Issue 9: Senior Magazine

Special

Ed i

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senior

MAGAZIN

PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

E

THE FINEST COMPLIMENT I COULD EVER RECIEVE IS A REFERRAL FROM MY FRIENDS AND CLIENTS! GO COUGARS!

ITALIAN DELIGHT

By Avelluto Bros

Restaurant - Pizzeria - Deli 6522 Martway Mission, Kansas 66202 913-262-7564 02 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

senior TABLE OF CONTENTS

SENIOR STAFF COLUMNS 04 THEN AND NOW 07 INFLUENTIAL SENIORS 09 DESTINATIONS 15

MAGAZINE INFO IN INK 19 FINAL WORDS 20 BIDDING FAREWELL 22 THIS YEAR IN PHOTOS 24

FORKS DOWN 26 MONTH IN HASHTAGS 28 NOTHING BUT NET 29 SENIOR SONG 32

Senior Staff LEFT TO RIGHT

DESIGN EDITOR: PADEN CHESNEY COPY EDITOR: PAIGE EICHKORN OPINION EDITOR: SOPHIE FLORES ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: KEEGAN DOLINAR PHOTO EDITOR: ADDISON SHERMAN ADS MANAGER: MADDISON JARMAN

OUR PURPOSE: T

he purpose of the Northwest Passage is to relay important and interesting information to the community, administration and students of the Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.

As a newsmagazine, the Northwest Passage will cater to the interests and concerns of the student body.

Outside concerns and activities will only be covered if they somehow affect the school or students.

The Northwest Passage is a 24-page newsmagazine. The paper will be distributed every four weeks during second hour. Subscriptions will be available to the community for $30. The Northwest Passage firmly supports the First Amendment and

STAFF: opposes censorship. The content of the newspaper will be determined and created by the entire staff. When questions concerning word choice, legal problems or ethics arise, the editorial board and adviser will discuss the problem to find the solution. In these cases, the editor-in-chief and editorial board will have the say in all decisions.

Letters to the editor will be accepted and are encouraged. The staff reserves the right to edit for grammatical mistakes, length and good taste. Letters may attack policy but not people. In no way will ideas or viewpoints be changed. The editor-in-chief and editorial board reserve the right to refuse any letter.

PUBLICATION OVERSIGHT:

STAFF WRITERS:

Co-Print Managing Editor Grace Gorenflo Co-Print Managing Editor Sophie Flores Online Managing Editor Jack Lynch

Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer

CONTENT MANAGEMENT: Design Editor Copy Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor

Paden Chesney Paige Eichkorn Addison Sherman Taryn Smith

SECTION EDITORS: News Editor News Editor Opinion Editor Sports Editor Feature Editor Entertainment Editor Social Media Editor Ads Manager

Jack Lynch Grace Gorenflo Sophie Flores Matthew Owens Cadie Elder Keegan Dolinar Joshua Sherfy Maddison Jarman

Carter Adam Austin Bachert Ben Becker Kasey Gardner Anastasia Kling Asher Norberg Jackie Sayers Jennifer Silva Reed Williams

STAFF DESIGNERS: Staff Designer Staff Designer Staff Designer

Shelby Beaumont Mia McDonald Makaila Williams

NW PASSAGE | TOC 03

Although high school has some of the best memories, the responsibilities are too much of a hassle

A

I PEAKED IN MIDDLE SCHOOL PADEN CHESNEY

K-STATE UNIVERSITY

s I walked into Trailridge Middle School, the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls filled the air. I looked around and saw the familiar pale blue lockers and, oh yeah, the nonexistent windows.

Yep, this was home.

Those were the days when my biggest worries were what I was going to eat for lunch or what I was going to wear to school tomorrow. My after school activities consisted of Wii Sports, Sonic trips and makeup tutorials. These days were the best in my life.

I peaked in middle school. I never had to worry about anything. I had an endless number of friends, and an endless amount of money… from my parents, of course.

Now all of my friends have moved on and I’m constantly worrying about what payment I have to make next. Don’t get me started about driving, either. Having a parent drive you around is kind of nice. It’s like a having your own chauffeur, and you don’t have to pay for gas — if your parent is willing to drive you places. I could walk down any hallway and know each and every person I laid eyes on. I found my true friends, the ones I never thought would stick with me until the end.

I knew about every boyfriend scandal down to each detail.

If I were to relive my high school years I would tell myself three things: 1) Spend as much time as you can with your friends, because you never know how much time you have with them.

2) Remember that you have a life after high school.

Popularity does not matter. No one is going to remember the star of the football team in 10 years.

3) Spend more time with your family. They are the only people who will actually be with you through your worst times. They understand you, even if you think they don’t.

They’re just having a hard time seeing you grow up.

Fast forward four years. Senior year is full of worries running through my head 24/7. I remember every important task right before it’s due, only to fall asleep and forget it again the next day. My morning routine involves caffeine, which obviously doesn’t work because I fall asleep in two of my classes every day. It seems like, no matter how hard I try in that one AP class, I can’t raise my grade above average.

But it’s okay to be average, right?

No. When we were younger, we thought we could conquer the world. We believed we were the best in every class. Being average wasn’t an option because I wanted to stand out.

Looking back at some of my middle school photos makes me cringe, but I can’t stop smiling as I remember every latenight Ke$ha jam session, when a late night to us was 11:30 p.m.

We need to remember our past, but not forget about the future memories we are about to make.

I want to go back to Sillybandz, Aéropostale and Starbucks, all things we crazed over five years ago. Most seniors regret this time in their life, but it just speaks “life” to me. Yes, I still have a life now, but I constantly worry about what comes next.

All I can say is I would never want to relive those tween years, but, boy, do I miss them.

When I leave here, I’m not going to stop living like I’m still trying to figure it all out, because I always will be

T

WHAT DO I KNOW? SOPHIE FLORES

EUGENE LANG LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE 04 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

rying to write a senior column is kind of like dangling above a pool of sharks while a super villain asks, “Any last words?”

I don’t have a final statement I want to make. I’m eager but apprehensive, and I only have questions.

And the most prominent ones are things like: “Am I ready? Am I good enough? Am I prepared to go out into the world and carve my own path?”

So, here, I’m going to attempt to answer some of them.

Am I ready?

As a writer, I found encouragement in the words of author Flannery O’Connor, who said, “Nothing needs to happen to a writer’s life after they are 20. By then they’ve experienced more than enough to last their creative life.”

I don’t know how many adults would agree with that. I’m sure by the time you're 20 there are lots of things you haven't experienced. But when you think about it, this year’s graduates are emerging from their childhood — probably the most influential period of anyone’s life. We have some semblance of an understanding of who we are, and isn’t that enough to start to build a life for ourselves?

And that’s her point, I think. Twenty years is enough to make a writer. For the intents and purposes of this article, I’m going to round that down to 18. And, since (according to screenwriter Josh Boone) “a writer is the sum of their experiences,” I’m going to take that a step further and say that 18 years establishes an identity.

I know who I am enough to take ownership of my work and my education.

Am I good enough?

In most of my K-12 classes, I was told exactly what I needed to do and how I needed to do it — most of the

time without taking the time to explore why. But in certain classrooms here at Northwest, teachers gave the why, and the how was left to me.

One of the places where I learned to live outside my comfort zone was the journalism room. There are many rewarding, remarkable things about being on the staff of the school newspaper, but here I’m going to talk about one of the more formidable ones — something the staff knows as the “Done/Not Done” list, which showed up on the whiteboard occasionally, a list showing which stories made a deadline and which ones didn’t.

I began to realize that this was a great model to use for many things. Now, when I write, I stop thinking, “What do they want?” and instead start with asking myself, “What do I know?” then “What do I not know?

What do I need to find out?” I learned that there will always be items on the “Don’t Know” list. I will never be ready with all the knowledge or abilities I need to finish a story.

The only way to know if I’m good enough to write a story is to have already written it. The only way to know if you’re good enough to do something is to have already done it.

Instead of focusing on accomplishment and worrying about capability, I can accept that I will almost never be good enough to do the next thing, and that’s pretty liberating. Now I can start putting all my accomplishments on two lists of “Done” and “Not Done Yet.” My life as a child and a teenager, like yours, was full of contradictions. And the one thing that brought me success in those years was my ability to question everything to death. So, as I am departing from childhood, curiosity is the one thing about being a child I think is most important I hold on to.

I never thought it’d be me

G

STRONGER

MADDISON JARMAN K-STATE UNIVERSITY

rowing up around baseball fields and football games, watching my mom do triathlons and other sporting events, my life revolved around athletics. I enjoyed everything about sports: watching them, playing them, talking about them. I was swimming before I could walk, and it wasn’t long before I added tennis, golf, basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball and cheer.

I never thought I would be that girl who had to sit on the sideline because of an injury.

With 250 to 300 thousand victims every year, the ACL injury is something that can change an athlete’s world forever. Yes, the anterior cruciate ligament can be repaired and replaced, but, once it is torn, studies show that 10 to 15 percent of patients who have them repaired tear them again — or tear the ACL in the other knee — at some point in their lives.

At the WPA assembly my junior year, knees shaking, palms a little sweaty, I was quite antsy to perform. The cheer team walked to the mat, and the music started to play. We danced, smiled and started out hitting each stunt strong. As the performance went on, I felt myself becoming less sturdy. Next was the pop cradle. It was nothing too serious; I had done it before and felt confident. After throwing Brenyn Anothayanontha up into the air, I stepped in to catch her. That’s when I felt the pop.

I fell to the mat in the middle of the gym floor, in front of everyone.

I knew something wasn’t right. My leg felt like a rubber band someone had pulled until it snapped.

When Ethan Ansel reached for my hand and told me to get up, I did. We had one stunt left; how could I not? My knee was tingling from all the blood rushing to it, and my whole body was shaking. It was the weirdest sensation. As soon as the stunts came down, I let myself drop again. All I could think was that something wasn’t right, yet Dan Fletcher, the athletic trainer, assured me that I was fine and had probably just sprained something.

My mom took me to see a doctor, a close family

friend, about a week later. He took an X-ray and set up an MRI. When I showed him the video, he responded, “That’s the first flat-footed ACL tear I have seen in my life. And I’ve been doing this for a while.”

At the time, I wasn’t ready to accept the news.

As I waited for the MRI results, weeks felt like months. When the news finally came, everything felt surreal. I just had to wait for the scalpel to cut me open and the needle to stitch me up. I thought that surgery would be the worst part.

I was wrong.

The worst part was waking up each day itching to go for a run but knowing that I would be forced to go to physical therapy, where there was always the feeling that my stitches would burst as I worked my knee extension and flexion. That feeling of my onceexisting quad no longer being there. Even worse was watching my friends laugh and joke at swim practice and not being able to hop in and swim a lap with them.

I spent my time painting, trying Pinterest crafts.

Trying: none of my art was great. It was more just to pass my idle time.

Although all the truly hard stuff is over, I still have to deal with the fear of it happening all over again.

