Feature Writers Maggie Belenky Omari Foote Grace Kelly Katie Little Maddie Poch Staff Writers Mikey Bennett Zak Kerr Isabelle Skid Contributing Writers Bennett Baugus Katie Leonard Kent Malcolm Ford Morgan Advisor Danielle Elms

LETTER OUT W

riting our own Senior issue is a surreal experience. After three years on staff, we’ve finally made it; it’s time to recognize our peers. Look to the Balance of Excellence (beginning on page 8) and Capstone Recap (page 22) to learn about some of the incredible people and projects of the class of 2019. Seniors, we’re proud to present your accomplishments and voices in this magazine. This issue of the C&G is more than just a presentation of the class of 2019, though. We’ll take it as an opportunity to say goodbye to the past and move on to the future. The seniors on staff have each written personal reflections, which can be found starting on page 36. Ranging from comedic to nostalgic, we hope these serve as a snapshot of our lives so far and a fitting goodbye to the HIES community. Another piece, which can be found on page 28, says a different goodbye as beloved middle school principal Theresa Jespersen prepares to move on to the next chapter of her career. We’re also so proud of all the work our staff has put in this year, providing the student body with pertinent stories and information. The C&G has covered elections, the government shutdown, sexual assault prevention on college campuses, and the mismanagement of teen concussions—and that’s just to name a few. Leaving a group you’ve been a part of for so long can be hard, but we’ve reached the point where it’s time to do so. We’d like to thank Mrs. Elms for supporting us and giving us so many opportunities. She encourages us to think outside the box and to follow our passions, and sometimes that’s all a high schooler needs to hear. We’d also like to thank the rest of staff—you all put in late nights and long hours of work four times a year to make the C&G what it is. To Jaylee and Matthew, good luck, not that you’ll need it. You’re going to do an incredible job next year.

Olivia Martin and Ethan Mullen Editors-in-Chief

LETTER IN

e’re finally here. After two years, two hundred cups of coffee, too many failures, and twice as many successes. Dozens of late nights, all-nighters, and blurry-eyed mornings. It begs the question: was it worth it? The simple and obvious answer is yes.

Serving on staff for two years has taught us a lot. More so than what would be expected. We learned not only how to write award-winning articles, navigate the labyrinth depths of Indesign, but also to collaborate with staff members - even when they sass us - and laugh. We’ve shared inside jokes, from worsts to bests, from a toy truck in the ceiling, to an eternal rat that feeds on cereal, to cocnuts, to Henry Weinstein (trust us, the typos are intentional, according to Matthew). The class overall has been an experience for the both of us. And we would not trade it for anything, not for any other class. Because it means so much to us. Yet, this year has brought us new and varied challenges. Working on The C&G has not only taught us, but hardened us - grown on us. We have grown to love everything print journalism. Within the current climate, being a journalist - even a student journalist - is not the simplest job. At times, we have wanted to turn back, to stop what we were doing. Journalism is hard - from time commitment, to censorship, to writers’ block, and transcription. Yet we do it anyway. And who knows why? We surely don’t.

Jaylee Davis and Matthew Raeside Future Editors-in-Chief

Either way, we look forward to the opportunities and experiences that lie on the horizon before us. *Is that cliche? We think so.* We thank the current editors-in-chief, Olivia Martin and Ethan Mullen, and Sarah Kallis, our first editor and journalism goddess (according to Jaylee). And of course, we thank our advisor, Mrs. Elms, for the love and appreciation she has shown us over the years, and her willingness to fight for us; to fight for the C&G. We also thank you, the students, who read our work. Often, we have been told that our material is pointless, that it is trash, that it is worthless. We appreciate the criticism anyway. We learn, we grow, we move on. For the students who do care, thank you for supporting our work and being on our side. We enjoy the discourse, and look forward to more. We definitely can’t wait to be editors next year. P.S. Can someone please refill our “Jay-Matt” snack budget?

THE CLASS ETHAN MULLEN, co-editor-in-chief

ALABAMA

Auburn University

Parker Bertholf Scott Brumbeloe Eilizabeth Dickson Hollis Gottlieb Wyatt Griffith Ryan Harvey Emily Hingson Evan Hunter Graham Kennedy Lacy Kennedy Caitlin Murphy Reese PIttard Will Rautenstrauch Patrick Russell

Samford University

Libby Malcolm

University of Alabama

Laney Ball Cat Carlos Kamryn Harley Caroline Hereford Thomas Marsden

CALIFORNIA Chapman University

Sam Wilson

University of California Santa Barbara

Drew Rasmus

COLORADO Colorado State University

Ty Damewood

University of Colorado Boulder

Ellis Owen

FLORIDA

University of Florida

Jackie Addy

GEORGIA

Kinsley Thurber

ILLINOIS

Christopher Gadomski

Georgia Institute of Technology

Max Armstrong Colin Cassell Shea Fleming Morgan Jabaley Brandt Olsen Harrison Padgett Sarah Ross Paolucci Natalie Spingler

Georgia State University

Sam Anderson Jasper Pilkenton Hever Torres-Carmona

Abby Barnes Will Scarborough

University of Georgia

Berkley Bell John Bell Nick Gonzalez Will Harrell Jeff Klopfenstein Win Laws Brooke Lindner Liam Love Delaney Miler Tiana Momon Ford Morgan Porter Null Ellie Sager Cat Scales Mary Claire Smith Sally Stuart Will Ventulett Kate Waters Alexandra Wade Ashley Whitehead

Flordia State University

Sarah Grace Barr University of North Georgia

Graham Collins

Ellie Rousseau

University of Missouri

Kaleb Lowe

NEW YORK

INDIANA University of Indiana

New York University

Caroline Schultz

John Bennett

KENTUCKY Centre College

Branan Cobb

University of Kentucky

The New School

Ansley Williams

NORTH CAROLINA Duke University

Chad McPherson

LOUISIANA Tulane University

Tyler Jones

University of Mississippi

MISSOURI

University of Chicago

Emory University

Spelman College

University of West Georgia

Blake Ainsworth Sydney Jackson

MASSACHUSETTS

High Point University

Bennett Baugus Lindsey Fentress

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Katie Leonard Emily Menay

Boston University

Alexa Adesokan Ethan Mullen

Wake Forest University

Anna Devine Justin Gahlhoff Annie Sager Ryan Wood

Northeastern University

Yale Ford

Tufts University

Miller Reid

MICHIGAN University of Michigan

Katie Little

MISSISSIPPI Mississippi State University

Todd Ennis Alex Hyatt Dylan Jones

Brett Adams Garrett Johns

OHIO Oberlin College

Ryan Blasberg

PENNSYLVANIA Villanova University Abigail Pagano

University of Pennsylvania

Will Schlatterer

SS OF 2019 SOUTH CAROLINA

Rhodes College

College of Charleston

Guillermo Granier Molly Sheats

Sewanee: The University of the South Emily Grasing

University of South Carolina

Stokes Henry Ashley Mathison Georgia Symbas

Wofford College

Bailey Means Wilds Pierce

Belmont University

Emma Leonard Kent Malcolm Gracie Stovall

Will Schoen Lexi Young

Olivia Martin

VIRGINIA

The George Washington University

Caroline Dickson Kaki Hailey

Vanderbilt University Richard Johnston

Kourtney Buckner

Sam Cravey Emma Forrestall

WISCONSIN

Virginia Polytechnic and State University

University of Wisconsin Madison

Chase Collins Alden Gyening

Ellie Parker

NETHERLANDS

Washington and Lee University

Southern Methodist University

Wakefield Ausband Josh Hawn Gabi Silver

Tatiana Milo

4-6

7-10

2-3

11+

2 8

NUMBER OF SENIORS

University of Groningen

Owen Malcolm

Georgetown University

University of Virginia

University of Tennessee

TEXAS

TENNESSEE

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Texas Christian University

Brittany Hickman

20 35

10 7 2

SENIOR SURVEY MATTHEW RAESIDE, production editor

Do you have or plan to get a tattoo? 14% Unsure

What have you most developed while at HIES?

33% Yes

A love of learning Respect for self and others Faith in God A sense of service to the world community

MOM

Have you ever been on trial before the honor council?

7% 16%

83% Yes

45% 61%

17% Yes

53% No How many times do you shower a week?

What is your political ideology? 50% More Conservative

14% More than 10

16% More Liberal 22% Moderate 12% Unsure

74% 5-10

33% No

Are you happy with your plans for next year?

Has a teacher made an impact on your life?

20% Unsure

3% No

6% No

97% Yes

10% Unsure

74% Yes

What is your gender?

88% Yes

2% No Which year of high school was the hardest for you overall (socially, academically, etc.)?

What is your sexual orientation?

29% Senior 42% Junior

46% Male

18% Unsure

49% Yes 12% 3-5

Overall (academically/ socially/ emotionally), do you feel prepared for college?

Have you ever been in love?

4% Gay or Lesbian

4% Freshman 25% Sophomore

54% Female Have you gone out of your way to fill up your water bottle at your preferred building?

96% Straight

What is the latest you have stayed up on a school night? 19% All Night

22% 10PM - 1AM

77% Yes 23% No 31% 3AM - 6AM *Based on 70 out of 123 participating seniors

28% 1AM - 3AM

COLLEGE SURVEY Are you planning to study abroad at your college or university? 27% Unsure

Did you apply as test optional to any college or university?

Are you committed to play a sport in college?

65% Yes

12% Yes

94% Yes 6% No

88% No

8% No

Do you plan on pursuing a degree beyond a Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree?

Are you planning on participating in Greek life?

Do you plan on taking a gap year?

16% No

68% Yes

57% Yes

1% Yes 38% Unsure

16% Unsure

5% No

99% No Are you attending a college or university that one of your parents or siblings attended? 32% Yes

Are you receiving a merit-based scholarship from your college or university? 14% Unsure

What is your intended major category at your college or university? 35% Buisness

12% Health + Medicine

7% Arts + Humanities 68% No

1% Interdisciplinary

11% Other 38% No

What factor MOST influenced your college decision? 12% Social Life 5% Athletic

33% Academic

5% Social Science

21% Living with Random Roomate on Campus

*Based on 111 out of 123 participating seniors

How many colleges did you apply to?

60% Living with Chosen Roomate on Campus

14% Location

4% Legacy Status

19% Science, Tech, + Math

10% Undecided

Which of the following describes your housing situation?

