NOVEMBER 2022
The Soarer
VOL. 1 ISSUE 1
The latest LHS Publications news, views and announcements First and Foremost... Since the opening of our school ten years ago, even just the publications program has seen a multitude of changes. From adapting The Ledger magazine from our original Liberty Ledger newspaper, to the development of The Eagles Eye weekly broadcast - our program has grown tremendously! And luckily, we don't seem to be losing that momentum any time soon. Mr. Hall came to me with the idea of starting an alumni newsletter toward the end of last school year, and with our combined efforts we've produced this brand new publication made just for you our publications alumni.
Top Publications News After attending the 2022 Spring JEA conference in L.A. last school year, publications attended their second-ever journalism conference this fall. The 2022 Fall NSPA/JEA conference was held from Nov. 10-13 at the Marriott Grand Hotel in St. Louis. LHS Publications planned to return home with more awards while giving its staff the opportunity to further hone their journalistic skills - and they did just that at this year's fall conference. Publications took home 12 awards by the end of the event with multiple members ranking in a list of categories. Everyone was fascinated with their experiences, and for some it was their first time attending a JEA/NSPA convention. Junior Megan Geisler said, “I was really excited to go because I’ve heard a lot about it from the people who went on the L.A. trip and I was really excited to have my own experience.” photo by LHS Publications
Publications students pose together with nine NSPA awards after the ceremony.
You'll see bi-annual issues of The Soarer in the fall and the spring. We believe it's extremely important to connect with past staff members who contributed to the widely accredited program we know and love today. While we dwell on how we got here, it's only appropriate that we thank you, our publications alumni, for your years of hard work and effort. You've collectively molded our program into something we're all proud of, and we don't want to imagine where we'd be without you all. Our job at The Soarer is to keep you updated on the exciting changes in our program, let you know what our publications alumni are up to now, and inform you about
how we plan to grow our program looking forward. We thank you for supporting and reading the inaugural issue of this newsletter, we hope you enjoy your time here. Look for us in your inbox again this spring! With love always, Kay Copeland Editor-in-Chief of The Soarer
Alumni Spotlight:
photo by S. Hegyi
provided by M. Banstetter
Mollie Banstetter Class of '22
Senior Rhett Cunningham leads a session on yearbook leadership.
Best of Show 2022 Talon Yearbook Talon Staff under editorial leadership of Rhett Cunningham high school / 224-278 pages Sixth Place Nationally Website - LHStoday.org LHStoday.org under the editorial leadership of Sydney Davis high school / enrollment of 1,800 or more Eighth Place Nationally Individual Awards Editorial Leadership Rhett Cunningham Fifth Place Broadcast: Feature Story - Getting to Know Mr. Schaper Anumitha Vaka Fourth Place Design: Yearbook - Mamma Mia! Rhett Cunningham & Alix Queen Second Place
cont. on next page
Being in LHS Publications since her freshman year and working on The Ledger staff for three years, Mollie Banstetter gained a strong passion for journalism throughout this time. This fueled her decision to attend the University of Northern Texas for journalism with a concentration in digital and print media. "I decided to continue studying journalism because it's what I'm passionate about," Banstetter said. "I loved being a part of the publications team back at Liberty and I'm so happy to be apart of the publications team here at UNT." Banstetter spent a good chunk of her high school years in room 239, most notably working as the Layout Editor of The Ledger magazine for two years. "Surprisingly, I really miss that classroom, it ended up being the only constant I had during those four years." Banstetter expressed,
Banstetter moved to Texas after hearing great things about UNT's journalism program.
"I really miss doing layout for the magazine, I still get stress dreams of finishing layout in time for the magazine submission deadline." Starting her freshman year in college, in a state far away from her home, Banstetter is adjusting to college life as well as she can. "I'm loving college life so far, I feel like I'm adjusting to everything well," Banstetter said. "However, I do surprisingly have a little bit of homesickness. It's weird being a 12 hour drive from my hometown."
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NOVEMBER 2022
The Soarer
VOL. 1 ISSUE 1
cont. from last page Individual Awards cont. Photojournalism: Feature Photo - Calming Canines Alix Queen Seventh Place Photojournalism: Sports Photo - Their LastFirst Game Sophie Hegyi Seventh Place Broadcast: News Story - Liberty’s Friday Night Lights Braden Altrup Third Place Superior First Year Photo Sophie Hegyi
Honorable Mention Yearbook Copy/Caption - Academics Rhett Cunningham Yearbook Copy/Caption - Student Life Alix Queen Yearbook Copy/Caption - Clubs Julia Wiley
Read more about the conference on LHStoday.org
Hamby's Farewell to the Publications Family by Elizabeth Hamby, Class of '22 As a reporter that was promoted to an editor her senior year, I have loved nothing more than writing stories as important events occur and stepping up for opportunities to grow. Serving on the editorial team in magazine class has taught me multitudes about the real world like not everybody is going to like you and that’s okay. I have been taught the value of deadlines and releasing news before it turns “old," and most importantly Mr. Hall our advisor has taught me a beautiful lesson about control. I used to believe that I had control over everything, but now I know all I have to control is myself. I can control my feelings, my reactions, and my thoughts, not anybody else’s. The thing about the publications program is you really don’t have a teacher. Students are completely running the classes from day to day. See Hall is really just a mentor, he loves journalism with all his heart and this program is truly his baby, he has built it from the ground up these past seven years. I am so glad that he gave me amazing opportunities, most importantly the one to lead my peers with my Co-Editor-in-Chief Paige Bostic. Bostic has been an amazing partner and she has helped create an immaculate playful and professional environment. I couldn’t be more proud of the products we have made together. I can’t say enough about the good this program has done for me, but I hope to continue to watch it grow while I move forward in life.
