The Tom Tom: February 2024

WE ARE OKAY.

WIFL:

@achstomtom

@sequoitmedia

@sequoitsports @achstomtom

@sequoitmedia

Read editor-in-chief Claire Policht’s story about the dangers and tragedy that comes with the drug fentanyl and its impact on Lake County on page 18.

THE TOM TOM 2023-2024

EXECUTIVE TEAM

Hannah E. Barczak

Klaudia J. Dorado

Cole L. Loiacano

Josie M. Quirke

James D. Sheehan

Sofia A. Tinker

Carter J. Webb

EDITORIAL BOARD

Jasmine M. Fisher

Vera M. Fogel

Faith K. Francke

Addison L. Lane

Jacob M. Pankau

Katherine E. Smith

James J. Adams

Kaitlin E. Baylen

Matthew R. Behrens

Juliana G. Bordonaro

Dean R. Brewer

Mason A. Bussone

Nora M. Cecchi

Kylie E. Christenson

Taylor L. Clark

Ali G. Davis

Nicholas D. Day

Madison J. Eul

Elenor M. Geer

Brynn E. Glauser

Scarlett T. Goodluck

Grace S. Green

Kirsten M. Hammond

Samuel C. Hanes

Jackson R. Honaker

Clayton W. Horton

Reese M. Igou

Elise A. Justus

Layla G. Kane

Alexandra J. Lehn

Vivian M. Lorch

Nora M. Lubkeman

Annie Maciejewski

Olivya M. Martin

Lydia G. McWilliams

Tyler J. Miller

Jadelyn M. Nguyen

Mara P. Padek

Roderick A. Rathmann

Casey J. Rietschel

Constantine G. Sakas

Laila D. Salata

Madisen J. Schine

Jacey A. Schuler

Makenna G. Sekany

Kate C. Sheehan

Cameron C. Speich

Mycah J. Thompson

Lily A. Tinker

Ryan C. Tolbert

Aubrey L .Ultsch

Aiden L. Van Alstien

Sydney E. Vega

Scarlett R. Victor

Sydney E. Walker

Emma R. Wagner

Tyler C. Wolfe

Spencer M. Wood

Aydin K. Zakroczymski

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Claire M. Policht

ADVISER

Madelynn J. Soberano

MISSION STATEMENT

The Tom Tom is a student-produced magazine that is distributed to students, faculty and staff of Antioch Community High School, as well as the members of the Antioch Community. Members of the Tom Tom staff contribute to sequoitmedia.com, the Sequoit Media website, on a regular basis. The student magazine serves as a public forum and is supported by New Voices legislation in Illinois and policies of Community High School District 117. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of ACHS or D117, nor Antioch Community High School’s faculty, staff or administration.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIR

Nicole Hebson

ACHS ADMINISTRATION

Michael Berrie, Principal

Jaclyn Orlov, Assistant Principal

Scott Leverentz, Assistant Principal

Mike Maloney, Athletic Director

Teri Klobnak, Activities Director

Gregory Bays, Dean

Kurt Sooley, Dean

TECH SPECIALISTS

Kyle Bush

Ryan Miles

Ben Tompkins

MEMBERSHIP

The Tom Tom belongs to the Kettle Moraine Press Association, Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Quill & Scroll International Journalism Honor Society

CONNECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

The Tom Tom is committed to seeking the truth, minimizing harm and presenting the most accurate reporting as possible. If you notice any inaccuracies in this or previous issues, please contact the adviser at madelynn.soberano@ chsd117.org.

SPONSORSHIPS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Businesses and community members may sponsor the Tom Tom if their sponsorships adhere to guidelines. Madelynn Soberano (madelynn.soberano@chsd117.org) will handle all sponsorship requests.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Mailing Address: 1133 Main St., Antioch, Ill. 60002 //

Phone: 847-395-9433

Website: sequoitmedia.com

Email: Staff members may be contacted by using their first name(dot)last name(at)chsd117.org

WHEN IN BOSTON...

Recently, I have had the pleasure of attending the JEA/ NSPA High School Journalism Convention which took place in Boston, Mass.. I, along with nearly 20 other Sequoit Media sta ers, touched down at Logan International Airport around 6 p.m. on a chilly Wednesday evening. We immediately needed to purchase every sweatshirt that said “Boston” on it before we could even reach the bathroom 20 feet from our gate (God bless our advisers’ souls).

I was already excited to learn about the rich history of Boston, but when I saw a real subway with my very own eyes, I was ecstatic; fun fact, Boston is home to the first ever subway system in the U.S. (this was news to me). Our advisers frantically guided us from subway to subway until we reached our hotel and we all headed out to celebrate with an overpriced dinner. Our specific hotel was connected to an extremely large convention center, along with a mall and various other buildings. After exploring the mall, I entered the convention center. It felt very eerie to me to be walking completely alone in a place that was soon to be filled with thousands of student journalists just like me.

Once it reached about 6:30 a.m., I decided to grab my Starbucks (which ran out of everything due to the number of teenage girls and sleep-deprived advisers) and then head back up to the hotel rooms to wake everyone up for our Fenway Park baseball stadium tour. The walk was about 15 minutes from our hotel which, mind you, was a very chilly walk. When we arrived at the stadium we were greeted by our tour guide who was a nice man with a heavy Boston accent. We made our

way up to the press box which was a sentimental moment for me because I was sitting where many sports journalists with the same passion as me report on baseball games.

Later that evening we decided to hit the city and be tourists. The architecture was for sure my favorite part, wait no, the lobster was definitely my favorite part. Once I got my hands on those $35 lobster rolls it was game over. When we returned to the hotel we rushed to the extremely interesting keynote. It consisted of the Boston Globe’s investigative journalism team that outed priests all over the world for sexual harassment among children. A movie was made after this discovery called “Spotlight,” which is a very good watch and I recommend it.

Friday morning was the convention day which consisted of a lot of running around. I attended multiple classes which provide tons of new ideas for design and infographics but the one that really stuck out to me was titled “Walk the Walk: Lead by Example.” I learned a lot about the struggles of being a leader and how to overcome them. It was exhilarating because, for the first time throughout that whole convention, I felt like a normal human.

When returning home, I really thought about what I had learned from that whole trip which was how grateful I am for my adviser and sta . Boston opened my eyes to how special local news is, so in this issue, I wanted to focus on our lovely hometown, Antioch Ill. Out of all the programs I met there, we were one of the most transparent and down-to-earth groups of people, which I take extreme pride in. In this issue, we learned about Lisa Fisher’s Antioch Traveling Closet and its heartwarming beginning, Mrs. April’s nonprofit organization–Pennies Purpose and Mrs. Awlasewicz’s mind-riddling 9/11 experience.

At the end of the day, my sta and I care about one another and produce outstanding work while doing so similar to how our Antioch community comes together in times of hardship. I hope you all enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed producing it.

As always, we hope you enjoy Your editor-in-chief,

Counselors are a vital part of a high school environment but with limited amounts of counselors, are they able to work to their full capabilities?

TOM TOM STAFF || writer NORA LUBKEMAN || designer

Tom Tom Sta

The minute students enroll in Antioch Community High School they are assigned a designated counselor, which is based primarily on their last names. Currently, at ACHS there are five counselors and around 1,289 students enrolled, meaning that each counselor is in charge of around 257 students. With only eight hours in a school day, school counselors are only able to meet some of their student’s needs and find themselves just as, if not more, stressed as the students they are helping.