20% Cost

12% Other

48% Yes

4% Living Off of Campus

2% Living Alone on Campus 13% Unsure

20% 3 or less

31% 4-5

26% 6-8

12% 9-11

8% 12-15

3% More than 15

2019

Balan excel

s o u t h t pa With highly accomplished athletes, artists, scholars, and stewards of service, this class truly embodies the motto â&#x20AC;&#x153;Balance of Excellence.â&#x20AC;? The following pages feature students who devote themselves to this balanced excellence.

nce of llence

uc ess c design, MADDIE POCH, feature writer

he summer before her sophomore year, Sally Stuart signed up for a Moondance trip to Ecuador. Initially, she wanted to experience a different culture and meet new people. But by building and painting churches, she learned what it meant to give back. “I fell in love with giving to others and working with people that had many different backgrounds,” Stuart said. Following her trip to Ecuador, she took her first class in the Program for Global Citizenship. Since then, the program has strengthened her identity regarding service and giving to others without expectation. “At the end of the day, you’re doing work for others and not for yourself,” she said.

SALLY STUART

E S

For the past eight months, Stuart has been working on her Global Capstone, which began with a relationship with the Covenant House, who, with Delta, host a life readiness program for homeless youth. “ I was able to come up with the idea of giving weekly stipends for those in those programs of $75 a week,” Stuart said. The program raised money through a Global Capstone grant and was supplemented through a sleepout that raised awareness for youth homelessness in Atlanta. Stuart strengthened the idea of serving others before herself through service trips and the Global program. Though every graduate has given back to the community in some way, Stuart’s love of helping people all over the world distinguishes her. Stuart said, “Most people are just doing service to get the hours over with rather than actually learning from the experience and creating a heart for service.”

E C I V R

IES develops in students a love of learning, respect for self and others, faith in God, and a sense of service to the world community. Senior Lacy Kennedy’s dedication to faith-based service is the perfect embodiment of this statement.

Inspired by her mother’s involvement in the community with Northside Youth Organization (NYO), Kennedy knew she, too, wanted to incorporate service into her life. Kennedy spends her time being a small group leader at Buckhead Church, where she is a role model to seventh grade girls and encourages them to grow in their faith. Furthermore, her heart for service has taken her to Costa Rica, where she formed lifelong bonds with those she served. “I’m so relationship–oriented; I’m a very relational person, and so that’s always been something I treasure,” Kennedy said. Being a small group leader has benefitted both Kennedy and the girls she serves. She consciously makes better decisions in her interactions with others and on social media. “Knowing that I have girls looking up to me really keeps me accountable [for my actions],” Kennedy said. Additionally, she says, her responsibility as a mentor motivates her to focus on “being intentional with how I’m acting so that I can take my own advice.” Kennedy plans to study psychology at Auburn University to transition her drive for service into a career of Christian counseling, where she will provide psychological counseling based on messages from the Bible. “I’m very lucky to have found something that I enjoy doing,” she said. “And that happens to be service.”

LACY KENNEDY

hroughout high school, Nick Gonzalez has held an enthusiasm not only for his innate athletic abilities, but also for service to his community. After moving from Texas to HIES, Gonzalez kicked-off his high school service career by enlisting his time in the Horizons program. “At first, I joined Horizons as a way to get my hours done,” Gonzalez said. “I later found that I really enjoyed working with kids...and sought out more opportunities.” One of those new opportunities was service at his local church where Gonzalez actively leads a Bible study comprised of primarily fifth graders. Although sometimes a challenge to direct their attention, Gonzalez knows that the work he is doing is making an impact, “The reason why I persist with my service is to see the huge moments of growth. Whenever we have a solid Bible study, it makes me so happy,” stated Gonzalez. Gonzalez looks upon all service enthusiastically, and strives to make a difference “To me, service is not about recognition; it is about seeing a visible impact. The more hands-on, the more impact I feel I’m making...I want to go through high school knowing I did something,” he said.

NICK GONZALEZ

Gonzalez will be attending the University of Georgia Honors Program where he eagerly awaits seeking out new service opportunities despite the daunting environment of college. With him, he will take the advice from his father that, “now is not the time to worry” rather, now is the time to focus on what you’re able to do with the present.

is campaign slogan, posted on flyers around the middle school, seemed nearly omnipresent. “Got Malc?” the posters asked, and the student body answered— Kent Malcolm was elected onto student council, a spot he has continuously been voted into ever since. As an integral part of student council since sixth grade, Malcolm has served as a face and a voice for the student body. His work “[does] a lot when it comes to just making things more enjoyable for people—when we have assemblies or when we help out at Baccalaureate or when we come to school for an open house day.” He does not take his status for granted, though, ever a team player and a student leader. Always quick to emphasize the teamwork that goes into everything student council does under his leadership, Malcolm wants the school community to know that there are “a lot of people behind the scenes” in every event that student council plans. Malcolm’s definition of service is broad and all-encompassing, as it applies to his time here at HIES. “I think service is giving back to the community to better everyone’s experience in that certain area,” he said. “Giving back because this place is already given you a lot.” To him, service is not one-size-fits-all. Anybody can do it, everyone should, and most people do not even realize the mark they can leave on others’ lives. “Even when you think you’re not making an impact, you are,” he said.

KENT MALCOLM

ommitment, leadership, and a whole lot of pep are three must haves in the world of cheer. Sydney Jackson encompasses all of them.

Since the beginning of Jackson’s cheer career in sixth grade, its impact on her life has evolved. “It’s turned from originally a passion to... just something that kind of always resonates with me,” she said. Now basketball cheer captain, Jackson’s role in the cheer program is an important yet challenging one. , she said, “I’ve taken a lot of leadership in cheerleading, but I’m very controlling. When you’re a part of cheer, you’re very reliant on the other people on your team, so I have to take a step back and realize that I can’t do everything. I had to learn to focus on the spirit and the fun.” However, cheer is not all smiles all the time. Jackson endures hours of early and late practices in preparation for events such as Winterfest and Homecoming. “It’s difficult at times,” she says, “especially when you’re doing basketball cheer, football cheer, and school, so you pretty much either have a week in between seasons or no time in between seasons.” Jackson will be studying psychology on the pre-law track at Tulane, yet doubts she will continue her cheer career in college. “I did slightly consider cheering in college,” Jackson jokes, “but as terrible as it is to say, it’s way more fun to cheer for a winning team, and Tulane just does not have that.” Though her cheer career may end at HIES, the legacy of her spunk and leadership will carry on through the program.

SYDNEY JACKSON

athl s e t ic “I

t was senior night. Right before the end of the first quarter, I hit a buzzer beater, and everybody went crazy,” senior Chad McPherson said as he described the best memory from his basketball career at HIES.

From the two and a half hour practices to the exhausting hour-long workouts afterwards, we all know basketball is a demanding sport. Even though basketball is time-consuming, McPherson puts in the extra effort to try and be the best that he could be. Before basketball, however, McPherson thought he had a passion for another sport, baseball. “I thought I loved baseball and then I played it for a season and realized I hated it. I needed to switch sports and then I watched a basketball game that was entertaining. I was like ‘Okay, I’m going to try that.’ I started it and loved it,” McPherson said. McPherson not only loves the game itself, but he enjoys his time with his team and watching other players. “It sounds weird but it’s kind of like its own little cult. It’s a basketball culture. [The team] likes hanging out outside of basketball, and everybody likes to watch basketball games. Everybody can relate to it.” McPherson said.

CHAD MCPHERSON

McPherson does not plan to continue playing basketball at a college level, but he hopes to play on an intramural team so that he can keep the joy that he gets from playing from basketball while focusing on his academics.

rom her first time on the court as a curious seventh grader, her charismatic demeanor and “play to win” attitude has made Mary Claire Smith a prominent player within the HIES volleyball program. Despite the fact that volleyball has continuously been Smith’s primary sport for the past seven years, she has kept herself busy by excelling on the soccer field, in the swimming pool and the diving well, and even on the basketball court as a member of the cheerleading squad. All the while, Smith maintained her standing as an honor roll student. Countless hours on the volleyball court have taught Smith how to best manage her time, though it has not always been easy. “Being able to learn how to balance academics and sports has been a huge obstacle for me,” she said. “I have it down now, hopefully. But at first, I used to get so stressed out and just have little mini breakdowns.” Her advice to those who are three-season high school athletes and for all who juggle after school activities, is to “be intentional and always make sure you go into things having a plan.” One of Smith’s favorite parts of playing volleyball has been building family-like relationships with her teammates and coaches as “the team aspect was so important for [her], growing up both as a player and as a person.” Though Smith will not be furthering her volleyball career at the University of Georgia next fall, as she wants to “get the full college experience”, her inspiring work ethic and dedication have left an indelible mark on HIES teams throughout the years. Smith also knows that when she gets the urge to play again, volleyball will always be waiting for her.

s c

MARY CLAIRE SMITH

he age of position diversity in sports has long passed, but there are still players who can play everywhere with efficiency. This holds true especially for Hollis Gottlieb, a nomad of the infield. In her freshman year, she started at third base, then shifted to first base for sophomore year, and finally struck gold when she settled behind the plate as a catcher in her junior and senior years. Changing to a catcher in softball is one of the most drastic changes in play in the sport. “I was dying. My legs would be shaking by the third inning, but towards the end of the season I could catch a perfect game,” said Gottlieb. Imagine a 90 degree moist fall day that the team had a playoff doubleheader against First Presbyterian Day School, and in pregame Gottlieb was drilled by a fastball to the face – without her mask. Hollis didn’t complain though, and this was noted by her coach and HIES teacher, Dr. Laurel Koontz, “Hollis always kept her cool kept her head in the game. She never makes excuses. She didn’t once say ‘My eye is bothering me. I can’t do this.’ It was down in the dirt. Ready to play. I absolutely admire her. And that’s every game she’s ever played.”

HOLLIS GOTTLIEB

As a result of her hard work, Gottlieb was recognized as All-Region First Team after her junior season, and she helped push the team to the Sweet Sixteen for two consecutive seasons while she was behind the plate. As for her future aspirations, Gottlieb will not continue her softball career, but will study at Auburn.

s sixth-grader Emma Leonard walked into the cold, dark theater with twinkling lights shining bright on the large, black stage, HIES MS/US Theatre teacher Maria Karres-Williams was what first caught her eye. “We didn’t have a theater program where I came from. So just being in the presence of an actual theater director was awesome,” said Leonard. Leonard’s first show was the HIES production of Once Upon a Mattress, where she was the only sixth grader cast in the Upper School/Middle School musical. Since then, Leonard has been in 14 shows while at HIES. Though she did not receive her first principal role as Jojo in Seussical until her sophomore year, she always stuck with theater, even when things didn’t seem to go her way. “As soon as you’re in the theater program, you’re instantly in the theater family. . . that feeling of knowing that when you’re in a cast, then [you] would be in that warm family again,” Leonard said. “I think Wednesday [Addams] has been my favorite [role], because she’s so different [from] anything I’ve ever experienced. It was so cool to get to step into someone else’s shoes,” said Leonard.

