Arlingtonian vol. 5 2020-21

ARLINGTONIAN

MAY 2021

VOLUME 84, ISSUE 5

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EDITOR’S NOTE

M

y time on Arlingtonian has been defined by trying to include pop culture references in every opinion piece I write and somehow always finding a way to meet last minute deadlines despite having eight interviews to transcribe the night before. While this may have ended with me being up all night and sometimes skipping my 8:05 class, I can say that my writing is far improved from the first story I wrote in Journalism I. I may not have quite achieved the level of Lorelai Gilmore yet in my witty responses and ‘60s TV show references, but I at least hope that I impacted the school in some way.

Not that any of us necessarily need a legacy to leave in this building or in Upper Arlington as a whole, but I know that I have contributed to the legacy of Arlingtonian and I’d also like to think that in some way to the success of other students.

It’s hard to wrap up four years of journalism, room 221 friendships and lessons in an editor’s note, and I’m not sure that I’m the best at advice, but if I have one thing to leave you all with—spend your time trying to be better.

That means different things for all of us, but it is possible. For me, that meant listening to others and learning new perspectives and stories that culminated into who I am today. For others, that might mean repeatedly rewriting articles until you find the best voice for you or just dedicating time to spend with friends instead of trying to be in every club photo. Being better does not mean having better grades, taking APs to raise your grades or even getting an acceptance letter your senior year into an elite school. While this can be success for some, it’s not necessarily success for all.

Spend time with people who make you better, and learn everything you can outside of the school day, too. We all owe so much to each other, and I am thankful for every member of the Class of 2021. I hope that this dedication lets you learn about a few of the seniors who make this class great.

ARLINGTONIAN EDITOR IN CHIEF

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ARLINGTONIAN VOLUME 84 | 2020-2021 MAY 2021, ISSUE 5 EDITOR IN CHIEF

Josie Stewart CO-DIGITAL EDITORS

Noah Mizer Callia Peterson MANAGING EDITOR

Ben Rigney-Carroll COPY EDITOR

Ben Underwood STAFF WRITERS

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Meghan Beery Matthew Doron Luke Eriksen Gracie Helfrich Sophia Hudson Lucy Miller Reese Plagenz Cameron Smith James Underwood Carly Witt

Michael Ballenger

BUSINESS MANAGER

Ava Adamantidis

ARTS EDITORS

Morgan Plagenz Pierce Thompson PHOTOGRAPHERS

Penelope Clark Bridget Mitchell Bella VanMeter GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Lucy O’Brien Sophia Shen

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I Like to Move It, Move It

A look at the process of moving out of 1650 Ridgeview Road—and into 1625 Zollinger Road. BY BEN UNDERWOOD, ’21. PHOTOS BY PIERCE THOMPSON, ‘21.

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he crosshairs are set: the school where classes are currently being held for students enrolled in the schoolbased pathway will be demolished this summer. The last event to be held in the school was the senior prom, held on the evening of May 27. The very next day, Friday, May 28, was a teacher work day, and it offered the last day for teachers to finish packing up for the transition to the new school building.

Then, over the memorial day weekend, Midwest Installation Group, a moving company hired by the District, will be working on transporting items out of the building and into storage for the summer. Shortly thereafter, in early June, demolition of the building will start by the natatorium and freshman gym, said assistant principal Sam Belk. Later, athletic fields will be constructed on the site.

“For the most part, the teachers are in charge of getting everything packed up,” science department chair Frank Tuttle said. “It’s a big endeavor, it’s a lot of moving parts, it’s a lot of people coming and going.”

Although indicators of the move—moving crates and bins— are only just now becoming apparent, it has been in the works for much longer. Tuttle said that the science department has

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been planning for this for over a year.

“We have continued this process since I’ve been here for two years,” Belk said.

The pandemic has not made it any easier. Some teachers chose to work from home teaching students enrolled in the online academy this school year.

“A number of people are having to step up and do a lot more of the actual packing because the others can’t come in,” Tuttle said. “We all understand that. There’s no hard feelings against them or anything like that. It is what it is.”

The science department and the art department have the most stuff to transport to the new school building.

As part of the transition process, the science department is hiring a company to dispose of all chemicals housed in the current building. One of the reasons for this is that many of the chemicals within the building are no longer used, mostly because chemicals have not been disposed of over the years.

“I graduated from here in 1984, and there are chemicals in jars that probably pre-date me having graduated,” Tuttle said. “A lot of packrats back then.”

Another reason is that teachers won’t be able to access the building to start the move-in process until late July. In the meantime, these chemicals would have to be stored in crates and bins.

“It’s two months, at least, of storage,” Tuttle said. “There’s just too many chemicals that you really shouldn’t do that with.”

The department is purchasing a new set of chemicals for the new school building at the cost of around $10,000. Purchases of new chemicals are generally paid for by a lab fee that students enrolled in lab-based courses must pay at the start of the school year. In a normal school year, the chemistry department spends about eight or nine thousand dollars on chemicals, according to Tuttle.

This disposal is in line with a broader objective of constantly evaluating what needs to be kept within the school and what can be removed.

“The whole goal is to set a cadence where we’re purging and inventorying every year to use what we need, not just over consume and keep things,” Belk said. “You will not walk through the LC of the new building and see random bookshelves full of DVDs—it’s a fresh start.”

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In the new school building, each of the three floors will have a teacher work room with offices for about 40 staff members.

These large rooms will have an open floor plan. This stands in contrast to the current school building, where many smaller teacher work areas are scattered throughout the building.

Tuttle said that he won’t miss his current set up.

“My normal office is the one under the stairs, but it smells so bad that I had to move,” he said. Along with three other science teachers, he currently uses a former men’s restroom for his office space, whose walls he described as being a “really beautiful offcolor yellow.”

Nonetheless, Tuttle said that he had some apprehensions about the new open-floor plan. In his current setup, he sometimes works with students in his office. He said that he initially was concerned about losing the ability to do this in the new building.

“And they said, ‘Oh, well you’ve got all these spaces that you can [use],’ and I said, ‘Okay, well that takes care of it,’” Tuttle said. Located throughout the new school will be little hubs, unschedulable spaces where students can meet with each other or teachers.

“I’m anticipating that there will always be growing pains,” Tuttle said. “People will have to get used to things, but that’s why they hire us. We’re professionals, and we’ll do it.”

Over the summer, building administrators, custodians and secretaries will be in a tough situation: the old high school will be in the process of being demolished, but they won’t yet have access to the new building.

Belk said that they will most likely be working at one of the District’s other schools or at the Graf Center. But when Arlingtonian went to press, a location had not yet been decided upon.

“We’re trying to find a place where we could bring our whole crew on, a nice place where we could all kind of be centrally located,” Belk said.

After the City of Upper Arlington grants occupancy of the new building to the District, it will be a quick process of moving in and preparing for another school year. The first day for students is currently set for Aug. 18.

“It will be a busy several weeks preparing the building for students. We [have to] get staff in here to get acclimated; we have FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

to get students in here to get acclimated,” Belk said. “That’s all in the design phase right now.”

Regardless, education will take place.

“One of the biggest things as a teacher you have to learn how to be is flexible,” Tuttle said. “We may not have everything unpacked, but we’ll be there, and we’ll be doing science.”

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Golden Staff Members Winners of the Golden Apple award were announced earlier this month.

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BY JAMES UNDERWOOD, ’23. PHOTOS BY JOSIE STEWART, ’21.

n a bright, sunny Monday morning earlier this month, a dozen-some directors of the Upper Arlington Civic Association, donning their signature golden jackets, gathered outside UAHS to present three 2020-21 Golden Apple awards.

The award, which was founded in 1981, is given annually to one teacher from each school in Upper Arlington. Winners receive the coveted Golden Apple plaque.

The UAHS faculty member to receive the award was college counselor Kathy Moore.

UACA directors read aloud submissions from students and parents attesting to Moore’s dedication and commitment to UAHS students.

“She does an incredible job helping students in their process of applying to college and continues to help all along the way,” one submission stated.

“She provided the best advice to help you succeed in the college application process,” said another.

“Working with her for two years, she was always accessible and was eager to help things.”

Next, the directors announced the winner of the district and administration Golden Apple, which was first awarded in 2018.

“This year, we had so many compelling nominations, but we had an overwhelming response from the nutritional services program,” a UACA director said. “It is an honor to present the 20-21 Golden Apple district award winner to Irene Hunt, director of nutritional services.”

