Life

10 — Wednesday, May 4, 2022 — North Pointe LIFE

By Annabelle Julien & Gabe Goode SECTION EDITOR & INTERN

North and South’s joint robotics team, the Gearheads, is celebrating a successful 20th season. The team won a series of competitions, qualifying them to compete at the state level where they became quarterfinalists.

Senior team captain Robert Hays expressed his satisfaction with the season and pride for his team's accomplishments throughout the year.

“For the first time ever, we were the number one ranked seat at a district event and won as such,” Hays said. “We were at states, we were doing really well and I’m really proud of our team's performance as states.”

With an impressive season under their belt, Gearheads faculty advisor Jason Wolfsen was pleased with their in-season results. It was a tough road to get to the state competition, but he maintains that the season went well.

“There's two competitions that we have to participate in where we gather points to get into the state competition because the state takes the top 160 teams out of 458 teams,” Wolfsen said. “So, we just happened to qualify this year for that.”

Although the team had much success, with trophies and titles to show for it, building their winning robot, Moe, presented challenges because of the team’s low numbers, according to North Junior and team member Chloe Harb.

“Build season did get stressful at times due to having less members after COVID-19 and many seniors graduating,” Harb said. “But, I learned so much over the weeks and I think it almost forced us into learning as much as we can which gave us that push we needed to do our best this year.”

Despite the minor inconveniences toward the beginning of the season, Harb expressed her appreciation about the team's success over the course of the season and emphasized the significance of the experience on her life.

“The euphoria of seeing the scores come up was something I've never experienced anywhere else,” Harb said. “The energy in the room was phenomenal, it really validated all the hard work we put into the robot leading up to the event.”

By Olivia Dodenhoff & Christina Shea STAFF REPORTERS

COURTESY OF CHLOE HARB

TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK | Validating their hard work during the season, the Gearheads took home gold at the FIRST robotics competition. The robot’s operator, Chloe Harb, was in a special situation and says the feeling of winning the competition was unlike anything she’s experienced. “The energy in the room was phenomenal,” Harb said. “It really validated all the hard work we put into the robot leading up to the event.”

From a young age, junior Marc Mueller has been deeply passionate about German culture. At age 12, Mueller took it upon himself to learn the German language. His interest first sparked due to his family’s German roots.

“My grandma was speaking with her family who lives in Germany and that got me interested in the language,” Mueller said. “The culture was interesting too. My grandma would always make German food.”

Accustomed to the language and culture, Mueller wanted to expand his knowledge of the German language. To learn more, Mueller took up German classes beginning his freshman year where he was introduced to the National German Exam. Even though this exam wasn’t a requirement, Mueller made the decision to demonstrate his knowledge of the German language.

“The really devoted German students decided to take the exam,” Mueller said. “I took it freshman year, and I got the bronze level. Then, I took it this year, and I got a silver medal for the exam.”

The exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions, a reading test and a listening test, all taken from authentic German sources such as podcasts, TV shows, news broadcasts or news articles. German teacher Susan Sipos explains that the exam tests students’ full understanding of the language, as materials are not simplified for students and presented exactly as they were to the German-speaking public.

“The test measures the students' ability to extract meaning and make inferences from authentic German listening and reading texts in a high-pressure scenario,” Sipos said.

Mueller recalls his freshman year German class having a German exchange student who participated in the CongressBundestag Youth Exchange, a scholarship program that allows 250 students from Germany to go to school in America, along with 250 students from America who are able to attend school in Germany. Ever since hearing about the scholarship, Mueller knew of the amazing opportunities it could bring him in the future. Over the last few months, Mueller committed

“I was super surprised because this scholarship is super competitive,” Mueller said. “It was kind of crazy when I found out that I'd be going to Germany for the whole next year.” Sipos describes the various scholarship opportunities available to German students similar to Mueller. In addition to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, students have the opportunity to receive scholarships through the National German Exam and the German National Honor Society. “A high score on the National Exam in combination with, for example, participation in German National Honor Society here at North, may result in a student receiving college scholarships,” Sipos said. “The top national scorers on the exam can receive a scholarship to study in Germany for a summer during high school.” With his scholarship next year, Mueller plans to live with a German host family who will select him based on the essays and personal interests written on his application, making sure he is a good fit for their family. He will attend a German high school, and hopes to fully immerse himself in German culture and language. While doing so, OLIVIA DODENHOFF & he will also take on the role of a youth ambassador GABBY MILLER for the United States. “Not only will I be learning German culture, I'll be spreading American culture too while representing my school and representing my country,” Mueller said.

himself to the

rigorous scholarship application process of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, which consisted of several essays, medical records and personal information. After submitting his application in December, Mueller was chosen as a scholarship recipient on April 1.

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY MANDI CAMPO

SUMMARY

This one act is a retelling of the classic Greek play, ‘Medea’, by Euripides. The story follows a woman, Diana, whose husband, Arthur, is having an affair. Through a series of events, Diana learns about the unfaithfulness of her husband. This newfound discovery is enough to drive her to a breaking point, causing her to do some bad things.

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY BEE BIELAK

SUMMARY

In this show, well known taxidermist Terrence "Terry" Tich begins to break under the pressure of his buy season. In a moment of rage, he kills his wife Martha. Haunted by regret, shame, stress and the late Martha's ghost, Terry spirals into a state of madness. It's a mystery just how far Terry will fall.

GRACE ROSSMAN INSPIRATION

"It’s based on Euripides’ ‘Medea’," Campo said. "When I was thinking about ideas for my one act, I came across that play and I thought it was so interesting because, even though Medea does some awful things, she's still considered the protagonist and the good guy. And, I thought it was just such an interesting take, especially for a female character in Greek mythology.” WHAT IT MEANS TO ME

“I was in a one act my freshman year," Bielak said. "It’s really exciting to be on the other side of it and direct one and just give kids the opportunity to act if they're not really into the whole musical thing.”

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY STEPHANIE WESTRICK "HINT"

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY SARAH LAWLIS

SUMMARY SUMMARY

This one act is set on Valentine's Day in a restaurant. The server for all the tables, Katie, acts as a narrator to the audience and breaks the fourth wall several times throughout the show. There are three couples in different stages of their relationships. There is a teenage couple on their third or fourth date, a couple in their twenties who have been dating for a couple of years and are in the middle of a fight and an elderly couple who have been married for 50 years who come to the restaurant every year on Valentine's Day. A slapstick comedy, this show is a parody of the board game Clue. Colonel Custard invites five guests over to his house to have a book club, but one by one they discover a series of murders is occuring around them. The surviving attendees band together to figure out who the killer is.

WHAT IT MEANS TO ME

“As someone who wants to pursue a career in screenwriting, it's going to be really cool for me to follow this project from start to finish," Westrick said. "Create it, write it myself, direct it, and then see my own words on a stage." For the first time in two years, seniors will once again have the opportunity to continue the tradition of One Acts. These seniors will write, cast and direct their very own one act plays and see them come to life on the stage. This year, four seniors will have their plays performed in the Performing Arts Center on May 24.

INSPIRATION

“I love Clue," Lawlis said. "I love playing that board game with my parents and my family. And, so I was thinking about possible one act ideas. I wanted to do something kind of creepy, a little bit morbid, but still kind of funny. So, I thought of doing a parody on Clue but just really making it slapstick. I got even more inspired because I did 'A Toby Show' in the fall, so it was that kind of humor I wanted to go for.”

GRACE ROSSMAN