Harbinger 2023-2024 issue 16

LEAVING THEIR MARK

The Class of 2024 reflects on the mark they’ve left on East while looking towards their future plans

The Harbinger seniors reflect on their time on staff in a final column

A list of all graduating seniors and their postgraduation plans 14... page 4...

Mini-features on seniors who have unique posthigh school plans

DREW TRUCKSESS

CONGRATULATIONS SENIORS!

We are so proud of you, Drew! We have loved watching you grow and inspire us every step of the way. Congratulations and we can’t wait to see all the amazing things you do next! Love, Mom, Dad, Tommy, Petey and Charlie

ABI LIMBIRD Congratulations, Abi! We’re so proud of you and the young woman you’ve become. You have worked so hard in your studies and nurtured some truly special relationships with your friends in and out of school. You’re a rock star, and the world better get ready for you! <3 Love, Mom & Dad

KATIE SCHMIDT Congratulations on your amazing milestone! We are so excited to see what you do and who you become. You are beautiful inside and out. We are proud of you and very blessed to be your family. Love, Mom, Dad, and Joe

SOPHIE

ANGILAN Congratulations! We are so unbelievably proud of you and all your hard work! We cannot wait to see you absolutely fy at SCAD. Never forget we are always in your corner and you’ve got this beautiful! We love you so very much! Love Dad, Mom, Emma, Poppy and Olive

LUKE BEIL Congratulations on your graduation! It has been incredibly rewarding watching you embrace the high school experience. You challenged yourself academically, athletically and in other extracurricular activities. Cheers to you Luke! Can’t wait to see what you do next. Love, Mom, Dad, Zak and Logan

HUDSON WORLEY Congratulations, Hudson! It wasn’t always easy, but you worked hard to fnish strong and we couldn’t be prouder. Your curiosity and passion for learning are treasures that will serve you well. There are so many exciting things ahead and we will be here cheering you on! Love, Mom, Dad and Indy

KATIE

MURPHY Congrats!!! You’re off to bigger and better things. So proud of you and excited for your rebrand as Ivy League Katie. Love, Kelly <3

JAKE MILLER Congratulations on this accomplishment, your hard work has paid off! We’re confdent that you will continue with even greater success in the classroom and on the feld at FDU. We can’t wait to see what the next chapter holds. Love, Mom, Dad, and Molly

BELLA HAKES Congratulations! You did it! This is the biggest stepping stone into your adult life. You did it with enthusiasm, heart, grace and an infectious smile! We are so proud of you! Let’s go see what’s next! Love, Mom and Dad, Burke Rubi and Boden

COLLIN FORD Collin, Congratulations on all that you have achieved in school through the years. You have tried new things, served your community and made so many great friends! Keep that going at Mizzou and in the business leadership program and you will continue to excel! Most importantly, have fun! Love, Mom and Dad

BECK

RETTENMAIER Congratulations, Beck! We’re so proud of your accomplishments and your commitment to Loyola of Chicago. Looking forward to all that lies ahead….. Let’s go!!! Love, Mom, Dad and Chloe

BEN HEMBREE Congrats Ben! We are so proud of all your accomplishments. We cannot wait to see what the future holds because we know it will be amazing. Love Mom, Dad, Will, Kate, and Greer

JACK VAUGHAN Dear Jack, congratulations! You did it! We are so proud of you and all of your hard work. You are always such a fun and positive person who brings light, joy, and enthusiasm into the world. Keep being you at NAU - they’ll be lucky to have a student like you! Lots of love, Mom, Dad, Sam, and Zoe

AUDREY TOMPKINS Congratulations Audrey! We are so proud of your hard work! Watching you grow into the confdent, kind, smart young woman you are today is a gift! As you start this next chapter, always know we are cheering you on. Stay true to yourself! You will accomplish anything you choose! Love, Mom, Dad, Charlie, Ben and Margot

ADDISON

JONES We’re so proud of your dedication to your studies and your passions! As you step into the world beyond high school, embrace new challenges and always believe in yourself. Your own adventure has just begun, and we wish you success and happiness at K-State and into your bright future. Love, Mom, Dad and Justin CAROLINE

REISER

BLAKE

We could not be more proud of the young lady you are - kind, compassionate, joyful and fun! Your time at SME has been such a blessing to experience with you - your hard work and love for life has served you well and will continue to as you move on to your college years. With much love, Mom, Dad & Coco

HANSON Congratulations on your academic, social, emotional and character development in your time at SME. As always, you did it with your unique determination and style. You are going to crush going forward. We are proud of you and feel lucky to have a front row seat to watch your bright future unfold. Love Mom, Dad, Matt, Kaky and Pop

BRIDGET

CONNELLY “Hats off” on your graduation from SME! I’m so proud of you for your academic success as well as the talents you developed as a hardworking member of the Harbinger staff. Go forward with courage, kindness, confdence and determination. Always remember how loved you are! Love, Grammie

CAITLIN CONNELLY

HENRY STRATEMEIER

Congratulations on your successful years at Shawnee Mission East! I’m very proud of you for your good grades, and dedication to your sport while you balanced a job in child care. As you go forward, let curiosity and enthusiasm guide you and never forget how loved you are. Love, Grammie

We are so proud of you, your accomplishments to date, and how awesome you are as a human being! We are excited for the new opportunities and adventures as you head to KU in the fall! Love, Mom and Dad

JACK JOYCE Congratulations Jack! We are so proud of you and all you accomplished. We are excited to see what the future brings for you. Rock Chalk Jayhawk Jack Joyce! Love, Dad, Mom, Tom, Danny, and Anna

ELLA RALSTON We’re so happy to share in the excitement of your graduation day, and are so very proud of you, too! You’re ready to take on the world and we have the front seat to watch your next chapter. Keep smiling bright and never give up on your dreams! Love, Mom, Dad, and Aaron

HALLIE

O’BRYAN Hallie, we are so proud of you and your accomplishments these last four years. We’ve enjoyed watching you shine in dive, tennis, and fgure skating. We can’t wait to see what your future holds. We love you so much! Love, Mom and Dad

LUKE PEARCY Congratulations on your high school graduation! Excited to see you go after your dreams. Keep believing in yourself and following your passion! Love, Mom and Dad

AUTUMN SUN Congratulations, Autumn! You’re not “Just a little girl” any longer. We’re so proud of the young woman you’ve become. You have a way of bringing infectious joy to those around you with your radiant SUNshine. Cheers to your bright future at KU and beyond! Love, Mom, Dad, Sophie, Sienna & MooShu

VERONICA

MANGINE Congratulations on your graduation and honors! We are so proud of you and excited to see where you go with your curiosity and tenacity…at Carleton and beyond. We love you, V! Love, Mom and Dad

NATALEE SANDSTORM

We are beyond proud of you! The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is “extra”, and you have proven this! Your hard work, perseverance, integrity, grit and kind heart have been extraordinary! You have grown so much and we know you will do amazing things in life! We love you! Mom, Dad and Your Sisters

ROMAN PREU Roman, you are made of all the right stuff. Whether it’s Japan, Austria, Sweden, KU or Florida State or somewhere yet unknown, we always have your back. And love you so much. Love, mom, dad, and sis

ASHLEY

ZASTROW We could not be more proud of your accomplishments at SME and looking forward to seeing you thrive at Villanova! You left nothing on the court, keep reaching for the stars! You make every day better! We love you. - Mom, Dad, Lauren and Hannah

SAM BURNS Congratulations Sammy on graduating from SME! We’re so proud of you and excited for your next chapter as a USD Torero! Love you! - Mom, Dad, & Shannon

CLAIRE SCHUDY We can’t believe it’s been 4 years already. It has been a blast watching you grow at SME with all of your friends, teams, & activities. Congratulations Claire Bug! Love, Mom, Dad, Frank, & Topher

ASST. ONLINE EDITORS

Connor Vogel

PRINT EDITORS

Katie Murphy

Greyson Imm

ONLINE EDITORS

Aanya Bansal

Maggie Kissick

ASST. PRINT EDITORS

Addie Moore

Avery Anderson

Larkin Brundige

HEAD PHOTO EDITORS

Riley Scott

Liv Madden

Kenna Harrington

ASST. PHOTO EDITORS

Caroline Martucci

Clara Peters

Amelie Wong

VIDEO EDITORS

Abby Lee

Ryder Hendon

DESIGN EDITORS

Veronica Mangine

Bridget Connelly

PODCAST EDITOR

Emma Krause

ONLINE POST

MANAGER

Luciana Mendy

PHOTO MENTORS

Molly Miller

Paige Bean Will Griffith

Mason Sajna

STAFF WRITERS

Mary Gagen

Isabel Baldassaro

Maggie Condon

Christian Gooley

Preston Hooker

Lucy Stephens

Emma Krause

Michael Yi

Reese Dunham

Mya Smith

Neil Williams

Carl Sutton

STAFF ARTISTS

Larkin Brundige

Zane Laing

Julia Campbell

Hallie O’Bryan

Bella Broce

Francesca Lorusso

PAGE DESIGNERS

Emmerson Winfrey

Zane Laing

Lyla Weeks

Clara Burdick

Lorelei Galles

Julia Campbell

Bella Broce

Francesca Lorusso

Hallie O’Bryan

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Alex Sajna

Maggie Condon

Lyla Weeks

Molly Scott

Francesca Lorusso

Addie Clark

Katie Cook

Caroline Hoffman

CLASS OF HARBINGER 2024 THE

GREYSON

IAfter four years on staff, I learned that if I can survive Harbinger, I can survive anything

THOUGHT I was going to die.

Freshman me stood quivering at the front of the journalism room, sweaty hands jammed in my pockets, and head down. I desperately tried to avoid the gaze of over 40 new classmates.

I was already nervous as one of only three freshmen who

journalism advisors, and the villain in this story — was leading a lesson on how to take criticism. He said it was based on a scene from “The Mighty Ducks” where the goalie is tied to the goal and his teammates drill hockey pucks at him full-speed. Except instead of a player, it was me, and instead of pucks, my classmates started hurling every insult they could think of at me. Great.

Overlapping shouts of “Boo,” “You suck!” and far more unsavory things I can’t write here filled the room as I just stood there praying that they wouldn’t kick me off staff. This “lesson” felt less like a teaching moment and more like a near-death experience.

But that exercise in public humiliation taught me a valuable lesson: If I can survive whatever that was, I could do this Harbinger thing.

sleepless journalism bender.

