The Devils' Advocate by Eagle Valley Student Media

The Devilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Advocate

CONTENTS

4 EDITORIAL Protect student free expression

5 NEWS Business Club and Student Council take over Concessions management from Booster Club

6-7 NEWS FEATURE EVHS’s Top 10 in 2010s

8-19 FEATURES This issue of The Devils’ Advocate features a series of profiles on EVHS alums from classes spanning from 1974 2012. There are also profiles of retired teachers and coaches who’ve made an impact in our community, like Coach John Ramunno and Mr. Bob Zimmerman.

20 SPORTS Devils Winter Sports Schedule

22-23 A & E Eagle Valley Trivia!

LETTER FROM THE

EDITORS

Dear Readers, Welcome to 2020! Hopefully, this new year is treating you well! To begin the new decade here at Eagle Valley High School, we decided to take a look back at the EVHS of years past. This meant learning about the lives of alumni who have built a variety of different lives since they graduated from this high school. We also looked back to find out more about the school that we reside in. This issue is ripe with riveting information about Eagle Valley that most people likely will not know. Our school is filled with stories that have gone untold, and we are proud to be able to share some of this knowledge with the rest of the world. We are a staff consisting of mostly upperclassmen students, juniors and seniors who have been working on the paper for several years. It was very inspiring to see what alumni of EVHS are doing after their four years here, and we each hope that we will be able to have equally as important contributions to our respective communities in the future. From this issue, we hope that students are also inspired to become a notable alumni of this high school.Though it can seem as though your time here is just a step in the giant staircase that is your life, know that your time here will shape you into a more world-ready individual, as it has done for thousands of students who passed through these halls before you. We wish you the best of luck with this current semester, and happy reading!

BEST, YOUR EDITORS

CONTRIBUTERS Editors-in-Chief Carter Josef Saroja Manickam Sally McDonnell Reporters Caroline Dewell Riley Dudley Iva Halacheva Bode Kostick Quin McCarroll Taylor Rippstein Ruth San Diego Jack Vito Photographers Denali Boyd Ruth San Diego Graphics Noel Somogyi Adviser Hannah Shapiro Publisher Colorado Mountain News Media Students create content for all Eagle Valley Student Media publications acting in accordance with the Colorado Student Free Expression Law (Colo. Rev. Stat. 22-1-120). Any expression or opinion in this publication is not an expression of district policy. The district and its employees are provided immunity from civil or criminal penalties for any expression made or published by students. The Devilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Advocate is an open forum for student expression. The Devilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Advocate is willing to accept and print any appropriate letters submitted by students of EVHS and reserves the right to edit these letters. 200 word maximum. We will not print letters sent to us without a name and signature. Submit letters to eaglevalleystudentmedia @gmail.com.

4 EDITORIAL

PROTECT OUR EXPRESSION

FREE

One of the cornerstones of American democracy is freedom of the press. The institution of journalism must be closely guarded in our nation for the betterment of the country and the people inside of it. In order for this institution to be successful, students must learn about and get involved in journalism at a young age. Skills like interviewing, broadcasting, and writing should be taught in high schools and middle schools across the nation in order to educate and inspire the future generation of journalists.

Law is, it does need to be updated. The law was passed in 1990, and student journalism has evolved in ways that the original law could not have predicted. Luckily, a bill that was introduced this year gives the Colorado Student Free Expression Law a necessary update. The bill expands the wording to include forms of online and broadcast journalism. According to Jones, with this new bill “students will have free speech today and in the future, regardless of what platform they publish on.”

In Colorado, we are lucky to have the Colorado Student Free Expression Law that protects student journalism.

The bill also ensures that teachers cannot be punished or fired for speaking out in support of student journalism.

According to Sheila Jones, a retired Colorado journalism teacher who is now a Mentor in the Journalism Education Assocaiton, it was instituted, “following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case in 1988 that restricted students’ free speech and gave administrators the right to censor student speech in certain situations.”

“Sometimes administrators want advisers to suppress their students’ voices in one way or another, Jones explains. “When that happens, advisers get caught in the middle.”

