5.18 Issue

MAY 18, 2012 I VOL. 76 I ISSUE 10

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL I 520 E. MAIN ST. I CARMEL, IN I WWW.HILITE.ORG

*Carmel High School’s student newsmagazine

CHS GOES D.I.Y.

As Indiana schools gain more flexibility in education standards, students experience the benefits of creativity in the classroom.

Join the conversation.

HiLite presents The Senior Issue - See Insert

PAGE 2 | TABLE OF CONTENTS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

Offbeat

cover story

After four years of high school, some graduates choose to take a one-year break, or a “gap year.”

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Creatively Confined

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In a schooling atmosphere that stresses following standards and guidelines, is inner creativity stifled? Page 16

CES ARMED FOR GE

Rather than getting rest and relaxation, “gappers” travel, work, or volunteer abroad.

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Gap years are linked to higher motivation in college, according to the Journal of Educational Psychology.

A study by Skidmore College found that gapyear freshmen had higher grade point averages than their peers.

The Higher Education Research Institute reported that only 1.2 percent of American students take gap years, compared to 11 percent of students in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Many American colleges are beginning to recognize the benefits of gap years and are introducing options to defer admission.

LIANE YUE / GRAPHIC FACTMONSTER, WALL STREET JOURNAL, USNEWS / SOURCES

news

Major clubs wrap up the year with events and changes in leadership 4

feature

Waiters adjust services to fit their customers 12

entertainment

Get in the spirit of the Olympic Games with some delicious recipes 22

sports

4 12

Non-senior students hold significant roles on their athletic teams 26

perspectives

Staff encourages students to branch out and make themselves more employable 28

15 minutes

Sophomore Ella Spoerle is a dancer for the Indiana Fever 32

22

26 CONNER GORDON / COVER PHOTO

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | JUST A MINUTE | PAGE 3

Inside the Indy 500 Everything you didn’t know about the famous annual event on May 27

The Track Front and back straightaways • five-eighths of a mile Turns • one-fourth of a mile • banked at about nine degrees

"Short chute" straightaways • one-eighth of a mile

Total: 2.5 miles, unchanged since 1909

The Rose Bowl, Vatican City, the Roman Colosseum and Yankee Stadium all can fit inside the IMS oval, which covers 253 acres.

By the Numbers

16,000 gallons of Coca-Cola products are sold annually during race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

292

million homes in

213

countries across the world receive the Indianapolis 500 television broadcast.

33

cents is the cost of a postcard from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gift shops.

Al Unser, the oldest competitor in the Indy 500, won in 1987 at age Troy Ruttman, the youngest winner of the race, competed in 1952 at age

47.

22.

237.498

miles per hour is the fastest official lap speed, set in 1996 by Arie Luyendyk.

Winners Drink Milk CREATIVE COMMONS / PHOTOS

Fast fact

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the world’s largest spectator sporting facility. If the seat-boards of its 250,000 permanent seats were laid side-by-side, they would stretch 99 and a half miles. ... ...

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer happened to drink some buttermilk in Victory Lane after winning the 1936 race. An executive from the American Dairy Association vowed to make the act a tradition, and after a brief hiatus, it has been in place since 1956.

MELINDA SONG / GRAPHICS INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY / SOURCE

PAGE 4 | NEWS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

NEWS

SUBMITNEWS@HILITE.ORG | TWITTER.COM/HILITE_NEWS

News Briefs News Briefs Updates on clubs, activities and events in the school.

Dates to Remember: May 24: Last day of school / Graduation May 28: Memorial Day May 29: Summer school begins June 17: Father’s Day

Did you know?

Touted as the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest was attended by just under 879,000 people in 2011.

ASSOCIATED PRESS / SOURCE

Passing the Torch House prepares changes in leadership, final events

The Comedy Sportz team will have its final event, the League Finals, tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Comedy Sportz theatre.

The following clubs, among others, will have booths at Houndstock tomorrow: UNICEF Club will sell bubble tea and baked goods.

Gay-Straight Alliance will sell tie-dye shirts and baked goods Share the Music plans to have a bake sale, baked goods and t-shirts.

Students for Education plans to sell baked goods and other treats.

Summer and 2012-2013 school year: MONICA CHENG / PHOTO

Do Something Club members will go to Summer Trace on May 25 for an ice cream social in honor of the veterans.

THE WHOLE SPECTRUM: Juniors Anna Brookie, Rachel Peterson and Franci Figueroa, members of the band Spectrum, warm up before their Houndstock audition. Houndstock will be one of House’s final events this year.

Astronomy Club will set up telescopes outside CHS from the afternoon until nighttime to view the transit of Venus on June 5.

BY ANDREW WANG awang@hilite.org

Young Life Camp in Detroit Lakes, MI takes place June 30 to July 8 and is available for all grades 9 to 12. Wilderness Ranch in Creede, CO is only open to 11 to 12 grades from July 20 to July 28.

GKOMs will begin their Connection Sessions with the Freshman Kick-Off scheduled for Aug. 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Creative Writing Club plans to have a call-out meeting in early September.

Mock Trial will start off next year with a call-out meeting in October. The exact date and place are still TBA. Tryouts will be held in late November or early December.

A

ccording to House sponsor Sarah Wolff, House is planning for Houndstock, which is tomorrow from 4 to 10 p.m. at the football stadium or in the fieldhouse if it rains.

Along with Houndstock, House is also preparing for a change in leadership and new members next year. Meredith Baranowski, future speaker of the House and junior, said she is excited for next year.

“Student government has always been a huge focus of mine throughout my education,” Baranowski said via email, “so I’m looking forward to taking on an even greater responsibility in this arena.”

Speaker of the House Mohammad Issa said he thinks Baranowski will be prepared next year when she takes over. “(Baranowski) will be speaker next year with a whole new Cabinet and House, so I am sure she will have a lot of fresh, new ideas,” Issa said via email.

Baranowski said that she looks forward to seeing what she can do for next year. “As of right now, no concrete decisions have been made for changes next year,” Baranoski said. “But Cabinet is always open to feedback and ideas students have to better our school’s student government.”

According to Wolff, the House Cabinet– which is still

undecided– will meet in the future and discuss the changes they would like to make next year. She also said that she is looking forward to working with the new leaders next year.

Baranowski also said that she is enthusiastic with being able to work together with the Cabinet next year.

“Really, I just can’t wait to get one more year in Cabinet with the amazing kids in this group,” Baranowski said. “I feel so lucky to be going into my third year, and can’t wait for the great things that next year will surely bring.”

Along with the new leadership, Issa said that the House is looking forward to some events next year, such as Tailgate 4 Life, which is the first event for House next year.

“We haven’t started planning for it right now, but everyone should come out. It was a great time this year,” Issa said. “Also, Relay for Life is June 2 and 3, and even though House does not run the event, Cabinet always makes a team and we’d love for others to come raise awareness about cancer with us.”

Wolff said that if students are interested in being a part of House, they should listen for announcements and look out for applications the first few weeks of next school year.

Baranowski said that there are other ways that students can stay informed throughout the year.

“I strongly recommend following @CarmelHSGov,” Baranowski said. “It’s the student government Twitter account that posts updates and info for all of the school, whether you’re in student government or not.”

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | NEWS | PAGE 5

NHS creates new council Role will be to go through next year’s applications

BY CAITLIN MULLER cmuller@hilite.org National Honors Society (NHS) is a nationally recognized club which hosts service projects that are run by the inducted senior members. According to the head NHS sponsor Michele Satchwell, newly inducted members of the class of 2013 can start volunteering right away.

“Next year’s members can go ahead and get started on their community service hours. We require 20 individual hours and 20 group hours, however the group hours won’t start until school starts. A lot of our members get the bulk of their individual hours during the summer because of summer camps and that type of thing,” Satchwell said.

According to Satchwell, the biggest change to NHS next year is the addition of a “facility council.” When juniors submit their applications, the three NHS teacher sponsors review all the applications. However, next year, the facility council will help go through the applications and choose new members.

“We want to review our chapter bylaws to make sure they are in compliance with the national bylaws. That is another reason why we are making the facilty council,” said Satchwell.

According to Rachel Aker, current NHS vice president and senior, the new officers have been selected too.

“The new officers basically get to decide what goes on next year and how the money we raise will be spent. I am really excited to see what they will do, because they all seem very capable;” Aker said.

As far as how NHS ended this school year, Satchwell said that it went well, and that the members worked very hard.

“We made more baby blankets than ever before. We sold

We want to review our chapter bylaws to make sure they are in compliance with the national bylaws. That is another reason why we are making the facilty council.

Michele Satchwell NHS sponsor

more carnations than ever before. They did a good job deciding where to donate the funds that they raised. They provided a lot of help for the elementary school festivals and that sort of thing. It was a really good year for NHS. We had strong officers and dedicated NHS members,” Satchwell said.

There was an induction ceremony held for the new juniors, which was also the closing ceremony for the current officers, as well as all the current members, according to Aker. At the closing ceremony, the officers and sponsors were thanked.

While the charities NHS decides to donate to next year are currently undecided, there will still be many of the same events. According to Satchwell, there will still be a carnation sale, tutoring, and probably still final exam survival kits.

“This year’s members have been great, and I am looking forward to start working with this new group, they all seem very enthusiastic. It’s a great club to be in, the students really run the whole thing,” Satchwell said.

Final Exam Schedule Dates and times for the final exams May 18 (Friday – Gold) 7:50 a.m. to 1:23 p.m. – regular schedule 1:33 to 3:05 p.m. – Period G4 (Senior finals) May 21 (Monday) 7:50 to 9:20 a.m. – Period B1 9:30 to 11:03 a.m. – Period B1 final 11:03 a.m. to 1:23 p.m – Period B3 / Lunch 1:33 to 3:05 p.m. – Period B3 finals May 22 (Tuesday) 7:50 to 9:20 a.m. – Period G1 9:30 to 11:03 a.m. – Class Day 11:03 a.m. to 1:23 p.m. – Period G3 / Lunch 1:33 to 3:05 p.m. – Period G3 finals May 23 (Wednesday) 7:50 to 9:20 a.m. – Period B2 9:30 to 11:03 a.m. – Period B2 finals 11:03 a.m. to 1:23 p.m. – Period B4 / Lunch 1:33 to 3:05 p.m. – Period B4 finals May 24 (Thursday) 7:50 to 9:20 a.m. – Period G2 9:30 to 11:03 a.m. – Period G1 finals 11:03 a.m. to 1:23 p.m. – Period G4 1:33 to 3:05 p.m. – Period G4 finals (Grades 9 to 11 only) May 25 (Friday) Teacher workday

Key Club continues to face size issues, plans for greater communication

BY ROCHELLE BRUAL rbrual@hilite.org

According to Xing “Melody” Gao, next year’s Key Club president and junior, Key Club will have a casual ice cream party to celebrate the end of the school year with its members. Members are allowed to walk in and out, and they may pick up their certificate if they completed 40 hours of volunteering. However, if members didn’t complete all 40 hours, they’re not kicked out of the club.

This year’s Key Club faced a challenge that it will continue to address in the future, according to Key Club co-sponsor Jill Grimes, and that challenge was size. Key Club is the largest club at this school with over 500 students. Grimes said it is over 10 percent of the CHS student population. Due to its size that keeps growing every year, Key Club has to organize itself in order to send information out to all of its members.

“We’re looking at actually creating kind of a specific role.

We have a president, we have a vice president and we have a secretary. We’re looking at creating a communications officer, somebody who will kind of oversee,” Grimes said.

“We have an email, we have a webpage, we have a Facebook account, we have a Twitter account and we collect phone numbers from people when they are volunteering to try and send out a text message, ‘Hey, don’t forget. This is your time that you’re going to bell-ring,’ or whatever the activity is. And you’ve got five other people (volunteering), and multiple of that’s going on.”

According to Gao, Key Club’s biggest accomplishment is getting many people together to work for a greater cause.

Despite its size, Gao said she felt closer to the club after becoming the Junior Board Member since she got to see how students ran it. Grimes helps with organization and communication, but Key Club is 100 percent student-driven, according to Grimes.

Gao said she plans to prepare for her role as Key Club president over the summer. She said she wants to focus on

CHS / SOURCE

how to execute her future duties and how to stay organized.