While I’ve joked with my ride-or-die J-family — Katie, Aanya, Maggie, Bridget, Veronica, Addie, Avery and so many others — that Harbinger will be the death of me on several PDFing sessions that went well past 1 or 2 a.m., I am beyond grateful that it hasn’t been. Not only because of the friends and endless amount of inside jokes, but because of the strength I gained from it.

Four years later, as I stare at my final story doc on the Harbinger Google Drive, I can confidently say that if I survived being on Harbinger, I can survive anything life throws at me.

joined the Harbinger staff that semester, and on top of that, we were finally returning to in-person classes after a semester of online school due to COVID-19. Not a great start — but things were about to get a whole lot worse Tate — the all-powerful final boss of

No matter what happened, I still survived.

The story that I poured my heart and soul into, meticulously edited and painstakingly revised for two weeks was torn to shreds in Tate’s critique? Oh well, I’ll learn from it next time and remember his advice. My spread article fell through on deadline week and I have to write a new, 2,000-word story in four days? Let me crack open a Monster Energy and a new Google Doc as I prepare for a three-day

So even though a small part of freshman-year me will never forgive you Tate, for that mortifying “Mighty Ducks” stunt, deep down I am eternally grateful for that experience — and every painful, uncomfortable and awkward moment on Harbinger that followed. Without them, I wouldn’t have written my best stories, met a second family of some of my favorite people ever or even realized what freshman me couldn’t — that no matter what insults and critiques are thrown at me, I’ll live.

KATIE

MURPHY

HE WORLD DOESN’T know what the word “harbinger” really means.

“What’s a harbinger? A messenger of doom?” my lawyer father joked, in his typical English-major fashion, last year when I became an assistant editor of The Harbinger. Sure, that may be what the dictionary says — but Merriam-Webster is wrong:

Harbinger is stomping through a Journalism 1 class on Halloween deadline day with my arms crossed, rocking a scrawling Crayola marker mustache, plaid buttondown and Tate-style slip-on shoes to spook the freshmen.

Harbinger is running through the library to get outside just in time for a staff

EI can’t concisely define what Harbinger is, but I’m grateful for whatever it is

sunset picture. Then doing cartwheels in the parking lot before getting back to PDFing.

Harbinger is sharing Cheetos, sharing MacBooks, sharing headline ideas — even when mine are so horrible that even Greyson, my kind and gentle newspaper partner in crime, makes fun of them.

Harbinger is spending hours interviewing, writing, editing and wondering, do I really know what I’m doing? It’s realizing that you’re only 18 but there’s so many people’s stories to listen to and learn from if you’re curious enough to ask.

Harbinger is a stomachache from laughter with designers when your Journalism Fairy Godfather Tate calls the font we picked after weeks of searching: “distractingly fat.” Then blasting Disney Channel music in the back room to cope while finding another one.

It’s beaming when our staff wins Best of Show at a nerdy journalism award ceremony and jumping to our feet like it’s the Super Bowl.

Harbinger is FaceTiming former editors living in cities hours away to reminisce about my most epic design fails and starting new

Harbinger’s positive impact on me can’t be condensed to single moments

VER SINCE I joined staff my sophomore year, I knew I’d eventually have to write my senior column.

So, two weeks ago I started brainstorming by making a list of everything that I’ve learned from Harbinger. I wrote down time management, communication skills, talking to adults…then I stopped. It’s impossible to create a bulleted list of everything I’ve gained from Harbinger — my vocab simply isn’t expansive enough.

And so, as Tate urges all writers to do, I’m going to show — not tell — a few moments where I gained a little something from staff.

My first story idea ever — and where my first lesson came from — was about Hy-Vee potentially hiring armed security guards. So I took it upon myself to waltz into my usual Hy-Vee on State Line and ask to speak to the manager (who unfortunately was on vacation). But I was on a time crunch — as any staff writer would understand — so I started asking every employee in sight, from the assistant manager to a teenager restocking the aisles, about their thoughts on armed officers at their workplace.

Though this story fell through a couple days later and I ended up writing about student store interviews, it was still a valuable experience.

Right out of the gate, I felt that I’d matured 30 years, and here’s why:

I was forced to think on my feet.

I stepped out of my comfort zone and went up to random employees, explained the situation, asked if I could record our conversation and thought of questions on the spot. Some turned me away — like a baker who was in the middle of icing a triple-tiered birthday cake — and others wouldn’t let me leave — like the opinionated butcher in the process of separating turkey slices. I left on a high — the journalists at the New York Times had nothing on me, a sophomore who had just questioned every employee at her local Hy-Vee.

But my time on staff gave me more than just people skills and the chance to tear up a local grocery store.

From a trip to the University of Kansas for a class on climate change with Veronica to late-night birthday celebrations with the PDF team, I’ve experienced both the college lifestyle and pretending I wasn’t scared of Bridget’s Bigfoot-sized dog.

If it weren’t for Tate’s critiques, my ability to take constructive criticism would be nonexistent. Without ads days, I wouldn’t have had the chance to learn how to market a product and

deadline night traditions like mandatory frozen yogurt and thinking, how can high school get any better than this?

Harbinger is adopting niche journalism room habits passed down by legends: checking kerning (thanks Frannie), naming group chats with CMYK puns (missing Peyton), varying feature highlights (for you Sydney), listening to Hozier (hi miss Celia).

Harbinger is pride while watching Addie and Avery run design brainstorm, all grown up, and lean into the program that’s given me so much — 60 adopted kids and siblings, confidence in myself, a crippling addiction to gradients, em dashes and alternating typeface weight.

Maybe my dad is right and “harbinger” is a messenger of doom, because I sure know it’ll break my heart to leave. But how lucky I am to be part of something that makes saying goodbye hard.

And who cares what harbinger “means” because I’ll always remember what it is to me.

AANYA BANSAL

eventually sell my first ad in the private office of the manager of Pretzel Boys — or have gotten any free pretzels as a prize.

If I didn’t join Harbinger, I would never have discovered Greyson’s love for jelly beans or just how bad Bridget is at spelling.

And that’s not even a fraction of what I’ve gained from staff. Like I said before, it’s too much to list. But one thing I can say is that I gained something from every moment I’ve spent on Harbinger.

I’m thankful I pushed past the scariness of the Journalism 1 class to do Harbinger

SITTING DOWN IN my freshman year Journalism 1 class, I spent five agonizing minutes trying to get the courage to walk over to Tate’s desk. Finally, I approached him and asked — with a shaking voice — if he could look over my story.

As he read it, he harshly pointed out every flaw. The lead was cliche. My interviews were boring. The story had no focus. After three minutes of him tearing apart the story I had spent two weeks writing, I squeaked out a “thank you” with tears forming in my eyes and asked if I could go to the bathroom.

I immediately broke down crying.

When my mom picked me up from school that day, I told her I wasn’t going to do journalism next year. Clearly I wasn’t cut out for the whole Harbinger thing. It wasn’t until she forced me to call a former staff member, who told me about how she loved deadlines and her fellow staff

members, that I decided to give it a try.

KISSICK MAGGIE

And thank God I did. Three years, more tear-inducing Tate edits and 75 stories later, I’m glad I didn’t let J1 scare me away.

I’ve gotten to write about literally whatever I want, from a feature story about the dangers of concussions to a review over Sephora products. I’ve met some of my best friends through cracking jokes about oxford commas and started mosh pits with fellow jerds at the J-rave in Dallas.

I had pieces of my hair ripped from me by strangers on the Los Angeles metro. Survived on a diet of Panda Express and Starbucks for four days in Dallas. Became a Lana Del Rey fan after Greyson forced me to watch the “Ride” music video at deadline. Sat inside a random psychic’s living room in Atchison, Kansas to get a scarily specific tarot card reading for a review.

All of these humorous, rewarding and unexpected experiences happened because I wiped away my tears after that first journalism-

related cry.

So each time I’m eating Chick-fil-A and belting the “Pitch Perfect” riff-off in the backroom at deadline, I laugh how I would’ve missed out on so much if I didn’t do Harbinger. I’m so thankful my mom talked some sense into me and I had enough patience to not quit journalism before I even got started.

CONNELLY BRIDGET

OMG OBSESSED, ONE sec.

Love that font!

I love!!!!

To others, these seem like basic teenage texts. To me, they’re my greatest pride and joy — texts I received from Harbinger editors during my sophomore year. The “little things” — like kind texts — are deeply meaningful to me as I’ve grown up literally around the world, moving between places like Singapore and New York City for my dad’s job.

When my family settled in Kansas when I was in sixth grade, I can’t say I was excited. Maybe Dorothy and Toto wanted to be here, but I sure didn’t.

After a mere two years, I was itching to get

Moving so much made it difficult for me to feel like I fit in, but joining Harbinger made me feel at home in Kansas

out. I hadn’t lived in a place for that long since third grade. No matter how many friends I had or how many memories I made, Kansas was still a flyover state — not a true home. As I grew up, I doubted my ability to ever find a place that felt like my home — until I joined The Harbinger.

Sophomore me loathed the amount of grueling work I was assigned when I first joined. I was up until 10:30 p.m. — a whole 30 minutes past my strict 10 p.m. bedtime — trying to lay out perfect pages, even though I’d never touched InDesign before.

My first design check-in was a massacure. The headline was at least 92-point size (we all know 80 is the maximum). I used colors that clashed with the photo on the page and packaged with nothing that even resembled a sidebar on the page. I thought quitting was my only option.

But the people made it all worth it. Since then, I’ve found a second family within the award-covered walls in the J-room, and I can’t fathom not spending my sixth hour with these people. Every editor I’ve had has made me feel as if I could succeed — even if I was there were tears welling in my eyes when they talked to me in class.

I was even a representive for The Harbinger during my vist to Indian Hills Middle School encouraging the next generation of designers to join and find their home.

I’ve loved every single moment in the J-room — even when I walk in and Tate yells at me about being stupid (note the spelling errors in this story so far — all real mistakes I’ve made on print pages. Sorry Tate!). I’ll always be grateful for finding my home on The Harbinger.

MANGINE

WAS 11 when I watched my first episode of “ER.”

My dad was watching it in our living room and I couldn’t sleep so I came down to see what was on TV. George Clooney appeared on the screen, saving lives and stealing hearts, and I fell in love — not only with hot doctors — but with medicine.

Throughout high school, I’ve taken almost every science class offered, totaling nine by the time I receive my cap and gown. Some call it excessive, but when

NOTHING TO LOSE.