Many submissions specifically praised Hunt’s work in engaging students with disabilities with the nutritional services department.

“She also took the time to identify opportunities for the students with special needs. Her effort is admirable,” said one. “Thank you, Irene, for providing a job for my son and for respecting individuals with disabilities.”

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was given to honor someone who contributed to the district’s pandemic response. That award went to COVID-19 Nurse Coordinator Gina Rancitelli, who was praised for her flexibility and energy in coordinating the COVID-19 response.

“Gina has taken on a completely new role within our school district this year,” a submission said. “She has helped define the role and she has acclimated quickly to this incredible challenge.”

The other winners within the UA district, who were given the prize at separate ceremonies, were Sarah Cappel of Greensview Elementary School, Caren Wildman of Barrington Elementary School, Kristin Bugnitz of Tremont Elementary School, Jennifer Barrow of Windermere Elementary School, Sarah Oberlin of Wickliffe Elementary School, Cristina Farbizo of Hastings Middle School and Darrion House of Jones Middle School.

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GOODBYE, UAHS Seniors share their favorite memories or best advice at the end of their high school careers.

COMPILED BY THE ARLINGTONIAN SENIORS.

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hen I walked through the unfurnished classrooms of the new high school, I will admit I felt pretty wistful. Here are all these blank spaces just waiting for memories to be made. For a second, I wondered what it would be like to start all over again as a freshman in the new school. I imagined walking through the halls so many times I could find the shortest path up two flights of stairs with my eyes closed. I would know the best snack bar to get a muffin in the morning and the fastest way to get to the brand new locker rooms so I could change for tennis matches after school.

But then I thought about the unforgettable memories I’ve already made here. I thought about the fire drill we had the first quarter of my freshman year that forced everyone to sit in the stadium for over an hour and the many others that followed.

I thought about my handprint that lives on the wall of the art room I’ve worked in for four years. I thought about the classroom I paced around in after school trying to memorize my speech for speech & debate tournaments, and another where I’ve sat and scratched my head for half a period over a missing semicolon in my code.

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I even remember my full blown panic when the LC printers wouldn’t print out an English paper due in a few minutes. These are moments that can’t be replaced.

I can still picture the glow of the digital lights reading half past midnight as the robotics team drove our whirring robots down a darkened hallway. The emptiness and silence made the school look like a strange and foreign place. But our chatting, the smell of WD-40 on our hands and the sound of our robot proudly driving correctly for the first time brightened the space around us.

Some time after we’ve graduated, there will be a moment when all the lights are turned off in the building for the last time.

When that time comes, I hope that all the memories we’ve made here will live on and fill every hallway, classroom, gym, cafeteria and stairwell. I hope that everyone has at least one treasured memory from this old building they will look back on for years to come.

I’m excited for everyone who will continue their journeys in the new high school and hope they will make as many unforgettable memories as I have.

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or the people who know me, you probably know that I love to make videos and have recently taken advantage of the opportunities in my life that helped me get noticed for my work. I tend to have a camera in my hands quite a bit and even make videos for sports teams at the high school. I take film classes, make videos on my own, and yes, even make TikToks.

Watching movies ever since I was a kid and now making my own short films has really affected my high school life and the way I decided to live it. There’s this idea that when you’re in high school, everything is perfect and you have the time of your life. This idea that you will always get to do things like sneaking out, going to parties and traveling with your friends. And sure, sometimes you get to do things like that, but realistically, it’s not always like that. Movies give kids the hope that when they finally get to high school, their life is going to be a dream come true. We get to be free without having to worry about paying bills or going to work. So when you do finally get to high school, there’s that moment of realization that it’s not really like it is in the movies.

I noticed this very early in my freshman year. I realized that for most of our time in high school, we’re not truly living like high schoolers do in movies. There’s a saying that everyone has heard of: “you only live once.” I didn’t like the idea of going through some average life and then just dying without being able to experience what high schoolers in movies experience.

People live their lives just like everyone else and don’t get to live the way people truly should be living. I got in trouble, I spent plenty of time with my friends and family, and the entire time I was doing all this, I didn’t stress about a single thing. There was not a single assignment, test or even a single day that I stressed about throughout my entire time in high school. I think that not stressing about things is the first step to truly live like a high school student. Even though my life wasn’t exactly like it is for high schoolers in movies, I tried my best to live my life like one, and I think that everyone should have that opportunity. So that is my favorite memory from high school, trying my best to live my life as if I were in a movie which is exactly why I want to go into the film industry. I want to show kids what it truly means to be a high school student. It’s not going to be exactly like what you see in movies, it’s just not. But why not try your best to make it like that? I know I did, and I don’t regret a single thing.

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ugust 16, 2017—First Day of Freshman Year “This morning started with a few hours of sitting in the auditorium for typical ‘welcome back’ and ‘these are our expectations’ presentations. I made it to all of my classes without getting lost, so that’s pretty exciting. Public speaking doesn’t seem as bad as I thought. Today was also my first day of crew, and it was extremely hot and a bit boring.”

As I entered high school, I was determined to keep a journal and record the events of each and every day going forward. This was my first time rereading that initial entry, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t underwhelmed by it. What a grand way to kick off the book that is meant to detail the rest of my life! Though sparse in content and far from extraordinary, I thank my fourteen-year-old self for giving it a go, then sticking to the promise of documenting my life. Over time, the entries became more thorough, and I got comfortable recording it all: the good, the awful and the cringe.

Crew didn’t stay boring for long. I quickly learned that port-a-potties do not automatically lock, to not complain when your hotel room has an ant infestation and that seven-hour bus rides build friendships like no other.

Admittedly, I like to complain about crew quite a bit (who doesn’t love the absurd time commitment, ripped up hands and coming home soaking wet every day?), but my most cherished memories from the past four years all come from the time I’ve spent with my teammates. From Tennessee to Boston, my team has never failed to make a regatta memorable, much to the dismay of our chaperones. Group acrobatic yoga and other hotel shenanigans will always hold a special place in my heart.

High school life inevitably became more turbulent, as my relationships with others changed and both academic and athletic pressures increased.

It’s never fun to write about these things as they occur—but hey—my story would lack character development without it! Flipping through the pages of my journals, I find it so relieving to know that something that once felt world-ending is now a memory to learn from or laugh at.

Here is my advice: make your life a story that makes you look back and smile, whether it’s because you enjoyed yourself or found growth, or you had a healthy mixture of both! Time is slippery, and one way to maintain your grasp on it is by having a way to reflect on past moments from the mundane to monumental. You never know when your high school is going to be leveled and rebuilt, so finding a way to do this is crucial! Maybe go out and get yourself a journal. Who knows, you may end up becoming a primary source for a historyaltering event!

One day, you’re sitting in the auditorium and listening to welcoming presentations, and the next, you’re sitting in the Schottenstein and wearing identical black outfits with 500 other people.

They aren’t lying when they say it goes by fast! I’m sure my journal entry about graduation day will top the first sentence I wrote in my recollection of high school, but I do find a bit of satisfaction in how things will come full circle.

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f you knew me in middle school—no you didn’t. I was a shy, insecure and pretty antisocial kid. I only cared about my grades and was so unhappy. When I started my freshman year, I realized the only thing I had ever cared about in life was my grades. I was still shy and insecure, but when I began growing closer to people in marching band, my insecurities slowly started to fade as I had been surrounding myself with such accepting and kind people. My shyness began to disappear and although I still cared about school, I realized that my grades aren’t everything. I began to spend more time with friends, and now people might know me for making jokes in class and talking too much sometimes. I learned that I am so much more than a letter in PowerSchool, and I learned that my happiness couldn’t only come from school. Band has taught me so many things, but one of the most important things I feel like I have learned from band and my high school experience is to not be discouraged when I fail. Ever since my freshman year, I always wanted to twirl the baton and be the drum major for the band, and this was a goal I was able to achieve after hours of practice and countless tears cried.

If you saw me at a football game this year, you might have seen me standing in front of the band, twirling a baton. After I had tried out freshman year for this position of being a drum major and failing, I never thought I would get to do what I wanted. When I tried out again sophomore year and didn’t get it again, I was even more discouraged. So I really put in the work for trying out again my junior year, and I tried out to prove

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to myself that I could pick myself back up and to prove to the band director that I had what it takes, and I got the position for my senior year! I learned that sometimes, when you really want something, it is not IF you will get it, it is WHEN. I have thought of when, not if during seemingly impossible projects, like my senior capstone.

