V24 I3 - March 8, 2024

Friday,

Ten new courses offered for 2024-2025 school year

EVA BERNSTIEN ‘25

Associate Editor Print

The academic office has announced the new courses for students to choose from when creating their schedules for the 2024-2025 school year. These new courses have been in the works since this past August.

Next year’s new course offerings range from six academic departments, covering the humanities, arts, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In the Math and Computer Science department, a non-Advanced Placement (AP) calculus course is going to be offered.

“For students who took the traditional path and ended up in precalculus as a junior, we haven’t had a class if they want to keep exploring math but not have the pressure of an AP course,” Math Department

Three new History and Social Sciences electives: Global Political Philosophy, International Human Rights Law and Diplomacy, and Rights, Justice, Law: the U.S. Supreme Court will be offered during the upcoming school year. Psychology: Human Mind and Behavior will also resume after a year-long hiatus.

“We wanted to do more globally-focused electives because many of our current offerings are American history-focused, so we had students who want to continue their global social science education in mind,” History and Social Sciences Department Chair Karin Scott said.

Global Political Philosophy will explore the development of various governmental structures.

Chair Nina Scheinberg ‘11 said. “We’ve designed this course for people who want to reach calculus but without the pressure of taking an AP test at the end of the year.”

The Science department will be offering one new semester-long course for seniors: Organic Chemistry.

“We’ve been looking to add one semester courses, especially for seniors who have finished Advanced Research,” Science Department Chair Catherine Renaud said. “Organic Chemistry is a course that lots of students will see in college if they’re going into science or medicine. This will provide exposure to concepts so that they will be more straightforward and less stressful when students see them a second time.”

“This will be a revamped version [of philosophy] that focuses on political philosophy in ancient Asia and ancient Africa,” Scott said. “Students will study how governments were made and destroyed, and society’s role in all of that,” Scott said.

Rights, Justice, Law: the U.S. Supreme Court will focus on the judicial branch, the role the supreme court plays in government and how landmark cases can drive social change.

International Human Rights Law and Diplomacy will focus on the causes and effects of the United Nations.

“Students will look at the history of human rights through many social science lenses; history, political science, law, and anthropology” Scott said.

“They will talk about the events that led to the idea of international human rights, stemming from the creation of

A chocolate change

Students, faculty unveil plans for annual Chocolate Lounge

TEDDY STAEBLER‘25

Sports Staff

Ever since its start, the Chocolate Lounge has been known for its baked goods and musical attractions, but this year, the junior class aims to take the event to new heights. The planning committee, made up of members of the class of 2025, came up with new ideas to hopefully increase turnout for the event. In past years the occasion had activities such as a bake sale, a jazz performance, and an auction, all of which will continue to occur despite new additions to this year’s event. This year’s Chocolate Lounge debuts new additions such as a cakewalk, a chocolate piñata, larger raffle prizes, and even a chance for students to pie their favorite teacher.

under their daughter Elisa’s name after she passed due to an illness. All proceeds from the chocolate lounge go towards supporting students who need help to participate in school and to honor the memories of Patrick and Elisa Savageau. With such an important task needed to be done well, event facilitator Stephanie Miller ’86 credits the junior class for keeping the event fresh and well run.

“The juniors make the event exciting with their new visions and ideas, they really own it,” said Miller, who plans to sell raffle tickets at the Chocolate Lounge. “ It’s only my second year being a part of the event but I can already see the amount of commitment all the students put into the process.”

the United Nations after World War II.”

The English department will be offering two new senior seminars. Senior seminars are intended to mirror a first-year college humanities seminar.

“It’s a deep dive into something small after you’ve already taken three survey courses,” English Department Chair Monica Lewis said. “A lot of these courses are a labor of love. They’re based on the specialties of what we know as instructors. We’re kind of in love with these topics. The generative nature of them and the fact that they started with passion makes them unique.”

The two new senior seminar offerings are English IV: Pirate Studies and English IV: Critically Reading Children’s Literature.

“English IV: Pirate Studies explores the idea of counterculture, why pirates exist, and how they interact with the status quo,” Lewis said. “English IV: Critically Reading Children’s Literature is going to focus on literary understandings, critical perspectives and trends related to middle-grade and young adult literature. Students will analyze what symbols and trends exist in children’s books, look at pieces that endure from generation to generation, and also at what’s fresh in children’s literature right now.”

The English department will also be offering a reboot of a course formally known as Interpreting the Novel, which was not run this year due to low enrollment numbers. The course will now be called English IV: Globalizing “Moby Dick” Then and Now, in an effort to clarify the content that will be covered in the course.

The Fine and Performing Arts department will be offering a new Textile and Fiber Arts course.

“With the addition of more visual arts faculty, we’ve been thinking of the larger picture of what we offer in terms of courses,” visual arts teacher Nicole Burroughs, who will be teaching the class and has a background in textile and fiber arts, said.

“Textile or fiber arts has historically, at least in the time that I have been here, been missing from our curriculum, so I

“My job is that I need to make sure everything is able to happen during the Chocolate Lounge with no issues,” said Leahy. “I have to make sure we have permission to use certain rooms and spaces as well as find teachers who will volunteer to help run the event and who want to get pied in the face.”

wrote up a proposal suggesting that we add this class in as a course that will alternate each year with Introduction to Art.” This decision was made because students tend to take Introduction to Art one time, so the addition of a new course would expand the department’s programming for students. The class will dive into the history of textile arts as well as examine contemporary artists.

The Wellness department will be offering one new elective: Recreational Sports, and is rebranding Lifetime Fitness to now be called Strength and Conditioning.

“We added Recreational Sports so that we could offer a sports-focused elective for students,” Wellness Department Chair Katie Kukulski said. “Students will have the opportunity to play both team and individual sports like basketball or tennis.” Some scheduling adjustments will also be made to pre-existing courses. The upper school health requirement is now going to be for tenth grade to allow ninth-graders an extra semester to choose an elective of their choice. Because of this, Yoga and Mindfulness will now be open to ninth-graders. Courses with high enrollment numbers, like Campaigns and Elections and Mathematical Approaches to Critical Thinking are going to be offered in both semesters. Adjustments like these are made from looking at past enrollment numbers, with more similar classes to existing popular ones being offered, and less popular classes potentially being switched out.

“To me, the new courses fall into two buckets,” Beamish said. “We want to make sure that we are providing a range of classes for every student and not just adding advanced, super intense classes. The other piece is that, particularly with English and history electives, we’re mindful of what’s happening in the world and what students are interested in, and so we’re trying to make sure that we provide electives that students will find relevant. I hope that students see that we’re thinking about their interests and trying to make sure that the course offerings provide them with a good ex-

come to the Chocolate Lounge. Sales committee co-chair Sophie Erb-Watson ‘25 has made it her goal to raise as much money as possible for the event.

Getting a whole grade of students to function together and plan out the event is not easy but event co-chair Meera Tewari’25 has been making it work.

Even though the Chocolate Lounge is changing, its main goal remains to raise money for the Patrick ’98 and Elisa ’02 Savageau Memorial Endowment Fund and the Krystal Heitman Memorial Endowment, the two funds alternate years getting the profits from the Chocolate Lounge. This year’s initiative, the Savageau Memorial Endowment, was started by Patrick and Elisa Savageau after their son Patrick’s death and was also put

While every junior plays their part, the task of planning the event belongs to the logistics committee where the students work to make sure everything is accounted for. Whether it be planning decorations and deciding which rooms to use or getting the right amount of food, the logistics committee will take care of it. Logistics committee cochair Ishan Leahy ’25 said he has spent his time sending an extensive amount of emails in preparation for the event.