VERONICA KENNA

Amid my science-heavy schedule, Harbinger taught me that it can be beneficial to branch out

you’re set on becoming a doctor in the fifth grade, every test tube and microscope feels like a step towards your life long goal.

When I was choosing my classes for junior year, I scanned the course catalog when something unexpected caught my eye — Harbinger. With two science classes already penciled into my schedule, joining the newspaper seemed like a detour from my set path in science. But with a little convincing from my friends, I applied, and I was shocked to learn it wasn’t just an easy A.

Tools like Adobe InDesign and Illustrator were foreign to someone whose strengths were in lab reports and equations. I had to tap into my creative side and design pages from scratch. There were numerous moments where I felt like hurling my MacBook when it crashed from

I adjusted from my position change from staff photographer to head editor in one semester through quickly coming out of my comfort zone

HARRINGTON

all the links I downloaded or setting the J-room on fire when I was hours behind on my design, but I persevered, thanks to the support of my friends and editors. As I transitioned into senior year, I discovered just how much I enjoyed the people on staff, and not so much the actual designing part. I spent my days annoying my friends in the backroom and staying up till 2 a.m. packaging pages (a.k.a. watching “Smash or Pass” videos in Avery’s basement.)

While pen tooling or photoshopping may not directly translate to the ER, the lessons I learned in Harbinger will. Through Harbinger, I’ve cultivated my creativity and communication skills that will benefit any career path. Every lesson or skill I’ve learned from staff will help me succeed in medicine and maybe even wooing a hot doctor one day.

That’s exactly what was running through my head when I applied for Head Photographer Editor after only one semester of taking photos of games and for Harbinger stories. Prior to January of 2023, I had probably picked up a camera three times.

In what world would I be suited to lead a 16-person staff of photographers? But I truly had nothing to lose — I’d either become an editor or stay a staff photographer. On the last day of school, I opened Instagram and was thrilled to see I ended up getting the position, along with my incredible co-editors Riley and Liv. We were all excited for the next year and began discussing plans in our group chat right away.

Little did I know, I would be immediately forced out of my comfort zone.

It was hard to transition from a staff photographer to an editor. As a staff

photographer, I minded my own business, got my credits, listened to my editors and coasted. Being an editor meant making bi-weekly photo stories, shooting for cover and spread, overseeing an entire photo magazine and much more.

I realized I could no longer put my Airpods in and do my work — being an editor required much more socialization than I was used to. As a staff photographer, I was intimidated by everyone around me, especially Tate but that wasn’t an option anymore.

I never understood the hype around Harbinger or the Harbie “family” people on staff would refer to. Minding my own business in Harbinger my first semester did nothing for me, yet becoming an editor changed my life in a way that I would’ve never expected. I quickly and eagerly found a groove in talking to those around me, and the relationships I made with people in Harbinger are a great enough gift for

me to walk away feeling fulfilled.

The J-room now holds some of my favorite memories, something I definitely could not have said last year. I have cried tears of laughter after the Ry Guys continuously roast me for just moving a muscle, learned how to pen tool on InDesign (kind of), and discovered that Tate, Liv and I all share a love for “The Sound of Music.” My stomach will never not hurt from all the laughing I shared with everyone, even Tate, in Harbinger.

Even though my time on staff was short, leaving is nothing but bittersweet, and I can’t thank Tate or the publication enough for forcing me out of my comfort zone. I now can proudly say I will cherish my Harbie family and Tate’s advice forever (even though he still intimidates me a little), and I know the Snapchat group chat will stay active for years to come.

THE hARBINGER

After years of experience on staff, I have raised and redefined my standards for photographic perfection

IT’S PERFECT.

That’s what I naively told myself after capturing my first in-focus photo during a varsity basketball game on my Nikon D7200. My sophomore self had just joined staff earlier that month and was having trouble taking pictures that weren’t blurry, let alone a photo that was visually interesting.

But little did I know, the picture needed to be cropped, straightened, exposed and almost all of my settings needed to be changed. According to Tate, It was nowhere near perfect.

Until that first critique, I was always satisfied with my photos. I never spent a lot of time cropping or editing on Adobe Photoshop, and I rarely arrived to shoot with a developed plan for the sake of getting a good photo.

Tate’s critiquing led me to be more scathing of my work, which made me a better photographer — and that’s something I’ll always appreciate.

His voice is in a constant loop when I am shooting at games or events with my Nikon

Z6II: “Constantly move around,” “Look for the reaction instead of the action” and “Play around with your settings and try out different lenses.”

SCOTT RILEY

My expectations for myself skyrocketed. To improve, I’d often resort to YouTube crash course videos that would help me understand how to utilize my current camera body.

Up until my senior year I had a DSLR, a camera that reflects light using a mirror. Now, I have a mirrorless camera, where light goes directly through the camera, meaning settings differ. Understanding my camera was a large component that contributed to my growth as a photographer.

I never thought I could capture the perfect image — but I learned despite never being completely satisfied with even my award-winning photos, there was always room for reflection and improvement.

The tough love I’ve received from Tate eventually led to me finally capturing a photo that he didn’t

LIV

totally hate. Any positive feedback I got was a win through my eyes — although I had reached the point where I’d critique myself.

So, after countless hours in the Journalism room, I’d say there’s no point in over-analyzing your work. Just put in effort and be prepared, and you’ll take a “not perfect” photo that still feels like a success.

Following in my sisters’ steps allowed me to make my own mark on Harbinger

MADDEN

school with two older sisters to give me a rundown of East was a blessing in disguise. But it also meant copying nearly everything they do, while also trying to leave my mark. They both had their “thing” going for them which meant I had to subsequently join cheer like my sister and eventually the blessing

OK, this isn’t going to be a sob story about me not having a calling in life but, I can say that other than my latenight crying sessions about my photostory every other week, Harbinger gave me

something to look forward to every day.

Originally having no interest in the whole journalism thing, I was constantly pressured by my upperclassmen friends to join. Finally, after months of avoidance, I caved and submitted my application at semester. Seeing my friends’ smiles after becoming a staff photographer made me ecstatic for class after winter break, thinking it would be a breeze — I was wrong.

Having not taken Journalism 1, I struggled to keep up with the three credits per issue. But luckily, I had a helping hand throughout the whole thing — my photo editor sister Elise.

Swamped with editing thousands of photos per week, I was certain I wouldn’t last long. After pushing myself to keep shooting and still having no confidence in my work, I saw one of my Lancer Dancer showcase photos pop up in Tate’s photo show — a critique of our edited work. My stomach

dropped, anxious to hear what he had to say.

But I had no reason to be scared. Tate liked the photo because it told a story. My ambition to succeed in Harbinger had returned.

Tate’s initially dreaded comment made me rethink journalism. It’s not about taking photos of the free throw shot at a varsity basketball game, it’s about getting the team’s reaction to the winning shot. At this point in my Harbinger career I felt comfortable enough to step out of my sister’s shadow. I now see it as a harbinger — pun intended — of personal growth and development, as it has given me the opportunity to meet new people on and off of staff that have positively influenced my life.

But who knew that thanks to the simple act of following my sister, I would be able to tell my own story and leave mark on East.

ABBY RYDER

Throughout my time on Harbinger, I transformed video staff from a two-person operation to an award-winning 10-person staff

LEE

OPHOMORE YEAR, I was faced with the task of selecting one more elective.

My unhealthy obsession with movies, staying up past 2 a.m. watching the “top 10 movies with the best plot twists” led me to enroll in Video Production 1.

Despite having no prior knowledge, I began to fall in love with all things video — learning the fundamentals of camera work and editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. I loved the creative freedom and gratification of watching the final project after hours of filming and

I planned to continue to Video Production 2, but my plans quickly changed when my friend Katie convinced me that joining the Harbinger would give me the opportunity to pursue my passion for video

HENDON

while gaining access to more equipment and an audience of thousands. So, I enrolled in Harbinger.

Entering my first Harbinger class, the second semester of sophomore year. The journalism room felt like an alien world compared to the rest of East. Hearing the words “print cycle” and “ads day” sounded like another language. Assigned to the “video staff” under the guidance of former Video Editor Maggie Klumpp, we comprised a two person, underground team. We worked on the former East boys lacrosse video series “Face Off,” where she taught me the basics on how to use a camera. Despite my experience in editing videos, interviewing and AP style basically all things journalism was not in my skill set.

My early contributions to the Harbinger’s YouTube channel reflected my knowledge of comedic editing — adding random sound effects and zoom-ins on faces which only I thought

were hilarious — but it lacked journalistic qualities.

It wasn’t until the Gloria Shields journalism workshop intervened — teaching me the essentials of news feature stories — that I began to grasp the journalistic aspect of my role. I learned how to conduct an interview, compile b-roll and create scripts for voiceovers. With this newfound knowledge, I leveled up to Video Editor my junior year. The ego boost was huge.

But the two person team turned into one.

Even as the sole member of the video staff, I managed to keep our channel active and even won a national award, NSPA fifth place in feature broadcast for my “Lancer Day”. I gained credentials and street cred, and before I knew it my solo journey turned into a 10-person staff. It’s now my senior year and second year as a Video-Editor now the credits roll as my reign comes to an end and tears begin to flow.

RYAN DEHAN&

Joining staff together allowed us to not only film videos and take photos, but become a reliable source of laughter and jokes for the rest of the staff

IN OVER OUR heads was an understatement.

If we’d been completely transparent in our applications, we would’ve noted that we’d never actually picked up a camera before. We’d tagged along to some photoshoots and made some silly skits with our friends for video production class, but Nikon and ISO was a foreign language. Despite our lack of preparedness, we took a risk and joined staff — together.

Our first day we were thrown into a video brainstorm without having any idea of how to use Adobe Premiere Pro, but we tossed out our ideas and began learning what makes a good video.

We pitched a trivia game show. A four-team, bracket-style trivia tournament to determine the smartest winter sports team, that would ultimately change our lives. We selected the

contestants, developed the bracket and built the set. The only thing left was finding someone charming enough to host the show. Scorsese has De Niro, Speilberg has Hanks and Hendon has Dehan.

Ryan was an amazing personality to put in front of the camera while Ryder remained behind it to help direct him in hosting the tournament. After three videos completing the tournament, we had formed an unbreakable bond on staff that would soon transcended Harbinger and bled into our lives outside of school. Our fits of laughter were more than a blooper reel — we went to lunch or out to play soccer without our filming equipment.

