FUTURE DESTINATIONS
CLASS OF 2016 ASHLEY HICKLIN
DRAWING
INSPIRATION
FROM TRAGEDY
BLHS Class of 2016, Tonight, you’re going to graduate. I know that by this point, you’ve heard all the cliche sentimental stuff about leaving your best friends and memories behind. Many of you have shed tears about this, and I have no doubt that many more will be shed between now and the end of Project Grad. But unfortunately, this isn’t the first time we’ve had to say a collective goodbye. This isn’t the first time we’ve hugged each other with tear-stained faces and told each other, “It’s going to be okay.” No, Class of 2016, we’ve been through this before. We’ve attended a crowded ceremony before, in hopes of emotionally moving past an event we got blindsided by. I’m talking, of course, about Shealyn Hayes’ tragic death on April 23, 2013, and the immediate aftermath. Before we delve further into this subject though, I would like to acknowledge that I was not Shealyn’s best friend. I did, however, attend school with her for almost five years, and was the manager on the 2013 LadyCat soccer team that she was a part of. I’m not going to use this space to pretend that
we were besties, and I certainly don’t wish to take anything away from those who knew her better (of which there were many). No, instead, I’d like to use my remaining space to comment more generally on the tragedy’s aftermath, and how it affected our class as a whole, then and now. I remember the day well. I was sitting in Ms. Knowles’ second block Forensics class, when Mrs. Reeves came over the loudspeaker. Some kids started crying. Others left the room entirely. But regardless of how people reacted to the news immediately, there was one common theme for the rest of the day: togetherness. For the next four hours, the Basehor-Linwood community was one. People treated each other with kindness and respect. We were bound together by a common grief, and we were determined to overcome it. Shortly after school ended that day, we got hit with the news we’d feared from the beginning: Shealyn was gone. I learned, as I’m sure many others did, from Twitter. I remembering refreshing my page for about
10 minutes, hoping someone would be there to say “No, it’s all a lie! She’ll be in class tomorrow.” That wasn’t going to happen though. Instead, the day after was a day of mourning. People wore purple clothes in honor of Shea, and most classes consisted of little more than a stunned silence. Even teachers weren’t teaching. Slowly though, things began to revert back to normal. The factionalism (particularly in the grades above us) that existed before her accident began to rise up again. People were not #DoingItForShea. That hit me particularly hard. Our school was facing one of the most difficult obstacles we’d ever face, and kids were too busy fighting to care. I think it probably had a larger effect
on our class, as well. Shealyn was a girl we all knew and enjoyed being around. Yet, we’d watched her memory get lost in a sea of infighting and petty jealousies. Seeing something like that happen brought our class together in a way that many others hadn’t. I believe it forced us all to appreciate each other a little bit more, and respect everyone on a decent, fundamental level. It is my hope for this class that we will continue to have this basic level of respect for all, after we graduate. I feel that by paying respect to others, we pay respect to Shea, hopefully making the world a better place in the process. Sincerely, Editor-in-Chief
BEVIN COON
DEFINE
THE CLASS OF 2016 as said by the senior class
All students agree that high school is a time of juggling many different things: sports, academics, extracurriculars, friends and family… the list goes on and on. On top of this all, senior Bevin Coon undertook another, more courageous responsibility: coming out as gay. The experience has been difficult, and has had its ups and downs, he says. “It’s kind of a win-lose situation,” he said. “People view you very differently than they did originally, but on the other hand, you do get to see who your real friends are.” He has received many positive responses and support, especially from “a lot of my best friends who’ve been around since eighth grade.” However, there will always be people who react negatively. Even in the face of this, he still has a positive attitude. “Just got to shrug ‘em off,” he said with a smile. Bevin offers encouraging advice to anybody in a similar situation. “If you do come out in high school, just don’t take anything anyone says to you to heart,” he said. Most importantly, “Just be who you are.” - CALDER HOLLOND
Copyright tagxedo.com
ADAM CROUSE
