2021-2022 LLA Mirror Issue 6

Volume 82

Issue 6

April/May 2022

MIR|ROR

Loma Linda Academy News Reflecting on LLA since 1940

Table of Contents 3 4 6 7 8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19

Briefs Jr/Sr Banquet Band Tour Choir Tour Erik’s Plane Spring Sports Alum Hikes from Mexico to Canada Easter Hansen History PossAbilities Triathlon Multicultural Vespers May Birthdays The Year in Review

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Cover Photo by Danelle Taylor Johnston

Briefs SA Beach Vespers

Late Start

The Student Association has planned a beach vespers that will take place on Friday, May 20, 2022.

This beach vepsers, which will take place at the Drayson Center from 4 - 7pm, is also known as the Buns and Roses Vespers. After dinner, white, pink and red roses are available to pass out to your friends and classmates.

The LLA Senate has successfully petitioned for the permant implementation of a late start after Jr/Sr Banquet for the foreseeable future. Previously, a late start for this event did not exist, however through the hard work done by the senate, a late start after this event for all students, lower and upperclassmen, has now become a reality.

Campouts

Mental Health Seminar

The Freshman and Sophomore campouts took place from April 29 to May 1, 2022. Freshman were at Idyllwild Park and the Sophomores went to Hurkey Creek Park. The Junior and Senior campouts were on May 13-15, 2022. The Juniors were at Hurkey Creek Campground, and the Seniors were at South Carlsbad State Beach.

On April 23, 2022, Loma Linda Academy hosted the Virtual Heath Symposium, which was sponsored by HANDS International. The speakers at this event included Curtis Fox, PhD, LMFT, Mark Morton, PhD, LMFT, Sandra Banjoko, PhD, LMFT, and Natalie HsieH, PhD. The event was moderated by Naomi Modest, DrPH, Professor Emerita, LLU The event lasted from 3-5pm and was held on Zoom.

Finals

Graduation Weekend

Finals are happening on May 31 - June 2, 2022. With periods 1, 3, 5 meeting Tuesday, periods 2, 4, 6 meeting Wednesday, and periods 7, 0 meeting on Thursday.

The class of 2022 will be graduating the weekend of June 4-6.

June 4: Consecration at the Loma Linda Korean SDA Church - 7:30 pm June 5: Baccalaureate at the Loma Linda University Church - 9 am June 6: Commencement at the LLA Oak Grove - 6 pm

Editor-inChief Allison Kim

Copy Editor/ Reporter Larissa Calixto

Designer/ Photographer Nicole Seheult

Reporter Jason Gregorius-Grakov

Reporter/ Online Editor Abigail Cooley

Reporter Erin Stone

Reporter Andrew Adorador 3

Reporter Alexander Salles

Sponser Danelle Taylor Johnston

Reporter/ Photographer Stephanie Lopez

Publisher Hans Figueroa

Jr/Sr Banquet

By Allison Kim

The LLA Junior/Senior Banquet this year was held at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Santa Ana on April 10, 2022. The theme for the banquet was Ancient Greece. For entertainment, the students who attended enjoyed live music, poetry reading, a candy bar, two photobooths and a Kahoot. Some pictures from the event are shown below.

Photo Credit: Julia Ko

Photo Credit: Jenaro Rodriquez

Photo Credit: Julia Ko

Photo Credit: Allison Kim

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Photo Credit: Sarah Pasaribu

Photo Credit: Becky Altamirano

Photo Credit: Kadin Mangunsong

Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

Photo Credit: Photo Booth

Photo Credit: Nicevarlyn Philippe

Photo Credit: Kalee Cautivar

Photo Credit: Kalee Cautivar

Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

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Band Tour

By Abigail Cooley

This year, LLA band students looked forward to the upcoming Wind Symphony Tour, in which students traveled to Arizona from April 20-24, 2022. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started two years ago, band tours were canceled each year. This year, many students were excited to finally experience a proper Wind Symphony tour.

On the first day of the tour, students started by getting to school early in the morning, at 5:45 am.

From there, they headed to Mesa Grande Academy to perform for their K-12 students. Afterward, the long trip to Arizona began. Students visited the Route 66 Cafe in Williams, Arizona, and rode a train to the Grand Canyon National Park. They also visited Arizona State University, where they got to work with Jason Caslor, Director of Bands at ASU, among other activities.

Some students were nervous about the trip. “I was quite scared,” Kalee Cautivar (11) said. “But I was excited to go places. I wanted to see the Grand Canyon, Lutheran church, and ASU,” she added.

