The Harbinger Issue 16 2022

the harbinger.

S H AW N E E M I S S I O N E A S T 7500 MISSION ROAD PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS 66208 M AY 0 9 , 2 0 2 2 VOLUME LXIV

LIVING OUTSIDE THE ISSUE 16

LINES As the school year comes to a close, the graduating class of 2022 shares their memories and plans for the future

02 INSIDE COVER Human life is sacred.

THE HARBINGER

click for pics BOYS VARSITY LACROSSE

design by cesca stamati cover design by celia condon and syney newton cover photo by maggie merckens

S c a n t o v i e w t h e g a l l e r y f ro m t h e b oy s va r s i t y l a c ro s s e g a m e a g a i n st O l a t h e o n A p r i l 27.

GIRLS VARSITY/JV SWIM

S c a n t o v i e w t h e g a l l e r y f ro m t h e g i r l s va r s i t y a n d J V s w i m d u a l a g a i n s t S M S o u t h o n A p r i l 27.

GIRLS JV SOCCER

S c a n t o v i e w t h e g a l l e r y f ro m t h e g i r l s J V s o c c e r g a m e a g a i n st O l a t h e N o r t hw e st o n April 28.

FOLLOW THEHARBINGER SMEHARBINGER

until she’s old enough to protest

SMEHARBINGER

art by greyson imm

staff list

PRINT EDITORS Celia Condon Sydney Newton ONLINE EDITORS Sophie Henschel Campbell Wood ASST. PRINT EDITORS Peyton Moore Cesca Stamati ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Lyda Cosgrove Kate Heitmann HEAD COPY EDITOR Campbell Wood ASST. ONLINE EDITORS Caroline Wood Caroline Gould DESIGN EDITORS Nora Lynn Anna Mitchell PHOTO EDITORS Elise Madden Maggie Merckens ASST. PHOTO EDITORS Rachel Bingham Macy Crosser Hadley Chapman VIDEO EDITOR Maggie Klumpp PHOTO MENTORS Emily Pollock Grace Allen Lily Mantel Julia Fillmore Riley Eck

photo by lily mantel

Charlotte Emley STAFF WRITERS Madeline Funkey Christian Gooley Mia Vogel Gibbs Morris Ben Bradley Katie Murphy Luke Beil Maggie Kissick Emma Krause Maggie Condon Hassan Sufi Addie Moore Tristan Chabanis Emmerson Winfrey Lucy Wolf Blakely Faulkner David Allegri Avery Anderson Aanya Bansal Grace Allen COPY EDITORS Caroline Wood Caroline Gould Greyson Imm Katie Murphy Anna Mitchell Sophie Lindberg Paige Zadoo EDITORIAL BOARD Sydney Newton Celia Condon Campbell Wood Sophie Henschel

Peyton Moore Cesca Stamati Kate Heitmann Lyda Cosgrove Caroline Wood Madeline Funkey Nora Lynn Sophie Lindberg Greyson Imm Caroline Gould SECTION EDITORS EDITORIAL PRINT Madeline Funkey NEWS PRINT Caroline Gould ONLINE Luke Beil OPINION PRINT Sophie Lindberg ONLINE Maggie Kissick FEATURE PRINT Katie Murphy ONLINE Paige Zadoo A&E PRINT Caroline Wood ONLINE Mia Vogel SPORTS

PRINT Anna Mitchell ONLINE Ben Bradley PAGE DESIGNERS Katie Murphy Madeline Funkey Christian Gooley Bridget Connelly Luke Beil Emma Krause Marissa Liberda Greyson Imm Sophie Lindberg Maggie Condon Addie Moore Grace Demetriou Lucy Wolf Blakely Faulkner Ava Cooper Sofia Blades Elle Gedman David Allegri Maggie Kissick Gibbs Morris Paige Zadoo ART EDITOR Natalie Scholz ASST. ART EDITOR Nora Lynn STAFF ARTISTS Sophie Lindberg Bridget Connelly Marissa Liberda Mason Sajna

Grace Demetriou Sofia Blades Ava Cooper STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Audrey Condon Elle Siegel Jill Rice Kate Beaulieu Maggie Klumpp Sabrina Dean Tristen Porter Lilli Vottero Molly Miller Mason Sajna Rachel Condon Riley Scott Lydia Coe Claire Goettsch Caroline Martucci Seri Steinbrecher Liv Madden Clara Peters MJ Wolf VIDEO STAFF Abby Lee Jill Rice Lily Mantel PODCAST MENTORS Ben Bradley Emma Krause SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS Celia Condon Sophie Henschel ASST. SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Mia Vogel Paige Zadoo SOCIAL MEDIA STAFF Madeline Funkey Campbell Wood Sydney Newton Grace Allen Sophie Lindberg Ben Bradley Peyton Moore Lyda Cosgrove Marissa Liberda Bridget Connelly Maggie Condon Lilli Vottero Molly Miller Addie Moore Grace Demetriou Lucy Wolf Ava Cooper Elle Gedman David Allegri Avery Anderson Maggie Kissick ADS MANAGER Greyson Imm CONTEST COORDINATOR Peyton Moore CIRCULATION MANAGERS Maggie Klumpp Julia Fillmore

OTHER COVERAGE

INFLUENTIAL LANCERS

TIK TOKER

S H E ’S S O D E D I C AT E D to her mind and always standing up for what she believes in. Her determination led us to this underwater photo for the yearbook and I got to help. The coolest par t was seeing her do it and getting he r perfect shot.

K ATE WH ITEFI ELD

FRIEND AND CLASSMATE E S SY R EA L LY I S the person who made me keep wanting to do theater. Her enthusiasm shines on and off stage. Essy is hard working, one of the most hard working people I know, she is always bringing other people up with her personal co nfi d e nce a nd hum ble nat ure.

Before and after every show Essy gives us hugs. She hugs us and yells ‘you’re a star, you’re going to kill it’ before every show. She has the biggest and best smile and Essy makes us all excited to perform.

ARTIST

Students nominated by their peers for the following “influential lancers” and their close friends and people’s quotes about their character

HILL’S BASEBALL COACH CO M I N G BAC K F RO M the injury he had in the summer, not missing a basketball season and playing the best baseball of his career has been inspiring.

ATHLETE

I ’ L L F I N I S H W I T H this about Emmett, it is my hope that my own son watches him closely, as he is an outstanding exam ple of not only an athlete, but as a person of good character and selflessness.

RYA N WA R D CO-SHARE EXEC I WO U L D SAY Grace always puts SHARE and helping our community first as she is involved in so much, yet can always be counted on to take charge and inspire oth ers d ur i n g projects.

COURTENAY TETRICK CO-SHARE EXEC

VOLUNTEER

W H E N YO U T H I N K of Grace Kloster, you think of someone who is constantly putting others before herself. She is kind, determined, selfless, always has a smile on her face and has one of the most contagious laughs ever. All things which make her so easy to work with and the perfect role model and friend.

GINA H A L K SWOR T H

TONGTONG YI

DONNY WELSH

BLAKE NUNNELEE

ACTRESS

K ATH ER INE HAM I LTON

LAUREN LEMAY

ESSY SIEGEL

DUO

I ’ L L M I S S H E R reactions. She’s such an expressive person that when she’s excited or surprised or anxious about something, the whole room knows.

Her energy is so contagious, she just can’t help but brighten your day.

03

WIL L GOR D E N

EMMETT HILL

EMMA K ATE SQUI RES

KATHERINE

EMMA KATE

design by anna mitchell copy by peyton moore

GRACE KLOSTER

MAY 09, 2022

CHEF

STUDENT

YI’S FRENCH TEACHER

TO N GTO N G I S S O well rounded, so personable. He listens intently, he wants to learn.

Tongtong is one of a kind that he really wants success for cer tain programs and wants to help other students. He cares. He cares what teachers think and cares about how he treats the adults in his life.

04

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

SENIOR SECTION

WHEN I GROW UP...

Comparing the career paths seniors wanted to take when they were younger to their majors next year by ave ry ande rson EVERY KID GOES through a phase of

wanting to be a pirate or racecar driver when they grow up. Some buy every toy they can get their hands on relating to their current obsession only to switch their plans the next month while others feel a passion towards a certain career and work their whole lives to achieve

EMMA COLEMAN WALKING OUT IN

front of parents, classmates and siblings at her sixth grade graduation from Prairie Elementary School, Emma Coleman stated into the microphone what she wanted to be when she grew up: a veterinarian.

As part of the graduation ceremony, each elementary graduate shared their future career choice as they walked across the stage. For some of her classmates, the answer may have been difficult at the time, but Emma had known she wanted to be a veterinarian since she was little, so the answer was simple for her.

design by cesca stamati

DIFFERENCES IN DREAMS

DID YOU EVER HAVE A DREAM JOB WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?

* I n s ta g ra m p o l l o f 2 0 9 votes

YES

76%

NO

24%

Polls comparing the

DO YOU STILL WANT THE SAME JOB THAT YOU WANTED IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?

expectations vs. reality

* I n s ta g ra m p o l l o f 2 01 votes

for East students’

YES

88%

planned job paths

NO

12%

their dream job.

During high school, lots of kids choose to take classes that correspond with what they plan to be in the future but these plans aren’t set in stone and as graduation and college approach, the question of what you want to be when

you grow up becomes the basis of their future.

For a few seniors in particular, their decision is solidified, but for others it takes a little bit of soul-searching and a lot of college visits do decide how they want to use their talents.

While other classmates had been in their astronaut or pop star phase, 12-yearold Emma wanted to help take care of animals. This love for animals would not subside until high school when she would have to make a difficult decision.

Late in her junior year, Coleman decided against a veterinarian career due to her allergies towards some domestic animals but continued on a medical path and enrolled in medical courses at the Center for Academic Achievement.

Coleman chose to take Medical Science 1 her junior year and Sports

Medicine and Certified Nursing Assistant this year. These classes gave her a good foundation and base knowledge for a continued study of nursing in college.

“I want to continue on to be a Nurse Practitioner,” Coleman said. “I think I want to go into pediatrics but I’m not quite sure yet.”

She plans to attend Arizona State University next year and take all prerequisites for nursing school, which she’ll officially start junior year.

interested in psychology and considered a career in child psychology. She took Psychology 1 and 2, as well as AP psychology but recently she decided that it wasn’t what she ultimately wanted to settle for. Although she enjoyed the career path and continued to take classes revolving around psychology, she thought that journalism was a better fit for her because of her natural talent for it.

Her sophomore year, she again switched paths when she joined East’s yearbook staff. Her newfound love for journalism drove her to become a copy editor for the Hauberk.

This hobby became a passion that evolved naturally for her and she has since decided to pursue English and copy editing in college. After lots of experimenting and hobbies, she decided on journalism as her major at the University of Arkansas.

“Whenever I edit stories I feel like it comes more naturally to me,” said McDonald, Attending Arkansas has been a goal for her since her freshman year because of the older people she knew who enjoyed their time at the school. Her brother encouraged this decision saying it was just a fun place to go to school.

Although her decision to continue to study journalism and English in college did not have a major impact on her school cloice, she still chose a school that aligned with her major and personality.

From a popstar, to a famous writer, a child psychologist and finally, a copy editor, Sadie McDonald finally discovered her love for journalism and will continue to pursue this passion in the next chapter of her life.

SADIE MCDONALD AFTER BEING INTRODUCED to Taylor

Swift’s earlier music by her brother early in grade school, Sadie McDonald’s dream job was to become a glittering popstar and perform just like her idol. Though she never showcased her ability at the school talent show or any other public event, she was passionate about this path and would perform original songs for her parents and family members.

“I would make my parents sit down in our family room and pretend they were American Idol judges and I would “audition” for them,” said McDonald. “I would also write little songs for them.”

However,later in grade school, she got hooked on books like “Percy Jackson” and “Harry Potter” and decided she would be a New York Times bestselling author. She loved writing short stories in her free time and making her parents read them.

When she was 15, she found herself

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Statistics about the senior class and information about college life

do’s & don’t’s

fluffy rug Fluffy rugs will get super dirty super fast and will not be worth the clean.

white board calender This will be used for two weeks and then never again. Just use Google Calender.

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OTHER COVERAGE

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design by nora lynn photos by rachel bingham and from amazon.com

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MAY 9, 2022

erio

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06

OLIVIA

OTHER COVERAGE

Late senior Olivia Piotrowski passed away this fall, leaving lessons in all of her friends to life a carefree, appreciative lifestyle

HALEY SMITH 2012

JANE THIEDE 2011 2020

2020

2011

ASHLEY CALIBO, REGAN HENNESSEY, KATIE HUMPHREY 2019

OLIVIA PIOTROWSKI 2003-2021

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION design by peyton moore

by soph ie hen sch el

W

HEN FACED WITH the decision of how to honor her late daughter at graduation, East mother Alison Ball was lost. Cap and gown on an empty chair?

Flowers? A speech? A moment of silence?

She wasn’t sure — none of it seemed quite right.

Her daughter, Olivia Piotrowski, was supposed to graduate eight days from now but passed away unexpectedly the morning of Sept. 16. Administration contacted her mother eight months after her passing asking how she wanted to handle what will happen when Olivia’s name is called at graduation — but she didn’t have a simple answer.

Olivia’s life was anything but silent, so Alison knew watching stands full of people sitting in silence and honoring her would probably make Olivia squirm in her seat.

To her friends and mother, Olivia was the type of person to always have her car windows down if it was above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, always turn down a serious conversation if she had the choice to laugh instead and carry a never-say-no attitude everywhere she went. She had a hard time letting just anyone see this side of her, but according to East alum and close friend of Olivia’s, Katie Overstreet, it was a treat when she would.