LAUREN LAWSON Lauren Lawson always knew that she wanted to be a doctor. She dreamed of studying biology, going to med school, and eventually devoting her life to those in need. She was maxing out the school’s science offerings and was well on her way to entering college as a premed student when she had a realization: “I wasn’t cut out to be a doctor.” Lawson was faced with a life-changing dilemma: abandon the years of research and preparation she’d done in preparation for med school, or doom herself to a profession that dealt entirely with blood, sickness, and death. Neither one seemed very tantalizing. She began digging, hoping to find a profession that helped people heal, stimulated her intellectually, and didn’t render all of her hard work useless. That’s when she stumbled across biomedical engineering (BME). Biomedical engineering will allow her to continue helping others without forcing her to do the nitty gritty work that turns so many people away from the
medical field. Of course, finding one’s passion as a high schooler is only one part of the equation. Lawson also had to determine where she wanted to pursue BME at. She could have applied to KU, K-State, or WSU, all of whom had a BME major. By the time senior year rolled around, though, Lawson was “ready for a change.” She had spent her entire life in BasehorLinwood. Lawson was ready for a true academic test. She opted to vie for a spot at some of the nation’s top schools, hoping to spend four years with America’s academic standouts and intellectual elites. In fact, she’d fallen in love with one specific school – Vanderbilt, with an 11% acceptance rate – so much that she agreed to commit to an admission plan called Early Decision. Early Decision gives students who know that they want to attend one particular school the opportunity to receive a decision three months early (mid-December) in exchange for the binding promise that
they will attend the next fall. Students love it because they get a decision from their top choice school early in the school year, and colleges love it because the students are legally obligated to attend. Unfortunately, students still have to wait a month and a half to receive their decisions. This results in huge amounts of anxiety. Lawson described it simply as “terrible.” She spoke about waiting and the constant back and forth between whether or not she had a chance of being admitted. Eventually, she was rejected.
It was crushing. Here she was, a student who’d invested so much in the university of her dreams only to be met with a harsh “no.” Eventually, though, after months of waiting, Lawson found her school. On March 25, Lawson was accepted to the University of Southern California. It has a 17% acceptance rate and a top tier BME program.
the excellent marine biology program. “I really love the student life and, well… Florida,” she said. She adds that her family offers their support in her education at Nova, and for that she is grateful. Amber is prepared to depart from Kansas, and she seems to
be brimming with potential. “I am really excited to leave here and take my next step,” she said. “I already made friends there.” Fortunately, Amber will not forget those who aided her ascension to her higher education. Her four years in forensics aided in her
MITCHELL MIKINSKI
AMBER GAFFNEY Many students dream of going to a well-regarded out-of-state college. Following their passion that they have carried since childhood is dedication worthy of any dream. Amber Gaffney feels confident in her decision to attend Nova Southeastern University. There, she hopes to pursue theatre and
SENIOR FEARS We asked seniors what their biggest fears were entering high school. Here’s what they said:
LIBBY STALLBAUMER
audition for the theatre program. Forensics teacher Ms. Knowles allowed Amber the opportunity to make a dramatic portfolio, which gave her audition an experienced feel that is difficult to capture. “It’s great that Amber is pursuing her dream of marine biology while still continuing
on with her theatrical passions,” Ms. Knowles said. The distance will not be a worry to Amber, and she feels that the education she will receive there is worth it. Her scholarships also offer a great security to her pursuits. Amber was awarded the Dean’s Scholarship, the
Razor’s Edge Shark Talent Scholarship, and the Dual Enrollment Scholarship. With her education secured, Amber will make great waves at Nova Southeastern University. ERIN MCGOWAN
KIRK MCCARTY
Kirk McCarthy is a senior with a plan. He knows that he wants to get a degree in business by starting at KCKCC and then transferring to a fouryear college. He then wants to run his own business, or at least work high up in a large corporation, so that he can have a nice pay and live life at his house. Kirk not only has a bright future ahead of him, but he also has a rich past. While some of his experiences were bad, he also says that he remembers hanging out with his friends, playing video games, dirt biking, and swimming. These things were countered by math, which he said was his least favorite thing that he could remember about high school. He has things that he’s going to miss about the high school. Not only does he really like the science department, but he said, “I’ll really miss the community, too. I won’t be as in touch. I really like people that are going to this school.” Kirk is very happy about one thing. He is excited that he won’t have to do high school math anymore. He especially won’t miss geometry. He, however, isn’t looking forward to college math, either. COLIN COON