Of course, we pride ourselves on our photos and videos but more than that we pride ourselves on bringing joy to the rest of the staff. Known infamously as the “Ryguys,” our laughter became the official soundtrack of the backroom, and our antics became much-needed

brain breaks for our hardworking colleagues.

Where we lacked in our ability to color correct photos or determine the difference between a light stand and a backdrop holder, we made up for with our positive, can-do attitudes.

Harbinger granted us much more than just photo and video skills. It blessed us with lessons in problemsolving, collaboration and hard work and — most of all — blessed us with a brother, and for that we are forever grateful.

THE hARBINGER

ALLEGRI

staffers reminisce about deadline dance parties, stressful writing competitions or staying up until 2 a.m. to finish stories, there’s one thing that made my Harbinger experience unique — inter-

When I initially joined Harbinger, I wanted to improve my skills as a writer and learn how to become well-versed in social media and mass communications, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was also strongly influenced by my thengirlfriend who was on staff.

My mom used to warn

Inter-staff relationships during my time on Harbinger have proved to teach me more than just journalistic skills

me when I was watching “The Office” that relationships in the workplace will never work out. While I thought we’d be the Jim and Pam of high school journalism, I quickly learned that the NBC show’s dynamics don’t translate as seamlessly as I’d hoped in real life.

Within a month of being on staff, I had written three stories, designed a page and broken up with one girlfriend. For a whole semester I had to deal with many awkward conversations and glares that I felt deep in my soul. Luckily I outlasted her — she quit Harbinger the following semester.

After attempting to mix oil and water — Harbinger and girls — you would’ve thought I had learned my lesson, but as a now-single high school boy on a 90% female staff, it was unavoidable that there was more drama to come.

The next semesters followed a similar pattern — what started as a conversation with

I did Harbinger to build my resume even though I didn’t want to, but it turned out to be one of the best extracurricular activities I participated in

LIKE MOST STUDENTS who want to get into a good college, I was desperately looking for another extracurricular to add to my slightly-lacking resume. Sure, I played lacrosse and kept good grades, but my parents were pushing me to consider a class that would force college admissions officers to take a second glance at my application.

Enter: The Harbinger.

The only thing I really knew about the newspaper — besides it winning national awards — was that I would be one of four guys on staff, which wasn’t exactly a pull factor for me. I was extremely shy and soon realized I may have bit off more than I could chew with the amount of work it takes to be on staff.

I started as a writer and designer, staying up until 2 a.m. finishing articles on a deadline night or skipping a math test because it was the only

hour my source could interview. I kept my head down, only working with my classmates when I needed edits or help with an InDesign task. While I felt good about my stories, my design work sucked. And in an unintentional turn of events, I eventually got kicked off design staff.

My first year of staff left me feeling burnt out. Not because of the workload, but the anxiety of being on staff. I didn’t feel like I was contributing to the paper as much as everyone else. I almost dropped the class during that summer, but since I’d become close with two upperclassmen, Hassan Sufi and Tristan Chabanis, I decided to stick with it for my junior year.

Now just a lowly staff writer, I wanted something else to fill my time and find my niche. Thankfully I joined the video staff and it was there that I finally started to feel as if my stories matter.

a staffer at a deadline led to a situationship for the next month or two. My inherent “rizz” led to two awards at our end-of-year banquet for “The Most Rizz” and “The Most Likely to Leave Deadline for a Girl.”

Amid my 3-year long stint as the Harbinger bachelor, I was still able to walk away with valuable skills like writing a full length news story in under an hour, taking cutthroat criticism from Tate and navigating the digital design labyrinth of Adobe. But to my mom’s — and my editors’ — inevitable dismay, I’m talking about my Harbinger love life.

So to sum up my time on Harbinger, I’ve written 43 stories, won eight journalism awards, had four on-staff situationships, two ex-girlfriends and three years of the most exciting, life-changing class that I’ve ever been a part of — and I wouldn’t change a thing.

LUKE

With this new found purpose, the KSPA awards started piling up, Tate used my stories as examples in class and I finally received my greatest honor while on Harbinger — Chuck D. Goldstein — a gold chain given after every print cycle to someone who contributed the most.

This year, the question of whether or not to return didn’t even cross my mind. I can confidently say joining Harbinger was more than just an item on my college resume, but a magnificent experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

I figured out my place on staff through trial and error

DECIDING WHAT I wanted to do on Harbinger took many trials, and a whole lot of error.

After being head editor for the Indian Hills journalism staff and taking Journalism 1 freshman year, I knew I wanted to be a writer and tell other people’s stories. So becoming a staff writer was a no-brainer, but I also chose to be a page designer to broaden my skills — big mistake.

I don’t remember much about my semester designing pages, but I do remember sitting in a cubicle in the library with former Design Editor Anna Mitchell during a deadline watching her redesign my whole page from the fonts to layout because of how bad it was.

CHRISTIAN EMMA KRAUSE

Designing was clearly not my thing.

When I was reapplying for my second semester, I saw “Podcast Editor” on the long list of possible positions. I immediately went to my then-Online-Editor Sophie Henschel since I had heard her previously say how important the Harbinger’s Podcast was to her. I asked her endless questions about podcasts such as “Is it hard to edit a podcast?” “What would I talk about?” and “Do people even listen to it?” But I knew regardless of her answer I’d apply since I’d always wanted to have my own podcast to broaden my skills on staff.

After a semester of creating podcasts and learning about how to use the audio board for my series “Just the Three of Us” with staffers

MJ Wolf and Audrey Condon, I was hooked. But I wanted to do more than just talk into a mic for 20 minutes. I applied for video staff going into my senior year to combine my middle school journalism photography skills with my audio knowledge from Tate’s guest speakers. I created a “videocast” series called Story Spotlight that let me include podcast equipment with cameras. So sure, it took three years, but there’s something to learn from every aspect of Harbinger staff and I’m glad I landed on podcasts and videos.

GOOLEY

FTER FOUR YEARS years, 56 issues, hundreds of hours in the J-Room and an unthinkable amount of “five minutes” by Tate, the time has finally come. I sit here one final Sunday night staring at my computer struggling to find the right words to wrap up my entire Harbinger experience. Looking back, I immediately think of one day: my first ads day. 14-year-old freshman me was on cloud nine about making the staff,

The impact that came from the mentorship I had over my four years on Harbinger, and how it opened my eyes to more than just my interest

I was excited for any Harbinger event. So when Catherine, my head editor at the time, approached me on my second week on staff to tell me I was required to sell ads on a Saturday at 10 a.m., I was all in.

There was just one small problem: I couldn’t drive.

I sat in the main room brainstorming for 30 minutes, my mind racing for a solution that didn’t involve going into the back room and begging an upperclassman for a ride. But sadly, that became my reality.

The upperclassmen left me with two options: Catherine takes me herself (no thanks) or I carpool with a group of sophomores.

I thank those sophomores to this day for being kind enough to drive me. What I thought was going to be a terrifying day due to my illusion that my head editor was scary turned into my first and favorite Harbinger memory — going to Brookside to sell ads and then to

Waldo Pizza for a rewarding lunch. That day changed my entire view of Harbinger. Maybe the upperclassmen weren’t that scary, maybe they actually did want to help. I followed those same sophomores Peyton Moore — Anna Mitchell and Paige Zadoo for the next two years, becoming their friends and watching them become the “scary” editors themselves.

Without that day I think I might’ve always been terrified of editors or scared to go into the back room. I loved Harbinger more than I could’ve ever imagined from that point on. From messing with Tate whenever I could to asking him a thousand questions because I was lost, he never failed to teach me something and showed me the true importance of every story.

I’m forever thankful for the memories and life lessons I gained from my time on Harbinger, no matter how many times I thought about crying at deadline.

THE hARBINGER

A love letter to Harbinger for making my childhood journalism fantasies come true

DEAR

HARBINGER,

Once upon a time, I spent hours of my time poring over flimsy paperback elementary school yearbooks thrown together by the PTA and meticulously crafted New York Times newspapers.

Anything printed and bound I got my hands on became my new obsessive reading material. So the second that being involved in journalism at school became an option, I signed up automatically.

Within my four years in journalism — spanning across two staffs and trying designing, writing and photography — I’ve been able to explore every single aspect of the publications that fascinated me as a child.

After a semester of tumultuous Journalism 1 (was I really cut out for this?) and two years of Hauberk (I was), everything finally clicked when I joined Harbinger last fall. Since joining I’ve written infinitely more interesting stories and worked on tighter deadlines — not to mention that I’ve made

friends with people I otherwise wouldn’t have ever met that undoubtedly made my senior year.

HUDSON NEVA

Throughout it all, I’ve been a writer — no matter which additional odd jobs or positions I’ve attempted along the way. Now as a senior, I’m in my favorite positions I’ve ever had — writer and copy editor. The satisfaction that comes from running my fingers over my name printed next to my stories will never cease to give me a jolt of pride and accomplishment — unmatched by anything else I’ve tried.

Every part of the writing process holds immeasurable value. Whether I’m interviewing someone I’m totally intimidated by or doing research for a political story way out of my comfort zone, I’m learning.

I never would’ve expected that what started as a way to itch my childhood curiosities would end up being my favorite class of the day or result in the writing I’m most proud of. I’ve also gained

HALLIE

O’BRYAN

Winvaluable social and professional skills that extend all the way to job interviews or dinner parties.

Because of my Harbinger experiences, my formerly shy self isn’t afraid to walk up to someone I’ve never met before and start a spontaneous conversation or ask countless questions rather than staying silent when I need clarification on something.

So thank you Harbinger — all of the people, effort and dedication that you’re made up of — for being such a vital part of my high school identity and letting me fail, grow and learn to fall on my face and get back up again.

xoxo, Neva

After coming to East senior year, Harbinger helped me find a sense of community

HEN I DECIDED to join Harbinger second semester of my senior year, my family and friends were confused. I was met with questions like “Don’t you hate writing?” and “Why would you do it if you can’t put it on your college applications?”

I’d never had any interest in journalism and I hadn’t taken an art elective since sophomore year. But when spring semester applications came out, I decided to apply on a gut feeling

I’d regret it if I didn’t.

This was my last chance to see what all “Harbie family” hype was.

Even though I joke with my parents that I only like Harbinger because of the free deadline dinners, I’ve learned so much about art and design and met amazing

people. After transferring from St. Teresa’s my senior year, Harbinger helped me find a sense of community at East.

