The Kinkaid Falcon - Issue 1, Vol. 75

THE FALCON Issue 1 Volume 75 | Oct. 1, 2021

PLUS!

CYBER

SECURITY

Olympian and Kinkaid alumna Raevyn Rogers pg.8

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. In this issue, we take a look into the dangers that lurk on the internet.

FROM THE EDITOR It feels like just yesterday that I walked into the journalism room on my first day of high school, a wide-eyed freshman at a new school whose only concern was to not get lost on the way to his next class. Now, I have the privilege of serving as your editor-in-chief.

JAISAL KALAPATAPU, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Falcon has been instrumental to my growth in high school.

Journalism has taught me to think critically, to ask the right questions, to not take anything at face value. Additionally, I’ve learned the power of storytelling. I’ve seen the impact that pieces that we create here can have in shaping our school.

I hope to bring The Falcon to new heights this year. With a staff of 36 students, including 14 editors, the sky’s the limit to what we can achieve. In class, I’ve seen the ambition that our staff has. Our online platform, thefalcon.kinkaid.org, has been popping with content since the first day of classes, and our Instagram account, @thekinkaidfalcon, has been putting out nearly daily content as well. For this print issue, many of our new staffers jumped right in to take on big stories and did a phenomenal job.

For me, a big way of bringing The Falcon to new heights is tackling important subjects. We chose to focus on cybersecurity this issue because of the pervasiveness of the topic. Plus, October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

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./0+1'02&'()*+ Page design by Sarah Xu, deputy art director

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When I spoke with Mr. Joshua Godden, Kinkaid’s IT manager, I was shocked by the number of measures that had to be taken to assure that students and faculty are able to stay safe on the Internet. Every day, new threats are born, which could compromise our data and security, and I am thankful to go to a school where these threats are taken seriously.

I always welcome your feedback on our newsmagazine. Feel free to reach out to me by email at jaisal.kalapatapu@kinkaid. org or through Instagram. Happy reading!

Best, Jaisal Kalapatapu

Contents

TABLE OF

New Classroom and School Norms

!"

One glance around Mr. Esteban Longoria’s classroom is all it takes to know that he loves gymnastics.

$"

Students spend their school day on the Internet and their are measures to keep them safe.

On Aug. 18, Kinkaid students were excited as they filed into their first period classes in person.

Athletes to Educators

Systems, Security and Cyberspace

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In the Presence of Greatness

#!

A young boy and his uncle practice sports in the factory-laden Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, Michigan.

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Campus

School Norms Are Like New

By Trace St. Julian, news editor and Matthew Berman, staff writer

After a chaotic 2020-21 school year, where many school traditions were eliminated to keep the Kinkaid community safe from COVID-19, students eagerly filed into their first period classroom, cheered for speakers during the first assembly in the Brown auditorium, and conversed in the library, Commons and Student Center.

Kinkaid had finally returned to normal—but not quite. From day one, and in the weeks to follow, the effects of the pandemic still linger. Administrators shared insight about the schools new normal.

MR. JONATHAN EADES, HEAD OF SCHOOL Q: What prompted the switch from a mask option, vaccine-encouraged policy, to a mask-required policy for the beginning of the school year?

A: “To clarify, as a school, with the students, we never had a mask optional policy.

In the summer employees were mask optional indoors and outdoors if people were vaccinated. I thought we were going to (start the school year like that). But the Delta variant reared its head. We as an admin team are very motivated to keep the students on campus.”

Q: Recently you sent out a new email regarding updated COVID-19 protocol.

What went into the decision to keep the guidelines as identical as they are to the old ones?

A: “We don’t have the data yet to change many of the policies. We could be adding policies like we had last year, but we’re not.

At this time it’s a status quo that we are keeping. We are at a holding pattern.”

Q: What have you been most excited to see return this year to campus?

A: “Different community-building in-person school activities such as the freshman retreat, sixth-grade retreat and the family picnics. Community is the greatest strength.”

MR. JOSH RAMEY, DEAN OF STUDENTS Q: What are you most excited to see return to campus this year?

4///Campus

A: “Having fans at sporting events. I’m glad that the students are able to be on campus and watch all the games we have in the fall and in the spring. It has always been an important part of school and I’m glad to see it.”

Q: During assemblies, many speakers have been seen to remove their masks before presenting. Do you think that this sends a message to the student body that they too can remove masks inside if sufficiently distanced from others?

A: “It shouldn’t send that message…I think that the message that the administration has sent is pretty clear: when you are inside the building you have to wear a mask, and there are no exceptions to that. When you’re outside you can take it off, and when you are eating in a designated location you can remove it...“Masks this year are a dress code issue, as they have been put in the handbook as a dress code item. You have to wear a mask and if you don’t you can get a detention.”

Q: You mentioned that moving furniture is not allowed by students and faculty because they have been strategically placed. What disciplinary measures will be taken for students who move furniture or violate other COVID safety protocols?

A: “It’s the same as any transgression that occurs on campus. It depends on the situation and there is no script for that.

Every day, teachers and administrators tell kids to move furniture back with no consequences. I suppose if you are telling the same person over and over again… then there will be some sort of consequence whether it be sending them to come see me or a detention and that’s true of all the COVID rules.”

On Community Service PATRICK SOLCHER, PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE COUNCIL Q: What do this year’s community service projects look like? (in-person, distanced/masked, etc.) Do Kinkaid’s COVID protocols apply to students participating in off-campus service activities?

A: “We are excited to return out into the community to serve…

Since the COVID situation at the moment is constantly changing, Kinkaid students who attend our service projects are required to maintain the same COVID regulations that apply on campus and any deviation would be clearly communicated before the service event.”

Q: Is the community service council focusing efforts on COVID-related issues?

A: “Our community service program here at Kinkaid is unique in that all of our service projects are entirely student-led, either by Community Service Council members or by noncouncil members who pitch their projects to us. Therefore, the communities and areas that we choose to serve are dependent entirely on the interests of the student body… Applying any sort of service focus would not fully represent the interests of our community or best serve our large collection of community partners.”

On Athletics DAVID HOLM, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Q: Currently, “athletes are not required to wear a mask indoors when actively engaged in-play during practices or games, but are required to wear masks indoors at other times,” whereas masks were required at all times indoors (and at times outdoors) for athletes last year; however, students are still required to wear masks when in classrooms. What prompted this change in athletics mask policy from last year?

Top: Students gather in the Brown Auditorium for the Honor Code signing.

Assemblies in this space returned in the 2021-22 school year, although at only half capacity.

Left: Students sit in the Moran Library.