D E F I N I T E LY O N E O F t h e sw e e t e s t p e o p l e o n p l a n et e a r t h .

KATIE OVERSTREET EAST ALUM Her fiery ginger hair and the way everything she owned was red were two staple tellings of her boldness when around the people she was comfortable with. A lifelong friend of Olivia’s and senior Jane Thiede says Olivia had courage and style and she wasn’t willing to let anything change that — whether it was a passing comment in the hallway or someone sparking an argument.

Olivia was the type of person who knew what she wanted. She spent countless hours secretly admiring her red hair in the mirror, ordering her plain McChickens with cheese and honey mustard and heavily layering all her gold jewelry. She laced up her Jordans every day, critiqued her modeling photos

for the contract she’d just signed with a California agency, dreamed of her future home of Santa Barbara, California where she’d move to after graduation, idolized Kylie Jenner and adored everything red.

“She liked what she liked, and you weren’t going to change it,” Jane said. “She was just very Olivia all of the time.”

Olivia was the type of friend who always bounced off the walls, but she also spread that magnetic energy that made her friends want to bounce off the walls too. When Jane would lie on her bed to laze around and watch a movie, Olivia sat on top of her until she was willing to get up and try something new. Their adventures were as limitless as Olivia. They visited an alpaca farm, drove 30 minutes for edible cookie dough, dressed up in full mix-match for the Justin Bieber “Believe” tour and took too many thrifting trips to count.

She’d be friends with anyone willing to obsess over her two dogs, Binka and Apple, with her. She’d hang the top half of her body out of friend and senior Haley Smith’s front passenger window so she could feel the wind, blaring “That’s My Girl” by Fifth Harmony.

But she wasn’t just the spontaneous friend to cruise around downtown Kansas City with. Her goal was to make her friends feel like time never passed.

“With friends, a lot of times they’ll fall out and they come and go in seasons, but she was one that you could always count on to be there,” Katie said. “It wasn’t a noticeable thing when you first met her, [but] once you got to know her, you knew that she was always there — always 100% for everyone else.”

Since her passing, every one of her close friends has dedicated their senior year to living a life full of laughter, taking care of their loved ones and embracing every opportunity — just like Olivia did — in remembrance of her.

For Katie, this meant staying close with Alison to ensure that she’s doing as well as she possibly can. Alison says Katie was one of the biggest blessings that was sent her way as a single mother who had just lost her only child.

Katie went with Alison to get their triple ear piercings together, something Alison and Olivia were going to do together. It wasn’t to replace Olivia. It was to support

Alison in fulfilling what she planned to do with Olivia now for Olivia.

Katie and Olivia also planned on getting tattoos, so Katie did that too, bringing Olivia along in her mind. She landed on a heart.

Alison found an old card that Olivia had given her which had a heart on the front, so Katie had it inked onto her ribcage in red just as Olivia drew it. It had to be red.

Jane and senior Lucy Humpfrey also got tattoos to remember Olivia. Lucy’s sits on her wrist reading “Love, Olivia,” copied from another card she signed as a child with her handwriting. Jane’s is also on her wrist with three 3’s stacked on top of each other to symbolize her favorite angel numbers and as a reminder that Olivia is watching over her.

Together, Olivia’s close friends organized her candle-lit vigil on the football field seven days after her passing, where they shared speeches filled with memories of Olivia. They came together and made a memorial for her using red SOLO cups to spell her name, flowers and photos on East’s fence facing 75th St. Their goal with this — and everything they’ve been doing — is to remember Olivia.

At East, in the community and in their hearts.

“The way I’ve been coping with it is that I still tell myself she’s here in one way or another,” Katie said. “I’ve told her mom this, but I feel like [Olivia is] messing with me sometimes.”

The rest of Olivia’s friends feel the same way.

S H E WA S V E RY O l i v i a a l l the time.

JANE THEIDE

SENIOR

Katie still uses the same mascara Olivia got her hooked on, giving an eye roll to the sky when she accidentally sneezes while applying it — Olivia. She giggles driving down Mission Road and passing a bright red G Wagon, her dream car, blaring rap music — Olivia.

Jane smiles when she passes random trees that remind her of the ones they used to climb — Olivia. Haley takes a sigh of relief when she sees girls’ Instagram photos of them hanging out of a car window in the wind — Olivia. Lucy smirks driving down

Main Street, memories of the time they ate sushi before attending homecoming together sophomore year — Olivia.

W I T H F R I E N D S , A l ot of t i m e s t h ey ’ l l fa l l o u t a n d t h ey c o m e and go in seasons, but she w a s o n e t h a t yo u c o u l d a lw a y s c o u nt o n t o b e t h e re . I t w a s n ’ t a n ot i c e a b l e t h i n g w h e n yo u f i rst m et h e r , [ b u t ] o n c e yo u g ot t o k n o w h e r , yo u k n e w t h a t s h e w a s a lw a y s t h e re — a lw a y s 1 0 0 % fo r eve r yo n e e l s e .

KATIE OVERSTREET EAST ALUM Olivia’s former East Educational Mentor, Tammy Fryer, said Olivia was one of the most expressive students she’d ever work with. Deemed by Olivia as her “school mom,” Tammy grew close over the three years they worked together — she was one of the first people Olivia went to for help with her anxiety and school struggles.

Olivia adored and appreciated Tammy to an infinite extent, Alison said. Olivia gave Easter and Christmas presents annually with written cards, candles and gift cards — anything she could find to show love.

“In class, she was really quiet and seemed very shy but when you got her outside of class,” Tammy said. “She really had a bubbly personality, she really expressed herself very well [and] made her opinions known.”

Olivia’s loved ones have all heartfully mourned their friend throughout the year and encouraged all of East to remember her, and remember that sometimes death is unexpected and no teenager is ever ready for that shock. They want everyone to reach out and value time with loved ones.

“Just be there [for your friends] because you don’t know who will wake up tomorrow morning,” Katie said. “No teenager should ever die and no parent should ever have to plan a funeral for their child.”

MAY 09, 2022

pages 9-15 I design by sydney newton and photos by elise madden & maggie merckens

PROFILES

09

INTRODUCING THE Reflecting on his past of childhood trauma and hardship, Garrett Smith hopes to make a positive impact on youth like himself by spreading his faith — what inspired him to pursue a degree in studies and a career in the church. by greyson imm “IS EVERYTHING OK?” Those three words sent then-sophomore Garrett Smith bawling with a simple reply of “no.” Sitting by himself in the back row of chairs at his new youth group, he knew he had to overcome the automatic, knee-jerk reply of “Yeah, I’m fine” when his youth group leader checked on him that day. He was tired of pretending he was ok.

He was tired of feeling resentment and emptiness. He was tired of the endless nightly arguments with his mom. He was tired of chasing the temporary pleasures of drugs, alcohol and sex, and tired of the regret that lingered after his high wore off.

Garrett saw that question as his last chance— for months prior, thoughts of suicide spiraled in his mind.

“I just opened up to one person and he told me that I actually have purpose,” Garrett said. “It changed my life. It was the very first time that I actually felt loved for once.”

If he could be loved in spite of his trauma and past, Garrett decided he would give living another try.

This second chance gave him something he hadn’t seen in years — hope for recovery and a feeling of lasting fulfillment. Seeking this fulfillment from church, he began to occupy his Sundays with service, his weeknights with youth group and any free moment with volunteering at his church.

Two and a half years later, Garrett now wants to be the person his youth group leader was for him, extending his passion to help others by pursuing an intercultural studies degree and a job in the church. ***** Garrett’s mom, Courtney, describes him as a “gentle soul.” He was the kid in elementary school that teachers picked to show new students around and help them on their first day.

But after his grandfather’s passing in 2015, Garrett’s quiet life in Kearney, Missouri was shattered when he, his mom and two older sisters made the sudden move to Prairie Village, Kansas — where Garrett’s dad lived. Though they’d been separated for as long as Garrett can remember, Courtney’s dad’s passing made her realize

that she wanted her kids to have a relationship with their father, outside of their usual weekend visit every two or three weeks.

The abrupt move, combined with the struggles of starting a new school and fitting in led Garrett to start using drugs and alcohol.

“I chased the world and chased what everyone else did,” Garrett said.

At first it was to fit in, but then morphed into a coping mechanism. It became a way to avoid confronting his crumbling relationship with his mom. To deal with their verbal conflicts — hours of fighting, yelling accusations and insults. To try and get rid of the emptiness he felt in his life.

It wasn’t until he couldn’t his suicidal thoughts any longer — what Garrett recalls as “rock bottom” — when he finally knew he needed help.

Since that day in the back of the youth group room, Garrett now spends five days a week at LifeChurch, attending worship nights, studying The Bible and socializing at youth group — connecting with God showed him his purpose. He attributes his change to finding a “forever satisfaction” in an eternal God, as opposed to seeking temporary pleasures.

The gentle soul his mother knew had finally returned home.

“By diving into that interest and finding out more about giving and putting others first and focusing on God and learning about his role, it really brought out the kind and gentle soul that you see as a child,” Courtney said.

His goal now is to be a lifeline for someone else. After getting his degree from Ozark Christian College, he plans to potentially go on a mission trip or get a job within the church — his bottom line, however, is simply to make a difference.

“I’ll be sharing my testimony with people, and if I just impact one person through my story I’ll know I’ve made a change,” Garrett said. “I don’t care where I go, wherever life and God leads me. If that’s to China, I’ll go to China. If it’s to Zimbabwe, or Brazil or anywhere else, I’ll go there. I just want to share what I’ve done and what God has done in me.”

GARRETT SMITH

10

PROFILES

JACKSON MOULIN

by p aige zadoo

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

Senior Jackson Moulin is playing rugby at the University of Arkansas, continuing the sport he fell in love with at age 9 by christian gooley

SENIOR JACKSON MOULIN, better known around East as “Peanut,” started playing rugby when “it was more like backyard football, with barely any contact” his stepfather Kyle Miesner said. At age nine, Jackson joined Heartland Youth Rugby league, kicking off his rugby career.

After considering multiple schools and his parents, Jackson has decided he’s going to continue playing rugby at the University of Arkansas for their club team the UREC. “Arkansas has one of the best business schools in the nation and I also know a couple of the guys that are already on the club team there which helped my decision a lot,” Jackson said.

Heartland Youth Rugby is co-ed league for first through eighth graders that can choose to either play flag or tackle rugby. With the way the league worked, Jackson had to play a flag game each week before participating in tackle games — a rule he despised.

“Flag football was not for me,” Jackson said. “To be completely honest I

hated it, I have always been a dominant person and loved to hit so just pulling a flag wasn’t enough.”

A big factor in Jackson’s decision to play rugby was because Kyle attended and played rugby at Pittsburg State University then played for the Kansas City Blues professional team for a short time. His participation in the relatively uncommon sport introduced Jackson to the relatively uncommon sport.

“My stepdad’s stories of him being the big man running the ball and always being someone I looked up to because of how good at sports he was really inspired me to try rugby and see if I loved it as much as he did,” Jackson said.

After four years, Jackson didn’t think he’d be able to continue rugby as he was too old to play in the Heartland League.

East doesn’t have a rugby team and there were none close by that he knew of, until his weights partner and East alum Mitchell Stedry told him about his rugby team with St. James high school.

Jackson quickly fell back in love with the game after a three year break, playing in the hooker position — making

him responsible for hooking the ball and getting possession for his team during a scrum. He’s also responsible for throwing the ball in during a line-out. Playing for St. James has grown Jackson’s love for rugby along with his circle of friends.

With rugby being a very physically demanding sport, Jackson worries about injuries, just like any sport. For Jackson and his family, they’re not as worried about it as everyone else.

“I feel like we have an odd on fear in the world because we spend time being stressed over something that hasn’t even happened yet or that we don’t even know will happen,” Kyle said. “There is the same or even a better chance of you getting hurt just driving to and from school as being out on the rugby field.”

This summer, Peanut will be practicing and training for UREC while also enjoying his last high school summer enjoying his break from school.

However, it’ll be a short one as once fall comes around, his schedule is packed with practice and training for the season.

AARON R A L STO N

Senior Aaron Ralston has made his childhood dream come true, as he’s attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and later flying for the Air Force then for corporate, private planes

THEN-THIRD-GRADER Aaron Ralston felt mesmerized. He watched the plane’s wings glide through the air and the engines turn as he stretched his neck so he could see out the window. While on his first ever commercial flight headed to Disneyland, Aaron was infatuated with every part of it — specifically the clip-on wings pilot’s wear on their blazers.

That was the moment he became obsessed with everything about planes.

He went to flying camps and had flying lessons, dreaming of becoming a pilot someday.

Ten years later, that dream is now a reality as Aaron will be attending EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University to major in aeronautical science, fly for the Air Force after college and then eventually fly commercially.

Ralston’s love for flying only grew since his first flight. His summer going into eighth grade was spent at a flying camp at Kansas State University learning the plane’s controls and mechanics. And for his birthday that same year, he was gifted with a private flying lesson where he learned to perform take-offs and landings. These experiences solidified his goals for him, driving him to decide

to pursue flying — goals that have now come true.

However, it wasn’t until his sophomore year that the career aspect became more real. After obtaining his pilot’s license that year, a comment from his father made him realize that he had the confidence to follow through with his passion.

“Honestly my dad really planted the idea,” Ralston said. “He said he wasn’t paying for a hobby, and he wanted to pay for a career. So that really initiated looking for aviation schools and things like that.”