“This year, I felt like Kern (Vohra, Key Club president and senior) did a good job to keep everything organized.

And these next couple of weeks I really want to learn from him and see how he stays organized and keeps everything together because it’s such a large club,” Gao said. “And I just want to run it like officially and have people be really involved.”

Besides its ice cream party, Key Club has no other large events planned due to final exams. At that point of the year, Grimes said the club is done at being a student organization.

Although Grimes said she encourages members to volunteer over the summer, members cannot earn all 40 hours before school starts: it’s capped.

Grimes said, “If (students are) interested in joining next year, it’s usually a couple of weeks after school is in session.

Give everybody a chance to get used to their schedule; give me a chance to get used to my schedule, all that kind of stuff.

Usually Labor Day is when we have the call-out meeting.”

PAGE 6 | NEWS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

Extreme Makeover: U.S. 31 Major road goes through drastic changes to ease traffic jams, incorporate roundabouts

BY TAYLOR ACTON tacton@hilite.org

T

he U.S. 31 Hamilton County project is intended to reduce congestion and improve safety according to school resource officer Phil Hobson. However, it is currently under construction, having many effects on CHS students.

“The recent construction has made me completely change the route I take to school,” senior Ashley Sipe said. “I used to take 146th and cut through Clay Terrace, but the light at Meridian is so backed up that I now take West Carmel Drive to Rangeline.”

Similar to the Keystone project that was completed in 2011, U.S. 31 shuts down parts of the highway during certain hours of the day.

“It has a drastic effect on our traffic flow in the mornings when you have one of your access points shut down and Main Street is basically completely closed,” Hobson said. “It routes traffic in other directions.”

Hobson said that initially there were a few issues with kids showing up late, not making it to school on time or buses being caught in traffic. But people have adjusted by coming up with an alternative route to school.

“I live on the west side of Carmel, in the Village of West Clay, and I can get to the school in around 10 minutes when there is no traffic, for example in the middle of the day,” Sipe said. “However, with morning rush hour, and all the construction, it now takes me almost 20 minutes to get to school. I’ve heard that the construction is being conducted in order to allow people to get to 146th Street off of Meridian. If that is true, I think in the long run it most definitely will benefit drivers, but until then it has been extremely frustrating.”

For now, there isn’t much that can be done about the construction except for to wait it out.

“I’d recommend patience and give a lot of extra time for yourself,” Hobson said. “Just know until it’s done, it’ll be an inconvenience. But how it is on Keystone now, it’s awesome driving...without having to stop every half-mile. I think Meridian will be the same when it’s done.”

Fast Facts These intersections with U.S. Route 31 should be completed by the following years: • 2012: 146th St. and Keystone Pkwy • 2013: 151st St. and Greyhound Pass • 2014: 136th, 131st, 116th and 106th St.

Funding Senate Enrolled Act 473 will help pay for the construction. This bill allows for expanded use of private capital for transportation improvements and lowers costs for financing.

US31HAMILTONCOUNTY.IN.GOV/ SOURCE

The Final Product

Once construction is complete, U.S. Route 31 and its intersecting roads will look different. Here is a look at what one of the most complex intersections, the crossing at 136th St., will look like.

The Details The major feature of this intersection will be the system of four roundabouts that will run beneath U.S. 31. The outer roundabouts will connect to the surrounding streets while the inner rounabouts will serve as entry lanes to U.S. 31. These changes will allow for a smoother and safer flow of traffic.

Rohrer Road

Overpass: U.S. 31 will be built over the roads it intersects for smoother traffic flow

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LIANE YUE/ GRAPHIC US31HAMILTONOCOUNTY.IN.GOV/ SOURCE

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Roundabouts: 136th St. will include four roundabouts that provide smoother acess to all directions

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Entry lanes: A system of entry lanes connected to roundabouts will connect U.S. 31 to the roads below d

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LIANE YUE /GRAPHIC US31HAMILTONCOUNTY.IN.GOV / SOURCE

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | NEWS | PAGE 7

Officers: Texting ban presents enforcement challenges

BY DAVID CHOE dchoe@hilite.org One year ago, Indiana passed a law prohibiting the use of any telecommunication device to type, transmit or read text messages or email while operating a moving motor vehicle.

However, today – one year after the law was passed – school resource officer Phil Hobson said he finds challenges in enforcing the law.

“I think it’s like how speeding is illegal,” Hobson said.

“There are still a number of people who text and drive just like there are people who speed and break the law.”

According to a recent survey conducted for State Farm by Harris Interactive, only 43 percent of drivers ages 16 and 17 say they have never texted while driving, showing that many teens still text and drive despite tougher restrictions.

Eric Cui, vice president of Lifelines and junior, said he believes the reason teens continue to text and drive is that the law is not rigidly enforced.

“It is very difficult to catch someone texting while driving since it’s a relatively quick and minuscule action,” Cui said via email.

According to a recent Star Press article, there were just 46 citations and 40 warnings for texting while driving by state troopers in Indiana.

Traffic enforcement officer Scott Spillman echoed Cui in the reasons for difficulties in rigidly enforcing the law.

“The way the law is written, it is very difficult to stop

someone for this violation,” Spillman said. “A lot of people hold (the phone) down, and the way the law is written , you don’t know if they’re putting in a number to call mom and dad, which is allowed, or if they’re answering the phone (which isn’t).”

Although there are some flaws in the system structure of the law, Spillman and Cui also said they sees some benefits in the law.

“It is a first step in the right direction,” Cui said. “I do believe it a necessity as texting and driving is a dangerous activity on par with driving under the influence in my opinion. I AMIRA MALCOLM/ PHOTO feel that it is not the law that needs to BUCKLE UP: Nina Sun and Eric Cui, Lifelines members and be improved but rather the method of juniors, perform a Lifelines-sponsored seatbelt check before school. enforcing it.”

Cui said distracted driving laws are important despite some From a safety standpoint, Hobson difficulties in enforcement. said he doesn’t necessarily see the arguments for allowing texting while driving as relevant to the main issue of eliminating distraction on the road According to Spillman, education of distracted driving is for safety. the greater solution.

“I would say as far as changing the law from a strict safety “I think (the key is) just more of the education of the standpoint, you could just make a stronger argument to distraction the devices can cause every driver, not just eliminate cell phone use while operating a moving vehicle teenagers, more than anything else.” than allowing text use ,” Hobson said.

PAGE 8 | FEATURE | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

FEATURE The Spiritual ‘High’ SUBMITFEATURE@HILITE.ORG | TWITTER.COM/HILITE_NEWS

Did you know?

81.9 percent of those who consider themselves very religious are emotionally healthy.

GALLUP.COM / SOURCE

Want more?

For more stories from the HiLite about religion, scan this QR code.

Regular attendance at a place of worship increases happiness

BY HAFSA RAZI hrazi@hilite.org

S

enior Madison Shattuck has attended Northview Church on Hazel Dell Parkway for the past five years, but for her, church does not end after Sunday morning. Instead, she said, her connection to God extends beyond the church doors. It is a relationship that brings her hope and happiness. “(If you believe in God, you have) the belief in something bigger than yourself, knowing that no matter what happens, there’s someone in control who knows what you’re going through and what you’re feeling, so you’re not alone,” Shattuck said.

According to a Gallup poll released in March, Americans who regularly attend a church, mosque or synagogue experience more positive emotions than those who do not, especially on the days that they visit their place of worship. This poll reflects a general concept in the psychology of religion that faith makes people happier, according to Kevin Ladd, associate professor of psychology at IU with a background in the psychology of religion and prayer.

For Shattuck, one way that religion makes her happy is her faith itself. She said her personal connection to God creates feelings of strength and security, emotions which members of her church often refer to as part of a “spiritual high.”

“(Knowing that) someone who’s so much more powerful than you are, who has control over everything, wants what’s best for you – it’s just an amazing feeling,” Shattuck said.

Along with the effects of faith, Ladd said, the social support group created in a place of worship also has a strong positive influence on a religious person’s emotions. These social bonds are important in any context, spiritual or not, he said, but shared values and beliefs in a religious congregation make the bonds especially powerful.

This is true for Shattuck, who said she has close relationships with the members of her congregation both in and out of church. Many of her friends at school either attend her church or share similar beliefs to hers, she said.

“My church is a big family, so whenever we’re together, it just brings a smile to (my) face to be around people who love and care about (me),” Shattuck said.

However, not all churchgoers have this same experience.

According to junior Joseph Booth, he has never really felt a strong sense of community with others at his church, conflicting instead with many of the opinions expressed there.

“I just don’t like how people try to shove their ideas down your throat, and I’m tired of hearing that every church I go to, so I decided not to go (to church) anymore,” Booth said.

Booth stopped attending church when he was a freshman.

However, he said, he might have stayed had he had a better social group there.

“I felt so pushed out of the ‘in’ group (at church) that it wasn’t a healthy atmosphere for me, so yes, I think it was the happier choice for me to leave,” Booth said.

According to Ladd, while attending a place of worship is tied closely to happiness, this generally does not apply to people who have negative relationships with their religious community.

Outside of a religious context, Ladd said, many people find other social support groups that create similar positive emotions and relationships. These kind of social groups are especially important for high school students, as they develop and make important decisions, he said.

According to Booth, he developed the strong community and friendships that he never found at church in show choir and theater at this school. He said his friends in these groups, are his other family, whom he can always rely on for support.

Unlike religious groups, however, non-religious communities often do not provide a context for the deeper, metaphysical questions and long-term goals associated with faith, according to Ladd. For example, he said, community service in a religious context has rewards beyond merely helping others.

“Religious context says that, ‘Yes, being nice is good, but there’s also a greater purpose,’” Ladd said.

For Shattuck, her religious community regularly provides opportunities for her to achieve this purpose.

Every Thursday, Shattuck and other volunteers from her church provide a meal, homework help, games and a Bible lesson for children at the Brookside Community CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Church in downtown Indianapolis.

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | FEATURE | PAGE 9

Happiness in Religion The Pew Research Center reported surveys on people with various degrees of religiousness.

Well-being index: The Gallup-Healthways Well-being index is a composite score of Life Evaluation, Emotional Health and Physical Health, among other categories that are ranked by a national sample of adults.

Very Religious: 69.2 Moderately Religious: 63.7 Nonreligious: 65.3

Healthy behavior index score: “Very Religious” Americans make healthier choices than their “Moderately Religious” and “Nonreligious” counterparts. Areas of the survey include smoking, eating and exercising habits.

Very Religious: 66.3 Moderately Religious: 60.6 Nonreligious: 58.3

Percent diagnosed with depression: Statistically, from a sample of over 550,000 individuals, people who ranked themselves as “Very Religious” were less likely to be diagnosed with depression than those who ranked themselves as “Moderately Religious” or “Nonreligious.”

Very Religious Moderately Nonreligious 18.7 percent 15.6 percent Religious 20.4 percent GALLUP.COM / SOURCE SHEEN ZHENG AND TONY TAN / GRAPHICS

According to Shattuck, acts of service are central to her faith, so they too make her feel spiritually and emotionally uplifted.

“The way we view serving is that it not only helps the people (in need), it also helps your heart. It’s the act of being selfless instead of selfish,” Shattuck said. “So if I wasn’t doing that . . . it just doesn’t feel right.”

According to Shattuck, she feels compelled to regularly take part in service activities just as she feels the need to regularly participate in church services in order to maintain the strength of her faith and happiness.

“When I attend church regularly, I view it kind of as ‘recharging my batteries,’” Shattuck said. “If I miss a week of church, I find that things are just more difficult.”

For Booth, when he was still attending church and week-long religious summer camps, he said the fall-out from religious enthusiasm was highly disheartening.

“It’s like coming back to reality, because when you’re at a camp or a church, you hear all these wonderful things…and you’re so empowered to do better with your life, and then you get back, and you fall into your old habits, and nothing changes,” Booth said.

According to Ladd, people often experience a decline in positive emotions away from their place of worship, especially if their commitment to their faith or religious community is moderate or low. In general, however, people who are less attached to their religion still can benefit from participating in religious activities, only to a different extent, he said.

“When people attend religious functions, they have a wide range of reasons why they’re there... but people who are more invested in their religion will see much more benefit,” Ladd said.