Fourteen months after surgery, I’m almost done with my senior swim season and about four seconds from my personal best times. I got to participate in cheer and even made it to state with my golf team in the spring. Talk about a comeback. By the end of basketball season, I was in my cheer uniform, back to basing libs, extensions and cradles. I even got to compete in my third triathlon in September, seven months after surgery.

Fourteen months ago, and for several months following, I thought my life as an athlete was over, but here I am — basically back to normal.

No matter what you feel is slowing the heartbeat of your life, realize that it will eventually get better and that you have to keep pushing.

I did, and I am stronger because of it.

Counting friends is less important than the friendships you can count on

T

QUANTITY VS QUALITY ADDISON SHERMAN

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

hroughout high school, I had only one main group of friends. It consisted of five other girls.

These five girls made my high school career, well, stellar.

Because of them, I never had to ask the question, “Are these the people who I want to be associated with? Are they a good influence on me,” or “Are they really my true friends?”

I already knew the answer.

It was a resounding yes.

Finding a set of true friends is hard in high school.

Everyone is changing: morphing into who they will become and ultimately realizing that their childhood friends might not be the best influences for them. I watched as some of my classmates were lost in the transition between groups. I’m lucky that never happened to me. I look back and realize, I was always at ease when it came to the topic. I am truly grateful for that.

But I didn’t always know these five girls. We all gradually met during middle school and freshman year and yet it feels like I have known them for a lifetime.

At the end of eighth grade, my friend group was born. Katie Born invited Amelia Hoelting, Shelbie McLain and me out to Lake Quivira after school on the

last day. It has become a tradition. As time passed, Kelsey Nagel and Becca Carroll began hanging out with us, and the “stellar group chat” was created.

We have created countless memories and inside jokes that we can laugh at until our stomachs hurt.

“Pgeorge,” the first big inside joke ­— one we continue to laugh about today­— came to life at our first camp out. These inside jokes, the memories and all the times we were there for each other are the backbone of our friendship. I wouldn’t change that for the world.

It doesn’t matter how many friends you have. Don’t worry about what others think or whether you’re in the “popular group.” The only thing that truly matters is whether you are making the most of every situation and making friends with whom you are proud to be associated.

When I look at back at the past four years, I am not going to regret sticking with my core group of friends.

I won’t be concerned about whether I was a part of the popular group. These five girls who make up the “stellar group chat” are the coolest people I know, and they are all the friends I need. I am proud of who I have been in high school and who my friends are. These have been some of the best years I have lived and it is all because of them. Thank you.

NW PASSAGE | opinion 05

High school has been a wild ride, thank you for screaming with me

Y

THANK YOU NOTES PAIGE EICHKORN

K-STATE UNIVERSITY

ou have laughed at my dumb jokes, you have stayed up with me to finish my homework, have understood me like no one else, because you went through it with me. To the many who have impacted my high school years, here is my farewell.

Teachers: Thank you for making me listen to the announcements every morning. You taught me that not everything I learn in high school will be applicable to the “real world.” I enjoyed your stories about your motorcycling days. You were the best math teacher I’ve had; you took time to explain a problem to me in a way I could understand. I would never have understood if it weren’t for you sitting with me and breaking down an assignment to me. Without your many edits to my essays I would not have felt confident in my work. I will never forget your encouraging words, praising me for my hard work.

Coach Van Rose, Coach Mankemeyer, Coach Mike Rose, Coach Wolfe and Coach Pfortmiller: Thank you for pushing to be my best. Thank you for taking time out of your day to talk to me and comfort me after my Papa died. Thank you for being the only swim coach who encouraged me and shared my excitement. Thank you for believing I could finish the race. Thank you for teaching me major life lessons, like treat others the way you want to be treated.

Cough (Susan Massy): Thank you for letting me make numerous cups of coffee with your Keurig. I will always consider you my second mom. You made me realize my potential; I never knew I could accomplish so many things. I’ll never forget our meeting at Starbucks, you let me apologize for my mistakes and you gave me a second chance; that is something I will always go back to for decision-making later in life. Your hugs after I had vented to you for the millionth time gave me hope for a brighter tomorrow. Your constructive criticism was sometimes more than I could handle, but you let me see that it was helpful. I appreciate your endless stories. You have left me with more knowledge than almost any other adult in my life.

Mom: Thank you for never failing to remind me to take time for myself. I would not be the same without your prayers. You have showed me my worth more than anyone. Your support at every cross country and swim meet of mine made the stress worthwhile. Your weekly reminders that this is my senior year stressed me out, but you went through it with me. I would not have filled out countless applications correctly without your help. I knew when I got home each day that you would be there to listen. You know me better than I know myself and your reassurance that I would develop into exactly who I wanted to be in time has finally convinced me that I will. Thank you for cherishing me and loving me more than anyone ever will.

Dakota Hulse: Thank you for believing that I could do more than I thought I was capable of. You showed me what real love is. You forgot my mistakes and accepted me as I am. Who else would have gone to all of those stupid high school dances with me? I will never forget our dinner dates, jam sessions in my car or lazy movie nights. Your “did you make it home okay?” texts made my night 10 times better. I’m not sure I could rant about my “problems” to anyone else the same way. You motivated me to be my best. You will always be my first love.

Friends: Thank you for screaming songs with me in the car when we were frustrated over boys and for going on adventures with me past our curfew. I’ll never forget your smiles, our sprints to my car for open lunch or the times you sat and hugged me when I cried about that stupid boy again. Who else would have taken my brother and I home after I locked my keys in my car?

Hearing you scream “GO!” made me swim and run faster. I doubt that anyone else could have put up with my obnoxious laugh and other weird traits. I know I can count on you to always be my friend.

Journalism has given me the memories and skills I will take with me for the rest of my life

I

I’LL REMEMBER 151 KEEGAN DOLINAR

NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY 06 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

remember the first time I walked in the door, at the end of my eighth grade year, and sat in the back of the journalism room with my parents. That night was the first time I had listened to the “find your niche” speech. The main message Susan Massy conveyed to us was: “Even if it is not in journalism, you need to find your place at Northwest and a place you can call home.”

These words stuck with me for the next four years.

I remember the first story I was given. It took three months to write, but after several rewrites and a lot of assistance from editors, I suddenly realized that 151 would be my niche, my home.

That is the age-old 151 cliché: that room is a second home for everyone in journalism, it’s where we feel most accepted because our second family is there. This trope became true; I would not stay after school until 10 p.m. if it were not for something I loved to do.

My sophomore year I decided to join the newspaper staff. I left the happy-go-lucky attitude of the yearbook

staff and moved to the more focused, fast-paced newspaper staff. Within the first week, I had found a group of people that shared my interests, people I could call friends and extended family.

I was there for all of it. I was there when random crickets fell from the ceiling, having traveled from the Environmental Ed room. I was there during lunch with the small band of ‘j-kids’ who had no other place they wanted to be.

Finding where you belong is very important in journalism. For some people, this means taking pictures; for others, it means writing stories about a random thing going on around the school. But this is something that only journalism veterans will understand: the feeling of walking through the door and feeling like you have been welcomed into a safe haven amidst the turmoil of high school.

I will always remember 151, where I slowly lost my mind doing something I loved.

Then and

now

350 NW seniors were surveyed on different trends from the past to the present, here are the results

COMPILED BY +COMPILED BYKEEGAN KEEGANDOLINAR DOLINAR / ILLUSTRATIONS

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NW PASSAGE PASSAGE || feature feature 07 07 NW

CITY OF SHAWNEE

Summer Aquatic Center Positions

The City of Shawnee is seeking enthusiastic, dependable workers for the 2016 Summer pool season. Applicants must be able to work Memorial Day through Labor Day. Lifeguard certification calsses are available through the Shawnee Parks and Recreation Department.

Positions available include -Assistant Pool Manager must be 18 years of age and hold current American Red Cross Waterpark Lifeguard Certification.

Starting salary is $12.00/hr -Lifeguards must be 16 years of age and hold a current American Red Cross Waterpark Lifeguard Certifications. Starting salary is $8.75/hr -Swim Instructors must be 15 years of age or older. Training will be provided. Starting salary is $9.75/hr -Concession/Front Desk Attendant must be 16 years of age. Starting salary is $7.25/hr -Assistant Dive Coaches must be 16 years of age with prior diving experience. Starting salary is $9.75/hr -Assistant Swim Coaches must be 16 years of age with prior swimming experience. Starting salary is $9.75/hr Pool Employment Applications available on-line at www.cityofshawnee.org and at Shawnee City Hall, 11110 Johnson Drive, Shanwee Kansas 66203 Positions open until filled All positions required pre-employment drug screen.

EOE M/F 08 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

Influential Seniors

top row

Ron Kopp p. 14

Megan Dunn p. 12

Chandler Bado p. 11

Deon Richmond p. 11

bottom row

Reagan Walsh p. 13

Gina Gabrielli p. 12

Amelia Hoelting p. 10

Reid Thornburg p. 14

smnw.com

check out smnw.com to watch the recorded influential senior interviews

Braden Pomerantz p. 10 Nathan Jones p. 13

+GROUP PHOTO BY ADDISON SHERMAN

NW PASSAGE | feature 09

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

“

Joining the journalism program and finding a place I call home — Kaleigh Schreiber

“

After the first musical I was ever in, “Little Shop of Horrors,” I would get people who I had never even met come up to me and tell me how great I did, and it was really surreal and awesome. — Dylan Klein

Amelia Hoelting Q: A:

Best Northwest tradition?

“I think the Homecoming parade is a lot of fun, and the past years where it’s been during school has been interesting. I have memories when my sister was in it, and I got to sit on the side, and Mrs. Dent was there with Luke, and it was just so fun, and that’s probably one of the best traditions Northwest has for sure.”

Q: A:

How has Northwest changed you?

“There is so much you can do here and lots of different groups of people and everybody kind of leaves you with something different because not everybody is the same here. I think that, leaving here, I’d be pretty okay because I’ve met a lot of different people that are super nice.”

BRADEN POMERANTZ Q: A:

Who has influenced you most?

“I think the person who has influenced me most is my father just because ever since I was a little kid, he always hammered me about the small things. About always being polite no matter what, about always holding the door open for someone, about always smiling, about always being enthusiastic. I think that’s something that helps make me stand out over people. Something I’ve always tried to do is have that positive attitude, always be polite, because I think being polite is like the first key to success in anything, especially when it comes to being influential.”

10 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

Q: A:

“

My most memorable moment in high school was when I got suspended in the 9th grade. It taught me a lot in life, and showed me how I was a knucklehead. — Isaac Bedasso

Most influential teacher?

“I think I need to start with Dr. Bishop because he’s definitely been there for me when I’ve been really stressed about stuff and he has a lot of good insight on life and stuff. I think that throughout high school you kind of develop ideas about philosophy and stuff, and I think a lot of my ideas came from him because he would share his ideas with us. Another teacher would be Fran (Mrs. Koenigsdorf) because last year in English she filled every class period with comedy, and her wit was really enjoyable. I think the literature we learned helped to keep my interest in the class. And Mr. Hunt, I love Mr. Hunt, because he also shares his philosophies and ideas and you have the choice to agree with him, share the same opinions, and I think you can learn a lot from him, he’s a really good teacher.”

