Hanna Kim and Ruby Choi. These two names bring up many thoughts to mind. Your kindness and understanding helped our class grow, no matter the obstacles we faced. We were a new group. Fresh faces. An interesting advisor. We started off a little rough with financial struggles, a valued editor-in-chief lost, and a heavy baton passed on from the previous editors. But, most importantly, persistence was a trait you two never lost. Without you two as the Editors-In-Chief, we would all be lost trying to run the Beckman Chronicle. When we started this year, many of us were skeptical of having yet another advisor. We didn’t know what to expect and what changes would come. However, you guys stayed positive and embraced these changes to our class. Our class went from having forty students to barely reaching thirty, and we all know how a smaller class makes it much more challenging to produce magazines and online articles efficiently. Now, there are just as many staff writers as there are editors. Despite this, we were still able to delegate tasks and continue with the production of our magazine, which we all grew to love and care about in these past two years. Sometimes, you may have seemed a bit isolated from the rest of the staff. In retrospect, this was an assurance that we always had two leaders working hard at making our magazines better each time. You fixed our mediocre layouts, pushed us about advertisements, and never made us forget deadlines, even though there was someone who always did. And now, it was all finally worth it. We want you to look back at this last
magazine as a token of your dedication. It represents all of your leadership, effort, and talent in coordinating an unruly bunch of high school journalists. Believe us when we say that without you both, we never would have been able to publish one, much less two magazines. So be proud! You both deserve it. We won’t lie–the next four years are not going to be easy. But what would we know? We’re still high schoolers for a couple more years. What we do know is that both of you will have the same dedication in pushing through hardships and leading your community to improve. Enjoy your college journey just as much as we have enjoyed this one hectic year with you both.
The Choi Ffamily, Ewha Graphics 4790 Irvine Blvd. #105-151 Irvine, CA 92602 info@ewhagraphics.com www.ewhagraphics.com Advisor: Nathaniel Broguiere Thank you Mrs. Manning for all the guidance and help! Front Cover People: Kaeshav Chrandrasekar, Deeyana Roshanzaer, Paulina Vitarella Illustrations/Graphics: Ivanna Tjitra, Stephanie Xu
Sincerely, The Editorial Staff
Email: beckmanchronicle@gmail.com Website: beckmanchronicle.com Instagram: @beckmanchronicle
Aurushi B. Rachel Ker Cynthia Le Daeun Lee Soowon Lee
Allison Perez Ethan Prosser Meganne Rizk April Wang Stephanie Xu
Seniors? More like Sun-iors
WHAT TO DO...
Take a trip to LA and make a day of it by going to the Museum of Ice Cream and slide down the U.S. Bank Towers glass Skyslide! The slide is 1000 feet above downtown L.A. and is part of the tallest open air observation deck in California. Don’t forget to stop by the Griffith Observatory to see the city lights and watch the sunset!
COSTS
It costs 22 dollars to take a turn on the slide and 25 dollars to visit the Museum of Ice Cream. A visit to the Griffith Observatory is completely free of charge!
TIPS
To save money on transportation, take a ride on the metrolink for 15 dollars round trip on the weekend and get around to your destinations by bus. Riding the bus is “free” because the cost is covered in your metrolink ticket!
WHAT TO DO...
Chicago is a world-class city, and if you have never been there, it is definitely worth the visit! With its stunning skyline and beautiful city-views along their rivers and canals, Chicago does not disappoint. Make sure to visit the iconic Millenium Park, Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain and Willis Tower. To see all of these attractions from the water, join a river or lake cruise.
COSTS
River and lake cruises typically range from $25-$45. Fly with United or American Airlines for roughly $300 from LAX to ORD.
TIPS
To avoid paying for a lake or river cruise to see the city, try biking along Lakefront Trail to get an equally stunning tour of the city!
WHAT TO DO...
In the Golden Gate city of California, there is plenty to do in San Francisco, from visiting the waterfront at Fisherman’s Warf to driving along the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Tourists also find themselves having a photoshoot in the Japanese Tea Gardens for a mere 7 dollars, or enjoying classic Chinese cuisine in China Town. There is also plenty of good food at the Fort Mason Center food trucks on 2 Marina Boulevard.