Band has really been one of the highlights of my high school experience, and as much as I complained about early morning practices and how many times I felt discouraged about trying out again, it has made me a much stronger person today. If I were able to give advice to my younger self, I would definitely say to them that grades are not everything and that you are going to be okay. I never saw myself becoming a senior, I’m surprised I made it this far. All of the tears cried in the bathroom and all of the things I struggled with seem like it was yesterday, but I can’t wait for the next chapter of my life. I know I would not have made it through without the support of everyone I met in band and all of the friends I have made throughout my high school experience. To any underclassmen that may be reading this, don’t worry too much. Enjoy your time in high school; as cliche as it sounds, it will fly by. Don’t let a bad grade define your worth or discourage you from trying again. You are going to be okay, and although it can be hard, learn to love yourself and surround yourself with the people who make you happy. I am so lucky to have gotten to spend four years with my friends in band, and I wouldn’t change my experience for anything.

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t is no secret to anyone that I love animals. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to work with and help them. But when I started high school, I never imagined that during my junior and senior years I would be saving shelter dogs as a foster.

Volunteering at Columbus Humane became a big part of my life the summer before junior year. Walking dogs, playing with cats, cleaning kennels and helping with adoptions consumed my time. I spent most of my junior summer and school year at the shelter until COVID-19 shut everything down. Around the middle of March, the shelter sent an email asking for families to foster during the “two week” shutdown. I offered to take an underweight pit mix, but he wasn’t medically cleared to go to a foster home. I worried I would have no one to foster, until the shelter sent another email. There were only five animals that no one was willing to take, one of them being Blue. A gray and white American Pit Bull Terrier, Blue had arrived a couple

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months earlier depressed, malnourished and basically hairless from mange. Like many cruelty cases, he was unruly and had serious trust issues. His love of tugging on ponytails, playing tug-of-war with shoelaces and his leash and ripping clothes to get to treats tried everyone’s patience. Even though I had witnessed most of his naughty behaviors, I figured what the heck. It was only two weeks, so I decided to take a chance on him. Little did I know, those two weeks would turn into three months of difficult but rewarding moments.

The first few weeks with Blue were absolute chaos. It seemed as if he had never lived in a home despite being two and a half.

He chewed blankets, pillows, carpet, furniture, tables and more.

He bit and nibbled nonstop and was unable to relax unless devouring a peanut butter Kong or confined to his kennel.

Juggling his behavior issues and the shift to online school was really difficult. I wanted to give up and take him back so many times throughout the first few weeks, but I worried about what would happen to him if he had to go back to the shelter for an indefinite amount of time. So, I pushed through and worked tirelessly on his training. Over the next several weeks, Blue and I spent countless hours working on manners and new tricks and learning that body parts and furniture weren’t for chewing.

Teaching him not only how to be a dog, but also an adoptable dog, was trying. Eventually, I could see improvements in him and knew all of our hard work was paying off. Lucky for him, my love for all animals, especially pitties, kept me focused on and dedicated to helping him become adoptable.

Looking back, the frustrating behavior and hours of time I spent working with Blue kept me busy and distracted during an otherwise stressful time. While I always knew I was helping him, I didn’t initially realize that Blue was helping me as well.

He taught me how to better assist shelter animals, especially untrained ones. Thanks to Blue and all the progress we made with lots of patience and time, he inspired me to foster another dog this year when I noticed him struggling in the shelter. Cain was a young pit mix that had bounced around many different homes in his short life, and he lacked training and stability. He was similar to Blue with his mouthy behaviors, love of ripping clothes and complete lack of manners. I had him for a couple weeks before he was adopted into a loving home with his dogexperienced dad. Then came Sassy, an anxious, vocal and high strung dog who was quickly declining in the shelter environment.

She was a cruelty case and absolutely hated the shelter. She barked non-stop, panted, shook and had a major jumping problem. I had her for a few weeks, and we worked on her separation anxiety, leash manners and her jumping habits before she was adopted into an amazing home with her dads and dog sister. Now I have Brady, a shy and abused little mixed breed. He was completely shut down in the shelter environment and had to be carried everywhere, only moving to go to the bathroom and eat. Since coming to my house, he has started acting like a real dog and is the happiest little guy.

Fostering dogs with behavioral issues while balancing high school and my personal life was tough, but unbelievably rewarding.

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hile going through my four years of high school I learned that high school is a place where your boundaries are meant to be pushed a little.

Whether it’s in your classes and learning something new, in social situations with meeting new people or in sports or clubs where you push yourself to be your best, high school makes you try new things that you’re probably not comfortable with. This is one of the great pieces of advice I would live by coming into high school: do something that you’re uncomfortable with or something that brings you out of your own skin. It’s the moments when you do something challenging to you that become extremely rewarding once it’s all said and done.

During my freshman year I took a biology class. Biology isn’t one of my strong suits in school, and I wouldn’t say it’s a class that I’m super passionate about, but I remember going into that class every day and learning something new. Most times it was difficult material that I had trouble grasping, so I had to push myself more to learn it. Yet even through those tough times where I had to persevere, I remember coming home from class and telling my parents that that biology class was one of my favorites because of all the cool and interesting things I learned.

Once I got past the grind of the material, I was able to really enjoy what I was learning.

Lots of times in high school, teachers have you pair up with random people in your class for a project. At least in my case, I was always paired up with people who I wasn’t super close with.

I had to talk to my partners and get to know them so we could do our project. This was always good for me. It got me out of my comfort zone and talking to new people who I don’t know as well as my close friends. However, I always came out of those projects feeling good that I extended myself and met a new person who I can talk to in the future.

I’m guessing most of you guys probably know me as a swimmer. I’ve been swimming my whole life. Throughout my career, I have learned many lessons that I could never learn in school but one that is relevant is the lesson of pushing myself well past my comfort zone. Swimming is a sport where you get out what you put in and often putting in the work is as miserable a task as you’ll find. But finding a way past those hard practices and pushing myself through the pain is what really helped me improve as a swimmer. Through those tough practices, and eventually the improvement I saw in my swimming, I was able to learn that nothing good will ever come without a little work.

I know anyone who reads this will encounter a difficult situation soon. Whether you’re a senior heading off to college where you have to meet and become friends with new people, or high schoolers who have to do the same thing. I know these jumps are difficult ones to take but as long as you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone, you’ll be rewarded with tremendous experiences you wouldn’t have found otherwise.

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s the final days of senior year approach, I find myself looking back on the first days of freshman year. That first day, when we were sitting in the auditorium, Mr. Theado told us we each had 20 square feet of the school and to treat the school accordingly: with care and respect. This idea made me wonder, after four years in this building, if I could choose my 20 square feet, where would it be?

Maybe I would choose part of a classroom where I learned about java, trigonometry, governments (past and present), poems, chemical bonds and everything in between. Classrooms where the teachers challenged me, surprised me (did you know the terms in a conditionally convergent series can be rearranged to represent ANY real number?!) and pushed me to take harder classes.

These classrooms, where I toiled with friends, comrades, to solve seemingly impossible problems. These people brightened my days.

It was in these classrooms where I learned to stop doubting myself and moved to become self-assured.

Maybe I would pick places tied to classic memories of UAHS. There are the areas in the hallways that, whenever it storms, are lined with trash cans and towels collecting water. Or the place by the auditorium whose weird smell caused us to evacuate in the middle of the first period the third day of school (that made me think, if high school is getting days off once a week, that’s not so bad). Perhaps I would choose a section of bleachers in the main gym where we lost our hearing at pep rallies, everything drowned out by the din of the band and students paying no attention to the show on the gym floor.

Maybe I would choose the finish line of the track where I’ve nearly collapsed after hard track and cross country workouts.

Where I could, for the most part, forget about school work as I run in circles around the track and shout “go bears.” The first friends I met in high school were from the cross country team during summer running. Walking through the hallways, they were the ones who waved or said hi to me and made me feel like I belonged (however cheesy that may be). Without them, I would never run in crazy socks or laugh quite as hard during practice. Those 20 square feet on the track symbolize the family I found and will be a part of forever.