Although removed in the 2020-21 school year, couches returned in the fall.

A: “We have been constantly looking at our protocols and examining them… and we continued to do that all last year.

We started to see in sports [at many different levels] that when the athletes were engaged… masks were optional. We started talking with the Southern Preparatory Conference and Houston Junior Preparatory Conference schools and found that a majority were going in that direction. We presented that to our medical taskforce to get their recommendations and they approved.”

Q: As the athletic director and as a coach, what does it mean to you to see fans return to the stands?

A: “It’s great! It was nice to see when that happened. Just the excitement for our kids, our student-athletes, to be able to have their friends and family there to watch them. It’s something we were working towards, like pre-pandemic times.”

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Campus

Homecoming

Resurgence Fall bash makes a full reappearance

By Camron Baldwin, assistant news editor and Liam Jamail Herrick, staff writer

I

t’s a time for alumni to come back to campus and catch up with old acquaintances; it’s a time for current students to bask in school spirit; it’s a time to celebrate Kinkaid’s athletic excellence.

Homecoming is back.

“It’s exciting because of the school spirit it brings,” said Mrs. Erica Baker, coordinator of student life. “It’s just once a year and it brings so much excitement and joy to campus.”

With updated restrictions for large gatherings, Kinkaid will employ social distancing and mask wearing to accommodate students and maintain a safe environment.

“Kinkaid is following all of the stated protocols, and all of the events are outside, so of course there is no mask mandate outside,” Mrs. Baker said. “We’re socially distant; being safe while having fun.”

The annual event is composed of two parts, the homecoming game that on Oct. 1 and then the dance, which occurred on the following day.

As always, this year’s homecoming featured a theme.

“The event for the dance is retro themed, specifically focused on the 50s” Mrs. Baker said.

The week leading up to homecoming was accompanied by a retro dress week and a pep rally, which was planned by the Governing Council events committee.

Another tradition that continued in its full form this year was the court.

Seniors nominated candidates and voted on a final court of six boys and six girls before voting was opened to all Upper School students to decide the king and queen.

Only seniors were allowed to attend last year’s event; however, all students—in addition to one outside guest— were welcome this year.

“Last year was a senior event. They had a dance celebration where they were able to eat, and we did kind of a pep rally where we played games and presented the homecoming king and queen,” Mrs. Baker said.

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Though the dance may be students’ favorite part of the event, homecoming really revolves around a different event—the Friday night football game against St. Mark’s Episcopal.

“It’s incredible,” said senior Jack Klosek, a member of the varsity football team. “It’s incredible to be out there and have the support and packed stadiums of a normal year, even at away games.”

Though the football team was raring to go on homecoming night, the homecoming game wouldn’t be complete without a performance from Kinkaid’s cheerleaders.

After a restrained season last year, Ms. Jessica Hawkes, who coach the varsity cheer team, also anticipated the return of her varsity cheer team to its full potential.

“This is probably the most talent we’ve ever had and the biggest the program has ever been,” Ms. Hawkes said.

“We put in about three months of work and one of the things that sets us apart is we get just two times to show what we do at homecoming and St. John’s week.”

For cheer, homecoming is not only significant as one of their only opportunities to put on a full show in front of the school; it is also their first.

“It’s the first time of the year where we get to showcase our skills as a team in an intricate routine,” said sophomore Shadé Ayoade, a member of the varsity cheer team. “It gives us the opportunity to show our school spirit, and then bond as a team before and after the performance.”

And this year, the presence of an audience at the game only served to motivate the cheerleaders further.

“We love crowds. It’s so awkward when we’re doing something and people are just sitting and staring, we love the encouragement,” Ms. Hawkes said. “It brings a sense of accomplishment and pride that’s almost addictive; it’s why I keep coming back, and I think why they keep coming back, too.”

Meet the

Monarchy

12 seniors named to the 2021-22 homecoming court

Bryan Akin

Cacie Chatman

Dillon Bell

Victoria Gonzalez

Alex Gottsegen

Reese Ham

Cameron Henry

Dylan Keller

Clayton Rice

Carolina Weiland

Henry Segal

Mary Blake Williams

6///Campus

Features

First Falcon Olympian Brings Home Bronze Raevyn Rogers ‘14 medals in the women’s 800-meter race in Tokoyo

By Madison Burba and Ana Susman, staff writers

“I think I will give my medal to my grandma.

She has all my trophies,” said Raevyn Rogers, a Kinkaid alumna and Olympic track medalist.

If that’s the case, her grandma must be running out of room for hardware.

Over the summer, Rogers, who graduated in 2014, added perhaps the grandest trophy to her collection, bringing home a bronze medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

She walked side by side with her grandma, Pauline Rogers, down the track at Barnhardt Stadium to the roars and cheers of the Kinkaid community, which gathered to celebrate a special occasion — Raevyn Rogers Day. Only 25-years-old, Rogers has competed on national and international levels. In 2018, one year into her professional career, she won gold in the World Indoor Championships in the 4 x 400-meter relay— the same event she ran in high school—while on the national team. The following year, she placed second and won silver in the 2019 World Championships in the 800 However, the most notable of Rogers’ achievements was during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she earned a bronze medal and became the fourth-fastest woman in the world to run the 800-meter race.

During her speech at Kinkaid, Rogers reflected on her record-breaking performance at the Olympics and said the “whole experience was so overwhelming.”

Rogers is no stranger to breaking records.

In her years as a Kinkaid track athlete, she took first

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in the Southwest Preparatory Conference in the 400, 400 x 4, 800 and 4 x 800 races. She also set a number of school records, including ones in the 200, 400, 800 and 1600. Her school records in the 400 and the 800 still stand.

“I came into Kinkaid with an opportunity to make a difference,” Rogers said, as she stood on the track where she had set so many records during her high school track career.

Rogers’ athleticism was not just confined to the track. She also excelled on the volleyball and basketball teams. Her picture still stands in the hall of honor as a three-sport varsity athlete for all four of her years of high school.

She not only set herself apart at Kinkaid through her athletic achievements but also through her infectious personality and leadership qualities.

During the ceremony, Mr. Jonathan Eades, head of school, announced that the annual track and field spring meet would be renamed the “Raevyn Rogers Invitational.”

She is a “living embodiment of Kinkaid’s core values,” Mr. Eades said.

Kinkaid cross country and former track coach, Coach Cheryl Mitchell, developed a close relationship with Rogers throughout her high school career.

One story Mitchell told described how she witnessed Rogers during the first day of her freshman year of high school.

Far left: Raevyn Rogers, on the right, poses with teammate Athing Mu after her historic run.