12-SEASON ATHLETES Many people play sports at BLHS and are familiar with the hard practices, the pressure of competition, and the long hours dedicated to getting better. But most athletes at BLHS do get some sort of a break. Maybe they decide later in high school to forego sports for more free time or for a job. Maybe they didn’t decide to do sports until they were a sophomore, junior, or even a senior. Or maybe they have one or two seasons that they don’t play sports in. That’s not true for some people, however. These athletes have spent 12 seasons – the maximum possible – playing sports and working out. Just what kind of a toll does this intense dedication to athletics take on a student? Ryan Potter, who’s done football, powerlifting, golf, and TRAIN, says that it has been
difficult. “Sports are a huge commitment to your life,” he said. “You must sacrifice a lot of time and effort into those things.” With so much time devoted to athletics, Ryan said it was difficult to “maintain good grades while being physically exhausted from sports.” He’s developed strategies to manage his limited amount of time. “Just planning ahead of time by making a list helps a lot,” he said. “Having everything written down helps you manage when you'll be free to do stuff and to relax.” Even with these difficulties, Ryan wouldn’t change his decisions. “It sure was brutal at times,” he said of football, his favorite of the sports, “but I wouldn't take anything back from it… Football was just an awesome experience. Being out on the
field on those Friday nights [was] something I'll remember for the rest of my life.” With so many seasons of sports, Ryan’s learned many things. “I've learned that there is truly no ‘I’ in ‘Team,’” he said. “Sports have taught me that teamwork is needed in everything you do if you want to be successful.” Like Ryan, Lukas Tucker also participated in 12 seasons, including track, football, basketball, powerlifting, and offseason. He echoed Ryan’s statements about time management difficulties. “You have tons of practices and also have to be able to handle getting your homework done and going to other non-sport related activities as well,” he said. To handle all this, he said, “I plan ahead and look at what homework and tests I have
to do. I will usually do the homework or study the night before a meet so I do not have to worry about the night of the meet.” He’s also learned many lessons from sports. “I have learned how to become more mature, responsible, and how to be a better teammate and person through playing sports,” he said. It hasn’t always been easy, though. “I have went through ups and downs in my athletic career,” he said. “The hardships have made me a stronger person and better athlete.” Doing 12 seasons of sports in high school involves an incredible amount of dedication. The athletes who have accomplished that this year have had to adapt to the time commitment, but ultimately have learned many things. CALDER HOLLOND
Senior Lukas Tucker competes at the KU Relays in the 2000m steeplechase. Tucker set the school record at 7:06.88 (Photo courtesy of track coach Scott Russell).
Senior Ryan Potter competes in the hang clean at a powerlifting meet. Potter competed in the 220 weight class as a senior.
MAURYN BROWNBACK As Mauryn Brownback is finishing up her last few days of high school, she is already looking forward to the next chapter of her life. Brownback will be attending New College of Florida in the fall of 2016. She admits that the decision wasn’t an easy one. In fact she visited about seven colleges, including the University of Hawaii, before she made her final decision. She explained her process of narrowing down her choices. “It was definitely a hard decision, because it is so far away,” Brownback said of New College. “I want to major in marine biology, so my first step was to find the schools that have that major.” Brownback was first introduced to the career of marine biology while on a family vacation in Hawaii a couple of years ago. “We were on the beach, and there was this sea turtle who got hit by a boat, so he was missing an eye,” she said. “I thought it was really cool how they rehabilitated him and helped him get back in the ocean. So that was what I wanted to do after that.” Brownback wanted to attend a school that was close to the ocean so she would be able to have more research opportunities. “After visiting [New College], my family knew that’s where they wanted me to go, and I eventually came around to the idea of going there.”