Maybe my 20 square feet would be backstage in the auditorium, where Kitchen, the bat, lives. It was here during tech crew for the musical where I learned how to lead (and how to use a drill).

Everyone in the musical is talented and skilled at their own part, and we each do what we’re good at to make the show come together. Every year I am amazed by how the tech crew learns the whole musical in a matter of days and how close of a group is formed over the few weeks of rehearsals and shows. It was in the confines of backstage where I met people who move without being noticed and who vehemently support one another and work as a cohesive team.

All those 20 square feet, where each of us have our own memories, will soon be gone. I have grown since freshman year (although I’m still 5’4), and as important as I made the 20 square feet sound, the concrete and (maybe) asbestos isn’t the reason I am who I am today, it is because of the people. My advice, however imperfect, to anyone reading this is to be involved and meet as many people as possible. It is these people you meet who will turn you into the best version of yourself, regardless of what 20 square feet you are standing in.

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I

t’s easy to become obsessed with a final destination in life.

For example, when I was in fourth grade the only option for me was to become an NFL running back. Standing at 4 feet 5 inches tall I considered myself pretty big. My dad would drive me to pee-wee football games, help me squeeze into my shoulder pads and then I would take the field and just go crazy out there.

After my 100 yard three touchdown performance, I genuinely thought that nothing could stop me. Fast forward through late puberty and some obvious realizations in life, I now understand that I’m not going to be the next Adrian Peterson. Once I saw that I wasn’t going to be an NFL running back and decided to drop football, I turned my sights towards playing division one tennis. I decided to quit football and put all of my efforts into becoming the next UA tennis star. That didn’t happen either. All of my athletic endeavors just didn’t seem to be panning out, and while it was easy at times to mope about my athletic career never to be, I found comfort in seeing that although I didn’t reach those final destinations, the processes along the way still held their value.

Tennis has taught me a lot about how to cope with not reaching a final destination. During my freshman year, my goal heading into every single match was to win, and if I didn’t win, I felt like my life was over. Reflecting back on losses now, it seems dramatic to have such an extreme mindset, but at the time it felt like taking a loss meant there was no value to be found in that match. That can’t be further from the truth.

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can come from a loss. Obviously my goal is still to go out and win every match, but if the outcome isn’t in my favor on a certain day, why just throw away that entire experience? Why not question why the outcome turned out the way it did? This process of reflection makes it a lot easier to realize where things went wrong. Once it’s clear to me as to why things went wrong, I can take what I’ve learned and apply it to future matches to help change the outcome. I’ve started to apply this process of thinking to other situations in my life in order to get the most out of my successes, but perhaps more importantly, my failures.

This lesson can be applied to all sorts of positions throughout high school and generally throughout life. Going into high school can be daunting. I remember heading into my first day of freshman year with a high pitched, squeaky voice and awkward social skills still present from middle school; my nerves were immeasurable. It seemed like getting through four years of high school was going to be impossible, and all I could focus on was the end of it, when I was standing on a podium in my cap and gown. My advice to anyone entering or even already in high school would be to lighten up on that final destination idea.

Instead focus on the day to day experiences that you get to live through. It’s easy to, and you probably will, fail a solid amount of times, but don’t just throw away those moments, but rather learn from them and find how you can change the outcome next time.

Anything less than this would be a waste of time and effort. So make your experiences throughout high school the most valuable they can possibly be, because the time goes too quick to just let it pass by.

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our years ago if you told me that I would not be going to college next year, I would have called you crazy and walked away.

As a freshman, I was set on playing lacrosse in college and majoring in something “safe.” I spent my summers playing in tournaments, talking to coaches and worrying about a sport I didn’t enjoy playing anymore. I quit the sport I had played my whole life and started to put my time into things I would actually enjoy pursuing.

This past December I sat in the Denver International Airport questioning what path I would choose. I had submitted multiple applications to the schools I had been dreaming of going to, but the thought of another four years of school right away was not appealing. I grew anxious as these deadlines began to approach and started thinking of options other than college. I thought of taking a gap year, going into a trade, moving out west to work—it seemed like I looked at everything. I knew my interests and nothing caught my eye. The pandemic didn’t help push me towards college either. With parts of my junior and senior year getting taken away so fast I learned that you only have so much time in a certain place.

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I was just going to buy a van and travel for a year and see where it takes me when I found out about an opportunity to live in a tent for a school year.

Now I get that living in tents and not showering for 50 days at a time isn’t appealing to everyone, but I thought it was the perfect thing for me. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is an untraditional school that takes kids all over the world. I chose their course in Patagonia, Chile. I will be rock climbing, mountaineering, sea kayaking and basically will be living my best life. I thought this would be a good middle-ground for me because I still earn college credits but in a different setting to say the least.

This also gives me some time to figure out what I really want to do.

After this trip I still plan on living in a van. In fact, it is currently sitting in my driveway and doesn’t plan on going anywhere while I’m away. Nevertheless, here I am now, sitting in my senior year of high school classes, weeks before graduation, eager, terrified and ready. Who knows what the next chapter will hold, but I just hope that whoever reads this knows that there are lots of options out there. Just because everyone else is doing something different doesn’t mean what you are doing is wrong :) Thank you UAHS for the past four years.

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A

s our senior year is approaching its end, I can’t help but think about that scared 14-year-old boy taking his first steps into that high school. It seems like forever ago. Everything felt so new: new people, new classes, new lifestyle. It was my final chance to rebrand myself, or so I thought. My main objective was to be one of the most popular kids in school, and I was going to do anything I could to achieve this goal. I had to follow all the trends and talk to only the coolest people the school had to offer, making sure to stay away from the “nerds” or lame clubs. I didn’t care about school either, because that was totally super cool. As I became older however, I slowly realized that I was chasing after someone I wanted to be, and not after the person I really was. After this fad of trying to fit in, I decided that I would focus more on making closer connections with fewer friends instead of distant relations with many people.

So, my key advice for any incoming freshman is to be yourself. I know how cheesy that sounds, and I hate myself for saying it, but

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it has a lot of truth to it. Throughout high school, you will realize that people judge off of character and being someone you’re not will only lead you to be around people who will never really know you. The more you’re involved in activities and events that you enjoy, the more people who are truly interested in you will appear. Fast forwarding to now, this information has done nothing but help me. I have a really great group of friends that I expect will stay life long friends no matter what direction our individual lives will take. It has also changed my current outlook on meeting new people in the future. I now think about whether I will like this person instead of will this person like me, because why would I want to be around people who don’t want me for me? Finally, I truly believe I’ve completely grown as a person several times over through my high school experience. I’m sure that every senior would agree with me when I say that you guys will grow into the best version of yourself.

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fter persuading my teacher and convincing myself I’ll have the time, my shaky hands turn in a form requesting to establish a new club. As an underclassman, I realized I was too overwhelmed with the amount of extracurriculars to choose from and didn’t know where to start. I joined a few clubs that seemed interesting to me but I felt like I wasn’t able to find something I’m truly passionate about. After talking to friends and teachers, they suggested that I start my own fashion club, and I remember laughing at that idea because there was no way that I would start my own club. It required me to put myself out there a little more than I was used to. Knowing me, I would much rather stick to the status quo.

A few months after starting the club, I realized that I was able to create a convivial environment where people could gather after school and break free from any stress and anxiety they had throughout the day. Although it was difficult to finally turn in the form, I couldn’t be happier that I did because starting something new led to me discovering that many of my peers had similar interests to me than I had expected. It may seem hard to find new friends in high school but I found that when you take risks and try new things, whether it be sports or clubs, you find what you’re looking for.

These past four years have made me realize how different everyone’s high school experiences are. I remember growing up with an idea of exactly how high school would be, according to the very credible source of High School Musical of course, but have now come to realize that everybody has an array of interests and go their own way in order to navigate and make their own path. Establishing a new club not only allowed me to venture out and find new friends but it also created a path for future students interested in fashion who want to continue to work it out. Overall, I feel that the most important thing I’ve learned is that it is vital to feel comfortable in the environment that you’re in so make sure to find spaces both in and out of school where you feel that people have your back because really we’re just all in this together.

It’s hard to believe what time it is already, I feel like I just walked into freshman orientation with uncertainty lingering over my head so I guess it is true that, just to add more clichés, time really does fly! I remember always procrastinating on assignments with the hopes of finishing it by midnight, although that hasn’t changed much as I’m currently procrastinating this, but having a proper balance of schoolwork, extracurriculars and fun definitely ensures a fabulous four years. So, while I came to a sad realization that people don’t break out into song with choreographed routines every five minutes, I learned that creating my own path and pushing myself to try new things really allowed me to experience high school to the fullest.