Students began the year with the college and career center but unfortunately a couple weeks into the school year their resource was cut short, as ACHS struggled to find a replacement for the open position. Students arrived back from winter break eager as ever where the seniors were to finish up applications and apply for housing as the college search was speeding up. Nearing the end of the senior college application process the college and career center was back and bombing with students as Kelly McCracken took on this vital role in students’ lives.

Due to the closure of the college and career center during the hotspot of college application season, counselors were forced to pick up the slack and talk to seniors about their futures; whether that includes further education, going into the trades, joining the workforce or entering the military. This added more stress to an already stressful schedule for these counselors, as each counselor wants nothing more for their students to succeed in their next steps in life. Counselors are now forced to take on a more intense workload as they have to deal with handling seniors’ futures, planning students’ schedules and looking out for the well-being of students.

Since the students are assigned to counselors based on last names, some counselors find themselves with numerous students who require more social-emotional help than others, this can often lead to an almost

overshadowing e ect for the students who do not go to their counselor frequently. Each counselor also has a group of students that require extra attention; that could be students learning English or special needs students. This would not only help out the limited number of counselors we have but also help these students by o ering more specific help catered to their needs.

Counselors found themselves not only helping students plan out their futures but also looking out for their mental well-being.

This workload crisis is causing many counselors to fall victim to inadequate work. Many students, not just seniors, have felt that their counselors are not spending enough time helping them find classes best suited for them and have often left the Student Services o ce with more questions unanswered than answered.

As students who have fallen victim to the counselor workload, we recognize that the counselors are in desperate need of help. They have an abundance of seniors who need help navigating their futures, but they have more than just those kids.They have students from all grades who require their assistance. In this bunch are underclassmen who are still unsure of how to pursue their high school career. They also have to work with the parents and guardians of students to ensure all needs are met.

As a student body, we recognize that the lack of representation of student voices among sta members is not the result of counselors, it is the result of a district-wide counselor shortage.

Graphic design by Nora Lubkeman

TRAVELING CLOSET IS COMING TO ACHS

The Antioch Traveling Closet, is going mobile, to Antioch Community High School.

JOSIE QUIRKE

writer Lifestyles Digital Director

TTom Tom Sta

he Antioch Traveling Closet is a well-known business in the small village of which it resides. The business is all about giving necessities to families in need; this business has brought in plentiful amounts of clothing, food and self-care products. However, the business has felt inaccessible to students as they grow older, so special education teacher Kara Bolton had the ingenious idea of having the closest travel to high school students. With this as her priority, Bolton has helped to bring the ATC into Antioch Community High School. Despite her major involvement, Bolton wants to emphasize that this is a community project, not an individual one.

This idea came to Bolton thanks to one of her students and the helping hands of the ATC. She came to the realization that students are always in need of things, whether it be extra help in one subject or a pair of socks, with that she came to form her

“THIS PROGRAM IS INTENDED TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY AND NOT MAKE ANYONE FEEL EMBARRASSED OR UNCOMFORTABLE. IT’S SIMPLY TO MAKE NECESSITIES AVAILABLE IN TIMES OF NEED.

KARA BOLTON || ATC MOBILE ORGANIZER

hard-set belief that if one student needs something, then others need it too.

With the help of many people, including Emily Sobczak, the rest of the special education department, the entirety of the admin and guidance department and of course, Lisa Fisher, creator of the ATC, the mobile closet was put into action.

“Having essential items available at school can help students who may not have any other means of getting them,” Bolton said. “We realize parents work, not everyone drives, family situations are di erent for everyone and sometimes you just need a little help, other times you need a lot of help.”

These niceties are extended to everyone in the school, however, those students who are privileged enough to not need the extra support are encouraged to donate and support the mobile ATC. The mobile ATC is located in o ce 239 of ACHS, which is also where students and sta are asked to drop o their donations, they hope to improve upon their closet in both accessibility and the number of items in their stock.

“If a student wants to donate, they are welcome to talk to one of us or work with ATC, volunteers are often needed to help organize [the closet],” Bolton said.

They are looking for basic hygiene products, such as deodorant and laundry detergent, and especially with cold temperatures on the rise, students and sta are encouraged to bring in hats, coats and/or gloves. Students are encouraged to have those hard conversations, which force them into a vulnerable position, with their peers and trusted sta members when they require an extra set of helping hands. When a student is uncomfortable with approaching this conversation with their peers, the best thing they can do is continue to support and help their friend in need.

The mobile ATC is also requesting that people bring in nonperishables as people have been requesting that food options be available to them.

“If a student or sta knows of anyone who is in need of basic living essentials, we will be putting flyers up with a QR code to request help,” Bolton said. “This program is intended to promote community and not make anyone feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. It’s simply to make necessities available in times of need.”

If students are able to donate, it is the hope of many, including the volunteers putting their time into this organization and those in need, that they will. ACHS aims to break down any stigma surrounding lower-income families, and that starts with helping them.

NORA LUBKEMAN || illustrator

||

AN OLDE ENGLISH TRADITION: BUT WHY?

The Dickens represent a transition to the holiday season in Antioch. This tradition that seems to have been around forever in Antioch, is perplexing to some.

The scene is a snowy day in Antioch winter. A figure appears seemingly from out of nowhere on the sidewalk. It stands motionless and curiosity takes hold of the person viewing it. They walk past it and surprisingly, it is no more than a statue of a time past. It is a statue from the Dickens era, and Antioch is a town that celebrates this time every year. Be not afraid, these statues mean no harm. In fact, they have multiple di erent storylines, and depictions of the past, with 45 di erent characters placed around town.

Olde England comes alive in downtown Antioch, as lifelike figures carroll, work and so much more. Each collection of statues has a backstory placed beside it with 27 di erent storylines existing in the entire display.

The Dickens statues were made by volunteers, and are maintained by volunteers as well. There are many committees that work together to maintain these statues for many people to enjoy.

According to the Antioch Chamber of Commerce, each Dickens character is handmade from wood by a mannequin committee. Some of these statues even are built to be movable for multiple scenes. The Art committee consists of artistic volunteers that sculpt styrofoam heads, and paint them to create a real life Dickens look. Each Dickens head is a work of art in itself, and took the artist many hours to create. The art volunteers also create the props.

These volunteer committees serve an integral role in the creation of the Dickens, as well as the maintenance of them. There is an apparel committee of people making their clothes from scratch. There is also a promotion committee to help the public become more aware of them, a snow removal committee. Who knew that these statues had such an intricate team of volunteers.

The Dickens Holiday Village will be held indoors at Kringle’s Christmas Village in Downtown Antioch beginning daily from Thanksgiving Day to New Years Day. Each character exhibit has a plaque which describes the scene displayed, and how life was in the Dickens era.

This new addition to the Dickens village is very exciting. Those who cannot walk around town, such as those in wheelchairs, can now enjoy the classic Dickens exhibits from the comfort of the indoors. Although this new option for viewing these timeless statues has been added, they will still partly be exhibited outside.

Some still will ask why they should view these statues. The

answer to this question is that these statues are something that is unique to our town, and not many other towns have something like it.

Antioch is a town that has a community of doers. Antioch is a town that appreciates the holidays, and when possible, always tries to celebrate them to the fullest extent. The Dickens represent a love for the Charles Dickens era, and this can be seen through the Many volunteers taking time out of their day to add to the holiday cheer in Antioch downtown.

The Dickens village in Antioch has provided the public with years of entertainment and awe. Although when walking around town, one may be startled by seeing a humanoid figure so still, when approached they will realize that it is just a handcrafted statue, that is lovingly maintained by dutiful volunteers. These statutes represent a time in history where poverty was abundant, but they managed to make light of the situation, with tales of holiday spirit and joy.

