Fairview High School 1515 Greenbriar Blvd. Vol. 56 No. 2 December 2015
The Royal Banner 15-16 Staff Editors-in-Chief Rachel Grushan Varun Narayanswamy
Design Director Maya Jayachandra
Section Editors Student News | Keren Sneh Opinion | Cameron Walsh Entertainment | Laura Brack Sports | Sage Rose
December 11th, 2015
Table of Contents 3 4 5 6
Humor | Ben Gelderloos Social Media | Sara McCrea, Harrison Young Business | Dvir Goldman
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Staff Reporters
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Arvand Aidun, Molly Box, Noah Finer, Grace Hedlund, Jot Kaur, Braedon O’Callaghan, Michal Olesiak, Conor Pepin, Ryan Swerdlin, Benjamin Tarasewicz, Jasmine Vital
Copy Editor Adrianne Holland
Webmaster
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Evan Derby Adviser | Sarah M. Zerwin To subscribe, send $25 to The Royal Banner, Fairview High School, Room 339, 1515 Greenbriar Blvd, Boulder, CO 80305, or email dvir.goldman@fhsroyalbanner.com
About the Banner The Royal Banner is an 16-page recyclable news magazine. The Banner is written primarily for the over 2000 students attending Fairview High School and is distributed free of charge to all members of the
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The People Issue: Editor’s Note Thomas Oviatt Gerald Robinson, Jack Rockwell and Simon Hubbard Gabby Glime Mikayla Seigal Zach and Xander King Margo Hayes Eli Karsh-Lombardo Bella Leverett Matt Greenwald Ashley Panem Joyce Xu CJ Lough and Griff Henry Owen Benson Evan Groover Helen Petach Ali Pyle Jillian Shively Jovan Zimmerman Lynn LiCalsi Luis Pineda Sam Dussinberre Jeff Jones Elisa Himmen and Hannah Von Hagen Matt Stensrud
school community. Accurate reporting of fact is the goal of the staff. Commentaries, opinion columns and letters to the editor are the expressed opinion of the author and not of The Royal Banner and its Editorial Board or its adviser.
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the
PEOPLE ISSUE: Editors’ Note
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here are more than 2,000 students who attend Fairview. That’s more than 2,000 stories circulating through the school at any given time. More than 2,000 stories passing you in the hallway, heads down, pace hurried. There are thousands of people at Fairview with amazing stories that deserve to be shared. Here are 24 of them. They are athletes and activists, travelors and thespians, musicians and artists. We got to know them and their stories.
Now, we did the math; the People Issue barely scrapes the surface when it comes to the incredible students and staff at our school. So tell us what we missed. Visit our website and submit a story idea; tell us about who inspires you, surprises you – anyone with a story to be told. Rachel Grushan and Varun Narayanswamy, Co-Editors-in-Chief
www.fhsroyalbanner.com
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Latin America was not new to him; he’d been there before. This time it was different though, because he was there with his five-yearold daughter, and he was there for a whole year. The hardest thing for him to adjust to was the noise.
Car alarms sounding 20-50 times a day; dogs barking at any hour of the night. He was struck by how green Ecuador was. There was incredible biodiversity, yet the people there didn’t seem to care about the environment. He saw people leave their trash in parks after eating with their family. He saw kids break their bottles in the park and simply leave the glass. He missed the general respect for the community he saw at home. He missed the sense of safety at home, too. He encountered an ever-present level of violence that made him uneasy. His wife’s bag was slashed once, and her computer stolen from her a different time. It was mostly petty theft, but there was always the chance it could turn violent. “It was kind of discouraging for my outlook on humanity,” he said. He spent his days teaching English and playing music in an old folk’s home or with
his daughter walking through the parks. “A lot happened in a year,” he said. He got terribly sick and had to have emergency surgery. He was woken one morning by the 8th floor of the building next to him exploding. Houses for 300 yards in every direction lost windows. All that could be heard was people sweeping up the broken glass. He made a lot of positive memories and met a lot of people, but the violence and noise wore him down, until he missed home and was ready to come back. “Good to go, good to bring it back.” By Keren Sneh
Photo Donated By Thomas Oviatt
THOMAS OVIATT, SPANISH TEACHER JACK ROCKWELL, SIMON HUBBARD, GERALD ROBINSON, JUNIORS Photo Donated By Gerald Robinson
Their band has been together since freshman year, though they don’t have a name yet. Simon Hubbard plays drums, Jack Rockwell plays bass, and Gerald Robinson plays guitar. “None of us really sing,” commented Robinson on their lack of a lead singer. “We’ll sing, but it won’t sound good.” Right down to their musical influences, which include everything from the Red
Hot Chili Peppers to the Black Keys to blues artists, the three of them are different. They’ve fought multiple times in the past. “We were playing at a recital. We were playing three songs. I screwed up a song, Jack screwed up the next song that we were playing, and then the last song, Simon screwed up this big drum fill,” said Robinson. “And so he got mad, he walked 4/16