COSTS
Fly United Airlines for just 200 dollars for a round trip from John Wayne Airport to San Francisco International Airport!
TIPS
Driving in San Francisco can be a bit of a challenge and parking fees can be expensive, but if you choose to rent a car, RentalCars. com has some great deals. If you are not renting a car, there are plenty of options. Both Lyft and Uber are available all over the city, plus most of the major attractions can be accessed with the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus. A GoCar 3-Hour Tour of San Francisco’s Parks and Beaches is also a great option!
WHAT TO DO...
Montreal is beautiful French city in the realms of eastern Canada. With it scenic streets that directly reflect the original streets of France, it is the closest replica there is to a trip to the European country. French food can be found on every street, but is most enjoyable by taking the Mile End Food Tour. For shopping enthusiasts, a shopping trip to the Underground City is vital as well as a simple walk through St. Paul Street to enjoy Old Montreal. A visit to the iconic Basilique Notre Dame and the Mont-Royal is also a must.
COSTS
Fly with Air Canada for prices ranging from $600 to $800 from LAX to Montreal.
TIPS
Try walking around town instead of driving from destination to destination. Not only do you save money, but you also get to experience every inch of what the European cobblestone streets of Montreal has to offer. Try renting a BIXI bike for a couple hours as another form of travel that is less expensive than hopping an Uber or calling a taxi.
1 Patriots 5 Patriots 10 Patriots
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Riverside
Justin Chen Karina Chou Jenny Han Bryan Huckleberry Crystal Kim Wendy Kim Lucas Le Kelvin Lee Lauren Lee
Yael Alonso Hao Chen Anushka Deshpande Rachel Han Yukun Jia Vivek Kakar
Alice Lin Dylan Mendoza Abigail Steinmetz Felicia Tan Lauren Trankiem Anne Zhang Easton Zhang Rick Zhou
University of California, Davis Karishma Amin Rhiannon Do Presley Carillo Cassie Eng
Keerthi Nair Julia Schweickert Tianqi Wei
University of California, Irvine David Chen Ruby Choi Michelle Duong Jessica Duong Parmida Favakehi Alexis Fox Christina Kevorkov Melody Kim Samantha Lam Chaemin Lee Dylan Mai Michelle Manku Connor McGuire Catherine Ngo Emily Nguyen
Connie Nguyen Michael Nishimoto Faith Ogawa Kevin Ong Hina Patel Athena Pelehrinis Eliada Pelehrinis Noha Sakr Arletha Saint-Jean Sami Samman Ryan Shum Kaylan Vafaeian Rachel Williams Natalie Woo Annie Yang
University of California, Los Angeles Egan Bosch Kaeshav Chrandrasekar Katie Dao Noah Kim Aimee Liang Jacob Pham
Megan Pham Darren Sohn Sam Vi-Tang Jonathan Wong Fatemah Yacoub Daniel Zhou
University of California, San Diego Chris Chang Luke Dutta Lauren Grubbs Devin Ho
Ben Nguyen Sophie Nguyen Maya Wallace Emily Ye
Univeristy of California, Santa Barbara Landry Breaux Will Cordett Tyler Kim Mira Patel
Deeyana Roshanzaer Maxwell Dei Rossi Anna Spence Sam Wasserman
University of California, Santa Cruz Alanna Edmondson
Joycelyn Lee Elisa Noh Tanya Pandit Alexander Velazquez Karnikaa Velumani
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Jenna Fox Alexander Hauck Jakob Ho Caleb Lee
Gillian Ortin Claire Park Devyn Patel Hannah Spector
California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo Lizzy Burnett Hayden Flechner Shubh Khandhadia Elise Le Caleb Park Xaviera Pons
Aurash Roessler Natalie Sanchez Kaitlyn Thoresen Emily Wannenmacher Parsa Zadeh
Aaliyah Washington
Marisol Najera
California State University, Fullerton
Kiersten Kim Nathan Lee Sean Minahan Metztli Mora Grant Otto Jessica Rodriguez Valeria Ross Baneen Somji Austin Tran Simone Tzvetanovich Jamie Vargas
Alejandra Najera Jocelyn Nguyen Mason Schafer Karl Stenlund
Aanika Amlani