Q: A:

What will you miss most about Northwest?

“I’ll miss the orchestra classes I’ve been in, the literature we played, the way Dr. Bishop pushes us to not just stop when we know a piece really well, to kind of go further into it. I’ll miss being here on the soccer field, and actually on the game fields, competing really hard, because you kind of get in a different mindset. Then I’ll miss all my teachers — good news is Albert will be here though, so I can come back if I wanted. I’ll miss STUCO, all of everybody’s very big personalities, and interesting takes on everyday life.”

Q: A:

What activity has most helped you in high school?

“I definitely think, overall, out of anything I’ve ever done in my life, debate and forensics both have helped me in everything. School, and my personality and how I’m able to interact with people.

It’s something that really encouraged me to be able to speak my mind, to be a able to just communicate, which I think is really important. [It taught me to] carry on conversations with people and have a conversation about anything.”

Q: A:

What advice do you follow most?

“I think the stereotypical high school advice like ‘get involved.’ It honestly is the most true advice, it really is. Getting involved, although stressful, is wonderful, because you get to meet so many different groups of people. I think the most important part of that ‘get involved’ is yes, get involved, but find your home.”

FAVORITE MEMORY OF YOUR PARENTS

Q: A:

“

Fishing with my parents. My mum accidentally hooked me in the ear with her hook on the back swing, so I got ice cream on the way home. — Sophie Ross

What NW activity defines you the best?

“Many people see me as the track athlete or the cross country athlete and the guy that won those trophies and all state. But nobody really notices the other activities I do such as KUGR and photojournalism. They know I am going to school for film but they never really compliment me on ‘wow Chan I really liked your video on the seminar show’ or ‘hey chan I saw your photo in the yearbook’ but the two things that will define me most in high school is joining journalism my senior year and joining KUGR my freshman year. Because really with neither of those two I would be nowhere in life, I would not know what college I would be going to without film, I would not know what major I would want without film and photography or what I would be doing tomorrow without film or photography. So the two things that define me most in high school were KUGR and photojournalism.”

Q: A:

What does it mean to be influential?

“You touch a heart or mind in some way. You make people remember not you specifically, but a certain way of thinking. Being influential just means that you’re able to make a mark on somebody, one person, a group of people in some way, that you change their way of thinking.”

Q: A:

Q: A:

Where do you see yourself in the future?

Q: A:

If you could say one thing to the class of 2016 what would it be?

“I always joke with my friends that I am going to be living in a box in London, homeless and broke but really my ultimate goal in the next 10 years is to work on one, big-budget movie, whether that is the lighting guy, an assistant or just bringing coffee to the director. My life will be complete. Then I could go live in the box in London, broke and happy.”

“My one last message to them is: thank you. You guys have always been there when I need you the most.

When I needed a shoulder to cry on or a person to rant to about an IB test, when I needed to rant about photojournalism or KUGR. Also, I would like to thank all of my peers for naming me an influential senior.”

Who has influenced you?

“Most of my teachers have influenced me, specifically, Ms. Brewer. She has always tried to challenge me along with Ms. Barger. My teachers have been very supportive and challenging of me and I really look up to them. My brothers and my parents are big role models in my life. My brothers showed me how important school was to them and I wanted to be exactly like them. I just wanted to have the same intensity and rigor.”

Q: A:

“

Seeing my dad hold my mom as she went into surgery to get rid of her colon cancer. It was refreshing to see his love and hope for her when she needed it most. — Raegan Britt

What have you done in high school that you are most proud of?

“My proudest memory in high school has to come from freshmen year. My one goal was to make varsity cross country with my brother, Kirk, and my second goal was to win state with him. On Oct. 30 I stood on the podium next to my brother holding the state championship trophy, and that is my proudest moment of high school.”

Q: A:

“

I can’t pinpoint a favorite memory of my parents, but the best ones usually involve all of us laughing until our stomachs hurt and we’re crying. — Erin Findlay

Where do you see yourself in the future?

“I see myself in the future, either being a computer scientist or software engineer.

Or applying to be on Dancing with the Stars. It’s fifty-fifty either way. Either I’m going to finish college or I’m going to drop out and become a dancer.”

Q: A:

What will you Northwest?

DEON RICHMOND

take

with

you

from

“I think what I would take from Northwest is the pride and definitely the uniqueness that I have.

Just the boldness and audacity to be who I am and not conform or fit anybody else’s specific view of what I should be. I am very proud to be who I am and just happy to be unique and me.”

Q: A:

What is your goal in life?

“My goal in life is to make an impact in any way that I can. Hopefully I will end up at maybe a research opportunity where I’m able to look at new ways of helping people. Maybe that’s in stencil research or maybe that’s making new technology. I would just like to make a new discovery and help people in any way, shape and form that can better the community.”

NW PASSAGE | feature 11

HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED SINCE FRESHMAN YEAR

“

I have become more industrious as well as more steadfast with my beliefs. — Steven Hein

“

I’ve changed since freshman year because I am definitely more mature. My view on everything is very different. I am overall a happier person. I feel like I could go on for hours about everything that has changed! — Abby Radmanesh

Gina Gabrielli Q: A:

What are your college plans?

“The college experience has been really intense. AT first I didn’t get into my top choice and then I got into a couple I really like but are like hard to decide between. I was super-excited the first time I got an acceptance letter. It was to KU. I jumped up and down. There’s just a lot of doubt, I feel like, leaving here. because I’m definitely scared to lose contact like all the personal relationships that I depend on to get through the day.

But Im also really excited because we’ve been hearing about college for so long and its this place for us to find ourselves and explore and become like educated individuals and I think that that will be really cool.

Megan Dunn Q: A:

Who has influenced you?

“Madelyn St. Clair has been such a light in my life, I just can’t imagine what I would do without her. Reagan has influenced me a lot, he’s been such a close friend that I feel like I can talk to him about anything and that I just feel like I’ve gone through so much with, Mrs. Moberg has pushed me to do things and has given me a lot of good advice as I’m moving on to college, Mrs. Rogers has really taught me about being my own person and not waiting for anyone to hand me anything, she always tells us to have gumption and to just go out and get what we want and not wait for people to do things for us.”

12 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

“

I have changed since freshman year because I have earned something called gumption, I have built myself up to do whatever I have to do to succeed. I’m very happy to be where I am now. — Shannon Bartkoski

Q:

What is the most important lesson you learned in high school?

A:

“The most important lesson I’ve learned in high school — besides that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell — is that there’s a world out there of knowledge and it’s really important to be open to that. Before high school I hadn’t met a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds, but since coming here, I’ve met people from a lot of different religions and all different political ideologies. And you miss out on so much if you’re close-minded to all those things. That’s something that I’ve definitely learned.

And also, before then I didn’t understand that you can have a close relationship with your teacher, and that has been so important for me because my teachers have definitely influenced me so much, and if I hadn’t learned that you can build a really cool relationship with your teachers, then I wouldn’t have had a chance to learn so much from them”

Q: A:

What motivates you?

“A lot of things motivate me. I think my own ambition, like wanting to find success and be successful motivate me to work really hard. But also, I’m motivate because I don’t like letting other people down, like when I’m working with a team. Like with NHS like we’re all one big entity, and we have to work together to make that work, the exec board and I do and so I don’t want to let teacher down because I know they work really hard educating me and my classmates. So thats what motivates me.”

Q: A:

What is one of your most memorable moments?

“Probably the homecoming parade this year, because we had it during the school day and this year was the second time that we’ve done that at Northwest. It was really cool because I got to ride in a car with Reagan Walsh in the parade, and he’s one of my bestfriends and we got to talk and laugh the whole time.

It was really fun seeing everyone in the school coming out and being so excited and spirited for homecoming.”

Q: A:

What will you take away from Northwest?

“Definitely all of my friends that I’ve made while I’ve been here and all the people that I’ve met. I feel like I’ve met such amazing people here and I’ve become such close friends with people of the past four years. Freshman year there’s people in my grade that I would’ve never thought I would be so close to now, now they’re some of my bestfriends. I think the next four years in college and even after that I hope I still keep in touch with the people I met here at Northwest.”

Q: A:

What does it mean to be influential?

I was so honored and I think it’s really cool because the seniors my freshman, sophomore and junior year, I looked up to them so much, it’s weird that I’m a senior now and it’s weird to think that I might be influencing other people.

FAVORITE SPORTS MEMORY

Q: A:

“

My favorite sports memory is a tie between finding out I made All-Metro and Sunflower League Forward of the Year or when I scored my first hat trick in the regional finals my junior year. — Nathan Jones

“

Playing in the pep band and screaming my lungs out, cheering, for the really close basketball games. — Christian Swearingen

Whats your goal in life?

“I just wanna make people happy, that’s partly why I want to go into psychology. I love seeing other people happy and seeing them succeed and believe in themselves and realize how important and wonderful they are in life because everybody is. Everybody is wonderful in their own way and I don’t think everybody realizes that.”

Q: A:

Who would you like to thank?

“[I want to thank] my mom first and foremost. Being a single mom ain’t easy and we had to go through a lot of stuff together to get where we are now and I’m so thankful. I also want to thank my other mother Sarah Dent. I wanna thank her for the tough love freshman year to give the confidence to run for Stuco. I love her so much and she has no idea how much really how much she has impacted my life.”

Q: A:

If you could chose one place place in NW that you often find yourself where would it be?

A:

One place I find myself would be at the tennis courts. Whenever I’m ever worried about anything or stressed about something i come out here and hammer it out. Everything kind of just goes away and this is my happy place.

Q: A:

:

If you could go back and give your freshman self advice what would it be?

“I think it would be to just relax a little bit. I was so stressed about everything freshmen year, I was in way too hard of classes and I was doing too much. I should’ve just taken a step back and said “everything’s going to be alright, just hang out with your friends and relax a little.”

NATHAN JONES

What has high school taught you?

“High school taught me that their are just so many wonderful people in the community that you should just go out of your way to talk to on a day to day basis and I think that has really prepared me for life and college.

What does it mean to be chosen as an influential senior by your peers?

Being chosen as an influential senior was a big shock. It was something so cool that I didn’t expect. I have always heard about influential seniors and in the past years and I never thought of myself as that group with those people.

Q:

Q: A:

“

It was awesome being able to see the varsity soccer team win sub-state my sophomore year. They were such a talented team, they worked so hard for that moment and definitely deserved the win.

— Katy Terry

Q: A:

What have you accomplished at NW?

Q: A:

What is one thing that you liked and disliked about senior year?

I feel like I’ve accomplished a few good things, nothing that’s going to stay in the history books forever, but I was a straight A student. That was important to me, grades have always been important.

I tried to get involved in as many clubs as I could to impact the school like Spirit Club and StuCo and obviously in tennis going to state and hopefully state this year.