Shattuck too said that while less religious people could experience positive emotions in a place of worship just by being in a spiritual setting, only the truly devout feel the full extent of that happiness. “(It’s like being) at a concert,” Shattuck said.

“If you’re in the crowd, you’re enjoying (the music), and you’re having fun, and you’re really happy. But when you talk to the band, they say the best feeling in the world is being on the stage.”

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

CONNER GORDON / PHOTO

FAITHFULLY HAPPY: Senior Madison Shattuck reads her Bible during SRT. Shattuck said she finds happiness through what members of her church call a “spiritual high,” a feeling of strength and security from her personal connection to God.

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | FEATURE | PAGE 11

How ‘Pinterest’ing

Popularity of new social media site soars in recent months

BY KATIE UTKEN kutken@hilite.org

L

ike many students, sophomore Karen Swedo first heard about Pinterest through word-of-mouth.

When her friend introduced her to the online pinboard site, Swedo said she didn’t like it at first, but said she is now addicted to Pinterest. Swedo created an account a few months ago and has pinned over 4,000 fashion, hair and makeup ideas to her multitude of boards and said she visits the site for up to an hour on a daily basis.

“I just didn’t really get the point of it, and I thought it was boring, but then I got on for a little while and found a lot of stuff that I liked, and I just started repinning everything,” Swedo said. “I just think it’s really fun to see all the stuff that’s out there.”

Swedo is far from alone in her fascination. In fact, as of February 2012, Pinterest became the fastest website in history to reach 10 million visitors a month. According to Experian’s Digital Marketer Trend and Benchmark Reporter, it is now the third-most visited social networking site, trailing only Facebook and Twitter.

Pinterest’s clean interface and ease of use are some of the many factors that have helped it attain such meteoric popularity. “Pinners,” as users are fondly referred to, can add an image of a cookie recipe, a fashionable dress, an exotic vacation destination and more to one of their pinboards with the simple click of the “repin” button.

The invitation-only site removes the mess of scrapbooks and clipping photos from magazines and allows its users to assemble all of their inspirations in one place for future reference.

But Pinterest isn’t just for people who want to find party decoration ideas or gardening tips. Time Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Whole Foods Market are just a few of the companies that have jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon and created a page to help advertise their content or products and connect with

Uses for Pinterest Haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet? Here’s a quick look at ways to incorporate Pinterest into your social media intake.

Maintenance of personal brand Pinterest is a unique platform to curate one’s personal brand and establish a distinct design, aesthetic or style.

Integration with Facebook and Twitter Pinterest allows users to install plug-ins on Facebook and Twitter to allow easy access to the website. Users can share the items that they “pin” onto their account on other social networking websites.

What is it?

A virtual bulletin board that allows users to share images and links they find interesting. Once shared, these images become “pins” that can be placed on thematic “boards” and “repinned” by other users.

Who uses it?

68.2

percent of users are female

100

31.8

percent of users are male

50

percent of users have children

thousand dollars or more is the annual household income of 28.1 percent of Pinterest users

consumers in a more visual manner. Colleges like Butler University are also riding the popularity wave and posting pictures of campus and athletic events to help with their recruitment campaigns.

Swedo said she has noticed this increased interest in Pinterest firsthand.

“I just remember it wasn’t very popular when I first got one, but now pretty much everybody has one,” she said. “I’ve told a lot of people about it and invited them to it, and I know a lot of my friends have done that, too.”

Leslie Bailey, Indy Star correspondent and Pinterest user, said she thinks Pinterest is popular for a number of reasons, including its “DIY” mentality that gives users a sense that they are actually incorporating their pins into their daily lives.

“The Internet can be a really overwhelming place, so I think people like it because they can take all of the images and ideas that inspire them and organize them in one location, making it much more manageable,” Bailey said via email.

The vast majority of images on Pinterest are geared toward the female population, so it’s not surprising that the main demographic of users are women between the ages of 25 and 34. Bailey said she attributes this appeal to the fact that women are naturally more image-and-information driven and are more likely to want to share their finds with friends and other users.

“It’s so common on the Internet to come across something you like or want to try or wish you had. Pinterest is a way

CONNIE CHU / GRAPHIC MODEA / SOURCE

to feel ‘like’ rather than ‘lusting’ after these wants, and you can ‘collect’ them, providing even the slightest feeling of ownership,” she said. “Or, you can trace back the images and find out more information on whatever it is you’re looking for. I think there’s also a sense of pride that comes along with having an image repinned – almost like the Internet is validating your taste.”

While new data from Business Insider has surfaced claiming that in April, Pinterest gained users less rapidly and supposedly reached its peak, Bailey said she doubts there will be a time in the near future when Pinterest truly loses its popularity or is superseded by an even more popular social medium.

“Like anything in technology, social media is always evolving, and it’s almost inevitable that there will be a new platform that supersedes Pinterest in popularity – eventually,” Bailey said. “I don’t think it will be anything like Pinterest, though; it would have to be something distinctively different.

Pinterest really is just a flavor of the week, although that week could last for several years.”

Want more?

Check out HiLite’s very own Pinterest account for more information about our content.

Feel free to repin!

PAGE 12 | FEATURE | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

Restaurants place greater emphasis on waiter-patron relationships

BY LINDSEY WALKER lwalker@hilite.org

Junior Rachel White’s job description at Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream may be waitress, but in all actuality, she is more similar to a chameleon. According to White, she must shift her personality as she moves from table to table, pleasing the variety of people that the restaurant in downtown Carmel draws.

This new trend of a more personalized service, rather than the stand-by “Hello, my name is so-and-so, and I’ll be your server tonight,” is increasing across the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal, as restaurant growth is expected to grow by less than one percent in the next seven years, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm. Hoping to get customers and keep them coming back, restaurants rely on their waiters and waitresses to create personal connections with their patrons.

“If a table seems more chatty or fun, you want to play that up and joke with them or stick around longer, especially if they say they’ve never been there before,” White, who has worked at the establishment for the past three years, said. “Let them know about the restaurant, and ask where they’re from, so you can really build a relationship there.”

Bub’s owner Matt Frey echoes White in that regard, remarking how important it is for waiters and waitress to adjust their personality to each different person, at each different seat, at each different table. He also said part of a restaurant’s ability to expand and be successful is working to stay a cut above the rest.

“Now we’re starting to grow out business with another location in Bloomington, and I can’t be in all places at once.

You just have to cross your fingers and hope that the people you hire have the same outgoing perception, not just ‘Hi, welcome to Bub’s. Can we take your order?’ It’s so standard,” Frey said. “That’s the problem with the restaurant business.

There’s a major level of mediocrity that’s been accepted, and I refuse to accept that.”

Rather than treating all of the customers the same, more restaurants are now realizing the importance of creating a dining experience for patrons that extends beyond the plate of food in front of them. The atmosphere and the service

HAILEY MEYER / PHOTO

STACKING UP: Junior Rachel White gathers dishes of food to serve to her customers at Bub’s Burgers and

Ice Cream. White, who has been a waitress at the restaurant for three years, said she has learned how to apply her personality to different kinds of customers.

are essential factors as well, which often times are just as important as the food itself.

“One of the best compliments I can get is when someone comes up to me and says, ‘Oh, thanks so much… you know I didn’t feel like I was in Carmel. I felt like I was on vacation.’ It’s more than good food and good service,” Frey said.

Since waiters and waitress often work under minimum wage and rely on tips for the bulk of the money that they

How Waiters Read Your Table Restaurants are now training waiters to personalize service to customers.

Here’s how they do it.

Family Occasion Ordering dessert with children can be a challenge for the parents. Servers are recommended to bring out toys and bread as distractions.

Group of Friends Diners are too occupied in their conversations to listen to the waiter. Waiters come quickly as soon as menus are placed on the table and refill glasses to capture the attention.

Business Dinner Servers are unable to read if the dinner is formal or casual. The strategy is to discover the person with the most power that is most likely paying for the dinner.

Feuding Table The argument may leave a negative and lasting impression on the meal. The focus of the servers is to avoid making any errors.

ONLINE.WSJ.COM / SOURCE

make, having a good relationship with the multiple people they are serving at one time is vital. Making eye contact and noticing when an individual may be unhappy with his meal are key aspects of the job. “(They’re) basically people skills that you have to acquire,” White said. “I started out like just like a little 15-year-old kid so I didn’t really have (the skills). But after a while, you get used to it, and you acquire your people skills. It’s really a learning experience rather than being taught how to do it. You have to teach yourself.”

White believes she will continue to work at Bub’s as long as she can until she leaves for college in the fall of 2013. She began working at Bub’s because her brother already had a job at the restaurant. However, she said she has continued to work there for three years now because of the money and the people are great.

Nearly every person dines out at restaurants on occasion, which means that most restaurants will attract people from all different spectrums of life. Learning how to cater to individual needs while providing them with a unique dining experience has now more than ever become essential to the success of an establishment.

“If you come here, and you’re in a really bad mood, I’m going to try to cheer you up. That’s one of the thrills we get here,” Frey said. “You have the chance to really make somebody laugh or smile or just get their mind off what’s outside of here.

It’s creating a relationship, and that’s how you get people to keep coming back.”

PAGE 14 | STUDENT SECTION | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

STUDENT SECTION Music in the City

Want more?

Follow this QR code to the HiLite Twitter page for quick news all the time.

STUDENTSECTION@HILITE.ORG | TWITTER.COM/HILITE_NEWS

Sophomore Brandon Xu plans on attending an international music academy in Beijing this summer

Tell Us Your Story: For every issue, the HiLite will ask questions on our Facebook page. Tell us your story, and we will feature you on the next Student Section.

For this issue, the HiLite is featuring sophomore Brandon Xu. We asked: HiLite Online How will you be spending this summer vacation?

Answer and you may be featured in the next issue of the HiLite.

April 30 at 5:05 p.m.

You answered:

HENRY ZHU / PHOTO

Brandon Xu I will be attending the Beijing Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing.

April 30 at 5:39 p.m.

MUSICAL FINGERS: Sophomore Brandon Xu practices on his cello before orchestra rehearsal. Xu said he is not sure if he will pursue a career in music, but it will still be a part of his future.

BY ROCHELLE BRUAL rbrual@hilite.org

S

ophomore Brandon Xu said when it comes to cello, his greatest strength is finding his weaknesses. Xu plays cello in this school’s top chamber ensemble Camerata, which is a part of this school’s Symphony Orchestra. This is his fifth year to formally study cello.

This summer, Xu said he plans to attend the Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing. There he will stay in a resort and receive private lessons, private chamber music coaching and master classes from top conservatory professors from around the world.

Dr. William Grubb, associate professor of cello at Butler University and Xu’s private teacher, said, “It’s really about training some of the kids that will become the stars of tomorrow in either Asia or the United States. They will just flourish, especially since they can learn from each other.”

According to Grubb, the Great Wall International Music Academy is highly selective. Grubb has taught there for about

five years now, and he recommended to Xu that he should audition. Since Xu’s audition was late, he had to travel to the University of Cincinnati to play for the school’s executive director, Stanny Shiu.

However, now that Xu has been accepted, he has the opportunity to work with three to four cello teachers and play in one of the 20 string quartets. After three weeks of intensive work, Xu will perform in a concert. There will also be a National Public Radio program called “From the Top,” that will do two broadcasts for the school.

“I think the advantage is that (Xu) will be immersed in a different kind of culture. He will get to be around lots of kids from China and see how that’s like and how they study and prepare for things. It’s quite different than America. Chinese are more disciplined than American students but sometimes not as creative as American students, so it’s a nice mix for Americans to go to China to study, and it’s nice for the Chinese students to work with American students,” Grubb said. “It’s a really wonderful mix of cultures from East and West to make classical music. For us, it’s the language of music that brings us together.”

According to Xu, practice in China is focused on drilling and intensive work. The methods are based on technicality, which focuses more on intonation and rhythm. In the United States and Europe, teachers encourage their students to develop their musicality, or their musical personality.

The majority of the students at the Great Wall International Music Academy are ethnically Chinese, but they come from all over the world, like from Germany, Singapore, the United States and Taiwan. Students who live in China come from top schools like the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Xu said that although competition is healthy, at the same time it can detract from the learning process.

Although Xu said he is undecided for college, music will still be a part of his future. Grubb said Xu has the ability to double major in music and a science.