Dickens Holiday Village “New Baby on the Way”displayed in downtown Antioch at Kringle Christmas Village. NORA LUBKEMAN || photo

JACKSON HONAKER || writer

Tom Tom Sta

NORA LUBKEMAN || illustrator

Tom Tom Sta

DISTRICT

ANDREW SEKETA TRANSITION COORDINATOR

Q : What is your favorite candy or snack?

ARYAN HAREN

Assistant Superintendent of Business, CSBO

Q : Is there anything else you want students to know about you?

A : “I enjoy traveling. I prefer somewhere warm. I enjoy working out. I am a big Jazzercise fan and usually go to 5-6 classes per week. I love spending time with my son. He is a great kid (age 14) and I am excited for his future.”

Q: What is your favorite candy or snack?

A: Honeycrisp apples

A : “Krackel! Bring back full size Krackel Bars!”

Q: What did you do before becoming district admin?

A: My entire life has been at D117! I’m an LCHS graduate, and my first job out of

DR. JEFF FEUCHT Superintendent

TANYA BRANCH

Assistant Superintendent of Student Services

Q: What did you do before becoming district admin?

A: “Before coming to CHSD 117, I was a Director of Special Education. I have 5 years experience working at the District level and 6 years admin at the building level.”

Q; Where did you go for undergrad?

A: Chicago State University

Q: What was your favorite subject when you were in high school?

A: English and Creative Writing

Q; What’s your favorite part of being part of 117?

A; I love how supportive the staff, school board, and communities are of championing the success of our students - it feels like a family team effort!

EMPLOYEES

CHRIS MALEC Director of Human Resources

Q: What’s your favorite thing about being a part of 117?

A: “I love this community. I grew up here and while I left for a bit during my college and early professional years this area is where I want to be!”

Q: Official position and quick description of what you do?

A: Director of Human Resources - helps to coordinate talent acquisition and recruitment, employee

DR. KAREN RITTER

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction

Q: Where did you get your undergraduate degree?

A: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Q: Anything else you want students to know about you!

A: I love doing puzzles. I do the New York Times puzzles first thing every morning Connections, Mini Crossword, Wordle, Spelling Bee.

RYAN MILES

Chief Technology O cer

Q: What’s your favorite part of being part of 117?

A: We push the envelope of education technology and expose our students to some great things to get their minds going.

Q: Anything else you want students to know about you!

A: Your time here at District 117 is what you make of it. You get out what you put in. Go big and

MARA PADEK || designer Tom Tom Sta

SOFIA TINKER || writer Reporting Manager

KLAUDIA DORADO || designer Lifestyles Print Director

Last spring District 117 gathered students and community members alike to create a carefully crafted new portrait of a graduate.

Last spring a mixture of Antioch Community High School along with Lakes Community High School students, parents, teachers and community members participated in three large group discussions in order to redesign the District 117 Portrait of a Graduate. This portrait is what every graduating student of District 117 is supposed to represent when they leave high school.

The meetings were held after school over a two month period, and everyone gathered in the LCHS cafeteria where dinner was provided. Everyone then participated in discussions from around 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Participants were grouped into tables which consisted of a person from every demographic, parents and students alike were able to o er their valuable input into what they think a D117 graduate should look like.

“We had between 75 and 90 people at each of the four meetings,” D117 Superintendent Dr. Je Feucht said. “So we appreciate the amount of time that community members participated. We had a lot of students, a lot of sta like current parents, but if you look at the list of participants, which is on our website, on the Strategic Plan page, you also see community members that don’t currently have students in schools but care about our schools being great places.”

The qualities of a portrait of a graduate include embracing diversity, having emotional intelligence, being courageous, collaborating with others and communication. These were all deemed important qualities that all students should be the living embodiment of when they graduate from either District 117 school. As the new 2023-2024 school year starts teachers and sta are slowly trying to incorporate more and more qualities from the portrait into their teaching.

“The curriculum we use at ACHS was created before last spring’s most current iteration of the Strategic Plan,” ACHS principal Mike Berrie said. “However, we still find many of the Portrait of a Graduate competencies in our curriculum. For instance, one of the Portrait of Graduate competencies is that our students “Think Critically.” A fundamental focus of our social studies classes has been to have students analyze and interact with primary and secondary sources to critically examine viewpoints and opinions.”

As the curriculum was previously developed many of the new qualities from the portrait of a graduate were already included, this is a positive as many teachers would already include these qualities in their teaching already.

As this group was full of students and adults alike there was sure to be a combination of di ering ideas and views. As a student, one worry might have been not being able to be heard over the sea of adults filling the room. One student Lyndesy Perfecto was both a part of the large group and a smaller sub-committee that consisted of around 12 people.This smaller group took part in just a few more meetings than the larger whole group, their main purpose was to go more in-depth about the group discussions held on the previous nights. It was a great way to ensure that students’ voices were heard and this smaller group setting provided the perfect setting to do so.

“I feel like I heard, [the group] were all very kind and listened to the students the most because they felt that our voices meant the most,” Perfecto said.

This smaller group was composed solely of volunteers who o ered their time to further improve the community. In order to ensure that every department is incorporating these ideas, Principal Berrie said that they have looked into some national conferences and have meetings on the regular with each department to track the progress.

One of the ways ACHS incorporates the display of the portrait is by hosting their monthly “Make a Di erence” award. Students can be nominated for this award by any teacher they have and are then invited to attend a breakfast before school with their family or loved ones. At the very first award breakfast of the year, teachers explained how the students nominated embodies the qualities of a graduate.

“There was a noticeable di erence in the way we talked about the reasons students were being recognized,” Berrie said. “One department has even decided to focus on one of the POG competencies at each of YMAD Breakfasts. It has been very heartwarming to hear the stories of how students have thought critically, embraced diversity, displayed emotional intelligence, communicated e ectively, collaborated with others, or displayed a sense of courage so that they might be recognized through the YMAD program.”

As the new portrait was introduced and students at both ACHS and LCHS get more familiar with it, it is sure to become a new foundation for many more years to come.

LEVELING

THE RISE OF COLLEGIATE ESPORTS UP:

Illinois State University is pathing the way for collegiate esports in universities.

It is time for parents to stop telling their children to get o video games. The old argument that playing video games all day will not take you anywhere is now false. Collegiate esports are growing in reputation, and are becoming the next level for highly skilled gamers. Electronic sports are multiplayer video games played competitively by gamers for spectators. David Kirk is the director of Redbird Esports at Illinois State University (ISU), one of the largest programs leading the way for the future of collegiate esports. ISU was the first public state institution in Illinois to support varsity esports. Last October the program opened the Redbird Esports Arena.

“We have had about 30,000 visitors come into the [new facility]. It is one of the largest collegiate esports arenas in the country currently,” Kirk said “It is an arms race and things are always changing.”

ISU prides its esports program on four primary pillars: competitive, club, casual and career. An abundant amount of schools are beginning to o er full scholarships to build their varsity roster. Teams compete in either online or in-person tournaments all over the country with chances to compete outside of the US. Senior esports athlete Drew Nelburger has been on the varsity Redbird Esports team since his freshman year. Nelburger believes the program has become very successful throughout the years.

“The Overwatch team won the Contenders League and we are the only college team to ever do that,” Nelburger said “On our first year of being a League of Legends program we got to the Collegiate League of Legends Championships and we got top eight.”