“We have had weekly meetings with all the different committees to make sure everyone is accomplishing what they need to and that we will be ready for the event,” said Tewari. “I am looking forward to seeing what our grade can do better than last year, and how our new activities will improve the event.”

In order to raise the most money for the event the Juniors had to make sure that enough people would

“I have been reaching out to parents and asking for donations and also trying to use Greenhills’ e-forum to spread the word of the event,” said Erb-Watson. “It’s a lot of work but with my classmates’ support, I feel much more confident in our final product.”

To meet the expected turnout of this year’s Chocolate Lounge, this years committee has worked hard to get the right amount of baked goods.

“Getting cupcakes and cakes in particular has been really challenging for us,” said Leahy. “Because we want everything to be homemade, it is hard to find parents and faculty who are able to make such a large quantity.”

March 8, 2024

The Student Newspaper of Greenhills School

PLANNING PARTY Dean of Academics Susan Beamish and registrar Natalie Caramagno review the 2024-2025 course guide. “I myself, the department chairs, and the teachers are really excited about these offerings,” Beamish said. “When we were discussing them, we were saying, ‘I want to take that class,’. We hope that students are excited as well.”

CONFERENCE AND COLLABORATION Juniors on the Chocolate Loung planning committee work together to create signs for the Chocolate Lounge. “The meetings are really helpful because we can collaborate and pool all of our ideas together,” said Ishan Leahy ‘25.

All of the classes that are being added for next year, of them, every single one, is an improvement on the catalog. Every one fills a need, serves a purpose, and makes this school better. We need non-AP calculus because learning isn’t just about a test. We need globally oriented-history and politics courses because we are part of a global community, not just an American one. We need to study pirates because– pirates are important we guess?

So every critique we make is only because perfection is unattainable, but that doesn’t stop us from trying. The new classes are different from the ones we need. Ask anyone what classes we need. They won’t say organic chemistry, “sports,” or fiber arts; they’ll say life skills. A year-long required course as seniors in which you learn basic skills for when you go off to college and are on your own. Skills such as cooking, changing a tire, filing taxes, survival skills, how to deal with an accident (if you get in one), fixing holes in clothing (sewing), and first-aid. We do a very good job of investing in our brains, but not a very good job of making sure our floating heads can tie the shoes that’ll get them to work in the morning.

Editors celebrate new classes, ask for more practicality

because the truth is we’re going to have to take tests after we leave here.

If you think that the science that is taught at this school is insufficient, teach something else. Modern physics has done so to great effect. But adding more sciences can’t just be about looking good on a transcript, we will have time for that. It should be about learning all the amazing huge little things that we don’t have time to cover in survey courses.

In short, we need to be prepared for life once we leave academia.

We’re not saying that there shouldn’t be a place for the fun or frivolous in school, but before we add more of the same we need some

We need classes that teach us how to do things. Life skills to ease the transition to college and beyond. Shop class so we can build the reality that other classes merely help us imagine. We need to learn about what’s going on in the world right now, not just world history, so that we can participate in the systems, political, financial, or otherwise, that will shape our lives.

“Anatomy because the class is really engaging and interactive. We got to make 3D clay models of the human body which was so fun! If you are interested in science but don’t want to do AP Bio, anatomy and physiology is a great choice.”

ANJAN SINGER ‘24

“Advanced

Physics because it was a challenge but you could still see how what we were learning could be applied outside of the classroom. ”

“There is no other class that teaches you how to overcome challenges and develop self-efficacy in the way Ceramics does.”

fundamental life skills. We understand many of these classes are what students want to focus on after high school and in college, and that’s great, there will be time for that, but right now it’s half done.

If you don’t think the calculus that the College Board wants you to teach is important don’t teach it. We hate them as much as anybody. Teachers should be able to teach the subjects that will be useful and exciting. But it can’t just be about not wanting to take a test,

DOMINIC SCHUSTER CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS

“Campaign and Elections is a very fun class where you get to learn about events occurring in the world and the politics behind them.”

Fiddling while Washington burns Trump, Biden and civic duty in 2024

Politics is depressing, repetitive, and signals the end of humanity as we know it. It’s dispiriting, ineffective, and thoroughly (un) American. It’s disingenuous, and phony, and frankly I can see why most people, especially young people, don’t care about it.

It’s also what we have. We can sit here all day and watch Weekend Update, laugh at the stupidity of it all, and wish for a better system while the world burns outside, it won’t change the fact that we are the ones falling asleep at the wheel.

Our generation has a duty not simply to act as stewards, not just to wait our turn, but to rebuild the America that is failing us; that we are failing.

It’s not just us, not just kids, who are letting this happen. Our society is lethargic and tired from long years of fighting. The few political figures that excite us are not messiahs but demons that not only refuse to end but promise to add atop years of abuse by the political system in this country and beyond. They promise not to bring us together, but divide us further, on every side of every aisle.

This year we will be presented not with a reckoning, but an ultimatum. On every ballot in every gym, library, and fire station we will be presented with a choice: to accept mediocrity, the first step on the muddy path to the top of the mountain, or sink to our knees and die here. But of course most of us won’t make that choice. Most won’t be able to. Many will want to with every fiber of their beings, to have a say in their future. But some simply won’t care enough to show up.

This year’s presidential election won’t be won in Texas, or California, or Ohio. It’ll be won in Georgia, and Pennsylvania, and Michigan. And even here it won’t be won’t be won in some lofty office up in Lansing, it’ll be won in the minds of young people, it’ll be won or lost by us.

Trump won Michi gan in 2016. Biden won Michigan in 2020. The way Michigan voted in 2020 (by percent age breakdown) was closest of all the states to mirror the way the coun try voted as a whole. When Michigan got energized about abortion with Prop 3 in 2022,the country followed. When Michigan looks at itself in the mirror, looking at America.

LACHLAN RAE FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS

“I suggest taking Financial Applications. It’s an interesting class and it’s important for you after high school. I’m grateful for taking the class.”

If you don’t think we learn enough about global history and politics, teach it. But it can’t just be another half-baked Global Perspectives class that promises too much over too much time and delivers very little of it. Teach the global history that is important to us right now. About the Middle East, and Russia, and China, and how politics became what it is today, not how it became what it was thousands of years ago.

We could go on, but the point is we are moving in the right direction, towards interesting, important, necessary skills, but we need to remember not to stop halfway; not to let improvement let us forget the big picture. We need to be better prepared with basic life skills, better prepared to do things with our hands, and better prepared for the science and history that await us in the real world. We’re getting closer, but we’re not there yet.

MATTHEW STREICHER JOURNALISM

“Journalism has been one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken here, I highly recommend it to anyone even if you aren’t that interested in the idea.”

turnout among college-educated suburbanites and in Southeast Michigan, that’s it. That’s the election. That’s the presidency. Right here. In Michigan’s hands.

We have a megaphone. Trump won Michigan in 2016 by less than 10,000 votes. Our little hand-shaped state is a lot bigger than we think. Our hundred-something student votes are a lot bigger than we think.

When Michigan shows up the country listens.