He began flying with a private instructor Chris Hope, and joined The Flying Club of Kansas City. Hope recognized Ralston’s natural talent for flying planes, saying it’s something he’s meant to do.

“My instructor told me I was one of his fastest learning students,” Ralston said. “He said I just got it naturally.”

Ralston has a total of 150 hours of flying time, almost double the hours required to get a license. His dedication and love for flying is clear, having taken multiple written and verbal tests through the past year and spending this past

summer flying six hours a week to obtain his license, and he’ll continue to fly six hours a week this summer too.

But Ralston’s pilot license wasn’t just his endgame, through the next couple of years he began looking into aviation schools and programs for the next four years, specifically the University of North Dakota and Embry-Riddle. After touring both campuses, he chose EmbryRiddle for its more hands-on experience.

And just like the 10-year-old dream he had of one day flying planes, he now has dreams for the rest of his life figured out.

He believes his dedication that’s brought him this far, will help them come true.

After graduating from Embry-Riddle, Ralston plans on joining the Air Force and flying for exactly 20 years before continuing his flying career corporately to “fly around all the rich dudes” — a decision, according to Ralston, that gives you better pay opportunity, a stronger entry level position and better experiences overall.

He hopes to one day pass out clip-on wings to little kids, like himself, on his own flights.

PROFILES

MAY 09, 2022

ANAYA M C GAU G H

11

Senior and “people person” Anaya McGaugh will attend Shawnee Mission’s Post-High special needs program next year

by cesc a stamati

by kati e m ur phy

T

HE GIRL WHO holds the school doors every sunrise to say “good morning” — Senior Anaya McGaugh. She’s out of bed and to school by 7 a.m., even when she feels like snoozing, to greet students she knows and those she doesn’t.

“There’s people having bad mornings, and I just want to say ‘good morning’ to everyone,” Anaya said. “I feel like it’s just nice.”

She’s the girl who waits by the library printer during passing period between fourth and sixth hour to say hi to whoever walks by — she’s stationed in the art hallway between fifth and seventh hour, too. Almost everyone sees her at some point along their daily route.

Next year, Anaya will be greeting Shawnee Mission North students instead of East students in the morning as a participant in SMSD’s special needs Post-High program.

Special education teacher Sharon Houser, who’s known Anaya since she was a freshman, calls her a people person.

She loves to make new friends, as someone who’s not too shy to pick up a conversation about the upcoming game with strangers on their way to class.

“Anaya’s friendly,” Houser said. “She’s kind. She’s compassionate. She cares about other people.”

She fills up her current special needs teacher Rachel Kirby’s water bottle without being asked — or maybe her

cup of coffee, whatever Kirby’s in the mood for.

Post-High provides services to students from ages 18 to 21 who would like more time to learn before transitioning to a post-school environment, according to SMSD.org. While in the year-long program, students complete activities that prepare them to live and work in the community.

In preparation for her new program, Anaya has bagged groceries at Hen House, worked at Catholic Charities’ clothing resale shop and helped at a local veterinarian clinic.

Her dream job is to become a vet, but she’s not sure what her plans are after she goes through Post-High.

“I’ll miss seeing my friends, but I like that [North] is a big school,” Anaya said.

Though Anaya has attended career placement field trips this year, Kirby hopes that she’ll visit even more job sites to help her figure out her next steps thanks to Post-High.

Anaya said she’s excited — not nervous at all — to start going there.

“The program will help [Anaya] transition from doing high school activities to job-related activities,” Houser said.

“From a student to a person in the community with more responsibilities.”

Senior Ella Morrissey’s heart transplant will allow her to go to school in-person at University of Missouri

“COME ON SLOWPOKES!” There’s no need to run, but senior Ella Morrissey can’t help herself, speeding ahead of her friends on the way to AMC Theater for a friend’s birthday party. They’re used to having to catch up to her now.

Ever since her heart transplant in December, she runs every chance she gets — climbing hills she passes by, chasing her shih tzu poodle in the front yard or tumbling across Loose Park with her friends.

Before Dec. 5, 2021 — the day of her surgery — Ella couldn’t run at all. She couldn’t see her friends or stay awake for more than a few hours. She struggled to find the energy to go outside.

But after seven years of doctors visits, asking her friends to take a break on every walk and five months in a Memphis hospital bed preparing and recovering from a heart transplant, Ella’s friends are now the ones asking her to slow down.

Her heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, doesn’t restrict her like it used to — and won’t get in the way of her future college experience at the University of Missouri the way it disrupted her senior year.

Ella doesn’t have to worry about her heart malfunctioning or passing out in class anymore. She’s changed since the transplant — her friends and family have noticed. Her face has a healthier glow, she spends more time outside and she’s not taking naps every few hours like she used to.

“I was really nervous about going to college [with] my heart because I feel like there’s a lot of running and partying, and you don’t have your parents with you,” Ella said. “But now I feel like I can relax a bit because nothing will happen with my heart.”

For most students, the monotony of online school ended after the spring of 2021, but Ella has spent the majority of her

senior year doing Edgenuity classes from bed. She couldn’t risk illness with a weakened immune system post-surgery — even a common cold would’ve put her in the emergency room.

While she can see some of her friends now that she’s back from Memphis, she still can’t be in large crowds, including the halls of East.

Next semester, Ella’s immune system will be strong enough for her to go to class in-person. She can rush a sorority, go to game days and live in a single suite next to two of her current friends and two other students she’s already connected with.

Ella knows she’ll never be completely “back to normal” — her immune system will always cause her to have stronger reactions to sicknesses than her friends — but she’s glad she’s out of the hospital bed. Typically, patients can’t walk for a week after a transplant — she was up by the second day. Her doctors said she was one of their fastest recoverers because of how active she stayed after the surgery.

Now that she’s no longer held back by her condition, Mizzou is a chance for Ella to catch up on finding herself in a new place with the limitations of her condition in the past. Not only did dealing with her heart condition make school impossible, but it also isolated her from self-discovery during a pivotal time in her life — senior year.

“I didn’t really know who I was because, with all these restrictions, I couldn’t really find myself,” Ella said. “Now, I have no restrictions so when I dance, I dance. And whenever I was hanging out with a new group, I was always scared that they were gonna run and I wouldn’t be able to catch up with them and it would be scary to tell them, ‘Oh, I have a heart disease.’ Now, I have no worries about that.”

ELLA

MORRISSEY

12

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

PROFILES

HENRY JONES

Henry Jones is continuing his intership at SOFTWarfare, a local computer software and cybersecurity by lyda co sgrove

T

HEN 10-YEAR-OLD Henry Jones slammed his Wii remote against the TV — Super Mario Bros. glitched and he’d lost.

Again. As he peered underneath the now-cracked plastic Wii remote, he discovered what could be the issue — a layer of rust on the motherboard. It must’ve been a glitch. With nothing more than a flathead screwdriver and a guess at the possible problem, he chipped away to unblock the circuitry, and sure enough: the Wii flickered back on.

“That was the point in my head when it clicked that all of these pieces of technology, despite being developed by [people] in Japan, people could figure [them] out with enough time and dedication,” Henry said. “If I could stumble upon a fix with a flathead screwdriver and a complete lack of self-safety, surely if I spent more time on it, I could continue.”

Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of 5, Henry has experienced hyperfixations — an intense state of concentration and focus — throughout his life, whether it was wall-high drawers of color-coordinated Legos or reconfiguring his Nerf guns to triple their original power.

The one commonality among the fixations, however, has been his knack for working with his hands and looking into the hardware behind every piece of technology he can find.

Recently, he decided to capitalize on this natural ability by building commissioned PCs, something that’s already earned him over $5,000.

College was once a potential next step for Henry, until he heard about the intern developer position at SOFTWarfare,

a local software engineering company with a focus on cybersecurity — he knew it was the perfect fit. By second semester, he was set up with Shawnee Mission School District’s work experience program which now allows him to leave school every day at 1 p.m. for his internship just down the street where he works until 5 p.m. “[Henry] finds something that’s very niche and dives into the rabbit hole headfirst,” junior and co-intern Charlie Moren said, who’s witnessed Henry’s passion for everything computer engineering-related firsthand.

Once he graduates, Henry will work for SOFTWarfare fulltime, then complete a two-year web development training along with four Information Technology certifications, a process that normally takes eight years of field experience. And from there, Henry plans to continue working his way up the computer software industry. In his time at SOFTWarfare, he’s already made connections through his boss with the founder of Google Maps and creator of PokémonGo. With his career path basically guaranteed, Henry is confident in his choice.

“My ultimate goal is to just find a job that gives me enough money to have an apartment that I’d like to furnish with all of the Smart Home features that I’ve dreamed of,” Henry said. “I always say that it’s a joke, but my retirement plan for when I turn 60 is to plant an EMP bomb in every major internet center that doesn’t kill a single person but just like [that]: Internet’s out. Fresh Start.”

MARIA MORRISSEY

Maria Morrissey will attend the Art Institute of Chicago to create and sell mixed media artwork by aanya ban sal

T

HEN 7-YEAR-OLD Maria Morrissey sat down to paint for the first time, her dad looking over her shoulder from his own canvas. His depiction of a weeping willow tree was vibrant with color, the watercolor falling neatly onto the paper. Maria did her best to copy her dad’s brushstrokes, but her tree ended up looking like what most 7-year-olds paint — a green blob.

Since then, Maria has combined her own ideas with painting tips from her dad to create paintings, drawings and graphics that mean something to her. She currently showcases these creations on her Instagram account, @artbymars.

Now Maria will take her art to the next level at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she’ll have access to resources like galleries through the school and city that will help her art reach a larger audience.

“Through the [Art Institute of Chicago], we do galleries where I would show my art and then people could buy it from there,” Maria said. “I would love to sell my art. It’s like a dream.”

Maria’s artwork is influenced by memories and pictures in her head that come from routine experiences like listening to music and looking outside her window. There’s a corner stocked with an easel, paints, canvases, brushes and palettes in her room at home where she paints and designs whenever she feels inspired.

Her twin sister and senior Ella Morrissey loves popping into Maria’s room and hanging out with her while she paints.

Ella admires the fact that Maria does a variety of art ranging from landscapes to portraits that are relevant to herself.

“She’s just very passionate about it,” Ella said. “I think it’s

her calling.”

One of Maria’s favorite art pieces is what used to be her bedroom door. Inspired by a Michelangelo painting titled, “The Creation of Adam” and with no access to a canvas in the middle of a pandemic, Maria began painting on the door to her bedroom with art supplies she found around her house.

When her family had to move in August of 2020, Maria couldn’t take her door with them. Instead, she snapped a picture of it and turned that picture into a graphic design representing social distancing and quarantine using Photoshop, which she taught herself to use to create unique designs.

“I just go into Photoshop and mess around a little bit,” Maria said. “I have an iPad with a stylus or Apple Pen, so I use Procreate a lot.”

Drawing teacher Emma Chalk has watched Maria’s art grow throughout her senior year. Maria’s willingness to push herself and keep trying is what Chalk believes will help her succeed in art school. “[She] is always willing to push herself to try harder and do better and is always looking to improve, which is just awesome,” Chalk said.

Maria is excited to continue working on her mixed media projects at the Art Institute of Chicago because she loves creating art that is meaningful to her.

“I feel like in every piece that I do, there’s a memory to it,” Maria said. “There’s always a meaning behind what I do.”

MAY 09, 2022

PROFILES

MASON SUDERMANN

13

After fishing since he was 5 years old and competitively fishing since he was a freshman, Mason Sudermann will be attending the University of Arkansas with the plan to join their Bass Fishing Club by kate hei tm an

THE ONLY BIRTHDAY present senior Mason Sudermann has ever asked his grandpa for is to go on their annual fishing trip. In their three to four day trip where they go to the Big Piney River, they for bass and hire a fishing guide familiar with the river to help them find striped bass.

The fishing guide would show them the area, bringing along any equipment needed for the specific area.

Sudermann joined the Kickback Bass Fishing Team, a competitive fishing team in the Kansas City area for high schoolers, freshman year after his mom encouraged him to join.

“I always wanted to go fishing and I had a bigger passion than pretty much anyone around,” Sudermann. “My mom was kind of looking around for things to do, fishing related and she found the team. I went, checked it out and went to one of their meetings and it clicked.”

They meet once a month, exchanging tips on how each person fish and discuss upcoming tournaments.

Another time, they helped stock a bass in a lake before the season.

Sudermann will compete in the 2022 Bass Fishing State Competition in May. He qualified for this event after catching five bass totaling over 17 pounds — with all fish required to be at least 15 inches long — at the semifinals.

At an earlier competition, he unofficially broke Lake Perry’s record for smallmouth bass — 5.8 pounds — usually smallmouth bass or largemouth bass only weigh three or four pounds in Kansas.

“A bunch of old guys who love to fish will come to check the weigh-in, and they will talk to me about my catch and what not,” Sudermann said. “Then I ask them cause clearly they are more experienced than me. I ask them what they do and get a lot of information.”

Sudermann’s interest in animals led him to consider a major in Animal Sciences. After looking at both University of Arkansas and Michigan State University, which both have

strong animal sciences programs and fishing teams, he settled on Arkansas to be closer to the lakes and rivers he’s fished in since he was 5.

Sudermann messaged Arkansas’s Bass Fishing Club’s Instagram account, which put him in contact with the club’s president. After texting back and forth, the president told Sudermann that he could expect an interview before joining in the fall, and after that, he’d be in the club.