Leftt: Rogers and her grandma, Pauline Rogers, make their grand entrance during Raevyn Rogers Day on campus at Barnhardt Stadium.

Photos by David Shutts

Photo by David Shutts After the assembly for Raevyn Rogers Day, Rogers poses with Upper School Junior Olympians: Kevriana Scott ‘22, Merritt Skubisz ‘25, Aby Deverka ‘24, London Norris ‘24, Kennedi Poullard ‘22, and Catherine Gordon ‘24.

Kinkaid was represented at the Junior Olympics this past summer by fsix athletes.

Kevriana Scott ‘22, London Norris ‘24, Kennedi Poullard ‘22 and Catherine Gordon ‘24 were in track and field, while Aby Deverka ‘24 and Merritt Skubisz ‘25 competed in field hockey.

I came into Kinkaid with an opportunity to make a difference.

—Raevyn Rogers

Rogers competes in a relay for the Kinkaid track team.

Photo by David Shutts

She stood outside the Upper School office greeting every single student who walked through the doors and asking their names.

These qualities served Rogers well throughout her high school years and especially on the track where she served as team captain her junior and senior years.

Mitchell describes the track team in those years as being “super close” with “lots of laughter and fun.” She said Rogers, a natural leader, could have lead practice.

At times, Mitchell would simply hand over a card outlining the team’s workout and put Rogers in charge of the 400 and 800 runners.

To this day, Rogers’ and Mitchell’s relationship formed on the Kinkaid track holds strong.

Mitchell has been the most consistent person in my life,” Rogers said in her address during the ceremony.

“She’s here for the long run.”

Rogers said she is preparing for the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

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Features

Athletes to Educators

Teachers’ used talents in sports before classrooms

By Mia Price, assistant features editor and Abby Johnson, staff writer

One glance around Mr. Esteban Longoria’s classroom is all it takes to know that he loves gymnastics. Pictures, posters and cutouts of people flying, twisting and swinging fill his walls.

His gymnastics career began at a young age when he was inspired by the talented Japanese team at the Mexico City Olympics. At the age of 11, after moving from a small farming village in Mexico to McAllen, Texas, Mr. Longoria, now a Spanish teacher, pursued his dream and began gymnastics training.

“I just felt free when I was tumbling and flying through the air,” Mr. Longoria said.

Since his high school didn’t have a gymnastics program, he trained at a private club until college, when he competed at Texas A&M University. He trained for 15 hours a week, improving quickly to compete at the national level.

He attributed much of his success to his supportive teammates and coach.

“We always encouraged each other because we knew how hard and dangerous the sport is,” Mr. Longoria said.

His late gymnastics coach, Ernie Kirkham, played an integral role in his success as a gymnast.

“Ernie was an excellent technician, which helped us learn the skills correctly and efficiently,” Mr. Longoria said.

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“He always believed in me despite my doubts about being able to learn some of the more advanced skills.”

Sr. Longoria trained for 25 years until the age of 36.

“Gymnasts have a really short shelf life because of the number of injuries, but I never wanted to stop despite having four painful surgeries,” Mr. Longoria said.

While Mr. Longoria was doing flips, Mrs. Kate Lambert, English department chair and girls’ cross-country coach, was commanding a team of rowers.

But Mrs. Lambert wasn’t always a rower. She swam in high school but quit after realizing that she wasn’t growing with everyone else.

When she got to college, she wanted to try something totally new. She was approached by the men’s rowing team at Wesleyan to be their coxswain because of her small size. Since the job of a coxswain is to be a loud leader who doesn’t weigh down the boat, she was perfect for the role.

“It was a position with a lot of pressure,” Mrs. Lambert said. “A lot of what I did was motivate the guys because it’s so hard. I was sort of like a cheerleader in the boat.”

Mrs. Lambert worked hard to create strong bonds with every member of her team because it was important that they learned how to be

Mr. Esteban Longoria vaults at his gym.

Mr. Ken Conner (right) runs at a high school track meet.

in sync with one another. She needed to pay close attention to the differences in their personalities to learn how to motivate each of them best.

However, the pressure of the job sometimes caught up with her.

“I loved my guys, and I wanted to do well for them, but a coxswain could screw

everything up,” Mrs. Lambert said. “It was not physically tough the way sports generally are. It was mentally tough.”

One way that she tried to help out her team occurred before even stepping into the boat. At each big meet, all of the coxswains had to weigh in, and if they didn’t weigh at least 120 pounds, the boat

BACK WHEN

Mrs. Kate Lambert stands with her men’s college rowing team after winning a race.

Photos courtesy of the teachers pictured

would need to be filled with sand for dead weight. Though this sounds reasonable, no one wanted to have to use the sand because it didn’t move with the boat like body weight.

Before weighing in, Mrs. Lambert would chug gallons of water and devour bananas to make up for the fact that she didn’t weigh 120 pounds.

Then, right after she weighed in at the right number, she would use the restroom to lose the extra weight.

Her dedication to her team helped them win multiple divisional championships.

“When you win, you get the shirts off of the backs of the

people you beat,” said Mrs. Lambert. Sometimes you were racing several teams, so you would get like six shirts.

I had so many shirts, and I would hang them up in my room.”

Mrs. Lambert believes that her time as a rower made her an athlete for the rest of her life. Her time running with the team inspired her to continue, and she is now the girls crosscountry coach at Kinkaid.

“Watching the dedication of those college athletes taught me a grit that I enjoy practicing all the time,” Mrs. Lambert said.

Along with Mrs. Lambert,

Mr. Ken Conner, a chemistry teacher, is a cross-country coach whose love for running began in high school.

His first race was at his middle school’s field day. At this event, he realized that he was good at running and wanted to train to get better.

His school’s cross-country program was not very established, so he would just run a few miles on his own every day to train for the three meets he competed in his senior year.

“Looking back, knowing what I know now, I wish that the school had recognized the value of cross-country as a sport instead of looking at it as something people did while they were training for other sports,” Mr. Conner said.

Even if underappreciated, his hard work paid off when his school won its first ever district championship in track his senior year.

When you have a group of people who share goals and support each other, I think everyone is able to accomplish more than they thought they could have by themselves,” Mr. Conner said.

Though he didn’t feel compelled to continue his track career past the high school level, Mr. Conner shared that he began coaching before even graduating college, where he planned to obtain a doctorate in math and become a college professor.

“One of the things I really missed was the classroom interactions in high school, and I really missed coaching, and those were two of the bigger factors that kind of pulled me back in [to teaching],” he said.

Other Teachers Playing Sports

Ms. Nadine Ghosn poses for her high school volleyball pictures.