EMMA LEONARD

Leonard’s next role is “College Student,” but she hopes that theater is in her future. “I am planning on going to Belmont [University] next year to do vocal performance,” said Leonard. “So this time next year, I’m hoping to audition for the musical theater program. And if I get into that, then I’ll change my major to musical theater.” As the curtain closes on Emma Leonard’s time at HIES, we know she will shine wherever she goes.

t wasn’t until Caroline Schultz attended a summer art program, approximately one year ago, that she realized she had a love for photography. “The teacher brought out a number of books related to photography. From her instruction and what I read throughout those books, I knew I had a passion for photography,” she said. After her epiphany, she became actively involved in the fine arts community at HIES during which she worked closely with Upper School photography teacher, Ms. Thompson, “She is one of the reasons why I am doing art, she has taught me everything I know today,” Schultz said. No matter the skill level, photography is an art form that necessitates patience and tedious attention to detail, especially in the planning process. Setting up the perfect shot is one of the most challenging parts of photography for Schultz, “In one photo shoot, I used a tarp in the background...I had to Photoshop out every little crease in the tarp which took me a week!” In her work, Schultz leaves a piece of herself behind in the form of her unique technique or, sometimes, rooted in the very narrative of one of her pictures. “I sometimes struggle with how I leave myself behind in certain pictures. I leave a little bit of myself behind through the way I shoot a picture,” she said. Despite feeling nervous, Schultz is eagerly anticipating her future at NYU where she is looking forward to being challenged.

CAROLINE SCHULTZ

“I

wasn’t led towards art, it’s just something I do,” Sam Anderson said. For him, there was not an innate passion for the subject at first; it was elective he chose in eighth grade. But since then, Anderson has been going above and beyond both in and outside of the classroom. Interestingly enough, Anderson’s perpetual fascination lies not with what can be expressed through art, but with the varying methods themselves, “learning new ways to do art like new mediums, that’s what I do art for, not the idea” Anderson said. He enjoys the challenge of learning new techniques and figuring out how do them by himself. Anderson’s first attempt at a bust is one of his favorite personal pieces because his passion for self-discovery, “I was researching how to make busts for a while and I wanted to make one. I thought it would be horrible, but it turned out great.” Although he revels in all parts of the artistic process, shading is most essential,“It is first to draw out a piece and color it, that usually only takes me an hour, then I usually spend hours doing the shading. Good shading is what I find best in art and I try to get that in all my pieces,” he said.”

SAM ANDERSON

Anderson will be graduating HIES with five consecutive years of art classes, establishing of the National Art Honors Society, and working at the HIGH museum of art under his belt. Art is something he not only “does”, but he has certainly done a lot with.

s A rt

“M

y mom kind of made me” are words we’ve all heard before, and in Alex Hyatt’s case, it means playing the piano. From a reluctant chore in first grade to a preferred craft, Hyatt has continuously challenged himself to learn as much as possible when it comes to his instrument.

The reason he has kept playing, is that “I know if I stop, I’ll get worse,” he said Hyatt performs for his family, friends, church, and school, but his favorite part of each performance is playing the first note, “My nerves are going. My hands are shaking and as soon as I play that first note, I relax. I’m able to play more and sink into my zone,” Hyatt said. Yet when Hyatt plays alone, he goes over songs countless times because he is a self-proclaimed perfectionist, “I won’t stop until I get it right. No matter how many hours it takes.” One of Hyatt’s favorite struggles is practicing a piece that can take weeks to master. However frustrating his journey can be, Hyatt says it has taught him to “keep pushing for it and never giving up.” Besides managing difficult pieces, Hyatt also maintains a difficult schedule revolving around school, basketball, and piano practice. When time is on his side, Hyatt tends to spend one to two hours a day playing the piano. However, when he has a stricter schedule, he settles for a mere 30 minutes. According to Hyatt, whenever he is playing, “it’s me and the piano. It’s me and the music. There’s nothing else around me.”

ALEX HYATT

owering at 6’5”, Kaleb Lowe is hard to miss, and his bright personality makes him hard to forget. As Lowe grew in size, so did his interest in athletics. He tried out an array of sports, from swimming to basketball. Yet, after years of watching his eldest sister play volleyball, the sport began to grow on him.“I would travel with her everywhere,” Lowe said. “Seeing how competitive it was made me drive towards [playing] volleyball.” He started as a manager for the HIES volleyball team in 9th grade, and considers that experience to be the first time he felt like a part of the HIES community. “The girls took me in as a little brother,” Lowe said. HIES varsity volleyball coach, Taylor Noland, can attest to this, as she noticed a rapid turnaround for Lowe. “I had a lot to learn [about Lowe] and I had no idea,” Noland said. In their initial meeting, he was “quiet” and “reserved”, but by the end of the first practice, he was already requesting his teammates’ Instagrams. That year, the varsity team won the state championship, and Lowe decided to continue his career as manager for the remainder of high school. “He had a bit of maturing to do, and came a long way,” Noland said, describing the development of their relationship. “Now there’s gonna be a huge hole in my heart when he leaves,” she said, teary eyed.

KALEB LOWE

Kaleb’s experience and vibrant personality will follow him to the University of Missouri, where he will manage the volleyball team.

cting in a middle school comedy film called “Banana Man 2” first got Josh Hawn interested in moviemaking. “It was hilarious in some of the worst ways possible, just because it was kind of a ridiculous movie,” he said, but it inspired his film journey nevertheless because of the fun he had while being involved with the production of it. The next year, he enrolled in the upper school Film l class, where he was introduced to the wide world of filmmaking. “I realized that I have a serious passion for it,” he said. “When I did it earlier, it was just a fun thing to do. It’s fun to get together with your friends and make a movie, but when I was introduced to all this professional equipment, it became so much more and just like that, I was hooked on it.” Hawn’s passion for film has taken him to some extraordinary lengths and he has had many interesting experiences while on shoots, namely the ones in Midtown Atlanta in the middle of the night and in a particularly creepy abandoned mill in Rome, Georgia.

JOSH HAWN

Hawn has been recognized at the HIES Film Festival for his accomplishments on both sides of the camera. His handiwork has won him Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Actor, among other awards. In a few years down the road, if you watch a feature film, stay for the credits. Hawn’s name just might be there.

eering through the viewfinder of her Canon 5D, Libby Malcolm can harness the beauty of a fleeting moment with the click of a button and the shutter of a lens. Her self-created brand is known by the Instagram handle @libmalcolmphotography, and she provides professional headshots, senior portraits, and family pictures. Malcolm finds the challenge of taking the perfect photo to be immensely rewarding. “It’s an honor because these are their memories and I’m able to turn them into something that they can keep forever,” Malcolm said. Having seen Malcolm’s work, one might be surprised to know the influencer’s first photoshoot was her junior year, when Sophie Smith, HIES class of 2018, was in need of last-minute senior pictures. Since establishing her brand with Smith’s pictures, Malcolm estimates she has had 80 photoshoots. Word of mouth helped her clientele grow in size and scope. “My favorite part is how I’ve seen people enjoy the shoots with me and then recommend me to someone else,” said Malcolm. “I can see that not only am I feeling fulfilled, but they liked it too.” Malcolm will attend Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where she will grow her photography brand. After building up a sizeable base of clients in Atlanta, she will be tasked with creating a new network of contacts in the fall. “My biggest fear about going to college is that I have to restart with my name and who I am and what I’m pursuing and everything, which is exciting because I’ll be in a new place.”

LIBBY MALCOLM

b o H bies T

he 2016 presidential election was a defining moment in American politics. For Max Armstrong, this election initiated his interest in politics. “There are people that are too quick to judge and don’t want to hear the other side.” Armstrong said, “what I’ve noticed is that it’s more likely for people on the left not to listen to the conservative side and I think it’s very important for people to be open minded and hear both sides.” Regardless of the “occasional person that isn’t too accepting,” Armstrong said he still prioritizes staying politically involved, because “it forms why people think what they think of society.” Furthermore, it makes Armstrong feel like a purposeful member of society and an active citizen. Motivated into action, Armstrong created the Young Conservatives club at HIES, centered around the mission statement: “To instill conservative values in a civil discussion and environment.” Continuing to expand his knowledge, he then chose to join the HIES debate team. Starting at Georgia Tech in the fall of 2019, Armstrong does intend to join their Young Republicans Club, attend speeches by local politicians, and will consider joining their debate team.

MAX ARMSTRONG

Although Armstrong does not have immediate plans to go into politics, he said, “I might retire into politics, kind of like Donald Trump did.” Until then, Armstrong specifically wants to keep up with economics and, as he said, “government interference and how it hinders businesses.” When asked if he had his sight on the White House, he said, “It’s too early to say whether or not I’m going to run for president.” So keep your eyes on the ballot for Max Armstrong.

bby Barnes credits her interest in science, more specifically computer science, to an experience she recalls from fourth grade. “We did these wax museum projects, and I chose Sally Ride. I always wanted to be like Sally Ride [the first American woman in space],” said Barnes. Although she had not discovered her aptitude for computer science until her junior year, the subject has become one of her passions and is something she aims to study in college, perhaps in the medium of graphic design. “[Coding] is just something that I really enjoy learning,” said Barnes. I don’t feel like I have to sit down and do my homework. I really enjoy doing these projects and understanding how code works.” Yet Barnes’ interests are not strictly confined to science; she is also interested in the synthesis of technology and art. “My concentration [for AP3D] is the integration of technology in art to represent how technology has taken over everything that we do,” said Barnes. Not unlike coding, playing a musical instrument requires commitment and precision. Barnes practices something out of the ordinary - the harp. “I’m not the best at the harp. It’s just something I love doing. I feel like the harp is a part of me,” said Barnes. “A lot of my friends were getting cars when they turned fifteen. I got a harp.”

d e a m c A

ABBY BARNES

Barnes will attend the University of Chicago to further study computer science. It remains clear her intentions to succeed in the subject, and perhaps achieve standing amongst scientists such as Sally Ride.

mma Forrestal has come a long way from the days in preschool when she would “pretend to get a paper cut in the morning reading a book, and then, [she’d] walk down to the nurse’s office so [she] could get a ‘cool’ Band-Aid.”