Biola University Emily Adamson Eunice Choi
Boston University Kenna Julien
Isha Gondi Noelle Chow Kelly Yum
Austin Yu
Brandeis University David Kotkin
Brigham Young University Kylie Bell
University at Buffalo Carnegie Mellon University
Emma Herrera
Chapman University Samuel Adler Maneesa Batarse Aarushi Bhaskaran Lauren Frank
Nikki Kalhori Kyle Liu Ahyoung Son Russell Wang
University of Chicago Nari Ok
Shira Silver
Coastline Community College Ivonne Castrejon
University of Cologne Bella Gil
Cornell University Kevin Hwang Jahzeel Luna
Sameer Ghai
University of Arizona
Sophia Chatterton Tommy Feldman Bella Coats John Harley
Cypress College
American University
Halie Banning
Baylor University
Ryan Steinman
University of Colorado, Boulder
California State University, Long Beach
Alyssa Carmen Jocelyn Gonzalez Sabina Javier Britney Le Daniela Martinez
Kellie Glenn
Peter Heo
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Gil Acosta Diana Campos Eric Chung Yarellie Escareno Luke Fajardo Jacob Fano Preston Frank Soroosh Hesam Tereza Hoblik Destiny Jones Ben Kanayama Terry Kim
Arizona State University
Eshan Patel
California State University, Chico
Alan Bollas
Marissa McKenzie Emma Thullen
University of the District of Columbia Ethan Jones
Connor Lowery
Golden West College Dessere Reyes
University of Groningen Lieke Peutz
Annika Khare
Justine Murray
Michael Moreland Ramtin Naghavi Albert Ngo Alyssa Nguyen Roman Niemiec Ariana O’Sullivan Huda Rasul Julien Savary Aaman Soma Rebeca Talavera Zoe Teoh Isaiah Torres Alexis Ubillus Kevin Vasquez Andrea Villa Fernando Villa Jiayi Xing Noelle Yanagawa Christian Ye
John Hopkins University Ashley Lee
Purdue University
Navy
Rhode Island School of Design
New York University
Lafayette University
Yujin Jeon
Daniel Lee
Northeastern University David Li
Lindenwood University Carly Tobias
Loyola Marymount University
Julia Irvine Ryan Kirzner
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Edward Jin
University of Miami Alexa Dubin
Michigan State University
Alex Shellow
Bethany Nguyen
Rice University Mabel Tang
Saddleback College Yaretzy Hernandez Mylan Jones
Jacob Kissling
San Diego State University
Jessica De La Luz
Nottingham Trent University
San Francisco State University
Northwestern University Sabrina Chen
Northern Arizona University
Amy Lambert
Oberlin Conservatory for Music Nathaniel Romero
Occidental College Jenna Fabris
Xochilth Vazquez
Eric Xu
Pitzer College Tiffany Tan
Point Loma Nazarene University
Hanna Kim
Daniel Oliveira
Lesly Bustamante Brenda Diego
Taijan Gayle
Samantha GarciaOrtiz
Santiago Canyon College
Pepperdine University
Pomona College
Michelle Jeliazkov Robel Legesee Sophia Liu Ryan Muto Trinity Veerachanavirut Paulina Vitarella
San JosĂŠ State University
Santa Ana College
Jocelyn Hill Noelle Giese Lilli Rask Justin Goldstein Clarissa Hernandez Gabrielle Vera
Ethan Loi
Grace Cheechov Michelle Nazareno Hannah Alforque Trevor Ernt
University of Oregon
Sej Cho
Conor McCarthy
Kayla Cruz Patrick Cruz Trevor Grubb Christopher Hallinan Cassidy Hilmar Christian Hong
Maksym Kariev Ricky Teel
Tyler Suzuki
Kenneth Wohland
University of North Dakota
Orange Coast College
Keio University
Talia Koblin
Mount Mercy University
Erika Corcoran
Irvine Valley College
Maddie Chang Lindsey Cho
Syreeta Khan
David Park
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Tim Marchant
University of Portland
Christian Burnette Diego Lopez
Harvey Mudd College
Ali Ahmad Alyssa Arroyo Carter Colline Tristan Cox Justine Darger Rachel DiRusso Max Ginsburg Ashley Gray Shaun Hajishah Hasan Jebory Jessica Jhon Amjad Kanj Timothy Kassisieh Jonathon Key Dariush Khandan Soowon Lee Janice Lim CJ Markey Lauryn Mattson
University of Missouri
David Sawada