Fast forward to my first issue as an artist and page designer. I was supposed to learn how to work InDesign and navigate JDATA, but we just so happened to have the entire week off of school due to snow days— on top of that, I had no idea what I was doing. But lucky for me there wasn’t one person on staff who wasn’t willing to help me. I’m forever grateful for Addie, Bridget, Greyson and Katie for answering all the questions I bombarded them with during those two weeks.

However, once deadline hit I was able to calm down and enjoy the process a little more — I’d finished my page design and started to get into the swing of things. I had the best time making burn book-themed art for Lyla’s “Mean Girls” page and helping Lucy Stephens cover

Modern Market Eatery’s influencer event. Whether it was making slime with Addie and then teaching Greyson how to properly play with it, skateboarding around the J-Room with Molly or chatting with the underclassmen about their classes at writers deadline — I’ve made so many connections with people who I would’ve never met otherwise.

The thing I’ll remember most about Harbinger isn’t the pages I’ve designed or the cartoons I’ve made — it’s the unique experiences and people I’ve met that have made all of Tate’s brutal critiques worth it. Only the Harbinger staff could make selling ads at eight a.m. on a Saturday morning and staying at East late on Wednesday nights for fun. I’m so happy I decided to apply because I would’ve missed out on an amazing semester.

copy & design by

anderson & addie moore

THE HARBINGER

ALABAMA

AUBURN UNIVERSITY: Muther, Davis

ARIZONA

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY: Vaughan, Jack

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: Blair, Mitchell Bauer, Dolce Greenstein, Charlie Lindmark, Nick Manning, Laynie Anderson, Isaac Pearcy, Luke

ARKANSAS

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS:

Borchers, Taylor Bruck, Sophie Comes, Rosemary Crosby, John Meuten, Henry

CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY: Berry, Will

NORTHWESTERN PREPARATORY SCHOOL:

McAlister, Brendan POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY: Hill, Nora

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO: Kislal, Lara

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: Burns, Sam

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Bansal, Aanya Stechschulte, Peter

COLORADO

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER: Aarons, Zachary Crossley, Abigail Goettsch, Claire Muller, Michael Yarlagadda, Matthew

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO COLORADO SPRINGS: Padgett, Lida

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO: Taylor, Jaxton

CONNECTICUT

YALE UNIVERSITY: Long, Abigail

FLORIDA

MARKING THE WORLD

EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL

UNIVERSITY, DAYTONA BEACH:

Kidwell, Nathan

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY:

Shaeffer, Christian

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA:

Riscovallez, Amelia

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA: Anderson, Isabelle

GEORGIA

SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN:

Angilan, Sophie Scheff, Samantha

ILLINOIS

DEPAUL UNIVERSITY: Ferry, Kat Geffert, Hannah Reda, Annabelle

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO: Gooley, Christian Lee, Abby Pindell, Jordan Rettenmaier, Beck Schrotberger, Fern

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: Kuhlman, Emma Yun, Ella

ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY: Moore, Riley

INDIANA

BUTLER UNIVERSITY: McDonald, Zoe

INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: Lyerly, Wes PURDUE UNIVERSITY: Rosemann, Jack UNIVERSITY OF INDIANA: Flower, Alex Reiser, Caroline Sullivan, Emmy

IOWA

DRAKE UNIVERSITY: Handzel, Emaline

Stowe, Bella

GRINNELL COLLEGE: Imm, Greyson

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: Brundige, Syl Muehlberger, Charlie

KANSAS

EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Carle, Roslyn

GARDEN CITY COLLEGE: Dean, Isaac

HUTCHINSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Fegen, Scotty

Mazza, Anthony

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE:

Asselin, Jake

Beckley, Owen

Claessen, Kyle

Cummings, Isabelle

Houston, Prism

Hoch, Cil

Hyde, Peter Lail, Griffin

Leeper, Isaac

Manning, Hayden

Margaris, Cyrstin

Marin, Evan Masewicz, Eleanor Murguia, Isabella

Roberts, Braydon

Rodriguez, Genesis

Shaffer, Lucas

Striker, Henry Stroud, Kelsey

Swanson, Rue Thornhill, Elsa Townsend, Caroline Welch, Reid

Whitaker, Avail

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: Boxberger, Drew Brown, Levi Cavanaugh, Annabelle Chaplin, Kylie Conkright, Will Domingues, Calen

Erwin, Ryan Fore, Connor Fraser, Georgie

Harris, Dalton

Heos, JJ

Hodges, Oliver Jones, Addison

Kennedy, Parker Ledford, Layla

Minto, Adam

Peugeot, Lauren Rodriguez, Iva

Rogers, Kayden

Sandstrom, Natalee

Terlouw, Maggie

Wilson, Curtis

Youngers, Audrey

PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY: Cosgrove, Noah

Gensler, Sophia

Margolin, Izzy

Paisner, Violet

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS: Allegri, David Allen, Lyla

Aubuchon, Sam

Barnard, Ava

Barnard, Kate

Beveridge-Calvin, Ayden

Borja, Sofia

Brown, Elizabeth

Buenneke, Joshua Bykowski, Connor Byrd, Patrick Caro, Eliza Carroll, Charlie Cattaneo, Callie Connelly, Bridget Connelly, Caitlin Cooper, Jeffrey Courville, Teddy Dehan, Ryan Desbois, Lucas Deschaine, Charlotte Doyle, Maddie Falley, Hayden

Finkelston, Ira

Flint, Patrick Frandsen, Levi

Friskel, Nora Fritz, Zach

Gahagan, Lauren

Giele, Wolfgang

Haley, Ashlyn

Harbert, Luke

Hedrick, Mason Hoffman, Joey

Hsiung, Valerie

Huff, Josie

Huggins, Alex

Hughes, Max Hyde, Greta Johnston, Alaina Jolles, Liam Joyce, Jack Kostner, Kate Krause, Emma Leonard, Maggie Lewis, Sam Lischer, Paige Lutes, Otto Madden, Liv Marien-McManus, Finan McGuire, Lauren Mendy, John Miller, Chase Milroy, Grace Minto, Chris Minto, Reid Mun, Andrew Neusel, Conor Niermann, Livy

Provost, Lola

Quigley, Julia Reed-Schall, Aidan Reeves, Cayla Ribeiro, Gabriella Roehr, Parker Saylor, Teddy Scott, Riley Seibert, Hadley Sherry, Leah Sides, Jack Siegel, Natalie Stamos, Mia Stratemeier, Henry Sun, Autumn Swope, Cecilia Taylor, Mal Tompkins, Audrey Ward, Johanna Warner, Mason Wilkinson, Charlie Worley, Hudson Zubillaga Anover, SME POST-HIGH Keim, Andrew Kline, Joseph Schaff, Patrick Stinson, Annabelle Wessel, Brenton

LOUISIANA

LOUISIANA STATE Liberda, Marissa

MARYLAND

UNIVERSITY OF Limbird, Abi

MASSACHUSETTS

HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Murphy, Katie WELLESLEY COLLEGE: Gibbs, Audra

MICHIGAN

UNIVERSITY OF Novo, Oliver Yun, Nina

MINNESOTA

CARLETON COLLEGE: Mangine, Veronica Strack, Vivian UNIVERSITY OF Benditt, Eve

Noble, Liv O’Bryan, Hallie Poores, Ian

photo by riley scott

The class of 2024’s postgraduation plans

Crossley, Charlie Daon, Nick

MISSISSIPPI

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI: Hakes, Bella McKee, Lulu

MISSOURI

CONCORDE CAREER COLLEGE:

Saucedo, Ximena CROWDER COLLEGE: Thomas, Emma

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Martell, Antonio

MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Roberts, Miles

NEOSHO COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Shipley, Hailey

NORTHWEST UNIVERSITY STATE UNIVERSITY: Hull, Luke

O’Roark, Alexis PARK UNIVERSITY: Jones, Beck Norris, William

ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY: Kante, Abdoulaye SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY: Alexander, Anna STEPHENS COLLEGE: Keefe, Charlie UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI: Baker, Reece Beil, Luke Bisson, Bella Ford, Collin Gariss, Brooke Herring, Nora Herring, Tessa Kissick, Maggie McLain, Elsie Schudy, Claire Simonsen, Hannah Uresti, Taylor

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI KANSAS CITY: Aaron, Dashiell Bailey, Liam Burden, Claire Cribb, Wesley

MONTANA

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY: Adams, Maren Curchin, Oscar MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BILLINGS: Tiedt, Alex

NEBRASKA

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY: Elmore, Emilie

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA: Levitan, Dylan

NEW JERSEY

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Bunde, Sylvia

FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY: Miller, Jake

NEW YORK

LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY BROOKLYN: Angell, Maddy

SKIDMORE COLLEGE: Hudson, Neva

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY

WEST POINT: Kessler, Jack

NORTH CAROLINA

DUKE UNIVERSITY: Long, Mary

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY: Wiedeman, Gregor

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

CHAPEL HILL: Gibson, Rowan

NORTH DAKOTA

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA: Tippie, Anson

OKLAHOMA

NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY: Fernandez, Sydney

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY: Mercer, Kael

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: Brown, Radley Harrington, Kenna

OREGON

PORTLAND STATE: Collison, Emma

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON: Merchant, Austin

PENNSYLVANIA

SWARTHMORE COLLEGE: Flynn, Ian

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: Zastrow, Ashley

RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE: Lee, Cooper

SOUTH CAROLINA

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: Apprill, Audrey

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA: Foster, Rachel Gaillard, Michael Hawes, Ginger McKee, Harper

TENNESSEE

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE: Jones, Jack

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: McElhinney, Marin

TEXAS

SAN JACINTO COLLEGE: Fausett, Jackson

SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY: Hembree, Ben Trucksess, Drew

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: Wood, William

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY: Hanson, Blake Howard, Ella Thelen, Anna Wehner, Sofia

TRINITY UNIVERSITY: Schmidt, Katie

UTAH

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY: Almoney, Talon UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: Dickason, Alec

VIRGINIA

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Norden, Millie

WASHINGTON

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: Arnold, Liam Thompson, Holland

WISCONSIN

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN- MADISON: Algren, Reese Beaver, Margot

BELOIT COLLEGE: Friedman, Nico

GAP YEAR

Allison, Gavin Babick, Ego Barnes, Phoebe Campbell, Kaila Folger, Conor Hamilton, Lucy Preu, Roman Turner, Will

UNDECIDED/ UNKNOWN

Avery, Hunter Blair, Cooper Carpenter, Campbell Dryer, Davis Ensz, Tucker Etter, Owen Foster, April Gilman, Ben Gould, Adam Guerra, Ethan Kritzell, Olivia Kuhlman, Max Helmuth, Jackson Hendon, Ryder Jacobs, Connor Johnson, Elijah Kahl, George King, Griffin King, Taylor Marin, Ava McDermed, Eelanor Medcalf, Devin Molteni, Emma Olson, Asher Reyes Rosales, Yahir Rios, Natalia Roehr, Parker Smith, Remmy Streiler, Samuel Super, William Taylor, Benjamin Thackery, Samuel Uland, Jacob Williamson, Samuel Yarlagadda, Matthew

MILITARY

Mann, Xavier Murphy, Antony

TRADE SCHOOL

Fairchild, Kevin Galicia, Eva Ousley, Ian Ralston, Ella McNally, Isabella

OTHER

YOUTH WITH A MISSION: Diefendorf, Rhett

TRAVELING: Hoag, Lydia

WORKFORCE: Majeskey, Madison

MEET THE

couch and carpet, hoping her dad wouldn’t notice. She breathed softly.