out, I put my guitar down… and we were just kinda pissed at everybody. ” In the end, though, they make up. They acknowledge their creative differences and then move on. They have no idea if they’ll continue the band after high school, but for now, they’re happy just to be jamming together. “It’s always fun when we get through a song we’ve been working on for a long time with nobody making any huge mistakes. That’s pretty satisfying, I think,” said Hubbard. “One of the first songs we learned was a Black Keys song, ‘Gold On The Ceiling’,” said Robinson. “And now, whenever we play it, we just kind of jam it. We can just go off on our own tangents now, ‘cause we’ve played it so many times.” “It’s a good milestone,” said Hubbard. By Laura Brack
MIKAYLA SEIGEL, FRESHMAN Mikayla Seigel has gone through what no child should ever have to. On October 23th, 2013, Mikayla’s mother, Alice Siegel, passed away. But Alice has not ceased to inspire Mikayla in everything she does. “I will always look up to her, said Mikayla. When she was younger, Alice was nationally ranked in track and field. Later on she found a passion for the world of
veterinary medicine. Alice was then faced with a choice; to continue with track and field or to pursue her new dream. Mikayla’s mother chose to become a vet. “She taught me to never give up on a dream.” Her mother’s constant persistence to accomplish her goals is what motivates Mikayla today. Three times a week, Mikayla wakes up at 4:20 A.M., sits down to have cereal and a
Most people know from her serious talents in running, but there’s a lot more to her story. Gabby Glime’s parents live in different states. While she moved to Colorado when she was nine, her dad still lives in Oklahoma, seven hundred miles away. While this would be incredibly difficult for some, Gabby doesn’t let her situation affect her negatively. It’s just like Gabby to take this in her stride, being a runner and all. There wasn’t a lot about Tulsa Oklahoma that Gabby liked. The gated houses within gated communities, the lack of sidewalks, her strict school that would ziptie low riding pants up and duct tape holes. So the change in location was well recepted. She loves Colorado. Here everything’s different. She used to hate running in Oklahoma, but since moving she has rediscovered it and now
loves it. She was an alternate for State cross country this year. Although most students love Fairview, few would voluntarily choose to stay an extra semester. Gabby Glime did.
GABBY GLIME, SENIOR 5/16
banana, and drives off into the icy, silent mornings to train. She discovered her love for swimming as a kid splashing around in floaties and fish shaped goggles. For the next eight years her love for the sport and her team only grew and grew. “Every day is a memorable day because I get to talk and laugh with my friends. I have learned that swimming isn’t just an individual sport but a team sport because we all encourage each other to reach our goals.” But training up to fifteen hours a week can have a strenuous effect on a person. When Mikayla reaches a lull in her swimming career, she reminds herself of her mother’s commitment and enthusiasm for both her own goals and her daughters, and is drawn back to her hard work. Every day, Mikayla dives into the pool ready to train. Every day, she feels the loss of her mother. Every day, her mother inspires her even more. By Molly Box
Now she lives with her mom, who majored in education and counselling in college, but has struggled to find work; she is now employed as an assistant manager in the deli section of King Soopers. From her mother Gabby has learned strength and self control. These qualities really help her running, but they are also apparent in other areas of her life. She doesn’t eat sugar… except fruit, she loves fruit. She runs every day and likes every sport… except volleyball. She’s strong. If she wants to do something she just does it She pushes through. That determination shows in her running. “It really hurts when you’re racing sometimes and you want to give up and quit, but then you finish and feel really accomplished.” By Adrianne Holland
ELI KARSH LOMBARDO, JUNIOR When people look at Eli Karsh Lombardo, they see a cheerful junior, prone to cracking jokes and rarely doing anything but smiling. They might see the large scar across part of his left arm and neck, but Climber Margo Hayes recently placed 2nd in the World Youth Championships. That’s right. This Fairview senior is the second best indoor rock climber in the world for her age group. I recently sat down with Hayes to discuss how she became a world class climber while still managing to keep up with her school life. This was Margo’s fourth year at Worlds, and by now she is an experienced veteran in competitive climbing. She began climbing when she was ten years old. “I was a pretty serious gymnast, but I had too many injuries,” said Hayes. “For a few years I did gymnastics and climbed but I
they hesitate to ask. Even when they do, the answer in itself is short and to the point. “When I was being born, there were complications. They had to get me out quickly, so they basically yanked me out. fully switched when I was 13.” She joined Team ABC and through steady improvement, she became one of the best on the team. Fast forward to today. Hayes is climbing fiercer than ever. She climbs at least five days a week, not to mention the extensive