Ms. Jackie Ciconte dribbles down the field in a college field hockey game.

Mr. Steve Maas prepares to throw a football in a high school game.

Mrs. Angela Wainright focuses to field the next ground ball in a high school softball game.

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Technology

Teching Out

By Trace St. Julian, News Editor

First to arrive for the day, senior Maddie Juarez walked toward the end of the silent, dark middle school hallway.

She opened the door to the science lab and flipped on the lights, illuminating silver iMacs covering the far corner of the room and hundreds of Macbooks stacked on the desks.

Then, she got to work.

Juarez was part of Kinkaid’s summer technology team, helping to prepare for the technology needs of the 2021-22 school year.

Joined by Kinkaid IT employees and four other students—Tanner McNamara, Henry Prendergast, James Rush and Mason Thenor— Juarez worked a full 40-hour workweek.

But despite such a large time demand, she knew that she wanted to be a part of the summer technology team.

“I just felt like it was going to be something right up my alley,” Juarez said, mentioning that her interest in studying computer science or computer engineering made the job appealing to her.

Also, Juarez thought that her previous job experience at Code Ninjas, a business where she taught basic computer coding to young children, would have prepared her well for such a role at Kinkaid.

For McNamara, who is also a senior, motivation to join the team was far more relaxed.

“For me, it’s a hobby… I thought it was really interesting, and I wanted something to do this summer,” McNamara said.

Under the guidance of Mr. Joshua Goddens, Kinkaid’s IT manager and an Upper School coach, the group of students were given a lot of tasks to complete; among the largest was setting up laptops for Middle and Lower School students.

“Me and Henry (Prendergast) opened, unboxed, and set up around 500 new

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All the computers. All the smart boards. All the software. Five Upper School students help to tackle massive technology demands during summer job.

MacBooks…checking in the background, making sure things were working properly, and organizing for Middle School,” Juarez said.

The team also updated old laptops for continued use.

Each computer required a string of tasks to be completed in order to be ready for students: after unboxing new Macbooks, the laptops were hooked up to an ethernet cable where a server would automatically download the needed software. Then, each MacBook was labeled, renamed and tested by a team member to ensure it was working correctly. Old Macbooks required a full reset, followed by a redownload of software.

Beyond computers, McNamara, Rush and Thenor undertook replacing 30 smart boards around the school. The mere weight of the smart boards–nearly 200 pounds each–made this no easy task. “[We were] the muscle of the operation,” McNamara joked.

The team additionally installed all new iMacs in the Upper School student publications classroom and prepared laptops for Middle School graduates, who are supplied a computer when they enter ninth grade.

But while the team worked hard, they played hard, too, lling their daily lunch breaks with games of pickleball in the gym. “[Pickleball was] really fun. Mr. Godden is really, really, really competitive. We spent the entire time trying to beat him… When Maddie and I beat him in pickleball, it was so hype,” McNamara recalled.

Juarez also professed how enjoyable the experience was.

“We all had a ton of fun. When we were all in the room at once, we’d play Netflix movies while doing our work, or watch Youtube, or play video games. Sometimes we took a nap when things were running slow and we were waiting for things to download,” she said, adding that they took advantage of the empty classrooms and blared music through the hallways.

After connecting computers via ethernet cords, the needed software would begin automatically downloading. Depending on the computer’s processor, this could take 10 minutes or one hour.

And with the fun came a bonding experience.

“Gosh, we all got so close. I can’t even tell you,” Juarez said.

McNamara also touted how much closer he felt with the others. “[It was] 100% a bonding experience,” he said.

McNamara also added that he became especially close with Thenor, who he worked with most often. “[Mason] was always really happy, would tell me to put a smile on my face, and made me do Tik Toks with him,” McNamara said.

So, with every laptop opened by a Middle or Lower School student or each smart board turned on by a teacher on the rst day of school, the summer technology team was behind its setup.

And for us staff members of The Falcon, typing away on our shiny, new yellow and purple iMacs, we are grateful for the technology team.

Left: The Falcon’s deputy dditor Charlie Sole designs a magazine page on a new iMac installed by the summer student technology team.

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Cover Story

Glossary A student types away at a computer, feverishily searching the internet.

Photo illustration by Camille Dunn, staff

FIREWALL

DATA BREACH

UNPATCHED

ENCRYPT

a security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic.

vulnerabilities in a program or code

14///Cover Story

release of secure or private/confidential information to an untrusted environment.

the process of encoding information.

Systems, Security and Cyberspace A look into the dangers that come with using the internet in recognition of October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month Story by Jaisal Kalapatapu, editor-in-chief and David Liu, staff writer

S

tudents spend their school day on the internet.

They check their email, pull out a computer for class and quizzes, scroll through Instagram or FaceTime a friend during lunch, and check grades and assignments online.

“Every part of my life is impacted by the internet in some way,” junior Jack Lemon said. “Be it constant usage for school and homework, or interactions with friends, I use the internet a lot in my daily life — maybe too much.”

As students’ use of technology advances, so do the threats they face.

“So much of our lives depend upon the internet that it’s hard not —Mr. Joshua to think about what would happen if someone managed to get your information,” Lemon said. “It concerns me quite a bit and it’s something that I worry a lot about.”

Though students may not think about their digital security on a dayto-day basis, Kinkaid’s technology team is always attuned to security threats.

As part of national Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Mr. Joshua Godden, IT manager, spoke on Kinkaid’s cybersecurity policy.

“Our measures to protect students change daily,” said Mr. Godden. “Our intrusion detection and prevention systems check for updates once an hour. Cybersecurity has to be updated almost hourly.”

Mr. Godden and the technology team help to manage cybersecurity efforts at Kinkaid to keep students and faculty protected online.

“When we’re trying to protect things on campus, we’re protecting the information that passes between student to student on our network,” Mr. Godden said. “We have firewalls, an intrusion detection system, and an intrusion prevention system. We Godden use a ton of third party tools to make sure that data is being protected and there’s no suspicious activity going on.”

Firewalls play a big role in protecting students and faculty and their information.

According to a study by Norton, firewalls separate the internet from private networks. Every request that a person makes on the internet when using a private network has to pass through and be approved by the firewall.

“We are very aggressive on our

Our measures to protect students change daily.

15///Cover Story

Cover Story firewall,” Mr. Godden said. “We don’t allow anything from risky countries.

Any traffic that comes through our firewall that is unencryptable will be dropped sometimes people will try to hide malicious code or programs in encrypted ways. ur firewall also blocks ports and some kinds of traffic with risky applications.”

Without these firewalls, hackers could easily attack the many devices connected to inkaid’s network at any time in the day.