Inches away, her dad played “The Last of Us” on PlayStation 3 — a game far too gory to let his daughter watch. So instead of sitting beside him, she settled for spying between furniture gaps, aweing at the complex storylines and high-quality animation for hours — and falling in love.

It’s a love that fueled thirdgrade ritualistic after school “Battlefront” marathons, eyes six-inches from the TV — with all boys, because girls didn’t play video games. It’s a love that compelled her to take digital design classes since eighth grade,

monitor and accessories.

Emma will pursue her love of video games next year, but not from behind the couch — behind a computer at Northwestern University, studying as a film major with the hope to become a game developer after college.

“Film requires a lot of design, film editing and Photoshop courses for the major,” Emma said. “Those can obviously all be applied to creating video games. Any animated TV shows or movies are produced very similarly, so a lot of those skills could be applied.”

music, video, visual arts, all of it together, which is why I think she likes game design.”

She didn’t know that game

From attending a Women in Gaming conference at Johnson County Community College last fall to writing dozens of pages on the history of video games for her IB extended essay, Emma’s gearing up for a career in the

especially because [a game] would be a product that I could enjoy that my family and friends could also enjoy,” Emma said.

“That’s kind of what sets games apart from other art forms.”

design by katie murphy

photos by riley scott

MICHAEL MULLER

SENIOR MICHAEL MULLER

took a mental note of each time East’s athletic trainer Dakota

Gelshemier-Orlando ran across the field to help an injured player at almost every football game his freshman and sophomore year

“His sophomore year, he started hanging out in the athletic training room,” Dakota said. “Moving into his junior year, he asked if he could shadow me more and ask more medical information

Through her, Muller was able to intern as a medical assistant observing and learning to get

story by isabel baldassaro

Senior Michael Muller will attend the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall to study sports medicine

connections and meet new sports medicine professionals within the University of Kansas Health System.

Muller plans on attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall to continue his work in sports medicine. His two years of experience working with Dakota helped to influence his intended field of study by granting him the training he wants.

From his interest in athletic training Muller says he’s able to pick up a lot of experience he can put towards his expected major in neuroscience with a minor in cellular, molecular and developmental biology.

“I’ve wanted to do something medical for years, and I loved sports so when she introduced me to sports medicine I found out I could combine both worlds,” Muller said.

Now any time Dakota needs something from her health kit, Muller is right behind her ready to follow orders such as writing down athletes heart rates and symptoms.

With well over 2,000 hours interning tracked in his high

school career, Muller has spent about 1,800 of those working with Dakota, whether that’s sitting in her office helping her with rehab and injured athletes or on the field watching in case a player gets hurt.

Muller says together they mainly focus on injury assessment, injury treatment and rehabilitation before and during practices and games.

“With her being a first responder in games I’m able to pick up a lot of skills in assisting her on that front,” Muller said.

Dakota says Muller is there when people need simple items such as bandages or ice packs while he observes her while she manages rehab and a variety of injury assessment processes to learn every aspect of working in athletic assistance.

“I pretty much am there to help make her job easier but also help her when something happens,” Muller said.

There’s times where male athletes don’t feel comfortable coming to Dakota for help so they ask Muller before seeing her

because he’s someone they can trust, according to Dakota.

Outside of school, Michael has participated in other volunteer opportunities such as interning in the brand new neurology clinic at the University of Kansas Health System last summer. Out of the around 400 applicants, Muller was one of 98 selected.

“I spent a couple weeks volunteering my time there and I got to learn treatment and medical assessments under a lot of doctors firsthand and picked up a number of volunteer hours,” Muller said. He also regularly volunteers at the sports medicine clinic at the KU Health System and has shadowed the head physicians for the Royals and the Chiefs.

This summer, he’ll be assisting at a research lab at KU Medical Center about once a week.

While his continuous interning isn’t required for his major, he says it doesn’t hurt and gives him more experience that he needs before jumping right into the job. There, he’ll get paid to continue doing what he loves.

ROMAN PREU WILL TURNER& THE HARBINGER

WHEN SENIOR ROMAN Preu was imagining the world after graduating, it was something he didn’t think that he could actually accomplish. But one day when Preu and his best friend senior Will Turner were together, Turner’s dad brought up the idea of a gap year. Maybe traveling was more than a dream.

Next year, best friends will be taking a gap year to travel the globe before returning home for college.

They don’t have a realitinerary, instead planning itinerary, instead planning

story by larkin brundige

Senior Maddie Doyle will join University of Kansas’s debate team next fall

SENIOR MADDIE DOYLE

argues everywhere — from her lunch table with her IB classmates to the dinner table with her little brother.

Next year, she will attend University of Kansas to be part of their debate team. She enrolled in debate her sophomore year — a year later than most students would join the class.

“I didn’t want to compete [in a sport] at East, but I did want to get involved in some sort of community,” Doyle said. “I decided that debate was probably the best community for me because I love learning, I love research and I love exploring ideas about the world.”

Now in her senior year, Doyle

reminisces about her nationals road trips, close-knit debate team and endless research for tournaments as she heads to KU where she’ll continue with debate.

She loves the research side of debate. She’s been able to learn about specific topics she never expected to learn about — from philosophy to politics to protecting bodies of water.

“One of my biggest passions in life is learning,” Doyle said.

“If I don’t see myself as a lawyer, I would be in academia just researching and learning because I love to absorb information.”

Over the course of two years, Doyle has now attended six

Seniors Roman Preu and Will Turner plan on taking a gap year after graduating and traveling across the globe

on going to different cities spontaneously, according to Turner. They plan to visit Austria, Germany, England, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Croatia, Greece and Japan. Preu is most excited to explore nature — whale watching in Iceland or climbing Mount Olympus in Greece — while Turner is looking forward to the nightlife in Tokyo.

“We’re planning on staying at least 12 months in Europe,” Turner said. “We’re going to be in one of those countries for more than a month if we enjoy it a lot. I think we’ll probably add

a country on [the trip] from the people we meet.”

They plan to stay in Airbnb’s for around one month in each country because it’s the most efficient option for their travel plans.

Both Preu and Turner can see themselves living outside of the United States in the future if their plan goes successfully and they connect with a certain country.

“I think that the main thing

Turner said.

Turner has been out of the country once, but for Preu it’ll be his first time. He hopes that by taking this gap year he’ll be able to experience more culture outside of Kansas.

“I’ve never experienced any other culture except for what’s in the United States and that’s not a way for you to live your life” Preu said “You need to go and experience new things and new people and different

MADDIE

national debate tournaments and many other regional tournaments with her lifelong debate squad — juniors Jaxson Terreros, Sophie Leonard and Lucy Pace. Her favorite trip was to Iowa.

“It was us four kids and three adults, we had a blast,” Doyle said. “[The tournament] was very competitive and difficult but we had a different mindset of ‘We’re here to have fun and also debate.’”

Through debate, Doyle met two KU debate students who mentored her on debate and how to improve her skills and influenced her in her final decision of attending KU.

Viewing them as role models,

Doyle has considered returning to East after college to be an assistant coach and follow in the footsteps of those she works with now.

assistant coaches about all of the KU debate trips is that it’s about living your life and having fun over competitive success,” Doyle said. “Competitive success is a byproduct of hard work.”

story by mya smith

design by katie murphy

photos by riley scott

CONOR FOLGER

couch in his living room listening to a podcast, senior Conor Folger was interrupted by his parents with a suggestion for his post-high school plans:

“My friend’s daughter is doing this thing called AmeriCorps where you get to travel the United States

His parents then pulled up a video about the program and waited in anticipation for his thoughts on the idea — this sparked Conor’s application to become a volunteer for the AmeriCorps organization postgraduation.

Conor and his parents both

Senior Caroline

Townsend is applying to be a dispatcher at the Prairie Village Police Department

THEN-ELEMENTARYSCHOOLER Caroline Townsend would listen in amazement to her highway patrolman grandpa’s stories of who he pulled over that day or the newest evidence her detective uncle was analyzing for a case at family gatherings.

Now-senior Caroline will get to run the plates of cars like ones her grandpa pulled over or enter the data her uncle would use for his cases through her job as a dispatcher.

Inspired by her family members’ role in law enforcement, Caroline decided to apply to be a dispatcher at the Prairie Village Police Department after

story by ada lillie worthington

Senior Conor Folger is going to join the AmeriCorps after graduation to gain new volunteering experience

knew he had second thoughts about college. He’s on the younger side of his class — turning 18 the day after graduation — and high school has never academically come naturally to Conor, according to Conor’s mom, Rachel Folger. This is why the AmeriCorps stuck out to Conor.

“I fell in love with the idea,” Conor said. “It was so different, something I didn’t expect them to say, and they thought it’d be really good for me especially if I’m trying to see what my passions are or learn new life skills.”

AmeriCorps is a federally organized volunteer organization that focuses on six key areas of impact: Disaster Services, Economic Opportunity, Education, Environmental Stewardship, Healthy Futures and Veterans &

Military Families. They do this by providing services in each of these areas like creating trails, building houses or doing whatever else they’re asked to do for the day, according to Conor.

This service aspect of AmeriCorps is what appealed to Rachel. From watching him give $5 to a homeless woman at around 8 or 9 years old and, more recently, package peanut butter sandwiches and socks into brown paper bags to hand out, she

going to be fulfilling in so many different ways.”