MARGO HAYES, SENIOR 6/16
And they just completely broke my arm.” He shrugs. Yet for Eli, it has sometimes been more than a complication. His injuries will not simply fade away. They shape his life and sometimes the lives of those around him. “For the first six months I didn’t know I had a left arm and I was paralyzed. They performed a lot of surgeries to make sure the muscles repaired themselves. Unfortunately it didn’t work as well as expected.” Even when faced with insurmountable problems, Eli still runs towards his dreams and catches them… literally. He simply smiles and “makes a few adjustments.” Eli Constantly surprises friends and other schools when competing in ultimate frisbee. Even competing with the stunning added challenge of only being able to use one hand. “It’s mostly been difficult for sports and whatnot, seeing as they require two hands.” It seems that from losing strength and control in one aspect of his life, Eli has made everything else that much stronger. By Cameron Walsh
conditioning routines that push her body to its limits. Her pull-up record is 48. “Sometimes I don’t get home till very late,” said Hayes. “I’ll be eating dinner at 11pm but there’s always a way to make it happen if you love what you do.” Colorado is such an amazing place for a climber to grow up. With Boulder recently being voted Climbing Town, USA, by Climbing Magazine, there is an endless community of role models and people to climb with. “Climbing is more than just a sport. It’s creative, an art. No two climbs are the same, plus it’s a great way to exercise and meet new people.” By Conor Pepin
They have the same birthday. They both moved from the same little known town of Jefferson, Georgia. They both sing in four choirs. And they even find time to be different. “It’s easy for us to be our own person,” said Zach. “Because we are,” added Xander. “We have the same face, but that doesn’t mean we’re
the same person.” The Kings have been twins ever since they could remember. They’ve also been different since they could remember. One twin’s favorite music is jazz; the other’s is grunge rock. Zach led our conversation with a witty humor, unveiling topic after topic about twin life, while Xander waited and quickly filled in the details when his
XANDER AND ZACH KING, SOPHOMORES Medusa. Septum. Gauges. The piercings may be the first thing that someone notices about Bella Leverett. But there is much more to the tiny bars of metal, and so much more to Bella, than first meets the eye. What you may not know is that Bella found piercing as a coping mechanism in place of self harm. What you may not know is that she wants to be a piercer herself when she is older, so that she can help others find the same healthy form of release, as well as a form of self-expression. Bella is no stranger to struggle. She is open about her past experiences, and is amazingly self aware and unapologetic about who she is because of them. Bella was hospitalized recently for alcohol poisoning. While it was an accident, she says people don’t always believe her. Bella is also a survivor of sexual assault. However, she hasn’t let her these experiences defeat her, nor define her. “It gave me an opportunity to teach people about the experience I had, the pain, the depression afterwards. It was
more of a teaching tool for me. “ After her hospitalization, Bella discovered the group Natural Highs through her school interventionist. She admired how the class is dedicated to educating teens about the harmfulness of drugs instead of using blatant and empty scare tactics. The difference the class has made has been monumental for her in realizing her potential and finding healthy alternative coping mechanisms to handle her past experiences. “I have moved past a lot. I don’t think I would be as strong, or able to hold people up as much, [if those experiences hadn’t happened].” Smart. Unapologetic. Strong. These words much better describe Bella than any type of piercing can. She is proud of who she is. Through what she has dealt with, she now wants to help others come to the same resolution that she has. By Rachel Grushan 7/16
brother stopped for a breath. “He likes blue and I like red,” said Zach. For how different the King brothers are, they both have fallen to the same passion of art and theater. They both have acted since the 7th grade, when they performed in “The Children of Eden.” Last year they performed in the spring play “Romeo and Juliet” as the twin apothecaries, and acted in the fall musical “Anything Goes.” This year, the King brothers have continued pursuing their passion and performed in “Guys and Dolls” as gangsters. They also are part of Troubadours, Chivalry, Madrigals, and a new men’s acapella group, the Kingsmen. They even made their own quartet, 5 Guys Named Steve, with two other people. The Kings have been side by side since day one. Both are following their love of theater, not as twins, but as actors. Both are their own person. Both aren’t each other’s best friends. They are something more: they’re the King brothers. As they put it, “You always have at least one friend.” By Michal Olesiak
BELLA LEVERETT, SOPHOMORE
MATT GREENWALD, FRESHMAN Our school is known for football. Every year, there are students who are ranked as some of the best players in the state and every once in awhile, best in the nation.