Hannah Bahri (12) commented, “Honestly, I was obviously a little disappointed that it wasn’t an international tour, so I wasn’t expecting too much. I had been to the Grand Canyon and had seen most of the things we had gone to before, but I had such a good time.

I was able to spend so much time with my friends and go to all these places with them and it was a great

experience.”

While on the trip, many students were excited to play on tour, and to have fun with their friends. Bahri said, “I took away that people listening to us really enjoy our music and are thankful for us playing for them. It feels like the pieces we play get repetitive, or just like we’ve heard them so many times before that they’re not as thrilling as they used to be, but after performances, so many people come up to us, thanking us for playing and expressing their gratefulness and it is a really rewarding feeling.”

While on tour, many students were happy to connect with their friends, and to grow closer over the trip.

William Abel (11) explained, “I had

“I had a lot more fun than I thought I was going to have, so it definitely exceeded my expectations.”

a lot of fun socializing with people and generally connecting overall.”

He added, “I had a lot more fun than I thought I was going to have, so it definitely exceeded my expectations.”

Overall, the tour was memorable for all the students, and was a great experience. Students got to bond over the love of music and got to experience Arizona in a new light.

Photo Credits: Brett Walls

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Choir Tour

By Erin Stone

Loma Linda Academy’s select choir group, Pro Musica, goes on a music tour once a year. They travel around the country, sometimes even leaving the continent to spread music and the love of God around the world. After two years of not touring because of COVID, everyone was excited for what was to come. Due to COVID restrictions, the group could travel no more than six hours from the school, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have fun.

The group left on Tuesday, April 19th, at about 3:50 pm for a vocal

clinic with Dr. Schibe at Anaheim SDAC. The students each got a van for the week to come, and got acquainted with each other. Pro Musica traveled through parts of California, performing at Orangewood Adventist Academy and recording in Disneyland Studio with Vangie Gunn, a singer for many movies and shows. After recording, the students spent the rest of the day in the Disneyland park, having fun and bonding. They also performed at Desert Adventist Academy. The group then said goodbye to California and drove five hours

to Arizona, where they performed at Glenview Adventist Academy, Thunderbird Adventist Academy, Camelback SDAC, and PPC. They returned Sunday night, April 25th and said goodbye to all the new friends they made.

When asked what his favorite part of the tour was, Jaden Meleshanko (12), had this to say.

“My favorite part was, unexpectedly, the van rides and being able to connect with people while we were driving for such a long time.

We had some great discussions and made some friends and memories I won’t forget.”

Photo Credits: Erin Stone

Photo Credits: Erin Stone

Photo Credits: Erin Stone

Photo Credits: Emily Castillo

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Photo Credits: Emily Castillo

Erik’s Plane

By Stephanie Lopez

Sometimes flying a plane seems impossible, let alone building one.

However, Erik Weniger (12) decided to build a plane just because he wanted to and because renting a plane is expensive. With the help of his dad, he was able to finish building the plane in 364 days. He was able to finish it March 18. “We wanted a plane that could do everything we wanted, such as longhaul trips and also bush flying,” said Weniger.

The process of wanting to build a plane started two years ago when Weniger began an interest in aviation. “We started with just the plans and sheets of metal we got from the hardware store. We ended up building the back end of the aircraft that way but it was taking quite a long time so we decided to purchase a kit,” said Weniger.

The kit contained pre-cut pieces which dropped the build time from a 2,000 hour building time to a 800 hour building time, which is a drastic time change.

“We wanted a plane that could do everything we wanted, such as long-haul trips and also bush flying.”

When building a plane, surprisingly, a permit is not needed to build one. However, when flying a plane, it must be FAA approved and must have 40 hours of test flying and keep record of what happened with the progress. When that is complete the plane may be taken around the 40 mile limit of the airport.

Building a plane is expensive.

“A basic two-seat aircraft kit can range from 20-30 thousand dollars for the airframe which does not include the instruments or engine. An instrument panel can range from about 6000 for a basic setup with certain restrictions, up to 30,000 for a full auto-pilot and self-landing system.”

When building a plane it does come with some challenges. “We continued to delay the first flight as

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we kept finding new issues which needed to be fixed. We ended up flying it about three months after we thought it would be ready.”

Weniger said. “Aviation is a lot of fun and anyone can do it as long as they are committed.”

Photo Credit: Erik Weiniger

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Spring Sports

By Alexander Salles

Loma Linda Academy has always been great at sports, and we have achieved great success in our sports. This spring season we have been competing in Baseball, Softball, Swim, Golf, Badminton and Men’s Volleyball.

For Sidney Bonney (12), captain of the swim team, this year has been about building a strong team again, “We graduated a lot of seniors last year, but we had a lot of freshmen that brought a strong group that came up and I think we are doing a good job,” Boney said.