Many other states do not have explicit laws in place to guarantee that student expression is protected which threatens the integrity of that journalism. The main rights that this law protects are free speech and free press in schools, ensuring that students can exercise their First Amendment rights. “The Colorado law gives you full free speech rights equivalent to those of professional journalists,” Jones explains. This law also makes prior restraint illegal, meaning that school administrators cannot censor student journalism. As helpful as the Colorado Student Free Expression

With this new bill, advisers will not be trapped in these situations. Jones also points out that “this protection does not give advisers carte blanche to do anything they want, but rather it protects them when they are upholding the rights of their students to publish work that is consistent with the state law.” This bill needs to pass in order for student journalism to be protected across the state. Having First Amendment rights protected in schools makes it so that students are citizens fully engaged in the world around them after they graduate. Student journalists and those who support them must be covered by state law, and it is of the utmost importance that the revised law moves on in this legislative session.

The Eagle Valley Student Media Editorial Board

Correction:The printed edition of The Devils’ Advocate included an error in this editorial that has been removed from the digital publication that stated that Sheila Jones helped draft the original Colorado Student Free Expression Law. This is not correct.The Colorado Student Free Expression Law was drafted by Marta Hedde, CHSPA President; Don Ridgway, the CHSPA Executive Director; and Fran Henry, CHSPA board member.

BUSINESS CLUB & STUCO TAKE OVER CONCESSIONS

NEWS

Written by Carter Josef

This year Student Council and the Business club have taken over management of Concessions from the Booster Club. “The logistic part of it was no longer happening,” explains Student Council sponsor Mr. Justin Brandt. “We just saw it as a need, so it’s something we brought to the StuCo class’s attention, and they said, yeah, let’s take it over.” Taking over the concessions was no easy feat. StuCo had to put in $2,000 into stocking it, so clubs have what they need to sell. They also help get it set up and make sure the clubs have what they need before games. In order to ensure they get their money back, at the end of each night, StuCo takes 40% of the profit. This leaves 60% for the club that ran it that night. Mr. Brandt believes the amounts will adjust once StuCo has made their money back. Last year, with the renovation of the school, there was also an additional concessions space added in the H2 building. At the same time, the Business Club was starting and in search of a location for their new school store. “We were offered the concessions stand as a place to operate out of,” Business Club sponsor Mr. Ryan Uhnavy explains, “under the condition that, if that became our space, then we would have to also manage the concessions that are happening in that space.” The hope was Business Club would get extra opportunities to learn about running a business, and they would not have to conflict with anyone’s space in the concessions stand. The deal doesn’t mean that they are the only ones

who can do concessions in H2. Uhnavy explains, the Business Club is simply “in charge of that space, and in charge of managing the concessions that happen there.” They did not have the chance to try to give it to other teams this year because they were still trying to figure out an effective way to run it and make it replicable. However, looking to the future, they “would be more than willing to do that.” The way Business Club is set up, there are two “factions.” One faction’s goal is to make a “sustainable revenue generation system.” The other faction is going to be for students to compete with their business skills in FBLA or DECA. In these, each team is given a scenario and everyone must come up with a solution to it. The concession stands are no longer just a way for clubs to make money. It is a way for students to learn. The Business Club has learned how to run an effective program through lots of practice. The students have also learned lessons in leadership and collaboration. Ian Forrester ‘21 works on concessions for both the Student Council and the Business Club. The biggest thing he has learned has been “how to divide something that seems like it could be big into a few small efficient jobs.” He explains that in concessions “it is important to keep things to a minimum because it keeps everything more organized, more together, and lets more people be in the know.” This is something that he hopes to apply not just to concessions but throughout his life.

6 NEWS FEATURE

Eagle Valley’s

TOP 10 OF THE 2010s Written by Ruth San Diego

Devil Duels happened for the first time this year, and it was a blast! The event consisted of games and tons of excitement from all classes in order to support each other in competition. “It’s best thing I have seen integrated in this school that includes every student,” says math teacher Mr. Cliff Zehring.

Curricular programs like AVID, Adaptive Mentorship Program, Bike Tech, and Project Lead the Way have created opportunities for students to grow as leaders and professionals. “It’s reflective that we value choice for students” says Mr. Greg Doan. “We want to give them as many choices as possible.”

Wellness Week was stated in 2017 by Students Promoting Inclusion and Civic Engagement (SPICE). Mr. Doan says the program is “super unique, it’s not something that I see schools usually take the time.” This program offers resources and workshops that emphasize emotional, physical, and psychological well-being.

The 2018 additions to the school building have opened doors for the Culinary and Science programs. It also created common areas. The lecture hall in the H2 is useful for the film festival, Devil Dancers practices, and large group meetings. As the school community grows, so does the school itself.

The Devils have won several state championship titles in the last ten years. Wrestling, Track, and Speech and Debate have all had students win in individual events. Most recently, Speech and Debate had five students win state in their events.