Freshman Matt Greenwald is one of those students. He is a football prodigy and the new member of the United States U16 National Football Team.
Seniors CJ Lough and Griff Henry started writing rap music in the summer of 2015. Boulder, not typically known as a hub for rap artists, is home for Lough and Henry. Why make music in a place like Boulder, when the most famous rap music comes from places like Chicago, New York City, and Compton, California? Not all Fairview students have experienced losing a parent, but for those who have, CJ can empathize with you. He lost his stepfather in seventh grade, a man who had acted as his father since he was a year old. CJ talks about not always having a meal to eat, or money for housing or bills, something that Fairview does not often talk about. These issues drive CJ to make music and enlighten others to his outlook on the world. Many assume Fairview is a wealthier school, and for the people who do not live in wealth, the stereotype can feel alienating. Griff grew up in a lower middle class family. They struggled to make ends meet, and they didn’t always have enough money for gas, or for a new television.
Past experiences for CJ and Griff give them something to discuss in their music. These topics aren’t something you hear every day in the halls of Fairview, among designer clothes and five dollar cups of coffee. Music, for both of them, is an outlet and a way to convey their perspective on the world around them. Both CJ and Griff mention how Boulder has shaped them as
Matt is the youngest member of the team, and let’s just say it isn’t the easiest team to be accepted into. “I did a region tryout in January,” he said, “and then a national tryout in June.” This February, Matt is flying to Dallas Texas as a U16 defensive back to play Canada. He isn’t playing a different high school or a different state team but a completely different country. Matt has been playing football since third grade and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He hopes to play football in college, hopefully USC or Oregon. If you want to be like Matt and be a member of the U16 football team, there is an intense regimen to follow. He weighttrains five times a week for one hour and thirty minutes. Before every game he eats an omelet and a snickers bar and is ready to go. Matt Greenwald is already an excellent football player. In the future he will surely make a name of himself, not only here at Fairview but on a much larger scale as well. By Varun Narayanswamy
people and how their music is shaped by an upbringing in Boulder. “I just like having fun and doing what makes me happy,” said CJ. “And if that happens to be something other people like it’s just another perk of the art to me.” By Chris Wagers
CJ LOUGH AND GRIFF HENRY, SENIORS 8/16
JOYCE XU, JUNIOR
It’s two in the morning. There’s snow outside and hills to be skied down. But it’s two in the morning, and the project isn’t done. It’s about Che Guevara, a Marxist who played a large part in the Cuban revolution of the 1950s. The typing is frantic. She’s in the middle of a ski trip, but right now the only thing that matters is her National History Day project and Che Guevara. The deadline is fast approaching, about a week away. Che Guevara’s life lays itself out on the page one letter at a time, typos popping up every now and then, causing his life to pause for a moment, before hastily resuming. She finishes. Finally, she can sleep. A week later, the NHD competition began. Joyce’s life had been halted, working almost exclusively on NHD. She was glad to have it over with. Despite this satisfaction she wanted more.
She wanted to win. In 8th grade her project made it to Nationals. Unfortunately it didn’t place, but it did inspire her to do better and sparked her interest in Marxist theory. That 8th grade project, along with Mrs. Campbell-Hale and Mr. Peoples, inspired her to create her current project. Her project moved through regionals to state and was on its way to nationals. After her initial work for the school she hasn’t even needed to edit it very much. It was almost good enough for nationals from the beginning. As the days rolled on, the nationals finally arrived. This was the moment that would change Joyce’s life. Her project, about Che Guevara, placed 2nd in the national competition. This was success that even she hadn’t expected. All the work, the late nights, the stress, had paid off. It’s a win that she will never forget.