If Biden loses a couple thousand votes in Ann Arbor and Dearborn, that’s it. If he loses the Arab-American vote, that’s it. If he loses

So we have a duty. A duty to exercise every right with which we are endowed to fight against the terrible fate that awaits us. A duty to at least go down swinging. We have a duty to not throw away our votes, to not let apathy get to us, to not pretend that we don’t matter, because we do. Biden or Trump, I hate it as much as anyone, but those are your choices. Writing “ceasefire” on your ballot is the easy way out. Voting No Labels or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the easy way out. Throwing away your vote is the easy way out. It’s not noble, it’s not bucking the establishment. The establishment won’t notice. Choose, not because you want to, but because this country needs you too. If you won’t do it for yourself, if you won’t do it for all of us, do it for our founding fathers, for Susan B. Anthony, for Martin Luther King Jr. Do it for those who give their lives for our right to hear and be heard, to educate ourselves, to vote, knowing that we will never know their names.

“Textposition is a class that will blow your mind. It takes the things that you think you know concretely, like how to read, and completely turns it upside down.”

So I demand nothing but for all of us to hold up our end of the bargain. Educate yourself. Participate. Vote.

Alcove is a newspaper written by students, for the students of Greenhills School. All opinions, views, and statements reflect those of the students working on Alcove and not necessarily the faculty and staff

Graphic by Nicole Zhong ‘24

ANJAN

A helping hand

First-year club gets boost from alum

TEDDY STAEBLER ‘25

Sports Staff

Not many clubs get support from alumni much less a $10,000 donation. As first-year club founders, Kabir Rajendra ‘25 and Ben Magnus ‘25 did not expect their club to have instant success. The pair formed Finance Club to share their passion with the community and display their expansive knowledge of all things finance. A typical day within the club consists of covering upcoming competitions, teaching members about the stock market, and analyzing the trends of stocks. In the first semester, members of the club took on multiple online competitions in which competitors invested in stocks to create an online portfolio and experienced the ups and downs of the stock market. In two online competitions, Wharton and Ithaca, Magnus, and Rajendra each held portfolios in the top 10 among thousands of competitors. After the club’s immense success, faculty sponsor Eric Gajar revealed that alumnus Robert Wang ‘04 had donated $10,000 to help start Greenhills’ first-ever hedge fund.

“He mainly did projects for college groups but decided that with the way the club was progressing, investing in his alma mater would be the right decision,” said Gajar. Magnus and Rajendra were extremely surprised at the news. The thought of real money being on the table never came close to their heads. Having only led a club for one semester neither could have seen this coming.

er peers step up and also grow the fund in the future,” said Magnus. “This is an opportunity for anyone to take advantage of. Most of our club members have never had this amount of money to invest and I

lard ‘25 competed in both the Ithaca and Wharton competitions. “At first, I was a bit confused about how to navigate my portfolio and read the stock market,” said Rouillard. “After a bit of practice, however, I started to get the hang of it. It’s super cool that I can use the tools I learned from the online competitions and apply them to real-life situations. I was not one bit expecting to be able to apply my knowledge but here I am.”

If the club wins big in the stock market the leaders have a plan of how they will use the money.

“We would use some profits from the fund for school improvements,” said Magnus. “They gave us this opportunity so it’s only fair we return the favor to our community. There are so many things students complain about and knowing that I might have the power to fix that feels good. We would also use some of the profits to help improve the club.”

The club recently finished drafting their bylaws which will ensure that in the future the money will be handled ethically and in an organized manner. Moving forward, Magnus and Rajendra hope to bring in guest speakers to educate the class from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan among other institutions.

GENERATION TO GENERATION Finance club brought in a guest speaker, Rupeesh Agarwal, who was a part of the first student-led fund at Michigan Ross and now works in investor relations for Xcel Energy, to talk about his experiences managing a fund and to share his knowledge in finance. “It was great to have someone so experienced in their field come and talk to the club and answer any questions members had,” said Ben Magnus ‘25.

“This was a really cool opportunity for us to have,” said Rajendra. “We founded this club not expecting much so it was really exciting to be able to have something of this magnitude happen. In the first semester, we only used fake money to in- vest, but now we get to use real money. It’s a whole different world.”

As much as the pair is eager to use the fund to its fullest capability, they would also like to see other members of the club help with the portfolio.

“We hope to grow the fund and have our young-

“We hope that bringing in speakers experienced in the field will spark more interest in not just members of our club but the whole community,” said Rajendra. “The more people we have in our club the better and the more people we have helping with our portfolio the better.”

Gajar agrees and expects to see more activity and engagement within the club.

think they could learn many valuable lessons from it.”

Members of the club were extremely excited to hear that they could pitch in to a portfolio with real money. The whole first semester members of the club had used fake money to invest and none of them had expected to be able to use real money. Just as Magnus and Rajendra did,

Clubs launch into competition

“As the club grows it will create more buzz and more and more students will join,” said Gajar. “Hopefully it continues to grow, and students will get more opportunities like the ones brought upon by Wang’s generous donation.”

Etienne Rouil-

Navigating through challenges and triumphs as competition season begins

GEARING UP FOR COMPETITION

The Robotics team creates a new robot for their upcoming competition. “We have field pieces built, which are actually in the lunchroom, in the tent, there’s a big wooden structure hidden by a tarp, which is part of the field for the robotic season,” said Sameer Kheterpal ‘26.

Last semester the middle school team kicked off robotics season by competing in the FTC season. The eighth grade team went to states through the impact award for work they did in the community, including helping with service day and summer robotics camps. Their success, rooted in community impact, set the stage for a new high school chapter. The transition to the high school season brought about the unveiling of FRC 2024’s Crescendo challenge. Sameer Kheterpal ‘26 robotics team member describes their progress.

“We’re working on making the main parts. We are still in the beginning of the build season, competitions are still quite a few weeks out,” said Kheterpal. The team, now in the advanced prototype phase, after working on a new system over the summer have begun the robot preparation. Kheterpal shares his insights on the new driving system.

“We’re using the swerve drive this year for driving, which is a fancy way you can drive in not just forward or backward and turning, like before,” said Kheterpal.

NAVIGATING THE MORAL MAZE

Ethics Club is preparing to participate in the 10th Michigan State Ethics Bowl. With the event being hosted at Greenhills for the second consecutive year.

When competing, Ethics Club faces scenarios filled with various moral dilemmas. Club leaders have been applying different strategies to help members reach a consensus on cases

“We have two exponential leaders Charley Platt ‘24 and Anjan Singer ‘24, who have been diligently guiding the club through the various cases, applying various ethical frameworks,” said Randolph. “We’re working on what we would call table strategies, ways of being most efficient and to make the best possible ethical case, which is the beauty of the bowl is you’re not trying to defeat an argument, you’re trying to extend it to achieve the highest good.”

In the upcoming Ethics Bowl, Randolph said the club’s ambition is to qualify for Nationals.

“The Ethics Bowl tends to focus on the single competition which qualifies a Michi gan team to then compete in one regional and then go on to the Na tionals,” said Randolph. “We have done that three times but the third time we won was during COVID where they canceled the bowl. I’m hoping that we’ll get a chance to go back to the Nationals and Chapel Hill, North Carolina again.”

COMPETITIVE VOICES

With their first competition on Feb. 10, th Forensics club , continues to work on their strategy.