Right now, Conor is working through his applications — involving questionnaires about previous volunteer work, information about himself and what he wants to achieve through the program — while also saving money and soaking in moments with his family and friends before he leaves.

“I’m hoping to learn some life

CAROLINE

graduation. She plans to attend the University of Kansas to get a three-year-bachelor-degree in criminal justice while being a dispatcher. Caroline will be answering 911 calls along with running tags on pulled over cars, entering data on calls or activities, watching street light cameras and communicating with officers in her job as a dispatcher.

“Growing up, my family’s life was really interesting to me,” Caroline said. “I’ve always thought, ‘I really want to do [law enforcement], I really hope I can.’”

The Student Resource Officers have also been incredibly influential and supportive

for Caroline’s passion for law enforcement, according to Caroline’s dad William Townsend.

Whether it was simple conversations about their workdays that showed her the compassion people have in the field or the two encouraging her to apply, they helped push her towards a career in law-enforcement.

William always wanted one of his kids to follow in their family’s tradition of police force jobs. However, he had always thought it would be his son to follow the footsteps — not Caroline.

“I was kind of shocked [when she first told me],” William said. “I was also kind of worried for her personal being, but I’m gonna

murphy

photo by riley scott

THE HARBINGER

BORCHERS

was in first grade and being taught how to do simple addition and grammar, senior Taylor Borchers has had her

The way that her teachers helped each kid in her class in everything from art to math to science began her obsession with

“I’ve always kind of known that I wanted to be a teacher,” Borchers said “When I was younger, I really looked up to all my teachers. It was

IF YOU ASKED Anson Tippie in first grade what the United States looked like, he could draw a full detailed map from memory with ease. By third grade, he could draw you that same map — complete with complex weather patterns.

Anson got his first weather activity set from his grandparents when he turned 5 due to his interest in it. As Anson got older, he became more and more fascinated with weather patterns, and currently operates his own weather station website where he constantly tracks, logs and updates local weather patterns.

“I take readings in my backyard and [the weather station] takes temperature, precipitation and all sorts of things, then I log it,” Anson said. “It just celebrated its fourth birthday, so I have been doing four years of readings and collecting real time data.”

Now-senior Anson is heading

always kind of in the back of my head.”

Now, Borchers will be attending the University of Arkansas to pursue a degree in elementary education.

Last year, Borchers was introduced to the newly founded teacher education program taught by Samantha Feinberg and Susan Leonard.

“[Feinberg and Leonard] are my two favorite people,” said Borchers, “I look up to them a lot. And they have a lot of wisdom about teaching and you can tell that they love it.”

Now she spends her seventh hours helping out students, especially third graders at different elementary schools all across the East district.

Senior Anson Tippie will study atmospheric science to potentially become a climatologist

to the University of North Dakota in August to study atmospheric science with the goal of becoming a climatologist studying long-term weather patterns in the future.

The climatologist field and Anson’s major are both uncommon, with only 11 people studying atmospheric science alongside Anson next year at UND. When deciding on a college, Anson knew UND specialized in winter weather like snowstorms, an intriguing factor to him considering he loves learning about unstable, cold weather patterns.

“For cold weather the winter time is full of unstable weather, one week in Jan. [the temperature] is in the 50’s, while one week it’s below 0,” Anson said. “I’m also just a snow lover, so winter is always a great time.”

In order to receive his bachelor’s degree, Anson will have to take classes for some things

Senior Taylor Borchers hopes to become an elementary school teacher

Borchers is currently taking Teacher Education 2, a class consisting of little time sitting in a high school classroom. Instead, on block days, the students shadow teachers at different elementary schools in the East area like Highlands and Briarwood.

When Borchers and the other students are in class at East, they spend most of their time working on mock lesson plans or assignments as well as learning about diversity in teaching or in the classroom.

“[It’s about] learning about different learners,” said Borchers “And how your lesson plans around those different learners.”

fifth graders last year, but has worked with mostly third graders

ANSON

he already knows how to do like data interpretation, learning how to read a radar and some weather safety classes since many people head straight into the National Weather Service once they graduate. While Anson wouldn’t be unhappy working for the NWS — due to the stable salary and job — he wants to do work towards understanding the climate and its consequences on human life and society.

Other weather-related jobs have stood out to Anson like being a meteorologist.

“A meteorologist is the main one that has stood out if I don’t want to continue [to get] my masters,” Anson said. “Right now I’m really thinking of being an atmospheric scientist, but from there [I might] go into the weather service and do my own research on climatology.”

The reactions from his family

this year. Borchers prefers working with younger students because they’re less independent and need more guidance than older kids.

“So I feel like just building relationships with students [is the most rewarding part],” Borchers said. “And getting to know them as people and as learners, you really get to spend a lot of time with them.”

She’s looking forward to feeling less like a student and more like a teacher in college.

“I feel like I’ll feel a little more official,” Borchers said. “Not as a

story by carl sutton

story by lucy wolf

design by katie murphy

photos by riley scott

XAVIER MANN

never

has time to waste. He wakes up at 5 a.m. and starts his day with an hour-long run. Then he’s only got around an hour to shower and get ready for school. Once school’s out, it’s time to lift weights in the gym for a solid 90-minute session followed by his additional strength that, he’s got another cardio session.

But his routine is compared to the strenuous physical combat training at Fort Leonard Wood — the army base Xavier will call home when he enlists in the army on

June 18.

“I don’t see myself being able to work a nine-to-five at a desk or something,” Xavier said. “I just wanted something different that I know I’m not going to be used to so I can experience something challenging but different.”

Although Xavier’s staunch routine prepares him for the physical aspect of the army, he’s also been getting ready for the mental toll. Distancing himself from his family members by keeping to himself more often when at home, allows him to get used to his future independence.

“I’m just trying to get into the mindset where I have to be comfortable with what is going to be happening,” Xavier said. “It

story by libby marsh

Seniors Beck Jones and William Norris are continuing to run cross country and track at Park University training under

WHAT’S THE MOST difficult sport? A heated debate between then-juniors Beck Jones, William Norris and their friends. Jones thought, clearly not cross country. It’s a “baby sport.” All you do is run, couldn’t be that hard, right?

“Beckham, I bet you couldn’t make it through a week of cross country practice,” Norris told Jones.

So Jones took up that bet — an ego bet. Only he didn’t leave after one week.

Two years later, now-seniors Jones and Norris are both running on varsity together and preparing to move to Parkville, Missouri and

the same coach, East’s Rikki Hacker

compete in cross country and track for Park University, continuing to train with their high school coach — Rikki Hacker.

Hacker has coached at East for five years and just started coaching this year at Park as well.

Jones and Norris are friends when hanging out outside of practice but are teammates and competitors on the track. Norris will yell “Let’s go! Come on!” to Jones during a race and the two push one another through 300 meter repeats at practice.

“[Beck and I are] friends also outside of track,” Norris said. “So I think it’s a really big help to both of us that we have someone

story by luciana mendy

Senior Xavier Mann is preparing to enter the military after high school

sounds bad but I’m not trying to make the relationship stronger than it is because I know I am going to be gone for a while.”

When Xavier first told his mom Kimberly Smith about his military plans, she got teary-eyed and emotional, knowing that her son would be leaving. After taking some time Kimberly has accepted Xavier’s goals but still struggles with him enlisting in June.

“I tell my children, ‘I don’t care how old you are, you’re still my baby,’ and because he’s always been around me, for him to go somewhere else is going to be hard,” Kimberly said. “So I’ll keep reminding myself he’s gonna be OK.”

Xavier won’t be the first family

WILL NORRIS

BECK JONES &

that we can lean on if things start going off or anything.”

At East, Hacker has prepared the boys to compete with the Park team next year, not only by introducing them to some of Park’s current runners but also through his training style. Norris and Jones are accustomed to the high mileage weeks and workouts to push lung capacity — Hacker schedules.

“[Having Hacker as a coach] gives me confidence going into next year knowing that I will succeed and that I’m not just going to be overlooked by some other coach who just wanted to get me there for my times,” Jones said.

Hacker also believes that Jones’ team spirit and Norris’ leadership abilities will help the team going into next year and is looking forward to getting to coach the two for longer as Jones has been running for two years and Norris for three.

“It’s gonna be really cool having athletes that transition from high school working with them to college working with them,” Hacker said. “That’s pretty unique and it’s hard to get that opportunity as a coach, so I’m pretty lucky.”

member to serve in the military — his aunt, uncle and grandfather have all done service in the Army and Navy. Xavier’s experienced family members have given him a better understanding of what to expect when enlisting.

“I wouldn’t say I’m completely prepared for it because I don’t think you really could prepare for it,” Xavier said. “But I know that there are going to be a lot of sudden changes that I have to be quick to react to and I can’t react the

THE HARBINGER

LOOKING LOOKING

RIGHT HONORING CARLIE

The varsity girls basketball team takes a moment of silence for junior Carlie Foutch before player introductions. The girls and boys basketball teams honored Foutch, who passed away from leukemia on Jan. 28, at their games against Olathe North on Feb. 2.

FAR RIGHT FASHION SHOW

Junior Rubi Marroquin and model Teagan Vang hold hands as they wait for sophomore Paige Bean to announce them. Bean organized the show on Oct. 5 to raise money for environmental causes.

RIGHT FUNDRAISER CHAMPIONS

The student section cheers after East won the annual East vs. Rockhurst Chick-fil-A fundraiser on Jan. 26. The Lancers raised $3000 to help pay for Coach Gordon’s daughter’s surgery as part of the fundraiser.

BACK

Defining moments from the 2023-24 school year in photographs

photo by caroline martucci

photo by maggie condon

photo by liv madden

design by clara peters & caroline martucci

WANT MORE?

Scan this QR code to check out our photography staff’s new photo magazine complete with 13 different photostories from this semester

ABOVE STUCO WORKSHOP

Students from Olathe Northwest walk among the cheerleaders and band before heading into the state-wide Student Council conference. East StuCo hosted its firstever regional KSHSAA conference on Sept. 18. photo by caroline martucci

ABOVE PROTEST AT THE CAA

Junior Kevin Gomez speaks with a Fox 4 news anchor at the protest organized by the Black Student Solidarity Network at the Center of Academic Achievement. Students protested against racism in their district and school.

photo by clara peters

Seniors Anna Thelen and Reese Algren dance with their fellow Link Leaders at the annual Link Dance on Friday, Aug. 18. Link Crew members and freshmen came dressed to fit the dance’s theme of “Barbie.” photo by kenna harrington

Sophomores Kasper Hunt, Stone Fritz, Owen Bright and Keegan Pelkey take a photo together in their eclipse glasses. Students gathered on the football field to experience the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. photo by clara peters

TOP LEFT BARBIE CREW

TOP RIGHT ECLIPSE

design by sophia brockmeier

photos by riley scott

History teacher and StuCo sponsor Brenda Fishman retires after 37 years of teaching, students and teachers reflect on her legacy

EVEN IN THE midst Even in the midst of remote schooling, history teacher and Student Council

Sponsor Brenda Fishman stuffed Lancer of the Day bags with pencils, pens and candy then drove around town to drop off the bags with her two dogs, Dolly and Abby, in the backseat. All to make sure the students received the usual rewards despite an online school year.