She drove through the streets in a rush, hearing the angry honking behind her. She breathed in the fresh air and finally slowed down her speed as she pulled up to the grocery store. She was anxious about her basketball game. As one of two freshman to make varsity, she was under pressure to do well. She grabbed a bottle of cold Gatorade and went to the checkout and waited behind a woman with bright red hair. As she glared at the ticking clock and felt the line move, she looked ahead and saw the back of an old blue baseball cap. Confused, she tapped on the man’s shoulder and politely said, “I think I may be before you.” He turned around and gave her a cold look and minutes later walked out of of the store carefree.
She was angry at the man for leaving, but also unaffected at the behavior. After all, how could she change it? She remembers when she was visiting her relatives when she was 8 and driving in the dirt roads and cozy homes in the Philippines. The smell was sweet but fulsome. She heard horns blare outside her towering window of the car. She looked at her mom’s eyes expecting panic, but instead saw concern. Her mom could tell that the horns were because of her open trunk. They pulled up to the store and grabbed cold drinks and later headed to the check out. Smiling faces and kind gestures surrounded them. Thinking back on it now, Ashley sees how she lives in a different world. In a world where kindness isn’t needed because money is value. Often it is the people with the least who show the most compassion. By Jot Kaur
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By Braedon O’Callaghan
ASHLEY PANEM, SOPHOMORE
Evan Groover is usually seen with camera in hand. He is a screenwriter, director, cinematographer, actor, and storyteller. He remembers staring at the glowin-the-dark stars taped to his ceiling after watching a movie. He remembers thinking, “I want to do that. I want to
make movies.” His eyes sparkle as he talks about his passion. Though film has been a guiding light for Evan since he was seven years old and picked up a video camera, he has been able to delve further into his passion at Fairview. He recognizes that through his projects he has never been alone. Lanny Boyer has helped with providing feedback, equipment, and support in Evan’s endeavours. Evan also credits his film friends and stresses collaboration. “If you don’t have a team, you don’t have a film.” Evan and senior Maddie Lutz have pioneered a web series, “When Mountains Fall.” “We started working on that in the
beginning of the school year and started filming in Nederland. Hopefully the first episode will go live by the end of this month.” Over the summer, Groover and his team spent a solid two weeks around Colorado, filming his first full length feature film, “Fireside.” “I’m really proud of it. Not even the final product, but just the fact that we went out and did it,” said Groover. Evan admits that if the film is good or bad is irrelevant to him, but following through with such a large scale project with a small budget is a tremendous accomplishment. “If you have a story worth telling, it will impact people. I want people to enjoy the experience, or at least be influenced in some way by my films. Storytelling can open up so many emotions and so many different ways of thinking. That is what film is about.” By Sara McCrea
EVAN GROOVER, SENIOR Owen Benson has some mixed feelings about his trip through India. Because if he hadn’t taken that train from New Delhi last winter, he wouldn’t have had to spend thirteen hours on a train ride that was only scheduled to be six. He wouldn’t have had to wait in line for the western style bathrooms right next to a woman waiting for the Indian style bathrooms.