The esports program is very competitive and can be compared to the work of a popular varsity sports team. Both require hours of practice each day as well as physical conditioning and team study sessions. Kirk believes that practice is essential in esports because the games are always changing and updating.

“Our players in a player base of 2.2 million, they are in the top 50-500 players in the world” Kirk said.

For gamers who are not breaking into the top 500, ISU o ers a wide variety of gaming clubs. These clubs range from competitive tournaments to casual hangouts. Students can be flexible and pick the gaming type of their choice. All students from ISU can use the new Redbird Esports Arena through their tuition.

“David Kirk did not brag enough about the new arena, because it is amazing,” Nelburger said “It is free for all students and the varsity rooms are great.”

Matthew Gisi is a sophomore at ISU and is the current student president of the Redbird Esports Club.

“Our club teams span every rank imaginable with players ranked in the top 200 in America and on the bottom, we have regular players” Gisi said.

Esports programs can o er opportunities to students who want to spend their time away from the gaming sphere, and put their time at the traditional keyboard. One of the four primarily pillars at ISU is career, which focuses on the behind the scenes management and production. Junior Eden Jodgen is the Event and Outreach Coordinator at ISU and helps run events for ISU esports program.

“I will help with budgeting and how to work smoothly as a club,” Jodgen said “Anything that boils down to how to run an RSO (registered student organizations) at the college level, I will help them figure out.”

ISU o ers esports at various levels for their students. Kirk believes that collegiate esports will continue to expand throughout the upcoming years, which gives high school students the opportunity to play at the level.

TYLER MILLER || writer Tom Tom Sta

LLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY || photos

Tom

photos & designer || SYDNEY WALKER

Tom Tom Sta

Every Tuesday after school the Antioch Community Hig School’s esports club can be found playing games, listening tomusic, hanging out with friends, and exploring high-tech PCs playing the games that one may love.

In the tech room, located in the back of the ILC, the esports club uses PCs and Nintendo Switches to play video games such as “Leauge of Legends,” a game where players choose champions to defend their bases and fight other players, and “Super Smash Bros,” where one can choose between 89 di erent iconic Nintendo characters to battle eachother.

The ACHS esports club Is coached by student services worker Brett Heintz, his favorite aspect of the club is the fact that it brings twp completely di erent worlds together. The advancement of technology has allowed an abundance of people to get close despite their supposed di erences. This, is what Heintz thinks makes this club so special. It allows people who love sports and people who enjoy online gaming to fraternize.

“I’m enjoying this unique blend of a sports-like atmosphere with some of the most popular [online] games around,” Heintz said.

The esports club does more than just play games for recreational fun, they also compete. The esports club participates in tournaments and competitions; such as the “Super Smash Bros” tournament that took place after winter break. Matches and tournaments are usually set up via Discord, which is an app that can be used to Facetime, call, text and get in touch with others. The IHSEA decides who plays which school and when they play giving each school a set

schedule so they are aware of any important dates for their clubs.

The team generally has practices where they meet in person, taking place in the ACHS tech room, and they will also join a Discord call in order to practice the electronic sporting events with each other online.

Esports is rapidly increasing in populararity due to the absurd amounts of money available to kids for simply playing a game. Gamers have made earnings of over $7 million by themselves and for themselves. For example, a game of utmost popularity, “Fortnite,” the action-packed battle royale, held a tournament that took over 10 weeks and a total of $1 million just for qualifiers, with the first place payout of $3 million and over 2 million people watching gamers eliminate competitors and build structures of protections. After the “Fortnite” World Cup, gamers around the world were inspired to not only make money but to make a living.

Esports, a world made of video games, is now looked at as a future for many kids around the world. Esports will most likely endure for an extended period of time due to its adability to its player’s views on the games and the unlimited room for future expansion.

ACHS o ers an amazing opportunity to all students interested in the world of esports. Whether one is a sports fanatic or a video game connoisseur, they can find a spot in the esports club and enjoy a stress-free and lively extracurricular to expand their after-school horizon.

SEQUOITS. GAME ON,

WHEN A CARDINAL APPEARS AN ANGEL IS NEAR

Tom Tom Sta

Tom Tom Sta

April Soulak-Andrews or better known around town as Mrs. April is the founder of Penny’s Purpose, an organization that supplies blankets to people and animals in need of a little comfort. The idea to create Penny’s Purpose came when Andrew’s mother, Penny passed away in July of 2019, Andrew wanted a way to honor her mothers legacy of living a life of giving and from there Penny’s Purpose was born. In 2019 Penny’s Purpose was up and running with their first ever blanket drive and collected a whopping 625 gently used or brand new blankets. These blankets were then distributed to several organizations in the surrounding Illinois and Wisconsin area and given to those in need.

Since the first blanket drive in 2019 Penny’s Purpose has collected over 7,000 blankets, the drive runs from Nov.15 to Dec. 15 and they have dropo s set up all over the town of Antioch. The impact of Penny’s Purpose was almost instantaneous; people from all over the Lake County area wanted to get involved as the organization was something that truly reached the hearts of hundreds.

“You see a lot of the impact and the positivity because people love to hear [positive stories],” Soulak-Andrews said. “You know, a little girl who’s going through cancer, got a blanket and it made her day and that they love to hear that that’s the wrong word I wanted to use but people like to see inspirational stories.”

While there are many hearts that Penny has touched, a few really stick out, such as the first blanket ever being

donated to Antioch Community High School senior Kaila Mabus, who in eighth grade was diagnosed with a rare disease known as Castlemans. The Penny’s Purpose o ers volunteer hours for students not just from ACHS but the surrounding schools as well. The opportunity for volunteer hours started in 2020 when many students were forced to stay home due to the COVID-19 virus. When SoulakAndrews was made aware that many kids were in need of service hours she opened up the opportunity for kids to come in and make blankets with their friends in order to earn the credit.

“You guys can make blankets for service hours and it kind of just went o from there,” Soulak-Andrews said. “So, then in the fall of 2021 between Lakes and Antioch we ended up with like 300 blankets. That’s when the service our program started that you guys could buy the fleece and we’d sign o on service hours.”

Megan McDonnell is the Antioch head of the Interact Club, they are a club that helps o er and find volunteer opportunities for students who are interested in achieving Cum Laude or just simply interested in helping the community. Penny’s Purpose is one of the many organizations these students are able to earn volunteer hours with.

“Interact, what we do is we will make blankets for them that are during meetings,” McDonnell said.

“We’ve also gone over to Penny’s Purpose, and we’ve made tags [for blankets]. We’ve helped organize [those blankets and those] types of things.”

Pennys Purpose is a well known charity in the town of Antioch, ILL. They are known for collecting and donating blankets to those in need.

The family behind Penny’s Purpose.

Blankets being donated to Penny’s Purpose.

KENNA SEKANY || designer

SOFIA TINKER || writer

The logo for Penny’s Purpose was designed by ACHS and Tom Tom alum Jacob Slabosz. Slabosz is credited with creating the iconic, a cardinal which was Penny’s favorite bird, and Andrews-Soulak would always exchange a cardinal with her mother during the holiday season. The logo features a bright red cardinal with a baseball stitching around the bird as both of Andrews-Soulaks sons play baseball. Slabosz who designed the logo was awarded the first ever recipient of the Penny’s Purpose scholarship in 2020 when he graduated from ACHS. There is only one scholarship and it is awarded to either a student at ACHS or from Lakes Community High School.