The Forensics team, the previous state chamipions, prepare to take on States to hopefully repeat their title this year. With the hope of multiple people placing, forensics coach Ben Bellamy, continues to provide the club with a readiness strategy.

“The whole team is required to be competition ready a couple days before,” said Bellamy. “If they’ve got a script or a speech that they’re giving, it has to be memorized, blocked, and ready to perform in front of peers.”

In Forensics there are multifaceted aspects of preparation, ranging from scripted performances to impromptu challenges, requiring a lot of practice.

“There’s some people in an event where they get a prompt and are required to respond live, so they don’t have something prepared in advance,” said Bellamy. “They’ve been put - ting the practice work in so that they’re ready to do that.”

After their first competition Forensics has four more invitationals before Regionals and States which take place in April and May.

“Before Regionals the team will get cut down based on how people have performed throughout the season,” said Bellamy. “After that we will create our State Finals team.”

BUILDING TOMORROW’S LEADERS

Nations United at the MUNUM conference, delegates from each nation navigate international relations and diplomacy.“Conferences are really fun,” Ethan Hess ‘26. “I enjoy being able to meet new people and engage in debates.”

After the MUNUM (Model United Nations of University of Michigan) and CASC (Canadian-American Security Councils) conferences, Model UN prepares to take on their last conference of the year, SIMUN XXII (Saint Ignatius Model United Nations), in Lansing Michigan. Members from the Model UN club secured awards at various conferences, this includes Nicole Zhong ‘24 for the best delegate. Club member Ethan Hess ‘26 explains how they prepare for these conferences during their weekly meetings.

“During these meetings we talk about the general format of what the committee is and how to write resolutions,” said Hess.

“Then we have the e-board members who are always there to help write papers and such.’’

The club’s approach emphasizes the value placedon individual and group growth and support.

“Compared to ours, some schools have more structured Model UN clubs than we do, but I think what we have works well,” said Hess. “It’s a lot of independent research and then advice from the e-board who come talk to us at meetings. I think it’s a great environment and a fun experience.”

ARYA PRABHAKAR ‘26 School Staff ROBOTICS

Graphics by Megan Peng ‘25

Photos coutsey Katherine Vane, Dhruv Nallamothu‘25, and Arya Prabhakar

Poll of students, faculty predicts “Oppenheimer” Oscars win

“Barbie,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” runners up in poll of 100 students, teachers

Kirtan Palapattu ‘27

“‘Oppenheimer’ should win an Oscar because the acting, writing, and seriousness of the film displays how intense the events that took place actually were. All of the scenes where they were constructing the bomb were really cool. It was my favorite movie that I saw in 2023 and Cillian Murphy did a really great job.”

Oscars poll: the full results

This black square is a visual representation of 100 votes. The colors of the other squares correspond with Oscars nomination catagories and the size of each square represents that nomination or nominee’s share of votes.

Anjali Brahmasandra ‘25

“Emma Stone will win an Oscar this year. She was amazing in ‘La La Land’ and it won her an Oscar in 2017. I think that ‘Poor Things’ is the best movie that she’s made since then and one of the best in her career. As a person, she’s really good at singing and acting, especially doing both at the same time very well, and the chemistry that she has with her co-stars is also really good, both on and off-screen.”

Ajay Purohit ‘26

“Cillian Murphy is a really robust and dynamic actor. In ‘Oppenheimer’ especially, his performance highlighted how cerebral acting really is. He’s inspired me to want to go into acting. I appreciate a lot of his scenes and I think that he did a phenomenal job of implementing a multifaceted approach into his acting in ‘Oppenheimer’.”

Inaaya Nazmeen ‘24

“‘What Was I Made For?’ should win an Oscar because it represents how we are all trying to find ourselves and how we keep on growing. It’s a song that you can relate to at any point in your life because you’re always trying to figure out what you want to do and what you want to be.

‘What Was I Made For?’ encapsulates that feeling of the teenage experience and girlhood.”

“If never went away” 4 percent of votes

Greta gerwig did not get nominated for best director for her work on “Barbie” 50 percent of votes

Margot robbie did not get nominated for Best Actrees for her work in “Barbie” 5 percent of votes

“Barbie” wasn’t snubbed

ANIKA BERY ‘24

Lifestyles Staff

This summer “Barbie” took movie theaters in a storm of pink and glitter. The movie broke the record for the highest-grossing movie directed solely by a woman, surpassing 2017’s “Wonder Woman”, and has made $1 billion in global ticket sales. Many movie goers dressed up in Barbie themed outfits and seemed to have a great time. I thought it was amaz ing.

After its smashing success, “Barbie” received eight Oscar nominations. Including a nomination for best picture. Even so, this was not enough for the movie’s fans. Fans who follow the Oscars are in uproar that Greta Gerwig was not nominated for Best Director and Margot Robbie was not nominated for Best Actress. De spite numerous claims of snubbing, Gerwig and Robbie were not com pletely erased from the 2024 Academy Awards. Gerwig received a nomina tion for Best Adapted Screenplay and Robbie received a nomination for Best Picture.

Barbie is a cultural icon, but she’s not a character that really did any thing major. Movies like “I, Tonya” exem plify Margot Robbie’s talent and skill as an actress, but Barbie does not. In “I, Tonya”, Rob bie’s performance was praised for its depth, com plexity, and the way she brought the ice skater Tonya Harding’s story to life on screen. Robbie captured the nuances of Harding’s character and even under went physical training to perform the difficult skat ing scenes herself, demonstrating her commitment to the character and the film. In “Barbie”, Robbie did not have to use half of her skills to portray the doll. Robbie already looks just like “Barbie”, and while “Barbie” told us all an important message about fem-

Recent alum writes, sings, releases single with record label

NICOLE ZHONG ‘24 Lifestlyes Editor For Devyn McGow ’23, the lifelong dream of becoming a studio recording artist came true with an unexpected interaction.

music and language. At eight, she completed her first show at the local Marquis Theatre in Northville, and from there she did 15 shows with them.”

with.”

teacher Kelly Williams

“Greta Gerwig should have been nominated for best director because ‘Barbie’ is an extraordinary achievement. One of the things that she has done as a director is really focus on telling womens’ stories, and often the films and directors that are nominated don’t center around womens’ lives and stories. I worry that people didn’t like ‘Barbie’ or vote for Gerwig for Best Director because ‘Barbie’ seems like it’s just pink and frivolous on the surface but it is far more profound than that. One of her talents is turning things that seem very mundane, like in ‘Little Women’, ‘Lady Bird’, or ‘Barbie’, into being very profound.”

Leonardo dicaptrio did not get nominated for his work in “Killers of the flower moon” 4 percent of votes

“Wahzhazhe” 4 percent of votes

“It’s actually a crazy story,” McGow said, “I was walking on campus one day and there was this guy performing in front of the Union. He was really good and so after his set, I walked up to him and began a conversation about music. I found out that he was considered for a Grammy in 2023. He asked me what music I do, and I replied that I’m also a songwriter. He asked me to send him something, so I emailed him a demo of ‘Dear Society.’ He emailed me right back writing ‘we need to get you into the studio and record this.’” McGow beamed as she recounted the memory. “It was definitely the right time and right place, but I was prepared for it.”

For “Dear Society” in particular, McGow elaborated on how the songwriting process stood out to her compared to other songs she had written before. The song hints at many different situations, such as monitoring weight, losing family, and mental health.