To see a sign warning about possible sexual abuse posted near those bathrooms. To watch a man push the woman into the bathroom and lock the door behind him. To hear muffled screams and decide to do something. To break down the door just in time. To stand his ground when the man drew a knife. He wouldn’t have had to spend the last four
OWEN BENSON, SOPHOMORE 10/16
hours of the ride caring for his wounds. “We got into a little bit of a fight,” Benson said pointing to eight inch long scars on his arm and chest. “I got a few cuts.” But because of that trip, he made an impact. The man was taken off the train by armed guards. The woman ran away unharmed, never to be seen by Owen and his family again. And Owen survived, but not because that man who drew the knife didn’t kill him, or the guards arrived at the scene, but because “I couldn’t live with myself if I hadn’t done something about it.” While the sign probably still remains posted, and sexual violence still is a major problem in India, Benson hopes that he was able to make a difference to one woman’s life. “Honestly I can’t tell you why I did it…. I’m glad that I did.” So maybe Owen Benson is more glad than disappointed that he took a long train ride through India. And just maybe, one woman is too. By Ben Gelderloos
Dr. Helen Petach has 18 years of teaching experience under her belt as well as a PhD from Cornell. Currently, she teaches Physics 2 and Environmental Science. Sometimes she briefly and mysteriously departs from her classes so she can work on the US government’s international aid programs (USAID) as a Technical Science Advisor for International Programs. In layman’s terms, she’s someone who works on the technical and scientific aspects of US aid initiatives. The first piece of the job is figuring out the best approaches to solve a problem within the US. The second piece is global. “We would never want to run an international program as just the US; we make sure that we’re working with the global agencies, the UN… the bigger picture.” The third piece is to actually travel to the countries themselves and figure out how well the programs are working out. On a recent trip Dr. Petach made to Tanzania, she worked on a project detailing how well medicines were reaching health centers in the outer reaches of the country. She
talked to people working at small clinics and hospitals about what supplies they had access to, what they needed, how they kept their vaccines. But her favorite moments of working in Africa don’t have to do explicitly with the science. Her favorite moments are those spent with the women. Listening to their concerns, she realizes how similar they are to our own. “I’d like to make sure that my children grow up in a safe environment. I’d like them to have more opportunities than I had. I’d like to make sure they have a satisfying future and a great family. It’s just amazing that the world over we have the same sets of concerns and goals, that we’re really all people when it comes down to it.” By Maya Jayachandra
HELEN PETACH, SCIENCE TEACHER Ali Pyle is known for her kindness and genuine personality. She puts a smile on your face no matter how you feel. Ali commits a great deal of her time to an organization called SHAPE. It stands for Sexual Health and AIDS Awareness Peer Education, a youth-directed program run through the Boulder Valley Women’s Health Clinic. “We go into middle school and high school classrooms and talk about comprehensive sex ed and what that means. It’s all gender normative and we really try and include everyone in the room.” Ali knows sexual health isn’t easy to talk about and even harder to teach. But she is comfortable with the topic and wants other to be as well. “I love having random people come up to me and just be like, hey I have a question. That’s the best thing.” Ask anyone who knows Ali, and they will tell you that she is one of the most caring
ALI PYLE, JUNIOR 11/16
and generous people around, which is why her involvement in SHAPE is not a surprise. She is also one of the easiest people to approach with a question. “One time I was at my locker with this kid and he needed condoms,” she said. “This teacher walks by and was like ‘what are you guys doing... are those drugs?’ The teacher asked if I was dealing this kid drugs and I was like ‘no sir they are condoms,’ and the teacher was like ‘oh, continue,’ and then he walked away. The kid was super embarrassed, but I was like. you know, those sort of things happen. It was a very funny and awkward experience for the both of us.” By Sage Rose
On an ordinary silver CD is something of high sentimental value to sophomore Jillian Shively. Jillian was about six or seven years old when she began taking piano lessons. One day, she thought it would be fun to write a song. She started fiddling around on the piano and plunked out a few chords that “felt really good,” she thought, “This sounds wonderful!” Jillian composed a whole song called “Courage,” went to her piano teacher, and played it for her. Her piano teacher really liked it, so she decided to record it onto a CD for Jillian – an ordinary silver CD. That first song was a pivotal experience. From that point forward, Jillian got really involved in music. Jillian has performed in musicals, Pops, and has given piano recitals. She has also been singing in Fairview’s
choirs, specifically Madrigals and Troubadours, which she says “has been a blast!” Clearly, the arts have greatly shaped Jillian’s life. Her story goes to show people that something as simple as a CD can be the seed of a great passion for music. By Benjamin Tarasewicz