REAGAN WALSH

I liked how everything was coming to a close and it was like an end of a book. The good chapter is wrapping up.

Everyone is friendly and trying to get in their last words, who they are, and who they want to be. One thing I didn’t like is how sentimental it is. It’s really hard to think about leaving. It’s just kind of tough on that part.

NW PASSAGE | feature 13

WHAT IS THE MOST QUINTESSENTIALLY CLASSIC NORTHWEST MOMENT

“

Parking in a handicapped spot — Cassidy Spreadbury

“

The seniors and juniors being disqualified was the best. I don’t sit with the seniors since I sing the national anthem with Chambers, so it was pretty funny to see the rest of our class be eliminated from the competition. Honestly, I think it’s nice to see someone new win the spirit stick for once. They all deserve it. — Allyson Bunyar

REID THORNBURG Q: A:

If you could change one thing about high school, what would it be?

“To start out as a freshman with a little more outgoingness. I was kind of like, ‘I’m just going to let other people raise their hands in class, let other people take the lead.’ Then sophomore and junior year I was like, ‘I think I should probably do my share.’ I wish I would have started sooner.”

Q: A:

What will you miss most about Northwest?

“

The school spirit and how the gym roars with cougar pride at assemblies.

— Cynthia Garcia

Q: A:

What legacy do you want to leave behind at Northwest?

Q: A:

What is your advice on how to be successful at Northwest?

Q: A:

If you could say one thing to the class of 2016 what would it be?

“I don’t care about numbers or stats. People forget about what you did but they don’t forget about how you made them feel. So I want people to, when they think about me, be like ‘I remember Reid. He made me feel good.’”

“My advice to a freshman would be to not try and strive for being cool. Just be yourself because being yourself is cool and everyone else is taken so there is no one else to be.”

“If I were to say anything to the class of 2016 it would be, ‘Thank you so much for going through high school with me,’ High school’s been great and they were right there with me the whole time. It was a great time having them.”

“Definitely the teachers, the people, the students, the friends, the excellent staff that we have here at Northwest. Just the environment, the friendly nature of it all will just be really hard to move away from.”

RON KOPP Q: A:

Q: A:

“I see myself being a businessman in the business field kind of just getting on my feet after college and really doing something with my life. I [also] want to be good with money and manage my money well. I want to be a successful person in life.”

Q: A:

What are you most proud of?

“I would say being elected for king of spirit for spirit club executive board is the thing I’m most proud of because I’ve always been a very spirited person and I bleed orange and black.”

Q: A:

What else have you been involved in at NW?

“I am actually attending the national competition for the business club here at Northwest and I would really like to place at nationals that would be really exciting for me.”

14 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

What are your plans for after college?

What have you enjoyed most at NW?

“I would say being the King of Spirit because I really loved going to the games and supporting my fellow team mates, my fellow classmates and their respective sports and I just loved being a fan at the games.”

Q: A:

Who would you like to thank?

“If there’s one teacher I’d like to thank it’d be Mrs. Burg, I’ve had her all four years, every semester. I’ve been a member of her BPA club and she’s taught me so many lessons in life, not only school, and she’s just a great person and I love her to death.”

Q: A:

What is your dream job?

“My dream job would actually be to be a sports radio talk host. I’ve always loved sports, I love talking sports I could talk sports for hours on hours on hours. “

OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO:

destinations

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ADDISON SHERMAN

NW PASSAGE | feature 15

46 40

9

30 31 38 23

18

22 65 50 4 75

1

Alabama A&M

2

Allen County Community College

3

Avila university

4 5

Kayla Henderson Benjamin Lucier Clayton Hale Akolade Gbadebo Danielle Rehor Alexander Towler

Baker university Erica Esch Amelia Hoelting

Baylor University Katherine Martin Elizabeth McElroy

6 7

belmont university

8

butler county community college

9

Chandler Bado

brigham young university McKenzie Johnson Sophie Ross Gerrit Prince

cloud county community college Ryan Simons

10

Coffeyville community college

11

colorado state

12

Cowley County Community College

13

creighton university

14

Brian Morelan Jada Roberson-Peoples Astrid Altamirano Hallie Ingraham Briana Guevara Ryan D’Silva Shelby Smith

drake university Gregorio Jardin Luke Miller Brenni Rose

15

East Carolina University

16

Elon University

17

Eugene Lang Liberal Arts College

18

Emporia State University

19

Full Sail University

20

Harding University

Téah Lierz Nathan Jones Sophie Flores Kathryn Born Austin Barbour Colin Smith

16 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

Harris-Stowe Nursing

22

Haskell Indian Nations University

23

Hutchinson Community College

24

Independence Community College

25

Iowa State

26

Johnson and Wales University

27

John Brown University

28

Johnson County Community College

Justice Grant

Jalen Lyday Dakota Lust Grant Marshall Desmond Mayhew Derek McCarthy Emily Moore Faith Mora Samuel Mosburg Isabella Moura Nathan Naumann Leah Ndichu Ethan Nelson Bryn Nitcher Camille Payne Paola Perea Saul Perez Avery Ragan Jordan Railsback Kelly Ringstrom Erika Rodriguez Maudie Ruggles Hayden Ryan Ishpreet Saini Ada Sanabria Raelyn Simpson-DeMoss Carli Sommerla Israel Soto Mel’Lique Thomas Rosie Ulloa Laura Vazquez Maximiliano Velez-Padilla Rosie Watson Emma Woebbecke Jessica Wilson Jarred Wolken Cole Young Marichka Zelenchuk

38

McPherson College

39

Midland University

40

Missouri Western State

41

Montana State university

42

Nebraska Wesleyan University

43

New England Center for Circus Arts

44

Newman University

45

Northwestern University

46

Northwest Missouri State

29

Kansas City Art Institute Ernest Hawkins

Kansas State University in Salina

49

Oregon State

30

Kansas State University

50

Ottawa University

51

Penrose Academy

52

pittsburg state university

Garrett Stephens Robert Strain V Maia Hollenbeck Mikayla Katus Emily Rucker

49

21

Kirun Hundal Maddison Jarman Manik Kapoor Clay Karpowich Sarah Keegan Karly Kuckelman Camryn McDonald Jared Marolf Alexis Minkler Riley Mitts JJ Modig Creuna Nunnally Sam Oberbroeckling Gage Oberheu Mia Palitto Kyle Peterson Savannah Piper Abby Radmanesh Trevor Rine Alec Schnittker Zach Smith Marta Stetsiv Jordan Sumner Christian Swearingen Maddie Taylor Reid Thornburg Hallie Vandeventer Estephany Vasquez Emily Waren Caden Waters Brinley Weirick Hunter Wiercinski Emiel Winkelmolen La’Corey Wolfe

Dakota Hulse

Jun Clarence Alcala Yessenia Alonso Emilie Amunatigui Brooke Anderson Bailey Atagi Daniela Avila Dawson Aydogan Daya Bachert Shannon Bartkoski Yesehake Bedasso Summer Benavides Lucas Berger Gethyn Berner Rebecca Bicak Anthony Bonsignore Tyler Brower Kelsee Brown Merissa Burch Lyric Byrd Spencer Carey Analia Casteneda Hannah Cerda Jonathan Chen Devin Conway Katrina Coyan Elijah Drew Noah Engel Ashley Esquivel Hasan Farrokhmanesh Alyssa Gamba Isaac Gettings Jarrett Hale Cale Harbour Kristina Holliday Karli Hunter Gabriel James Nathan Johnson Nicholas Johnson Ron Kopp Anna Lewis Ruoqi Lin

78

24 10

12

21

77 68 54 28 3 32 5

2

76 44

College

60

Andrew Andersen Robert Ault Kara Bamberger Quinn Bonge Ian Boyd Emma Carter Randy Castellon Paden Chesney Cristina Chavez-Arnst Megan Devine Cole Dugan Paige Eichkorn Madalyn Fagan Brittany Funk Iman Ghasempour Samantha Goetting Wyatt Gunter Skyler Hansen Hunter Heindel

31

Stephen Smith

32

LaBaron Hairdressing Academy

33

Lawrence University (Appleton Wis.)

34

Lewis University

35

Lincoln University

36

Lindenwood University at belleville

Marissa Abarca Emilee Lindsay Meaghan Bower

Deon Richmond

Reagan Britt Jacob Nobrega Dylan Dirks Austin Sanders

Alexis Evelhaoch Stephen Nachtsheim Braden Pomerantz Colin Anthony Keegan Dolinar Taylor Moore

48

Oklahoma State University

53

54

Rockhurst University

55

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design

Meara Roach

Ohio State

Jason Barnhart Claire Bowker Cole Johnson

37

Delaney Brewer

47

Jasha Abney

Massachusetts Institution of Technology

Italia Venegas

Arianna Michaelson

56

Southern Adventist University

57

Texas A&M

58

Texas Christian University

Daniela Fisher Daniel Freeman Ferdinand Handy

Point Park University Elise Dorsey

Mark Petrie

59

Texas Woman’s University

60

Truman State

61

University of Arizona

62

University of Arkansas

63

University of Colorado-Boulder

64

University of Denver

65

University of kansas

Danielle Bailey Victoria Alexander Reagan Almos Charlie Audley Matt Ferguson Erin Findlay Patrick Guerra Lauren Mickey Hailey Robinson Kati Sprang Jake Zarda

Lucas Silva

Rebecca Carroll

Suneet Singh Katy Terry Samuel Verschelden

Claire Lammers Joe Specht

Bria Northrop Sarah Smith Jordan Pitsenberger Megan Dunn Tyler Garland Carlee Mendoza Kelsey Nagel Addison Sherman Alexa Styers Sophie Tomasic Luke Helfrich Allyson Patton Yousef Alsaleh Jun Alcala Jordan Arnold

Des

41

33

7 11 55 63 64

45 34

26 14

39 13 69 42

70 47

36

48 71

51

62 27

6 20 67

1

56

61 58 59 Natalia Avila Mallory Baker Mateo Balino Adam Baughman Peter Campbell Carter Daniels Rehani Davis Zoe Davis Teren DeBok Kaija Dewsbury Nathan Dow Matthew Drummond Cole Entzminger Hosaena Girma Vivian Gomez Wyatt Henton Jake Honer Olivia Hollman Jaclyn Humphrey Gregorio Jardin Rex Johnson Alejandra Juarez Nicholas Kahtava Zachary Kahtava Zack Kelly Parker Kremeier Kurtis Lam Hannah Lane Matt Madhavan Thapaswini Mahendrada Madelyn Manson Ian McCabe Jackson McCone Audrina McManness Adam McMorris Kevin McMorris Clay Meyers Nick Monroe Nam Nguyen

73 Nate Neufeld Cody O’Connor Tevyn Pak Callie Pearce Lucas Powell Maggie Preston Joey Procell Erol Rivera Carter Robinson Joseph Robson Zach Ruschill Kaleigh Schreiber Trenton Schroeder Katie Scott Julia Sokolenko Cooper Strahl Dylan St. Clair Jake Thomas Lila Tomasic Jack Treas Lindsey Vandergraph Reagan Walsh Jack Zillner Jack Zumalt