Brownback also explained that the New College of Florida is an honors college, so she will be surrounded by more people who are focused on marine biology, and she will receive more of an academic experience there. Another way Brownback prepared for the next part of her life was by trying to take the hardest courses that were offered here at BLHS. “I took a lot of science classes like college biology and outdoor biology, and calculus probably helped too,” she said. Because the college is so far away from home, Brownback plans to fly home to visit her family during holidays. She is most nervous about being away from all of her family and friends and completely starting over. “I’m really researching the area and trying to find a good church to go to and where the nearest places are
that I need to find stuff,” she said. Brownback said her favorite memory from high school was on the senior trip to the Omaha Zoo. “My favorite thing was just
spending time with my friends, kind of like a last fun thing before we all graduate.” KATIE FULKERSON
- ERIN MCGOWAN
JORDAN DERUSE Many students have heard of the Fire Cadet Program at Fairmount Township Fire Department. However, few realize just how much the program affects people on a personal level. Jordan DeRuse made the decision to join the program earlier this year, and he’s yet to regret it. He looks back on the year with a sense of pride. “The accomplishments I am most proud of would have to be simply just helping the community, and getting to learn more about how to become a better firefighter.” The Fire Cadet Program focuses on teaching students at BLHS the basics of firefighting, essentially, the base classes one would take in college. But the program doesn’t just teach kids how to be better firefighters. “The biggest thing I’m taking away from this program is don’t be afraid to learn something new,” DeRuse said. He said that there wasn’t a day in the class that he didn’t learn at least something new. Trying to find a productive, fun way to help out in the community isn’t always easy. Jordan, however, didn’t have a problem figuring out how he wanted to help out. “I have always loved helping people and I knew that firefighting was a fun and productive way to do it,” DeRuse said. His uncle works in Arkansas as a firefighter, and his brother also volunteered at Fairmount Township. As his senior year rounds out, and so does his time as a cadet, Jordan does not plan to
leave his firefighting career on the shelf. He plans to attend KCKCC for his firefighting classes, though he wants to major in engineering. “I am going to try and pursue engineering, but I will always be a volunteer,” DeRuse said. He also plans to take classes towards his EMT this fall, and then work towards Firefighter I afterward. However, Jordan hasn’t ruled out firefighting as a career completely yet. In fact, he said that he would likely work in Overland Park or Lenexa. He says it’s a great way to meet new people and help them out along the way. “If you can’t decide what job you want to do, but you love to help people and or your community, I would definitely choose this career,” Jordan advised. “You can meet great people and, best of all, have fun with your job.” DeRuse has found a solid path for his life. With courage towards facing new things and a determination to help everyone, DeRuse is walking away from the Cadet Program with a sense of pride and accomplishment - a sense that is well deserved.
CLAUDIA JACOBS Typically, people go through an ‘I’m going to be famous’ phase at some point, but they later either decide that it’s too hard or aspire to be something else. For Claudia Jacobs, however, that was not the case. Anyone who knows Claudia knows her passion for music and theater. Her good friend, junior Jake Reed, said, “Claudia is going to make it big one day, just you wait.” She has starred in all of Basehor-Linwood High School’s musical productions that have been put on during her years here. In middle school, Jacobs first desired to own a bakery. Then, she wanted to be a choir director, and finally, during her junior year, her goal became “I’m going to be famous – and that’s just been it ever since.” Jacobs’s dream took the next step in becoming a reality
ADAM CROUSE photo courtesy of Larissa Maze
SIERA BERNARD
when she not only got accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), a world-renowned college and conservatory in the Upper West Side of New York City, but also was awarded three scholarships. She is going to study musical theater, which requires her to take musical, dance, acting, comp, and financial classes. She is eager for the financial class, which will teach her how to live on a Broadway salary. “It is very good because I’m really terrible at saving my money,” Jacobs said with a laugh. Jacobs is striving to, one day, get casted in her favorite Broadway production: “Wicked.” “That’s the ultimate goal,” she paused, before adding, “That and being happy.” LIBBY STALLBAUMER
JILLIAN BROWER