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I

’ve always been a girl with competing passions. In fact, I’d say about 60% of my childhood was spent in the car, driving between school, dance, sports and music lessons. Growing up, it didn’t matter that I had so many interests, as everyone was still trying to figure out who they were, but when I got older, it became tough to handle. School became more demanding, and extracurriculars like dance expected more commitment from someone more advanced. So, for much of my high school career, I found myself overwhelmed and confused because it felt like everyone else was figuring themselves out, and I was nowhere close. I struck gold when, at the end of my sophomore year, I found the perfect solution to meet my needs at school: the IB Diploma Programme.

Focused on interdisciplinary learning, open-mindedness, and creating my own educational path, IB provided just the community that I needed. IB not only allowed, but encouraged me to pursue my interests in both STEM and the arts, so I didn’t have to worry about all of it outside of school, and I found myself surrounded by people who had the same passion for learning as I do. Sometimes, it was isolating and depressing to feel as though everyone else knew what they were doing, and that they were working harder than me. But, if there’s anything I’ve learned in the past few years, it’s how to take that energy

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and turn it into something that I can be proud of. In taking the time to appreciate the accomplishments of my peers in IB, I’ve learned so much and asked questions that gave me ideas for huge projects.

After all that I’ve done in high school, sometimes I wonder if freshman year me would be proud of me now. With the overwhelming feeling that comes with school, sometimes it feels like she wouldn’t, because it’s difficult to remember my worth.

Even now, writing this reflection, I found myself stumped for days because I feel like there are so many little things that partially define me, and I don’t have anything important to say.

However, as graduation gets closer, I’m beginning to see that younger me has lots to be proud of. I have figured out who I am academically: I’m the kind of person who likes to pursue many interests, and IB has taught me that that in itself is an identity. So, I chose to write about that identity: I haven’t figured everything out, and that’s totally okay. I can continue to be curious and explore, and I’m so glad that I was able to find an outlet here where my openness was so encouraged.

If I had any advice for underclassmen, it would be that this school has amazing opportunities for success, so please take advantage of them. It’s okay to not have everything figured out; I promise that you can find a way to make it all work.

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s I’m writing this, it’s first period on May 5, 2021, the deadline that I was given for the final draft of this piece before I send it in to the Arlingtonian staff. Over the last four years, many things have changed, but my ability to produce work at the last minute hasn’t wavered. Frankly, that’s the amazing thing about high school: there has never been a period of time in our lives where we go through so much change and growth as individuals in a global society, yet we often find these fundamental, lasting aspects about ourselves that define our character and who we are. I could go on forever about how high school was a picture perfect experience that went the exact way I wanted it to and prepared me to be a better person for the future, but it wasn’t, so I’m not going to do that.

High school was by no means a bad experience: I met lots of cool new people, made close and cherished friends, and tried tons of new things that I don’t regret at all.

The actual educational part of school was pretty lackluster, and there were definitely classes that I was just going through the motions for, but at the same time, I had plenty of teachers who went above and beyond to show their students that they

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cared for us as human beings and wanted nothing but the best for us in our future endeavors.

I could pretend like I absolutely need to know what the causes of the Thirty Years War were or how to derive a differential equation for velocity to survive the tumultuous world ahead of me, but the truth is, the most valuable takeaways from high school are the relationships I’ve had the chance to form with my classmates and teachers. Going to class isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but the very least you could do is be kind to your peers who are going through the same process as you are

and to your teachers for all the work they put into giving you a quality education, a privilege that truly not many people have.

My advice to anybody who cares to listen is to try as many things that interest you but don’t force yourself to be somebody that you’re not. If you’re afraid that people won’t like you for who you genuinely are, you have to realize that you can’t put on a facade for the rest of your life just to please people who refuse to accept your identity. Set high goals and push yourself to turn them into realities, and when you inevitably fail, take a step back to look at all that you’ve already accomplished and continue pushing yourself until the next opportunity arises. Go to that party, say yes to the midnight premiere of that movie, take your friends to that concert: high school is too short for regretting missed opportunities and countless “what ifs.”

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D

uring my freshman year, it was easy for me to attend school during the day and head home for the night.

I am naturally introverted so this routine became comfortable for me, but after attending the HOBY Ohio South Leadership Seminar the summer after my sophomore year, I was determined to maximize my junior year of high school and push myself to participate more. At the seminar, I met students from multiple different school districts in Ohio. As we progressed through ice breaker activities, I began to realize some common themes among the seminar attendees: they challenged themselves in the classroom, they participated in extracurriculars and many of them played at least one sport. At the time, I was a member of Ambassadors of Change, and I ran track and field in the spring, but junior year, I wanted to be more involved.

I learned early on that my increased course load was… more difficult. In addition to classwork, I helped plan UA Idea Day and joined the Student Innovation Team making time management more challenging. I remember showing up to school early and working on homework in my first period classroom, going through the normal school day, and attending a club after school or during lunch. My time management skills were far from perfect, but in hindsight, I am glad I joined these clubs because I was able to have conversations with teachers and

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students that I most likely would not have had otherwise and participate in activities that aimed to help the school community.

I attended Idea Day my sophomore year, but I had little knowledge of the planning process or how to join the team.

Thankfully, a senior that I knew from Ambassadors of Change invited me to a meeting, and I continued to attend throughout the year. This senior also helped encourage me throughout the entirety of the school year and even through the college application process this year. I am extremely grateful for the meetings on Friday afternoons because it was a great learning experience, and I was able to meet new people.

My advice to underclassmen is to participate as much as they can, as early as they can. I did not take advantage of the extracurricular opportunities as early as possible, and I am glad that I had someone who introduced me to UA Idea Day and helped me through the second most difficult year of my high school experience. This leads me to my advice for upperclassmen, encourage others to participate in clubs, sports, and other activities. As graduation approaches, and I reflect on the past four years of my life, I am extremely grateful for the clubs that I joined and the opportunities they have provided for my future.

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Senior Destinations

The Class of 2021 begins the next chapter of their lives. COMPILED BY JOSIE STEWART, ‘21.

Adrian College Sam Wyzlic Allegheny College Katie Pointer Amherst College Lydia Silver Arizona State University Lily Barker Caitlyn Bates Ball State University Ella Hazelbaker Boston University Camille Housh Eric Rowan Bowling Green State University Macie Bradley Aden Johnson Charlie Nowinski Alexa Roberts Bryn Mawr College Grace Hollis Butler University Adam Cipriano Caroline Colombo Audrey Elvers Matthew Hoffmann

Coastal Carolina University Braden Orlandini College of Charleston Lucy Nelson The College of Wooster Bailey Farrell Piper Farrell Ella Peterson Colorado State University Preston Aschinger Dominic Chiavaroli Lydia Minnery Columbus College of Art and Design Iris Cameron Columbus State Community College Lillian Cofer* Drew Geissel Thomas Grabauskas Ibrahime Moustafa Caleb Napoles Natalie Parsons* Jess Wagner Concordia University, Montreal Natalie Harrison

Capital University Beverly Kinateder

Cornell University Maxine McCraw

Carnegie Mellon University Juliann Mattis

Denison University Michael Ballenger Griffin Gilliom Margaret Lloyd Emily Toohey

Case Western Reserve University Erin Murphy Kerrigan Peoples

Duke University Ben Underwood

Cedarville University Emma Davidson

Eckerd College Michael Lee

Clemson University Nora Kramer

Elon University Anna Hahn

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Florida State University Hannah Sprouse Fordham University Izzy Petersen Georgetown University Marco Landolfi Hobart and William Smith Colleges Will Holsinger Aidan Vanek Indiana University Jack Norris Alex Trifelos Alex Woods John Carroll University Colin Moore Kent State University Adiah Bonham Amelia Van Arsdale Taylor Hubbard Kenyon College Elizabeth Cramer Lindenwood University Clara Gallapoo Maine College of Art Xander Munc Miami University Brendan Backiewicz Mitchell Brewer Blake Burkle Sammi Cecutti Hailie Clark Caitlin Curran Cameron Ellis Ava Gruss Tommy Hammer Emily Hellstedt Joey Holland Adam Kahle Melanie Kase Alex Kennedy Jack Kerstetter Trey Kowalke