“The day I wrote the song was very healing. There was just so much I wanted to process and so much I wanted to say,” said McGow. “These weren’t really topics people were talking about in a high school environment, so when I wrote this song at sixteen, I was in a really different place. The lyric ‘I learned how to live when you just want to give up’ is my favorite because I see it as a grounding point – it sends out a message of ‘I got through this, and you can too.’”

Patrick was aware of the song’s commentary on society, especially the influence that social media has on teenagers today.

As for the actual recording of the song, McGow stressed the difference between self-releasing compared to working with a label.

“It was an incredible experience. I worked with Andrew Young and Alan Johnson, who are both incredible people with incredible stories,” said McGow. “The first time I met with Andrew and walked into the studio, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. It was a legit studio.” Although this experience came from a spontaneous connection, McGow’s parents always had a hunch that McGow would become a professional songwriter, or at the very least, always love the stage.

“She has always been a musical performer – at two years old she would start to make up songs on the piano,” McGow’s mother, Donna McGow said. “I still have her first song from when she was four, saved on a piece of paper. I think it was about how the trees were green and the sky was blue, and how everyone should love each other.”

McGow’s father, Patrick McGow, elaborated on how neither of the parents were musical performers.

“That was totally her thing,” said Patrick. “From a very young age, she always had a very natural connection to

McGow understands that not only can people resonate with the song’s lyrics, but also her dreams of becoming a singer. For those aspiring students, she had some advice.

“It’s pretty deep, which is how Devyn rolls,” said her father. “Images of people can make anybody feel bad abou themselves, especially teenagers growing up. Her song has a powerful message that so many can and have resonated

“Just say yes to things,” said McGow. “Try things out and do things. Even though I’m not studying music for my major, I take really cool classes that relate to film and the music industry, and I attend campus music events all of the time. The music industry is so difficult to break into, and if it’s something you love, go for it. Even if it starts out as just a few close friends supporting you, you never know the impact you can have unless you try.”

Patrick attributes her successful release to her devotion to her dreams.

“She had the initiative to go and meet these recording people, drive to Indianapolis to record the music, and go from having a good song to signing and releasing something as an artist,” said her father. “That follow through is something that a lot of eighteen year olds may not have.” Donna also stressed McGow’s drive to pursue music despite being a teenager.

“A lot of people are musical, but she had the initiative to go walk up to someone and begin a conversation on music,” said Donna. “She has managed everything along the way and that’s quite impressive being a college student.”

Despite being a freshman in college, McGow is already working on her next musical single.

“I’m going to be working with John Mellencamp’s band,” said McGow. “It’s going to be very different from ‘Dear Society’ and definitely more like a self-empowerment situation.”

However, McGow said that one thing will never change about her songwriting.

“I write my music for myself to process, but I release it for everyone to connect with. You have no idea who may connect with your message,” said McGow.

Sophomore produces poetry in the form of music

MANYA TIJORIWALA ‘26 Lifestyles Staff Sitting in a dark room, harmony flowing through your mind. Song and emotion expressing the inexpressible, the feeling of rhythm coursing through your veins. Experiencing an entire lifetime of emotion in just three to four minutes. Music is everywhere and in everything, especially for Rykken Vivekanand ‘26 who started his everlasting passion for music at a preschool show and tell circle. Vivekanand plays a vast array of instruments, including the piano, ukulele, bass, and guitar. He started playing the ukulele when he was five years old, which was his first introduction to music, sparking his flourishing interest in the art.

Vivekanand has always been interested in performing music, playing instruments in elementary talent shows and showcases. In recent years, he has become more inclined to composing and releasing his own music.

“Eighth grade is when I started recording music, and then I started teaching myself music production,” said Vivekanand. “I think writing songs out of emotion and letting my feelings kind of guide how that song shapes and morphs into what it becomes.”

DaSilva. “It was the most insane thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve been playing the piano for like eight years, and he was just immediately up to that skill. He’s very geared to what he likes to do, and he has branched out to working digitally and actually producing songs.”

Now Vivekanand is working on releasing a new album in the upcoming couple of weeks, drawing inspiration from many different and powerful artists.

inism, the doll’s discoveries and ultimate revelation wasn’t exactly complicated. biggest hits. While “Barbie” spoke to the feelings of millions of girls and women, it didn’t happen in a

way that was natural or anything like real life, as it does in her other films. Gerwig was previously nom inated for best director for “LadyBird”, a movie that was realistically much more relatable than “Barbie” ever could be. “Barbie” was flamboyant and loudly declarative, but it did not contain the subtlety char acteristic of Gerwig’s other films. Gerwig’s ground breaking film was recognized through its nomination for best adaptive screenplay. Gerwig should definite ly be acclaimed further for being the first solo woman director of a billion-dollar grossing film, but that accolade is not going to come from the Academy. A few women who made history at this year’s oscar nominations were Amer ica Ferrera as the first actress of Hondruan descent for Best Supporting Actress,

“In the second year of pre- school, this girl named Quinn did a little show and tell, and she played ukulele for all of us,” said Vivekanad. “I was like, ‘wow, that is really cool, I want to learn ukule- le.’ So I began tak- ing ukulele les-

market for entertainment that takes the feelings of girls and women seriously. “Bar bie” was a cultural

Singing and distributing lyrics comes with difficulty, particularly for Rykken, who says that it was originally hard for him to share his tunes with other people.

“I hated the way I sounded back then in eighth grade, and I didn’t show anyone my recordings,” Vivekanand said. “But at the end of eighth grade, the be ginning of ninth grade, is when I reached a point where I wanted to start distributing this music. I needed to get over this anxiety of other people hearing my singing. Honestly, that was exposure thera py where anyone who would listen, I’d be like, ‘listen to my music.’ So now I don’t care, I really don’t care if someone hears my voice.”

The process of drafting new music is different for everyone, but for Vivekanand, it is less like a chore and more like a hobby.

“Whenever I feel sad, or I have this emotion or something, I try and capture it in a song,” said Vivekanand. “I’ve been doing that a lot lately. In the last couple of months, I’ve probably written 30 to 40 songs. It’s crazy how cathartic it is for me, and I think that’s what really drives me. I want to share my message, and I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m finding it.”

“I think I’ve been trying to find my sound, and I think I’ve landed on it with this next album that’s coming out soon,” Vivekanand said. “This sound that I’ve been able to kind of manifest in a way, has come from me listening to music, but mostly from what makes me feel. When I listen to Radiohead, Lizzy McAlpine, Billie Eilish, or people such as that, I feel a very specific set of emotions that I’m able to draw from to create my own music, and it ends up sounding similar to those people because those are my inspirations.”

Vivekanand’s mother and published author, Jennifer Vivekanand is a huge supporter and enthusiast of her son’s music.

“He’s been in a lot of creative things. He’s a creative kid,” said Jennifer, “He did a piano recital at the Saline Music center, and it was music that he wrote and composed all on his own. His music teacher got up and said that he was really sophisticated for his age and also that he wrote everything self. I just remember looking around and the reaction of the other parents, and I felt really proud he had done all that work himMusic is and always will be an integral part of Vivekanand’s life. Whether or not he chooses to pursue it in the future, it is bound to always hold a special place in his heart.