Xu said, “You don’t have to formally study music to enjoy it. I think that is what really makes it great. You can enjoy it just as much as I do without taking five years of lessons and traveling overseas.”

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | STUDENT SECTION | PAGE 15

The Face Behind the Tweets Each issue, we’ll highlight a particularly newsworthy Tweeter from Carmel High School.

This Issue’s Twitter account: @bestbuddies_CHS

Who runs it: Craig Maude, Best Buddies activities coordinator and junior What it is: Official Twitter account for the CHS Best Buddies club. Get updates and information.

Followers: 19 Describe yourself in 140 characters or fewer: I am a guy that enjoys hanging out with all the kids in Best Buddies and spending my time with all the members.

Junior Craig Maude promotes Best Buddies @bestbuddies_CHS is the place to go for all news and updates about the club

BY SARAH YUN syun@hilite.org What is the CHS Best Buddies Twitter page used for?

The page is basically used for the CHS Best Buddies chapter. I use it to send out reminders and updates about what is going on in Best Buddies. I usually post the dates for different events that we are having and other random things.

How was the Twitter page started and why was it started?

In the beginning of the year, some of the members and I all got together and we were trying to think of ways that we could

make Best Buddies even better this year. Someone mentioned that we should start a Twitter page to get Best Buddies out there.

We though it was a very good idea so we made the Twitter page, and I am now in charge of it.

aware of what is going on with Best Buddies. I hope a lot of students follow this Twitter page. I don’t have a specific number of followers that I am aiming for. I just want more followers because we don’t have that many right now.

How often do you tweet, and how long have you had this Twitter page?

What is the Best Buddies organization and what is the goal of the CHS Best Buddies?

Do you have any goals for this page? And if so, what are they?

Why did you choose to use Twitter?

I try to tweet every week or at least every other week or whenever we have events. Best Buddies has actually had this Twitter page for less than a year. We just started this page, which is why we don’t have many followers or tweets.

I just want students and other people at CHS to be more

Best Buddies is a way for students at CHS to make new friendships with other students at CHS and people with disabilities. It is a really good way to meet new people and become more involved in the school.

I think it’s just a good way to get information out fast. The tweets are short and people check Twitter often.

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS Don’t forget to get a ticket for the best buddies movie this friday!

19 March

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS Friendship walk in 6 days!! completed our goal and then some! #successful 23 April

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS ATTENTION ALL BEST BUDDY MEMBERS. We will be selling tickets for the best buddies movie night tomorrow during SRT 15 March

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS Best buddies friendship dance > prom.

14 April

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS 1,000$ away from our walk goal. Keep up the great work!!!

10 March

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS FRIENDSHIP DANCE LATER 4-7 main cafeteria. $5 at the door, hope to see everyone there 14 April

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS Great end the R word week, got so many signatures!!!

8 March

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS WE HAVE REACHED OUR GOAL FOR THE WALK. have a great spring break everyone:) 30 March

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS New goal for the walk is $2100. we can do it!

7 March

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS best buddies movie night was a huge hit!!

Don’t forget we’re still accepting donations for the walk 24 March

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS Local leadership conference tomorrow at brownsburg.

2 March

SARAH YUN / PHOTO

carmel high school @bestbuddies_CHS CONGRATS TO ALL CHS BEST BUDDIES FOR DONATING THE MOST MONEY FOR THE WALK!!!

29 April

PAGE 16 | COVER STORY | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

Cultivating

Creativity

By Hafsa Razi In an education system that stresses test scores and standards, students and teachers here seek to incorporate innovation into their lives

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | COVER STORY | PAGE 17

M

“

ildly creative” is how junior George Armstrong describes himself, somewhat surprisingly for a student in IB Visual Arts, on track to receive an IB diploma when he graduates. Inherently, he might not be extremely creative, Armstrong said, but his experiences in these classes have taught him to think outside the box.

“Up until my junior year, I was taking all the classes that everyone else was taking,” he said. “Those IB classes were the opportunity to bring (the creativity) out (of me).”

While students like Armstrong who take nontraditional classes learn creative thinking in school, many of their peers across America don’t share these opportunities.

Ten years ago this January, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act increased the focus of school systems on achieving standards and high test scores. In February this year, the state of Indiana waivered out of requirements of NCLB, which many criticized for encouraging teachers to “teach to the tests. Still, evidence shows that today’s

students are becoming less creative.

A 2010 study by the College of William and Mary showed that creativity scores have been decreasing since 1990, despite rising IQ scores. This may correlate to the increased focus on standardized education that began around 1990, according to Bonnie Cramond, professor of educational psychology and instructional technology at University of Georgia and the director of Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development. Now when many students leave high school, she said, they lack the skills in innovative thinking that the outside world CONTINUED requires of them.

ON NEXT PAGE

JIVA CAPULONG / GRAPHIC

PAGE 18 | COVER STORY | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012 “It’s horrible when you get to the university level,” Cramond said.

“I get kids who are so bright—they have good SAT scores, but they can’t even begin to think of an original project...The creativity has been schooled out of them completely.”

When teachers, parents and students all view standardized tests as the sole measure of students’ learning, Cramond said, they put a lot of undue pressure on students.

“If that’s all we want from kids, then yeah, we’re damaging their ability to think creatively because we’re not encouraging it,” Cramond said.

This applies not only for state standardized tests, she said, but for the more advanced AP tests. Standards should serve as a minimum requirement for students’ knowledge, she said, not the goal.

“You want people to be able to go beyond the knowledge and skills,” Cramond said.

According to art teacher Jonathan Kane, however, standards can still serve to provide a foundation for learning, even in nontraditional classes that are based on long-term projects instead of lessons and exams. His students need to know the techniques, history and culture behind art in order to develop a more sophisticated understanding of art.

“The art classes allow you to produce work, to be creative, but to create not just from your own experience,” Kane said.

According to Cramond, artistic activities teach students skills beyond the artwork itself and can make students more engaged in any class. For art students like Armstrong, the art classes provide the ultimate creative experience by allowing

All the evidence shows that anybody who makes an impact in any field at the highest level is not just intelligent—they’re also creative. They can’t just be smart people who’ve learned, because there’s knowledge we don’t even know yet.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Bonnie Cramond

Professor of Education Psychology at the University of Georgia students freedom of ideas in their artwork.

“You can go completely in your own direction.

Just by doing that, you’re more creative there than in any other class,” Armstrong said. “Visual art is your class.”

At the same time, a school’s strong arts program does not necessarily produce a creative student body, Cramond said. Creativity, according to her, matters in all subjects, from art to mathematics.

“Not everyone is creative artistically. Some people are creative in writing, in math, in science, in many different ways,” Cramond said.

Senior Patrick Scott is not involved in any arts programs, but he still develops some innovative skills through Vocational Building Trades, which calls for abstract thinking in devising methods to build, repair and conserve material for construction. He said some of his core classes, such as math class, have creative components within the curriculum. “(Math) can be creative, like how you picture what’s going on and how you understand it can be different from person to person,” Scott said.

According to Jacinda Sohalski, math teacher and next year’s department chair, while basic

Hiring Innovation

*Percent of CEOs who chose the quality as one of their top three

In a 2010 poll by IBM, CEOs around the world ranked their top three most important leadership qualities in today’s economy

60%*

Creativity 52%

Integrity 35%

Global thinking 30%

Influence

28%

Openess Dedication

26%

Focus on sustainability

26%

Humility

12%

Fairness

12%

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IBM.COM / SOURCE VICTOR XU / GRAPHIC

math classes generally have a structured approach, advanced math courses expose students to more innovative ways of approaching problems and finding solutions.

“The creativity comes in mostly in math in the real world and application type of problems that we do,” Sohalski said.

For Scott, these opportunities for creative thinking, as well as labs in physics and occasional tangents in classroom discussions, make his otherwise conventional core classes more interesting, Scott said.

Other students, like Armstrong, learn under less narrow guidelines that enhance their ability to imagine. In his IB classes, Armstrong said, he has more opportunity to come up with his own ideas, especially in English and history. These freedoms, he said, keep students engaged. “(IB classes) allow you to—of course with guidelines, but broad guidelines—conduct your own research and come up with your own direction on these various projects and papers and speeches and presentations so that you can pick your interest and use your skills to your advantage,” Armstrong said.

However, Armstrong said, not all IB classes have such freedoms. His IB Chemistry class, for example, is combined with an AP Chemistry class, so they share most of the same materials and assessments. The emphasis in this class, he said, is mostly learning the material in order to prepare for the AP and IB exams. While this structure is less engaging, he said, it is not as possible for his chemistry class to allow students to choose the focus of their learning.

“If you’re only interested in learning about thermochemistry or nuclear chemistry, and your class allowed you to learn more and more and more about that, you wouldn’t learn the basics that you need to know to be well-rounded,” Armstrong said.

For some students, like junior Emilie Schiess, it’s just difficult to view math and science classes as a medium for creativity. Schiess said she is most involved and creative in her English class.

“It’s kind of hard to be creative in math…I feel like science and history and math are just (classes) where you have to learn facts before you become creative, where with English, you can start out being creative,” Schiess said.

According to Sohalski, students really need background knowledge and understanding of math concepts before they can start approaching problems in new ways. However, she said, many students react to difficult math concepts by “cramming” and using rote memorization, rather than attempting to understand them, which makes the creative approach highly difficult.

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | COVER STORY | PAGE 19

CONNER GORDON AND OMEED MALEKMARZBAN / PHOTOS

CREATIVE CALLING On left, senior Patrick Scott paints a door in Vocational Building Trades, which calls for abstract and innovative thinking. On right, junior George Armstrong finishes his landscape painting in one of his art classes. Although studies show American students are becoming increasingly less creative, Scott and Armstrong are enrolled in courses that emphasize creativity.

In general, Scott said, people don’t associate math and science much with imagination.

According to him, the core of math and science classes is not creativity, so it is de-emphasized, unlike in art.

“Not everyone’s necessarily motivated to try and find an abstract way to do a math problem or a science problem because not everyone likes it, so they just want to get it done,” Scott said.

According to Cramond, the high-pressure focus on testing in many classes trumps any focus on innovative thinking.

“If it’s not on the test, and no one cares about anything but what’s on the test, there’s not a lot of motivation (to learn it),” Cramond said.

The stress of trying to balance classes and homework, for many students, causes them to forego taking the time to look at information creatively, Scott said. However, most of creativity in the classroom depends on if the teacher is willing to take time away from the material to explore new ideas, he said.

“There’s a lot that falls on the shoulders of teachers as far as covering material in class, and hopefully, that doesn’t become overwhelming,” Kane said.

According to Kane, teachers have to keep in mind that they don’t lose sight of what’s important for their students’ learning, as opposed to just what’s in the curriculum.

For example, according to Sohalski, math teachers often include art projects or presentations into their units so that students can take a creative approach to what they have learned. Also, she said, while current standards do not really address creativity, new programs installed in the next few years will encourage more open-ended problems for all grades across the entire state.

As much as teachers try to incorporate creativity and even art in their lessons, though, they still might meet resistance from their students who don’t want to take the effort, Cramond said.

“It’s a lot easier not to have to be creative,” Cramond said. “… (People) want to do the thing that (takes) the least effort. And of course, the least effort gets the fewest returns, I think.”

Even for Schiess, who said she is normally responsive to unconventional projects and assignments in her core classes, some days, her creative juices just aren’t flowing.

“I’d like to say I’d love to do skits and writing every day, but that would just be overwhelming…

There are days when a plug-and-chug worksheet is just quick to do before class and it gets the job done,” Schiess said.

But according to Schiess, it might not be a problem that students don’t always take the time to be creative in their traditional classes. While creativity is important, she said, some people also just aren’t artistic.

However, according to Kane, everyone can benefit from art, whether they create it or simply appreciate it.

“It’s not just about creating art. It’s about a culture appreciating art, and it’s also about the creative element within us…whether it’s used to create a painting or whether it’s used to cure an illness. You’ve got to have a creative way of looking outside of what already exists,” Kane said.

According to Cramond, creativity is just like intelligence in that it is both inherited and environmental. People have the potential to grow in creativity over time from experience and learning regardless of their age or where they are in school.