She has been having high expectations for this team. She knows the team can do their best and win whatever they work for. “Swimming is a hard sport, it takes a lot of dedication, so I expect everyone to be dedicated and to honor their commitment.” The boys swim team had an amazing season, winning the league championships this season, which added another banner

Photo Credit: Kadin Mangunsong

to our high school gym’s wall.

The baseball team had a tough season, with a brand new team and coaches. Elijah Jenkins (10), third base for the baseball team, said it’s all about “giving it all and having good energy.” Because of COVID, baseball and many other sports were not practiced last year and this gap in between seasons is believed to have affected some athletes’ performances this season. Jenkins says the best feeling is “when we make a comeback in a game and win it.” As this season ends, Jenkins directs a message to his teammates “be ready for next year.” We hope to see not only a much stronger team in the upcoming season, but also a much closer family.

The badminton team has also had a great season, “It’s been fun [...] encouraging our teammates during training and games,” Eli-

Photo Credit: Justin Weley

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“I’m just really am proud of the team and thankful for each one of them.” na Khan (12) said, captain for the badminton team. The team captain, Justin Weley (11), talked about the season with great joy “the season so far is really good, I’m just really am proud of the team and thankful for each one of them. They made it a really good and funny season they’re the best.” Khan says that she is proud of her team and how they have gotten better throughout the season. “I’m proud of how

much everyone has improved this season and thank you all for the great memories.”

Weley enjoyed his position as captain of the team, the responsibility “to lead the team and to help the team improve.”

The guys volleyball team had a fresh team this year and even though they had to learn how to communicate and how to play with the minimum experience playing together, they did pretty well this season. Nico Moralde (11), captain for the guys volleyball team, talked about his expectations for this season “win some games here and there, mostly to get comfortable playing with each other, but the team has already exceeded my expectations.” With the end of the season, the memories of games and car rides for away games, as well as team bonding moments, make us think of our team not just as a team, but as a family. “Good work and thanks for making it a really fun season guys. Sending love to John, Daniel, and Nathan as they graduate. Can’t wait to keep working with the rest of you guys next season.” said Moralde.

Nathan Hansen (12), captain for the golf team, said this year required lots of hard work and dedication. “I would have to step up and show the inexperienced the culture and the amazing reputation our golf team has” said Hansen.

“Good work and thanks for making it a really fun season guys.”

The captain wanted to create a positive atmosphere and make sure everyone felt included, being a good role model to other schools and showing the other players the ways around the game. More important than the victories, was to have great teamwork “I appreciate the hard work and dedication that they gave to this team. They gave it their all and we had fun and that is honestly what means the most.” said Hansen. The season is unfortunately over and the team will have to say goodbye to their captain. Hansen spoke about leaving the team. “They made me feel very special as the only senior and I appreciate their amazing hearts to make this the best golf season I have had so far. I know that the team will be in good hands next year and I wish them the best for the upcoming years.” said Hansen.

The softball team had a better season than last year. Anna Chang (10), pitcher for the softball team says the team won much more games than they did in their previous season. “I expect for us to do really well next year as we are moving into a different league with

Photo Credit: Bettesue Constanzo

different opponents,” said Chang.

Through the season, everyone has gathered memories and for Chang, the last game, when everyone stood around the coach and teased him, was the best moment of the season “we had him admit how much he cared for our team” she said. With seniors leaving us, and freshmen joining us next year, we are grateful for all the fun and great memories we had with our seniors and excited to share good moments with the freshman coming in next year. “I appreciate you all very much, and no matter if we win or lose I always have fun with you all” said Chang.

Photo Credit: Kadin Mangunsong

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Alum Hikes from Mexico to Canada Danelle Taylor Johnston Erick Culler-Juarez (nee Juarez), Loma Linda Academy class of 2012, and his wife Monica Culler-Juarez hiked from the border of Mexico all the way to the border of Canada on the 2650+ miles Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), completing the trail September 2021, six months after they began hiking.

As a child, Erick Culler-Juarez spent lots of time camping with his family and enjoying nature in established campgrounds with picnic tables, and he loved it, but he never backpacked. Culler-Juarez first heard about the PCT while he was working at Camp MiVoden, in Idaho, where he was camp photographer and videographer in 2014. Here he learned about “real backpacking.” The PCT sounded “super cool.” But he thought, “I am never going to do that!” That was for other people, but not himself, he thought.