66

University of Louisiana at Monroe Daisy Morris

67

University of Mississippi

68

University of Missouri Kansas City

Heather Grayson Efrain Blanco - Martinez

5 57

66

Alexis Drummond Allison Kangethe Alana Mendez Alejandro Millan Jay Trivedi Anthony Walahoski

69

Abstained

74

University of Nebraska Lincoln Victoria Dougherty Sean Fitzgerald Kamryn Koziol Nicholas Senior

70

University of Notre Dame

71

University of Oklahoma

Colleen Freeman Bailey Jarrett Samuel Korth Grace Ladd

72

University of Southern Mississippi

73

University of Texas at Austin

74

University of Vermont

Connor McClain Dylan Klein Cassidy Spreadbury

72

75

Washburn University

76

Wichita State university

Blake Allen Molly Mangelsdorf Conner McCabe Abbi Bird Evan Crume Carter Murphy Alpha Hill-Spearman

77

William Jewell College

78

William Woods University

Brendan Davison Mary Dennington Elizabeth Gibson

Studying Abroad McGill University - canada Amélia Guglielmi

Toronto University Joseph Niemackl

Traveling Abroad

Rachel Barnes (Kenya) Valentina Bustamante (Chile) Elizabeth Gregor (Chile) Gianni LaMartina (Argentina) Zachary Ziegenhorn (Denmark)

8 53

Henry Alvarado Garcia Brenyn Anothayanontha Gianni Avelluto 43 37 Jacob Bailey Lauren Baker Amanda Beeding Clayton Boese Victoria Briscoe 17 Dallas Burkett Justin Malik Michael Cardell Jesse Martinez Diaz Lacey Carlson Michela McGinnis Tabitha Carr Alexander McIntosh Tyler Chadwick Luke Megli Jacob Conner Lawrence Mendoza Leonardo Davila Kyndra Dunn Julissa Molina Dallas Elwell Joe Montoya James Fisher Kimatu Ngao 16 15 Joel Fry Trinh Nguyen Vitor Fuks Robert Noack William Garrison Tran Mai Anh Phan Malik Gilreath Trevor Preston Anja Goluchowski Keringten Reed Celso Gomez Delbert Rhynes Darnee’ Grayson Juan Rodriguez Jacob Gross Anuwar Ruiz-Alvarado Jack Gryska Zebulon Scott Aviera Henderson Michael Septer Quentin Henderson Phillip Shriver Stephania Hernandez Perdomo Seth Slaughter Andres Hidalgo Cruz Richard Smith Thomas Huber Leah Steinacker Briana Tavai 19 Lisa Hug Fatai Jeffery Gabriela Vazquez Calderon Owen Jeppesen Jason Wang Isaac Johnson Jayanna Watson Manpreet Karra Emily Wen Madison Law Royce White Dalton Letts Naudia Williams Emmily Loomis Julia Zagada Selena Machorro

Returning Home

Bruna DiBianco Nascimento (Brazil) Sofia Mayne Moya (Chile) Elina Rauvala (Finland) Kerstin Stoits (Austria) Rachel Bateman Nathan Brown Tytiana Estell army Clayton Feldmann Anna Chanthalhaka Noel Fridley Evan Fenstermaker Gina Gabrielli Airforce Blake Hill Jessica Broll Shelbie McLain Dylan Ford Jasmine Olds Blake Foresman Kyle Redmond Lysle Hartnett Frederick Rivera Trevor Kudzinski Kerstin Stoits Marines Julia Sweeney Tyler Holland Maximiliano Navy Velez-Padilla Jacob Greene Amy Verstraete Rayshawn Thompson Carson Vielhauer U.S. Coast Guard Academy Connor Wilson Santana Yusuf Walker Smith

Military

Undecided Working

Katie Addington Melissa Bailey Tatyana Brooks Allyson Bunyar Vanessa Cecil Alexandra Creamer Brittney Denning Keaton Durkee Katheryn Farina Zachary Faltermeier Cynthia Garcia Hannah Kohls Jun Langdon Abigail Maddox Jose Contreras Moreira Cody Postle Courtney Pauli Donavon Runnels Lloydashia Smith

NW PASSAGE | feature 17

5/21/16

18 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

OVIES

HOOD M D L I H C E T I R O TOP 3 FAV

1. Lion King 2. Finding Nemo 3. Toy Story

OTHER — 33% MOST ANNOYING TREND IN HIGH SCHOOL

#1

g n i Vap

os !!?” hac 2. C olo” ose? h t e 3. “Y hat ar e W “ n 4. ab da c 5. D

KU — 21%

College

JCCC — 19%

PIE CHART

K-STATE — 17% ABROAD / WORK/ MILITARY — 10%

MILITARY Army: 2

Marine Corps: 1

Favorite Lunch Item:

CHICKEN STRIPS

Coast Gaurd: 1

Navy: 2

Air Force: 5 NW PASSAGE | entertainment 19

Final

words

THE CLASS OF 2016 SHARES THEIR MEMORIES +COMPILED BY SOPHIE FLORES

WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF HIGH SCHOOL? “Each May at the Thespian Banquet, we end the night by announcing next year’s officer board. My most memorable and emotional moment of high school was hearing that I was voted to be Thespian President.

It was unexpected and thrilling. I cried for a solid ten minutes out of pure excitement and joy.”

— Elizabeth McElroy

“Trying out for StuCo freshman year. It was the most terrifying, out-of-character thing I had ever done up to that point in my life, but it really defined who I would later become. It seems silly to me now, how afraid I was, but, if I had not done that speech, I would probably still be scared of public speaking and talking to people in general.” — Erica Esch

“Freshman year, the marching band went to Orlando, Fla. to march in the Citrus Bowl parade. As we step off and start marching, rain starts pouring out of the sky, and we march over a mile in the rain, completely drenched. But we still play and march on.”

— Katie Martin

“The most memorable thing about high school was the feeling, the realization, that I am becoming an adult more and more each day [...] I like being free and making my own decisions, making my own mistakes and getting the job done my way.” — Cynthia Garcia

“My most memorable moment of high school would be the late night techs for the musicals and plays.

Sometimes we would be stuck here until midnight, but we were all slaphappy from the excess caffeine. And it was totally worth it to see the finished product the next day.” — Vanessa Cecil “Breaking down crying in my mom’s arms the first week of freshman year because I was scared and didn’t want to go back. I was 13 and had been homeschooled until then, so it was like a complete shift in worlds for me.

That’s a moment I won’t ever forget. But, after it was over, everything went uphill, making it easier to adjust to high school.” — Emilee Lindsay “Everything I do in cheer is memorable to me because those girls are my second family and, even though it can be challenging sometimes, I have loved every second with those girls over the past four years.”

— Merissa Burch “Being at the Poetry Slam. Everyone is so accepting and loving. It’s a day that I always look forward to.”

— Daya Bachert “Dressing up as Scot Schwartz with the Chambers choir for student-teacher swap day.” — Audrina McManness

20 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

“Everyday in Mrs. Brewer’s biology [class] is a memorable moment. I will never forget her funny stories that made me laugh until I cried. We endured every emotion in that class, and we all grew closer together as a result.” — Gina Gabrielli “Getting out of the ACT or a final while it’s still practically morning and stepping into the warmth of the sun and feeling like all of my work has finally culminated into something that represents me and I can be proud of.

There’s something special about the fresh air that juxtaposes with stuffy testing room air, and morning light that’s ever so slightly bluer than afternoon light, but still feeling like I’ve stretched my mind.”

— Peter Campbell “My most memorable moment in high school would be the senior year football games. I wasn’t able to play but I was in the stands all decked out in spirit wear every single game. After every game I would go down to the locker room and wait for the boys to come out and congratulate them. Even during the down moments I always encouraged them to keep their head up and look forward to the next week.” — Trevor Kudzinski “Beating the pi record in Mr. Meseke’s class after he told me I couldn’t do it.” — Sophie Ross

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF YOUR PARENTS? “My mother scared this bully I had at my house. I was in karate at the time, but I was too nice to stand up for myself, and while he was messing with me, my mother pulled him to the side and scared him.”

— Parker Kremeier “When I was in fourth grade a boy kissed my cheek, and I panicked and told my mom, but I was so scared of her. She told me it was okay and asked for all the deets, and in that moment, I realized I could tell her anything.” — Katie Scott “My mother screamed louder than the student section at my soccer game and tried to start chants.” — Wyatt Gunter “One of my favorite memories with my parents was actually walking onto the football field with my dad the night of homecoming crowning. It’s weird to dream about moments thinking they’ll never become a reality, and then all of a sudden you’re in that very moment feeling some way you never had felt before. I wouldn’t wanna be on the arm of anyone other than my father. I love him. “— Katy Terry

“I wanted to be the senator of Kansas so I could save the whales, then my father calmly explained that to save the whales I would need a different approach. I proceeded to bawl my eyes out while crying ‘you crushed my dreams.’”

— Nick Senior “My favorite memory of my parents is collectively all of the days I went out for lunch with them or rode bikes with them or saw them in the audience at my performances and all of the wonderful vacations we went on.” — Rebecca Carroll “[I watched] my dad hold my mom as she went into surgery to get rid of her colon cancer. It was refreshing to see his love and hope for her when she needed it most.”

— Raegan Britt “My mom, the first day of senior year, comes into my room crying. Talking about how I’m her baby and she’s going to be all alone with my dad next year. Me being the loving son I am, I just laughed and watched the whole thing. Then I gave her a hug, but I had to have my fun first.” — Kyle Peterson

“My favorite memory with my parents is every day that we spend together. When we go out for drives with the windows down, jamming to our favorite songs; or just staying home working on our garden or simply watching movies together and eating junk food. My parents and I have a close network and good balance between friendship, parenthood and business partners. My favorite memories are getting home from work to hugs and a delicious home-cooked meal and just having dinner with them and telling them about my day.” — Cynthia Garcia

HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED SINCE FRESHMAN YEAR? “I have learned to be confident in myself. It may sound a little cliché, but if you believe in yourself and don’t underestimate yourself, it makes your entire life better.

When you aren’t so focused on how you’re appearing to others and what other people are thinking about you, you’re able to truly focus on those around you and be kinder, more patient and more selfless.” — Grace Ladd

“Well I was a Senior then and I’m a Senior now, so not much change there.”

— Nick Senior

“I cannot think of a way that I haven’t changed.” — Jackson McCone

“I no longer blame others for my shortcomings.” — Cale Harbour

“I have become more aware of the impact people have on each other.”

— Colleen Freeman “I’m not such a troublemaker anymore.”