NEWS FEATURE

In the last ten years, Eagle Valley has expanded the number of Dual Enrollment course offerings to include Nursing, Weight Training, Culinary, and even Filmmaking. For every department at this high school there is normally a college class offered with it. Ms. Dewell feels the opportunities are “fantastic, because kids can earn college credit for free.” Access was implemented in Fall 2018, and it has been controversial, but the class is appreciated by some because of how much help students can now get from their teachers. Clubs and sports also benefit from this time because they are able to meet up instead of trying to find time after school. As Mr. Zehring put it, “right now its most beneficial to the underclassmen.” Some upperclassmen who remember the previous 8-period schedule hold a complicated grudge towards this class because it is harder to get requirements out of the way while taking classes they are passionate about. Student Council started Wish Week in 2017. This annual event is about focusing on local pediatric cancer patients for a little over a week. There are events hosted by various departments within the school, getting every student possible involved. Social Studies teacher Ms. Nicole Dewell states, “that’s about as good a cause anyone can support!”

Many Clubs have become part of EVHS in the past decade. Each is specific to a group of students and has a unique mission. Clubs like Link Crew, LULAC , Sign Language, Idle Hands, Business Club, etc.. all improve school culture.. According to Mr. Doan, “Clubs reflect student interest.” There are so many clubs offered at EVHS for every student to get involved with, and all of them change throughout the years along with the school culture.

Late start seems like a normal part of the week to students, but just over a decade ago it didn’t exist. Late start is beneficial to students, it’s even proven to help raise test scores. Ms. Dewell notes that “We as educators know that teenagers have a sleep cycle. They stay up later and they need time to sleep in later and I know their body needs that sleep psychologically.” Late start benefits the teachers as well, as they have time for staff and department meetings.

FEATURES

A glimpse of EVHS in the 70’s with

Carolyn Longshore Pitman ‘74 Written by Otto Berga When twins Carolyn Longshore Pitman ‘74 and her twin Sharolyn Longshore Barton ‘74 were going to school in the 1970s, Eagle and Eagle Valley High School were different than they are today. “The seventh grade and eighth grade were part of that school,” remembers Pitman. “I remember being a seventh grader and knowing juniors and seniors, a lot the of seniors.” There wasn’t much to do in Eagle in the 70s, and especially for girls because there weren’t any female sports. So Pitman and her sister were part of a group called ‘’Rainbow Girls,’’ where young girls could learn the values of leadership and community service. “They taught us how to type,” Pitman explains, “and how to budget and keep a checkbook.’’ Pitman describes Eagle in the 70s as being a “really knit close group.’’ There wasn’t much to do outside of school except “drive up and down Main Street and driving around meeting your friends,” she says. “There was a bar called Pete’s Past Time, and they would serve kids alcohol. They wouldn’t ask for ID. A lot of kids went there and would drive and get in wrecks on Highway 6,” Pitman remembers. But the Longshore twins and their friends had many fun experiences at school. One of Pitman’s favorite memories is of her “Freshman Slave Day.” “Freshman Slave Day was a day where a senior bought you as a slave, and a senior bought the two of us. We were at his beck and call all day,” Pitman remembers with a laugh. Pitman and her sister were allowed to take classes together, and sometimes they would prank

teachers and switch classes. One time, they even pranked a date. “He asked out Sharolyn for a date, so we decided that we would just see if he knew. So, we decided that I would go, and there wasn’t a movie in Eagle, so we were going to Vail, and I knew he was never going to figure it out, so I told him in Wolcott,” Pitman laughs. “He was so upset he turned around and went to Eagle and dumped me out. He never got Sharolyn, and never asked her out again.” The twins were both good students. Pitman and Barton were members of the National Honor Society. Pitman went to Mesa in Grand Junction for college, and she became an x-ray technician. Even though Eagle Valley has changed since Pitman graduated, some things never will. Students in a small town can still have fun and work hard and learn valuable lessons that they will use