Mayra Aguirre Eric Arroyo Natalie Avila Sean Bautista Manon Bedou Blake Burdick Octavio Carrasco Robert Gostanian Jacob Halpern Hailey Hansen Lukas Hardin Michael Jongkobkeait
Tea Karlsson Adam Kreller Katherine Malloy Nancy Mendez Christopher Muller Jacqlyn Paredes Ashlyn Shen Sophia Tran Martha Vargas Savannah Vazquez Ethan Yim
Sonoma State University Jordanne Herr
University of Southern California Claire Choe Ryan Kang
Joshua Lee Kaitlyn Majkoski
Rachel Park Harry Park
Echo Tang
Southern Methodist University Gabriella Brandt
Stanford University Nicolas Garcia
Summit College
Claudia Gonzalez
Texas Christian University Elizabeth Bowers
University of Utah Joshua Fox Sarah Higashi
Jackson Galentine Bucklen Sport
Utah Valley University Ashley Grover
University of Washington Casey Finley Justin Gambill
Maggie Piper Caleb Suhr
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria Taylor
Virginia Commonwealth University Celeste Bullard
Washington State University Mia Allred
Washington University in St. Louis Kenichi Matsuo
Bridget Sun
Wellesley College Hailing Ding
West Point United States Military Academy Lauren Drysdale
Whittier College Daniel Kim
Justin Nguyen
Perhaps it started in the early dawn of history when Julius Cesar, as senior ruler of the Roman Empire, shouted, “You shan’t stab me, I am not a salad!” before meeting his unfortunate demise. Or perhaps Betty White said something and thus, senior (citizen) quotes were born. Despite the unknown history of senior quotes, they are a beloved tradition, a small blurb of who you came to be on your four-year journey. At Beckman High School, senior quotes mean different things for different people. For one, a central figure in this quote-tastic custom is the senior quote alchemist himself. Not necessarily in the way that he conjures up the senior quotes -- he just makes them happen. Mr. Blair, the yearbook advisor, is the central nervous system of the whole yearbook operation, probably the only person who will have read every single one of them, twice. And if he’s the central nervous system, senior quotes are the bacteria. The true question is, is it the good kind or the bad kind? Well, Mr. Blair explains, it’s always both, at least from his perspective. However, undoubtedly, it’s a process. First, the seniors have to meet the deadlines. And especially the guidelines (this will later become very important). Then, they are screened by the editors. Following this, Mr. Blair will screen them again before it passes through the editors one last time. This is because well, some quotes are the bad bacteria, a virus almost, and in
the spirit of Pokémon, you have to catch them all! “We need to do all of these screenings because sometimes we’ll miss a quote or we’ll miss a meaning -- someone’s trying to sneak something through that one of us catches that somebody else didn’t catch. The number of times we find inappropriate quotes are every year. Every year. This year there were fewer blatant attempts to be crass. The year before, last year, we had at least two, three dozen that we had to eliminate because kids were trying to slip things through that were inappropriate.” Unfortunately, as reality has it, many seniors do try to fit in hidden messag-
es. And sometimes, it’s not that it’s all necessarily bad, as Mr. Blair explains it, but what is acceptable in a joke between your friends is not always a fit for a school publication. It can’t be offensive to even one person. And so, like the Pac-Man of school inappropriateness, the yearbook team must eliminate all the bad quotes, which can be quite a monstrous project to handle, “It’s a very large time sink. It takes away from monitoring other things in the book because when the senior quotes are being done, we have other deadlines we have to meet with Jostens which means pages and stuff have to go in still when we’re doing this.”