“So Jacob was our first recipient of our scholarship and 2020,”Andrews-Soulak said. “Because he created the logo, he helps with our website even though he’s at college, he still does a lot of stu for us.”

On average Penny’s Purpose is usually asked between two to five times a week on average for a special blanket. This is when a friend or family member reaches out and asks for a specially designed blanket for their loved one, it can range from a blanket with all the princesses on to one with watermelon the possibilities are endless when it comes to design. In 2023 alone Penny’s Purpose has gifted over 350 blankets and that number is sure to increase during the holiday season.

The Penny’s Purpose works with numerous charities and organizations to donate all the blankets they accumulate over the year. One of the many organizations they work with is ELCA Kenosha which is an organization that o ers a wide range of services to help families meet basic needs and strive to reach self-su ciency, the Penny’s Purpose will donate new and gently used blankets. Another organization they work closely with is Canines for Comfort which is a volunteer organization that trains service dogs to help support people who struggle with anxiety, depression and other mental health diagnoses. They provide dogs to a lot of veterans who su er with PTSD from their service along with providing service therapy dogs to schools to help kids who might be su ering from severe anxiety or depression. The Penny’s Purpose will give each dog and handler that graduates a no sew fleece blanket for the both of them or a new dog blanket for the dog.

Penny’s Purpose brings so much joy to the town of Antioch and to the people they have touched through these amazing acts of kindness. If one is interested in donating they are always accepting new and gently used blankets, and for service hours or just because they are taking no sew fleece blankets. All donations can be dropped o by the donation box at the back door and are greatly appreciated.

The inspiration behind the business, Penny.

ACHS students, Juniors Delany Emering and Josie Quirke volunteering for Penny’s Purpose.

NEW BEGINNINGS: ANTIOCH TRAVELING CLOSET RELOCATES

The Antioch Traveling Closet has grown exponentially over the years, so much so, that the program is moving to a new location.

TheAntioch Traveling Closet is a nonprofit organization that provides clothes, food, shoes, toiletries and more to families in need throughout the Antioch community. The ATC was started almost 10 years ago by Lisa Fisher. Fisher’s two children have gone through Antioch’s schooling system and are especially involved at Antioch Community High School. Both of them have roles in Sequoit Senate, the ACHS student council.

Fisher works as a paraprofessional, starting at W.C. Petty Elementary School in 2014 and eventually transitioned to Antioch Upper Grade School in 2021. Working around children every day, she has noticed first hand how some students could benefit from the ATC program.

Prior to working in the district, Fisher’s friend, who worked at Grass Lake School, was talking to her about a student who was “bragging” about staying up late at McDonald’s three nights in a row. The truth was the students’ power was shut o at home and they had no electricity.

“It struck me wrong because this student was just a year older than Jazzy[Fisher’s daughter],” Fisher said. “I started buying clothing a size bigger than Jazzy and on extended holidays and spring break, I would get food that she could open and drop it o for my friend to give the student so I knew she was eating something. This went on for about two years and I never met the child.”

After those two years, Fisher found out the child had moved. She was devastated and hoped the child was being taken care of. She thought if she could help that student, she could help many more. So she enlisted help from her “mom friends” who would donate clothes their children no longer needed or fit into. Originally, Fisher only collected children’s clothing.

“Sometimes, I would leave the house for a short time and when I returned my whole porch was filled with bags and boxes of clothing,” Fisher said. “It was like they were waiting around the corner for me to leave.”

In 2014, W.C. Petty Principle, Joanna Gerritsen, approached Fisher about the clothing collections and loved the idea. Gerritsen then continued to spread the word among her sta so more people could contribute. A few weeks later, the school reached out to Fisher about a child who came to school shirtless. Following that occurrence, Fisher dropped o a bag of clothes for the child to pick whatever they wanted. After that, W.C. Petty hosted a giveaway outside and Fisher told her hairdresser about the giveaway, she loved the idea so much that she decided to donate free haircuts to kids in need.

The support for the ATC ideas grew over time and someone asked Fisher if she wanted to collect adult clothing, especially if someone needed something professional for a job. Fisher accepted that idea and the piles of clothing expanded, taking up the majority of her garage.

The Lake County Grading Company, the Lions Club and the Antioch Fire Department gave Fisher a check for a storage unit. From then on, the ATC grew larger and larger, growing out of the storage unit and into the Antioch Senior Center. With help from Antioch Trustee Jay Jozwiak, ATC was allowed to host three giveaways a year at the Antioch Senior Center. Piggly Wiggly allowed them to use their box truck to transport clothing from the storage unit to the senior center. Eventually, more of the community volunteered to help move donations, starting with Dave Moisa who recruited his football players to volunteer. The giveaways were a major success.

One day, Fisher was working with a group of second graders when one of the girls started to tell the other students how she saw Fisher at her store. When Fisher said she did not work at the store the girl insisted, saying it’s the store with “no monies”.

“All the other kids are asking me a gazillion questions at the same time and the girl starts to tell the second graders that you wait in line, you get a bag and you go up and down the aisles and pick out anything you want for no money,” Fisher said. “I was stunned and speechless. No math was done that morning. A sta member was listening and started clapping and I started to cry because this little girl made me realize I do work at the store with no monies.”

With the ATC going on 10 years of operation, Fisher felt what better time to move locations. The program has outgrown the senior center and hopes to host even more giveaways. The ATC is solely funded by donations from the community and a few local businesses, as they are not government-funded. They are currently in the process of moving to the Depot Plaza by the train station in downtown Antioch.

In the past, the ATC has provided field trip money, paid utilities for a student’s family, given gas cards or gift cards, vouchers for the book fair and much more. The ATC is continuing to grow and help any family in need.

LAYLA KANE || writer

Tom Tom Sta

photos || LISA FISHER

ANNIE MACIEJEWSKI || designer

Tom Tom Sta

WE ARE NOT OKAY.

Fentanyl, one of the deadliest substances in the world, is claiming Antioch resident’s lives.

CLAIRE POLICHT || writer Editor-In-Chief

ELANOR GEER || designer

Tom Tom Sta

Fentanyl, one of the deadliest substances in the world, is claiming Antioch resident’s lives. Lake County reports to have experienced 483 total overdoses since 2020; 30 of which were located in Antioch. In 2022, one was an Antioch Community High School alumnus. Regrettably, his fate has since been shared by three other teenagers from Antioch.

In 2023, tragedy struck again as two students from ACHS lost their lives to drug overdoses. Math teacher Emily Parris was deeply a ected by these losses and observed a significant impact within her classroom following the deaths.

“Last year was rough, I lost two students. I was very close to one of them, a former student I had the year previously and then one who was in my class,” Parris said. “I think about them every day, it’s hard not to think about their experiences and it’s hard to see their friends struggle.”

To combat this issue, we need to start from the source. The Lake County Coroner’s O ce report of 2022 shows 131 overdose deaths; opioids caused 105, and 95 of those were due to lethal amounts of fentanyl. Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a pain relief or anesthetic. It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic. Ingesting an uncontrolled illegal amount of fentanyl just as small as a grain of sugar, almost always unknowingly, can kill someone. As fentanyl can be produced in small pills or in a chalk-like substance, it can be easily transported by drug dealers. A large quantity is being smuggled across the southern border and peddled to major cities, where it is being added to opioids because it is a “cheap” filler.

“They’re now finding nearly every sample that’s submitted to the lab is at some level of fentanyl contamination,” Antioch Police Chief Geo Guttschow said.