Finding success by inspiring others 9 FEATURES

Coach John Ramunno Written by Sam Elliott

People feel a sense of pride when they accomplish something, receive a big, shiny trophy, and lookback at all the hard work they put in. It is a feeling nobody can ever take away. For Coach John Rammuno, days like that don’t just happen once in a blue moon. As EVHs’ football and wrestling coach from 1980-2015, Coach Ramunno was very familiar with coaching kids to play at their highest potential and winning state titles. John Ramunno taught at Eagle Valley for 35 years. He started in the fall of 1980, and he taught and coached because he loved being part of the kids’ lives. Ramunno taught physical education and some business classes, but the resources for his classes were limited. “I remember going to the principal and saying, what am I supposed to do with 28 kids, and a curl bar,” Ramunno recalls. “He said, you gotta be creative, so, I’d have kids doing squats with guys on their backs.” Through coaching, Ramunno had the opportunity to mentor young athletes. “I started off as an assistant football coach and head wrestling, then the head football coach took off, and the principal came in and said, guess what you’re going to do! So, I had head football and head wrestling for 18 years,” Ramunno says. One coaching challenge that stands out to Ramunno was getting kids to do their best. “The most frustrating one was kids that had so much physical talent, but I couldn’t get them to be on track.” But while some players were hard to reach, others went above and beyond.

“I had an offensive lineman that doubled his bench press over the summer,” Ramunno shared. Some of Coach Ramunno’s best memories from his time at Eagle Valley are from when his teams were successful. “It’s pretty neat when your team gets to go out into the middle of the mat and get a gold trophythat’s pretty special” Ramunno reflects. Coach Ramunno inspired many Eagle Valley athletes and students during his 35 year career, and his influence on the community continues. From the school catchphrase, “Ain’t it great to be a devil!” that he created, to the football field that has beared his name since May of 2015, Rammuno has made a strong impact on the Eagle Valley community. But EVHS has also positively impacted him. “I was happy to stay in it so long, and I can’t believe fast that went by,” Ramunno says. “It was a great experience, I loved every minute of it.”

10 FEATURES

Paving the Way

Jaime Becker ‘90 Written by Luis Rodriguez Carrillo Jaime Becker ’90 graduated from Eagle Valley High School with a full ride basketball scholarship to Western Nebraska. She transferred to Mesa State University, where she earned her degree in Travel, Tourism, and Commercial Hospitality. Then she became a motorcycle police officer in the city of Henderson, Nevada. Her journey has taken her far, but she first realized she wanted to become a police officer during her time at Eagle Valley. “I have always felt the responsibility to make a difference in my community and after taking American Government in high school, I knew I wanted to be a police officer,” Becker reflects. “Being able to protect and help people who are unable to help themselves is very rewarding.” After completing police officer training and motor school, Becker made history as the only female who passed motor school and made the team. “It is a huge accomplishment for me, and I hope to be able to mentor other women I work with to do the same,” Becker says. As a traffic officer, Becker’s days are packed. She works in 10 hour shifts in a week. “A normal is waking up around 0515, getting dressed for work, ensuring all my equipment is charged and in working order. I call in service and leave my house around 0600. I ride around the city of Henderson, looking for traffic violations and stopping motorists that I see committing offenses,” Becker explains. “I work areas that have citizen complaints for speed, as well as school zones in the morning and the afternoon… I ride home around 1545 hours, make sure my equipment is charging to the next day, I make sure my motorcycle is clean, and I log off duty.”

To keep Henderson safe, she says her unit also “helps out with static displays at community events and schools, as well as public service announcements and joint enforcement with surrounding agencies.” As a traffic officer, Becker has faced some dangerous situations. “I think the event that was the most difficult was a disturbance in a grocery store where a male subject was in the bathroom with a gun,” Becker says. “The witness thought he had a small child with him. It turned out there was not a child in the bathroom but a shooting between the police and the male subject did occur. In the days after the shooting I had to cope with the decisions that were made that day, which took some time to recover from.” The obstacles don’t stop Becker from doing what she loves. And on the days that are tough, she remembers her first day on duty after completing field training. “The sense of pride and accomplishment was something I will never forget.”

11 Eagle Valley’s girls soccer pioneer FEATURES

MERILEE COSGROVE ‘96 Written by Ragnhild Hildebrand Lundh “It was good because I got to do something I enjoyed,” Cosgrove explains. “I just didn’t have quite the skills that some of the guys had- I couldn’t quite run as fast.” Because of her laid back and easygoing personality, Cosgrove bonded with her coaches and teammates. Being a girl on the team didn’t bother her, and having a female teammate didn’t bother her male teammates.