According to Mr. Godden, unpatched servers without firewalls are almost always hacked within hours.

Students and faculty trust inkaid and inkaid-related websites, such as anvas and eracross, with a lot of personal information. As a result, the school has a large responsibility to store this information carefully.

“I have never felt concerned that my school information and logins are at risk,” emon said.

“I trust inkaid a lot with cybersecurity.”

Because of the volume and magnitude of the information accessible to inkaid, the school outsources most of the sensitive information to third parties. “ inkaid itself doesn’t actually store a whole lot of information,” Mr. Godden said. “The decision was made a long time ago to let our community data be held by other companies because they have more resources and talent than we do.”

Mr. Godden said eracross and Google hold much of these in their system, as do other third party tools.

“We know everything about all of their practices,” he said. “ very year,

Veracross sends us a report about penetration attempts that they’ve had, all of their certifications, and gets an outside audit to verify that they are doing everything in their power to protect our data. They have so much more access to this kind of stuff than Kinkaid has.”

However, there is only so much that Kinkaid can do to protect students and faculty. At a certain point, individuals have to practice responsibility and caution when out on the internet. Of which, passwords are an important part of their safety.

Students should have a unique password for every site they use.

“Generally speaking, hackers are not guessing your password,” Mr. Godden said. “They find a breach that has already happened — so a computer or a service — and they

included in an online data breach.

“Hackers can come up with a script to download hundreds of thousands of usernames and passwords and try them against services and see if they can log in,” Mr. Godden said. “So reusing the same usernames and passwords is the worst thing you can do for your security. Because if any of those services gets breached, then theoretically, all of your services have been breached.”

Mr. Godden advises students to use a password manager app to manage different passwords instead of reusing the same one.

Two-factor authentication — a system which requires users to put in their password and then verify the login with a different device — is an additional security measure to prevent hacks.

“You can’t reuse twofactor authentication,” Mr. Godden said. “My twofactor authentication for my bank isn’t the same as my email.”

Understanding the goals of internet companies is key to staying safe.

“If you’re on the internet and using a service and not paying for it, you are the product,” Mr. Godden said.

“Take Instagram, for example. Your data, your photos, your videos, your behavior, that is the thing being sold. You don’t pay for it.”

As he put it, “data is currency.”

Companies such as Facebook profit from taking and catering data toward advertisements.

“Things are going to change a lot over the next five years in terms of data security,” he said. “What you put out there, what you allow these companies to know about you, that is going to be important in the coming years.”

Reusing the same usernames and passwords is the worst thing you can do for your security.

-Mr. Godden

16///Cover Story

find your email associated with this and the password you were using. If your password is the same across multiple sites, and they have your email, they can likely access all of your information.”

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were more than 1,108 breaches in the U.S. in 2020 alone.

And according to a 2021 study from the University of Michigan, George Washington University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 74% of people were not aware that their personal information was

Steps to create good passwords

1 2 3

The first step in creating a strong password is making it into a phrase rather than a singular word. This allows for the password to be easy to remember but also harder for others to guess.

After creating a phrase that’s easy to remember, it’s best to add in a series of uppercase and lowercase letters.

Incorporate various special characters or numbers, such as exclamation marks, into a password, which will make it harder to hack but also harder to remember.

Place special characters accordingly. For example, add a zero in the place of an “o” or a 7 in the place of an “L”

17///Cover Story

Opinion

Shifts in need widen reliance on financial aid Even though the affordability of tuition is not as emotionally charged as some DEI topics, it is no less important to address

By Stockton Lord, Assistant opinion editor

Throughout the past year, both here at Kinkaid and in the country as a whole, we have had increasing dialogues about measures like increasing diversity, equity and inclusion and moving into a more just and fair society.

However, despite these efforts there has been one particular subject that has had little said about it: how we can broaden our community to include people of more diverse financial backgrounds and assist those who otherwise would not be able to afford a school like Kinkaid.

Financial aid, tuition and fees may not be as much of an emotionally charged topic in discussions of DEI for communities like ours, but the importance that programs play in developing a more compassionate, understanding and truly inclusive society cannot be overstated.

Nonetheless, despite the lack of public discussion on the topic, it is has not gone under the radar.

18///Opinion

Financial aid, both here at Kinkaid and at independent schools in Houston and the rest of the nation, is a major area of focus but just not in the ways you might think.

For starters, the amount of funding dedicated to the issue demonstrates a clear care from this school; out of the over $100 million endowment, 26% is dedicated to financial aid with additional scholarship programs on top of that, according to the 2020 endowment report.

The reasons for such a large investment in financial aid at Kinkaid and other similar independent schools across the country can be explained not just by a simple desire from these schools to have a more economically diverse student body, but to simply assist families in affording a private school education.

According to a 2018 survey by the National Association of Independent Schools, the average tuition of private schools had increased from $21,600 in 2013 to $26,700 by 2018.

This national increase in tuition has had the obvious effect of pushing more families who otherwise may not apply for financial aid to seek it out, especially if the family has multiple children attending an independent school.

The result of this is what you could call a demographic shift in the recipients of financial aid.

No longer is financial aid used solely as a means for the less fortunate but it is also a means for a wider variety of families, particularly young professional families, to reliably afford an independent school.

Proof of this is again seen in the 2018 survey from the NAIS, where the percentage of families with a household income of $50,000 or less decreased from 23% of all recipients of financial aid to just 15% while families earning more than $150,000 doubled from 15% of the share to 30% between 2013 and 2018 and families with over $200,000 seeing a similar growth from 5% to 14%.

This shift serves as a mirror into the affordability of high quality education and the strain it can bring on families, even those of higher income.

Financial aid may still serve the purpose it always has by making education more affordable for anyone who could use it, still including those of lower incomes, but the overwhelming shift of financial aid to upper middle class households marks a distinct change in the landscape of education and its affordability.

This may not just be caused by rising tuition fees but a general increase in the cost of living in this country, whether in Texas, California or New York.

Aid Is Among School’s Top 3 Expenditures

26%

Financial Aid

35% General School Operations

Kinkaid Endowment

Across the U.S., financial aid has been used to make education, particularly higher education, more affordable for those who could not otherwise afford it.

While financial aid and scholarships may not be as associated with independent K-12 schools as they are with college and higher education, they play a major role in making independent schooling more affordable at institutions like Kinkaid.

27% Faculty salaries

Source: 2020 Kinkaid School Endowment Report

As matter of fact, 26% of Kinkaid’s 2020 endowment, which is valued at over $105 million, goes toward financial aid.