The presence of laced marijuana can often be detected by its odor, which may carry strong hints of gas, paint, or nail polish. To verify whether

marijuana is contaminated with fentanyl, the safest method entails dissolving a small piece of water and employing a fentanyl test strip for analysis.“Sergeant Purcell had a case that shows that dope isn’t just dope,” Antioch Police Deputy Chief Norman Johnson said. “Not just you, but people in general think ‘Well, I’m just buying some dope from my local dealers. It’s a dime bag. It’s just cannabis.’ Well, it’s not just cannabis…we have actual proof where these cases were that cannabis…came back with sizable amounts of fentanyl, not just trace not just crushed damnation.”

The APD strongly encourages every citizen to carry NARCAN. By doing so, individuals can potentially save lives, whether it’s a friend, family member, or peer in need. While Narcan can o er a temporary remedy for fentanyl overdose or poisoning, it doesn’t address the underlying issue of addiction to fentanyl or prescription pills for individuals in need of a lasting solution. In many cases, Narcan doses are available free of charge through various drug organizations and the APD. “We’re giving [NARCAN] away along with training. To us, there’s really no reason that every person out there should not have it in their car or in their backpack,” Guttschow said.

On Feb. 25, 2023, ACHS held an opioid and drug awareness panel open for free admission and anyone to attend. Ten-plus organizations spoke on the topic to educate community members: Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, Lake County Opioid Initiative, Live4Lali, Mobile Crisis Teams, Metropolitan Enforcement Groups, Lake County Coroner’s O ce, Lake County State’s attorney, Open Arms Mission, (NAMI) National Alliance Of Mental Illness and ARC–Antioch Recovery Club. All of the organizations spent hours helping worried parents and locals feel more confident in their ability to identify individuals struggling with substance usage and teaching about the e ectiveness of the drug NARCAN, which is an inhalant capable of reversing the e ects of overdose.

“Some young people spoke about their experiences, which is powerful,” Assistant Principal of Student Services Scott Leverentz said. “They did a really good job of coordinating a community function, and they got a really good response.”

There are several resources available for students who are currently struggling with drug and opioid abuse. ACHS provides every student with counselors and trusted adults who are trained to address these issues with the student and get them the help they need.

“We have social workers and counselors who deal with that on a more regular basis and provide support where we can at school,” ACHS Principal Michael Berrie said. “Being a school as big as we are, there are individuals who have problems and then working through those problems with outside agencies that we know of.”

The Village of Antioch has been hit hard by the e ects of fentanyl. Even with heightened awareness and comprehension, teachers may still find it challenging to reach students in need. It’s

increasingly crucial for students to prioritize the welfare of their peers. Just educating oneself and others on thetopic could potentially save lives. You can find NARCAN at numerous locations, such as the police department, where they supply training on how to administer it. You can also obtain it for free at most pharmacies.

If you or someone near you are experiencing symptoms of an overdose, call 911 immediately.

If you or a peer in need are battling suicidal thoughts or mental illness, text START to 741-741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.

SEQUOIT SNAPSHOT

DID YOU FIND OUT THE SECRET?

MADELYNN SOBERANO || photographer

Antioch Community High School’s Sequoit Theatre performed the immersive “Trap” for this year’s fall play.

KOSTA SAKAS || writer

Tom Tom Sta

ELISE JUSTUS || designer

Tom Tom Sta

Antioch Community High School’s Sequoit Theatre performed “Trap,” a play that breaks the conventional laws of what a play typically features. The entire play is a sequence of interviews, recorded moments and live events, similar to a true crime documentary. There are moments where a character directly tells the audience whats happening, speaking for another character and interacting with others.

Making the play happen was a much di erent experience than any play Sequoit Theatre has done in the past. The set only changes twice and the play is a serious documentary, contrast to the plays Sequoit Theatre has put on in recent years. Light cues, acting and sound all had to be thought of di erently with “Trap.” This was done to give the play the unique feel it contains, and each person working in the play contributed to that.

Senior Eli Bentley acted in his very rst play this season. He has only been involved in wrestling and other sports, but his friend and ACHS alum Donny Carson convinced Bentley to do it.

“I’m no actor by any standards, but I tried my best to memorize the role,” Bentley said. “I was lucky because I had great friends and they helped a lot.”

Some of his best memories from the play were moments when the tech crew was working and the actors had time to hang out. Also, being able to have fun with his role on and o the stage is something he enjoyed.

Sophomore Sophia Fiocchi is already making waves within the tech crew. Despite being a sophomore, she is the one in charge of sound crew and is highly respected by those around her.

“The rst few days of tech are always awkward because all the freshman

are scared,” Fiocchi said. ¨So, its the rest of us experienced people helping them out and making sure they are contributing, but everyone gets it eventually.”

While making sure all the microphones are working properly and getting everyone on her level is the hardest part of her job, her favorite part of doing sound this year was getting to record everyone screaming for a scene at the end of the play.

For stage manager junior Jack Menzies, making this play happen was a much di erent experience than those of the past. A key component of lighting is making sure the actors can clearly be seen, but “Trap” uses lighting di erently.

“Normal thing about theatre lighting is we light people’s faces in order to see them,” Menzies said. “For this show, we did not want to do that. Now, you just see it light up behind them so you see an outline and the shadow of the person.”

Using backlight was a huge part of making the play feel more like a documentary. In a play with only two big set changes, Menzies had to think outside of the box in order to immerse the audience into the play.

“We also got to incorporate a lot of light cues that went with sound cues,” Menzies said. “For example, we had a cue during a phone call. One person’s lights get cut o midway through the call, and we got to use a zap sound to make it seem like it really got cut o . It makes it seem like it actually happened.”

In a non-conventional play, Bentley, Fiocchi and Menzies all had the opportunity to think outside the box. This spring, Sequoit Theatre will begin putting together their next musical, Legally Blonde. Be sure to catch the Sequoits there.

FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT HOSTS WINTER SHOWCASE

Antioch community high schools fine arts department recently hosted a winter showcase event for the community

MADDIE EUL || writer

Tom Tom Sta

ELISE JUSTUS || designer

Tom Tom Sta

photos || EMMA WAGNER

Tom Tom Sta

For over 20 years the Antioch Community High School fine arts department has held a winter event where students have the chance to perform holiday music in solos or groups. This years event, called the Winter Showcase was held in the commons and auditorium. A pancake breakfast was served along with winter crafts, performances, cookie decorating and santa pictures. More performances followed in the auditorium. There was also a ra e and auction.

The showcase is an audition based event. This year 24 acts made it in out of 52 groups that auditioned. For fine arts department chair and choir director Micheal Hickey seeing the groups perform is something he looks forward to.

“Getting to see students perform acts that they chose to do. I choose the songs for our concerts and getting to watch students perform acts of their choosing is an awesome thing for me to see” said Hickey. For performers this is one of their favorite events. Julia Johnson is one of those performers. Johnson is in Orchestra, Choir,

music honors society and theater. Johnson was busy at this years showcase.

Johnson sang Winter Wonderland, Tap danced to Sleigh Ride with John Stahl, performed with Madrigal choir and Jazz choir at this years showcase.

“It is a fun performance opportunity and it is fun to see everyone’s di erent talents”, said Johnson.

Another Performer, Sophia Mann who is in band, jazz band, wind ensemble, pit and is Tri-M music honors society also was looking forward to the event. Mann performed with Jazz band and the Saxophone quartet. Mann is excited that this years event is centered more around children in the community.

“I think my favorite thing about performing is being able to inspire other people, especially younger kids, to pursue music in the future.” Mann said.