Merilee Cosgrove ‘96 did all the things that keeps Eagle Valley students busy today; going to lessons, doing homework, participating in sports, hanging out with friends, driving around, going to bonfires, hiking, camping, skiing and mountain biking. “I loved the place where I lived. I loved skiing and the other things I got do there, like mountain biking. It kind of made me,” Cosgrove reflects. “You know, I still like to do these things. I like to do those things in my free time, and I guess I prefer small towns to big towns.” And when it came to sports, she was a dedicated athlete. So, when she wanted to play for Devils soccer team at a time when there wasn’t a girls’ team, she rallied two other girls and went to try out for the boys’ team. “I loved playing soccer, and I really didn’t like volleyball, so they allowed us to be on the team. I think it was three of us girls that was on that first team,” Cosgrove recalls. Playing on the boys’ soccer team had its highs and lows.

“Most of them were friends,” Cosgrove says. “Some of them I am still friends with. They were all supportive: ‘you should play, come and play soccer,’ you know that kind of stuff.” Her experiences playing on the boys’ soccer team paved the way for future female soccer players at Eagle Valley. Because of her initiative to pursue her passion, Eagle Valley eventually began a girls’ soccer team so girls like her would have a fun, competitive soccer program. Chasing her goal to play soccer in high school empowered Cosgrove with the mindset and attitude to actualize goals she sets in all parts of her life. “I think it just kind of reinforced my personality- I’m willing to try new things, take risks and not be afraid to try something,” Cosgrove says. “I think that is something that you need to remember your entire life. You either need to take advantage of opportunities or not, or you can either take advantage of what’s permitted or you miss out.” Cosgrove is now a School Psychologist in Wichita, Kansas where her students benefit from having a role model who advocates for them with the same passion and determination that she used in high school to advocate for herself to play soccer at Eagle Valley.

12ADVERTISEMENTS

“Mountain Girl”

FEATURES

Brandie Yeik ‘99 Written by Zosia Skiba A “mountain girl” in high school who enjoyed hanging out with her friends and surrounded by nature, Brandie Yeik ’99 loved growing up in the mountains in Eagle. “It was a small community, so I think that played a big part in the dynamics of how everyone got along,” Yeik explains, “and we got along with not just our class but the whole high school.” The close sense of community at Eagle Valley made it possible for Yeik to form friendships with people who loved the outdoors as much as she did. “During the weekend we would go mountain biking or camping or waterskiing or things like that that were important in the community that we grew up in,” Yeik reflects. “A lot of us still do those things and enjoy them. Skiing, for instance, that’s like a lifetime sport that you can always take with you, so I think those are important things that this community has taught me growing up” Not only to Yeik develop her love of the outdoors in high school, she also learned important leadership skills. She explains that she wasn’t just a natural born leader, but she had to learn how to become a leader in high school. “High school definitely taught me some leadership skills,” Yeik explains. “I think I’ve used those skills throughout the rest of my education as well as into my career. That’s probably the biggest takeaway is just learning some leadership skills.” After high school, Yeik pursued a career path that would enable her to connect to her love for the outdoors into her profession as an

athletic trainer. For eight years before her taking her current position, Yeik traveled with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team as an athletic trainer, even getting the chance to attend two Olympics. She is now the Athletic Trainer Director at the Steadman Clinic, and she also does various programs with high schools across the county as well as help oversee Steadman’s training programs. As Yeik has moved forward in life, she’s found that no matter where she lives, or what she does, one of the most important parts of her life has been her friendships. “I think the relationships that you build in high school are important,” Yeik shares, “you’ll probably keep those relationships, you will look back and look at the memories that you made, and many of them will be with your friends, so they are important.”

14 FEATURES

Always looking forward Tony Powell ‘01

Written by Jordan Neifert Tony Powell ’01 considers himself very lucky. He was involved in as many sports and activities as he could, and strived to be a hardworking and good student. He enjoyed his experience at Eagle Valley. “I still have great friends from EVHS. I had many great experiences from there. It was just a very good school,” he says. Even though he didn’t have a particular career path aspiration, Powell enjoyed the sciences and math, so he took classes such as geology, chemistry, and physics. “I guess I played to my strengths,” Powell reflects. Science classes are also where some of Powell’s favorite high school memories come from. “I took AP Chemistry, and the teacher who taught that class was Bob Zimmerman- he has since retired. I don’t know if current students would be old enough to know Big Z,” Powell says. “I think the comradery in that class was pretty good, he was a great teacher, and he made it a lot of fun. Back then, he had a store of chemicals, and he would give us a day to, you know, do some experiments and have fun. So, I think my AP Chemistry course and the people I did it with, Bob Zimmerman, was my best memory.” Powell’s interest and experiences in science classes and with Mr. Zimmerman led him to the University of Colorado at Boulder. Powell studied engineering there for four and a half years. Today, he works as a Water Resource Engineer. “I suppose having an attitude for math and chemistry sort of led me to my current position,” Powell explains. “When I was at CU, they had a general