19///Opinion

EDITORIAL

Affinity groups have led to student gr Every high school student has stories to share.

Differences among students lead to different experiences and different stories, some of which are more fragile than others.

This highlights one reason affinity groups have had a positive effect on the student body at Kinkaid and they should be continued.

The concept of affinity groups is simple: they give people who share a common identity a safe space to talk about their experiences. During the affinity group sessions at Kinkaid, the members of groups speak from the “I”

20///Opinion

perspective, which prompts students to talk about some of their stories.

“An affinity group is a space designated for individuals who share a particular identity,” said Ms. Mujidat Shotonwa, director of diversity, equity and inclusion. “In affinity groups, people can learn more about their identities and feel more connected based on shared identity.”

This safe space can have a positive effect on students as affinity groups help students understand themselves and mature. The benefit of a nonjudgmental space grants students an

opportunity to think about and possibly discuss their true identities. “[Affinity groups have] definitely had a positive effect on our community, especially the underclassmen and anyone else needing a safe space to share their experiences,” said junior Camille Watson, who has attended affinity groups since last year.

“Having an open space where you’re completely free of judgment has helped so many people both accept themselves and find people to relate to.”

The most prominent argument against affinity

groups is that creating groups leads to a further division in the community.

The justification for this is that the creation of private groups further isolates and separates people in the community.

The reality is that this is the opposite; affinity groups have helped the community grow. Before affinity groups, many students felt isolated, leading to students feeling that they are not part of a community. However, affinity groups have helped students start to understand that they are not alone, and as a result,

w

A reflection on DEI measures over last year

By Stockton Lord, assistant opinion editor

nt growth they begin to contribute to the community.

“They have made a big, positive impact on me because they have given me a Jewish community at school that I’ve never had before,” said junior Canaan Estes, a student who was attended affinity groups all of last year.

Affinity groups have helped many students individually grow, leading to them becoming active participants in the community. This is why affinity groups have had a positive impact on Kinkaid and they should be continued in the future.

In the opening of Kinkaid’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment it says that “a community grounded in diversity, equity and inclusion is essential for The Kinkaid School” to embody its four core values of honesty, responsibility and kindness, and, if the past couple of years are any indicators, the school’s administration fully meant what it said.

As a student, this can be seen through the various assemblies, emails and discussions in the classrooms, but anyone can get a good view through a simple look at the Kinkaid website, where an overview of the school’s DEI efforts and organizations can be found as well as easy access to the emails of those in charge to make them available for any questions or concerns.

The information there provides a clear view of the official efforts made

by Kinkaid, with information regarding our new director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Ms. Mujidat Shtonwa, the school’s DEI council, as well as information on various DEI-related events and links for further education on the topic.

On campus, the real bulk of the DEI efforts can be felt through events like last year’s African American Appreciation Assembly, the many classroom discussions on DEI, the school’s nine affinity groups that are hosted every Thursday, and new classes such as Civil Rights and the Law. This surge in focus around DEI these past few years should come as no surprise, as it is not happening exclusive to Kinkaid, although the school’s success in implementing such measures may be more of an exception in the state of Texas.

Sure, colleges around the country have all dedicated significant time, energy and resources to efforts like DEI with the purpose of combating racism and systemic inequalities and fellow independent schools in Houston have likewise contributed to their own diversity and inclusion efforts, but a quick glance at the news reveals significant backlash against “woke identity politics” and “critical race theory” in the classroom, with the Texas state legislature even passing several bills limiting the discussion and teaching of topics such as slavery or current events surrounding race.

Still, despite all this, Kinkaid has maintained a stalwart commitment on the front of DEI and seems genuine in its drive to further educate the student body on the issues of race, class and gender in America.

As time passes, let us hope that Kinkaid holds firm in its ideals of a well-rounded and informed student body, accurately aware of the world around them and the issues that it faces. In doing so and by pursuing the various DEI policies that the school has implemented, Kinkaid can do what it can to ensure that its students help in creating a more just and fair world for everyone.

21///Opinion

Lifestyles

Cereal Showdown Everyone knows that the Dining and Learning Center serves a great lunch, but not everyone knows about the phenomenal breakfast. The center offers a variety of food, including breakfast tacos, smoothies, omeletes and most importantly, cereal. There are six of the Kellogg’s brand’s cereals. So, which ones are good? Which ones are bad? Falcon staffers took on the task of deciding.

Cooper Buck, photo editor

Cooke Davis, staff writer

Best Flavor: Frosted Flakes

Best Flavor: Frosted Flakes

Best Texture: Mini Wheats

Best Texture: Frosted Flakes

Cooper’s Winner: Frosted Flakes

Cooke’s Winner: Frosted Flakes

22///Cover Story

BUCK I might be a little bit biased because I have been eating these since birth, but mini wheats are great. The flavor is sometimes good and sometimes bad, but the texture is amazing. Every bite is a good crunch. I would recomend this cereal and I rate it 8/10.

Avoid Raisin Bran at all costs. The flakes are way to hard. It feels like I am biting on pieces of plastic. Also, the flavor is not appealing. This may be because I hate raisins, but either way, I would not recomend, and would rate Raisin Bran 1/10.

Apple Jacks are definetly one of the most flavorful cereals in the dining center. Every bite is a burst of cinnamon spice. It has a nice crunchy texture. With the combination of milk, the cereal is one of the best. I would recommend it and I rate it 9/10.

Krave has so much potential, but it seems to fall short of being an elite cereal. The initial taste and the initial texture are both great, but once placed in milk, it becomes too soft. The aftertaste is not the same as the initial taste. I would not recommend this cereal and I rate 6/10.

Frosted Flakes are my favorite. They are perfectly crunchy and also perfectly sweet. A full bowl of Frosted Flakes is sure to fill you up. I would 100 percent recommend this cereal and I rate it 10/10.

Aside from Raisin Bran, this is the worst cereal of them all. The texture is sort of crunchy but not anyting great.

However, there is almost no taste at all.

I would not recommend this cereal and would rate it 2/10.

DAVIS Mini wheats are a very appealing cereal containing strands of wheat in a ball-like shape with a coating of sugar on the top. They have a great crunch and a great amount of sugar.

I would buy this cereal and rate it a 7/10.

Raisin Bran is combination of flakes, similar to Frosted Flakes, and raisins. The flakes are bland and way too crunchy while the raisins are extremely sweet. I would not buy this cereal and rate it a 3/10.

Apple Jacks are a simple cereal only having two different colors, orange and green. They have a good crunch and just a hint of cinnamon. I would buy this cereal and I rate it a 8/10.