Little Forrestal had dreams of being an astronaut, and those still are somewhat of a reality. She loves science and related fields, and her AP Computer Science and AP Physics classes during her junior year really guided this interest. “I want to do something really focused on sciences, and I want to do something with computer science too, so like biology, physics...that type of stuff,” she said. To Forrestal, academic achievement is about more than just the grade she receives on an assignment. “I feel successful when I study for something and I really learn something, and then, taking a test, I really feel like...I’ve learned something new and interesting to me,” she said, “I think being interested in a topic is success.” At the University of Virginia, Forrestal will use her developed skills to build strong relationships with her professors, aiding in her future academic success. “I think since we have such small class sizes [at HIES], all the teachers are so committed to your learning,” she said. “I think that will be helpful in college, learning how to form those relationships with teachers and seeking them out as much as they seek you out here.”

EMMA FORRESTAL

, m t e s . e g

alking into Geometry at HIES for the first time as a brand-new 8th grader, Colin Cassell, remembers “thinking that there were gonna be other people in there, and then realizing that it was just me and Mrs. Harper,” he said, “it’s a classic memory.” Later that same year, Cassell became involved in the Robotics program at HIES, eventually serving as president during his senior year; however, these experiences were not his first endeavours into the STEM fields. Growing up, “I always wanted to make video games. Actually, I did make one virtual reality experience called Marimba VR… you can play percussion virtually.” Now, Cassell plans to pursue a computer science-oriented path, creating all kinds of programs. “I really like thinking logically and knowing that the computer is always going to do exactly what you tell it to,” he said, “so even though there isn’t one right way to do things, there are always ways that are guaranteed to work.”

e f ”

Along with HIES seniors Abby Barnes, Will Scarborough, and Will Schlatterer, Cassell created Code Club, “helping some really passionate freshmen to learn the fundamentals of Java and develop a problem solving mindset,” he said.

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COLIN CASSELL

Although passionate about the STEM fields, Cassell has “really enjoyed AP Lit with Dr. Swann, reading... Beowulf and Frankenstein [and] really widening my global knowledge,” he said, “I just have always tried to succeed and tried to do well. I’ve always just felt that that drive... I’m gonna stay on my grind 24/7.”

m i cs E

nglish and Computer Science. While some may consider these two subjects worlds away, Will Scarborough relishes in both literature and code.

A natural reader and an early writer, Scarborough displayed a precocious talent for the written word. His interest in computer science Scarborough described as, at first, “passive.” After taking the AP Computer Science course, however, Scarborough found that his interest flourished into a passion to parallel his love of literature. “It’s like learning a new language. You have to learn the syntax and the way it all flows together. Once you do, you can parse your way through a problem and it all clicks. I think it’s the same way with English. There is the ability to enhance and improve the work … in a logical way that makes sense to me,” he said. He is motivated by his hardworking dad, compassionate mother, and his two younger brothers, Brooks and Lawson. Lawson, who is on the autism spectrum, particularly inspires him to explore the diversity of opportunities available to him at HIES. “I feel like if I didn’t create and do the best in whatever circumstances I had, I would be doing a disservice to him as well as everyone else who didn’t get that chance,” Scarborough said. Scarborough is looking forward to that same opportunity at the University of Chicago. “It’s a test of your character and your perseverance. I’m excited for that challenge,” he said.

WILL SCARBOROUGH

20 Feature

BEN DESANTIS MATTHEW RAESIDE, production editor

FOR TASSEL TURNER As an adored Upper School teacher, Ben Desantis has been chosen by the senior class to be this year’s honorary tassel turner. The C&G highlights the impact he has made on the HIES community.

en DeSantis has been named tassel turner for the class of 2019. He is a teacher of poetry and horror, a varsity baseball coach, and also someone willing to sit beside a senior seated alone at a basketball game. Yet he is first and foremost a mentor to the senior class. Tasked with turning the tassels of seniors’ caps at this summer’s graduation, the bond he has formed with the class of 2019 is noteworthy and precious.

“I

actually one of the reasons why I started writing the novel because I would get home in the middle of the night and just be frustrated that I hadn’t gotten a chance to really write.” DeSantis has found purpose in teaching where he is able to share his skill set for the benefit of his students.

t’s the kids. Every senior class that I’ve taught, there’s just something about them hat makes you happy to come to work. Just about every day.”

“A love of poetry, a love of classic rock, [and] a love of hip hop,” define DeSantis’ passion for writing. A passion so intense that he has nearly completed a novel, currently titled Serving Two Masters. “I love to write,” DeSantis said. “I’ve been off and on working on a novel for the better part of fifteen years, but I just can’t get it finished. Having kids will do that.” His career in writing began as a sports journalist and shifted to an English teacher shortly afterwards. “I didn’t really get any joy out of [sports journalism]. I didn’t really feel like my work was impacting anybody,” DeSantis said. “It was

DeSantis teaches both Horror and Poetry and Monsters and British literature to seniors. For both courses, the classes were designed from prior experience. “The [poetry and] horror class actually came from a horror films class that I took in college that really resonated with me,” DeSantis said. “I love what I teach, the classes that I teach.”

Such unique classes, of course, encourage divergent thought and literary processes. “The class on poetry that I teach, [it] teaches countercultural poetry, so poetry that pushes back against the mainstream,” DeSantis said. “Poetry, because it can be transcendent, has the ability to grab people where they are in a way that can make them change their thinking.”

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DeSantis’ teaching and coaching has clearly grabbed the current senior class. During the chapel in which it was announced that DeSantis had been chosen as the tassel turner, students shared anecdotes of their time with the him. “I started crying. It’s very, very humbling,” said DeSantis. “Whether it’s teaching or coaching, I definitely don’t do it for the money, and I don’t do it for the recognition. But to hear Kinsley, and Ross, and Guillermo, and hear the baseball players give a little bit about the ways that they’ve been impacted by me, that’s the whole point.” “It means a lot to me, because personally, it’s just been a nightmare of a year, and on some level, I feel like I’ve failed my students more than I’ve done my job. I have often wondered throughout the year, if I’m doing good work. For [the seniors] to acknowledge me, it goes back to the idea that this is where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said. Senior Kinsley Thurber, who spoke on behalf of DeSantis’ character, said, “He has this thing to him where he really wants everybody to be successful, as well as enjoy themselves. We chose him as our tassel turner because not only is he able to teach us in the classroom, but he can be our friend and care about us.” Although the seniors are soon to graduate, DeSantis will remember them “as a very kind group, a very sympathetic group that has reached out to me in ways that I wouldn’t have expected. They’re very eclectic, and they’re just a bunch of goofballs.” Of the experiences he has shared with them, “there’s just too many moments to narrow [them] down to a handful. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t laugh out loud at something that happens in class,” DeSantis said. “There have been a number of times that I have laughed to a point of tears this year.” Through the medium of poetry, DeSantis hopes that he may strengthen his students as writers, and as people. To him, poetry has the power to change thought, and in turn, the world. The class of 2019 has been challenged by his teaching and coaching, and they have, in turn, honored him by selecting him as their tassel turner. As tassel turner, he is their teacher, their guide, and their friend, and he will continue to fulfill those roles after they have graduated and continue forth on their paths. “I would want the seniors to remember me as somebody whose door is always open. Who’s never more than a text, or phone call, or email away,” DeSantis said. “Someone who will always listen, years after they’re done being my student.” “[I am] someone who ultimately wants nothing but the best for them.” DeSantis said, “Whether I taught them or not, whether I coached them or not, I want the absolute best for every group of seniors that I teach.” Not only will the class of twenty-nineteen remember DeSantis for “his patience, his thoughtfulness, and authenticity” but also perhaps for his “gelled-back hair” and his extravagant belt buckles, including the one given to him by the seniors.

GLOBAL CAPSTONE RECAP JAYLEE DAVIS, managing editor design, MAGGIE BELENKY, feature writer

See how these Global Citizenship seniors plan to change the world with their capstone projects.

er extensive experience in broadcast journalism and love of storytelling made the recently-developed New Media course a perfect match for Mary Claire Smith.

Mary Claire Smith Facing Homelessness

New Media was created as the counterpart to the Social Entrepreneurship course after Erik Vincent, Director of Global Studies, and Chris Yarsawich, Assistant Director of Global Studies, saw the potential of a student film Capstone project, “Troubled Waters.” With the creation of the New Media class, Vincent and Yarsawich wanted to “bring in the expertise of Mr. Conway and Mr. Jackson” and “build collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts that combined Global Studies and Fine Arts,” Yarsawich said. Filmed by Global students Chase Luther and Jackson Pellegrini, “Troubled Waters” explored the water quality crisis in Atlanta. For her New Media project, Smith set out to tackle another difficult issue: homelessness.

“It’s a topic I really didn’t know much about, but I wanted to better myself and I wanted to learn. They always kind of say, you know, pick a topic you know. Pick something you’re passionate about. And while I am passionate about it, I didn’t know much about it. At all,” Smith said. Leaning into the unknown, Smith captured the stories of Hurt Park’s homeless through a documentary film. In the months long

process of filming, interviewing, and editing, Smith noticed the “dehumanizing” effects of the stereotypes and stigma surrounding homelessness, and even her own participation in forging them. “There is this dehumanization I think that happens when you hear ‘homeless person’ or when you think of a homeless person...You think of them being cold, unhappy, [with] mental illnesses. And yes, while that can be true, you never think of why they’re there in the first place. And you never think of how you might help somebody who is experiencing this,” she said. In her film, Smith explores that very question, by facing the issue through a human perspective that challenges our preconceived notions about why homelessness happens, who it happens to, and most importantly, what we can do about it. “When you walk down the street and you see a homeless person, you want to divert your eyes. You don’t want to look at them. Even that, that is so dehumanizing. I don’t think we realize that,” Smith said. Smith’s documentary will debut later this year on the upcoming website, featuring all the New Media projects from this year’s senior class. “It’s like a quest for humanization,” Smith said, “It’s not a call to action in the strict sense. But it’s more of a societal practice that needs to be changed… Not to divert your eyes, to maybe smile now and then. If you’re feeling up to it, grab a cup of coffee, you know, they are people, too. They feel things, too.”

or all Global students, the capstone is an existential worry. From the first moment of your sophomore year, the project that you feel is expected to be life-changing, possibly even world-changing, is constantly in the back of your mind. Going into their senior year of Global, above all else -- the worry, the stress -- John Bennett, Todd Ennis, Will Rautenstrauch, knew one thing. They wanted to do it together.

exorbitant costs with the increased resources that ride shares allow. One of the challenges they experienced was not the change of topic, or research and attempts to solve the intricacies of emergency response time, but rather fitting time into their schedules. “We’re all very busy,” Rautenstrauch said.