— Nick Johnson

“I came into high school with extreme social anxiety, extreme awkwardness and really no idea of who I wanted to be friends with or where I wanted to fit in. The last four years have taught me that it’s okay to not fit in one place entirely, but to have a little piece of yourself everywhere. Having a diverse influence of people makes up who you are as a person. Between orchestra and softball and Key Club and Math Club, I have met some of the most athletic, nerdiest, giving and talented individuals. They have all helped to shape the nerd, the athlete and the giver that I am my senior year.” — Shelby Smith “Freshman year, I found out I was moving to Kansas City after living in Florida for 15 years. I was upset and didn’t care about school or anything. I was the typical freshman punk who thought they were too cool for everything and everyone else. But when I moved to Kansas and went to Northwest, I was the new kid who didn’t know a single soul in the school. That year I began to make friends and to take school seriously. I learned to put myself out there by playing soccer, tennis and running for Student Council. Moving to Kansas is the reason I am who I am today, and I thank God for the opportunities He has given me to grow, to change and to be the man I am today.” — Bailey Jarrett

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MEMORY? “It was the last game of my high school tennis career, and my partner and I won our last game getting 9th overall in state. We hugged right after the last shot and went to our loving parents who had flowers and our medals.“ — Lexy Drummond “My favorite high school sports memory was beating Lawrence Free State with less than two minutes left in double overtime.

Ryan [D’Silva] had scored the goal and the Free State fans were being rude to us the whole game. It was amazing to see their faces when we gave our revenge.”

— Randy Castellon “This one time in a volleyball game, I tripped when diving for the ball, and the ball ended up bouncing off my head and went over the net, and everyone on the other team was so busy laughing at me, the ball landed and scored a point.”

— Mikayla Katus “Defeating East in tennis after a 25-year drought of no team victories was a feeling that I will never forget, especially beating them on their home turf. My friends, family and really just everybody congratulated the team so much and it made me so grateful for the family I have at Northwest.”

— Reagan Walsh

“I think it was either the first or second football game junior year when it was pouring down rain. You know, usually when it starts raining, the student section gets deserted. But for some reason everyone stuck around, was soaking wet and just cheered on our football team, and that was probably the first time I really felt connected with Northwest.”

— Rachel Barnes “The feeling of going to the state championship basketball game for the first time in school history, having the best record in school history and beating a rival for the first time in 12 years and for the first time in my career. We accomplished all of this by beating Olathe South in the semifinals.” — Danielle Rehor “Seeing Emmalee Rose score a 3-pointer within seconds before the game ended, and standing up and cheering at the top of my lungs when the student body realized that we had won.” — Amélia Guglielmi “The summer before freshman year, I was running my first couple miles with the cross country team and was thinking, ‘This isn’t that bad.’ Little did I know the entire course was downhill.” — Emily Waren

NW PASSAGE | feature 21

G N I D BID Farewell

GIFTED AT TEACHING

Gifted facilitator Cathie Morrison resigns

S

he’s the teacher who has couches in her room and sells cans of soda out of a mini fridge for 75 cents.

She has taken various clubs under her wing including Categories, Super Smash Bros., Destination Imagination and Young Democratic Socialists.

Now, after five years at Northwest, gifted facilitator Cathie Morrison will be resigning. Although avid about the career she has pursued, Morrison decided it was best for her to resign when she found

herself no longer happy in her position.

“I’ve taught in at least eight different districts, and this has been the top of all of them,” Morrison said. “But I was no longer teaching. Because of my position, there’s a lot of paperwork that’s involved, and that meant that I wasn’t happy in what I was doing. I was happy with the people I was working with, but the work itself was no longer teaching.”

In her position, Morrison has had the unique opportunity to have students in her classroom for all four years of their

high school careers. In that time, those students have had a large impact on her. “[I will miss] laughing every day with students,” Morrison said. “Learning from them as much as — I hope — I’m teaching them. Watching them grow. Enjoying their joys and being a part of their lives for that short period of time is something that can’t be replaced with other things.”

Morrison never planned on becoming a teacher. While working as a chemist, she realized that every newcomer to the lab would gravitate to her for information.

She found that teaching was something she was meant to do. No matter where she goes, one thing is for sure: she will continue to teach.

“I’ll find some way to continue to teach and bring what I have to others,” Morrison said. “I feel that God’s given me a gift and I want to share it. I will continue to do that.”

as well as family members such as her mother-in-law, who was a SPED teacher.

“She’s very calm and patient and she’s firm with kids, but she’s also really helpful and if kids are willing to work she’s willing to do anything to help them,” London said.

“I’m sad she’s retiring, but I know she’s really gotten to enjoy herself. I’ve learned so much from her because her teaching style is very different from mine, but I think we compliment each other really well.”

After learning more about special education, Hart finished up her first year of teaching English. She then ended up being the first teacher in the school to

use the collaborative teaching model — which placed special ed students in regular English classes — and she sat with those who needed extra help.

“I was able to help kids and teach English so I got to do both things I love at the same time. I love teaching kids who have problems in school and work with them and teach them skills like writing and reading.”

+BY GRACE GORENFLO

LEAVING THE SCHOOL BUT NOT OUR HARTS Special education teacher Linda Hart retires after 39 years of teaching

F

or 39 years, special education teacher Linda Hart has worked to help students reach their full potential. After years of encouraging students with candy and helping them to improve their reading, writing and other valuable skills, Hart is retiring.

“I’ve loved my job,” Hart said. “It’s different every day. You can come to school feeling sad but then you see kids smile at you and appreciate you. It lifts you up. [Teaching] has a lot of emotion and passion in it; it never gets boring.”

In addition to teaching special

education at Northwest, Hart has taught other subjects at other schools.

“This will have been my 28th year at Northwest,” Hart said. “I taught at Trailridge for six years, and I taught in my hometown of Great Bend for four years.

I only taught English my first year, and that was about the time that learning disabilities were being found and they were starting IDEA, which is a law that said schools had to meet the needs of students with disabilities.”

Hart has gotten to work with a few of her favorite colleagues such as English teachers Julianne London and Billy Dent,

+BY KASEY GARDNER

SAYING “BONJOUR” TO CHANGE English teacher Kendrick Blackwood leaves Northwest to teach in Morocco

F

our thousand six hundred sixty-one miles is the distance between English teacher Kendrick Blackwood’s current home in Kansas City and his home as of the beginning of August in Casablanca, Morocco.

After working as a journalist for 14 years and for former Kansas City mayor Mark Funkhouser for four years, Blackwood decided his third career should be teaching, hopeful that it would lead him to opportunities outside the country.

Blackwood will not only be teaching

22 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

new students, but also learning from them. Morocco is a French-speaking country and, although he has some experience, Blackwood is not exactly fluent in the language.

“My personal goal is to work on being able to converse in French,” Blackwood, whose son attends a French immersion charter school, said. “It’s important to continue to learn, to try different things.

If we just get into a routine at [age] 27 and do the same job for the rest of our lives, we limit our ability to keep learning.”

His shift in residency is Blackwood’s personal way of beating routine to the

punch, but even in the classroom he has encouraged a change of pace. Students and fellow teachers alike have benefitted from his teaching style.

First semester, Blackwood challenged his sophomores to carry a book around for 24 hours. After receiving a reaction, they were to write down the conversation they had and bring their notes to class.

“I was horrified by the reading culture in this building,” Blackwood said. “When a [student] says, ‘I don’t read books,’ that means, ‘I don’t want power.’ I dared them to pick a book that would be offtype just because I thought it would be funny. A

young man carried a book called Prep. He got a lot of grief for carrying a book in his hand in a school.”

Frustrated by this culture, Blackwood used his year to focus on activities that taught life skills.

“We’re using the book and chosen novels to get at thinking, evaluating and communicating,” Blackwood said. “That’s where you’re going to succeed — your ability to communicate in writing and verbally. To me, that’s the most important thing.”

+BY GRACE GORENFLO

HARD TO SAY GOODBYE Social studies teacher Tara Maske leaves Northwest to teach in Arizona

“I

want to start this by saying that I am not retiring,” social studies teacher Tara Maske said. “I don’t really want to use the word retiring, so let’s just say I am moving.”

After six years and thousands of students, Maske is leaving the Shawnee Mission School District to move to Arizona.

“My husband and I are emptynesters, and we were selling our house,” Maske said. “My parents had a winter home in Arizona. It is the best option for us because we want to be closer to family.”

Maske has taught U.S. History, APUSH, Psychology 1 and, in her most recent year, Cougar Community Commitment.

“I am going to miss the people,” Maske said. “The relationships I have made with some of the people here [make it] so sad to think about leaving.

I will be carrying all of the memories I have made here for the rest of my life.”

Maske’s favorite classes have always been related to history, but this past year she adopted the CCC program.

“My favorite subject is a tie between CCC and History,” Maske said.

“History, because I grew up on the East Coast and was an hour away from Boston. So I grew up doing the Freedom Trail and visiting American Revolution and Civil War battlefields. Cool, old dead people’s houses — I really loved to visit these places.”

Maske hopes to continue CCC at her new school in Arizona.

“I am hoping to bring [CCC] with me to Arizona and start a class that is like that,” Maske said. “And keep spreading Poplau’s message: The doer of good becomes good.”

Hoping to have turned history into an enjoyable subject, Maske is proud to have her own children hooked on it.

“I am just a really big history buff, even going as far as torturing my own kids with museums,” Maske said.

“Now they are also history fanatics, and I could not be more proud.”

+BY KEEGAN DOLINAR

SETTING OFF FOR SUN Marketing teacher and DECA sponsor Sara Marshall is moving to a retirement community in Florida

T

his is not the first time marketing teacher Sara Marshall has retired.

Her first retirement from Chanute High School lasted about 30 days, before she moved on to teach in the Shawnee Mission School District for 15 years.

“Our kids were up here, so we were up here a lot,” Marshall said. “We decided to move. I wasn’t ready to retire.”

Now, at the end of her first year at Northwest, Marshall is ready.

Marshall’s teaching career was rather unexpected. When Marshall graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in accounting, she never intended to become a teacher. But, at the time, she found that companies would not interview women for accounting positions. Her professor directed her to a teaching job where she could share her knowledge of marketing and money management skills with students.

“I took [the job]; I enjoyed it, and so I just stayed with it,” Marshall said. “But, I didn’t originally want to be a teacher.”

Although her time at Northwest has been relatively short, she has enjoyed

becoming a part of the marketing department and sponsoring the DECA club.

“The business department chairperson is wonderful to work with, and the kids are great, too,” Marshall said. “The kids really keep you young, I think.”

Her retirement destination is one she has looked forward to for a long time: The Villages, Fla. An avid golfer, she looks forward to living where there are more golf courses than anywhere in the world and where streets, stoplights and roundabouts exist just for golf carts.

“You can get anywhere you want to with a golf cart, so everything is pictureperfect,” Marshall said. “It’s kind of like Disney World for adults.”

Her final piece of advice for Northwest: “Before you retire, visit The Villages.”

+BY SOPHIE FLORES

NEW OPPORTUNITY Counselor Erin Barnett leaves Northwest for Lee’s Summit West High School

A

fter nine years at Northwest, counselor Erin Barnett will be moving to Lee’s Summit West High School. Many factors have contributed to her decision.