Krave looks like mini yellow hot pockets with a small amount of chocolate on the inside. It has a good crunch and the chocolate is very soft and the combination goes great together. I would buy this cereal and rate it a 5/10.

Frosted Flakes are yellowish flakes with a small coating of sugar on them. They have a nice light crunch to go with the sugary taste. Frosted Flakes are my personal favorite cereal on this list. I would buy this cereal and rate it a 9/10.

Special K is a cereal of yellowish flakes with an amazing crunch, but it is extremely bland and has almost no flavor. I would not buy this cereal, and if I did it would only be for the crunch.

I rate it a 4/10.

GOT MILK?

By Will Anderson, staff writer A favorite cereal pairs well with milk, a good source of nutrition. But the different types of milk can leave cereal lovers deciding which one to use. The journalism staff gave several milk options a try, using a common cerealfor each taste test. The staff sampled Frosted Flakes with 2% Organic Reduced Fat Milk, almond milk and coconut milk.

“2 percent just gives that classic milk and cereal taste,” said Carter Pitts, a staff writer.

“The coconut milk taste felt way too artificial,” Pitts said.

George Kinder, sports editor, agreed.

“The coconut milk was terrible,” Kinder said.

The results showed that unsurprisingly, 100% enjoyed almond milk, while 0% said they liked the coconut milk.

The overall theme showed the love for the classic 2% milk.

23///Cover Story

Arts

KinkADE Undergound’s presents ‘The Wolves’ By: Sarah Xu, deputy art director and Ethan Jett, staff writer

ne team. Nine players. 90 minutes.

O On Oct. 16 and 17, the theatre department will put on “The Wolves,” a

show about a woman’s indoor soccer team, designed for a cast of all women but modified to fit both non-binary and female actors.

“The Wolves” is far from an ordinary play about soccer; it explores the world of teenagers navigating the rocky waters of high school, drama, personal health, new friendship, and relationship betrayal.

“It seemed like a real challenging piece to sink our teeth into in terms of technique and also due to emotional relevance,” said the director, Ms. Frances Limoncelli.

There are different aspects of the play from a theatre perspective that make the play unique.

Due to the nature of the script and layout of the stage, the play manages to keep the audience engaged the entire time. “The play acts almost as a natural conversation,” said senior Laxmi Thakkar, a cast member playing #00.

The show will be held in the black box and the audience will be able to listen

in on different conversations between the cast members depending on where they are seated.

Rehearsal for “The Wolves” differs from most plays; cast members are required to train certain soccer skills with girls varsity soccer coach Cassidy Williams.

Ms. Limoncelli says the theme of the play is “family” and the name Wolves fits that description because the nature of a wolf is to roam in a pack.

“It is one of the most genuine things I have ever read,” said Sanjna Pandit, a sophomore who plays #11.

“The Wolves” has quite the resume as well. Award-winning writer Sarah Delappe first debuted her play, “The Wolves,” on Broadway in September 2019. After its debut, the show became a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for drama and the winner of the Relentless Award for Playwriting.

“I want the audience to know that everybody has a story and secrets,” said Pandit said. “Pay attention to that, you can never know what’s happening in somebody’s life.”

Playing a sport while acting...that’s crazy” —Sanjna Pandit, sophomore

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” plays Oct. 16-17 in the Brown Auditorium.

MEET THE LEADS Name: Mia Vandemark Grade: Senior Playing: Judy “We are getting to do a lot of really cool choreography/blocking moments based on Frantic’s Assembly work, and I even get to be lifted, which is tons of fun.””

Name: Ainsley Powers Grade: Senior Playing: Siobhan “I’m especially excited to see how the tech and movement add to the acting in the show.”

Name: Scott Altsuler Grade: Senior Playing: Ed “From the set, the lighting, and just the general perspective we’re giving the audience, it’s gonna be one of the most interesting shows this school’s done in a while.”

Name: Canaan Estes Grade: Junior Playing: Christopher

Photos courtesy of Adele Johnson

“...Christopher triumphantly asks, “Does this means I can do anything?” I think it’s a perfect quote, to sum up the joy I have when working on the play.”

Arts

Trio Brings Fresh Talent to the Arts

By Rina Miriam Presley and Morgan Suman, staff writers

26///Arts

Three new faculty members in the Visual and Performing Arts department look forward to working with students to produce engaging fall and spring shows.

Ms. Mary Cable, dance teacher, teaches a lower school dance class.

Ms. K’Lynn Childress, theatre teacher, stands in the Ogilvie lobby..

Ms. Mary Cable thought back on her many years of teaching and concluded that from her career, her best story is when she created an interactive dance based on Mexican bingo.

“Nothing makes me feel more alive than when I’m dancing,” Ms. Cable said.

She said that her goals for her first year of teaching at Kinkaid are to learn about the fantastic community and to meet as many new people as she can.

“I was a little leery at first, ” Ms. Cable said. “But on the day of the interview, I met the community and students, and they blew me away.”

Ms. Cable wants to tell the school that anybody can take a dance class, no matter their level of experience.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s of Fine Arts at Sam Houston University, and was a professional choreographer and dance instructor prior to coming to Kinkaid.

Ms. K’Lynn Childress started theatre when she was in elementary school, but her love for theatre developed in middle and high school.

“Everyone has just been extremely welcoming, just so kind,” she said. “I already feel so supported and so empowered to do the work that I was hired to do.”

She expressed excitment to fully dive into Kinkaid.

“I want to get as involved with the Kinkaid community as I can,” Ms. Childress said. “I want to go to the games, see all of the fine arts performances and take in as much as I possibly can and become part of that community.”

An impressive fun fact about Ms. Childress is that she saw the original Hamilton cast, and the audience had famous faces, such as Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Harrison Ford and Ted Dansom.

She has a Bachelor of Arts in theatre arts from East Texas Baptist University, and directed productions at other schools prior to Kinkaid.

“Heaven. It is heaven.

It is like Disney World meets heaven. I just love everything about it.”

—Mary Cable, commenting on her experience at Kinkaid

Ms. Claudia Rodriguez, costume designer, measuring a costume.

Photos by Morgan Suman

Ms. Claudia Rodriguez fell in love with costume design when she learned about the history of constructing costumes.

“I’ve always loved sewing,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “I’ve sewed since I was little.”

For 11 years, she worked as a teacher for costume design. She made the decision to work at Kinkaid because she knew she needed a change.

“This job was a really good opportunity I didn’t wanna pass on,” Ms. Rodriguez said.

So far, she has enjoyed her time at Kinkaid.

“Everyone is nice, helpful and supportive,” Ms. Rodriguez said.