Julianne Johnson Jack Jones Charlie Lindeboom Mia Marshall Patrick McBeath Grant Miller Louise Mitchell Mac Moore Gus Patterson Emma Schueler Nick Schumacher Colin Scott Whitty Tevonian Grayson Thompson Lucie Whetzel Michael Wulf Montana State University Zoe Dickinson Finn Jentgen George Paxton Matthew Weaver National Outdoor Leadership School Townsend Thompson New York University Rena Zhao Northern Kentucky University Reagan Nolan Ohio Northern University Isabelle Fisher Madeline Fisher Lauren Khouri Nicholas Mitchell The Ohio State University Sulaiman Alghothani Ellyona Anderson Meghan Beery Aidan Berry Claire Borders Sophia Brill Katie Byrne Defne Ceyhan Maddie Chamberlain

Yutong Chen Irene Cho Jimmy Colombo Elowen Conley Ethan DeNaeyer Connor Diehl Edward Dominek Jackson Evans Joey Feinberg Emmy Fischer Harrison Frenken Carly Geraghty Tyler Grimm Spencer Gaupp Chris Haddow Annie Hargraves Alex He Carson Heck Joe Hendrix Will Henry Anoushka Herrala Lindsey Hjelle Debbie Hodson Erin Huang Nicholas Jackson Jason Jerman Adam Karap Gia Kistner Claire MacLaughlin Lance Mast Ian McCormick Mary McElwain Brodie Milliken Jimmy Molina Lydia Muldoon Phuong Nguyen Luca Nogueira Dylan Nowinski Katelyn Nowinski Lexy Owens Tara Pamulapati Hope Perry Pre2 Prabhakar Grace Pruchnicki Henry Redder Ben Rigney-Carroll Vanmathi Santhanam Will Sawyer Quinlin Scherl Chris Schueler Sofia Sivilotti Audey Spielman Pete Spofforth

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Paige Stevenson Perry Stevenson Josie Stewart Lilli Swanson Ayden Taghvai Jake Thomas Ben Turner Deno Tzagournis Ava Walters Emma Wang Nate Worrel Riley Zelina Ohio University Emerson Baird Reece Boyer Delaney Evans Tate Norvell Piper Hiller Gwendolyn Peters Victoria Petrolio Mitch Rose Cole Schweitzer Ohio Wesleyan University Michael Fulmer Coleman Kegler Sophie Leohner Mason Ramsey Mac Scholl Ethan White Old Dominion University Thomas Ray Olivet Nazarene University Payton Domagalski Sunny Moreland Oregon State University Phoebe Miller Otterbein University Lindsay Hoover Christopher Jackson Abby Vitali Paul Mitchell Cosmetology School Cam Ours

Ava Chatlos Penelope Clark Jackson Culp John Davis Rochester Institute of Anna Funge Technology Jackson Gooding Kevin Colgan Abby Hahn Ryan Huntley Avery Hardgrove Nora Will Mira Hartzell Saint Francis University Reese Hurst Amanda Janes Garrett Junk Drew Johnston Cole Keller Santa Clara University Claire Kramer Lindsay Holman Evan Lively Savannah College of Art Emerson McGinnis Katelyn Meats and Design Nick Ortli Mia Ruggerio Millie Peterson Julia Rabadam St. John’s College Reid Schoemer Sarah Thyer Xan Schuster Connor Smith Southern Methodist Pierce Thompson University Abby Trombold Jack Hofmann Zana Williams Spring Hill College University of Colorado Peter Mimnaugh Boulder Sara Marusic Stanford University Lydia Schoedinger Brent Ju Charlie Thomson Avery Voss Purdue University Sam Milburn

Swarthmore College Senna Mieth

University of Dayton Sydney Doyle Allie Hoover

Universidad de Santo Tomás Marco Seiber

University of Delaware Elena Reim

University of Akron Ian McLaughlin

University of Florida Natalia Angelis

University of Alabama Tanner Gillie Carley Hart Ella Krimm

University of Georgia Elizabeth Kane Noah Mizer Mack Schlembach

University of Arizona Josh Mizer

University of Iowa Cameron Smith

University of California, San Diego JC Yan

University of Kentucky Claudia DeCapua Mark Richter Andrew Sexton

Penn State University University of California, Chandler Morin Santa Barbara Sophia Elliott Pratt Institute Morgan Plagenz University of Cincinnati Paris Alexander Principia College Nick Blank Avery Cobb Jack Blue FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

University of Maryland Shea Keethler University of Michigan Andy Armstrong Lena Bibbo Josh Shepherd

University of Missouri Cameron Koffel University of Mount Union Carly Ness University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Deniz Erdal

Washington & Jefferson College Rafe McClure Washington University in St. Louis Avi Hari Westmont College Isabella Wood

University of Pennsylvania Alain Welliver

Wittenberg University Lucy DeVita Katie Webber

University of Pittsburgh Addie Jay

Working Mary Molnar

University of Portland Aidan Brennan

Wright State University Nate Erre

University of Richmond Abigail Ali University of Rochester Victor Gu University of Southern California Emily Zhang University of Tennessee Caitlin Gray Emily Keeler University of Vermont Elizabeth Lembach University of Virginia Graham Hall

*Denotes a student who plans to transfer to a different university Arlingtonian regrets any errors or inadvertent omissions to the Senior Destinations list.

To ensure corrections appear in the 2021 yearbook, please email the Norwester staff at norwester@ uaschools.org

University of Washington Jack Kamerer Nick Utgard Thomas Wolfe United States Marine Corps Keegan Jones United States Military Academy West Point Jack Flowers Vanderbilt University Kate Mason Virginia Tech Hayden Jay Jacob Shanklin

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The Summer Schedule Events and activities open this summer in Upper Arlington and Columbus.

BY CARLY WITT, ‘23. GRAPHIC BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

W

ith summer just around the corner, and students bursting to be released from the halls of Upper Arlington High School, there are many things waiting for them on the other side. Movies in the park, swimming and mini golf are just a few of the fun summer activities available this summer.

weekend. Reed Road Water Park, Devon Pool, and Tremont Pool will be utilizing a time block schedule, and season passes will still be available. Pool capacity will be 300 people per location per session.

M OV I E S I N T H E PA R K

Every Wednesday from May 19 to Oct. 27, there will be an Upper Arlington Farmers Market located in the Northwest corner of the Tremont Pool parking lot. They will be from 4:00 to 4:30. Regulations include no pets, face masks are recommended, and allowing the vendor to bag your purchase.

There are surrounding farmers markets in Hilliard, Bexley and at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

A tradition for many Upper Arlington families is going to the movies in the park over the summer. This summer, the movies will be shown in the style of drive-ins and campouts, and are located at the Mountview Baptist Church, Thompson Park and Sunny 95 Park. They will be showing them at 7:30 pm on June 11 and 25, July 9 and 15, and August 13. Movies are always free and open to the public, so feel free to grab a blanket, chairs, and your favorite snack to enjoy the movie. The movies being shown this summer are Spider-Man: Into The SpiderVerse, The Secret Life of Pets, Croods, The Sandlot, and Back To the Future.

POOLS This summer, three pools will be open for the 2021 session which lasts from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day

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FA R M E R S M A R K E T

R EO P E N I N G S There are many places and businesses opening back up this summer, like COSI, which opens June 3, and will be open from 10:00 to 5:00, Thursday through Sunday. Reservations are required for every guest, and face masks required for guests aged six and older. Public gardens are opening, along with bowling alleys and mini golf. The summer of 2021 will be still be a different and out of the ordinary summer, but more opportunities are available to make the memories of a summer to remember.

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Construction, Classrooms and Paint Students and teachers have enjoyed painting classrooms before destruction of the current building.

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BY LUCY MILLER, ‘22. PHOTOS BY PENELOPE CLARK, ‘21.

ith the UAHS building coming down this summer, there have been quite a few activities that have allowed for students to say their goodbyes.

Thanks to Mr. Belk, one of the main ways students have been able to do this is by painting the walls in a few of the global language classrooms.

German teacher Frau Fellinger, and a few of her students came up with the idea.