“My husband got a head principal job over there, so I wanted to keep our family together,” Barnett said. “I think [Missouri’s] counseling is designed a bit differently, but it will be similar. I’ve

dear

151,

met two of the counselors I’ll be working with, and we’re adding more staff.”

Barnett has been counseling for 14 years. After taking classes for additional hours as a social studies teacher, she found she liked psychology more.

“We wear so many different hats,” Barnett said. “I think that when you can help a student be successful, that’s extremely rewarding. Whether it’s helping them with an application, getting

Junior Sarah Babcockis letter recently submitted th onse below, here is our resp

t put a gun in the decision to no e ad m o wh ow ow if it was an I don’t kn mural. I don’t kn w ne e th in nd cision, or John Brown’s ha club sponsor’s de al ur m e th , on si deci ason administrative p. However, the re al club as a grou ur m by e to avoid a ad e; m m a decision e it, was the sa ad m o wh ter at on, no m ut the school. behind the decisi gument througho ar an g ned tin ci in ocess that questio controversy or sion making pr ci de e th in n dy ganizatio for Was there nobo nd? As a news or ha s n’ ow Br n e in Joh d what was the sion anGARDNER putting the Bibl deciKASEY e this+BY ad m o wh k as you to the school, I want e question: it. Please ask th nd a gun? reasoning behi less violent than ble become any Bi e th d di , Sarah Babcock n ely he er W Sinc

into the college they want or helping a student who is struggling personally or academically.”

Barnett will miss Northwest and the many relationships she has gained in her career. “[I will miss] the people I work with.

You make lots of friends in nine years,” Barnett said. “I’ll miss [the people in this department] very much. [I’ll miss] many students that I’ve also worked with over

the years.”

Barnett is looking forward to the new opportunities at Lee’s Summit West.

“Shawnee Mission has been great to our family,” Barnett said. “We started school at Shawnee Mission and we will dearly miss our elementary school, Mill Creek. It’s a great place, but this is a new opportunity for us. We are excited.”

+BY PAIGE EICHKORN

Dear Sarah, know that history is represented in John Brown, but I do You asked some great questions. To answer them, I did think the lack of having the gun there makes the mural some research. more provocative.”

The mural production process is not a short one. The The gun was not in the original mural sketch that Kansas mural has taken nearly two years to create, as a was presented to the administrators, but principal Lisa result of the number of students in Mural Club and the Gruman agrees that the gun was not necessary to preserve time they can devote to their project. the identity of John Brown.

John Brown is a prominent figure in Kansas “The Bible is literature,” Gruman said. “Regardless history. I remember looking at the same image of John of your beliefs, it is not something we would ban from Brown in my social studies class in 8th grade. But, in the school. In contrast, weapons are banned and students NW version of it, one thing missing: a gun. cannot bring those into school.” +BY GRACE GORENFLO

The image of John Brown stands front and As far as the Bible goes, Mural Club has decided to center, the iconic pose, taken from John Steuart Curry’s leave the pages of what should be the Bible blank. mural in the Topeka Capitol. “[We are] leaving it ambiguous,” Wang said. “It’s not “We didn’t include the gun because we wanted to be going to be a Bible, it’s any book as you interpret it as. I respectful to anyone who lost family or a friend due to think it was a good idea to leave it ambiguous but I think it a firearm or a school shooting,” senior Jason Wang said. was a bad idea to take out the gun. Whitewashing history “We were contemplating what to put in instead. Like — I really dislike that.” a sunflower? Or flowers in the shape of a gun? And we Weapons have been included in other murals in the decided to leave it blank and let people wonder, ‘What’s school, but Hunt was not the sponsor of Mural Club when supposed to be there?’” those works were done.

Mural Club sponsor David Hunt made the decision “To have a student walk down the hallway and see a regarding the gun long before painting started. rifleGRACE — it’s an unnecessarily violent symbol,” Hunt said. “It +BY GORENFLO “We are no longer in the Wild West of the 19th might be misread by some who think we are advocating century,” Hunt said. “We’re now in the 21st century where the use of guns.” there are more guns in America than there are people. We

NW PASSAGE | feature 23

this year in

1.

photos 4.

1. Senior Danielle Rehor is crowned 2016 prom queen April 23. Senior Kaija Dewsbury won first runner up and Shelbie McClain took second runner up. “For me, it was a greater feeling of belonging and validity,” Rehor said. “I really appreciate all of the people I have met and the things that I have learned from all of them along the way.”

PHOTO BY MIO UEKI 2. SADD sponsor Sarah Dent staples the 2015-2016 Chain of Life Oct. 22 in room 132.

Students who participate in SADD take down the old Chain of Life and put up the new replacement each year. PHOTO BY NICK KAHTAVA 3. Juggling discs, junior Brennan Mills performs during the talent show on Jan. 13 in the auditorium. Mills juggled baseballs and balanced bats while dancing to the song “Lifted Up (1985)” by Passion Pit. “I used that song because the [Kansas City] Royals won their first World Series in 1985,” Mills said. “My entire act was a tribute to the Royals winning the World Series.” PHOTO BY SHELBY BEAUMONT 4. To celebrate her first touchdown, senior Erica Esch is lifted up by senior Jamie Fisher during the girls’ powderpuff football game Nov. 21 at Little Mill Creek North Park. Esch scored three touchdowns, allowing the seniors to defeat the juniors 21-14 . PHOTO BY SHELBY BEAUMONT

2.

24 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

3.

5. Sophomore Austin Andersen performs his solo during the Light Show Nov. 10 at the SM North Stadium. The Light Show was postponed due to rain this year. “It was dishearting when I first heard that the light show was cancelled because I thought no one would show up,” Andersen said. “But it was really cool to see all the students who showed up just to support the Marching Band.” PHOTO BY

ADDISON SHERMAN

5.

6.

6. Senior Karly Kuckelman laughs with her friends during the Homecoming parade on Oct. 8 on 67th St. The seniors won the float contest with their ’90s-themed parade float. PHOTO BY TARYN

SMITH 7. After losing the Rock Paper Scissors tournament to senior Randy Castellon, sophomore Jack Lammers reacts while Castellon and friends celebrate in the background in the Main Gym April 18. “After training for zero hours of my life, it was a great experience all just for a dollar but it was so tragic when I lost,” Lammers said. “The only way I could cope with my feelings is [by] playing some tennis.”

PHOTO BY MADDY MANNING

7.

8.

Sophomore Jade DalyRoentved gets her face painted by junior Sarah Joslin during the football tailgate at SM North District Stadium on Sept. 11. The theme for the student section was “America” to honor the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks 15 years earlier. PHOTO BY BRYCE

REX 9. In an attempt to get the NW crowd going at the annual Young Life Muckfest Sept. 9 at Shawnee Mission Park, senior Katy Terry leads the chants “It was crazy my sophomore year. I was like a little baby and never thought I would be the one leading,” Terry said. “Now I’m the person leading everyone and it puts things into perspective.”

PHOTO BY CHANDLER BADO

8.

9.

10. While at the winter sports awards assembly, senior Brenni Rose holds up the state runner up trophy with her fellow teammates in the Gymnasium on March 22. The winter sports awards assembly allowed students to celebrate the success of the girls’ basketball team as well as other winter accomplishments.

PHOTO BY CHANDLER BADO 11. Seniors Nick Senior, Frederick Rivera and sophomore Christian Gehrs sing in the Greg Parker Auditorium on Oct. 6. “When I was in the 7th grade, I saw the Chamber Choir perform,” Gehrs said. “From that point on, I knew it was something that I wanted to do when I was in high school.”

PHOTO BY EMILIE AMUNATIGUI

10.

11.

NW PASSAGE | feature 25

Forks FuD ¨

PHOTO BY TARYN SMITH PHOTO BY TARYN SMITH

A cozy vegan restaurant focuses on Low Impact Food for the Enviornment (L.I.F.E.)

Cafe Gratitude PHOTO BY TARYN SMITH

This small vegan restaurant chain isn’t a hole in the wall

26 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

hen a person hears the word “burger,”

Wthey think of stopping by Wendy’s or McDonald’s to get a quick fix. FüD offers a tastier way to feed your cravings.

Entering the restaurant, I couldn’t help but smile. The brightly-colored heart mural overlooking the jumble of chairs and tables makes for a perfect way to eat a meal and feel good about it.

I chose the Wild Burger, a shiitake mushroom and wild rice burger nestled between a bun with lettuce, onion, tomato and pickles. This was not my first veggie burger, but I’m used to the typical black bean burger.

The burger looks just like any other burger, but the mushroom flavor set it apart. The shiitake mushroom has an earthy flavor but was balanced by the wild rice, so I loved the taste.

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afé Gratitude, the cute vegan place on Southwest Boulevard near the edge of the Crossroads Art District, has one of the best veggie burgers in town.

The place seems way too nice and clean to not be a chain, and upon digging around on the Internet, I found it was. The only other locations are in California, so it’s pretty cool that they picked Kansas City to open their newest location in 2012.

This wasn’t my first time at the café, so I was already pretty familiar with the menu. I ordered some cold-pressed kale juice and a veggie burger. The juice was a perfect palate cleanser with notes of lemon and cilantro.

Instead of the usual black bean base, the veggie burger had a red bean, which paired a lot better with the fresh greens it was served with. The dish was presented as two separate buns, one with the hummus, pickles,

¨ FUd

Cafe

Gratitude

This veggie burger did fall apart more easily than others I’ve had. I chose to eat the burger with my hands, even though it was served open-faced. Next time I would use a fork.

The burger itself cost $9 with no side, but I was full after eating half. I could have chosen to add potatoes, sautéed vegetables or a salad for $4.

Although I loved the atmosphere at Café Gratitude, their veggie burger, Magical, tasted more like a taco than a burger due to its excessive seasoning.

I prefer FüD’s Wild Burger over any burger made with meat because of their Low Impact Food for the Environment (L.I.F.E) philosophy. A restaurant that is concerned with the environment, gives me L.I.F.E.

+ BY CADIE ELDER

onions and lettuce, and the other, with the veggie patty. A salad of fluffy greens and sprouts decorated the edge of the plate. The burger itself was delicious, and the texture was similar to a beef patty. The rice and mushroom-based veggie burger at FüD was comparable in taste and appearance to a fried hockey puck.

The café’s overall atmosphere was more sophisticated than the quirky decor and small dining room at FüD. The service at the café was equal to FüD, with both servers being attentive and knowledgeable about the menu.

Café Gratitude, while a chain, had much higher food quality, and still felt homey due to everything (including the kombucha) being made in-house.

+ BY ASHER NORBERG

diffuculty level: easy

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THIS MONTH IN HASHTAGS +BY JACK LYNCH / GRAPHICS BY PADEN CHESNEY

#Lemonade

BeyoncĂŠ released her newest album, Lemonade, April 23. It was released on the music streaming service Tidal. The album was accompanied by a visual album, an hour-long video incorporating every song. This video featured appearances by multiple celebrities, including Serena Williams and Zendaya. It also featured the mothers of several victims of police shootings.