Culler-Juarez met his wife while he was in college at Walla Walla University and they married in 2019. After getting married they settled into nice jobs. Culler-Juarez thought of himself as kind of a “suit-and-tie, desk-job person” and his wife was the adventurous one of the couple, traveling to many countries and doing “a lot of cool things like scuba diving.”

However, 2020 hit with a combination of obstacles that forced him to reevaluate his life. “I hated my job.” He was working at a local public accounting firm including tax work. He was working 50-60 hours a week. “I was not mentally ok to be there any longer, so I re-

signed.” His wife had recently lost her job at the Monterey Bay Aquarium because of COVID closures to the aquarium. Culler-Juarez and his wife didn’t know what would be next for them and were both looking for new jobs.

“It was a complete ‘just do it moment.’”

Talking with his friends on FaceTime and sharing where he was in his life, his friend reminded him about the PCT. “You seem like you are in a good position to hike the Pacific Crest Trail,” his friend said, telling Culler-Juarez that the hike would give him some time to figure out life. Culler-Juarez hadn’t thought about the PCT since 2014. “In my head, something just clicked. It was like when you turn the ignition to your car and it just turns on. It lit a fire.” While still on the call with his friend he said to

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his wife, “Why don’t we hike the PCT this year? And she said, ‘Yeah!

Let’s do it.’” And that started the journey.

The next month, “We spent the time figuring out how to live in the woods for the next six months.”

They researched what the PCT was all about on YouTube and “what is a backpack.” They took many trips to the REI outdoor store and bought tons of backpacking gear.

They packed up their apartment and put things in storage. Prior to their PCT adventure, they had only ever done two long hikes and one overnight backpacking trip. That was all the experience they had.

He started the journey with a heavy backpack because he was afraid of not having enough. “You pack your fears. That applies to the trail too. You pack the things you think you will need because you are

scared.” Later on the trail, much of the thoughtfully chosen gear they ended up swapping out, because they just didn’t end up needing it.

Culler-Juarez and his wife started the trail at the Mexico border on March 12, 2021, and hiked 11.6 miles on the first day. It rained the first day, kind of snowed, and hailed too. He quickly realized on the first day how inexperienced he was. “I realized this is going to be hard and we need to be diligent and be good.”

Over the days and weeks, they fell into a rhythm of 15 miles a day and later 27-31 miles per day, when they were more experienced. It took about an hour in the morning to get ready, from wakeup to starting hiking. They enjoyed coffee in the morning and breakfast. In the evening they would make dinner and talk about the day reminding each other to be thankful they were out there having this incredible experience.

“Once you start the challenge, every day is just a little bit more than the day before and that just accumulates over time. Then you realize you are at the top of a mountain and you realize, wow, I

started down there. That’s pretty cool.”

“I now try to live my life with more intention and purpose and not pack my fears in life. I try to do things that push me out of my comfort zone. [Hiking the PCT] was hard and scary but it was the best thing I have ever done. I did it afraid and I still am afraid of bears. But I encountered bears and I wasn’t scared. And it was cute and it didn’t want to hurt me.”

Going out of his comfort zone,

Culler-Juarez said, “is where I found that growth happens. It is scary, but once you start the challenge every day is just a little different than yesterday.” Culler-Juarez advice is, “Do it afraid. Just do it.”

Photos courtesy of Erick Culler-Juarez

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Easter

By Larissa Calixto Easter is celebrated by Christians as a holiday that represents the resurrection of Jesus, representing the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the plan of salvation. Easter was first celebrated by Christians in the mid-2nd century, where they celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. Easter in Latin means “Pascha,” principal festival of the Christian Church, which is celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion according to.

This year, Easter was celebrated on Sunday, April 17, and many students have different ways of celebrating.

Here are a few students sharing how they celebrate the holiday and what it means to them.

Recognizing this holiday can bring feelings of gratefulness and appreciation. To Rebekah Mendoza (10), Easter brings the reassurance of Jesus’ love. “It serves as a reminder to everyone that if you feel alone or if there’s no one in the world that loves you, Jesus died for us. He is always with us and loves us unconditionally,” said Mendoza.

“As high school students under a lot of pressure and stress this is a great reminder that there is always someone cheering us on.”

Nathan Blum (12) says Easter serves as a “source of joy and hope.” The importance in this is that throughout the roughest experiences we have the hope that Jesus is going to come again and take us to a better life.

Family is an important aspect in the Easter holiday. Jacob Kelly (11) celebrates with his family going to church for communion Sabbath.

Being at church can bring people a sense of comfort being in the presence of God. Mendoza celebrates by being with her family and sharing the story of Jesus being crucified and how he rose again. Blum goes

to Redlands Church to watch the Easter play with his family every year.