Everything wasn’t always smooth sailing for the three, however. “We actually changed our entire idea…after already completing a fully annotated bibliography for the original idea,” Rautenstrauch said. What prompted them to change their project nearly halfway through their senior year?

“John sort of like took the lead on it. And Rautty [Rautenstrauch] would help him. Nine times out of ten, I would completely forget,” Ennis said, “And then, it would be like 12:30 and John would be like, ‘Todd can you “I can name three [in my life] experiences where emergency please blah, blah, blah.’ And I’d be like ‘Alright.’” response time completely just failed,” said Rautenstrauch. After these confrontations with the realities of emergency “I got hit in the face with a baseball at an 83 response time, Bennett, Ennis, and Rautenstrauch began mile per hour pitch and got a concussion. I researching why emergency response time fails, and how wasn’t allowed to look at a computer screen for two weeks, which made a lot of work the issue could be addressed. very difficult in general for this project,” Their suggested improvements come in the form of an Rautenstrauch said. emergency rideshare service. Bennett describes their service as, “an alternate method of transportation to a hospital At the end of the day, however, Bennett said, using ride shares. Medically trained rideshare drivers… “No matter who did, what who didn’t do what, transport someone experiencing a minor emergency to the it doesn’t matter because what we did as a hospital.” The emergency rideshare service aims to solve the group, what we created as a group based off that problems of reduced response time, location inaccuracy, and information that we found… All that was incredible.”

hen most reminisce about their grandparents, their childhood memories are filled with warm cookies, special gifts, and unconditional support in their early endeavors. However, for Brittany Hickman, her childhood memories with her grandfather are different. “When I was younger, I noticed different things… He would forget to associate things with words,” Hickman said. “It was just weird to me when I was younger… but I didn’t really put it together until I was going into high school.”

Hickman’s grandfather, like 5.8 million other Americans, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a condition in which brain cells decay and die, causing memory and essential mental functions to deteriorate. Currently, no cure exists for the disease, but medication and healthy management can alleviate symptoms.

Brittany Hickman ALZ Care Packages

Memories of her grandfather, combined with the desire to help her mother support him through the progression of Alzheimer’s, inspired Hickman’s Global Capstone project. Using knowledge from her summer experience with Quarter Zero, an entrepreneurship program, Hickman created the ALZ care package geared towards assisting the “sandwich generation.”

The “sandwich generation,” as Hickman described, is “ like our parents. They have an older generation above them to take care of and they take care of younger generations.”

Will Rautenstrauch, Todd Ennis, John Bennett

Emergency Ride Share

From first-hand experience, Hickman understands the condition, but researched not only ways to alleviate Alzheimer’s symptoms, but also to alleviate the stress of caretaking for the sandwich generation. “My mission is to serve and support sandwich caregivers in the Atlanta metro area, empowering them with resources and knowledge about the Alzheimer’s progression,” Hickman said. The ALZ care package contains several items used to stimulate the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient. The package informs, and unburdens the sandwich generation of the loved ones’ symptoms. It includes an educational booklet, a puzzle pack, wall calendar, deck of cars, and an educational time clock used to “help remove incomprehension that comes with time.” Through her package, Hickman emphasizes the need for familyoriented activities for people affected with Alzheimer’s. “Family time is really important during this process because usually they isolate themselves from the rest of the family,” she said, “I wanted it [the care package] to feel human.” In the future, Hickman plans to partner with established organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association or Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, so “those fundraisers can also go towards the ALZ care packages in the future,” Hickman said. “It’s really kind of a tribute to my grandfather,” Hickman said, “Seeing that when I was growing up, I was like, at some point, I will be able to do something.” With her ALZ package, Hickman has not only done something for grandfather, but through raising awareness, more for those affected by Alzheimer’s.

24 People

SIGNED

ATHLETES

Eight HIES seniors will advance to play sports in college after successful high school sport careers. TIANA MOMON, associate editor

GUILLERMO GRANIER Baseball College of Charleston

“Baseball drove me to the school I committed to. I love the school even without baseball, but my goal has always been to play baseball in college. I was lucky enough to get the chance to play somewhere I would go just for school. The location, the baseball, and the school in general is what I love the most.”

BRANAN COBB Softball Centre College

“I choose Centre because it felt like home. Yes, the softball is what drove me to look there, but once I got there, everything I wanted fell in place. The people, the campus, the opportunities, my team, my coaches, and the academics. Roll kerns.”

GARRETT JOHNS Tennis Duke

“I chose Duke because I really liked the coaches and thought they could definitely improve my game. Along with that I really loved the campus and my teammates. My favorite memory playing tennis would be when I won the clay court championships in Delray. I won the the 16 and unders and played very well the whole tournament.”

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BAILEY MEANS

OWEN MALCOLM

Golf Wofford College

Golf Washington and Lee

“I chose W&L because I wanted to find a school that I could play golf for that also fit my interests academically. I went to visit the campus earlier this fall and it really felt like home. I met a few of the guys on the golf team and met with the coach and I instantly knew that it was where I wanted to spend the next 4 years.”

“I chose to keep playing golf because I was good at it and enjoyed how it was a one person sport. If you do well or mess up it’s on you, and no one else is to blame. I picked Wofford over other schools because I really liked the coach, and they gave me a really good offer.”

EMILY GRASING Soccer University of the South

“Sewanee is preparing me for the world after college with knowledge that I won’t play soccer forever. In fact, I haven’t heard one negative thing about Sewanee on or off the campus. Once I got on campus, I knew it was right.”

RYAN BLASBERG Lacrosse Oberlin College

“My favorite memory from my sport was playing my last high school game. It was a very close game but sadly we lost. During the second half the team turned to each other to try and come back and win. We fought hard and cut the lead down to one goal. After the loss we all spent some time on the field talking about the season.”

JACKIE ADDY Track University of Florida

“I’ve always wanted to run in the SEC and wanted to win an individual and team national title and that’s why I choose Florida. Florida has a history of training many Olympians and winning many national titles. I walked on campus and felt part of the family already. I knew it was perfect.”

“I’ve always loved art; it is the only thing that can make everything else in the world completely melt away. My junior year I found myself being pushed out of my comfort zone to create faster, and higher quality work than I ever have before. Until then, art had just been a hobby and something I enjoyed playing with. AP2D forced me to find something I was passionate about which I found to be ‘women aging’. I researched, took surveys, talked to people both inside and outside of my family trying to get to the bottom of what happens to a woman as she gets older in every aspect. When I started turning that research into a photograph, I figured there was no better way to portray aging than using a mother and her daughter as primary models for photo-shoots. They worked perfectly together! Especially when I was trying to portray to the viewer the physical changes a woman faces as she grows into an adult. My sister, Drew, has especially been highlighted in my work since last year. Not only is she a natural in the modeling world, but she was a huge part of my inspiration last year when I really got into art. Even if it’s just a hobby, there is no doubt I will be continuing art in the future.” design, KATIE LITTLE, feature writer

Featured Artist

WAKEFIELD AUSBAND’s Artist Statement:

Featured Artist

NATALIE SPINGLER’s Artist Statement: “Going into high school, I knew I definitely wanted to do art. I liked creating things, and it was a good break from all of my school work. I decided to go into photography because in middle school I saw the pieces hanging around the high school and was inspired to try the same thing. One of my favorite pieces I’ve done is called “The Root” (the one of the word hate being torn in half). Making this piece, I wanted to address civil injustice, and for me the root of all the problems I saw was that people were not choosing to love others. Love is what can conquer hate, and that is what I wanted to focus on in this piece. Although the photograph doesn’t show a lot of happy things, I hope that people will be reminded to love others and work to overcome these issues rooted in hate. This year, for my AP 2D Portfolio, I have been investigating how pieces of a whole work together, and that is why some of these pieces have been altered and rearranged in different ways. I’ve really enjoyed working with more of a theme this year and being able to explore all of the different techniques of making pieces look completely different from the original by combining pieces of different images into a new whole.”

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THE GREATEST MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL IN THE UNIVERSE OLIVIA MARTIN, co-editor-in-chief design, JAYLEE DAVIS, managing editor

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f you walk through the front doors of the “Greatest Middle School in the Universe” and take a right, you’ll reach a narrow hallway of offices. Open a door to find a small room that houses an array of books, yearbooks, and photographs. There are Smarties on the table for students to take—because “you are what you eat,” and stuffed birds lining the shelves. Welcome to middle school principal Theresa Jespersen’s office. If you stay a while longer, you might just hear countless stories, jokes, and interesting facts about European history.

TRYING OUT TEACHING

When she later moved to Arizona, Jespersen decided to try her hand at teaching. She got a job at a small private school, then called St. Gregory College Preparatory School, and found that the classroom was the place to explore her passion for history. “[Teaching] was a blast. I had so much fun. And I got to talk about history all day long,” she said. So, when she and her family moved to Atlanta, she reached out to the local private schools to find a job. She interviewed “a few places,” she said. “And then Holy Innocents’ called, and that was it.” Jespersen was hired as a history and religion teacher, and ever since the fall of 1995, she has been at HIES. Her first school year at HIES was the second graduating class’ last, and she has many fond memories of her first experiences at the school, including a retreat she did with the student council members. “They asked me to be a student council adviser, and so of course you say ‘yes’ to everything because you might get fired,” she said, “Like, ‘yes yes I’ll definitely do that.’ ‘Can you go on a retreat with us?’ ‘Yes of course! Where are we going?’” Her journey to the Athens Y camp in Toccoa was her first venture into the rest of Georgia that lies outside of the Atlanta metro area. It was culturally unlike anything she had been accustomed to as a native New Jerseyan. “When you get outside of Atlanta, you know, things are different there,” she said. “And I grew up in New Jersey, and New Jersey is pretty different from Georgia and pretty different from Atlanta. But maybe a little bit closer to Atlanta than to [other] parts of Georgia.” The experience she shared with her students there was altogether unforgettable. “So we’re there and the two guys that are running the program for us are named Bubba and Leather,” she said. “And for lunch there’s these little minute steaks, except they were round, and so all the students decided that they are horse steaks...so the woman who had planned the whole thing she was very upset, and I said ‘If this is the worst thing that happens, this is not bad.’ And then it started to rain.” What seemed like a comedy of errors turned into a memory with the first graduating class Jespersen would see at HIES, the class that even threw her a baby shower at the end of the year when she announced that she was expecting. At the time, she was a religion teacher, but the influence she had on the school would soon expand.