“I meet people all the time who will say, ‘Oh, I

don’t have any creativity.’ You know, I have never met anyone who says to me, ‘I don’t have any intelligence.’ We’re all born with a propensity and, I think, a motivation to create,” Cramond said.

For Armstrong, he believes that while people have creativity inside them, they need art classes or the IB program or any other passion to draw out the creativity, he said.

According to Cramond, it is highly important for students to develop these creative thinking skills in high school so they devise innovative solutions for world problems in the future.

“All the evidence shows that anybody who makes an impact in any field at the highest level is not just intelligent—they’re also creative…

They can’t just be smart people who’ve learned, because there’s knowledge we don’t even know yet,” Cramond said.

Major nations of the world are moving toward increasing creativity in their students, Cramond said, but America’s education system still stands by its focus on higher test scores. Despite this, creativity is vital to this country’s future, she said, because in today’s global economy, innovation is the new primary capital.

“The economy follows creative people,” Cramond said.

According to Armstrong, students who are involved in arts and other project-based or nontraditional classes ultimately have the best advantage in creative thinking skills when they leave high school.

“Creativity is what’s really going to allow people to be successful and productive learners outside of school for the rest of their lives,” Armstrong said. “If they can learn how to learn creatively now, it’s going to be all the better for them down the road.”

PAGE 20 | ENTERTAINMENT | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

ENTERTAINMENT SUBMITENTERTAINMENT@HILITE.ORG | TWITTER.COM/HILITE_NEWS

Birthday Girl: Tina Fey was born on May 18, 1970.

Fey shot to stardom with roles “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock.”

It’s a bird… it’s a plane…it’s…it’s…a

SUPERHERO MOVIE “The Avengers” is just the start. As the weather warms, many more action-packed films will be released.

HiLite reporters compare them to past favorites.

Batman returns for final installment

BY LINDSEY WALKER LWALKER@HILITE.ORG

In his signature sleek black costume with accents of yellow, Batman has been a staple of American entertainment since first appearing in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Soon after this he began gracing the big screen with films beginning in the 1940s and stretching on until the latest film in 2008, “The Dark Knight”, a sequel to “Batman Begins” from 2005. Now the Caped Crusader (one of Batman’s many nicknames) returns in the third and final installment in the series directed

by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/ Batman with “The Dark Knight Rises”, set to hit theaters July 20.

According to IMDb.com, the movie takes place eight years after the city of Gotham identified Batman an adversary in the conclusion of the last Batman movie. Now he must resurface HOTOO

OTHERS / P

WARNER BR

CONNIE CHU / ILLUSTRATIONS

to protect Gotham once again from a new rising terrorist leader known as Bane (Tom Hardy).

The movie also features familiar stars like Anne Hathaway (“The Devil Wears Prada” and “The Princess Diaries”) as villainess Selina Kyle and Morgan Freeman (“Glory” and “The Shawshank Redemption”) as Wayne’s righthand man, Lucius Fox. Those who have grown up with Batman, or who have followed this three-part series over the past seven years, will be the target audience for this film. With Bale at the helm of the film bringing home a duly dramatic ending to the series, those well accustomed to his acting will not be disappointed. However, even for those who are not, anyone who prefers their comedy dark and their action even darker will surely revel in this histrionic roller coaster of an adventure movie.

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | ENTERTAINMENT | PAGE 21

Yo, Joe’s coming back to theaters

BY JACOB BOTKIN JBOTKIN@HILITE.ORG

If you are a fan of the intense fighting and battle scenes that took place in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” then you’ll love the new “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” movie. Featuring tough-guy actor Dwayne Johnson, actress Adrianne Palicki and actor D.J. Cotrona, this summer blockbuster is full of “pretty girls” and “action guys.”

If you aren’t a fan, this movie still has something for everyone that will enhance the movie experience for both die hard and new fans.

For those unfamiliar with the plot or who just need a reminder, in “Transformers,” Optimus Prime led Autobots against the evil Decepticons, who were determined to avenge their defeat in the previous movie, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” In that prequel, the Autobots and the Decepticons participated in a space race between the United States and Russia. As happened previously, human Sam Witwicky helped his machine friends, while the movie also introduced a few new characters.

This newest G.I. Joe movie has a similar plot.

The main theme of “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” revolves around an evil mastermind imperson-

ating the President of the United States and planning to begin World War III. The evil president frames the Joes for crimes they did not commit then orders his team of assassins to exterminate all of the Joes as punishment for their false crimes. Some survive, and the remaining Joes set out on a long, action-packed journey to try to prevent the evil tyrant from taking over the world. Like Transformers, G.I. Joe also manages to introduce a few new characters to the movie who are sure to entertainment fans.

This new G. I. Joe movie takes everything that the fans of the previous movies enjoyed and repackages and expands it into the new movie. This movie is “made for the fans,” and critics expect it to be one of the biggest box office action movies of the summer. There’s little doubt that action movie fans will pack the theaters after a long summer day. Adding actor Johnson as one of the main characters helps exemplify the attitude and toughness that the Joe’s reputation is solidly built upon. Of course, the addition of Adrianne Palicki’s character is quite comprable to the role played by Megan Fox. So if the action and suspense of the “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” movie was right up your alley, or you want to see an exciting, new film, then seeing “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” would be worthwhile.

Masked webslinger looks to repeat as another box office hit

BY LINDSEY WALKER LWALKER@HILITE.ORG

The legendary blue and red arachnid crime-fighter swings back onto theater screens in IMAX 3D on July 3 with “The Amazing Spider-Man” (Columbia Pictures), after being absent since the 2007 premiere of “Spider-Man 3.”

Directed by Marc Webb, this film will replace what was originally intended to be another sequel to the Spider-Man franchise, “Spider-Man 4”, with a whole new cast but similar plot line, according to IMDb.com.

The film stars Andrew Garfield (“The Social Network”) as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man and Emma Stone (“The Help” and “Easy A”) as Gwen Stacy.

The plot centers on the life of social outcast Peter Parker, as he grapples with the loss of his parents many years earlier and his desire to win over his crush, Gwen.

As his super powers continue to evolve, so do clues to solving the mystery of his father’s abandonment. This mystery leads him to face his father’s former partner, Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), as he further uncovers his father’s dark secret and forms his future as the famous Spider-Man. This film, produced by the same studio that brought the first three Spider-Man movies to life, will likely benefit from the loyalty of its already built-up fan base, as well as attracting newcomers who may not be familiar with the franchise yet. Those who are fans of the comic books or any of the previous movies will likely enjoy this film; however, hard-core fans may have a difficult time adjusting to a new cast, particularly the new and younger version of Peter Parker. For those seeking an action-packed film to wake up their lazy summer days, “The Amazing Spider-Man” should fulfill that need perfectly.

COLUMBIA PICTURES / PHOTO

PAGE 22 | ENTERTAINMENT | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

Go for the Party Gold With the start of London’s Olympic Games, indulge your creative side with fresh new takes on homemade recipes

BY OLIVIA WEPRICH oweprich@hilite.org

Olympic Colors Trail Mix

The Summer Olympics are a great reason to celebrate and throw a party, and not just in London where the actual Games will take place. Here are a few quick food and decoration ideas ranging from British-inspired cheese dip to USA-spirited treats. Follow these suggestions and your Olympic-themed party is sure to win a gold medal.

Start off with some simple decorations. Arrange American flags or the flags of other countries to show your spirit and support. Include brochures or other articles that distinguish London, the location of the Games. Decorate with gold accents to represent the gold medals awarded during the Olympics.

Once you finish the decorations, start planning the party events. Organize guests onto different countries and play trivia games or set up simple relay races or challenges. Keep track of the winners, either individually or by team.

The friendly competition will keep guests engaged and will eliminate the possibility of a boring moment, especially when an award ceremony awaits them at the end of the party.

Of course, a party isn’t a party without food, so here is a variety of recipes that will make your guests hope you start throwing parties more often.

Medal Winning Sugar Cookies Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients: Sift together in a medium-sized bowl: • 2 ½ cups sifted all purpose flour • 1 ½ teaspoons double-acting baking powder • ¾ teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon

ground nutmeg In larger bowl combine: • 1 cup sugar • ¾ cup vegetable oil Add to this mixture and beat well after each addition: • 2 eggs • 1 teaspoon vanilla Directions: Add the flour mixture all at once and beat until just mixed. Shape the dough into ½-inch balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Flatten with glass bottom that has been dipped in granulated sugar. Bake about 11 to 13 minutes until lightly brown on edges. Cool on rack. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Cookie Decorations: Ingredients: • 1 container ready-to-spread white frosting • Gold and silver colored sprinkles MIKAELA GEORGE / PHOTOS

TRAIL MIX: In order to throw a great party for the Olympics, be sure to make some yummy desserts, have some creative decorations and plan fun games to get in the competitive spirit.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | ENTERTAINMENT | PAGE 23

Medal Winning Sugar Cookies

USA Olympic Jell-O Ingredients: • 2 8-ounce packages of red Jell-O • 3 cups boiling water • 2 ¼ cups cold water • non-stick spray • Jello mold, or a cookie cutter Directions: Spray Jello-O mold with non-stick spray.

Any type of spray will work, such as Pam or even regular butter. Combine boiling water with Jell-O mix (in a patriotic flavor or color) and let it dissolve. Add cold water and pour the jello into the mold. Set overnight. Dip mold into warm, but not boiling, water to help unmold the jello map. It may be difficult to find a Jello-O mold like the one used, but try finding maybe a flag or star one, or anything else that is patriotic. Another idea is to make Jell-O Jigglers and use cookie cutters to shape them like stars.

USA Olympic Jell-O

Olympic Ring Fruit Tray Ingredients: • 1 container of blueberries • 1 pineapple (peeled and cored) cut into

small pieces • 1 container of blackberries • 1 large bunch of green grapes • 1 container of raspberries Directions: Arrange individual fruits into rings on large tray to follow the Olympic Ring pattern: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Be creative with the types of fruit or other food used to make the pattern. Feel free to change up what type of food you use based on personal preference or making the colors more authentic to the logo.

Olympic Ring Fruit Tray

English Pub Cheese Spread

Olympic Colors Trail Mix Ingredients: • 2 cups Rice Chex cereal • 2 cups small pretzels • 1 8-ounce package white chocolate pretzels • 1 16-ounce package M & M’s plain candies (orange M & M’s removed) • Additional Red and Green Sixlet candies Directions: Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Fill small treat bags with one cup trail mix and tie with red ribbon, or ribbon the colors of the different Olympic rings. This makes a great party favor because it’s fast and easy to make individualized bags for each guest. Feel free to use different ingredients to represent the ring colors. This snack is super easy to make your own with whatever you have at home. Plus, everyone loves trail mix.

Quiz: True or False?

English Pub Cheese Spread Ingredients: • 8 oz. regular cream cheese, softened • 1 5 oz. container Kraft Old English cheese spread (comes in a small glass) • 8 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce • 1 teaspoon horseradish Directions: Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer until the cheese spread is smooth. Serve with English water crackers (for a more authentic touch) or raw vegetables, like carrots, peppers or celery. With this delicious spread, guests will feel like they are experiencing the Olympic Games right in the heart of London.

Try your hand at determining whether this trivia on Olympic traditions is fact or fiction.

Horsing Around: Greek horseback riders were the first to use stirrups, so they rarely fell off their horses during races.

Musical Medals: The very first Olympic Games included competitions for not just athletes but also musicians.

She’s the Man: Back in Ancient Greece, only men could go to the games, so when one mother wanted to see her son compete in the games, she had to dress up as a man.

BBC.COM / SOURCE

ANSWERS: F, T, T

Directions: When cookies have cooled, ice with frosting and sprinkle with gold and silver decorations. You can use this recipe or your favorite cookie recipe. You could even try a variety of flavors or food coloring in the icing to make the cookies look even more like medals.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Of course, a party isn’t a party without food, so here is a variety of recipes that will make your guests hope you start throwing parties more often.

PAGE 24 | SPORTS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

SPORTS

SUBMITSPORTS@HILITE.ORG | TWITTER.COM/HILITE_NEWS

Postseason Time As the school year winds down, all the spring sports at CHS enter the most important part of their year: the postseason. If you can’t be at the game, meet or match to cheer on your fellow hounds, be sure to scan the QR code for previews and recaps of all the action.