JILLIAN SHIVELY, SOPHOMORE Photo by Benjamin Tarasewicz
That next breakout athlete from Fairview could very well be senior hockey play Jovan Zimmerman. Zimmerman, who has been on skates since he was four years old, now plays for the Colorado Thunderbirds U18 AAA, which competes in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League which is composed of 26 youth teams nation wide. Playing at such a high level comes with many sacrifices though. Traveling between eight and ten times per year, Zimmerman has to manage his schedule outside of hockey very well. Usually playing in Dallas, Los Angeles, Boston or New Jersey and other destinations within the United States, the team's success has also taken them international, mostly to places in Canada. The seventeen-year-old from Boulder has
JOVAN ZIMMERMAN, SENIOR Photo donated by Jovan Zimmerman
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big plans in mind for his future in playing hockey, but still has a lot of work to do before those goals are reached. Pushing himself in practice, games and off-ice training are what will help him succeed. “My expectations for myself are very high,” said Zimmerman, who now has a prospect reputation nationwide. That prospect reputation has come through multiple sources. Last spring ZImmerman was selected by the Des Moines Buccaneers in the 2015 United States Hockey League (USHL) Draft. Playing for the Buccaneers, at the Tier 1 Junior level, which is the highest junior level in the United States, gives Zimmerman some of the best exposure to college and NHL scouts. By Harrison Young
It’s a late night at school; there are lots of tests to grade. She finishes them, knowing that tomorrow holds more craziness. She departs from school, heading north. Verb conjugations rattle in the back of her head as she drives. Her car pulls up to the small studio. Inside, glass awaits her. She gets out, unlocks the studio door, and enters. The studio normally sees her during the hot summer months, when she is unburdened by other responsibilities. Today, however, she visits not with freedom, but with a heavy load of expectations hanging over her, like an educational Sword of Damocles. Inside, she begins cutting the glass. Red glass, blue glass, purple glass; all break under the pressure of her instrument. They will suffer a beautiful fate, ultimately becoming fused together to create colorful plates, dishes, jewelry, or nightlights. She’s been working with the glass for less than a year. Her works, however, have been featured in art galleries and been made for commission since the beginning. Hard glass is not the only form shaped in this room. In another corner of the studio lie dozens of paintings. She says that only one or two of them are any good. Some are He walks the hallways unnoticed, or at times stared at, by others. He believes that “God gives the toughest battles to the strongest of his people.” His passion is music. He is a writer and an artist. He plays the piano, creates his own music and writes his own lyrics. He writes the type of music that can move anyone who dares to read it, music that isn’t all just about the beats and rhythm, but unraveling the story behind every lyric. Luis found his creative talents while endeavoring to find his path out of a great sadness. His music can just transport you into a whole different world, his world, his world of accomplishments and struggles. A world that often cloaks behind emotional strife, behind his smile and kindness. His accomplishments are visible. Accomplishments such as making his own album titled “Self Notes.” An album full of memories and past experiences, some good yet others a bit rough. Accomplishments such as landing an
LYNN LICALSI, LATIN TEACHER of birds, faces, or landscapes. Others are of musicians. “Those are going to be featured in a big promotion,” she says. She grew up with two sisters in an artistic family. One sister even went on to be a professional artist. “I’m not classically trained,” she says, “but
I do it anyways… for stress relief.” And so she works, in the small studio in North Boulder, cutting glass and painting pictures. Minerva seems to appear in the glimmer of the glass. By Evan Derby
interview with Apple. But he was too young to be hired. He is one of the leaders in Latino Leadership Club, and also the only guy. However, like so many other students scrambling along the ramps next to you, Luis’ struggles are invisible. “We probably ain’t too different from each other. Why the world got to be so distant from each other? What if we just learned to love and listen to each other? What if…” By Jasmine Vital
LUIS PINEDA, JUNIOR 13/16
Sam started playing the trumpet when he was 6. He practiced 30 minutes a day because he had to, but the longer he played the more he enjoyed it. 30 minutes turns into 45 and then into an hour, not only because he had to, because he loved to. He made the A band in 6th grade. He continued to impress the band teachers. He got better and better. It started out when he had his first solo in a concert, which turned into a solo in every concert. Now Sam has won 3rd place in a nationwide trumpet competition. He practices a minimum of an hour a day and his passion for playing the trumpet grows constantly. Sam talks about his future and how trumpeting will always be a part of it. He might want to go into a musical career. His father is a musician. He does well in school but says he doesn’t know where he wants to go to college. Regardless, he works hard for both trumpeting and school. To Sam the sound of his trumpet is the sound of comfort. Whatever the future