For the first time ever, Mr. Hall took the publications program to L.A. for a journalism conference and it was one of the most amazing experiences one could have. I do not regret a single thing that happened there and I loved almost every minute of the trip. I had another amazing opportunity to grow closer to many members of my staff and of other staffs, and I know I am leaving Magazine in good hands next year. I can only hope that they will be as proud of their team as I was this year. Thank you for everything Mr. Hall, you have instilled in me a passion that I could not have developed anywhere else. This isn’t farewell, I hope to see you grow LHS Publications. photos by S. Ramesh
How Do You Show Fortitude? Liberty is entering its 10th year, and thus the magazine will be putting out its 10th volume. Through different faces, district and state competitions, elections, a global pandemic, spirit weeks, theatrical productions, school soirees and much more, the publications team has seen and captured it all. In just a decade, students, teachers, staff members and administration have been on a rollercoaster of both thrilling highs and crestfallen lows. It can be observed that what has consistently held up our establishment is
our courage and drive to continue navigating and flourishing. Without further ado, we're proud to announce that the magazine's collective theme for this year is based on the cardinal virtues. A theory derived from the Greek philosopher Plato, the virtues of fortitude, justice, temperance and prudence are regarded as the basic principles for living a fulfilling life. Let our first issue serve as a reminder for you to always show fortitude through the adverse moments. With unwavering perseverance, one holds the potential of succeeding in ways they never thought possible.
Editors and magazine staff are captured viewing their hard work for the first time, for each issue of volume 9.
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Read "With Might & Main" :
NOVEMBER 2022
The Soarer
VOL. 1 ISSUE 1
provided by Mr. Hall
Catch Up with Mr. Hall Whether you know him as Hallio, Dad, Gumby, or some other cherished nickname, we all know and love Mr. Hall. Hall has been a very busy man in months past. This summer he went on a Disney cruise, and he just recently got back from a trip to Utah. "A lot of my former students know I love Utah. I love hiking and going to national parks and just exploring," Hall expressed. In regards to this school year, Hall feels extremely confident when it comes to the state of the LHS publications program.
Mr. Hall and his family traveled to Zion National Park in Utah. Here they stand atop the Angels Landing.
Liberty Legacies: Danielle Corgan by Lilly Brown, Reporter As we come to Libertys 10th year, the past students have gone on all different paths of life. Liberty can also have a huge impact on the future on some students. Danielle Corgan was a part of the first graduating class. Her life was changed immensely by one of Liberty's programs. She was part of the very first yearbook staff. “Little did I know that joining yearbook would change my life and be the route to my career,” Corgan states. Corgan found her love of photography through yearbook and eventually bought her own camera. “Getting to hold such nice cameras made me feel like I was in heaven,” Corgan says. Corgan eventually started her own photography business around sophomore/junior year. She has been running the business ever since and photographing people from all around the St. Charles and St. Louis area. She has gained tons of popularity with her Instagram gaining more than 1,000 followers and having sessions booked up every season. Even many seniors around Liberty go to her for senior pics every year. Aside from her business, her high school days were also spent a lot of time working on the yearbook. “I loved everything about it, from interviewing to design,” Corgan remembers. The local yearbook rep. Dan Mueller from Herff Jones visited the staff quite a bit and noticed Corgan's passion. They eventually asked her to join their team.
"I noticed her passion about yearbook from the first day I met her," publications adviser Mr. Hall said. "Danielle was the first student I met at Liberty when I was hired here in 2015. She helped to start to create the great energy and spirit we have in our program that still continues today." After high school, she interned with them all throughout college. After getting her degree, she got to work with them full time. "I get to go to schools everyday and work with students who are passionate about the same things I am,” Corgan says. Corgans sister, Rainie Corgan, is a junior currently at Liberty and she tells how she has inspired her. "Danielle's drive and passion for her photography reminds me that I am able to truly do what I want to do if you work hard enough for it just like she did!" Corgan has certainly found her passion and is on a very exciting path in life. provided by D. Corgan
"This is the largest amount of students we've had in our program," Hall commented. "It's a been great start to the year." Most notably, Hall is also co- teaching a new class this year, Broadcast Media, along with Mr. Hamai. The class is held during 8th hour and it's pretty populated. In fact, most of the publications classes are populated this year. "We have like 26 kids in Yearbook," Hall emphasized. "That's been interesting working with a large group, but it's a great group."
Liberty High School 2275 Sommers Road Lake St. Louis, MO 63367 636.561.0075 ext. 28039 jonathanhall@wsdr4.org The Soarer is a publication that releases two issues each year, distributing an engaging newsletter regarding LHS Publications that is relevant to the program's alumni.. Want to be featured in The Soarer? Have a story or opinion you'd like published? All letters to the editor, questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns can be addressed to Kay Copeland, makaylacopeland23@wsdr4.org.
@LHSjourn
@lhs.publications Danielle Corgan working her business by showing her client the recently taken photos.
@lhsstreaming
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