Jillian Brower has been working on her voice since she could talk. Recently, all of Jillian’s hard work payed off when she was offered a full ride scholarship to Butler County Community College. Brower was born with the voice that millions have gawked over ever since her famous “Hello” by Adele cover went viral on Twitter and even made it on to Ellentube. “It takes a lot of practice. I have to do a lot of vocal warmups and breathing techniques,” Brower said. The scholarship, however, was not just handed over to Jillian. She had to go to an audition with more than 500 entries before she was accepted. Only 30, including Brower, made the cut. “I just had to prepare two pieces. One was operatic so I sang an Italian piece and then I chose a Sam Smith song because we had to show both types of music. You just go in there and like sight read, they like play a game with you with notes. You copy them and it’s basically like ‘Simon Says’ for
choir kids.” Jillian said about her audition. After her Butler journey is over, Jillian plans to attend the University of Kansas and get her master’s in musical therapy and minor in music performance; allowing her to perform in shows like operas and other public events. “Basically you get to work with people who have mental disabilities and things like Alzheimer’s disease and you’re just trying to help them communicate but it’s with things like music and art. I can also help kids who have things like depression and help them explain how they feel through music and art,” she said. “I used to get made fun of a lot and music has always been there for me,” Jillian said about being “like any other musician,” she has had her doubts about herself and what others thought. Thankfully, Jillian has moved on from those days and beat the odds to become a potential star. MORGAN BUCHHOLZ
JIMMY KNEEBONE
As seniors draw their high school career to a close, many look forward to the glory of graduation, the perfection of Prom, or the constant struggle of finding the perfect college. For one student, however, the world consists of none of those things. Rather, it is full of unexplored dungeons, fantastic beasts, and criminals that need to be put in their place. This is the world of senior James Kneebone. James (known as “Jimmy” by his friends) Kneebone is the head gamer of the school. He was introduced to the roleplaying, fantasy world at a very young age, saying that, “I’ve been a gamer for most of my life.” Kneebone’s father, who played video games, had a large influence on him while he was growing up. So, naturally, he took after his father and immersed himself in a world in which he never seems to return from. Growing up he played mostly Nintendo games such as the
Legend of Zelda series, the Mario games, and lots of Pokémon. However, among the vast number of games he has played, one that has left an impact on him is a game entitled Mother 3. Kneebone said, “...this game really drew me in when I played it. Never before then have I played a game with such a good story and great gameplay, and it even made me tear up at times. It really left an impact on me as to what a game could be.” He enjoys playing multiplayer games with his friends. These include Super Smash Bros. WiiU, Minecraft, and Mario Kart. This is a way for him to “relax and have fun.” Video games have played role in his life since a very young age, and will continue to be. Kneebone plans to keep them with him as he makes the difficult transition from high school to the real world. TRISTAN MCGEHEE
13-YEAR STUDENTS For many seniors this year, graduating means living in a whole new place for the first time. Many students have lived in the Basehor-Linwood school district since birth, and even more have lived here since kindergarten. Moving away from home will be a big change for all the seniors, but for the kids who have been in the BasehorLinwood school district for all 13 years of school, this will be possibly the biggest change of their lives. Erin Heinen, who went to
Glenwood Ridge, added that she is scared of “having to start over and meet new people and have new responsibilities.” This seems to be a popular topic amongst seniors who are moving on to the real world: the fact they have to become adults. But while their time left in Basehor is short, they enjoyed it while it lasted. “What I’ll miss the most about Linwood, or Basehor-Linwood I should say, is the community. We’re a pretty tight niche and we know a lot about each other; we help out,” Chet Sarlls added.
Everyone who comes to Basehor-Linwood High school takes a little bit of the community with them and leaves their own imprint on the school. “I’ve loved my life in Basehor. I don’t think I would want to grow up anywhere else,” Heinen added on the smalltown feeling of the community. Many seniors this year are closing this chapter of their lives and opening a new adult one which could be even bigger and better than their time at Basehor-Linwood. “People who are coming to
Basehor-(Linwood) should look forward to the athletics and great programs we have around. Just the nice facilities,” Sarlls said. Though many seniors may be sad about the last year of “the best years of your life” coming to an end, they can still look forward to all the new things outside of our small town. Good luck to all the seniors in their brand new lives away from the places that built them. MORGAN BUCHHOLZ
GARRETT COOK so I know that it will be a good, fun college environment.” Garrett plans to move on to medical school and become a pediatric surgeon or some other related job in the medical field. Cook does feel nostalgic about his time in high school. “I’ll definitely miss all the people here. Both the teachers and the students alike.”