Construction on new, improved weight room to begin this summer

According to Inskeep, it will resemble the basketball court and track configuration that is currently used at the Monon Center.

This summer, construction will start on a new weight According to Bosket, the room for this school, but this weight “room” will not best part about the new weight really be just a room; it will be a facility. According to room will be the extra space to Athletics Director Jim Inskeep, the idea for a new weight facilitate classes. room was proposed eight years ago.

“What I worry about is the safety “We have been discussing this since 2004, so it’s not aspect of getting too bunched in a new concept altogether,” Inskeep said. “It has actually together, trying to fit too many been on some of the capital projects for years. As other people in a room like that where needs have come up in the school district, it has just you have barbells and dumbbells kept being pushed back further and further.” flying around, so there is a high-risk The weight room will be a two-story facility located potential for the student-athletes,” in the fieldhouse lot. While construction is planned to Bosket said. “The new facility will start this summer, the facility will not be ready for use have a lot of the same things in it, until the start of the 2013-14 school year. but it will have more space.”

According to Aaron Bosket, head strength and Inskeep said his favorite part conditioning coach at CHS, the new weight room is about the new weight room a necessity. facility will be the benefits that MARY BROOKE JOHNSON / PHOTO “Oh, I think (a new weight room) is absolutely it will bring to all of this school’s HEAVY LIFTING: Junior Benton Givens lifts in the school’s current necessary for a school of this size. We need a lot more athletic programs. space for the size of this school and the number of weight room. Construction on the new weight room is expected to “We do the best that we can athletes that we have,” Bosket said. begin during the summer. with really limited facilities as it On the first floor of the facility, there will be a relates to conditioning and weight weight room which will be twice the size of the current training, and our current weight weight room and updated with all of the latest exercise room is literally the size of a lot of technology. The ceiling height will be increased and Chris Johnson, varsity lacrosse player and junior, uses 1A and 2A schools in the state and we have got 1,200 windows will be added. The new second floor will have the weight room in APC and said he thinks the weight student athletes.

So as we continue to have more and two parts. The first part is two full-length wood floor room will be a great addition to Carmel High School. more success with our programs, the need and numbers basketball courts, and the second part is an elevated “I’m excited for the size of the new weight room, as in those programs will rise,” Inskeep said. running track that overlooks the basketball courts. this will allow more people into the room and will allow space for more equipment. There will be so much room for activities,” Johnson said via email.

Bosket said he anticipates a positive impact from the new facility.

As construction begins over the summer, the newly renovated weight room will “I think that it will make the athletes stronger feature many helpful upgrades for students. Here are some of the additions: because it will automatically increase our weight training efficiency and we can get a lot more done in •Windows, as the even less time,” he said. “Another positive (aspect) is it will increase the number and variety of movements that current weight room •A two-story facility we can do.” has none as opposed to only

BY JACOB BOTKIN jbotkin@hilite.org

New Additions

one floor

•An indoor track that will go around the top floor

•Two basketball courts on the second floor for gym classes

CONNIE CHU / GRAPHIC

We need a lot more space for the size of this school and the number of athletes that we have.

Aaron Bosket

Head strength and conditioning coach

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | SPORTS | PAGE 25

The ‘I’ in Team Although women’s track is a team sport, individual performances impact the team’s overall score more than other sports “Track is more of an individual feel, as opposed to a more team approach in cross country,” Bennett said.

“This is not to say that track doesn’t have a great team atmosphere, it’s just the races themselves are more hen senior Sarah Bennett steps up to the individual as you do not line up or race next to your starting line at the track, she has a different teammates like you do in cross country.” feeling than when she lines up for cross Track is unique in this respect. A track meet consists country. In cross country, she lines up with of 16 events, with two runners in each event. The six teammates looking to push each other to achieve a runners compete individually, with the exception of the victory for the team. On the track, she races alone, racing relays, but score points as a team. It is a true blend of a against the clock and her competitors individually. team sport and an individual sport.

In the sprints, it is the runners against the clock, running as fast as they can. They don’t have time to worry about how their teammate is doing, and they are concerned only with their own race. The same is true during the throws and jumps.

However, in the distance events, it is easier for teammates to work together during the race to run their best.

“Our 1600 runners are so close together time-wise they pretty much work together,” Head Coach Tim Mylin said. “I don’t specifically tell them to key off each other, but you can tell they are doing that in the race. We have a lot of girls packing up in the 1600 and 3200.”

Bennett takes advantage when her teammates are in her race, but she knows her first priority is to score points.

“You run your individual best in an effort to earn as many possible points for the team as a whole. If you do have a teammate running in the same race as you, it is encouraging to have them running with you as you both race to your potential.”

Bennett primarily runs the 800, but she is also one of the top runners on the 4x800 meter relay. Relays are unique because they require team chemistry and good communication with teammates during the course of the race. Handoffs are vital and, according to Mylin, without good communication the relay becomes much harder.

“There is a chemistry with the relays, especially with the 4x100 and 4x400. There is definitely that chemistry, you have that camaraderie among teammates,” Mylin said. “I’ll see team captains doing pep talks KATHLEEN BERTSCH / PHOTO and team prayers and that all makes FINISHING LEG: Sophomore Cameron “Cami” Etgen runs after a difference with a relay.” practicing an exchange for the relay. Relays are one of the few team The various events force track events in a track meet. to be a more individual sport. With

BY JACOB VAHLE jvahle@hilite.org

W

Spring Sports Scoreboard Here’s a look at some upcoming games and matches for spring sports Baseball Today: Greyhound Invitational at home (6:00 p.m.)

Softball Monday: Sectional at Cherry Tree Softball Complex (5:00 p.m.)

Men’s Golf Tomorrow: Hamilton County match at Woodwind Golf Club (12:30 p.m.)

Women’s Tennis Today: Sectional semifinal at home if team is still in (4:15 p.m.)

Men’s Track and Field Thursday: Regional tournament at Lafayette Jeff (5:00 p.m.)

Women’s Track and Field Tuesday: Regional tournament at West Lafayette (6:00 p.m.)

CARMELGREYHOUNDS.COM / SOURCE

sixteen events, the meet is split, and the runners must be prepared whenever they are called upon to run.

Although it can feel much more individually focused, the girl’s track team has many activities and traditions to build a team first atmosphere. Bennett said that the girls on the team are close and encourage each other to do their best.

“As a team, we all stretch together and end practice with a team cheer,” she said. “We also had a team movie night at the beginning of the season, and we cheer each other on during our events.”

The girls enjoy the closeness of a team. But Mylin emphasizes individual goals to help the girls run the best they can and help the team as a whole. He said he stresses that they run their own race, take control and compete as individuals.

“We really focus on individual goals,” Mylin said. “If an individual doesn’t have their own goals, and they’re not motivated to achieve for themselves, they are going to have a hard time contributing to the team. If they take care of business for themselves, they will help out the team in the process.”

Bennett may not line up on the starting line with all of her teammates, but she knows that she is still racing for the team.

“When I step on the line, you are representing the greyhounds, and you want to do well,” she said.

PAGE 26 | SPORTS | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

Young Guns SOPHOMORE SERVE: Bailey Padgett hits an overhand serve at a women’s tennis match. Many younger athletes obtain leadership roles on their teams, despite not being seniors. HAILEY MEYER / PHOTO

Although many sports at this school are primarily led by seniors, some younger athletes still play the role of leader on their teams

BY MATT WEHNER mwehner@hilite.org

B

ailey Padgett, tennis player and sophomore, achieved her high goal of winning the State Championship for the first time last year. As she celebrated with her fellow tennis players after match point, she said it was a surreal moment, an unbelievable feeling.

Still, with seven total State Championships among the various athletics teams at Carmel this year, that feeling isn’t unique.

What makes Padgett different is, when her team won, Padgett was only a freshman.

With a school of over 4,500 students, each sport has a wide selection of players from which to choose. Most varsity coaches place seniors on the varsity team first, then juniors and then sophomores and freshmen that are deemed to be capable. In Padgett’s case, however, she played number-one singles as a freshman.

Now, it is the climax of Padgett’s sophomore tennis season, and she said she is hoping to find herself in the same position she was last year.

Padgett isn’t the only underclassman to exhibit her skills at the varsity level, though.

Kyle Fiala, baseball player and junior, is in the same situation.

Fiala started on the varsity baseball team as a sophomore and contributed to its season just as much as other varsity players.

But along with being a major contributor on a varsity team comes responsibility. Despite their ages, Fiala and Padgett said they both must show other players leadership and confidence to establish that they deserve to play at the varsity level.

Fiala said, “I play a position that you have to be a leader. It comes with playing on the team and looking up to kids.”

Fiala is the starting shortstop of the varsity baseball team, which is a position that upholds responsibilities of calling people off and being the head of the infield.

“You have to control the infield,” Fiala said. “You have to tell the other players what to do in situations.”

Andrew Havill, varsity golfer and junior, also has a role of leadership. Havill played varsity golf as a freshman and sophomore. Currently in his third year on the varsity squad, Havill said he has begun to be a leader for underclassmen.

CONTINUED Havill said he learned about how to lead ON NEXT PAGE

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | SPORTS | PAGE 27 others from seniors who have helped him through prior seasons.

“I try to help (my teammates) if they need help. I somewhat know what I’m talking about as far as the golf swing.

Sometimes my dad gives advice,” Havill said. Havill’s father is a professional golfer with much experience regarding teaching others.

Chad Carr, men’s golf Head Coach, said via email, “(Havill) is definitely a leader and gladly helps players with various aspects of golf, whether it be a swing flaw or course management decision.”

Carr said leadership is all about skill level, work ethic and a positive attitude.

“Every team needs a strong leader. They don’t always have to be vocal but can lead by example,” Carr said.

“Other team members who aren’t as strong of a player will feed off of this leadership and step up their own game.”

However, leadership skils are not universal, each sport requires specific actions. As Carr said, leadership in golf is directed by example and is personal. In tennis, leadership mostly takes the form of support and doesn’t always include instruction, according to Padgett.

Padgett said, “I usually don’t give advice. During matches we yell encouragement. The seniors make the best leaders, though. In regard to coaches, we leave the advice to them.”

Havill said he agreed with Padgett. “A leader is someone who shows hard work ethic and encourages the other players,” he said.

As for baseball, leadership comes as players progress.

Fiala said leaders are defined by their position, but anybody can be a leader if they possess the qualities that allow the team to succeed. Golf and tennis are both individual sports with a team aspect while baseball requires everybody to be on the same page.

According to Fiala, it is rare at Carmel to have underclassmen on the varsity team, which makes these players unique. Along with having the skills to play at CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

the varsity level, these players must be good peers to players in their grade and younger.

Fiala said, “We must show people we can win as a team, especially the young kids. We are a school that always wins. We shouldn’t be a school that loses.”

Pressure also varies among underclassmen athletes. Some are able to handle the pressure of leadership better after they have had the opportunity of playing a whole year on a varsity team, but it can be overwhelming to anybody.

Padgett said, “I played (number-one) singles all middle school, so it wasn’t different playing the role.

High school is just more intense.”

The intensity and speed of play is the biggest difference between varsity and junior varsity, according to Fiala. Fiala played junior varsity as a freshman and said his progression to varsity was a major shock.

“The speed of play on the varsity level is a lot faster. You think you have time to make the play at first, but before you know it, the runner’s at first,” Fiala said.

In golf, the player controls the speed of play, but speed is still one of the most important aspects in golf, according to Carr. Carr said seniors Brady Sharkey and Charlie Browning are also good leaders, along with Havill.

“They both lead with a positive attitude and steady golf play. They don’t get too rattled on the course under stressful conditions,” Carr said.

In all sports, leadership can be defined several ways. As underclassmen continue to contribute at Carmel, the expectations will get higher. As long as athletes have the right skill level, work ethic and positive attitude, they belong on the varsity level, according to Carr.

Carr said, “Leadership isn’t defined by age, but by action and attitude.”

We must show people we can win as a team, especially the young kids. We are a school that always wins. We shouldn’t be a school that loses.

Kyle Fiala, baseball player and junior MARY BROOKE JOHNSON / PHOTO

JACOB

VAHLE

sports reporter / jvahle@hilite.org

Don’t get used to all the winning. Not every school is able to enjoy the level of success that Carmel earns.