For fine arts students, Johnson and Mann included, the winter season is a busy time of year and it can be hard to find time to practice. They would squeeze in time whenever possible throughout the day.

Mann shared she would go home during her lunch to practice.

Hickey, Johnson and Mann shared advice for performers who might be interested next years performance.

“My advice is to be as prepared as possible as it seems we will have a ton of auditions every year. “ said Hickey.

“Go for it and do something unique! There is no harm in trying and the directors are always pushing for di erent kinds of acts.” Johnson said.

“I would recommend that people who want to audition next year to audition on multiple pieces if they can. I also recommend that they audition with a group of people and create a new group to audition with. Performing with friend just makes it way more enjoyable and they can push you to make the piece better and better.” Mann said.

The winter showcase is an event that gets the community and performing arts students together to share joys of the winter season.

ANTIOCHS ABILITY TO “CONSUME”

On Oct. 12, 2023, Consume, a cannabis dispensary opened in Antioch Ill right o of Main Street just over the railroad tracks.

LIV MARTIN || writer

Tom Tom Sta

designer || EMMA WAGNER

Tom Tom Sta

Antioch recently opened a cannabis dispensary on the edge of the border between Illinois and Wisconsin and the town has had many mixed responses to it. Neighboring towns such as Mundelein and Round Lake both have dispensaries by the same company that owns and operates “Consume.” The process started in December of 2019 when the business was o cially approved by the Village.

Originally when the company went to the board and proposed their idea, the Village of Antioch was hesitant about going through with the decision to allow the dispensary to open. This was, and still is a concept new to Antioch and they did not know how the public was going to react. After several attempts to reach the board, numerous discussions between both parties, the Village of Antioch reviewing the earnings from surrounding towns that have dispensaries that are run by the same corporation, looking into other states that have dispensaries and other background information the Village decided to allow “Consume” to open.

“Originally it was not something that the village was super excited about only because it was not

done before and there’s that stigma of selling cannabis,” Business Development Manager for the Village of Antioch, Mark Sural said.

The stigma around cannabis usage is everlasting, whether one may use it for health reasons or just recreationally, everyone has di erent opinions and that is proven when people waste no time jumping to the famous Facebook page “Absolutely Antioch” to vent about the announcement of the dispensary. As one person wrote, asking if Antioch needs a ton of “potheads,” and calling the dispensary an “opium den.”

Now the dispensary stands in a temporary unit and has been there since July 2023 and opened sense October 2023. This current location is not permanent, as their o cial new building is being built.

“The way that we allow right now is what’s called a special use permit. So we’re allowing it for underserved circumstances,” Sural said.

The location also sparked a lot of questions on social media platforms, with the dispensary being so close to the border of Wisconsin and Illinois. The town of Antioch has special

controls over the dispensary as well as the state of Illinois which a ected the placement. The state has very strict rules as far as consumption age goes as well as the fact that a business is not allowed to have a marijuana leaf on their logo. The location is close enough so people in Antioch who are interested do not have to hike to get there, but also away from the downtown area.

“We weren’t gonna allow anything downtown Main Street, we wanted to make sure that that stays a very family-friendly environment,” Sural said.

Safety is ensured all around the business as they have security on site as well as annual state checks to make sure everything is operating properly. Everyone who walks into the building has their ID scanned to make sure it is real and legal.

This is something new and has accumulated many mixed opinions. Antioch citizens may have to get used to Consume, as it seems the business is not going to leave anytime soon.

ONCE A SEQUOIT, ALWAYS A SEQUOIT

A select number of Antioch Community High School coaches attended Antioch as a student, and later returned to coach the sport that they once played.

LAILA SALATA || writer

Tom Tom Sta

Getting involved throughout high school, whether that be clubs, sports or volunteering, is one of the easiest ways to meet new people and find new interests. As the seasons come and go, four years quickly expire and many athletes realize that they took each moment for granted. However, with such deep connections to the sport, a number of athletes who attended ACHS have later returned to coach the sport that they once played.

English teacher and Tom Tom adviser, Madelynn Soberano, attended ACHS from 2012-2016. Soberano decided to step out of her comfort zone and play field hockey. After a short four years, Soberano found herself at Illinois State University to pursue her dreams of becoming a teacher. After a job opportunity opened up at ACHS, Soberano found herself back in the same halls that she once walked through. This time, she began coaching field hockey alongside her teaching.

“I think the special thing with field hockey is that it is a team of athletes from all di erent sports, who accidentally kind of fell into the sport but end up loving it,” Soberano said. “We all mutually play the sport together, which [is] really fun. I think the wonderful chaos and vibes of field hockey stay the same forever.”

Similar to Soberano, ACHS math teacher and cross country coach, Ryan Hlinak, attended Antioch from 1996-2000. Participating in both Sequoit wrestling and cross country, Hlinak knew that he wanted to find a teaching job here in Lake County. After attending college at the University of Chicago, Hlinak found his way back, now coaching cross country and teaching numerous math classes.

“I think the biggest thing [when coaching] is taking the emphasis o winning and losing and just about going out there, having fun and enjoying yourself and working hard,” Hlinak said.

CLASS OF ‘16 CLASS OF ‘21 CLASS OF ‘00

For some, the return to Antioch took some time depending on job openings and other criteria. However, for Maggie Quirke, returning to ACHS took less than a year. After graduating from ACHS in 2021, Quirke was asked to return as a coach for the varsity dance team.

“My younger sister, Josie Quirke, is on the dance team currently,” Quirke said. “When she was a freshman I would go to all her competitions. I still talked to coach Taylor, she was my coach too, and at conference in 2021 she asked me to join the coaching sta .”

Being a young coach o ers an advantage to the current dancers. Quirke knows that she has the ability to increase the drive in each athlete and that they are capable of achieving their main goal: making it to day two of the IHSA State Finals.

“As a coach, I try to be hard on the girls while still letting them know I care for them,” Quirke said. “I think this is the best way to go about coaching. Pushing each and every one of the girls to [their] full ability can be di cult, so I try to make sure they know it comes from a place of passion. I want to grow the love they have for dance and make sure they show it every time them perform.”

Athletes at ACHS have been able to learn from the knowledge of their coaches as they continue the legacy of their sport. These coaches are what make the statement a reality: once a Sequoit, always a Sequoit.

EARLY graduates

KLAUDIA DORADO || designer Lifestyles Print Director

RILEY Ysabel Diwa

...plans to attend the college of lake county in July, where she will apply for an apprenticeship program for Pharmacy.

ZACH Cryder

...plans to become a lineman for ComEd.

BROOKLYN

Meyer-Shaffer

...plans to enroll in an online introduction program for chemical engineering.

ANNIE Maciejewski

...plans to work at Region Kitchen & Bar until she moves to Hawaii to attend school and study ultra sound technician.

... plans to enter a cosmetology program and work full time.

ASHLEY Dixon NIELLI Sorensen

...plans to attend The College of Dupage in January.

Not photographed: Kaelyn Barnett, Aaliyah Anderson and Julie Fisher.

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO

NOT BE SCARED OF LIFE

BY IWONA AWIASEWICZ AS TOLD TO REESE IGOU

September 11th, 2001: It was a beautiful Tuesday morning. The sun was glimmering without a cloud on the vast blue horizon. If I had known what that late morning would bring, I would have never taken that site for granted.

Running late from a conference in Rhode Island, I was filled with fear that I might not make it to work on time. I called my boss, explaining that I would be late. I was almost to the building when I heard the sheer, cold, genuine fear in his voice.