Alexandra DaSilva ‘26, a friend of Vivekanand, says he has an immense talent for songwriting and as an instrumentalist. “He learned how to play the piano in a year,” said

“My entire life there’s always been music and at every moment there’s music in my head,” said Vivekanand. “Sometimes I can’t sleep at night because there are songs in my head, some exist, some do not, and I don’t think that’s going away anytime soon, so even if I don’t pursue music it’s not going anywhere.”

Graphics courtesy of Megan Peng ‘25 and Jade Zhang ‘24 and by Nicole Zhong ‘24 Photos by Manya Tijoriwala ‘26

Poll conducted and briefs compiled by Eva Bernstein ‘25

English

Small fish, big pond

Swim team nearly sunk when membership neared zero, then seven freshmen tossed it a life jacket

DOMINIC SCHUSTER ‘24

Sports Editor

When the team runs out of members then the team does not have purpose and is removed. That is what happened to ice hockey; the same destiny that swimming was headed right for when only two seniors and one junior remained after last year. Introducing the freshmen class to keep the team afloat.

Varsity girls hoops starts three freshman

Sports Staff

Adding to a recent trend for girls varsity basketball, the team has added three freshmen to their starting lineup for the 2023-24 season. Beyond the new freshmen the team is being coached by a new head coach, Taylor Parker.

“The three freshmen contribute to the team and play well together,” said the new head coach Taylor Parker.

The varsity girl’s basketball team is starting three freshmen this season for the first time. Parker is in the middle of her first season with the girl’s team and has assigned the freshmen to starting.

The team has been improving each game with four wins so far this season. While this is not as many as the coaches would hope for, it’s a good start and the team has improved a lot over the season leading to higher scoring and a more secure lineup of who’s going to play and what their contribution is going to be to the team. The freshmen in particular have been a large part of the team and have helped the team in each of these four wins.

shots and and stealing the ball which has helped lead the team to winning.

“I think my best qualities for the team are my scoring and distributing,” said Alumkal.

Libby Schuster ‘27 has been playing basketball for rwo years, but this is her first time playing for the Greenhills team. She is also a guard who is good at shooting the ball.

“In each of the games we’ve lost the team got to know each other better and kept scoring more and more points,” said Parker.

Cate Alumkal ‘27 is a guard for the team, and has played basketball for Greenhills since last year. She is a scorer and helps assist her teammates. In two of the four games the team has won Alumkal has helped by blocking

In the teams 35-21 win over the academy of the Sacred Heart Schuster had four steals .

“I’ve been playing basketball for two years but this is my first year for the Greenhills team it’s a different level of competition from middle school but its working out,” said Schuster.

Maia McSparron ‘27 has been playing basketball since sixth grade and has been on the Greenhills team since seventh grade. She plays a forward position but also shoots the ball as she had two three-pointers in the game against Roeper. McSparron has helped out in the games that the team has won by scoring and stealing.

“I’ve been playing basketball since sixth grade and have been on the greenhills team since seventh grade,” said McSparron.

A point that all three of the freshmen have agreed on is that the varsity level is a step above every other level they have played at. Although they all agree on this point the impact they have had on the team has helped out a lot.

“Varsity is the hardest level I’ve played at, it’s a lot different than middle school, the competition is a lot tougher,” said McSparron

FAST FACTS

was nonconsecutive. I was here for seven years, away for six, and back for six.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND HIM: My office, but now that’s its tucked away, I like walking around. You can find me at the front door in the mornings or at the salad bar.

FAVORITE LUNCH: Corn chowder. I love that corn chowder.

of what is needed to get to states.

“My season has gone well, I have a little more to prove and more to show with my time,” said Ethan Hong ‘27. “Only a little bit and then I’m into states but right now I’m fully locked into this season. Making MISCA proved to me I can do it, even though it didn’t go well for me I still proved a lot to myself.”

With seven of the ten members on the team being freshmen the team is looking at a future here, but there is another thing about these freshmen. They are very fast. With two of the freshmen qualifying for Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (MISCA) which, according to Jibreel Rehman ‘24, are very competitive.

“The times are very hard to get to as they are very fast but given how the team has done, it doesn’t surprise me if they can swim faster,” said Yoel Bechar ‘24.

However, with this young and fast team it can be tough as they can sometimes be more focused on future years when they will be older and stronger.

“We have high hopes for the future years and are all very excited about the upcoming years, especially with the incoming eighth graders who have shown interest, but we really have focused on this year. We all bond really well, swim together, and have put up times that make us focused on this year,” said Tag Dershimer ‘27. “We are focused on states now as many of us are just off the cut and if we focus on it we will do it.”

The belief of making it to states is shared amongst the freshmen and team as many are posting times only seconds off

According to the team, getting to the MISCA relay is tough enough given the fast times, however, to get to states the times need to be even faster. Given that two freshmen made it to the MISCA meet it is a thought that they cannot shake off making it to states.

“We are fast. We are getting faster each day, but we are fast even for our age,” said Brian Magnus ‘27. “We swim fast, bond fast, we are a team that [while young] incorporates each other into everything we do.”

The bonding and incorporation of freshmen was shared amongst the team as many of them felt like they weren’t a part of a team but rather a family. This bonding has helped the team to faster relays and stronger swim times.

“Everyone plays a part from the coaches to the swimmers,” said Atley Atienza ‘27. “We bond really well as a team and have a lot of fun.”

The team has high goals and high hopes for the remainder of the season as they approach states. While having a young team they are pushing through staying focused on this year’s goal of states. With the team aware of how close they are, everyone is pushing to make the cut as the freshmen lead the wave.

What current trends are baffling you and why?

Why do I need to know, and why does everyone need to know, what everyone is spending money on, on Venmo?

What is a typical Saturday night like?

A typical Saturday night is movie night with my kids after dinner, or movie night by myself after dinner.

Movie night snack?

Nacho chips, microwaved with cheese on top. When I was your age, microwaves first started coming out.

Movie recs?

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse and Oppenheimer.

Were you a good student in highschool?

I was. I was Ferris Bueller, but I was a good student. I was President of my school, so that clearly hasn’t really changed. I also liked English classes.

PHOTO

Photo courtesy of Greenhills school and Jibreel Rehman ‘24

HUGO ANDRE ‘26

JUST KEEP SWIMMING “Freshman are a key [asset] to the team’s success,” said Tag Dershimer ‘27. “Without the freshman I don’t know what this team would be.”

Photo Courtesy of Greenhills School

LEAVING IT ALL ON THE COURT “I’ve been playing bastketball for two years, but this is my first year for the Greenhills team,” said Libby Schuster ‘27. “It’s a different level of competition from middle school, but it’s working out.” Photo courtesy of JD Scott Photography

The big Serb

Nikola Sarcevich ‘24 moves from Serbia, shines on American basketball court

MATTHEW STREICHER ‘24

Lead Sports Reporter

Moving from another country is a complete change in lifestyle for anyone, including Nikola Sarcevich ‘24. But there is one familiar element that has always been there for him even since his elementary school days; basketball. He has gone from playing overseas to being named the MLive Athlete of the week in January, and it has been a long journey. Sarcevich began his playing career in Serbia where he joined a local team there as a fourth-grader. From there, he continued playing all the way until he moved to Ann Arbor six years later, one month before beginning his sophomore year. He spoke English well when he arrived, allowing him to overcome one of the barriers for players of any sport coming from another country. This year, leading his team alongside the all-senior starting line- up, they finished 14-10, includ- ing two wins over rival Father Gabriel Rich- ard.