The Bass Fishing Club is a schoolsanctioned club sport and travels around the country to tournaments like the Bassmaster, Collegiate Bass, MLF Collegiate Circuit and many local competitions as well. In addition, Sudermann will receive a jersey and discounts from fishing supply companies like Epic Baits, Woo Tungsten, P-line and Spearpoint Hooks.

“It’ll be a little difficult with school going on, but I’m hoping to just basically travel the country and fish,” Sudermann said. “That’d be my ultimate dream is just to fish for a

EMILY HASSETT

Through the last seven months, Emily Hassett has been taking welding classes, which she plans to pursue as a career by addie moore

AS SHE SLIPPED on the thick yellow gloves and placed the heavy, black industrial helmet over her head, senior Emily Hassett was instantly transferred into her “own world.”

The small, dark tinted window in the helmet clears her peripheral vision so she can only focus on the thing in her hand — a 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit welding torch. “[Welding] creates a one-on-one scenario so you can focus on your art and nothing else,” Hassett said.

Growing up, Hassett has always had an interest in engineering. Whether it’s oil changes with her dad or building her own gaming computer at just 14-years-old, she has always had a niche for anything industrial.

Hassett started welding about seven months ago. She attended a three-hour intro to welding class with one of her close friends, senior Lilly Rogers. At the class, they learned about different drills, hammers, torches and basic welding

techniques. According to Rogers, Hassett was immediately interested in the craft and mentioned wanting to continue with it in college.

Since then, she’s been taking classes at Hammerspace Workshop at 5200 E. 45th St. in Kansas City, Missouri. Hassett has attended around 20 of their classes such as advanced welding, silversmithing basics and design welding.

She’s never loved the idea of a traditional four year college. The “extra courses” like math and English make it harder for her to focus on her welding.

After watching her two older sisters come out of college with student debt, Hassett veered towards community college or trade school.

“You can get just as good education from community college or trade school,” Hassett said.

She’s deciding between Johnson County Community College next fall, or the Arc & Flame Center in Rochester, New York

— a trade school that offers workshops, night courses and professional training courses. Hassett’s planning on spending the next two years in trade school to get her masters in welding. With an additional year to get certified for an underwater welding degree.

Underwater welding is a more strenuous and dangerous job. It requires a scuba license and specialized equipment. The risk of electric shock, lethal explosions and, according to mahonefirm.com, the 15% death rate make it one of the most dangerous jobs. The $54,000 average starting rate for underwater welders is more attractive to Hassett than the $37,000 average pay rate for regular union welders.

In fact, fear’s not the driving emotion, but excitement. She’s ready to put her helmet back on and build her own world.

14

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

PROFILES

ANNE& EVAN

The Deedy twins have been inseparable their entire lives and now will attend colleges across the country from each other

by hassan sufi

“ONE MORE, JUST ONE MORE LAP.” Senior Evan Deedy muttered those words to his twin sister and senior Anne Deedy, during a rigorous hour-and-a-half morning club swim practice. The Deedy twins have been swimming in the same lane during practices for as long as they can remember. Evan was slightly more energized after his 15-minute nap on the way to their 5 a.m. practice, but Anne was looking forward to her 15-minute rest on the way home from practice.

They switch off driving to and from practices to give each other a chance for some extra rest.

The twins have been cutting fractions of seconds off their times ever since they started swimming competitively, and are both committed to swim in college. Anne will be swimming Division I at Georgia Tech and Evan will be swimming Division III at Claremont McKenna College. The twins have grown up in rooms five feet away from each other, and will soon be making the drastic jump across the country from one another.

Evan and Anne have been swimming together ever since they were 4 years old. Their mom, Judith Deedy, knew the importance of teaching them how to swim, so she got them started as soon as she could.

Both of Deedy’s parents swam at Division I schools in college, but Judith didn’t pressure them into swimming. She signed them up for a variety of sports, such as basketball, baseball and soccer to find which was the right fit for them. They both gravitated toward swimming — just like their parents and sister, Kathleen Deedy, who is swimming in college as well. For the twins, having a mother who understands the commitment is very helpful.

“I think we’re sympathetic and empathetic, like when they have to get up for morning practice I know they’re really tired,’’ Judith said. “I know how they feel.”

The Deedys are no different than any other siblings — they compete against each other just as much as their opponents, if not more. When they were young, Anne had the edge on Evan, but this shifted as Evan got bigger and stronger when he was 12. According to Evan, Anne went quiet after his times started dropping.

“I was always beating Evan and so I would just sort of taunt him with that,” Anne said. “Once he

started getting past me, I started to let that go.”

Even outside of swimming, the twins are always together. They share the same gray Nissan Rogue, share the same friends and have six International Baccalaureate classes together.

I T H I N K I ’ M p ro b a b ly g o n n a m i s s m e s s i n g w i t h e a c h ot h e r a l l t h e t i m e . S h e ’s g o i n g t o b e o n t h e o p p o s i t e s i d e of t h e c o u nt r y , s o I ’ m g o n n a h a ve t o c a l l h e r a n d n ot j u st w a l k f i ve fe et ove r t o h e r ro o m . I n e e d t o b e b ett e r a b o u t c a l l i n g p e o p l e .

EVAN DEEDY

SENIOR

Choosing schools close together was never a deciding factor for either of them. They considered schools within a 10-minute walk of each other, but also six-hour flights away. After Anne signed to Georgia Tech and Evan signed to Claremont McKenna, Judith’s first thought was about what life would be like without her twins.

“They drive each other nuts at times, but they’re also pretty funny sometimes,” Judith said.

“I’ll miss watching them do their little banter.”

For Evan, the idea they’ll be so far apart hasn’t hit them yet, but he believes he’ll start to miss her eventually. He hopes to continue staying in touch through his favorite form of communication: sending memes.

“I think I’m probably gonna miss messing with each other all the time,” Evan said. “She’s going to be on the opposite side of the country, so I’m gonna have to call her and not just walk five feet over to her room. I need to be better about calling people.”

On the other hand, Anne is hoping that their communication involves more actual phone calls or FaceTime instead of the plethora of weird memes that Evan sends her. Either way, Anne doesn’t know what to expect from their new life without each other.

“I’m going to be like, ‘Where is this human that’s always attached to me?’” Anne said. “It’ll definitely be really, really weird. Once I move in, and once he moves in, and we see how far away from each other we are, it’s really going to sink in.”

TWIN BREAKDOWN GEORGIA TECH UNIVERSITY ANNE CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE EVAN A breakdown of where Anne and Evan are attending next year

by carolin e wood

F

LY EIGHT HOURS to Ireland. Three weeks later, fly an hour to London. Take a seven-hour train ride to Switzerland. Catch buses in between.

In the past few weeks, senior Nathanial Caldwell has started running through the route he’s made and planning out every excursion and train path to get around Europe next year as he backpacks and camps during his gap year with his best friend and fellow senior Malia Baker.

Traversing across Europe wasn’t always Nathanial’s game plan. He was initially looking into the United States Marine Corps as is surrounded by family members and friends either in or retired from the military. This — along with physical and mental toughness — is what Nathanial wanted to get out of the experience, and what pushed him to consider joining the Marines “There’s a lot to get out of the Marines,” Nathanial said. “There’s the discipline, the whole kind of growing up experience, just how it’s, ‘This is how it is, this is how it’s going to be, you gotta get over it and just kind of push through’ mentality.”

Despite his family background, Nathanial grew hesitant when considering the modern-day warfare styles he could potentially face, and started to think about exploring Europe as a legitimate possibility as he found himself drawn to its culture, landscape and architecture. Once Nathanial let that idea surface, it was pretty much set, and he knew exactly who he’d want to take with him — his best friend since seventh grade, Malia.

Ever since they met while running through skits in middle school performance class, Malia and Nathanial have been good friends. They’ve grown closer over the years — even dating at one point — and have a lot of the same likes and dislikes. Besides being comfortable with each other and sharing a similar taste in food, Nathanial knew Malia was the best person to take with him because of their mutual desire to travel.

I T ’ S A O N C E i n a l i fe t i m e o p p o r t u n i t y , w h i c h k i n d of p u s h e d m e t h e m o s t t o a c c e p t t h e i nv i t a t i o n .

I ’ ve a lw a y s w a n t e d t o g o t o E u ro p e a ny w a y s s o t h a t ’s j u s t a p l u s a n d i t ’s w i t h o n e of my c l o s e s t f r i e n d s s o I k n o w t h a t I ’ l l b e s a fe a n d I ’ l l a c t u a l ly b e w i t h s o m e b o d y I l i ke .

MALIA BAKER

& PROFILES

MAY 09, 2022

SENIOR

“I was like, ‘Hey, you want to travel? I want to travel. Let’s do it,’” Nathanial said.

Malia was unsure of the idea initially as she was planning on going to Johnson County Community College and interning at her aunt’s realty firm. In the end, her mom convinced her to go. She reasoned that not everyone gets this kind of opportunity and there’d be no other time in her life when she’d be able to do something like this.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which kind of pushed me the most to accept the invitation,” Malia said. “I’ve always wanted to go to Europe anyways so that’s just a plus and it’s with one of my closest friends so I know that I’ll be safe and I’ll actually be with somebody I like.”

The two plan to start their journey either late July or early August by flying into Dublin, Ireland where they’ll view the coast, see the Spire of Dublin and its famous zoo and then move their way towards Germany, circling back to the Atlantic Ocean.

“I’m honestly excited for it all,” Malia said. “I want to see sunsets on a mountaintop, meet new people, eat new foods, just all of it.”

Not only are they staying in hostels like most European backpackers, but they also are planning to leave the cities for the scenic countrysides to camp. “[The appeal of European camping] has to be the nature, the weather, the different climates it’s got,” Nathanial said. “I’ve camped all over Kansas, couple other states as well, so I’m pretty used to, and kind of tired of, the United States weather which is kind of the same for the most part, but Ireland and the UK have completely different climates than Switzerland [and] Netherlands.”

Nathanial is well-versed in camping from his years in Boy Scouts, making it all the way to being a Life Scout — the second highest rank of scouting. On the contrary, Malia has never gone, so Nathanial’s going to be helping her pack and know what to expect, and teach her the culture of camping — leave no trace behind.

After talking about the trip with his parents, they agreed to let Nathanial use money from his college fund to pay for part of the trip, but he and Malia have also had to start saving up to help with the costs.

Since the start of the year, Nathanial’s spent three nights a week commuting 30 minutes to the Amazon return logistics warehouse and sorting through returned packaging to save up for Europe and plans to work there almost every day once he graduates.

“I’ve always wanted to [travel to Europe], and the kind of financial state that I’m in, I’m able to fund it, so why not,” Nathanial said.

Though they don’t have a set time to leave since they have to save money and uncertainties due to the Russian-Ukrainian War, Nathanial estimates that after they get there, hopefully over the summer, they’ll be there for five months, exploring at least eight countries for two to three weeks each.

Once they return, Nathanial is still considering going into the Marines or auto mechanics and Malia thinks she’ll go back to her initial plan of enrolling at JCCC or interning with her aunt, but Nathanial hopes the trip broadens their view of the world by exposing the pair to Europe’s diverse sights.

“Realizing that there’s more out there and just viewing how different people live is one thing I really want to take away,” Nathanial said.

MALIA NATHANIAL

Nathanial Caldwell and Malia Baker will explore Europe together during their gap year to sightsee and backpack from hostel to hostel

15

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SENIOR SPREAD design by peyton moore & cesca stamati

BEYOND

Where the class of 2022 is headed within the next year

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S

CLASS OF 2022

BOUNDARIES

ALABAMA

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA M c C u l l o u g h , Ke n n e t h

A RI ZO N A

A R I Z O N A S TAT E UNIVERSITY Coleman, Emma M c C a m y, G r a c e Stover, Anna E M B RY - R I D D L E A E RO N AU T I C A L UNIVERSITY Andruk, Dominic Ra l s to n , Aa ro n U N I V E RS I T Y O F A RI ZO N A Lee, Emma Ta l g e , A l l i s o n Va n A s s e l t , M a d a l y n

ARKANSAS

A R K A N S A S S TAT E UNIVERSITY Bush, Elijah UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS Asselin, Lily A t t e b e r y, E m i l y B e a c h , Ke n d a l l Berkshire-Lewis, John Borchers, Jessica Condon, Finley Darrington, Maliyah E d d y, T r i s t a n Heneger, Brian H e r yn k, L u ke Ives, Hayley Luetje, Ben Marquez, Isabella McDonald, Sadie Moulin, Jackson N u n n e l ee, B l a ke

O'Neill, Griffin Paulus, Andrew Privette, Mara R a s m u s s e n , Ka t e Rhodes, Jack Roberts, William Romer, Colin Sudermann, Mason S w a n s o n , Ka l e Wa l b u r n , O we n Wa l l a c e, R h e t t Wa r r e n , A n d r ew We i l a n d , B e n j a m i n

CALIFORNIA

CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE D e e d y, E v a n COLUMBIA COLLEGE Lewis, Aina LOYO L A M A RY M O U N T UNIVERSITY Siegel, Essy S A I N T M A RY 'S C O L L EG E OF CALIFORNIA Heide, Ella S A N D I E G O S TAT E UNIVERSITY R i g b y, J a c o b S A N TA M O N I C A C O L L E G E Whitehead, Haleigh UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY W i n n , Ka y t l y n UNIVERSITY OF C A L I F O R N I A - D AV I S Gould, Noah Patterson, Emmy UNIVERSITY OF C A L I FO R N I A - LOS ANGELES Cronenwett, Charlie UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE

Cook, LaDarion UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO S q u i r e s , E m m a Ka t e