On Wednesdays when students have class, all of Frau Fellinger’s classes in room 246 have been adding their own works of art to the walls. They began this activity the week students and staff returned from spring break and continued through the rest of the year. This inspired a few other language teachers, and now there are several classes that have participated in this activity.

The students were given a large variety of acrylic paints and markers from old projects, and were given total FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

freedom to decorate however they wanted. The base of room 246 started with the word “Deutsch,” written across the back wall, and from there students were able to add whatever they wanted.

From popular TikTok references such as “Butta Dog” to memories from German classes like Klaus Maus and

Fritz der Frosch, to colorful flowers and sunsets, the walls are filled with all kinds of artwork. Other common paintings include German quotes, video game characters, sports teams logos, flags and nature scenes.

In room 243, German teacher Emily Alaudini allowed her students to paint the walls as well.

Along with dedications to Germany and German culture, students painted anything from superheros to Among Us characters.

After witnessing how tough this last year has been on students, Fellinger decided this would be the perfect opportunity for students to start interacting again.

It gives them the chance to build friendships in class the way they used to before the pandemic.

“I wish we would have thought about doing this a long time ago because it’s a great bonding activity and makes for good conversations.”

Fellinger said In a battle against a decrease in students’ morale and overall interest in school since the start of the pandemic, this project was a push to overcome these obstacles and rebuild those bonds.

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THE

Right Decision

The expectations for college are often farfetched and far off.

I

n a two page Times New Roman font letter from May 19, 2017, I wrote to my senior self about not messing up the rest of my life by giving up in high school. I believed that despite my hatred for math and science, I would end up at MIT or some other ivy league school probably doing engineering.

I am proud to say that these aspirations are now far outdated. As I see my new graduation banner in the yard displaying the Ohio State University’s logo, I am proud of what I have accomplished even if the school I am going to has an acceptance rate over ten percent— something an anxious, eighth grade me would find ridiculous.

I think that these standards came from those around me, though. Despite having two parents who attended OSU followed by two older sisters who did the

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same, I thought that it was beneath me.

My higher GPA and ACT score than my sisters warranted a better school—and I was wrong.

Quite frankly, even if I had been accepted into MIT (or even if I had applied), it would not have been the right decision. For that matter, a better fitting school for an English focused, political science loving double major like me such as Brown, would have made me sacrifice my two intended majors since they don’t have the program. Besides that, entering politics from somewhere in Rhode Island is likely much more difficult than being in the capital of Ohio near the capitol building.

This is not what people used to tell me. Aside from my family, every peer, friend or sometimes even teacher would push the ivy narrative on me and every other student that I somehow always began discussing standardized tests with. Every school is an accomplishment, and for a very long time, I didn’t see it that way.

Whether the decision is made based on money, location, proximity or programs, truly choose what is best for you and not what people push onto you. I can gladly say that with the two different programs I was accepted into at Ohio State and the discount from my parents working there, there’s not another mainstream elite school I would be willing to give up those benefits for.

I’m sure this isn’t the first time you have heard this, and I know that my situation is not unique, but I cannot emphasize it enough. The

BY JOSIE STEWART ‘21

case is different for everyone, but we should celebrate the accomplishments of every student based on what they are doing and how invested they are whether you have heard of their university or not.

I am so proud of everyone in the Class of 2021 and cannot wait to see what my fellow OSU goers accomplish alongside each other. We have made it through so much, be proud of where you have come so far from your own eighth grade self and where you will continue going next year.

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Shadow and Bone The faults and successes of the new series.

W

GRAPHIC BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

hile books such as “The Hunger Games,” the Divergent trilogy and classics like “The Great Gatsby” and “Pride and Prejudice” have made fairly successful movie adaptations, there has been a recent push to develop novels, particularly young adult books, into TV series. Earlier this year, Rick Riordan announced that a Percy Jackson and the Olympians show will be coming to Disney+ in the next few years. Sally Rooney’s “Normal People” was developed into a successful Hulu drama, as was Celeste Ng’s “Little Fires Everywhere.”

The stage is set for the next experiment: adapting the popular Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo.

“Shadow and Bone” is the first book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, taking place before “Siege and Storm” and “Ruin and Rising.” After finishing the trilogy, Bardugo went on to write two more duologies: the Six of Crows duology and the King of Scars duology. Each book takes place in the Grishaverse, a magical medieval Russia-inspired world where Grisha, those born with the innate ability to master the elements, navigate war, politics and the prejudices of their nonmagical counterparts.

The first season, developed by Eric Heisserer, combines the first book in the trilogy with characters from the Six of Crows duology, which takes place two

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years after the end of “Ruin and Rising.” It is truly a screenwriting feat: maintaining the plot of the original trilogy while adding prequels to the following duology.

The series focuses on Alina Starkov (played by Jessie Mei Li), an orphaned cartographer in the First Army of Ravka, a country ravaged by border wars and a mysterious swath of darkness called the Shadow Fold that cuts the country down the middle.

Alongside Alina is her childhood best friend, Mal (Archie Renaux). Throughout the series, the bond between the two is a tether that pulls the story along. When Mal must cross the Fold on a supply run, Alina risks her life to join him. As monsters circle and disaster strikes, Alina is revealed to be far more important than she or Mal could’ve expected.

Suddenly plunged into a world of powerful Grisha, monarchial politics and religious followers, Alina must reconcile the girl she used to be with the power she has now.

The story structure itself closely resembles that of Game of Thrones: very different characters, motivations and settings that link together at various points throughout the show. Also similar to Game of Thrones is the level of detail in clothes, settings and languages.

Part of the show’s multiple storylines comes from the gap in source material.

Alina’s story comes from “Shadow and Bone,” while the characters of Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa and Jesper Fahey are from Bardugo’s later duologies. For those not familiar with the source material, the mixing and matching of series can be confusing at times.

For those who have read the books, the show simultaneously improves upon and downplays Bardugo’s prose. “Shadow

BY MEGHAN BEERY, ‘21.

and Bone” was Bardugo’s first foray into novels, which is evident when reading it.

The book contains all the YA tropes: love triangles, the “Chosen One,” handsome stranger, etc. The show drastically improves upon the characters, giving them motivations and backstories that are not present in the book.

However, the show underdevelops the characters from the Six of Crows duology, one of Bardugo’s later and best works.

While withholding certain information may be part of a strategic move to provide more information in the later seasons, the characters on the screen are merely shadows of their written selves.

I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention the excellent casting and acting from the show’s main characters. Li and Renaux’s scenes are extremely natural and believable. Ben Barnes’ General Kirigan manages to nail the perfect ambiguity that his character represents. Freddy Carter (Kaz), Amita Suman (Inej) and Kit Young (Jesper) set a very firm foundation for the group that will later become “The Crows.”

Despite some character hiccups, Shadow and Bone is a very enjoyable watch and has great potential for the future. If it’s anything like the rest of Bardugo’s work, it will only get better from here.

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Thanks for the T-Shirt The Class of 2021 had a bad senior year. This doesn’t make up for it.

GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ‘22.

L

isten, I don’t like self pity, but this year has been hard for everyone. I joined Arlingtonian as a sophomore and pretty much stick to sharing my opinions about things like movies, TV shows and food. I rarely reflect on things that aren’t optional, like a global pandemic. Last year we thought the pandemic was a short phase, just a bump in the road. Clearly, this was not the case. I mean genuinely—last year’s graduates got “adopt a senior” baskets and a parade and everyone felt so bad that they missed their last eight weeks of school. We missed 14 months of our lives, and nobody really gives a damn. Honestly, neither do I. Joking aside, I think it’s important to realize the gravity of what we’ve missed out on, a sort of grieving for what was promised to us. This year we missed an entire semester with our teachers and friends, many of whom we

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will never see again, and whose time with us is now up. We missed about a semester of attendance at sporting events; all the time we would have spent as a community building the school spirit that will one day make us miss our time here. We didn’t get a homecoming or a winter formal, two of the last three times we would all dress up to celebrate the time we’ve spent making friends our entire lives in this community.

Now, it’s time to graduate, and we have to miss much of the bitter sweetness that comes with moving on from things you treasure.

So what now? It’s done. Over. Gone.

High school is now behind us, and we have the world ahead of us, why aren’t we thrilled to take this step? Well, this journey ended with something like slipping on the last bounce off a diving board, nobody is looking forward to the cold plunge into the real world.