Being able to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus is important for Christians because it gives us hope and helps our faith to be strong.

Many people become discouraged when they don’t see God working on their time, but it is important to realize that he has a plan for all of our lives. Even if God isn’t someone that can be seen, it is in the faith of Christians to be patient and to understand that he is always looking over his children.

“He is always with us and loves us unconditionally.”

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Artwork by Zadie Tsao

Hansen History

By Andrew Adorador

Franz-Hall is an important structure in our Loma Linda Academy (LLA) campus history. It was located between the Students Service Building (SSB) and Rhoads Hall.

The mural for the building sits right outside the SSB on the wall, but not many people know the legacy that it has. Nathan Hansen (12) is part of that legacy. Hansen transferred from Redlands Adventist Academy (RAA) to LLA his freshman year.

“I wanted a chance to meet new people and experience high school at a school that offered more extracurriculars and to go to the high school my grandfather taught.”

Hansen is the third generation of his family to be educated through LLA. He has had a lot of positive memories while attending LLA. “The most rewarding part about coming to LLA has been the people I have met and the atmosphere that this school brings that you can’t get anywhere else. I really enjoyed football and I couldn’t have been any happier for the amazing football family that we have. I also feel like the teachers really put their heart into their classes and push their students to not only get grades but portray the character of Jesus.”

“He was a person that was always happy and encouraging to others.”

Hansen’s grandfather, Charles Howard Franz, was the economics and government teacher during the years of 1972-1986. Franz was a loved teacher by all he taught.

“He was a person that was always happy and encouraging to others.

As what I have heard, there is not a single person that has told me anything negative about his character or anything. It’s really amazing to know that is my grandfather.”

Franz Hall was named after Franz after he passed away in 1986 due to Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Franz was committed to his classes and students, to which he worked up until the day before he passed.

“Everyday before class he would pray and he would sit criss-cross applesauce on his desk and would work super late nights and was always very committed to his classes,” said Nathan.

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Photo Credits: Danelle Taylor Johnston

PossAbilities Triathlon

By Alexander Salles

May 1st was the day of a great achievement for Ella Sabo (10), who got a 5th overall placing and the win in the overall women’s category in the PossAbilities Triathlon.

“Before the race I knew that I had a goal: to win the overall women category,” said Sabo. Staying consistent and keepng the mental game is crucial to finish and hopefully win a triathlon.

As Sabo knew she was not the best swimmer among her competitors. She needed a good time on the run and the bike to make up for the time lost on swimming.

The PossAbilities Triathlon is a backwards triathlon, the run section was first. “I knew that all I had to do for this first part was to keep track of all the ladies that might have passed me so that I could make sure I catch them on the bike (my strongest sport).”

“I’ve been working hard day after day to improve my fitness and skills on the bike. I will also run on occasion with my dad and we’ll do the local Run Through Redlands.

I’ve been training after school, early mornings, and on weekends to become a better cyclist and overall athlete,” said Sabo.

After such an accomplishment Sabo said, “I would say that you can do anything you set your mind to… It will take time and effort, but if it is something you’re passionate about, you’ll find joy in doing it.”

“I would say that you can do anything you set your mind to…”

“I’ve been working hard day after day to improve my fitness...”

As everything in life, great achievements are made from blood, tears and sweat.

Poster credit: raceplace.com All Photo Credit: Ella Sabo

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Multicultural Vespers

By Stephanie Lopez

On April 15, 2022, LLA High School had a multicultural vespers which included members from the Black Student Association, Hispanic Cultural Club, and Korean Club.

Everyone had an amazing time and were blessed by hearing Yumin Joe (12) preach. Other activities included testimonies from students as well as Dr. Sandiford about growing up in America. Mr. Desia also taught attendees a Spanish hymn.

The vespers also included amazing food and drinks from all the clubs and amazing games such as musical chairs, uno, and ddakji.

All Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

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May Birthdays 1 1 6 7 8 8 11 16 16 18 18 19 19

Raffaela Dias Sebastian Neri Daniel Conrado Samuel Wallace Nicolo Moralde Sarah Pasaribu Jaden Nation Colin Bailey Ian Bermudez Yujoon Joe Stephanie Lopez Allyson Manoharan Ethan Richards

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Jacqueline Pandiangan Zadie Tsao Sophie Rai Jenaro Rodriquez Riley Ice Jasmine Tomlin Alexander Kim Jaden Melashenko Jacob Saesim Haley Kohltfarber Yven Pineda Heaven Robles

Photo Credit: pixabay.com

The Year in Review

Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

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Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Andrew Adorador

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Stephanie Lopez

Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

Photo Credit: Danelle Taylor Johnston

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