CO LO R A D O

CO LO R A D O C H R I ST I A N UNIVERSITY Olufson, Ethan C O L O R A D O S TAT E UNIVERSITY Brundige, Flynn L o c k t o n , Ta l b o t U N I T E D S TAT E S A I R F O RC E AC A D E M Y Kline, Melissa Linscott, Maeve UNIVERSITY OF CO LO R A D O For t, Jackson UNIVERSITY OF CO LO R A D O B O U L D E R Smith, Charles UNIVERSITY OF DENVER Nottberg, Margaret W E ST E R N CO LO R A D O UNIVERSITY Bare, America

D E L AWA R E

UNIVERSITY OF D E L AWA R E Stevens, Lucas

F LO R I DA

F LO R I DA G U L F C OA S T UNIVERSITY Gunderman, Meg

G EO RG I A

G EO RG I A T EC H D e e d y, A n n e S AVA N N A H C O L L E G E O F A RT A N D D E S I G N

Mills, Louisa U N I V E RS I T Y O F G EO RG I A M o s e l e y, E m i l y

ILLINOIS

D E PA U L U N I V E R S I T Y S t e d r y, S a m Wo l fe, I s a b e l l a LOYO L A U N I V E R S I T Y C H I C AG O Thiede, Jane N O RT H W E ST E R N UNIVERSITY Newton, Sydney T H E A RT I N ST I T U T E O F C H I C AG O M o r r i s s e y, M a r i a

INDIANA

INDIANA UNIVERSITY Carr, Andrew Hawes, Charlotte Holzbeierlein, Max Wa r d , R ya n PURDUE UNIVERSITY Stiles, Rachael U N I V E RS I T Y O F N OT R E DA M E Kloster, Grace

I O WA

COE COLLEGE McMahon, Vincenza GRINNELL COLLEGE Broaddus, Evan Flynn, Maya I O WA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y Te r n u s , O w e n U N I V E R S I T Y O F I O WA Muller, Jack Wo o d , C a m p b e l l

KANSAS

BUTLER COMMUNITY

COLLEGE Stamati, Nick JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Ag u i r r e, Ka r l a Albano, Evan A r n o l d , Ky nt h i a Baughman, Benjamin B e rg ka m p, Pa t r i c k Bligh, Grace Buffington, Collin Bullers, Alora Calibo, Ahsley C a s t r o - Va r g a s , L o u r d e s C h a m b e r s , Ke l l a n Deemer, Sherilyn Drier, Victoria English, Paul Enochs, Audrey F i x , Ty Gonzales, Olivia G o o d r i c h , Ly d i a Herbig, Alexis La g e r, Xav i e r M c C o y, S a m a n t h a Mera-Sanchez, Evelyn Oviatt, Cameron Pacunski, Charles Salas, Maya Sipp-Black, Alexandra Ta y l o r , J e s s e Te a g u e , J u s t i n T r u s t y, B e n n e t t Wa r u c h , P a r ke r We l s h , D o n a l d Winter, Hannah Winter, Mason KANSAS CITY KANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE Lohr, Ajay K A N S A S S TAT E UNIVERSITY A l ka , C h r i stop h e r Barrera, Ariana Bond, Sophie B ox b e rg e r, B l a ke Buck, Alexander Cure, Cole Fankhauser, Brady Fore, Peyton Fox, Olivia Franklin, Max Frick, Andrew Harrison, Lucy H u m p h r e y, L u c y Jenkins, Jordan Ka u f f m a n , F e l i x Ledbetter, Breanna Lilak, John Martin, Noah Maupin, Joshua Meyer, Grace Minor, Lucy Phillips, John Ragland, Lucy R o d r i g u e z , To b y Rogers, Lilly Roth, Evelyn Sandstrom, Caroline

Stallbaumer, Sutherland, D To r k e l s o n , A i d Va n i c e , R y a n Wilson, Maxw M I DA M E R I C A UNIVERSITY Ferren, Heisle P I TTS BU RG S UNIVERSITY Atkins, Carso Fankhauser, L Gensler, Emm Hoffman, Aid Rubesch, Kris UNIVERSITY Ae b e r s o l d , B r Audus, Lucas Bair, Henry Beaulieu, Aid Bennett, Dunc B i l l i n g s l e y, L u B r e fo r d , A l d e Brock, Lauren Brown, Aiden Brown, Audre Brown, Lindsa Cashman, Ab C h r i s t i a n , Ka r Corbin, Benja Corbin, Zacha C r e w, N o a h D e a n , Ky l e D e D e c ke r, A l Dyer, Andrew Fountain, Hen F r i s ke l , L u ke F u n k e y, M a d e Gardner, Car Gibbs, MaryGordon, Este Green, Griffin Hans, Eleanor Hanson, Elliot Harrison, Will Haulmark, Ev Hyde, June Jacobs, Jack Johnson, Mol Jones, Samue Ke r w i n , G r a y Kim, Andrew Ko h l h a s e, J a n Ko s t n e r, L u c y Ko z u p, B e l l a Krause, Henry Lagerstrom, D Lambert, Mas L e M a y, L a u r e L e M a y, Ta y l o Lischer, Olivi Lomshek, Lily Madden, Elise Magee, Collin Martell, Ange McGrath, Ma McGuire, Bre M c Ke e, T i m o t McKnight, Du

Sydney Dylan dan

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THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION McQueen, Ariana M e n ke, A rd e n Mercer, Lucas M i l r o y, C l a i r e M o o r e, Ty l e r Moreland, Thomas Morris, Gibbs M o r r i s s e y, M a d e l i n e Mower, Braydon Nagle, Molly N e l s o n , Ka t h e r i n e Nelson, Mark N i c ko l et t , E t h a n O'Roark, Zachary O p e l ka , A n n a Pace, Alec Patt, Kira P i ete rs, J a ke Podrebarac, Pierre Reda, Francesca Saylor, Hoch Schnurr, Jensen Schutt, Mason Schwabauer, Abigail Scott, Michael Segura, Joseph Sims, Wyatt S ka tes, J o h n Smith, Ella Smith, Haley Spencer, John Stinson, Chloe Thibodeau, Madeline Trotter, Drew Vo t t e r o , Yo l a n d e Wa l d o, M i t c h e l l Wa r d , A n d r ew We l c h , C a r s o n We l ke r, J a c k White, Rober t Wo n g , T r a ve r s Wo r k m a n , Wa l t e r W I C H I TA S TAT E UNIVERSITY Gilmore, Abigail M o o d y, Ta t e R o m a n , Te s s

M A RY L A N D

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY Mohr, Michael WA S H I N G T O N C O L L E G E Ka d i n g , E v a

M AS SAC H U S E TTS

B OSTO N U N I V E RS I T Y S c h i p fe r, D a n i e l TUFTS UNIVERSITY B a t t e y, W i l l a

M I C H I GA N

UNIVERSITY OF M I C H I GA N H u n t l e y, S a m Newton, Spencer Sullivan, Finnegan

M I N N E S O TA

M AC A L E ST E R CO L L EG E Sufi, Ibrahim

ST. OLAF COLLEGE Ecklund-Johnson, Violet

P RI N C E TO N U N I V E RS I T Y Bunde, Ella

MISSISSIPPI

N E W YO R K

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI Kimmel, Bo

MISSOURI

AV I L A U N I V E R S I T Y Leal, Victoria M E T R O P O L I TA N COMMUNITY COLLEGE LO N GV I E W Lewis, Aubrey MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & T E C H N O L O GY H o w e y, W i l l i a m M I S S O U R I S TAT E UNIVERSITY Ta y l o r , B r o o k e Ka l l e m e i e r, C h a r l e s OZ A R K C H RI ST I A N COLLEGE Smith, Garrett SA I N T LO U I S U N I V E RS I T Y Blickhan, Alexander UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI Messina, Isabel UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA A l ka , A n d rew Borns, Sylvan Clough, Merrie Condon, Celia Dissel, Camille Hargens, Samuel Mantel, Lily M o r r i s s e y, E l l a Mun, Joseph P e a r c y, D a v i d Simonsen, Dane Ta y l o r , H a n n a h UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY Ag u i r re, A i xa Ferren, Jamisen Galicia, Octavio Leinbach, Michael Messer, Leo S h o e m a ke r, J e a n i e Stratton, Chantal Wa d o o d , A h m e d Wo o d s , C h a p i n

M O N TA N A

M O N TA N A S TAT E UNIVERSITY M e rc ke n s, M a g g i e

NEBRASKA

C R E I G H TO N U N I V E RS I T Y Cannova, Jay UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN Beck, Sydney Suever, Darwin

NEW JERSEY

CORNELL UNIVERSITY Y i , To n g t o n g ROC H E ST E R I N ST I T U T E O F T E C H N O L O GY Austin, Fletcher THE NEW SCHOOL Lewandowski, Miles UNION COLLEGE Malik, Sasha

N O RT H C A RO L I N A

N O R T H C A R O L I N A S TAT E UNIVERSITY Duchene, Charles

OHIO

MIAMI UNIVERSITY Bruso, Sam Cooper, Quinn Epstein, Bridget H a m i l t o n , Ka t h e r i n e Manning, Alex S owd e n , B l a ke Ve n n e m a n , Z a c h a r y UNIVERSITY OF C I N C I N N AT I Glover, Jaidyn

OKLAHOMA

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA Garverick, Ashley Neusel, Ellie

OREGON

UNIVERSITY OF P O RT L A N D Stueck, Stella

P E N N SY LVA N I A

P E N N S Y L VA N I A S TAT E UNIVERSITY Demetriou, Sam UNIVERSITY OF P I TTS BU RG H Gaillard, Audrey

RHODE ISLAND

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND Angell, Megan

SOUTH C A RO L I N A

COLLEGE OF C H A R L E STO N Z u ka i t i s, Eve l yn

SOUTH D A K O TA

S O U T H D A K O TA S TAT E UNIVERSITY M ee ke r, Le a h

TENNESSEE

Cullins, Jamia G r a y, T h o m a s McMahon, Seamus P l u n ket t , J o h n Sowell, Arin

TEXAS

U . S . M I L I TA R Y Boyle, Evan B r a d l e y, A n d r e S P O RTS T R A I N I N G Yo u n g , J o s e p h POST HIGH SCHOOL P ROG R A M Browne McClain, Ian Johnson, Hanna M c C a r t n e y, G r a c e McGaugh, Anaya Oliver, Dean TRADE SCHOOL Hassett, Emily Hernandez, Devon To v a r To g o , K e v i n VO L U N T E E R I N G Pecaut, Athena WO R K FO RC E Cardona, Gerson Contreras, Jahir Fairchild, Kimberly Farrington-Rogers, Michael Fatino, Elliott Hansen, Erin Jones, Henry K e l l e y, J o e Metzger, Javier M o n t u fa r M o l i n a , D e n i s

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE Harrington, Caitlin VA N D E R B I L T U N I V E R S I T Y Hill, Emmett B AY L O R U N I V E R S I T Y McClelland, Will Winn, Trenton SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY Hembree, Greer TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Nicholson, Reid TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY Allen, Grace Brown, Emma E. M c L i n e y, G a v i n M o s e l e y, P o r t e r Te t r i c k , C o u r t e n a y

U TA H

U N I V E R S I T Y O F U TA H Harrison, Jack WESTMINSTER Stallard, George

VERMONT

N O RW I C H U N I V E RS I T Y Caruso, Brechen

V I RG I N I A

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Good, Harrison V I RG I N I A T EC H Goodmon, Abby WA S H I N G T O N A N D L E E UNIVERSITY Patterson, Max

WA S H I N G T O N

UNIVERSITY OF WA S H I N G T O N - S E AT T L E Brown, Emma C.

WISCONSIN

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON B ro o ke r, W i l l Henschel, Sophie Wo o d s , M o r g a n Harmon, William

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pages 19-24 design by celia condon & photos by elise madden & maggie merckens

THE HARBINGER

COLUMNS

PAGES 19-24 HARBINGER’S 2022 SENIORS SAY THEIR GOODBYES AND REMINISCE ON THEIR MOST FOND MEMORIES

Natalie Scholz has learned to be motivated and hard working through her art skills

by natalie scholz I’M A SELF-ADMITTED quitter. The number of sports I’ve played for one season would shame a decathlon athlete, and my abandoned hobbies range from embroidery to rock climbing. There have been a few activities that stuck, like drawing, but denying my problem was getting hard after quitting tennis lessons for the fourth time.

Going into high school, I was ready to take the first step and admit that I had a problem. My solution was to join only two extracurriculars and stick with them until graduation — no matter what. With this plan in mind, I joined a Columbian tea club called Tereré and The Harbinger.

After looking at the available positions, I found a goal at The Harbinger — something that was missing in my other activities. I wanted to eventually work as the Art Editor, and considering it took me about a week to quit the Tereré club, my self-respect was riding on it.

Because drawing was among the only things I had consistently committed my time to, I was hoping I could make it. With the application deadline close, I quickly made art for my portfolio. My subject matter could be compared to the Dutch masters — where Claesz painted still lifes of fruit from his studio, I Googled a picture of an apple and traced it. My other subjects included the Statue of Liberty and a woman’s face. I was hoping my thematic confusion wouldn’t be evaluated and submitted my application.

A few weeks later, I found out that I didn’t make art staff, and was instead on multimedia.

My old habit kicked in. I thought for a while about how easy it would be to just forget about pursuing art and quit, just like tennis, mixed martial arts, basketball, fencing,

TALIE SCHOLZ

swimming, taekwondo, diving and about two dozen types of arts and crafts. I had to remind myself of the promise I made, and I decided to work on the multimedia staff I was assigned to and apply again next semester.