MAKING MEMORIES

Jespersen’s funniest memories at HIES revolve around the antics of students. Once, a boy in one of her classes brought a turtle to school. “One day, a student brought a turtle to class, and put it in the corner of the room, and expected me somehow to be afraid of a box turtle,” she said. “I don’t know how many science fiction movies he had seen, but the idea of a marauding box turtle coming at me from the corner was really not the scary thing that he thought it was gonna be.” Student pranks were another highlight. Jespersen remembers the time that students got the letters from a Kroger sign and posted them up on campus. It was not just the students who had fun, either; she has had her fair share of hilarious Halloween costumes. “[My] best Halloween costume was when I dressed up as Matthew Stafford, who was Christine Stafford’s son with the same hair [as me],” she said. “I had his shirt and I borrowed a little necklace from somebody else and a pair of pants from one of the male teachers...it was the best Halloween costume except for the years that [Dr.] Swann and I dressed up as each other. And [Dr.] Swann looks super cute in my brown jumper.”

TIMELESS TRADITIONS

Any student that went to HIES for middle school knows a few key inside jokes of Jespersen’s. For example, every year, there is a different “bird problem” that she discusses at length with the students. “The first year we started the bird thing was because of actual birds. There was really a problem,” she said. “There were these Canadian geese that were on campus...So then the next year’s students were like, ‘So is there a bird we need to be afraid of?’ And yes, amazingly, we’ve had all kinds of bird problems—owls and flamingos and toucans and peacocks and ostriches and a big parakeet problem one year.” Middle schoolers are also often met with tales of Trixie and Curly, the middle school stereotypes that they should not always act like, and they are told to work hard so as to not end up “in a cardboard box under an overpass” countless times. Jespersen has established traditions that make her “Greatest Middle School in the Universe” unique.

Jespersen poses with a smile during the first week of school in 2008. She welcomes middle school students to the building where she has now been principal for 12 years.

A WOMAN OF MANY TALENTS

Jespersen’s class repertoire continued to grow. She has taught world history, government, economics, AP Government, and AP European History, which she still teaches. She has worked with College Board on the European history exam for 15 years, helping to write the questions and answers. Her personal claim to fame is a DBQ on French identity from the 2015 test. Beyond academics, her role in the administration has left an indelible mark on HIES. She has grown from being a history department chair to a dean to, now, the middle school principal of 12 years. In all of these positions, she has made memories that she cherishes and friendships that transcend the boundaries of her office or classroom.

LEAVING HIES AND HOME

Next year, Jespersen will be the middle school principal and assistant head of school at the O’Neal School in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Moving away from HIES will be a big change for her after making it her home for 25 years. “[HIES] is a place where I kind of grew up too, even though I was already an adult when I started working here,” she said. The sense of community at HIES is something Jespersen does not take for granted, and she will miss the students, faculty, and friends when she moves. “I’ll miss feeling, you know, the connection to everybody you know,” she said. “I’ll miss going in the bookstore and calling some giant senior a Smartie and watching him look at his friend and go, ‘we haven’t been called Smarties in a long time.” Jespersen has left her mark on HIES in a variety of ways—within academics and the administration and even by providing just plain comedy—but most of all, she hopes her HIES students remember her as “someone who challenged them to do more.”

For Halloween, Jespersen and Chris Swann dressed up as each other. Jespersen never misses a Halloween opportunity, and she is known for her costumes each year.

People 33

“A GIFT TO OUR SCHOOL” Fellow HIES faculty members share their thoughts on the one and only Theresa Jespersen. “One of the first things I remember about Theresa occurred just after she became principal. At that time we were involved with Science Olympiad. She came to me in the teacher workroom one day and specifically asked how she could support us in Science Olympiad. It is something I have never forgotten. Throughout her tenure she had been a rock of strength and protection for her faculty. I was always able to run things by her and she always made time for me. This school is poorer for her loss and her new school is lucky to get her.”

-James Jackson, Middle School Science

“Theresa has been a good friend and colleague since I arrived 15 years ago. We joined the leadership team at the same time. Theresa has made a big impact at HIES in both the Upper School and the Middle School. Wishing Theresa the best of luck in her new position.”

-Michele Duncan, Director of Institutional Advancement

I couldn’t have imagined that 12 years later, I would see be sitting in Theresa’s office. She called a few days later and simply said, “You are MEANT to be a teacher. You start in a month.” Theresa identified my passion and my beloved life’s work before I did. She jump-started my teaching career, and I am forever grateful that she saw potential in me. She changed my life, and I will miss her!”

“Oh Trixie and Curly, where will you end? To North Carolina for new adventures and friends No more trampling sweet daffodils, You’ll be golfing and dancing in the Sandhills You can trade in your car for a zippy golf cart While leading with methods that are state-of-the-art And though we’re excited for all that awaits, We can’t help but feel that we’re in dire straits For who will help us see the greatness within us all? To help us forgive ourselves when we may fall? Who will clear our hallways of snakes that threaten our fun? Or wax nostalgic about the wonders of World War I? There’s no replacing all that you do. You’ll be so missed at TGMSITU!

-Tisha Lanier ‘00, MS English

-Anne Jackson, 8th Grade Dean / French

“Ms. Jespersen has been a gift to our school for many reasons. One of her many strengths is that of her writing. I’m hoping one day to be walking through Barnes and Noble and see a book with the author noted as Theresa Jespersen. Her musings through the years have provided such entertainment, particularly reports back to campus of her observations of colleagues at conferences from afar. All in good fun and riotous. She has a “Dave Barry” sense of humor…dry, clever and outrageously funny. I wish her all the best! TJ, you will be missed.”

“Theresa is the epitome of a leader and educator. Her creative ways of engaging the students through songs, stories like “tuck everlasting,” or the infamous bird attack each year help students transition from middle schoolers to upper schoolers. Theresa has also been an amazing mentor. Her advice, support of new activities, and constant encouragement to continue to learn and explore the world has helped me grow as a teacher.”

“I first met Theresa Jespersen when I was a high school student at HIES. The group of students in my 12th grade government class was… challenging. Every day brought an onslaught of drama and ridiculous shenanigans. I won’t pretend that I didn’t sometimes have a part in that… Theresa reminded me recently that she had to ask me to stop painting my nails behind my textbook. But these crazy kids didn’t phase her. She handled us with grace and humor and love, and we loved her back.”

-Elizabeth Scholz, MS History

-Karen Ghertner, Executive Assistant Administration “I always got excited for US GOV class because I knew there would be some great jokes, stories, and her amazing drawings…. Those made my DAY! I looked forward to her class, and now as a parent of a middle school student at HI, I am so grateful that my son got to experience her wonderful sense of humor! We will miss her.”

-Caroline Catts-Xie ‘98, Associate Director of College Counseling

LOOKING * In the fourth and final installment of “A Tale of Two Seniors,” Katie Leonard and Bennett Baugus themselves write about their experiences throughout the 2018-2019 school year. As they prepare to move on to college, they reflect on their time at HIES this year and in the past.

It’s really over, isn’t it? KATIE LEONARD, contributing writer

t’s really over, isn’t it?

When you’re thrust into senior year, an epiphany of reality overtakes you at some point. You realize that your future is legitimately in your hands and that there’s only a year until it becomes the present. You can apply to as many colleges as your friends– meaning upwards of eighteen– or just to a few. You write and write and write, send in those few AP scores that don’t make you cringe, and grow disappointed with the lack of electronic confetti on the screen after sending your life’s work to colleges. Suddenly, the CommonApp seems no more an old memory, and you no longer shudder at the words “tell me about yourself.” And just when you think it’s over, it’s not. There’s another wave of scholarship deadlines, Skype interviews with adults questioning the intrinsic meaning of your extracurricular activities, rewriting your resumé over and over, a read-through of the nineteen essays you’ve written in the span of three months, and the uncomfortable task of pestering your teachers to send in yet another recommendation for you. Months go by, and you miraculously manage to snag a spot in your two dream schools where you might spend the next four years of your life. And just when you think it’s over, it’s not. A week or two goes by, and you realize you can’t decide. After exactly twenty million hours of over thinking your purpose and pondering the meaning of life itself, you remember that all you really need to do is figure out what you’re looking for in a university. You don’t make a fiftieth pros and cons list, and you don’t send another thirteen paragraph-long email to that teacher. You think about what you have loved about your past fifteen years at Holy Innocents’ and what you want to love in your next four years at college. And just when you think it’s over, it’s not. It’s not over; college is the next step. Next year, I’m headed to Chapel Hill to attend the University of North Carolina. I can’t wait to get to know the English

professors and be challenged as a writer, learn more than I can possibly stuff into my brain, and sign up for the most absurdly-interesting courses I can find. Mostly, I can’t wait for everything else: to live next to the hominess yet bustle of Franklin Street, walk amid a mass of Comfort Color tees headed through doors in old brick buildings, and, of course, sit on the stretches of grass and prop open a textbook to study with my roommate. Let’s debunk the myth. Senior year is not “apply, get in, relax for four months.” The entire year– and I mean the entire year– is all about college. Naturally, the glimmer of hope amid the turmoil of the year is found in the very things that make you so resistant to leave. There’s a friend who makes you laugh in class, another who sits in the commons to talk, and another even asks you on a walk around Chastain Park. Even the things you actually wish you didn’t have to deal with in the moment are some of the things you’re going to miss the most. Pulling homework-themed all-nighters really takes a toll on you, but it’s in those moments at 3:00 AM when you’re writing a chapter of your novel for English class that you realize that you might never again experience the same creative energy that’s somehow fueling your consciousness. (Although, I admittedly wouldn’t mind ending up in the book-writing situation again.) Applications are horrible. But in their horrible-ness, they reveal how far sheer motivation will take you, and they push you to write down your aspirations and elaborate on your growth over the years. It’s a gift to read them a few months later. Most importantly, they’re the only way to the next step. Though you can’t wait to fit right in at college, you’re simultaneously reluctant to leave the comfort of Holy Innocents’– well, at least I am. In four years, I can only hope to have had an experience at Chapel Hill that makes me just as reluctant to realize… it’s really over, isn’t it?