With Fishman’s time at East ending after 37 years of teaching and 27 years of sponsoring StuCo, her students say she’ll leave a legacy of selflessness and encouragement.

The mutual respect she has with her students on StuCo has helped them pursue their passions and ideas whether it’s making floats or coming up with ideas for school events for years, according to current Exec Board members.

“I just think it’s so good to meet kids on their level, and to work with kids on things that they have a passion for,” Fishman said. “They see you in a different light and you see them differently. You see what they’re interested in and what they’re passionate about.”

Her students and those on StuCo recognize the work and time she’s dedicated throughout the years in order to create an environment where her students can succeed, including Student Body President and senior Jack Kessler.

“She is StuCo,” Kessler said. “With the amount of effort that she’s put in every single year.”

Throughout the years, Fishman has traveled with her StuCo students to leadership programs in Santa Barbara, Philadelphia, Dallas, Vegas, Albuquerque, Albany and most recently, Collinsville, Illinois.

On that trip, Fishman and Student Body Class Secretary and senior Nora Hill took the train, but Kessler and Student Body Vice President and senior Sam Streiler decided to drive. Fishman, being who she is, had them call every hour on the dot to make sure they were doing okay.

Fishman is welcoming to those who aren’t involved in StuCo as well, standing outside her room in the center of the third floor to greet students during each passing period. She’s been a friendly face for all students, including StuCo member and student of Fishman, senior Abi Limbird.

“Fishman is one of the best parts of Shawnee Mission East, the entire values fall on Fishman’s shoulder, she’s basically the pillar of the school,” Limbird said. “There’s a reason why her classroom sits at the bottom of the main staircase and overlooks the school.”

Limbird truly believes that Fishman changed her life. After qualifying for Academic World Quest Nationals, Limbird and three other students went to Washington D.C. with Fishman. The memories from the trip were so enjoyable and eye-opening for Limbird that she has decided to attend college in Maryland.

“It was the best trip of my life,” Limbird said. “I’ve never been to D.C. before and when I came home, I told my parents how much I loved Washington D.C. and then we made plans to visit colleges near the D.C. area. Now I’m going to Maryland.”

Fishman even printed out all the photos she took on the trip, framed one of them and gave them to those on the trip, with the extra photos so they could be switched out. Serving as a reminder of the memories Fishman helped create.

Besides the impressions she’s left on her students, students have also left impressions on her. With 27 years of raising money for the Johnson County Christmas Bureau, she’s seen many students go out of their way to raise money for causes they care about.

“We had a student who had completely planned a shrimp dinner and auction two years in a row to raise money for the Christmas Bureau,” Fishman said. “We brought in more than $10,000.”

Beyond her students, Fishman has impacted teachers, specifically co-sponsor Chanelle Dieckmann with ways to improve her leadership in the StuCo setting. She’s shown her how to lead leaders and how that affects the students ability to maximize their efforts on StuCo.

“Just seeing how she has structured StuCo, she has transformed it to create a culture where her leaders are leading as they should,” Dieckmann said. “And she’s stepping when she needs to but for the most part, she’s teaching the leaders how to lead.”

The message that Fishman wants to leave with students is to participate in the things you are passionate about around the school.

“I always try to encourage my students to be a participant, not just a wallflower,” Fishman said. “[I want them] to get involved in activities that they think are fun or challenging, even things they’ve never done before. Just do it.”

How StuCo proceeds raised for the Johnson County Christmas Bureau have grown in the past

LESSONS

Advice and recommendations for high school from the class of 2024

EMALINE

LEARNED

LESSON: ATTEND AS MANY SPORTING EVENTS AS YOU CAN

LIGHT BLUE FACE paint was streaked on her cheeks and arms, iridescent glitter sparkled in her hair and she was sporting her new Lancer Nation jersey — senior Emaline Handzel was ready for her very last Lancer Day football game.

She had been waiting three years to be a senior at this monumental game. She would finally get first dibs on the seats right by the fence, at the very front of the student section and would be able to lead chants like “Go Bananas” and “Do It.”

“[My friends and I] go to the [Lancer Day game] and stay the entire game even if we were losing,” Handzel said. “Everybody’s so excited for Lancer Day and the football team is just ready to play.”

Since her sophomore year, Handzel has been dressing in her Columbia blue wardrobe and attending as many sporting events as possible including baseball, volleyball, soccer and football. According to her, these games are a great way to start conversations about the game with different peers and

SURROUNDED BY CHATTER about prom dresses and beach vacations, senior Georgie Fraser kept her eyes locked on her Canvas app, checking grades — not paying attention to the conversation with her friends.

Scheduling a study plan for upcoming tests seemed more important than helping her friends pick between a satin or sparkly dress for their senior prom.

Since freshman year, Fraser has spent her whole high school experience focusing on unit quizzes, honors classes and AP tests — not football games, school dances or the latest gossip.

It wasn’t until the last semester of her senior year that she realized that after this year she and the friends she had put off hanging out with for schoolwork and studying would be attending different colleges. This would inevitably force them apart, causing her to rethink her past choices of blowing off plans or studying and start living in the moment.

“I feel like I was just always focused on my grades and my future,” Fraser said. “It’s really hard to not think that way, but now that I’ve gone through it, I wish I knew sooner.”

She documents her memories with photos and takes mental breaks from

meet new people.

“[The games] are a good way for everyone to socialize in such an easy setting,” Handzel said. “It’s not awkward or anything.”

While she has been eagerly supporting East’s sports teams since her sophomore year, during her freshman year, the whole school was unable to attend any sporting events due to COVID. This encouraged her to take advantage of the rest of her high school years and support as many teams as she could.

Whether it’s a game with bleachers packed full of East students or one where the student section can barely be seen from the field, attending as many games is a piece of advice she would pass down to any underclassmen. Getting decked out with layers of face paint and glitter has been a highlight of Handzel’s high school career.

“You never know who you’re gonna talk to at those games,” Handzel said. “You’re gonna meet so many new people just

LESSON: TAKE IT ALL IN

homework and studying by taking late-night ice cream runs and talking on the phone with friends. Changes she had made since her realization to take a step back from school and spend more time with friends.

“Trying to find a balance between studying and also spending time with friends is really important,” Fraser said. “[I recommend taking] the time a couple of times during the week to study and then spending the weekend with friends.”

She’s still planning her schedule for her upcoming final exams in the last month of high school, but she’s also allowed herself to be more lenient with her agenda, saying ‘yes’ to many of the plans she is invited to.

“I remember that I’m not going to have this opportunity in a couple of months,” Fraser said. “Knowing that it’s going to be ending soon makes me want to do so much more.”

“I remember that I’m not going to have this opportunity in a couple of months,” Fraser said. “Knowing that it’s going to be ending soon makes me want to do so much more.”

LESSON: MAKE AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE

THEN SOPHOMORE ABI Limbird couldn’t decide what was worse, sitting alone in the locker room for an hour or throwing the shot put for an hour. Most days she chose to sit the dreaded hour in the girl’s locker room for the duration of the track practice her parents made her attend.

It wasn’t until she met two upperclassmen who made her realize that maybe the sport wasn’t about how far she could throw a shot put but who she was doing it with. While she still hated throwing the shot put, she at least had some of her friends to do it with. After practices and meets she would go get ice cream with her track friends and said hi to them in the halls.

“It was just this new group of people that I’d never hung out with before,” Limbird said. “It wasn’t even the sport itself. It was just the environment and the community of people.”

Limbird continued to join committees, clubs and sports at East, all to meet as many people as she could. According to her, there’s nothing to lose and you could end up meeting some of your best friends just by branching

Her friends have roped her into many of the clubs she is currently

FRASER GEORGIE

involved in, like Student Council. After hearing the stories from her friends on StuCo about how exciting it was, she decided to run for sophomore representative.

Through StuCo, she got to know many different teachers and students, including one specific influential figure in her life — StuCo sponsor and history teacher Brenda Fishman. Fishman encouraged Limbird to involve herself in Academic World Quest — a trivia competition between high school teams around the nation. Through this activity, she was able to scout out the University of Maryland during a school trip — the school she is attending this fall.

These ripple effects that have stemmed from meeting people around the East community are another reason she is adamant that underclassmen branch out and meet as they can.

In her now-senior year, Limbird has a connection with many of her peers and teachers through her commitment to StuCo, yearbook staff, IB diploma and other clubs and sports — and a hatred of the shot put.

“I don’t think feeling locked down by one group of people is necessary,” Limbird said. “You can be friends with everybody if you want to be.”

photos by riley scott and courtesy of emaline handzel

ONE LAST QUIZ

1

Quiz yourself on your knowledge of East’s senior class

2

WHICH STATE IS THE MOST COMMON DESTINATION FOR POST-HIGH SCHOOL PLANS?

3

WHAT’S THE MOST POPULAR STUDY SPOT AT EAST FOR THE SENIOR CLASS?

HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE THERE IN THE SENIOR CLASS?

4

WHAT

I FEEL LIKE my family did everything for me, so I’m playing [basketball] in college to take care of the cost for them and make them proud.

ABDOULAYE KANTE SENIOR

ANSWERS:

5

8

HOW MANY SENIORS ARE ATTENDING AN INSTITUTION WITH AN ACCEPTANCE RATE UNDER 10%?

6

DO OUT-OF-STATE SENIORS PREFER THE EAST OR WEST COAST?

7

WHO’S THE (NHS) SENIORS’ FAVORITE TEACHER?

WHAT PERCENT OF THE SENIOR CLASS ARE GOING OUT-OF-STATE FOR COLLEGE?

BELLA HAKES SENIOR “

I'VE LIVED IN Kansas my whole life, so I want to get away and have a new experience and meet new people and expand my boundaries.

design by sydney eck

photos by amelie wong

copy by mary gagen