Spring came quickly, and I created and applied again. I didn’t get in, again.

Again, I found myself thinking about forgetting art staff entirely. I would be abandoning my goal, but I had been rejected. Trying a second time was already a new record for me, and sitting back to appreciate my effort sounded more relaxing.

After working on The Harbinger for a few semesters, I realized my approach might have been wrong. Staffers are always encouraged to try different areas on staff, and instead of just filling out the application at semester, I realized I might have a better chance through showing initiative and creating art, regardless of what was in my job description. With the help of my BFFL Campbell Wood vouching for me, I received my first art assignment to accompany an article without being on the art staff.

My junior year I was recognized as an official member of the art staff and now hold the title of Art Editor. Finally accomplishing what I had set out to do helped me change my mindset from passive to active in pursuing what I want. The Harbinger has taught me the importance of not quitting too early, but that staying committed is only half the battle. And who knows, maybe I’ll pick up tennis again.

Fifth time’s the charm, right?

art by talie scholz

19

20

COLUMNS

CELIA CONDON

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION The Harbinger has helped Celia discover a side of herself she never expected

by ce lia co nd o n I ALWAYS WANTED to be the cool girl in high school. Every sleepover in elementary school was spent watching “High School Musical,” “Mean Girls” and “Clueless.”

My dream was to be a high schooler.

To finally be one of the big girls. I lived to hear what party my high-school-age babysitters were going to after my parents got home. I imagined dancing in the rain with my Troy Botlon after Prom and being named Dance Team Captain.

I started freshman year as a Lancer Dancer, fulfilling my “Grease” dreams as I performed in cherry red lipstick and sparkling blue costumes during basketball game halftimes.

I swam for the swim team in the spring, thinking I’d pick it up quickly — I didn’t.

Sophomore year I decided to quit swimming, keep dancing, try lacrosse and apply for the newspaper — located in the intimidating corner spot of 413B — The Harbinger.

I gave up sports once and for all junior year. You may be starting to think I’m a quitter, but remember how I joined The Harbinger? I stuck with that one.

Junior year I was an Assistant Print Editor and this year I’m a Co-Print-Editor-in-Chief. As I sit at my desktop in the back of room 413B, writing the fifth version of this column, I realize that little me would be in awe of this new side of me that’s realistically a total dork.

I found my niche with The Harbinger.

When I see an oxford comma I cringe. When people use the wrong “your” it physically pains me to not correct them.

SYDNEY NEWTON

In the J-room, Elise and I fight over who gets to aux the Harry Potter Soundtrack. My Harbinger name is “Ceils.”

Last week I got so excited about a font that I spent $11 just to test it out. I have a Pinterest board titled, “Color Schemes for Harbinger” with the heart-eye-emoji following. I have a list of inside jokes that only Harbinger staffers would ever find funny. InDesign updates make me giddy. Photoshop tutorials have become my evening entertainment. When people compliment my verbiage, I glow.

While it’s true that I still love occasionally dressing up for school and being surrounded by my classmates at games, I’ve learned to embrace the side of me that newspaper has uncovered. So many senior staff members thank The Harbinger for breaking them out of their shell. The biggest thank you that I owe The Harbinger is for hardening such a big part of me into a nerd.

Even as a J-kid, I feel like I’m coming out of this thing pretty cool.

So while many of you Harbinger staffers like to joke that I’m the bad cop, and Sydney the good, just know that you all are the center of my favorite part of high school, where I’ve become most myself. Unless the sentence starts with, “Hey I know deadline’s tomorrow, but I haven’t had a chance to get photos…” know that I will always be here to help you, whether it’s which “your” to use, or how to navigate high school.

While there’s no chick flick about a girl living her teenage life in a rigorous newsroom, I would consider my high school experience to be a movie.

Sydney has used journalism as an outlet for her talkative and imaginative personality

by syd ney new to n MY NICKNAME GROWING up was “chatterbox.”

It was a fitting name for a kid who belts “Don’t Stop Believin’” in crowded restaurants and walks up to strangers in grocery stores to say hello.

That’s just who I am — I’ve always been loud. I literally never shut up, whether I’m talking about my latest TV show obsession or thoughts on everything from the new episode of “The Bachelor” to Colleen Hoover’s newest book release.

My friends shush me at least seven times a day — probably more — and I’ve had my share of stern talks from almost every teacher I’ve ever had about distracting other students. But growing up, I never had a place to use my knack for talking (or shouting) where I wouldn’t be shushed.

Until Harbinger.

Harbinger — a place full of laughs and tears, coffee rings staining the latest issue and dry erase marker scribbles on every whiteboard. A place where someone’s always skateboarding across the J-room or attempting to fix the perpetually broken LED lights. But most importantly, it’s a haven for writing, storytelling and designing — and the perfect place for people who have too much to say. The first place I could really talk.

My first year on staff, I used my talkative nature to my advantage. I chatted with interviewees asking dozens of curious (and sometimes off-topic) questions, but they worked — I found details I wouldn’t have otherwise. As a writer, I talk through ways to structure a first draft out loud

and nail specifics in a news or sports story. I even had the opportunity to tell other people’s stories, whether through an individual feature story or a design sidebar.

My junior and senior years, when I became an Assistant Print Editor and Co-Print Editor-in-Chief, I found another use for my voice — leading others. From explaining what on Earth an ads credit is in front of the class or how the hell to place a story to a new staffer, I’ve used my excessive talking skills to teach others.

Just now, my first three attempts at this column were 700word rants about the people I’ll miss, the lessons I’ve learned and the person Harbinger has made me. But the truth is there are no words to describe all that Harbinger has given me.

Even I — the ultimate chatterbox — am left speechless.

So I’ll keep my thank-you’s short.

Harbinger, you caused more tears and sleepless nights than I’d like to admit, but you also taught me greater time management and leadership lessons than anything I’ve ever known. Thank you Ceils, Pmo and Chez for being the most supportive and helpful team I could ask for. And thank you Tate. Without your guidance and edits — even though sometimes harsh — I wouldn’t be the journalist I am today.

And a huge thank you to my staff — the 70+ people I’ve found who listen to my countless rants and random questions at 1 a.m. Whether it’s chatting with Ben and Emily about which Harry Potter house the sorting hat would send us to or bonding with Anna over our freakishly-similar personalities, I know I’ve finally found people who will actually listen when I talk. I’ve found a second family.

So, thank you Harbinger — you let me be myself, a talker.

MAY 09, 2022 Finding story ideas taught Campbell empathy and sparked a passion for learning others’ stories by campbell wood WHILE ON AN audio walking tour in Savannah, Georgia, I pull off my headphones and fall behind the rest of the group.

The monotonous audio explaining the city’s layout was overpowered by a deep soulful voice singing familiar, yet unknown songs for those exploring the city gardens.

Singing on a bench is a 40-something-year-old man whose massive hands delicately weave pieces of palm leaves into bracelets — he has a basket full of them.

My mind jumps — he has a story.

The locals know him and say hi to him as if routine. He sells his bracelets to tourists like me. I learned his name. It’s James. He then tells me about his childhood.

Finding story ideas is routine on Harbinger. Every two weeks every staffer is required to write down three story ideas on a 35-plus-page Google Doc containing the observations we’ve made about our community and our advocations for why they need to be told. I’ve discovered countless stories over the past four years — some ideas I jumped on immediately, some I watched others fly with, some weren’t ready to be told and some remain on the Doc, waiting to be told.

Three years ago, I would walk past someone who seemed interesting without a second thought. Three years ago, I was too timid to hold a conversation with a stranger. Three years ago, three ideas felt like a heavy task, but now I can’t stop finding them.

As Head Copy Editor this year, I was the ringleader of all things story ideas, emphasizing the fact that story ideas aren’t something you “come up with” the night they are due,

but something you search for, investigate and deliver.

I preached it so much during my time on staff, finding stories is now my autopilot — I’m constantly searching and drawing connections whether I realize it or not. Journalism gave me the opportunity to see the layers of a person and cultivate trust to tell their story, or simply hear it. I’ve learned the key to a good story idea comes from a place of empathy and consideration of others.

My strengthened empathy has allowed me to grow closer to friends, family and strangers as I learn the stories of their lives. Now my grandma telling me about her Christmases on the farm or the new kid in my class sharing their ‘about me’ presentation at the beginning of the year piques an instant reaction to ask more about it — building deeper connections and making new friends.

Storytelling is part of who I am. I want to build a life out of traveling around the world and finding niche stories.

James’s bracelet still sits in my room and serves as a reminder that everyone has a story, if I have the courage to ask and the empathy to listen. Someday I hope to go back to Savannah, skip the audio walking tour and go to James’s corner of the city to learn the rest of his story. Until then, the fragment of his story I do know reminds me to look for meaning behind every hello and tune sung.

To my Harbie family — keep finding those stories, keep asking the hard questions, keep listening to our community and pretty please, for me, get your story ideas done every other Sunday night. You never know where a story might take you.

Sophie found that putting your own spin on whatever you’re doing is far more valuable than following in the footsteps of the person above you by soph ie h en sch el I TOOK A a drink from the only open water fountain on the fifth floor — I wasn’t even thirsty, but I didn’t want people to see my embarrassment. It was my fourth day here. I couldn’t find my class. I was about to go looking again when a 50-something-year-old shadow floated over my shoulder.

“You’re Ben’s little sister, aren’t you?”

Patting me on the shoulder and heading back to his classroom, the mysterious goateed man told me he was excited to have me in class next semester and “hopes it runs in the family.”

The infamous Dow Tate — ruler of all things journalism and adviser to my oh-so-overachieving older brother who prided himself on scrupulous news articles and sports broadcasts.

I saw Tate’s respect for my brother in his eyes — in his expectant smile that wanted the same from me.

I decided that day that I wanted to be the next Ben. Once I joined staff the following fall, I tried for weeks to impress Tate by taking on difficult tasks the way my brother had — beating myself up because my reporting wasn’t as deep and my broadcasts weren’t as sharp. No matter how hard I tried, my work didn’t feel like my own.

That is, until my design editor, Lilah Faye, looked at me and said, “Sophie, you know you don’t have to be Ben. Let me teach you Procreate.”

It clicked. My success doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.

I decided then and there I was going to make Harbinger my own — and I did.

CAMPBELL WOOD

COLUMNS

SOPHIE HENSCHEL

I leaned into that better goal. Leaned into the late nights of browsing color schemes and Pinterest inspo, anchoring my own podcasts and creating my own packages. I wrote stories I deemed valuable and found time to sing acapella with Lawder or hit Starbucks with Riley on deadline nights.

I didn’t have to prove anything to anyone but myself.

I wrote the stories of student-rights activists, van lifers, teachers’ pay, classmates with serious health issues and more. I started the Harbie families, forcing all the staffers to crawl around making fools of themselves for staff-bonding, stayed persistent about Shammy Shake deadlines and never contained my slap happiness at late nights — making Ceils and Snewt probably want to quit at times.

So to my dearest Harblings, you guys have made this all worthwhile and pushed me to find who I am. The people that fill the chairs of room 413B have helped me write the narrative of my high school experience and allowed me to be unapologetically myself. As I sign off of the second desktop on the right and close out my Wordpress tabs forever, I’ll be thinking of you all — knowing it’s in good hands.

So, all of you, choose to lean. Lean into yourself, and let those bright blue doors be your safe haven to find who you are — you won’t regret it.

21

22

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

COLUMNS

ELISE MADDEN

Keeping laughter and lightheartedness in Elise’s work environment improved her overall experience by e lise madde n

EVERY MORNING I wake up and think, ‘How can I make The Harbinger staff laugh today?’

Tears shed at my humor. It can be really hard sometimes knowing that I am the funniest person in the room. I feel bad leaving a deadline, knowing the staffers won’t crack a smile until I’m back. When my desktop seat is empty, consider their hearts empty too.

While that’s quite dramatic, and not completely true, I believe that humor is the backbone of this staff and what’s kept me going the past three years. If there’s one thing Harbinger has taught me, it’s that some of the most stressful moments bring out the funniest parts in people.

Whether it’s Celia crying at late night PDFing because no one else wants to watch “Harry Potter” for the eighth week in a row, or hearing a thud in the back room and seeing that another person has taken a spill off the J-skateboard, you can always count on the people in Harbinger to make your stomach ache from laughter.

Hadley stares at me in shock as I continually repeat that she forgot my birthday. Convincing her that it was yesterday, she began to slowly freak out thinking that she remembered my sister’s birthday but forgot mine. This lasted for about five minutes before I admitted it was not my birthday and my birthday was not until September (it was March).

Sitting at the first late-night after deadline in Celia’s basement, Sydney stands up and states, “I have to go to the bathroom.” I look around the room. Who’s going to

MAGGIE MERCKENS

say it? I make eye contact with Celia. I hear the words “Go piss girl” fall from her mouth. The beginning of yet another Harbinger inside joke that has us rolling with laughter every time.

I’m preparing to go to the airport for our NSPA trip to Philadelphia with my school backpack on my back and camera bag in the front. Someone snaps a photo. Probably Peyton. The photo was captioned “Madden Moment” — but little did I know that this would be the beginning of a never-ending joke.

I could list hundreds of more jokes that you would find incredibly un-funny, but what’s stuck with me through each one is that I always had people around me to laugh and bounce ideas off of. Not only have the relationships I’ve formed kept me laughing, but more importantly, they’ve kept me motivated. Being surrounded by creative people who are always pushing the limits on what a high school newspaper can do leaves me beyond inspired, changing my perspective on life.