108-57. It sounds like the score of a bad basketball game, a game that was over before it started, but that is not the case. What it really says is that Carmel has a history of winning, a history of domination that far surpasses any other in the state.

Carmel has won 108 IHSAA team State Championships since 1969, when we won our first title in men’s golf. The next closest school in the state, North Central, possesses a respectable 57 State Championships. Third place?

Columbus North with 32 titles. As members of this great student body, we are spoiled with a tradition of excellence in athletics that far surpasses that of any other school in the state. Year after year, Carmel continues to dominate the state and rack up medals, rings and trophies.

Last year, Carmel added six State trophies to its collection. With these accomplishments, many schools in the state would double the size of their trophy case;

here, we don’t bat an eye. For most schools, the goal is to make it out of the Sectional, to post a winning season or to build for future seasons; not at Carmel. Here, winning is expected, and anything besides a State Title is often looked at as a disappointment. In an environment where winning is the norm, it is easy as students to become accustomed to the constant successes and triumphs.

We should consider ourselves lucky to be fans of the Greyhounds. Most of us will never again cheer on a team that remains as consistently dominant as our Carmel Greyhounds. Whatever college we choose to attend, whatever pro sports team we choose to cheer for, never will the athletics match the dominance in all sports that is expected here at Carmel. Here at Carmel, we have an incredibly loyal student body, students who are proud to cheer their team to victory. But often students take for granted the true significance of being a Greyhound.

After being saturated with winning seasons and State Championships for many years, it is virtually an unspoken rule that we will win. But what we fail to realize is that we are the exception, not the rule, and that we are lucky to be part of a tradition of dominance.

As a student body we should take advantage of this unique opportunity to be a part of a team so successful.

We should be out there Friday nights at football games under the lights, out there in the stands of the soccer games and lining the course at a cross-country meet.

We should tailgate before games, travel to competitions far away and support the teams that every year provide us with entertainment and a sense of belonging in the Carmel community.

Consider yourself lucky to cheer for Carmel sports.

Show your pride for the Hounds. Chances are, you’ll never witness a team quite so dominant again.

PAGE 28 | PERSPECTIVES | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

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Food Junkies Scan this QR code to check out Monica Cheng’s and Caroline Zhang’s food blog, featuring original recipes and reviews.

Speak Up!

Staff Perspective

Students should make themselves more employable by trying new things Since the recession began in late 2007, we have been peppered with phrases like “real-estate equity losses” and “sub-prime loan rates.” However, only recently have these “grown-up” phrases begun to hit home with our generation. According to a newly released 2012 study by the Pew Research Center, only 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 are currently employed, the lowest that rate has been in 60 years. As protests fueled by frustration and a loss of patience spark across the United States and Europe, Time Magazine dubbed this demographic “The Jobless Generation” in its struggles. As many of us use our high school experience to prepare ourselves for careers later, now is the time to pay attention to these statistics in order to make ourselves as employable as possible.

As college graduates cling to their diplomas when they pick up shifts at fast-food restaurants while sending out a plethora of résumés, the realization dawns that the key to being employable is versatility.

College graduates are finding that simply getting their degree is not always enough to land them their dream job (or often any job) these days. Employers are now looking for candidates who are versatile- that is, skilled in many different areas. Why hire three people when you can hire one person who is capable of doing all three jobs?

Therefore, we must now begin preparing ourselves to branch out. That being said, it is not necessary to master skills in every genre from medicine to law to business. The key to being a versatile and employable individual is branching out within your own element.

Always leave room for new opportunities before narrowing your interests, and now, more than any other time in your life, is exactly the right time to do it. Your life will never be more of a blank canvas than it is right now.

Take for example Mehmet Oz, better known as “Dr. Oz” from his appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and now on “The Dr. Oz Show.” Although Oz knew he wanted to go to medical school and become a doctor, he also got a business degree at the same time.

With both an MD and an MBA, Oz was able to not only practice medicine, but also use his business skills to move up in the medical world.

With this in mind, students must consider themselves and their career options. They may already have narrowed their interests down to a certain field, such as law. However, students need to do the research in order to discover all of the different positions available within the field of law and keep an open mind.

Try internships at a variety of different types of law firms. Master a second or third language.

Just because you think you may not be interested in moving your future career or your life in that direction now does not mean that someday that opportunity will not open up. Be prepared to be able to seize that chance whenever it may come.

Most importantly, think about what it is that is going to be on your résumé that is going to make you a cut above all of the other applicants. Why should an employer choose you over all the others? Recognize that having a degree alone may not be enough anymore, and acknowledge versatility-then embrace it. Doors will only begin to close when you close them yourself. Until then you still have the opportunity to try your hand at a hundred different things. And branching out, you may be surprised at what you find out you enjoy.

As high school students, we are only just becoming members of the 18 to 24-year-old demographic.

Using the knowledge of the increasingly high unemployment rates combined with an increasingly competitive job market to our benefit, we may better plan for our futures by becoming advocates for our own self-awareness.

While it is good to know your interests and be in touch with your personal beliefs, we are simply too young to narrow ourselves down to one set career path. Now is the time to move forward, discover the world and, in doing so, make us as multitalented, and thus employable, as possible.

Our Stand: We are simply too young to narrow ourselves down to one set career path. Now is the time to branch out, discover the world, and, in doing so, make us as multitalented, and thus employable, as possible.

COMPILED BY ADELE ZHOU

How are you planning on making yourself more employable in the future?

I’ve had job experience in high school, so I think that will make (my job prospects) better.

Sophomore Morgan Davis

I’m good with negotiation, people skills, and leadership skills. I think my mental skills will help me.

Junior Steven Wallace

Get to the best college and have other things in my resume in order to stand out from everyone else.

Senior Kyann Rudd

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | PERSPECTIVES | PAGE 29

So we beat on, boats against the current.

The Supreme Court will soon review the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case dealing with affirmative action. In the original case, two white women sued the University of Texas at Austin for denying their admission based on race, allegedly in violation of the 14th Amendment. The court’s decision will potentially have tremendous implications toward affirmative action, possibly halting the policy altogether. Given affirmative action’s importance to bridging the distance between races, I hope that the Supreme Court makes the correct decision by upholding the policy’s legality with a tweak: change affirmative action’s criteria to simply account for socioeconomic background.

It’s true that much of America’s history is tarnished by oppression against minority races, from the expulsion of Native Americans at the nation’s outset to the segregation against blacks well into the 20th century. In contrast, supposed equality between races has only existed for the brief period of about half a century.

Affirmative action has been one avenue through which America has worked to close this gap. By giving underrepresented students a chance at higher learning, schools also bestow the opportunity to break generational cycles of poverty and a long history of discrimination from

VICTOR

XU

cover story editor / vxu@hilite.org

Hook, line and sink the Fisher case. The Supreme Court should uphold affirmative action with addendum. education and job opportunities. From diverse and turbulent backgrounds, students from all rungs on the social ladder and all backgrounds can arrive on a college campus and, for once, walk on the same playing field.

Nevertheless, the current policy has a major flaw. While there is a pronounced relationship between race and poverty levels—27 percent of blacks and Hispanics live in poverty, compared to 10 percent of whites, according to a 2011 Pew study—admission criteria that place the heaviest emphasis on race are somewhat misguided. Affirmative action is meant to provide a life-saving opportunity to those who come from places deprived of opportunity, but these people don’t necessarily come from specific racial backgrounds. A minority student who comes from financial and social conditions similar to those of another candidate should not be given preference based on race. Rather, admissions officers should consider only socioeconomic background as criteria for admission. Using this guideline, race can be eliminated as a deciding factor, and the criticisms that affirmative action is “reverse racial discrimination” can somewhat subside. Comfortable minority students would thus not receive an unjust advantage over

comparable non-minority students.

Imagine that an underprivileged white student from an inner city school is raised by a single mother who is uneducated.

He overcomes a terrible childhood amid gang violence, and he manages to sustain similar academic credentials to those of a black candidate from a more affluent upbringing. Yet, under current criteria, the black candidate might have the edge solely because of his race. It’s difficult to argue that the well-off black student deserves the spot more than the disadvantaged white student who battled through poverty and poor living conditions his entire life.

The Supreme Court is set to convene on the Fisher case in the fall, and, with five justices tending to support affirmative action, it’s certainly possible that the procedure will soon terminate in public universities. While the nation has a long way to go in reaching complete racial and economic equality, it has made progress in part through affirmative action. To remove the policy absolutely is to ignore several decades of the policy’s success and many more decades of American history. If the Supreme Court wishes to deemphasize race, the best alternative is to have colleges consider socioeconomic factors.

JAMES

BENEDICT

sports editor / jbenedict@hilite.org

You’re not going to publish this, right?

Almost three weeks ago, President Barack Obama signed a strategic partnership with Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, in which President Obama laid down the terms for troop withdrawal and continued American support of the Karzai regime. While this is a giant leap toward ending the conflict in Afghanistan, which will hopefully create an atmosphere of peace, the brutality of war still lingers above the United States.

Since this “war on terror” was never actually declared an official war and lacked any real definition, it is understandable that its conclusion will be just as vague. If the Middle East continues under turmoil and the generic “war on terror” continues to define U.S. foreign policy, the United States could easily justify military re-intervention. Despite progressive actions President Obama has taken to end the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as long as the “war on terror” continues to lead foreign policy, America will never be at peace.

Some argue that the United States should simply abandon Afghanistan and reach an immediate end of U.S. intervention.

However, advocates of that plan have blinded themselves to the future, creating a plan that is no better than continuing the war. By simply cutting and running, the United States

No end in sight. Vague resolutions in the Middle East cause the United States to continue in armed conflict. leaves Afghanistan in a prime state for civil war and violent revolts. Additionally, this abandonment would create a smog of discontent for the United States which would only lead to future violence. People need only to look at the end of World War I or Vietnam to easily see the dangers of leaving a wartorn country deprived of external support. Obama’s plan of gradual withdrawal, which removes combat troops by 2014, does balance present and future costs; however, by allowing the “war on terror” and other anti-terrorism policies to continue indefinitely, he has simply placed a band-aid over the gaping wound of this seemingly indefinite war. As long as the “war on terror” continues, America will continue down the brutal path that has haunted it for the last decade.

It is easy to blame Washington for the continuation of war or the mistakes made in combat. It is easy to point fingers at corrupted individual soldiers who murder innocent civilians. It is easy to blame everyone but ourselves for the horrors of war.

The truth is, as a republic, we must hold ourselves accountable to any action taken by our representatives. Outcries against the “war on terror” have been few and far between; Americans have swept the atrocities of war into the back of their minds, postponing their ultimate responsibility. Sending our brave

young men and women to a foreign country to intervene on behalf of the United States should occur only when absolutely necessary. By allowing the “war on terror” to continue more than a decade, we have shown our true cowardice against the responsibilities of our republic.

We no longer draft or ration or raise taxes or even declare war. Our nation has become so depersonalized from war that we view it as an occasional news bite on television. The government’s actions reflect the will, or in this case the passivity, of the people. By idly standing by and allowing this violence persist, we are just as responsible as the ones whom we blame.

President Obama’s actions in Afghanistan show that the population is finally understanding the toll that war warrants.

However, we are still a long way from the end; in fact, we have just begun the beginning of the end of the “war on terror.” Only by holding politicians accountable to their promises of peace will our country make any long-term meaningful progression.

As long we allow the overarching “war on terror” to exist, we will continue to be at war. Withdrawing from Afghanistan is a step in the right direction, but we as a society must abolish the use of indefinite and elusive wars if we ever wish to progress towards peace.

PAGE 30 | PERSPECTIVES | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 18, 2012

ARUNI

RANAWEERA The best is yet to come.

I guess this means goodbye. As you leave for your respective colleges and careers, following your hopes and dreams, the Class of 2013 looks to you with a sense of both thankfulness and sadness. You, the Class of 2012, have been the greatest mentors and role models someone could ever ask for, and being taught by you has been an experience unlike any other.

Between any two grades, the greatest amount of mentoring and learning is passed from a Senior Class to a Junior Class, and rightfully so. While freshmen and sophomores both gain outstanding experiences from their respective mentors, there is something special about the transition to becoming seniors, the final evolutionary step in forming the leaders of the school. After a year of being mentored by the Senior Class, I am surprised to discover not only the extent to which I value the lessons I’ve learned, but more importantly, the level to which I appreciate those who have mentored me.