“Even the things you actually wish you didn’t have to deal with in the moment are some of the things you’re going to miss the most.” - Katie Leonard

G BACK

a tale of two seniors part IV*

The Atlantic Ocean BENNETT BAUGUS, contributing writer y senior experience was similar to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, in that it was fast-moving, rough at points, but felt very natural. Looking back now, it really doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, yet, it’s difficult to remember my days of wearing white shirts.

no clue where I wanted to go. The college process was one of the more stressful experiences I’ve had in my life, but the assistance of my college counselors helped immensely. I can’t thank Mrs. Catts-Xie and Ms. Sensenig enough for how much they’ve helped me over the past year.

Since I’ve been at Holy Innocents’ since the 2nd grade, it feels strange having come this far. Now that I know which college I will attend, High Point University, I will look back on Holy Innocents’ as the school that I grew up with. Whether it’s the Mentone, AL trip or the Scotland & Ireland Spring Break trip, I have so many fond memories from my times here.

As I crawl towards graduation, I’ve come to realize that there are so many fantastic teachers here. Whether it’s lower school teachers like Mrs. LaRue or Mrs. Ross, or any of the great teachers I’ve had during high school, they’ve all taught me something. Although the workload can get heavy at times, it’s nice to know that I’m in such a supportive environment.

At the end of my junior year, I slowly started to realize that I was actually going to college the next year. It took the entire summer until I fully comprehended it. Now that I’ve decided on a college, it doesn’t seem like it was long ago that I had

In conclusion, I think it’s going to be very interesting being a Freshman next year. Going from Senior to Freshman is going to be an eye-opening experience, especially at a new school. I’m extremely excited, though.

“Looking back now, it really doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, yet, it’s difficult to remember my days of wearing white shirts.” - Bennett Baugus

36 Reflections

Reflections 37

REFLECTION

The Chrysalis

f I’ve learned anything in my years as a human, it’s that life is all about dates and deadlines. Dates and deadlines. Even before we are born, people ask our mothers when we are due– (date). When we finally do arrive, they expect us to walk at 12 months– (deadline). We grow up and in no particular order learn our ABCs, how to ride a bike, and public speaking. On a given year around the first Monday of the second week in August– (date)– our freshman year begins. Up to and beyond this point, we have not only been held to deadlines doing homework and projects for school, but deadlines in life. When will we tie our shoes for the first time? Get braces? Go to cotillion? My point here is not that these time constraining concepts are at all bad – they’re really how we operate as functioning members of our society. A life without expectations would be terribly unfulfilling! This being said, where we choose to put our focus is what makes these dates and deadlines stand out. I wish I could articulate how often I heard the phrase: “I cannot wait until…(XYZ).” Once you meet a certain date or deadline, you are just going to look forward to another, and if you are always looking forward, do you ever see what you have in front of you? People want to believe that they’ll be defined by who they will be in that certain moment they’re looking towards– be it a certain grade on a test, a new friendship made, or landing a dream job. These are great goals, but pure credential isn’t what you’ll be noticed for at the end of the day. It’s the steps you take along the way that make you who you are. “Hindsight is 20/20” is a phrase I have always heard and acted like I understood. Even when I understood literally what it meant, I’ve grown fonder of the saying since then. I’ve started practicing seeing clearly in the moment and recognizing moments that I know will be memories in the future. Hindsight will always be “20/20,” but how great would it be to not have to look back, but enjoy moments

as they come? I pose these questions in a moment I know will be a sincere memory later in life. I’m graduating and it’s bittersweet, but this year I haven’t been telling myself that I “can’t wait” until May 18. I’ve played that game enough. In kindergarten, I looked up at the older kids wearing uniforms. “I want that.” I told myself. When I was in the third grade, I was jealous of the fifth graders in their class musical production. “If I could just be a fifth grader,” I whispered. I made it to middle school and joined student council. I wanted higher positions and more responsibility, and “couldn’t wait” until I could participate in eighth-grade graduation. High school came after that, and of course I wanted to be a senior. Here I stand today, looking forward yet again to another chapter of my life. Senior year has been fantastic, but so have all of my other years. The reason I couldn’t be a senior when I wanted to as a freshman was not only because I wasn’t ready academically. You can’t skip steps in growing, which I have learned since. A few weeks ago, in our commons, there was a small webbed habitat for caterpillars to turn to butterflies. I don’t know exactly who entrusted the Class of 2019 with the lives of these small friends, but we must have done quite well because they molted successfully! After they completed their transformation, we released them outside. Most stayed grounded for a bit before taking flight, though I remember an ambitious one in particular. This butterfly took off soaring. It took no time for it to spread its wings and leave familiarity behind. Tragically, though, it was swallowed by a large green lizard near Mrs. Udoh’s classroom after it landed. Rest in peace. It’s not my place to define your goals or tell you who you can be and when. These are decisions we are capable to (and should) make for ourselves! If you’d entertain my advice, though, I’d tell you not to be too eager to fly– what we have here on the ground is priceless.

KENT MALCOLM, contributing writer

38 Editorials

Editorials 39

C O M M E N TA R Y

Seniors: How Fair Has the College Admissions Process Treated You?

ife isn’t fair. The college admissions process attests to that. Mr. Sant, my beloved and charming college counselor, explained the arbitrary nature of the college admissions process to me like this: high school students have been so accustomed to the meritocracy of high school on which we have based our success for so long, that once students begin hearing back from schools, you may be a bit humbled. A competitive GPA and a high test score isn’t all colleges want to see. As colleges begin to pivot to this idea of a “holistic” review of an application, the ideal student starts to become more and more ambiguous as the years progress. Take two students with practically identical grades, scores, and extra-curricular involvements. One is a white male student from a private school, while another is a black female student from a public school. Say this institution has one spot left for their class of 2023. Who will they pick? It’s hard to tell, and whomever they might pick could very well be an arbitrary decision. Whether the decision is influenced by a quota, a generous donation to the school, or a bias towards a legacy family, one of the students will come to the realization that he or she has been “snubbed” due to their circumstances. That student may never know why they didn’t receive a place in this competitive institution. Nevertheless, a certain gender, race, or financial background shouldn’t inherently determine one’s worth in the college admissions process. Take Abigail Fisher, a caucasian student, who applied to the University of Texas for undergraduate admission in 2008 and was denied. In Fisher v. University of Texas (2013), she filed suit against the University of Texas at Austin, claiming that UT’s use of race as a consideration in admission decisions was in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The university argued that its use of race was a narrowly tailored means of pursuing greater diversity. The court decided in favor of the University of Texas.

Take a denied student who, on the surface, matched up competitively with the university’s expectations. This student then heard about another student who got in. The only difference? The accepted student obtained a higher test score than the denied student. This score received could have been earned through countless private tutoring sessions. Is it logical for the denied student to be upset over hearing this news? Of course. Just because a family is able to afford to have their child partake in tutoring sessions doesn’t mean that their higher score should wipe out all other competition. But, that’s the very nature of College Board and ACT. We’re all paying to play. I don’t blame the student who engages in oneon-one tutoring sessions if the family is financially able to do so. This is where a standardized test could become not-so-standardized, especially with extended

time and the controversy surrounding it. Should SAT and ACT give a timeless test? Should these companies allow the student as much time as they feel comfortable with? This could be a solution, but standardized tests also gauge the student’s ability to perform under pressure, knowing that the clock is ticking. Should students have to declare their gender, financial status, and race on a college application? Absolutely not. Creating opportunities for the less-fortunate is a compassionate act to encourage higher education. Yet, creating an unlevel playing field for minorities only dilutes their achievement. In the court case Parents v. Seattle (2007), Chief Justice John Roberts stated,“the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race,” emphasizing the need to move away from color quotas and focus more on the content of characters and scholastic achievement. Affirmative action did once have utility when it was first put into play in 1961 by John F. Kennedy. During the time of the Civil Rights movement, there was a need to even out the playing field for blacks in American society to provide equal opportunity with jobs, education, and healthcare. But in 2019, almost a half-century later, affirmative action is trying to be integrated into an education system that no longer needs affirmative action. Every American can be held to equal standards, especially in terms of their ability to fulfill competitive benchmarks in the college admissions process. The idea of judging a student behind a screen already puts numerous applicants to a disadvantage. Sure, not all students can interview for their college of choice, but I believe that analyzing a student’s interpersonal skills (communication skills, face-to-face interaction, “on-the-spot” thinking) can be extremely beneficial for a college admissions officer to gauge if he or she is a right fit for the respective university. The inevitable truth about the college admissions process is that there will forever exist families who have the ability to create loopholes for their child to go to an elite institution, whether that is achieved through photoshopping athletic portraits or engaging in immoral fiscal agreements. But my fellow students, don’t fret. Even if you find yourself dumbfounded by a denial from your top choice, just know that a degree from any university holds value. There are certain restrictions and prerequisites to enter colleges for the reason being you will fail out if you do not prove yourself worthy. Overall, college isn’t all about the skills learned in a classroom. The college experience is all-encompassing in making meaningful connections and developing beneficial life skills. So, class of 2023, make the most of your college experience, and prove to your university that you belong there.

FORD MORGAN, contributing writer

40 Reflections

SENIOR STAFF REFLECTIONS C&G senior staff members share their parting thoughts. To my friends starting freshman year:

irstly, thank you for agreeing to enter this relationship contract.

advice is to stop sweeping things under the carpet, it’s not cleaning anything and someone’s going to trip.

It will known as “friendship” until further notice. For some, it may change, but until then, we have been tasked with upholding mutual fondness towards one another through the form of interacting with one another.

ANNIE SAGER, columnist

A disclaimer you should note, I am the social equivalent of a skittish cat and my lack of instigated correspondence means nothing. Furthermore, and you’ll know what I’m talking about when the time comes, ignore my “bug eyes” and take no offence when I’m frowning/glaring; that would be my resting face. Next, I have some advice to bestow from the harrowed experiences that are going to smack us all over the head in a hot sec. My first smidge of

My next bit is that we all need to calm down and listen to each other; as friends, our takes on situations should matter to each other. Alright, third is to take everything with a grain of salt (in every aspect of life) and fourth is just a personal request: please tell me who the codenames belong to before you have a conversation with me about them. It is vastly evident that I will never be there when names are established. I never knew what any of you were talking about; to this day, I only know “Salad”. I look forward to the experience you all will share with me in the time ahead and will cherish the memories for the rest of my life. Anyways, love you jerks and welcome to the bottom of the food chain,

Reflections 41

SHEA FLEMING, associate editor

Dear Freshman Me,

lease stop missing your orthodontist appointments so you can finally get your braces off. And while you’re at it, put the tweezers down and let your eyebrows grow out.