Basehor’s losing its fast, chivalrous, religious, educated stud named Garrett Cook. ADAM LANG
CROSSWORD ANSWERS:
runners at BLHS and a stud in more than just that. Garrett has been an A+ honors student for as long as he can remember, making him an educated stud. He has been one of the most sincere and nice people you could meet in the halls, making him a chivalrous, educated stud. But he certainly won’t peak in high school like most people. Garrett has signed on to attend BYU come next year to major in human biology and minor in exercise science. “I chose BYU because it’s a prestigious school, and it’s funded by my religion
ACROSS 1. Mitchell Mikinski 2. Amber Gaffney 3. Mauryn Brownback 4. Britney Camren
5. Darcy Noe 6. Jahron McPherson 7. Alec Walker
DOWN 1.Emma Morris 2. Zoe Hooker 3. Tou Vang 4. Kali Jacobson 5. Charles Moore
Track meet, April 8, 2016. The boys 4x800 meter relay team has a pretty good lead. Some of the other teams are close on their heels, but still behind them. As the third leg of the team hands it off to the final runner, he absolutely takes off across that first curve of the track. The gap between Garrett and his closest competitor gets bigger and bigger and bigger until the race is over and the Bobcats win by more than 100 meters. This final leg runner is none other than Garrett Cook, The Stud. Garrett is one of the top 6. Lukas Tucker 7. Claudia Jacobs 8. Eagle Scout 9. Austin Salazar 10. Doorly
COLLEGE ATHLETES
The class of 2016 holds a large amount of athletes who will continue on to compete at the collegiate level. Students Jaime Weible and Jahron McPherson were awarded with the “Athlete of the Year” award for the 2015-2016 school year. These athletes showed a great amount of dedication to the program and excelled in athletics. Weible participated in volleyball and powerlifting as a senior. McPherson played football, basketball, and ran for the track team as a senior. Weible will be attending Washburn University to play volleyball in 2016. McPherson will be attending Butler Community College to play football. KATIE FULKERSON
Casey Eberth Nick Fisher Gaby Brown Darcy Noe Courtney Norris Madi Osterhaus Lukas Tucker Kali Jacobson Preston Judd Jahron McPherson Jaime Weible Courtney Robinson Nicole Rutherford Natalie Cowan Jack Dale Zoey DeLeon Paul Frith Brock Gilliam James Wilson Austin Roberts Jenna Donnelly
TRACK & FIELD FOOTBALL SOFTBALL CHEERLEADING VOLLEYBALL VOLLEYBALL TRACK & FIELD SOFTBALL BASEBALL FOOTBALL VOLLEYBALL VOLLEYBALL VOLLEYBALL SOFTBALL BASKETBALL BASKETBALL FOOTBALL BASEBALL TRACK & FIELD FOOTBALL SOFTBALL
Concordia University William Jewell William Jewell St. Mary’s Missouri Valley College Missouri Valley College Barton County CC Bethany College Hesston College Butler County CC Washburn University Fort Hays State Hutchinson CC Kansas City Kansas CC Emporia State Bethany College Bethany College Washburn University Ottawa University Hutchinson CC Kansas City Kansas CC
STAFF FAREWELLS MITCHELL MIKINSKI Back in sixth grade, Alec Walker and I used to meet each other at the end of the Parsons lunch table to talk about the latest episode of Gangland for a glorious 20 minutes of preOpaa lunch. We’d talk about The Crips, The Bloods, and, if we were really feeling edgy, a motorcycle gang. At the time, we were both just clueless kids who thought that gangbanging was cool. Alec and I don’t desire to be gangsters anymore, but we still cling religiously to one fundamental piece of our
sixth grade relationship: Rap. Back then, we were mostly into stuff from the 90s: NWA, Dr. Dre, and Biggie Smalls. We’d bump to Boyz-In-TheHood, Hypnotize, and The Next Episode. But reflecting back on that time now at the end of our high school career, there’s one
song in particular that sticks out in my mind: “Still D.R.E”. In it, Snoop Dawg features with his now immortal verses: “I’m still/ representing for them gangsterz all across the world.” From the time Joe Keeler told us about The Bobcat Way, we too began representing BLHS everywhere we went. Any time someone from our school did something fantastically brilliant, or amazingly stupid, BLHS would be mentioned. Just because we’re graduating now, doesn’t mean that will change.