“I’ve definitely improved from last season, and I’m taking more threes than last year. Just trying to get every win.” said Sarcevich.

While being a great offensive player, Sarcevich and Wright both agree that he has some work to do on the defensive side of his game, but has shown some good improvement this season.

“I’ve improved defensively, [Wright] would definitely agree with that.” said Sarcevich. “He knows how much I want to see him improve defensively, and I can see him putting in the effort. Every time he gets better at something, it makes a huge difference.” said Wright.

Sarcevich’s size has contributed a lot to his accomplishments this season. Standing at six feet six inches tall, being a big target in game has given the team an option on almost every push up-court.

The Big Leagues

Recent alums overcome obstacles, humbling experiences in collegiate sports

Mert Oral ’22

Matthew Streicher ‘24: How did you deal with all of the hype around you as a tennis player heading into your freshman season?

“Having him as a big target is a big part of the team’s success,” said Wright. “He has big hands and can calmly distribute the ball back out to other people which is great.

Sarcevich is statistically playing his best season yet, especially in recent games. Head coach Andrew Wright has been impressed with his performance as of late.

“Offensively, he’s a huge part of the team,” said Wright. “Other coaches will try and game plan for him but so many times I’ve seen him make a shot over top of someone and the coach will just drop their head. He’s a very skilled shooter and certainly a great ball handler.”

Game changer

We have a lot of guys that help us in that way but having somebody that size that can handle the ball is just basically like having a big guard out there. He’s an easy target.”

“With his height and his skill set, it’s really hard for other teams to defend him. He creates a lot of mismatches for us that way.” said Isaac Hess ‘24.

Sarcevich does not credit himself with the team’s accomplishments this season. Instead, he believes that it is his teammates who have just as big a part in this season as he has.

“We’re getting better each game,” said Sarcevich. “I don’t think we have one single player as a leader for the team, but I think the whole starting lineup, we’re all leaders for sure.”

Being a senior, Sarcevich is playing his last Gryphon season.

However, he has not ruled out continuing to play elsewhere or at a higher level. “I think I could play somewhere,” said Sarcevich. “I don’t think at a super high level, but maybe division three or something similar.”

Sarcevich has led his team through a promising regular season and is now ready to take the team all the way back to the district semifinals where they suffered a final minute loss to Plymouth Christian, 55-58, last season. With a well-seasoned starting lineup, the team is looking to Sarcevich as they prepare to make a run.

New referee opportunities connect middle and high school athletes

MIRA JAYARAMAN ‘26

School Staff

From the tweet of your whistle, the game starts. Players start encouraging their teammates, students start to cheer the team on from the stands, and then there’s you, in the middle of it all. This is what some high school students get to experience when they sign up to be a referee through the new referee program implemented at Greenhills.

This program, established by Athletic Director Tom Ward, allows high school students to referee middle school games of their choice throughout the school year.

“There are similar programs like these in other schools, but this is the first time Greenhills has had any sort of refereeing program,” said Ward.

It is not surprising that Ward specifically wanted to give this opportunity to students.

allow you to be a better sportsperson and to think about sportsmanship differently.”

“I refereed in college,” said Ward. “It was so much fun and such a great way to watch sports. I wanted to be able to get back in the swing of refereeing to help our students who are going to give it a try.”

Ward sees the program as an opportunity for high school students to grow their leadership skills, and for middle school students to witness the high schoolers actively contributing to the community. “We are always excited to find ways to connect the high schoolers to the middle schoolers,” said Ward.

Being a referee creates opportunities for people to grow, not only in their sports skills.

“One of the huge benefits of getting involved in officiating is that you learn to be empathetic,” said Ward. “Naturally, that will

This program comes with rewards, as well. If a student signs up to be a referee, they can either get volunteer hours from it, to complete their 10 required service hours, or, they can get paid.

Even though the program is in its trial year, Ward envisions potential growth for future years.

“If this program is successful, maybe we could meet every week as a club and talk and watch games to help each other out,” said Ward.

Abhinav Shastry ‘25 is one of the first to sign up for the program, with excitement and curiosity.

“I’ve always had this interest in sports,” said Shastry. “I grew up watching a lot of NBA and Michigan games, so it’s cool to be able to referee it now.”

Shashtry’s training program was low-stress but thorough, emphasizing the importance of making split-second and sometimes difficult decisions as a referee.

“I didn’t expect it to be easy,” said Shastry. “Coaches and parents yell a lot if they think you made a bad call, but you just have to be unbiased and not let it get to you.”

Shastry sees this new program as an opportunity to involve himself in the athletic community at Greenhills. As the program progresses, finding a way to measure success is key.

“The obvious metric we look at is how many

students are participating,” said Ward.

However, the program’s success is not measured solely by numbers but by stories of growth and discovery.

“We measure success by the individual stories of the student referees,” said Ward. “We are allowing a space for someone to discover something that they enjoy.”

This program isn’t only beneficial for high school students, however, as it captures the attention of middle school athletes as well.

Kavni Latchamsetty ‘29 is deeply involved in Greenhills athletics and believes it to be one of the most fun aspects of school.

“It’s interesting and different to see high schoolers refereeing a game, and it makes me want to do it when I get to high school too,” said Latchamsetty.

Latchamsetty believes that high schoolers being able to referee will positively impact the entire middle school, not just those who play sports.

“I think that having high school refs encourages more middle school students to get involved in sports at the school,” said Latchamsetty.

The presence of older students as referees serves as both inspiration and a connection between middle school and high school sports.

With high school students becoming role models for aspiring middle school athletes like Latchamsetty, the new referee program stands as a beacon of opportunity and connection

Mert Oral ‘22: “It was a huge shift for me. At Greenhills, I had gotten used to being the best player on the team and one of the best in the state. All of a sudden I’m on a team with 10 other guys who are so much better than I am, so I ended up being one of the worst on the team my first year. It was a really stacked team in terms of talent and depth, so it was a unique, humbling experience but one that I’m really grateful to have had.”

MS: What was it like to live out your dream of playing tennis at Michigan?

MO: “Being from Ann Arbor made playing at Michigan a dream that I’ve always had. It was pretty difficult to process when I started playing, and it gave me a thought of, ‘well, now what?’ That thought definitely didn’t help me stay motivated, so I wasn’t pushing myself as hard as I could have. This year, I definitely started to rise to another level again. I’m feeling really motivated and am working hard.”

MS: Were you well prepared for the environment at Michigan by your playing career here?

MO: I don’t think Greenhills could’ve prepared me any better. There is a natural shell shock that I was going to feel no matter what. I didn’t fully appreciate what the demands of playing on a top five tennis program in the country was going to be like.

In high school, I was never spending more than eight to 10 hours on the court per week. All of the sudden I’m spending 20 hours a week between the court and the gym. The people you play with are also much more serious about the sport. At least six of my teammates have aspirations to be professional players.”

Meezan Hamzavi ‘23

Matthew Streicher ‘24: How were you affected by the injury you sustained in your senior season?

Meezan Hamzavi ‘23: “When I first tore my ACL I felt like there was no point in playing anymore, I wasn’t planning on playing basketball in college. I started talking to my coach at Grinnell pretty late, right around the time I got injured, and after a lot of consideration, I decided to take the opportunity. I was still rehabbing in August when team practices started, so I was a good amount behind everybody. It was more of trying to get back on the court rather than trying to get better, and I’m still getting used to my knee and listening to my body. ”

MS: After everything that happened on the road to were you are now, what were you feeling when you finally walked into your first college game?