“Turn around. Go home. There is an attack and we don’t know what’s going on.”

Around 20 minutes later, a second airplane crashed into the South Tower. I sped back to my apartment in Queens in pure confusion. I sprinted through my apartment door to turn on the television, hoping to find an answer to the spiraling questions running through my brain. But as I turned the TV on I was met with static. No image. Just static. Then, the trembling voices of journalists as they ran through the streets of lower Manhattan in an e ort to cover this national crisis. Images flew through my head. The once bustling and busy city, now at a standstill. I would later come to realize the events which occurred on September 11th, 2001 were far worse than I could have ever imagined.

I turned away from the TV and quickly woke up my best friend to tell her what was happening; she had been staying with me that previous weekend. We were both in our mid-30s, but she was married with three-month-old twin babies and lived in Manhattan. There was no way of contacting her husband with the busy phone lines, but we persisted. As tears stung my eyes, I finally got through to my mother in Poland who was watching the attacks unfold over the news. I could hear the fear in her voice, her words breaking as she spoke. I made sure

she knew I was alive. As she was the only person we could reach, I asked her if she would help us try to reach my best friend’s husband. Once he was contacted, we realized what we had to do. We needed to get across the Ed Koch Queensboro bridge and fast. Owning a car in the city was unreasonable, so we took the only form of transportation I owned; a pair of rollerblades and a bike. We rode through the empty streets ba ed by the absence of overwhelming noises, tra c, and people. That is when I realized something was gravely wrong.

As we neared the bridge, we were met by an unimaginable site: there were what seemed like millions of New Yorkers standing on the bridge waiting to be let across. They were shoulder to shoulder in an almost biblical fashion like they were going to war. I felt as if I was not in New York anymore; I was on a battlefield.

The overwhelming noise of all the voices and chatter filled my ears. Overstimulation was something I was never familiar with, but at that moment, I knew exactly how it felt. I grabbed my friend’s hand to stay together, but she ran o and found an o cer. She shook him violently, begging him to get her across the bridge so she could be reunited with her children. He denied her e orts and I knew that we were never getting across the bridge until the city was secure. Genuine terror struck me at that moment. I had been so strong for my friend up until that point, but now that we were stuck. What else was there for me to do?

We found a small co ee shop and thought it might be a nice place to sit down and rest. For the first time in hours, I was finally able to see what 9/11 had done to New York. The absolute mayhem, chaos and damage that this crisis had caused had left the city inconceivable to any mind. New York was in complete ruins, a dystopian world. It couldn’t have been real, I thought. At that point, everything completely set

in, and I think I went into shock because I can’t quite remember the rest of that evening as I watched the TV, listened to the reporters, and tried to wrap my mind around what had just happened. I realized that my world, my life and New York City would never be the same. Later that evening we finally made our way over the bridge and my best friend was reunited with her family, I then returned home.

After the attacks, an economic crisis hit the country, causing people to lose their jobs within a matter of days, including myself. For what would be the next two weeks, I would not leave my apartment. I watched the TV as the city began its long rehabilitation. I sunk into what I now know was a deep state of depression. I had no concept of time, was completely numb, and had tuned out the world. After 15 days of being stuck in my sorrows, a friend called me. “Where have you been and what have you been doing?” she asked. I didn’t have an answer to her questions. Everything seemed meaningless to me. She told me to shower, get dressed, and meet her at a Buddhist temple she often visited. As I sat at the temple, chanting Buddhist prayers, something inside me came alive again; a purpose that had been lost in the fires two weeks prior. I experienced an inner strength that I had never felt before. I was pulled out of the pit in which I had buried myself.

After that, I was completely changed. I realize that I am in control of what I do with my life. September 11 taught me to not be scared of life. It turned my life around. I became a more confident, more self-assured person. I followed my passions and took leaps, trying new things I would have never done before. After 9/11, I never took another day for granted and appreciated every hour I was given, because you are never promised tomorrow.

CASEY

designer

Tom Tom Sta

ONE SEQUOIT: NANCY COREY

Having been in District 117 for 23 years, Nancy Corey has left quite the mark upon those she has worked with; with her retirement from being the executive assistant to the principal this winter, her legacy is enforced within the walls of Antioch Community High School.

SYDNEY VEGA || writer

Tom Tom Sta

KLAUDIA DORADO || designer Lifestyles Print Director

Each morning, Nancy Corey arrives at her desk in the Antioch Community High School main o ce, sitting down to work consisting of what substitute positions are to be filled, registering information for teachers going on professional development and filing observation reports; she also manages responsibilities like the electric sign in front of ACHS. She works closely with other school sta members, a resource for those who enter her workspace. Corey is constantly busy helping others, answering questions and o ering support.

Beginning her District 117 career in 2000, Nancy Corey started as a secretary in Student Services at ACHS, then moving to Lakes Community High School for several years before returning to ACHS and fulfilling her current role as assistant to the principal. With this, she will retire from her position after more than 20 years in the district.

Corey has learned plenty about the job and herself throughout her time at both schools. She has accumulated knowledge of her occupation and who she has become through her employment, personally remarking on her own growth and her appreciation of those around her.

“I think I’m more confident than I thought I would be in what I do,” Corey said. “I think people know that they can come to me for anything. You have people that count on you, and I count on them.”

For Corey, it is the people around her that have made her job what it is. She interacts with so many people and has forged relationships that contribute to her career, those she has worked with making a resounding impact on her experience.

“You can take a lot on and still do a good job and know that you have good people that are surrounding you, that will help you,” Corey said. “We have some good times and we laugh a lot, too.”

According to her coworkers, it is Corey’s character that has made her such an integral part of ACHS. Principal Michael Berrie works rather closely with Corey and from his first day has seen her personality reflected in her duties.

“People love to be around Mrs. Corey [because] she is always in a good mood and makes everybody feel better,” Berrie said. “She truly wants to help others, it’s easy for everybody here to see that.”

Assistant principal Jaclyn Orlov also has a significant working relationship with Corey. Orlov says that Corey is not only a great

employee, but also a tremendous resource.

“In the [time] she has worked in the district, she has worn many hats and helped so many of our sta and students,” Orlov said. “She is a wealth of information with her historical and relevant knowledge and she is a great team player and partner in the dayto-day happenings at ACHS.”

Corey has found that events both in and out of ACHS have molded who she is. A mother, grandmother and wife, as well as the executive assistant to the principal, she has balanced a plethora of things that have shaped her as a person.

“There are the big events like losing my husband, my boys going o to college and then them having families,” Corey said.

“And having a [school] crew like this.”

While she is looking forward to retirement, Corey is sad to leave the group of people that she loves to work with so much. In committing to the district, Corey constructed a sense of community in the main o ce. She has worked with various principals and several people pass through her workspace each day. Orlov, among so many others, will miss her immensely.

“[Corey] puts her heart into everything she does and people feel that heart when they are on the receiving end of her job tasks,” Orlov said. “It makes Mrs. Corey’s work feel extra special, since she genuinely cares about the people at ACHS.”

Corey now has a great amount of free time and is excited to unwind in retirement. She does not have any extreme plans, but Corey is enthusiastic about the newfound time on her hands.

“Since it’s winter, I’m just going to relax for a while and go on some winter trips and enjoy my grandkids,” Corey said.

A dedicated Sequoit is making her departure from ACHS and in her wake she leaves both lasting memories and an impression. Corey remarked on the culmination of her time at ACHS.

“I’m sad to leave great people, but I know everyone will be great,” Corey said. “It’s been an amazing journey with the district and with the high school.”