Even Pac-Man isn’t perfect and it’s quite possible that small mistakes in the book like a misspelled name or an incorrect quote to sneak through when they’re distracted. But that isn’t to say that there are no second chances in life (hey, that’s a pretty good senior quote). The yearbook team readily ensures that in its careful combs through the quotes, always functioning on the side of caution, they’ll reach out to the person with the misdemeanor quote and either ask for clarification if the meaning is unclear or offer up a second chance to get their quote into the yearbook. In doing so, though, it just means more work for the yearbook staff. Why? Mr. Blair provides some perspective,
“I can appreciate it’s a privilege for the seniors and it’s a tradition. Honestly, it’s an interesting thing to do and it’s quite nice,” and he adds, “Every once in a while, there is some that are legitimately funny and I do laugh at them.” Indeed, when asked about how he came up with his senior quote, Milan Patel (12) gave wisdom on his reasoning, “I just thought of a quote that represented me which could be something that gets people to laugh. It wasn’t that hard to come up with because I saw it more as a fun thing than something very serious. In a few years, I’ll be able to look back and laugh.”
from us. “One year, the senior quotes disappeared from the yearbook. In the year previous, the level of participation was actually below 50 percent amongst the seniors. If there’s only 30-40% of the senior class submitting a quote, why are we doing it?”
Ok, so up until now, the bacteria of senior quotes have been a bit of a bad thing. But it doesn’t have to be. Like in Milan’s case, senior quotes provide a way to symbolize who you are and what you were doing in these ever-important years of your life. Maybe you were a class clown. Maybe you really liked eating cheese. Maybe you have taken a liking to a particular actor named Paul?
It is true that 2 years ago the yearbooks came out and poof! They were gone. That year, I remember, the seniors were upset and confused. It was just another thing from this chapter of their life that they couldn’t take with them. What ended up happening was a group of three or four kids from the following year decided to do everything in their power to keep the tradition alive. A lot of things can be forgotten throughout the years and if there’s a way to keep a slice of our youth alive, why shouldn’t we take it?
“It took a while to debate between quotes but I settled on one by Paul Rudd because it was really impactful for me since it’s how I want to be remembered and I really love Paul Rudd,” says Hannah Alforque (12). In essence, this is what senior quotes are all about. Telling anyone who flips through its pages, even if it’s a lifetime away -- your kids, your kids’ kids, your robot’s kids -- who you were in these titular moments of your life, even if it means talking about the hardships as well. Yael Alfonso (12) can attest to the holistic view of picking his senior quote, “I chose lyrics from a song because this band’s music has helped me through different emotional pressures, issues, and joys.” Partaking in this tradition, being able to express yourself one last time, in a way that’s less of a shout into the void and more of a flip of the hair towards others, is quite the privilege. We just don’t know it until it’s taken away
Still, there are some seniors who just could not get it in. One student, who prefers to remain anonymous, tells me about the pressures of getting it exactly right and simply running out of time, “It wasn’t hard to come up with one, but it was hard to pick one of the many I came up with. It’s hard to pick a single quote that represents your high school experience or character.” Sometimes, the details of the whole ordeal just got in the way. Tanya Pandit (12) expressed her frustrations
at the bureaucracy of it -- because she never got a package in the mail to get her senior photo taken, she could not take a senior picture. Without a senior picture, there would be nothing to put the quote below. However, when I ask her about what her senior quote would have been, her answer is speedy and assured, “‘What defines us is how well we rise after falling’”, she says quickly, her chin lifted, “I feel like it’s one of the only things that keeps me going because I know that, even though things may be bad in the present, they will get better in the future.” A classic case of quotes being tiny outlets of the content of a senior’s character, it’s almost undeniable the impact that a quote has on each individual at Beckman. The whole process of it reveals who a person is: what quote will they choose? Will it be funny or insightful? Will they quote themselves or a role model? More than anything, most importantly, senior quotes give a central meaning to that crazy time called high school. And it was different for everyone, as Mr. Blair has noticed, “I think the value varies a bit from person to person because there are some people who are going to submit a quote five minutes before the deadline and they’re just going to try and think of something right there. There are other people who are going to think about it because it does mean something to them. And so I think that’s part of the reason why we still do senior quotes. It’s in deference to those people.”