MH: “I was so nervous. I was so worried about my knee because the retear rate within a year of the first injury is about 20 percent, which is decently high. I was really worried about moving around on the court and transitions where there would be some pressure on my leg, so I was moving pretty slow. It was pretty frustrating because you do rehab for so long and you work at getting better for months and you just expect to be able to get right back into it and be right where you were, but that’s just not how it works.

MS: How was your career here different from your first season at Grinnell?

MH: “The women’s basketball program at Greenhills has a great team environment and great coaches, but it’s a bit less competitive than the environment at Grinnell. Everyone here loves the sport they’re playing, and you’re surrounded by strong, independent women.”

within the vibrant sports culture of the school.

TIMEOUT Abhinav Shastry ‘25 referees his first middle school basketball game.

TWEET TWEET Charlie Rich ‘26 referees a middle school girls’ basketball game. “I really liked helping middle schoolers play their game and supporting them as they worked hard,” said Rich.

SHOOTING HIGH Nikola Sarcevich ‘24 shoots above a Roeper player in a home game. “Even though we’re missing guys, we still find a way to win,” said Sarcevich.

Photos courtesy of JD Scott Photography , Matthew Streicher ‘24, and Mira Jayaraman ‘26

GRYPHONS

Boys Basketball

WINTER SPORTS RECAPS

Boys basketball finished their season last Friday losing in districts against Ypsilanti Arbor Prep. The team entered the post season with a winning record of 13-8 with close losses in many games. With a powerhouse lineup consisting of many seniors the team was very experienced, with two of the starters playing on varsity since their freshman year. The coaches and players set high expectations for themselves as they believed they had a real shot postseason. Sadly the team fell short with a close loss. The fiPrep 61, Ann Arbor Greenhills 44. A tough fight and a true power of a team; one that will not be forgotten for a long time. Sports staff play‘24, Bennett Formicola ‘24, Nikola Sarcevich ‘24, Issac Harshal Vempamakula ‘24, Jibran Ali ‘24, Andrew Wang ‘27.

Girls Basketball

Girls basketball played their senior night game last Thursday against Lutheran Westland and their opening district game against Manchester on Monday. The team had a record of 4-15 entering into the post season and while the record is low the team’s morale was high. Even through the losses the team showed high potential with the leadership from the freshman and sophomore classes. The team looks to the future as these young freshmen and sophomores improve and get stronger, even with a loss of four seniors the team is still looking with high hopes of what is to come. This team is one to remember not for their record but for the foundation of a future champion. Sports staff players of the team: Katie Malloure ‘24, Lexi Magdich ‘26, Libby Schuster ‘27, Maia McSparron ‘27, Cate Alumkal ‘27.

Boys Swimming

Boys swimming started the season with no home. With many places on the road, many uncertainties with how the season would go arose. With 11 freshmen, two seniors, and one junior, the team lacked experience. However, the team took this in stroke and swam like the water was on fire. They powered through to winning multiple meets, many by a large amount, sending many athletes to MISCA and a relay to the State Championship Meet. The team graduates few but gains many as multiple incoming ninth graders have indicated that they wish to be on the swim team. With these additions plus the fast freshmen the team has many future wins ahead of them, many records to break, and many races to swim. Sports staff players of the team: Jibreel Rehman ‘24, Yoel Bechar ‘24, Nico Dettling ‘25, Ethan Hong ‘27, Tag Dershimer ‘27, Manuel Garcia ‘27.

HOME LOCATIONS SPRING SPORTS

CONCORDIA

UNIVERISTY Baseball

GREENHILLS

Track and Field

Girls Soccer Girls Tennis

Lacrosse Softball

WASHTENAW

GOLF COURSE

Boys Golf

Girls soccer had a successful season last year with a disappointing playoff run. With two seniors graduated last year and the incoming of six freshmen the team has a very diverse year level. High expectations have been set by the coaches as they believe they can make a deep run in the playoffs. Girls soccer opens the season on the road against Everest Collegiate kicking off at 5:00 p.m on April 9. Sports staff players to watch: Maia McSparron ‘27 and Cate Alumkal ‘27; both are on Elite 64 national teams with McSparron playing on a team ranked in the top 150 for their ages.

Boys Golf

Boys golf made the state championship final led by Max Shulman ‘24 and Arjun Prabahkar ‘23. After finishing 13th out of 18 at the MHSAA state finals the team is looking to come back this year and win the state title for the first time in two years. The team has their first match on the road on April 4 against Lincoln High School. Sports staff players to watch: Max Shulman, ranked in the top 10 for Division 3.

Baseball

With the boys baseball team coming off a 20-14 season and only graduating one senior, the team is looking to capitalize on the returning team and is looking to win the CHSL, Districts, Regionals, and make a run into the state tournament. The team also boasts one of the hardest schedules and districts in their division this year, kicking off their season on April 3 against FGR at University, first pitch is at 4:30 p.m. Sports staff players to watch: Talen Pilz ‘25 and Jeremiah Bowman ‘25, both are standout players with Pilz winning All-Catholic last year and Bowman winning All-League.

The return of softball was a challenge for the school as the numbers were too low. After graduating the last of the team in 2022 and no new recruits the team fell away from Father Gabriel Richard and ceased to exist. That is until this year when the team gathered together a group of players coached by Caitlyn O’Neal to play as the Greenhills Softball team with no any outside school; the first time since 2020, which was cut short due to COVID. The teams schedule is still currently being created, however, if you want to learn more you can head to the Greenhills athletic page.

SPRING SPORTS

PREVIEWS

Boys Lacrosse

A 2-13 lacrosse team last year is coming back again after graduating a talented class of 11 seniors. This young team is looking to turn around and find a fire to win. Playing against some of the hardest schools the team is staring titans in the face. The boys lacrosse team opens the season on April 4 at University Liggett School at 5:00 p.m. Sports staff players to watch: Ben Berstein ‘27; played club lacrosse for a few years prior to Greenhills, known as the red-head sniper it’ll be interesting to watch the performace throughout the year.

Girls Tennis

Winning states is a feat many players will never meet, however, the girls tennis team repeated the title last year for the first time ever. Now looking for their third title in a row after graduating one senior, the team is looking strong going into the season. With one tough competitor from Division 3 coming down to Greenhills’ D4, it’ll be interesting to see how the team adapts to this challenge. Girls tennis hosts their season and home opener against Dexter High School at 4:00 p.m. on April 4. Sports staff players to watch: Maddie Morgan ‘25 and Shangyang Xia ‘25 who were both individual champions in the MHSAA tournament last year and Ellie Kim ‘27 ranked in the top 12 for her age.

Co-ed Track and Field

Girls and boys track and field finished last year both winning the CHSL tournament. Both teams have hope of repeating this feat, however, with the challenge of graduating many seniors and a new head coach, the third in four years, the team has dreams of glory but is hoping for miracles. The team hosts the opening meet on March 21 at 4:30 p.m. on the track. Sports staff players to watch: Lauren Sheffield ‘25 in the field with shot put throws around 30’ 2” as well as placing in the top ten in all events at the CHSL finals last year and Liam Dutta ‘24 running sub 12 seconds on the 100m and placing in the CHSL Finals meet last year.