My surprise to how much I value this Senior Class

reporter / aranaweera@hilite.org

Thank you, Class of 2012. You have been the best mentors anyone could ask for. stems from how differently I had imagined the transitional process. Initially, this passing down of responsibility from seniors started as a mechanical process, a required step that must be completed. Here on the HiLite staff, for example, senior editors would teach me, a junior reporter, how to take on their jobs for next year. While this process started as a required step, a chore, something that must be done, the transitional process became something much more connected. It was no longer just the passing of skills and steps: how to set the text wrap, where to place a photo. It became the passing of experiences and lessons, an unspoken message of “you’re taking over now; make me proud.”

Even outside of the HiLite, my other didactic experiences with seniors have produced similar effects. Whether it be getting help in math class or even talking to a senior on how to prepare for the joys of college applications, I have felt an obligation to impress, a necessity to not disappoint. I feel almost as if because this senior is taking the time to share his knowledge, it is my responsibility to follow that advice

without fail. For me, this transfer of responsibility builds a connection, and these connections are what I will miss.

When the Class of 2012 graduates and departs, I will be losing my greatest role models. Thinking back on how many seniors I share classes with, how many seniors I talk to on a daily basis, and how many seniors I have become friends with, I realize how much of an impact this graduating class has had on me. This year’s Senior Class has been one of the highest level of character and achievement, and I am lucky to be able to call them my mentors.

The wide scope of seniors I am referring to stretches from those I have met once and held one conversation with to the one’s whom I’ve known for years. The smallest experiences sometimes have the greatest impacts. Next year will be a very different experience, and I will miss all those who have taught and mentored me. I wish all of you the best of luck in what you pursue in your futures, and I know that what you have taught me will be more than enough to help me continue on alone.

Graphic Perspective

JIVA CAPULONG / GRAPHIC

MAY 18, 2012 | HILITE.ORG | HILITE | PERSPECTIVES | PAGE 31

Paint with the colors of the wind.

SHEEN

ZHENG

reporter / szheng@hilite.org

Why do you do what you do? Start asking the right questions and think from the inside out.

A month ago, I came across a Ted.com video that called into question my perspective on how to thrive and succeed.

In his Ted Talk, Simon Sinek introduced an interesting concept, which he coined “the golden circle.”

Imagine the following diagram: A large circle represents the concept of “what.” A smaller circle sits inside as the “how.” And finally, a still smaller circle defines the “why,” forming three concentric circles. As Sinek described, much of society approaches a goal from the outside in.

Take school for example. Almost every student knows what he’s doing. Some know how to do it, whether it is with academics or extracurriculars. But rarely does one know why he goes to school. And by why, I don’t mean good grades. Grades are merely the result. Rather, why is it that you bother to drag yourself out of bed before the sun has even risen in the sky?

There is a reason why the best sit at the top of society.

Google and the Wright brothers—they both share a common perspective. They thought from the inside out. Google is the perfect example. Like its competitors, Google merely defines itself as a search engine, designed to provide answers for those without one. Yet Google currently proves to be the most used search engine with a market share of 65.6 percent. Additionally, the company has also branched out to other innovative products, such as computers, social networking sites and web browsers.

It’s even become a verb. When someone is told to find an answer online, he is often told to “Google it.” So why is it that the company has managed to excel while others have not?

Certainly, Google could market itself by working from the outermost layer, or the “what” layer. It could say, “We have an extraordinary search engine. Our search results are limitless and we provide the most efficient information in seconds. Want to use it?” But something feels uninspiring about that statement.

Instead, Google operates by answering the question of “why.” Google says, “No matter what we create, we believe in revolutionizing the product to be something technology has never seen before. We do so by providing search results that are limitless and the most efficient information in seconds. We just happen to program an extraordinary search engine. Want to use it?”

Such a marketing campaign changes one’s perspective

completely. By thinking from the inside out, Google has managed to pull in more users than any other search engine in the world.

In life, we’re often led to unearth excuses; the winner had the money, the resources and the public support. But in the end, the only factor that will take people places is the innermost circle. The “why.”

Let me explain with a brief history lesson. The Wright brothers have gone down in history as the ones responsible for taking to the airways. Their pursuit of flight has left a place for them in history that inventors and engineers can only dream of. But whatever happened to Samuel Pierpont Langley?

For a long time, Langley seemed like the frontrunner in air travel. Paid $50,000 by the War Department to take flight, Langley found himself exceptionally well-funded. He held a much-coveted seat at Harvard University. His staff consisted of some of the brightest minds known at the time. And in terms of media hype, the New York Times sought plenty of interviews, giving him a remarkable publicity.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright had no money, no publicity and no employees with any form of college education. But what drove them was their belief.

They believed that if they could harness the ability of flight, they could revolutionize technology. And that belief gave them the strength to carry countless parts, all colossal in size, to the test field each day.

Langley, however, was there for the result. He sought fame and fortune, which sit in the outside ring on the golden circle. And as time progressed, the Wright brothers, guided by their belief, were the ones to take flight, not Langley.

And more proof that Langley was there for the wrong reason? The day the Wright brothers made history, Langley quit the business. Rather than improve the design of the first successful airplane and evolve the spectacular piece of technology, he chose to quit when the riches and publicity were no longer the result. Today, Langley has vanished into the folds of that time.

All these examples are concrete evidence that in order to succeed, one must think from the innermost circle, the “why.” On those days when leaving your warm bed to learn for six hours seems impossible, the only thing to inspire you is knowing why you’re doing it. Only then can you succeed. Find the “why” in your equation.

On those days when leaving your warm bed to learn for six hours seems impossible, the only thing to inspire you is knowing why you’re doing it.

Contact information Mailing Address: 520 E. Main St., Carmel, IN 46032 Phone: (317) 846-7721, Ext. 7143 Website: www.hilite.org E-mail: Staff members of the HiLite may be contacted by using their first initial and their last name appending @hilite.org. For example, Laura Peng will receive mail sent to lpeng@hilite.org.

Responding to the HiLite Letters to the editor will be accepted for the Aug. 15 issue no later than May 23. Letters may be submitted in Room C147, placed in the mailbox of Jim Streisel, emailed to letters@hilite.org or mailed to school.

All letters must be signed. Names will be published. (Letters sent via email will be taken to a student’s SRT for him to sign.) Letters must not contain personal attacks against an individual and may be edited.

Purpose

The HiLite is a student publication distributed to students, faculty and staff of Carmel High School, with a press run of 4,500. Copies are distributed to every school in the Carmel Clay district as well as the Chamber of Commerce, city hall and the Carmel Clay Public Library. The paper serves as a public forum and two-way communication for both the school and the community. Opinions expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily those of CHS nor the Carmel Clay system faculty, staff or administration.

Credentials

The HiLite belongs to the Indiana High School Press Association, Quill & Scroll and the National Scholastic Press Association.

Advertising

Businesses may advertise in the HiLite if their ads adhere to guidelines. The advertising policy is available in Room C147 or at www.hilite.org.

Editor in Chief Laura Peng Managing Editors Patrick Bryant

Monica Cheng

Yameen Hameed

Caroline Zhang Accountant Meghan Lindgren Acumen Rachel Boyd

Dhruti Patel Ads Team Ken Li

Matt Wehner 15 Minutes of Fame Henry Zhu Beats/Calendar Rochelle Brual

Claudia Huang

Aruni Ranaweera

Hafsa Razi

Katie Utken Business Manager Patrick Bryant Cover Story Victor Xu Entertainment Natalie Maier

Amira Malcom Feature Tony Tan

Ryan Zukerman Front Page Conner Gordon

Melinda Song Graphics Jiva Capulong

Connie Chu

Melinda Song

Liane Yue Media Liaison Stuart Jackson News Chris Li

Andy Yang Perspectives Kendall Harshberger

Adele Zhou Photography Connor Gordon

Mary Brooke Johnson

Special Projects Sports

Student Section Web Staff

Reporters Taylor Acton Shayan Ahmad Ben Anderson Nick Andrews Jacob Botkin Rochelle Brual Bobby Browning David Choe John Du Linsu Han Eric He Claudia Huang Tim Klein

Caitlin Muller Kim Qian Hafsa Razi Aruni Ranaweera Sean Truax Katie Utken Jacob Vahle Lindsey Walker Andrew Wang Matt Wehner Olivia Weprich Julie Xu Sheen Zheng

Photographers Kathleen Bertsch Gavin Colavito Makenzie Curtis Mikaela George Henry Jackson

Stuart Jackson Amira Malcom Omeed Malekmarzban Hailey Meyer Henry Zhu

Grayson Harbour James Benedict Charlie Browning Matt Barnthouse Sarah Yun Omeed Malekmarzban Nick McLaughlin Ray Qian Patrick Tan

Adviser Jim Streisel Principal John Williams Superintendent Jeff Swensson

PAGE 32 | 15 MINUTES OF FAME | HILITE | HILITE.ORG | MAY 19, 2012

15 MINUTES OF FAME 15MINUTES@HILITE.ORG | TWITTER.COM/HILITE_NEWS

Dance Fever Sophomore Ella Spoerle dances for the Indiana Fever basketball team

BY SHEEN ZHENG szheng@hilite.org

What exactly is the Indiana Fever?

The Indiana Fever is a (professional basketball team) in the WNBA. It’s like the women’s version of the Pacers and it has a dance team that I am a part of.

How did you first get involved with the Indiana Fever?

When I was 15, I tried out for the team. My dance teacher was a Pacemate for six years, so she encouraged me to try out. I went to auditions last March and approximately 150 people were there for the five hour audition. They then got it down to about 20 people. I was literally so anxious and I just wanted to get it over with. I think I stayed calm by remembering that it was the experience of doing a professional audition that really mattered. I just knew that whether or not I made the team, I would have this experience under my belt.

What is your practice schedule?

It’s Mondays and Wednesdays for three hours. Sometimes, there are extra practices depending on how everything’s going. It’s a job, so I get paid to practice and I get paid to go the games, where I provide entertainment. Even appearances for the Pacers Entertainment Company come with pay.

What type of dance does the team do?

Usually hip-hop. That’s the main type because hip-hop has so many different styles. These kids on the team have so many different styles because we come from all over Indiana. It’s literally incredible to bring all the styles together.

Why do you find the experience rewarding?

I just like entertaining people. I love when they come up and ask, ‘can I have your autograph?’ Little kids go up to you and act like you’re a celebrity. In the real world, you probably wouldn’t be a celebrity. I’m just doing what I love to do, which makes it less of a job. I have so much fun doing it that I forget I’m listed an employee and I get paid for it.

Want More?

Scan this QR code to read more and watch a video of Spoerle dancing.

HENRY ZHU / PHOTO

Students use talents to secure jobs While her peers might earn their income through serving food or tutoring children, sophomore Ella Spoerle works by dancing on a basketball court. After auditioning to be a dancer for the Indiana Fever last year, she found herself earning money while doing what she does best.

“It is honestly the most amazing feeling ever,” she said. “I love what I do so much, so it’s great to be able to share my talents with everyone and show people what I can do.”

According to counselor Stephanie Aikins, there are many benefits to working in jobs that encompass both a student’s abilities and interests.

“Doing so can help students develop those skills in a way that is useful for employment, as well as making time spent working more enjoyable,” Aikins said. “When you enjoy your work, it tends to be more fulfilling overall.”

Spoerle’s schedule commences with weekly practices on Mondays and Wednesdays, when her team learns the week’s choreography to be performed at the game. Not only does she get paid at the performances, but also at her practices. At times, she said, she also works by making appearances for the Pacers Entertainment Company.

In addition, Aikins said the experience from a current job

can often help students when pursuing a future career.

“Ideally, students’ jobs may help them distinguish a potential career path in the field of interest,” she said. “Often, pursuing an ‘entry level’ job will enable students to see the potential of ‘moving up’ in the field through contacts with others in the company.”

As for Spoerle, she said holding a job she currently enjoys has encouraged her to pursue a career she holds interest in.

“I think this will encourage me to find a job I love,” she said. “Dancing for the Fever has taught me to have confidence, motivation, and to always go after my dreams.”