engineering major you can apply to. Then at the end of your freshman year, you had to declare your specialty. So, I went into the general engineering and found that I was just one-sided to the water and environmental science of engineering.” Powell is proud of where he is today. But looking back, there is one thing he wished he did differently. “If I could tell myself to do it again, I would’ve included some music classes and maybe tried to be a part of some music production,” Powell shares. “I would’ve loved to have taken more part in music and theatre. I very much wish I had musical talent, or the ability to have interacted in theatre production more, and I feel it would’ve been a great experience if I had tried to be a part of some music production.” And that inspires the advice Powell has to offer current high schoolers, “I would tell them to make sure that they do things that would make them happy. And that if the next steps in life seem very intimidating and scary, then that’s a good thing, that they shouldn’t be afraid to get outside of their comfort zone, to try to do things that challenge the ways that they think or challenge the way that they feel. Not to do things like, well, throw yourself off a cliff or anything, but challenge your comfort zone. And know that it’s okay to fail, everybody who is successful failed more times than they succeeded. You only need to succeed once to get past something, and it’s

“Hey, Big Z!”

Looking back with Mr. Bob Zimmerman Written by Cooper Treu “Hey, Big Z! Remember me?” a man said to Mr. Bob Zimmerman at a girls’ softball game. The man was one of Zimmerman’s former students from his 43 year teaching career at Eagle Valley High School. “So, do you have a daughter playing in the game?’’ the man asked. “No, a granddaughter,” Zimmerman repsponded. And that is when Mr. Zimmerman realized he had been teaching enough. Mr. Bob Zimmerman taught all sciences started a program called Chem Com that we still use today. “Chem Com is a program for students who can’t visualize what is happening. Because obviously, you can’t see atoms bonding.” Zimmerman continues, “it taught how chemistry is used in people’s everyday lives, like for example the petroleum industry.” Zimmerman didn’t just teach students, he also taught teachers. Especially new teachers. The day they would come in to their first day of school, Zimmerman would always greet them and show them around. Zimmerman would direct them to their classroom and share with them his own lessons. “When the new teachers came in I would hand them a flash drive, or, of course, a file for a file cabinet, because I went back before the time of computers” Zimmerman said. “I would hand them my lessons and say, ‘make it yours, make it better,’ and I think that would help them have something to go off of.” But even then his passion for helping went further. He not only helped students and teachers, he also helped the way schools evaluate teachers. “I created this system that was less stats and numbers, and more face to face interactions and helping improve teachers. It was more of encouraging them to grow, other than a do this or you’re fired type thing.”

FEATURES

Zimmerman had enough previous negative encounters with the old way of evaluating teachers. Because he wanted to see his students have fun, he would often stray outside the lines of typical lesson planning. “Basically” Zimmerman says, “I made teaching more colorful.” Once Zimmerman was threatened to be fired by a new principal. “They said, ‘Bob, we have seen you have not been making any improvements on a disciplinary end, so next year we probably won’t be hiring you back,’” Zimmerman remembers. He then shares his response, “Well I’ve been working my hardest, and you can’t fire someone with tenure without due process. If I get through this, I will be here long after you’re gone.” Sure enough, the principal moved on, and Zimmerman continued teaching for the rest of his career. Growing up in Wisconsin, Zimmerman had always wanted to live in the mountains. After paying off the debts he owed, he moved to Colorado the first chance he got. When he did, he immediately realized he loved it. “I remember driving around up here for the first time, and looking out the windows and saying to myself, ‘wow this is the most beautiful place in the world! I can’t believe I’m living here” he says with a chuckle. The impact Mr. Zimmerman made on his students and community here in the mountains have made this community even more beautiful. In recognition of his contributions to the community, Mr. Zimmerman was celebrated at the Eagle Valley High School Foundation’s annual Fire and Ice Gala in January of 2019. “I believe I definitely did the best job I could,” Zimmerman reflects. “I was always looking for ways to make my work more understandable and to find all the ways I could help people more.”