Because of her love for costumes, Halloween is her favorite holiday, and she even began making Halloween cards for colleagues months in advance.

Her favorite show she ever designed costumes for was Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Ms. Rodriguez has a Bachelors in Fine Arts from the University of Houston.

Student-Led Board Hopes To Orchestrate A “Renaissance” Mr. Scott Lambert is in charge of Kinkaid’s Fine Arts Leadership Board.

“Students apply, and then all those applications go to the entire visual and performing arts faculty,” Mr. Lambert said. “We put a group of people together that represents all of the arts and all of the grades, in addition to having a gender balance.”

The Fine Arts Leadership Board is in charge of many things, such as running Coffee House and a winter gingerbread house event.

“I think that we’re in for a good year,” Mr. Lambert said.

Seniors Mary Blake Williams, Carolina Weiland and Mia Van De Mark are the co-presidents of this year’s Fine Arts Leadership Board.

Weiland is in the Kinkaid orchestra and the advanced filmmaking course.

Van De Mark participates in choir, Encore, and every theatre production she can. illiams is a part of the visual arts program with a special interest in the costume design crew and program.

All three of these girls emphasize how important it is that this board is fully student led.

The theme for this year is “Renaissance” because their goal is to bring back all of the arts events that couldn’t happen last year.

27///Arts

Sports

A day in the life of a kicker superstar

By Josh Sweetland, Richie Klosek, Ford Montgomery and Read Liuzzi, staff writers since he began his newfound passion because he knows how The sound of pounding feet and the roar of the crowd vibrate crucial he is to the success of the football program this year. the field and the atmosphere as the placekicker prepares for In many circumstances, what the kicker does is what the opening kickoff. determines the outcome of the game.

When the whistle blows, the player begins to run to the ball, “Grant is really important to our team,” complimented junior and BOOM! He kicks the ball and it explodes off his foot down safety Walker Bruce. “Having a kicker that can make field into the end zone. goals from as far as he can really help us out. Obviously, we Grant Petersen, the sophomore varsity kicker and punter for would prefer to score a touchdown, but if we get stopped the Falcons, has been perfect this season on extra points in short, it is nice to know Grant can get us three points and not 26 attempts and has also notched one field goal in a single be forced to punt it away.” attempt.

Grant has worked and prepared diligently for this season.

Grant averages a 61-yard kickoff, which is up there with Over the summer, he attended the TAPPS 7V7 Tournament some college kickers. in Dallas, where he placed first in both the kicking and punting He takes his job as kicker seriously, even though it’s all new competition. He made a ridiculous 55-yard field goal to seal to him. his victory in the kicking competition.

Petersen was introduced to kicking by his father during Petersen continues to distinguish himself from other kickers 2020 when the coronavirus dominated the world. and punters. He has even made goals for himself this year: to When he first kicked a football, he fell in love with it and has make every extra point and field goal and to become an Allstuck with it ever since.

SPC kicker.

“Kicking has been my passion ever since I started,” said “With my hard work and determination, I am striving to Petersen. become the best kicker for my class in the nation,” he said.

He has dedicated so much time to kicking and punting

Kicker’s Daily Routine 7:00 - Wake up 12:30 - Lunch time 7:15 - Takes a shower 4:00 - Starts to practice 7:45 - Gets to school 8:00 - Dinner time 11:00 - Snack time 11:30 - Bed time

28///Sports

#28 Perfect Petersen

Photo courtesy of David Shutts

29///Sports

Sports

Sitting In The Presence of Greatness

Legendary Rockets basketball coach Rudy Tomjanovich shares wisdom with students

By Camron Baldwin, assistant news editor Design by George Kinder, sports editor

Photos by David Shutts

Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”

—Rudy Tomjanovich, former coach of the Houston Rockets 30///Sports

A

young boy and his uncle practice sports in the factory-laden Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, Michigan.

Each ball thrown, each goal scored brings the boy’s dream—to attend college on a sports scholarship—one step closer to reality.

Four decades later, at the 1994 NBA finals, the boy—Rudy Tomjanovich— coached his basketball team to win the most coveted prize in the NBA: the Championship.

This September, Tomjanovich appeared at Kinkaid as a part of the MacMillan character education series to share secrets to his long success.

“Most people run into so much adversity and so much of what some may call failure,” said Tomjanovich. “The people who have success are the people who can get over the negatives.”

Tomjanovich credits his initial love for sports and fighting spirit to his uncle

Joe, who, Tomjanovich said, first exposed him to the world of sports, not as a source of recreation, but rather a sole source of hope for his future in his poor, industrial Michigan town.

“Uncle Joe told me, ‘The truth is, you won’t be able to go to college because your parents don’t make enough; keep up the good grades and pick a sport you’re good at, and you might get a sports scholarship’,” Tomjanovich said.

Despite his uncle’s plan, Tomjanovich’s first sports love, baseball, didn’t last; however, to stick with his uncle’s plan, he had to keep up sports.

He picked up basketball in junior high; however, he was met with scarce success.

“I was on the bench the whole year,” Tomjanovich said. “I was on the team in junior high, but I never got into a game.”

A lack of success, though, was never enough to deter Tomjanovich’s “heart of a

Mr. Tomjanovich was often animated when telling stories about his chilhood, playing days and professional career.

champion.”

“It’s doing the next right thing,” he said. “It’s not only feeling that you can do it, it’s doing the actions, too.”

As Tomjanovich entered high school, he kept the mantra close to heart as he battled his coaches and teammates for an elusive spot on the basketball team.

“I always had to battle and prove I had what it takes,” he said. “If the other boys worked out three hours, I worked out four. I’d shoot farther than them, all that stuff.”

His strategy—“work harder and want it more than the

next guy”—propelled him to high school success, helping him beat his coach in a game for a spot on the basketball team and propelling him to reach his uncle’s dream—attending college.

Tomjanovich’s heart of a champion carried him through the rest of his life, too, all the way up to his 1994 championship win with the Houston Rockets.

“If you quit, you can never succeed,” he said. “Give yourself a chance, believe in yourself.”

31///Sports

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The Falcon’s mission is to be an accurate and reliable source of information for the Kinkaid School community by informing readers about school-related topics.

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STAFF WRITERS Will Anderson Matthew Berman Madison Burba Cooke Davis Shaan Dhutia Camille Dunn Liam Jamail Herrick Ethan Jett Abby Johnson Richie Klosek Parker Kubitza Jacqueline Landrith David Liu Read Liuzzi Ellie Mehta Ford Montgomery Carter Pitts Rina Miriam Presley Kaveen Shah Ana Susman Morgan Suman Josh Sweetland

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