Many of us feel like we graduated a year ago, and for me, I may as well be going to somebody else’s graduation to watch. I’m excited for college, or at least I’m trying to be. I hesitate to look forward to something when so much has been uncertain recently, I don’t want another let down of misplaced

BY BEN RIGNEY-CARROLL, ‘21.

expectations.

Here we go then, off into the world of living up to our own expectations. Many of us will go off to college, some of us will go off elsewhere to do some pretty cool things; I’m looking forward to seeing all these awesome people go on to be more successful than I am.

I mean, I guess it’s not all bad. We got a one year break from the stress of the American education system, our capstone requirements were a joke, and many of us now have acquired party skills in our free time.

Basically what I’m saying is that it’s just time to get the hell out of here. All of the things that we were here for are gone and passed, and it’s time to look forward to our lives outside of COVID-19 with an optimism I can’t wholeheartedly apply to our only year as seniors. On the bright side, the alumni association sent me an email about some survey, and I got a free t-shirt because I joined. Thanks, I guess.

It’s a neat idea, but like maybe a little insensitive? My senior year sucked, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. Ben R-C, out.

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A New Age of Heros A review of Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

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he Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the second Marvel series released on Disney+. It follows the popular series WandaVison.

If you haven’t seen any of the Marvel movies, especially the Avengers Movies, I recommend watching them. You will likely be very puzzled with no background on the Marvel Cinematic universe.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier takes place months after the events of Avengers: Endgame in which Steve Rogers retires as Captain American and gives the shield to Sam Wilson (also known as Falcon). Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes finally has a chance to live a seminormal life.

Sam refuses Steve’s offer to become the next Captain America and instead puts the shield in a museum. But after a group of terrorists called the Flag-Smashers emerges, the U.S. government finds it necessary to elect their own

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GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN ‘22.

candidate for the mantle of the shield. They elect a veteran named John Walker.

The show follows Sam and Bucky as they track down the Flag-Smashers while also butting heads with John Walker who is on a similar trail. In addition, we get insight on what Sam and Bucky have been up to, as well as more backstory on Sam’s personal life.

Per the usual Marvel, the series is full of action with stunning CGI effects and action sequences. I was more impressed with the inclusion of heavy real world issues weaved into some of the episodes. Racism, mental health and politics were focuses of the show and parallelled the real world today.

It’s difficult to weave in issues like these, but it was very well done and didn’t seem forced at any moment.

As far as the performances, there isn’t a bland character in this series. I cannot remember the last Marvel project where I was genuinely invested and intrigued by every single character on screen. The series does a phenomenal job developing characters that are relatively unknown like Sam, Bucky and John.

Sam Wilson went from being a sidekick to being one of my favorite characters in the MCU. I wasn’t completely sold on him being a prominent hero for the next phase of movies, but after this series I am completely bought in. He is a wellspoken, humble and courageous hero that deserves the spotlight in

BY LUKE ERIKSEN ‘22

the future.

On the contrary, John Walker as Captain America feels wrong in every way. His attitude and his actions are unfamiliar for a hero holding the shield.

Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt Russel, does a phenomenal job playing the anti-hero.

His character is extremely contradictory to any Marvel hero we have seen thus far. Walker provided some of the most memorable moments and the series would not be the same without him. I hope to see Walker appear in future Marvel projects.

Bucky Barnes proved himself to be an undervalued MCU character. His story arc is further improved in the series and he will be a worthy sidekick for Sam Wilson in the future.

Although I found the finale rushed and questioned a few plot decisions, it did have a few memorable scenes.

Sam Wilson has a few scenes that gave me chills. The series as a whole was extremely entertaining as it opened up the next phase of the MCU with endless possibilities and expanded on characters like Bucky and Sam. I wasn’t sure about the future of the MCU after Avengers: Endgame, but the Marvel shows revived my hope and excited me for the new heroes.

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By the Numbers

Explore UAHS through statistics. COMPILED BY MATTHEW DORON ‘23. GRAPHICS BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

272

40

seniors played senior tag this year.

Each team had four members and each member paid $10 to join the game.

477

seniors will be graduating this year. The Class of 2021’s had their May 30 graduation at the Schottenstein Center.

68%

of students said they had not had to quarantine from school this year. This is from a poll on Arlingtonian’s Instagram with 162 respondents on April 27.

years of the Golden Apple Award is celebrated this year. The event started by the Upper Arlington Civic Association began in 1981 as a way to celebrate staff members in UA schools.

1956

was the only class invited to this year’s prom. While seniors could bring students from other grades, the upperclassmen’s dance is now only for seniors.

84

years of Arlingtonian content has been produced so far. The publication was originally in a newspaper format and was called The High Life.

3

was the year the current high school building was constructed. Demolition of the building will begin in late May.

EIGHT in EIGHT

2021

staff members at the high school received the Golden Apple Award this year. Awards were given out on May 10.

Eight students respond to a question in eight words. COMPILED BY NOAH MIZER, ‘21.

What is your favorite senior memory?

Favorite memory of senior year: being a junior.

Playing senior tag with my friends at night.

JUNIOR NATHAN MARK

SENIOR JOSH MIZER

Having school twice a week for first semester.

SENIOR TALLY ANGELIS

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Making new friends and memories throughout this year.

Spending this senior spring break with my friends.

SENIOR ELIZABETH KANE

Getting to have senior prom with my friends.

SENIOR CLAIRE KRAMER

SENIOR JACK KERSTETTER

Grass parking lot my senior year was fun.

Probably that time when we had a pandemic.

SENIOR NICK SCHUMACHER

SENIOR ELIZABETH LEMBACH

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Coming to An End

The spirit of room 221 and respect for our community will continue far past this year.

B

eing part of one of the only uncensored high school newspapers in Ohio has truly been a special experience for everyone on staff. We took advantage of our freedom to write stories about the inequity of UAHS’ dress code, to bring the UA community’s history of racism to light and to foster a discussion about the place of police in schools. While these stories aren’t always enjoyable to read and often make us take a moment to reconsider our own actions, they’re vital to the betterment of our community. In essence, nothing can be improved if we only focus on the positive aspects of UA—which is what we in the journalism industry call “fluff pieces”.

Although it may seem to the outside world that Arlingtonian’s main goal is to destroy the illusion of the “UA Bubble” and expose the community for the “evil” it truly is, no one on our staff wants or believes that. In fact, while it may not seem that way, all of us love the place we call home. If it weren’t for the appreciation we have for our community, we would not be dedicating our time and energy to the release of our issues.

Our hope is that every story we print has the ability to change our community for the better. To build a UA that everyone can feel included in, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation. This is a community to be shared and appreciated by all, not one that shuts people out. In order to make change, sometimes we have to confront the things that aren’t all that pleasant.

However, on the day of the Class of 2021’s graduation, it is a time to celebrate.

The students of UA have faced many challenges this year, and that has not gone unrecognized by our Arlingtonian staff.

Taking classes from home is an entirely FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

BY EDITORIAL BOARD

different way of learning, one that takes adaptation and practice. Even more, life can become dull without the socialization of your peers. That rings especially true for our seniors, who experienced many of their “lasts” at the high school without even realizing it.

While Arlingtonian always spends the final issue of the year honoring seniors who have contributed to the community in a positive way, this tradition feels particularly important this year. Given that athletic senior nights and graduation ceremonies were reduced in capacity, we want to take every advantage of this opportunity to let seniors know that we are still watching and celebrating their accomplishments.

That also includes the seniors at Arlingtonian, who fought not only to produce each issue, but to bring our final two to print.

Their dedication has inspired underclassmen and future Arlingtonian staff members to continue to write and create no matter what obstacles they may face, whether it be a global pandemic or just the usual lack of funding.

We’d also like to tank our academic adviser, Robin Mollica, who was a constant support during this crazy year.

She spent many hours making sure our issues

were produced, printed and distributed.

Most of all, she always believed that our staff could accomplish anything we set our minds to, even when it seemed impossible.

It is now time for our editors to pass the torch to the next generation of writers and thinkers, and we know that they will continue to honor the legacy of Room 221 even in a new building. It is our hope that in future issues we will continue to write stories that challenge the norms— and in doing so build a better community.

We at Arlingtonian are telling a story, your story, and although our time on staff has taught us that UA isn’t always the suburban wonderland it’s portrayed to be, we love it nonetheless.

EDIT ORIA

L CA

RTOO N

BY LU C

Y O’B

RIEN

, ‘22.

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