16 FEATURES

Henry Vigil ‘01 healing the community Written by Valerie DesRosiers

Henry Vigil ‘01 describes his freshman self at high school at Eagle Valley as shy, but he found that after his freshman year he blossomed as became more active and involved in the community. “My graduating class was 111 [students],” Vigil reflects. “Not a very big school at the time, so everybody knew everybody at the time so we all took care of each other.” Vigil enjoyed his time at Eagle Valley and made the most of his high school experience. He remembers it as, “pretty fun, mainly because I got myself involved and kept myself busy. So the time went by really fast.” Student Council and LULAC were two activities that Vigil participated in during high school, but he was engaged in many others as well. “I also helped Ms. Cook with the newspaper and the yearbook when it was just getting started,” Vigil says. He also participated in athletics as the manager of the basketball and baseball teams. Through immersing in activities in Eagle Valley community, Vigil learned skills and lessons that have helped him throughout life after high school. “Being able to be open and being accepting of the people around me has allowed me to allow people into my life, even if I don’t want them to,” he says. After graduation from high school, Vigil worked at a gas station in Eagle. “Money was definitely a struggle,” Vigil remem-

bers. “Just getting started and being able to pay my bills on my own.” It was during that time that Vigil decided to become a massage therapist. “I didn’t want to actually go to college for four years and take classes that I didn’t want to take,” Vigil explains. “I wanted to jump into something that I’d be able to start doing right away.” Vigil currently works in Eagle at The Higher Elevation Healing Arts School. Getting involved in the community made Vigil’s Eagle Valley experience meaningful, and he recommends that current students do the same. “Getting involved really made it go by faster, and just being part of clubs and groups and whatever you can be apart of just makes your life better,” Vigil says. And above all else, “remember to smile and be happy everyday.”

FEATURES

Lacy Ramunno ‘02 finds purpose through community, travel, and art Written by Ella Steggs

Ramunno says. “She was really influential in the career path I chose after high school, so I feel really lucky to have had such an awesome art program while I was at EVHS.” After high school, Ramunno attended Colorado State University and studied interior design. She is now a design associate at Mountain Architecture in Steamboat where she says her work consists of, “a lot of layouts, schematic designs, client, using different types where I communicate visually, so say you were building a house I layout a digital 3D model so our client’s visual what/where their space could be. So, I create more of those tools” Ramunno also lived in Peru for a year and a half as an International Coordinator for a non-profit NGO.

As a teen growing up in Eagle County, Lacy Ramunno ‘02 found herself extremely involved with her community. “It was all really an expectation from a young age,” Ramunno reflects, “like being involved is just really important whether that be sports or not.” Community involvement was modeled to her by her father, Coach John Ramunno. She played as many sports as she could including volleyball, basketball, soccer, track, cheerleading, and even dance. “I don’t think I was as athletic or whatever, and I just went because I love being part of the team. I loved the whole thing, but I’m much better at individual sports, not ball sports. I’m not as athletic as my dad,” Ramunno says. Although Ramunno loved athletics in high school, creative expression was also an important part of her experience. “I really liked art class; I think I excelled more creatively. I had an awesome art teacher, Ms. Kirchner,”

“I got to exercise a whole different part of my brain,” Ramunno explains. “I got to work at that organization where what they really needed help with was communicating with International volunteers, so my English helped their organization. I did their marketing, newsletters, and coordination with international travelers to help answer all their questions.” Travel has been a key influence in her life since college. “I got the travel bug when I was in college,” she says. “I had met somebody from South Africa who kind of planted that seed, so when I graduated, my dad’s voice was like ‘get a job,’ but I really wanted to travel. So, the year I graduated, I traveled to South America for 2 months.” She believes travelling can have an amazing impact on a person. “Once you start exploring the world, you realize there’s a lot out there and that kind of helps shape your perspective,” Ramunno says. “There’s this whole giant world out there, we’re all just livin’ in it.”

18FEATURES

Marisol Munoz ‘11

Vet Tech runs to her dreams Written by Kaylee Little Marisol Munoz is a 2011 graduate of Eagle Valley. She participated in Link Crew, track and cross country. High school presents a lot of challenges. When asked what was the hardest part about being in high school, Munoz said “Trying to find where you fit in. That is why I joined the track team.” Running helped her get rid of her stress and clear her head. After high school, she started her journey at Metro State College, which she attended for a year. It wasn’t a good fit, so she moved to Glenwood Springs to attend Colorado Mountain College. She knew in the back of her head that she wanted to be a veterinarian and work with animals but never knew how to pursue it. Then she heard about a program in Spring Valley for a Vet Tech training. Munoz got her Associate’ degree at CMC Spring Valley and started working. She is now working in the ICU unit in downtown Denver. In her day to day life Munoz, “sees all kinds of animals such as squirrels, snakes and more.” This keeps her day very interesting and makes no day the same. She says that in her job, mental health is the most important thing. Especially because she is working with animals in critical condition. “The sadness that comes with the job makes it so I want to quit at least once a week from the stress,” Munoz explains. “Knowing that you

might mess up or could make a mistake with the math is very stressful.” Even though that kind of environment is stressful, doctors are always telling her how amazing she is and how they would not be able to do it without her. Munoz feels “a lot better with working with people.” She believes her experiences after high school have made her a better person, despite the struggles. High school built Marisol into the confident, successful woman she is today. In her own words, “Eagle Valley does shape who you are.”