SAM DUSSINBERRE, SOPHOMORE holds, whatever he decides to do, he will have his trumpet, he will have a smile on his face. By Arvand Aidun
He has saved lives by disarming a student who had a 9mm. He has saved a girl that was drowning in a creek. He has had a ceremony held in his honor for being a hero. But before all this, Jeff was drag racing down a strip in Oklahoma at a hundred and twenty miles per hour. Jeff ’s last year of high school was in Oklahoma, and back then the idea of a good time was racing fast cars down a long strip in the middle of town. “[People] would get on the strip and they would either race up the strip or they would just cruise down the strip depending on whether you’re cool or whatever you’re doing,” Jeff explained. As it turns out Jeff was more partial to racing back then. “One day I got into a race with a cowboy
JEFF JONES, SECURITY 14/16
Photo by Rachel Grushan
who had this big monster truck,” Jeff said. This particular race ended up going in a crazy direction. Jeff and the cowboy started speeding down the road, “ just tearing this road up.” At the end of the road there was a lake and the two were rapidly approaching it. The cowboy started getting dangerously close, and Jeff had to swerve his car to avoid him. “I turned my wheel real hard and the car slid into the guardrail and up and over the edge of the bridge into the lake.” Luckily for Jeff, his friends came to the rescue by running into the lake and lifting his car out of the mud. Some other guys on top of the bridge attached an axle and a chain to Jeff ’s car and managed to pull the car back onto the bridge, with Jeff being inside all the while. Incredibly Jeff and his car escaped the ordeal uninjured. “Tough car man, 1979 Trans am baby.” By Ryan Swerdlin
HANNAH VON HAGEN, SOPHOMORE AND ELISA HIMMEN, JUNIOR
Most people don’t know Elisa Himmen and Hannah Von Hagen’s story. Most people don’t know that their bravery and passion pushed them to step out of their comfort zones to experience a new culture. These German exchange students arrived in August and have been staying with host families while attending Fairview. One of the reasons they decided to be exchange students was because their
friends and family in Germany did the program. Elisa was motivated to be involved in foreign exchange after her brother traveled to Wisconsin. Exchange students have the opportunity to live and immerse themselves in a different culture. One of their biggest challenges is speaking a second language. It took Elisa and Hannah some time to get used to speaking English, but now they are almost fluent. Even though Boulder and Germany are on
He’s attended Fairview for four years but has practically lived here for twelve. Senior Matt Stensrud has a father as a principal and a mother as a teacher at Fairview. He sees them often in the halls, inciting an odd exchange of “Hi, Mrs. Stensrud. Hi, Mr. Stensrud.” Most of his friends already know that he is related to the staff of the school, but still, at times, people have a double take upon discovering the last name. He’s done a great deal at Fairview, including exploring the catacombs, shuffling through the school’s attic, and being in every single room in the building. He’s also witnessed a large amount of Fairview’s history from the construction of the 600 hallway addition to the installation a tiny shower head inside one of gym’s offices. Being the son of the school’s principal and a teacher brings a few advantages. There’s no need at all for parent-teacher conferences, and once Matt asked a girl to prom using the huge announcement board on the outside of the school.
But, despite the advantages of having such parents, there are also some minor drawbacks including not being able to step a foot wrong due to his parents watching him almost constantly. But one issue really stands out with having a father as a principal. “There’s also kind of the looming [feeling] that I’m actually not accomplishing what I feel like I’m accomplishing, that everything
opposite sides of the world, the cultures are more similar than you’d imagine. Elisa and Hannah explain that some of the differences are the meals, architecture, the legal driving age, and education system. “Football is a way bigger deal here,” said Himmen, “But in general it’s very alike.” Hannah and Elisa have made many friends at Fairview, but continue to miss their other friends and family at home. They try to limit their communication with their friends from Germany to make the most out of their stay in Boulder. The girls also explain that when texting their friends from home, they think of Germany more and miss being there. Naturally, they are excited to go home and reunite with their old friends. However, the arrival in Germany will be bittersweet because Elisa and Hannah will be leaving their new friends and family in Boulder. By Grace Hedlund
I achieve is almost overshadowed [since] my father is the principal,” he said. Matt’s father will always be a principal, and in his eyes, that’s just hard to beat. But Matt is already in student council, is president of Colorado Junior Classical League, one of Colorado’s major latin programs, and is hoping to study aerospace technologies at CU, so he’s already very close. By Noah Finer
MATT STENSRUD, SENIOR 15/16
Happy Holidays Fairview Students and Staff! Come visit us for breakfast, lunch, espresso and sweet treats! 2770 Arapahoe Rd. Ste. #116, Lafayette, CO 80026 THE BANNER IS PRINTED ON RECYCLABLE PAPER
Place an ad in the Royal Banner! Give your business great publicity. Email dvir.goldman@fhsroyalbanner for details. We offer design services for an additional charge. 16/16