Not only will our time at BLHS follow us around, but we will follow BLHS too. Five years from now you’ll be “representing for them Bobcats all across the world”, just as you do now. Your choices will reflect on those around you. Please, remember this. Thanks for everything, BLHS. Goodbye.
SIERA BERNARD Thank you for glancing your eyes at my section of the senior farewell section! I sincerely mean that, because I’ve always been the quiet type when it comes to being around people I don’t know, and I can’t often... talk in front of people to say the least. I have made some really good friends throughout the years despite my social skills, and they’ve all been through the early hours of sleep deprivation at school to the end hours of the school day when we realize
how much homework we have to do. High school hasn’t always been my favorite place to spend my life at, but the teachers who have helped me discover my true potential for my future have made my years of high school less unbearable. Mrs. Bowser, Mr. Lohafer, Mr. Earnhart, Mr. Schwartz, and Mrs. Bogard are all the teachers that have made an impact on me throughout my years in high school. The teacher I would like to
thank most of all is Mrs. Loney, for guiding me through the basics of digital media and design. Without her, I would have never discovered the different possibilities of my future of digital art and design. I would also like to thank the friends I have made, because without them I would have suffered in silence deadline after deadline. They’ve also made me feel like less of an outcast compared to the last school I went to. My advice for the younger
classmen who are tired of going to school is that it will be worth your time once you graduate. I’ve already done my time, and now it’s time for me to look further on in my future.
ASHLEY HICKLIN
I’ve made it through high school with primarily the same group of friends, some of which I’ve known since before pre-k and other’s I’ve made here at BLHS. I understand that I’ll likely never see the majority of them again, and I should probably be more broken up about that but, hey! Life goes on. I will say that I wish them all the best. And I would like to thank my best
friend, Abby, for being the best. Even though I’m impossibly annoying two-thirds of the time and can spend literal hours going off about whatever book I’ve just read or show I just watched and you have literally no idea what I’m talking about. Or when I send you existential crises texts at two in the morning. Or a link to a really dumb YouTube video, or just a ton of seriously dumb memes. Thanks buddy! You’re the best. Anyway, I’m not one to dwell on high school postgraduation. I’ve been ready for graduation for years. Totally ready to leave Kansas behind and high tail to Europe (much
to my mom’s disfavour). And never take a math class again. So, see you? I guess? Maybe? Probably not though. My only advice, to anyone actually reading, is to not let the world pass you by. After graduation, live a little. Get out of town, because there’s a whole world out there and it’s amazing and beautiful and constantly changing and it’d be a crime to miss it. Alexandre Dumas wrote in his novel, The Count of Monte Cristo: “Often we pass beside happiness without seeing it, without looking at it, or even if we have seen it and looked at it, without recognising it.” Do not just look happiness in the face, and
miss that opportune moment. Seize it, and don’t let go. By God, hold it tight with all your strength. I wish my graduating class of 2016 (even those of you I’ve never spoken to, those I honestly don’t know the names of, and those of you I’ve never honestly liked) all the best. May you all find real happiness no matter what path you chose, and no matter your follies. Goodbye, Basehor-Linwood! May I never walk your halls again. Except, you know, when my siblings graduate, ‘cus then I’ll have to come back to their graduations. But you get the sentiment! Goodbye!
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE SENIOR CLASS?
SENIOR CROSSWORD KATIE FULKERSON
Use the senior’s first and last name with no space between to answer each clue. ACROSS 1. Set two school records in Scholar’s Bowl. 2. Girl who has a tattoo that says “breathe” on her wrist. 3. Girl who is going to New College of Florida to become a marine biologist. 4. Girl planning on studying animal science at Iowa State University. 5. Homecoming Queen 2015. 6. Guy who made first-team all-state in football. 7. Studied Power Plant Technology at KCKCC. DOWN 1. Student who is getting married after high school. 2. Girl with the shortest first name. 3. Guy with the shortest first name. 4. Courtwarming Queen 2016. 5. Courtwarming King 2016. 6. Guy who broke the steeplechase school record. 7. First All-State choir student BasehorLinwood has had in four years. 8. The highest rank in Boy Scouts, represented by four senior boys. 9. Heavyweight state powerlifting champion. 10. The seniors went to the Henry _______ Zoo on their senior trip. Answers on p. 13.
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