You probably are stressing about if you are doing everything “right,” but stop stressing about that because there is no “right.” Do not be ashamed to drive your dad to school in the Nissan Leaf because you need practice for your permit test, and saving the environment is kind of cool. And while you’re at it, put your phone down for a second and stop trying to be trendy, feeling obligated to post about everything going on in your life is overrated. Honestly, nobody is focusing on your life because they’re too busy posting about their own. Learn to try everything and anything. If you’re only doing what other people are doing then you’re really not “different.” Don’t pretend to know what a Starbucks Iced Caramel Cloud Macchiato is, instead be perfectly content in eating dad’s scrambled eggs with a side of oatmeal, even though you told him thousands of times that you only like oatmeal with dino eggs in it. Stop complaining. Yes, your face may have turned redder than a tomato when your crush talked to you for the first time, and yes, you may have ended up giving him all your completed homework by the end of the conversation – but it is all part of the experience. Smile proudly with your metal mouth. Listen to music you like. Don’t get on the rap bandwagon because, honestly, you only know 2 percent of the words and it makes you look dumb when you try to sing along. Most importantly tell mom and dad that you appreciate them. Soon enough, you’ll be a senior who is already dreading the days you will be forced to eat microwaved ramen instead of their eggs and oatmeal without dino eggs. Goodluck and live fearlessly,

ETHAN MULLEN, co-editor-in-chief

To the Fine Arts Building:

hen I first met you, I didn’t think much. A small stage, no dressing rooms, rehearsal spaces that we have to assemble and disassemble each time we gather. This place, however, has been the background to my greatest and most sentimental memories in high school: nervously awaiting auditions, dancing lightheartedly in the wings, and performing on your stage. In my time doing shows at HIES, I’ve seen you transformed from a cartoon jungle, to a graveyard, to a swimming pool. I’ve spent entire years slumped in your seats, running around your perimeter after saying “Macbeth”, and tearing up at senior speeches. Through all these memories, you have been there. I remember hearing such professions of love for you as a freshman and simply not understanding. We’ve spent so much time together, almost five years at this point. I regret to say that I never truly appreciated you until I realized I had to leave you. I include you in my memories, but I would be remiss to not include everyone else that distinguishes my experience in the theater department. This isn’t just a love letter to you. It’s a thank you to everyone who I’ve spent time with throughout my time in your building. A thank you to the actors and musicians I’ve watched from the audience. To the adults who have mentored me: Ms. Wood, Mr. Morin, Ms. Owen-Beyer, Ms. Karres-Williams. To my peers who have shown me what it means to be family. Somehow, in trying to figure out what it’s like to be the characters I have played, I have developed a sense of identity that I would be lacking without your guidance. To me, you have served as a comfort. I have always known that you would be there, and that I would be involved in some capacity or another in your shows each semester. Through everything I’ve done in the Fine Arts Building, I have experienced almost every emotion imaginable and developed relationships that I know will withstand my graduation. I am sad that it is time for us to part ways, but I have so much joy for the new generations of students to get to know you, as well as themselves.

42 Reflections

OLIVIA MARTIN, co-editor-in-chief

MILLER REID, managing editor

To the musicians my parents raised me on:

A page in the Burn Book to my freshman self:

t was a beautiful day, and the U2 song of the same name played through the car speakers. I was in my mom’s convertible, and the top was down. When the song came on, mom simply reached over and turned up the radio. In this moment, U2 taught me a little bit about joy. On a different day, my dad told me about how, when he worked at Wake Radio in college, he would dedicate the song “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” to my mom. The song played over the XM radio station we were listening to, and we both sang along. In this moment, the Police taught me a little bit about love. My mom says that when I was a baby, whenever I would wake up in the middle of the night, she would switch on MTV. Music videos would play, and she has told me about some of them over the years. In these moments, artists like Dido taught me a little bit about love. That’s not to mention my strange attachment to Green Day’s “Warning,” which probably comes from hearing it on my dad’s playlist as he cooked dinner. In these moments, Green Day taught me a little bit about rebellious fun. You have taught me more than I could ever begin to explain, even if I used thousands and thousands of words. From you, I have learned about history, identity, culture, and emotion. You have explained the fall of the Berlin Wall to me and turned around to give me the words to describe what it’s like to fall in love. U2. Prince. The Police. Green Day. There are dozens of artists like you, hundreds of songs you sing, and you have shaped me. Now, it’s the eve of my high school graduation, and there are lyrics running through my head that span genre, time, and place. I owe these to my parents’ favorite songs and bands, the ones that my mom walks around the house singing and my dad drums along to on the steering wheel. Thank you; you’ve been my soundtrack.

(Yes, I did very much think high school would literally be Mean Girls)

iller, stop trying to make Mean Girls happen. It’s not going to happen.

Trust me, high school is not like it seems in the movies, so get that out of your head. You’re not Janis Ian, and even if you occasionally wish to emulate Regina George, you just can’t. Lunch tables here might be pretty set in stone, but you don’t need to beware of the plastics; most of the students (and teachers!) here will be the greatest people you will ever meet. Get to know the Gretchen Weiners, Karen Smiths, Trang Paks, Aaron Samuelses, Damien Leighs, and Cady Herons; they’ll grow on you. Expecting epic (or disastrous, depending on your outlook), school-wide drama will lead only to disappointment. Seriously though, you grotsky little [REDACTED] (thanks, code of ethics!), like fetch, it just doesn’t happen (that often). Learn to embrace your inner Mathlete (even if you suck at math), and lean into your nerdier side. Even though Cady hid the fertility vase of the Ndebele tribe, there’s no reason for you to hide what makes you you, so go ahead, unleash your inner Kevin Gnapoor. Above all, enjoy yourself. Worrying about failing 12th-grade Calculus (or in our case, freshman Biology) won’t do anything for you in the long run. Spend time with the people you care about; four years sounds like a long time, but it’s really not. Cherish it like you would a tiny plastic sliver of a spring fling crown. Even though HIES isn’t at all like North Shore, one thing is for certain: you will get to see a “Jingle Bell Rock” performance, and it’s pretty awesome.

See you in my Apple Music queue. Get in loser, we’re going to have a blast.

Reflections 43 until you are a senior. Soon after you will realize you are top of the food chain in high school, have special privileges, and have more free time than anyone else. What could be bad about senior year, the best year of them all?

KATIE LITTLE, feature writer

How to Know You’re a Senior:

ou will feel the joy of being a senior that everyone talks about from the first day of freshman year the first time you step into the senior commons. It’s an elusive place until you have paid your dues and obtain your title as senior. You will feel welcome in this medium sized room with mediocre furniture and very bad air-conditioning that radiates love. A feeling you can’t and won’t have

Well you will know you are a senior as soon as you procrastinate till the last minute to finish your college applications and have to spend six hours in a Starbucks, desperately trying to get over your writer’s block after writing three consecutive essays. Or maybe you will take my not so subtle warning and try to be a responsible and timely senior. However, try as you might you can’t escape senioritis. It happens to the best and brightest of us. Since day one of high school you have been working towards a goal. Getting good grades to get into the college of your choice. Well once the results are in, where does the motivation come from? Absolutely nowhere. Sure, your grades can’t plummet to the extent where your acceptance could be taken away, but that is unlikely. You will find yourself forgetting you have a quiz or a worksheet due the next day, but hey you’re a senior with senioritis no one blames you (accept the occasional teacher). If you can’t draw up to bed at nine p.m, napping in the senior commons at any time during the day, and sometimes napping during class. 2. Netflix: The school has made it a priority to stop Netflix from distracting students who should be doing school work. It has even gone to the extent of blocking it on our computers at home. Although limiting distractions was the intent, it has had the opposite effect on me. If I am not spending hours attempting to finesse Safari into letting me watch the new episodes of my series, I am ranting to anyone who will listen about how I am not able to watch Netflix.

TIANA MOMON, associate editor

10 Reasons Why I Haven’t Finished My Senior Column:

lthough these are my personal experiences and reasons for why I have yet to finish my senior column, the grand majority of these are not exclusive to me, but rather can apply to the average senior who just can’t get their stuff done. 1. Sleep: I complain about being tired at least 30 times a day. However, I sleep more than an average person does or probably should. I take naps at any and every opportunity. You can find me sleeping-in on school days when I have free first, sleeping-in on school days when I do not have free first, taking naps after-school till 8 p.m then proceeding to go

3. Coffee: It keeps me awake but entirely to antsy to get any sort of work done. Caffeine overdrive is not a good combination with trying to type. The hand spasms alone will limit your ability to complete a sentence. 4. Shared Locker: At the beginning of this year Rutledge told us that in order for everyone to have a locker we must double up. My friend Tyler and I, both being so organized and neat, as well as somewhat compatible, thought that us sharing would be a perfect idea. Fast forward 8 months, our locker has more clothes, expired packaged food, and reusable metal coffee mugs than books and paper, searching for what you need takes at least 20 minutes, and occasionally an random object will fly out of the locker hitting you in the head.

some mediocre work during the thirty minutes while you’re in advisory or pray you have a free then you haven’t been at Holy Innocents long enough. Now comes the bittersweet part. You will know you’re a senior because the word that will be at the top of your vocabulary will be “last”. It’s your last first day of school, your last year of living at home (hopefully), your last math test, your last prom, your last chapel, your last sports match. I could go on and on because there are so many things that you will cherish your last moments of and there are also somethings that you will wish could come to an end faster. While we seniors all try to not dwell on the sadness of moments and live in the moment of happiness, we all still feel it. We know our time is slowly running out for lasts. That’s what being a senior is, always moving onward in fast forward. We know it will all be alright though, don’t you worry too much. Next year will be a year of exciting firsts that we’ve been preparing for our whole lives. Back to the bottom of the food chain we go.

5. Twitter: If you have seen me randomly laugh at a time where nothing funny happened or was said, I was probably remembering a beloved tweet. I spend hours on twitter avoiding the inevitable assignments I will have to do, including this column. 6. Food: While I could be a good student and study/ do work during my free period. The calling of a smoothie from Arden’s Garden or a burrito from Willy’s is too strong for me to stay on campus during my free blocks. 7. College: People say that the first semester of senior year is the hardest. That may be true for someone who knows exactly where they want to go and get admitted to that school in the fall. However for the senior who has no idea where they want to spend the next four years of their life, ie. me, second semester is riddled with random surprise stress attacks on the lack of preparedness for next year anytime anyone mentions the word college. 8. People asking about college: It comes from a genuine but often nosy place in people. Sometimes it is a conversation starter or a way to catch up with a teacher you bumped into on campus. Either way I hear this question at least once a day, a question I still don’t know the answer to. 9. ...

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