Aside from sarcastically responding to every question asked in the back room I can always count on the insight from my peers for photo ideas, headline brainstorming, story ideas, as well as life advice.

The Harbinger environment is where I can productively be creative while also blasting “My Humps” by the Black Eyed Peas or “Lily’s Theme” from “Harry Potter.” I leave my swivel chair to the left of the library door empty, in hopes that whoever sits there next will live up to my expectations.

Harbinger provided Maggie with opportunities for growth and increase in self confidence

by maggie me rcke ns IT WAS DEC. 20, 2019 and I walked into the J-room for the mandatory meeting for new staffers to meet the rest of The Harbinger team. A wave of anxiety slammed into me — I didn’t recognize anyone. The room was filled with 60-plus people who were laughing and chatting about inside jokes I didn’t understand. I sat quietly against the wall with my hands folded between my legs, convincing myself not to duck and crawl out of the doors.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, the “ice breaker” question came — if you could commit any crime, what would it be?

It sent me into a spiral.

What’s the right answer? Would they judge me if I said something basic? Would they judge me if I said something excessively creative? I could feel my face flushing as I ran through all the things that could possibly go wrong.

In the end, my mind blanked and I repeated the answer of someone sitting next to me: shoplifting.

I followed this same pattern my first two years on staff — I was unoriginal, stagnant and kept to myself. I sat in the same spot in the back of the class everyday, afraid to share my opinions on Tate’s “five” minute lessons, and never attempting to shoot more than the required three photo credits.

I was scared of standing out or being judged. But when junior year came around, Harbinger finally changed that.

Fast forward to application season for my senior year

position. The former head photo editors — Julia, Trevor and Sarah — asked me to come out to the library to talk to them.

My head spun with possibilities of what they’d ask. Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong on my gallery?

I was shocked when they asked if I wanted to apply for Head Photo Editor.

Going from staff photographer to Head Photo Editor would be climbing a long ladder in one leap, and I felt overwhelmed and unqualified.

But it was clear they were desperate. The two other photogs lined up for the position left staff, so I knew it wasn’t just because I was this shining star of a photog. But it didn’t matter to me that I was the last resort. I was honored they even thought of me. And I was even more honored when I got the position.

The time for coasting was over — I finally stepped up. I prepared over the summer and talked to the old photo editors for advice. The first time I gave announcements to the class, I could barely get through one sentence without stuttering — but as the year went on, I grew more confident. I shared my thoughts after each five minute and creatively found ways to tie the feature writing tips into photography. I was able to lead a photo meeting with 20-plus photogs and guide them to push themselves.

It’s crazy how far I’ve come from my sophomore year. I’m no longer a shy, anxious, scared-to-give-my-opinion kid. I’m a confident leader who isn’t afraid of what people think. So, what would my crime be? An over the top “Ocean’s 8” heist.

MAY 09, 2022 by g race allen

COLUMNS

Grace reflects on her high school experience, realizing Harbinger was a reliable constant

AS SOMEONE WHO regularly complains about getting my galleries up on the website and starting my drafts, it’s shocking that I’m this emotional about leaving the J-room for the last time. But as I began reflecting on my high school experience, it’s clear that Harbinger has been my only constant in the last three years.

I’m sorry to anyone who saw me driving down Ward Parkway the other day. You probably saw me ugly cry because I had scrapped my only idea for this column, which led me back to the brainstorming process that forced me to reflect on my last three years – something I’ve tried desperately to avoid.

From the start of my sophomore year, to quarantine, to online school and through my senior year, there’s never been a time where I haven’t had to brainstorm for my next Harbinger assignment.

Every semester, I’ve received a brand new schedule, with changing math, english and elective classes. But one thing always remained constant — News Media/Digital Production always had a place in my schedule.

I’ll admit, I haven’t been the most dedicated staffer. I’ve missed my fair share of ads credits and consistently forget to fill out my story ideas every other Sunday night. I’ve switched around my position several times from photo to writing and design and back because I never felt like there was one I excelled in.

But even with all of the chaos of switching positions and desperately trying to find my strengths, I learned that trying different positions was a better fit for me than excelling in

by lily mantel

Lily changed the expectations that were set for her during high school by joining The Harbinger

MY FUTURE WAS always laid out for me. I grew up attending St. Ann’s — where my siblings and dad both also attended — it was the natural path for me to attend St. Teresa’s Academy, just like my sister and most of my classmates would. When I went to shadow her, I assumed everything would click into place. It had to.

But it didn’t.

I hated the uniforms, the Catholic environment and the idea of an all-girls school. It wasn’t until I shadowed East — where my brother had transferred for junior year— that it finally clicked for me.

I loved the idea of being able to wear whatever I wanted to school for the first time ever, going to football games and all the class options.

While at East, my older brother joined The Harbinger as Assistant Video Editor to fill his already-busy schedule even more. Every other Wednesday, I heard about their deadline dinners, the newest project he was working on, what happened in his recent interview or the new bonds he’d formed with the other staffers. It all intrigued me — I decided to go to East for Harbinger.

The moment I joined staff, my schedule lost the flexibility I’d grown used to in my underclassman years.

Shooting three events for print and online stories, editing, creating and posting galleries every week took priority over math grades and spending time with friends. As much work as Harbinger is, it never felt like it — I enjoyed every minute. Tate never took it easy on me, and always pushed

GRACE ALLEN

one position would have.

And even though I complain about having to get a draft up and how stressed I am about a gallery, I keep coming back every semester. And I’ve never once regretted it.

I have no clue what my high school experience would’ve been like if I didn’t have the two-week issue cycle to count on or the bi-weekly Wednesday night deadlines. I genuinely can’t imagine what I would’ve been doing instead of walking around East to find sports to photograph or attempting to learn just about anything on InDesign.

And I really have no clue what my life would be like without all of the people I’ve met through journalism. So thank you Lily for being my photo mentor sidekick, and to Ben, Liv, Hadley and Grace for being the best Harbie kids ever (carry on the fam for me), and to all of the editors: Syd, Celia, Soph, Campbell, Elise and Maggie for all of the time you put into this staff, I’m so proud of you all. And to anyone else who made a special contribution to my time on staff, thank you, because that’s what kept me coming back on staff each semester.

Harbinger’s always been there for me. No matter how much is going on in my life I could always find my way back to listening to Tate’s five-minute and working my schedule around what I was going to shoot that week.

There’s no way I could picture doing the last four years without the constant that this staff has been for me.

LILY MANTEL

me to be better. So I did.

I went from watching football games with friends and cheering in the student section to laying on my stomach on the sidelines, catching the perfect shot of kickoff. Some people may look at that as missing out on the high school experience, but this made my high school experience what it was.

Watching my classmates and friends as they chanted together in the student section from the sidelines, Saturdays turned from friends to f-stops shooting events like swim meets —capturing their reactions as they qualified for state. I’ve been at the center of the action, capturing athletes’ celebrations, students life and some photo awards along the way.

The Harbinger and East in general brought me some of the greatest memories, friends and experiences. I’ve always said I’m ready to graduate and leave East, but I couldn’t be more grateful for everything this staff and school brought me. Harbinger taught me the time management and communications skills I need to enter the real world.

Taking the risk of paving my own trail, going to East — and against the catholic life I was born into — and joining staff are the best decisions I’ve made. So thank you Harbinger, you brought me to a foreign place and quickly made it home. You showed me the high school experience that I was looking for and I’m forever grateful.

23

24

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

COLUMNS

GIBBS MORRIS

Joining harbinger after switching from private school to public gave Gibbs the high school experience he had wanted by gibbs morris

MY HIGH SCHOOL experience, like many others, consisted of many struggles. But, my greatest one was my transition from a loaded toilet bowl of a private school experience to the gates of East. To say private school hindered my self-esteem would be an understatement.

I’m not here to say everything there was terrible — I just ended up experiencing some of the most introspectively troubling and existentially terrifying times there.

In a school with such a tightly knit community, it became apparent that everybody would come to find out everything about you, so much so it would become suffocating. Rumors, while being just that, were heard on the daily. Eventually, those lies would inspire people to dig even deeper into someone’s personal life for dirt, which often ended with the most private thoughts or details in someone’s family life being revealed to the whole school.

Looking back on it all now, I had a pretty skewed idea of what high school was supposed to be — that being discontent with life and teetering on the brink of a nuclear meltdown was all part of the normal struggle. That I should be cracked into the pieces that would eventually pile back into what would be the new me.

Finally, I just couldn’t do it anymore.

I came to East halfway through my sophomore year and quickly found out I would never have to worry about the

MADELINE FUNKEY

drawback of everyone knowing what goes on in my life as instances of drama came few and far between.

I was, however, lacking the one thing I wanted for my high school experience: an outlet.

And then I found one in the Harbinger. It brought me a platform where I could finally express my joy for writing unapologetically and feel comfortable in my own skin, for a change.

Whether it was the late night deadlines, all the mishaps and times I dropped the ball on an assignment or even being pepper sprayed in a riot trying to get a story — every moment spent on The Harbinger felt real. The best way to describe it was as genuine happiness.

I didn’t mind that it wasn’t always all smiles on staff, I was actually glad it wasn’t, it was real — where the bad came with the good rather than everything being secretly tailored towards dragging you down.

I can’t say that I was the best at what I did, nor can I say I was always proud of the work I made. But what I can say is that I enjoyed every minute of it — even the times where I could rip my hair out because I was so stressed on a deadline.

My head is finally clear and without the experiences I’ve had while working on The Harbinger, I honestly don’t know if I would’ve still been able to say that.

Madeline found an outlet in The Harbinger that provided a sense of belonging and allowed her to grow outside her comfort zone by made line funkey

SLOUCHED IN THE back of my freshman year journalism 1 class, attempting to blend into my chair while listening to Dow Tate absolutely tear apart my crappy, underwhelming design on the screen in front of everyone, I was introduced into the abundant, and sometimes humbling, world of journalism.

Dissecting frogs, navigating the bewildering world of Shakespeare and finding the missing degree of a triangle was all I knew — but it never tickled any interest in me. Journalism opened a whole new world of learning I never experienced before — I was finally finding my niche.

Junior year. I had just quit the Varsity Drill team after dancing for two years at East and I felt a loss of identity in school. Instead of dwelling on it, I took that loss as a sign to try something new, so I joined Harbinger.

With the pandemic sending us online in the fall of 2020, I entered my first year like a lost little puppy through a screen of brand new faces. Thank God for Google because I took my learning to the Internet if I needed a tutorial on design, but if I wanted any other help I had to put on my big girl pants and call or FaceTime one of the editors — which happened more times than I’d like to admit.

My first experience designing was treacherous. The story was about AP test scores, and after many YouTube tutorials on how to use InDesign, drawing out my layouts in a notebook and racking my brain for a clever headline, I finally finished — only to have the head editor redo the whole page.

I was speechless when I picked up the printed issue and saw my unrecognizable design. But this revved my inner engine,

making me want to succeed even more in the next issue. And the next. And the next.

I craved the challenge of navigating through learning new keyboard shortcuts for design and telling people’s stories through writing. I enjoyed the ritual of creating an outline, interviewing, transcribing and creating something that people want to pick up.

And through writing other people’s stories, I learned to create my own. Stories gave me structure, and structure gave me confidence. No feeling will ever match up to when the paper finally publishes every other Monday and you hear the feedback and buzz from your peers. Walking past clumps in the hall talking about their friend in a feature story or debating over an opinion piece makes me proud to be a part of something that reaches audiences.

The most appealing part about this publication is that you aren’t put in a box. Tate makes sure we understand as students, and journalists, that even if your title is a “staff writer” that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little uncomfy and try something new, like when I made a sports hype video.

Even though these two years on staff have felt more like 12, I can confidently say Harbinger has not only provided an outlet for me to create, but a sense of belonging within the walls of East. I walked in room 413B inexperienced and apprehensive.

I can confidently say I am walking out with a strong, confident voice and many memories and life-long relationships.

Through telling other people’s stories I found my own narrative.

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26 PHOTOSTORY

design by rachel bingham, hadley chapman, macy crosser

YEAR IN PHOTOS

ABOVE Senior Brady Smith takes in the applause after he wins the kiddy pool race as Mr. Swim. “I just have to thank all my friends for bringing as much shampoo as possible.

They wanted to guarantee a win this time,” said Smith. PHOTO BY MACY CROSSER TOP RIGHT Sophomores Radley Brown and Lauren McGuire cheer on their teammate, senior Yolanda Vottero from the pool deck as she swims the 100 meter breast stroke.

PHOTO BY HADLEY CHAPMAN

MIDDLE RIGHT During the first basketball game of the season, senior pep execs Maeve McGrath, Charlotte Hawes, and Kyler Haughton erase the whiteboard and write out a new chant for the student section.

PHOTO BY ELISE MADDEN RIGHT Racing his opponent, senior Alden Breford clears the ball from outside the penalty box in the first round playoff game against Lawrence High.

PHOTO BY MACY CROSSER BOTTOM RIGHT Senior Brian Heneger celebrates with senior Rhett Wallace after the team scores a touchdown against Olathe West on Oct. 21 at the senior night game.

PHOTO BY RACHEL BINGHAM RIGHT Freshman Lucy Wolf does a fan kick in the class dance choreographed by the varsity freshmen at the Lancer Dancer Spring Show.

PHOTO BY MJ WOLF

To wrap up the year, here are some of our favorite photos from the biggest events of the year

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION LEFT During the outdoor fall pep assembly, seniors Brady Aebersold, Brian Heneger, Finn Sullivan, and Tommy Moreland cheer on Breck McGu ire a s h e win s th e p ie-ea tin g competition.