FEATURES

Brianna Cook ‘12

Defying Expectations Written by Tori Shepard High school didn’t always come easy for Brianna Cook ‘12. She maintained good grades, but like many high school students, she says she found it difficult to enjoy learning when she felt like she was being told to learn inside the box. Cook played golf, did cheerleading, and was an editor of the yearbook during her time at Eagle Valley. She also enjoyed doing hair and makeup for her classmates for the school dances. Although it was hard to keep up with homework and classes in high school, Cook developed a special love for science. Because of that, she made bonded with her teacher, Mr. Carden, and she was president of the Science Club. She assumed her future career would be in the world of sports medicine. After Cook graduated from Eagle Valley, she attended Colorado Mesa University to study Exercise Sciences. While there, she realized that college was not the right fit for her. When thinking about what career to pursue, she remembered how much she loved doing peoples’ makeup for Homecoming and Prom and realized that that could be a meaningful career. Cook attended the Salon Professional Academy and learned the skills to do what she has been doing now for years. She works here in the Vail Valley at a local salon specializing in men’s hairstyles. A high school passion has turned into a career, and now Cook spends everyday doing what she loves. Her favorite aspect of her job is getting to work with people and express her creativity with different hairstyles.

“You don’t need to go to college to get a solid job,” Cook says. She explains that though has no college diploma, she has no student loan debt and makes enough money to more than support herself. Because of her experiences, Cook encourages current Eagle Valley students to think about what they truly want for their own life and to make their own path rather than following the crowds’ footsteps to college. “What you need in life, you don’t always get from textbooks,” says Cook.

20SPORTS SCHEDULE

Monday, February 10, 2020 Basketball: Girls C-Team Game vs. Basalt High School at 5:00 pm Basketball: Boys C-Team Game vs. Basalt High School at 6:30 pm Wednesday, February 12, 2020 Basketball: Girls C-Team Game vs. Basalt High School at 5:00 pm Basketball: Boys C-Team Game vs. Basalt High School at 6:30 pm Saturday, February 15, 2020 Basketball: Girls JV Game vs. Summit at 11:00 am Basketball: Boys JV Game vs. Summit at 11:00 am Basketball: Girls Varsity Game vs. Summit at 12:30 pm Basketball: Boys Varsity Game vs. Summit at 12:30 pm Basketball: Girls C-Team Game vs. Summit at 2:00 pm Basketball: Boys C-Team Game vs. Summit at 2:00 pm Tuesday, February 18, 2020 Basketball: Girls JV Game vs. Rifle at 4:00 pm Basketball: Boys JV Game vs. Rifle at 4:00 pm Basketball: Girls Varsity Game vs. Rifle at 5:30 pm Basketball: BoysVarsity Game vs. Rifle at 7:00 pm Wednesday, February 19, 2020 Hockey: Boys Varsity Game vs. Columbine at 6:30 pm Thursday, February 20, 2020 Wrestling:Varsity State Championships @Pepsi Center-Denver Basketball: Girls JV Game vs. Battle Mountain at 4:00 pm @Battle Mountain High School Basketball: Boys JV Game vs. Battle Mountain at 4:00 pm @Battle Mountain High School Basketball: Boys C-Team Game vs. Battle Mountain at 5:30 pm @Battle Mountain High School Basketball: Girls Varsity Game vs. Battle Mountain at 5:30 pm @Battle Mountain High School Basketball: Girls C-Team Game vs. Battle Mountain at 7:00 pm @Battle Mountain High School Basketball: Boys Varsity Game vs. Battle Mountain at 7:00 pm @Battle Mountain High School Friday, February 21, 2020 Wrestling:Varsity State Championships @Pepsi Center-Denver Hockey: Boys Varsity Game vs. Crested Butte at 5:00 pm Saturday, February 22, 2020 Wrestling:Varsity State Championships @Pepsi Center-Denver