PHOTO BY RACHEL BINGHAM MIDDLE LEFT Pep exec and senior Celia Condon holds up a whiteboard, signaling a chant, cheering on the boys varsity soccer team after they score.

PHOTO BY MACY CROSSER MIDDLE Handing the microphone to senior C la ire Mil roy , ju n ior F ritz Su l l iva n p la ys th e role of Robbie in the spring musical “The Wedding Singer.” Explaining the scene, Sullivan said, “Robbie stood up on the altar and starts losing his marbles while saying insults.”

PHOTO BY RACHEL BINGHAM BELOW Senior Octavio Galicia celebrates after being announced Homecoming King. “I was dumbfounded honestly. It was definitely one of my top five favorite moments from senior year,” Galicia said.

PHOTO BY RILEY ECK

LEFT At the freshman link dance, senior Maeve Mcgrath and freshman Kaden Baker jump up and down as they sing along to the song Party in the U.S.A by Miley Cyrus.

PHOTO BY MAGGIE MERCKENS

28

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

OTHER COVERAGE

design by bridget connelly photos by maggie merckins

essy toby

P E R FYOEARRSM I N G THROUGH THE

by maggie kissick UTTING HER WHITE bow and blue face paint on, senior

P

Maddie Thibodeau prepared to stunt and call cheers in front of a student section for the first time in two years.

The packed stands of cheering students dressed in east spirit wear reassured her. It felt way more normal than the empty stands last season.

No one would take the fully filled student section for granted this year.

Thibodeau used to dread the two hour football games with no stunting due to COVID and smaller student sections at games in years past. Now that things are transitioning back to normal, student sections are the largest she’s seen throughout all four years.

“I think people aren’t taking school events for granted anymore because they know what it’s like without them,” Thibodeau said. “So the atmosphere this year has been better than years past and I feel like [the school is] so much more united. No one expected to lose a whole year of student sections so everyone just wants to support each other.”

I T H I N K P EO P L E a re n’ t ta ki n g sc h o o l eve nts fo r g ra nte d a ny m o re b e c a u se t h ey k n ow w h a t i t ’s l i ke w i t h o u t t h e m .

M A D D I E T H I B O D EAU

maddie

SENIOR

Thibodeau has made the most of her senior season through performing more for the larger student section.

Now that she doesn’t wear a mask while she cheers, she makes sure she smiles big so the crowd can see how much she enjoys herself. She yells cheers for her squad, making sure that the team and the student section can hear her.

Throughout the last few years, seniors have learned to appreciate the little things, from full student sections at the Rockhurst game to non-masked theater performances.

For senior Essy Siegel, last year’s theater season filled with socially distant performances and smaller casts motivated her to promote the program more this year than ever before. Whether it’s sharing events with Pep Club or posting on the SME Theater Instagram, Siegel does her best to make sure every theater event has a full house.

“When I was an underclassmen, if you were in theater you knew about the events but everyone else didn’t know,” Siegel said. “I just feel like the arts are starting to get appreciated on a larger scale across the whole school.”

How student sections have changed throughout the past four years

According to Siegel, theater had to follow stricter rules than other school activities. While other sports were allowed to have practices and play in games unmasked, getting rehearsals together for theater was an uphill battle.

“It felt like no one, not even the school wanted us to be successful,” Siegel said. “But we’ve definitely come back from that and I think we’re getting to where we were before [COVID] with involvement.”

Last year’s low enrollment in theater classes left Siegel worried if theater would be able to continue after the senior class graduates. But now with no more restrictions from the district, theater enrollment is up and they’re able to continue events they love, from Frequent Fridays to cast scavenger hunts.

Senior Toby Rodriguez, who’s been involved in choir for the past four years and been in the Chamber Choir for two, has noticed the choir environment change with the lower enrollment and the lack of motivation that online school created.

Last year choir was almost nonexistent, according to Siegel. The online Webex choir classes made it so people would be singing on mute with cameras off. The Chamber Choir was unable to rehearse in person and only one concert was able to happen last year. This affected the tight bond the choirs normally have, according to Siegel.

The routine of choir class has changed since last year, according to Rodriguez.

“A lot of people aren’t as interested in choir now after last year,” Rodriguez said. “People still aren’t entirely used to coming to school and being present every day. It’s just tricky for a lot of people to get back in the swing of things.”

Despite the lower enrollment, Rodriguez still enjoys the in-person classes and normal concerts in Chamber Choir tuxedos. Choir is still able to perform, and parents, friends and faculty still come to the concerts and enjoy the program.

In and outside of choir, Rodriguez believes that East has still maintained its high standard.

“I think everyone still respects the traditions, everyone still enjoys this school,” Rodriguez said. “I just feel like the student body and their respective spirit for school has stayed the same, everyone still has the same pride to go here.”

MAY 09, 2022

OTHER COVERAGE

design by anna mitchell

SENIOR ANDREW FRICK thinks East has

by b en bradley BEYOND EAST HOMECOMING and

CHARLOTTE HAWES

Sweetheart court, the biggest moment in most movie characters’ lives is their crowning of Prom king or queen.

Unlike shows like “Gossip Girl,” East doesn’t offer a Prom court.

For senior Charlotte Hawes, that’s the one thing that she wished was the same in movies and at East.

“At the end of high school movies, there is always a crowning of the Prom queen,” Charlotte said. “When I was younger I would always watch those scenes and wish that was me, but we don’t have that at East.”

Outside of the actual crowning, Charlotte was disappointed with the Prom night itself. While it was fun, Prom night was always hyped up to be the best night of high school, but to her it just felt like Homecoming or Sweetheart.

ANDREW FRICK

lived up to all of the movie stereotypes throughout his time in that everyone can find a place within East to immerse themself in.

“My freshman year I started with playing soccer and even though I wasn’t the best, it was a great experience,” Andrew said. “I wish that I had jumped out of my comfort zone more and tried things like musical theater earlier because now that I have, it’s been so much fun.”

Frick thinks that the different activities create more diverse friend groups rather than cliques. They expand to people who are in other clubs or activities or not involved in anything.

And for Andrew, in the end everyone from East comes together, just like the movies.

“I would compare East to the movie ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ because of the scene where they all get excited before their big rivalry game,” Andrew said. “The whole school is like, “Are you gonna go” and that reminds me of how East is with the Rock game.”

HIGHSCHOOL WAS A MOVIE! OR WAS IT? BEFORE ENTERING HIS freshman year,

now-senior Jack Rhodes assumed high school was going to revolve around sports.

“Early in freshman and sophomore year, I was in a lot of sports,” Jack said.

“Then I realized that it wasn’t really my thing, and it wasn’t as big of a deal as I thought it would be.”

Another thing that Jack always thought was going to be a big deal was royalty court for dances. In movies there’s always an iconic scene where the Homecoming queen or king is crowned and it seems like their life has been made. But in reality, it wasn’t nearly as magical as it was on the big screen.

“I was on the Homecoming court, and I didn’t end up getting elected [king],” Jack said. “But I didn’t even get bummed out. There wasn’t really anything special about it.”

MOVIES LIKE THE

JACK RHODES

29

Breakfast Club” highlight the stereotypical cliques that students stick with throughout high school. When she joined the cheerleading team her freshman year, senior Kate Rasmussen thought that it was going to be the same way.

“There’s obviously a predisposed idea that whatever you are involved in are the people that you are going to hangout with,” Kate said. “So when I joined cheer, I thought I joined the group of people that I was going to spend all of my time with.”

While East did live up to the expectation of having several different activities to get involved in from sports like football to activities like debate, Kate has learned that what a student is involved in doesn’t define their friends in high school like she expected based on “Mean Girls.”

“Nowadays, everyone can be involved in everything from football, to dance teams, to journalism,” Kate said. “There’s a lot more diversity in what people can be involved in, and I have friends in all of them.”

Growing up with movies like “High School Musical” and “Mean Girls” can provide kids with unrealistic expectations of their high school experience

KATE RASMUSSEN

30

OTHER COVERAGE

THE HARBINGER SENIOR EDITION

THE STARTER STUDENTS

design by kate heitmann

Seniors have taken classes that have led them into what they want to pursue as careers

by maggie condon HEN-JUNIOR EMMA Lee was sitting in her

CHARLIE DUCHENE if you’re interested in a biomedical major . . . take AP biology or biotechnology at the CAA

T

Intro to Med Health class when her teacher introduced her assignment of creating a short presentation covering the organization that provides aid to people hit by disaster — called the Doctors Without Borders project. Emma was intrigued, as it was the first school project that ever sounded interesting or enjoyable to her.

“I kind of overdid it, it was only supposed to be 10 slides, but I did like 30 slides, and I was researching for hours,” Lee said.

Her love for the project led her to take Medical Science 1 at the CAA the next year. Now, after shadowing hospitals and healthcare settings through the CAA, her experience in the class inspired her to pursue medicine by majoring in health at Arizona State University.

“A LOT O F t h e t i m e t h ose wo u l d b re a k a n d I wo u l d ’ ve to h e l p o n e o f t h e g u ys t h e re fi x t h e m . I t ’s a fu n p ro ces s b e c a u se t h ey d o n’ t re a l l y h ave t h e wa r ra nt i es ex p i re d , so yo u d o n’ t re a l l y h ave i n s t r u c t i o n s fo r i t . S o i t ’s m o re o f ta ki n g i t a p a r t , p u t t i n g i t b a c k to g et h e r. ”

LOUISA MILLS

if you’re interested in graphic design . . . take digital design

CHARLIE DUCHENE SENIOR

EMMA LEE if you’re interested in medical science . . . take biomedical classes at the CAA

Lee is just one example — between East and the CAA, many seniors have taken classes that are leading them into their careers.

Though Lee isn’t sure exactly what she wants to do with her degree, she knows she wants to be involved with Doctors without Borders — a group that provides medical aid to places around the world that have been hit by disasters including war and drought.

Similar to Lee, senior Charlie Duchene was inspired by the digital electronic classes at the CAA to major in Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University.

This class provided him with the opportunity to become an intern at Advent Health, through digital electronics teacher Jessica Tickle following an interview.

While there, Duchene got experience repairing medical devices and seeing how the technology worked in hospitals. The internship was every

Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He’d leave the classroom at the CAA, staying at the varying 21 locations of hospitals until 5 p.m.

He was able to do hands-on projects like fixing the mechanical beds that patients get transported on and vital sign monitors — which confirmed for him that he wanted to do it in the future.

“A lot of the time those would break and I would’ve to help one of the guys there fix them,” Duchene said. “It’s a fun process because they don’t really have the warranties expired, so you don’t really have instructions for it. So it’s more of taking it apart, putting it back together.”

Senior Louisa Mills also navigated the major she wanted through classes, but for her it was from digital design classes she took at East, not classes at the CAA. Walking into digital design freshman year, Mills was unsure how to feel.

“I got there and I was like, “OK, Mrs. Hair, you have a lot of energy, I’m here for it, but there’s a lot of things going on in your brain,’” Mills said.

“Which I love her for.”

Mills signed up for the class because she had extra room in her schedule and thought it could be fun. Little did she know she’d continue to take studio design and project management — twice.

She worked with the theater department by making posters for shows and different T-shirts for the crew like an “Avatar The Last Airbender” themed crew shirt. Instead of the earth, water, air and fire that represent the four elements in the TV show, Mills changed them to fitting theatrical names. Or the Wedding Singers crew shirts, themed around the world tour of the star’s band: Simply Wed. Urged by her love for design, Mills will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design.

Mills is pursuing graphic design as her major with the benefit of being Adobe certified if she passes an upcoming test, which can create job opportunities such as graphic designer or website designer.

Between classes at the CAA and at East, these three seniors have found the career paths they want to go down by seeing what they are most interested in and getting real world experience.

For these three seniors that meant focusing on careers in biochemistry, digital electronics or digital design.

MAY 09, 2022

design by bridget connelly photos by maggie merckens

by emmerson winfrey

OTHER COVERAGE

SENIOR SECERTS

L U CY MINOR OCTAVIO GALICIA I ALWAYS ACTED LIKE I HATED EAST BUT I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKED COMING TO SCHOOL.

THE WATER FOUNTAIN DOWN BY MR. CUMLEY’S ROOM IS THE BEST WATER FOUNTAIN IN THE SCHOOL.

ANDR E W A L K A ZA C H O’R O A R K NO MATTER HOW THIRSTY YOU ARE, NEVER USE THE BOYS LOCKER ROOM WATER FOUNTAIN.

SCHOOL LUNCHES ARE REALLY GOOD AND BETTER THAN MOST PLACES TO EAT OUT DURING LUNCH.

L U K E A U D U S LILLY ROGERS WHY DO WE STILL HAVE LOCKERS? WHAT CAN WE EVEN USE LOCKERS FOR?

THE DRINKING FOUNTAIN IN THE BAND ROOM HAS WATER THAT TASTES LIKE IT’S FROM CHERNOBYL.

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As seniors wrap up their high school experience, they share thoughts they’ve kept to themselves until now

THE HARBINGER SENIOR ISSUE

ALT COPY

1

A

2

B

design by nora lynn

PAST LIVES AT EAST

Can you match these East teachers with their high school photo?

3

4

C

D

5

6

E

F

ANSWER KEY:

1 : B Mr. Hendricks, 1996 ; 2 : C Mr. Kelly, 1994 ; 3 : E Mrs. Pence, 1992 ; 4 : D Ms. Chalk, 2017 ; 5 : F Mr. Capello, 1978 ; 6 : A Ms. Andersen , 2000

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