#GameofThrones

Season six of the highly awarded HBO fantasy-drama series premiered April 24.

Season five ended with several cliffhangers that brought 10.7 million people back to find out what happened to Daenerys Targaryen in the Dothraki Sea; Jon Snow at The Wall; and Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy in the North.

#SuperTuesday

Hillary Clinton won four of five presidential primaries April 26: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and Delaware. Bernie Sanders won the Rhode Island primary.

Donald Trump won all five of the Republican primaries in the states. This increased the leads held by Trump and Clinton leading into their respective party conventions over the summer.

#Prince

Music icon Prince died April 21.

The Oscar-winning, seven-timeGrammy-awarded and Rockand-Roll-Hall-of-Fame-inducted musician was known for his influence and reinvention of funk music. Prince was 57 when he died in his house in Chanhassen, Minn. He was said to have flu-like symptoms when he cancelled a performance in early April. The cause of his death is still unknown.

28 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

#SpaceJam2

Space Jam 2, starring LeBron James, has found its director: Justin Lin, director of four Fast and Furious movies as well as the upcoming Star Trek Beyond. The original film featured Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters playing basketball against space monsters infused with NBA players’ skills.

NOTHING BUT NET MIKE ROSE IS NOMINATED FOR 2016 KC METRO AREA COACH OF THE YEAR

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fter coaching basketball at Northwest for nine years, head coach Mike Rose has been nominated for 2016 KC Metro Area Coach of the Year. Having both coached and played for Northwest, Rose is grateful to be recognized for his dedication to the Cougar basketball program.

“It’s a great honor for me to be nominated for this award,” Rose said. “This award’s recognition is less about wins and losses and more about the overall concept of coaching and what it means to people, so it feels very good.”

Athletic director Angelo Giacalone admires Rose’s commitment to his players on and off the basketball court.

“Rose is such a great coach due to his transformational skills,” Giacalone said. “He is able to motivate and get the most out of his players.

His knowledge for the game, which is excellent, is only surpassed by the relationships that he forms with his athletes.”

Senior basketball player Austin Sanders praises the coaching style of Rose. It has helped him

develop as a stronger basketball player throughout his high school career.

“Coach Rose is always pushing our team to be the best we can,” Sanders said. “He’s very good at getting players ready for the collegiate level; he’s a great coach.”

Alumnus AJ Spencer, one of Rose’s former players, now at Long Beach State, also holds Rose in high esteem.

“Coach Rose taught me a lot because he was a pretty solid player in high school,” Spencer said.

“He pushed me to be my best every day. He is a very funny man, but he also knew when it was time to be serious.”

Rose is thankful for the many life lessons basketball has taught him over the years.

“The biggest thing basketball has taught me is discipline and work ethic: just coming every day and not taking days off, having the fortitude to continue to keep working and keep getting better every day,” Rose said.

Giacalone is proud to have Rose represent the

NW community with this award nomination.

“Coach Rose strives to hold his kids accountable, [to] have a positive work ethic and [to] take their talents beyond the basketball floor,” Giacalone said. “Success is measured by much more than wins and losses, and the pillars that Coach Rose has implemented within the SMNW basketball program have given his players the opportunity to be ambassadors for SMNW and the surrounding community.”

Although Coach Rose did not end up winning the award, Giacalone notes it is important to applaud Rose for being considered.

“The nomination that Coach Rose has received is well-deserved,” Giacalone said. “He has earned this honor through the respect of his peers, studentathletes and community. The image that he portrays [is that] winning is important, but winning is not just the final result on the scoreboard.”

+BY JACKIE SAYERS

PHOTO BY EMILIE AMUNATIGUI

NW PASSAGE | sports 29

Sports The girls’ swim team will continue their success as the season crawls on

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ith the implementation of new practice strategies, led by head coach David Pfortmiller, the girls’ swim team has performed well. The added intensity to practice has produced positive results for the team this year.

“We’ve been doing really well, everyone enjoys being there,” junior Hailey Brull said. “Pfortmiller has been trying different strategies and I think it’s helped us a lot.”

Although it is her final year to swim at Northwest, state qualifier Meaghan Bower will continue her swim career at Lewis University in Illinois.

“It will open my eyes to a more broad area of competition,” Bower said. “For that reason, I’m really excited.”

All three relays, each made up of four swimmers, along with Brull and Bower will compete at the state meet May 19-21 at the

Topeka-Capitol Federal Natatorium.

“I expect the girls to continue working hard to keep taking time off as we get closer to the league and state meets,” Pfortmiller said.

After placing first in the 100-yard breaststroke last year at state, Brull will improve her mentality in the next few weeks.

“Swimming is 90 percent mental,” Brull said. “Before my races I need to slow down my heart rate and be relaxed.”

The strength in which the team falls onto is the focus in which each athlete puts into particular events in order to benefit the team.

“We have a lot of girls who specialize in one stroke,” Bower said.

“It makes it easy to pick the events that will place the highest at state.”

he girls’ soccer team will fight for a chance to compete in the state tournament with hard work, team communication and a positive mental game.

“It’s going to come down to how well we play together, not just as individuals,” head coach Todd Boren said. “The biggest thing this group needs to work on is coming together as a team.”

Boren hopes the camaraderie among the players will reach peak in time for the postseason tournament.

“We have definitely improved throughout the season,” senior defender Sophie Tomasic said. “We're finally starting to hit our stride in terms of confidence and how we play together.”

This steady improvement has been driven by team leaders, such as senior forward Amelia Hoelting.

“I don't always think of the plays,” Hoelting said. “My first instinct is to go toward goal or get it to someone near the goal.”

Hoelting and senior midfielder Erica Esch have been a solid offensive force this season.

“It really has been a collective effort,” Tomasic said. “Amelia Hoelting and Erica Esch have been strong up top.”

Whether the girls make it into the regional tournament May 16 depends on games that, at press time, have yet to be played.

“The post-season goal is to win a regional championship and advance into the final eight in the state.” Boren said. “That’s the goal that we’ve been trying to impress upon.”

fter a rough start, losing four of the first five games to Olathe South, Olathe East and Olathe North; the softball team is back on track with a 4-3 record in their past seven games.

“The season started off with lots of injuries,” Born said. “The injuries brought us down, and we didn’t perform as well as we should have in the beginning.”

The girls’ softball team wrapped up an impressive weekend at the Sunflower Softball Festival, April 21 and 23. The team had good hitting from senior Madalyn Fagan, sophomore MaKenzie Cooper and freshman Megan Formwalt and good pitching from senior Katie Born.

“Last weekend we played in a tournament against good competition,” Fagan said. “We went three for four and I would definitely say that had to be our turning point of the season.”

The team’s record this season is 6-7 on the season but in the last seven games they have held their opponents to fewer than four runs in six of

the seven.

“The team needs to improve their offense for the last part of the season,” Born said. “Our defense is doing really well, but it needs to be supported with better hitting by the team as a whole.”

Going into the last half of their season, the girls know they have to improve in order to beat some of the hardest teams in the state. They still have games against district rivals SM West, SM East and SM North.

“The team needs to maintain their confidence in playing ball the way they know how,” head coach Anthony Kinney said. “As long as they stay aggressive at the plate and score runs for our defense, the team should do well. Scoring runs early in the game picks up the momentum that our team needs to play with the best teams in the league.”

hen the tennis team beat SM East for the first time in 25 years, they knew that this would be a special season.

“East always loads up against us, but they were a lot weaker this year,” head coach Ken Clow said. “It’s some of the best tennis we’ve played.”

Seniors Tyler Garland and Reagan Walsh won the doubles at the regional tournament last weekend after dominating the entire regular season.

“It’s rewarding,” Garland said. “I’ve been playing on the team for four years so winning regionals my senior year shows that the work I have put in all of high school paid off.”

During their high school career, Garland and Walsh have formed a

30 MAY 12, 2016 | Vol. 47

PHOTO BY TARYN SMITH

Swing for the fences PHOTO BY NATE THOMPSON

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Garland and Walsh are expected to dominate the state tennis tournament

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Shooting for Championships

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The softball team is looking to improve in the last part of the season

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As the season comes to an end, girls’ soccer finishes the regular season with a desire for more

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companionship that will prove successful at the state tournament.

“I really want to play well at state since it’s my last year,” Walsh said.

“I’m really excited to move on from high school, but a part of me will always be with Northwest.”

As the tournament looms nearer, the duo will thrive on the desire for success and glory.

“We’re going to try to keep the momentum going,” Garland said. “It’s been a goal to make it to state, but now it’s an expectation to dominate it.”

+BY REED WILLIAMS

creating a racket

PHOTO BY MADDY MANNING

Updates The finish line PHOTO BY BRYCE REX

The track team prepares for the end of the season

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s the track season winds down, athletes are breaking school and state records, winning track events or just improving every day at practice.

No matter the athlete’s role, the overall goal is to hoist the state championship trophy in late May at Wichita Cessna Stadium.

“This season has really been a roller coaster,” high jumper Abbi Bird said. “It has been really good at some points and struggling at some points. We just take it week by week.”

The Kansas Relays (April 22-23) is one of the most important track meets of the year as it gathers schools from all over the state as well as athletes from the surrounding states. One of the highlights from the meet was sophomore Molly Born breaking the Kansas Relays record in the 3200-meter run, her first time in this event this season. This was also the fourth fastest time ever recorded in the state.

“On Friday, everything we did was either good or awesome,” coach Mike Cooper said. “[Senior] Ian McCabe ran a 4-by-400 relay split 48:4, which is the fastest I have seen in my 18 years coaching here. [Sophomore] Hayden Goodpaster ran 49:20 in the

TEeing off to victory PHOTO BY NICK KAHTAVA

+BY MATT OWENS

Boys golf prepares to finish their season out strong

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fter winning the Leavenworth Invitational and placing second in the SMNW Invitational, varsity coach Jim Bamburg is excited about the team’s potential.

“We are having a great year so far,” Bamburg said. “We have won big tournaments and placed 2nd in another. We have also had two different kids win tournaments so far, which is very rare.”

Senior Blake Allen placed second at the Topeka West Invite, credits the team’s success to their winning mindset.

“Our desire to win [is our biggest strength],” Allen said. “Every person on our team has one goal and that is to win.”

Bamburg is appreciative of the strong players he has on his team.

“Our strengths are at the top of our lineup where we have 3 of the top 7 ranked players in the state,” Bamburg said. “We are currently ranked second in the state. We need to improve at our 4,5, and 6 spot. Some of the schools we need to beat at Regional might be stronger than us at those bottom positions.”

Running for home PHOTO BY BRYCE REX

400 — that is fourth fastest time since I have been here, and he is a sophomore. Saturday was kind of the opposite. As a team we did bad; Molly fell down, Hayden got hurt.”

At the SM North Relays, the girls placed 10th and the boys finished 9th. For the girls, Born was second in the 1600-meter run, Bird fourth in high jump and Abigail Kelly-Salo took first in the pole vault. For the guys, Ian McCabe was second in 200-meter dash and third in 400-meter run while Sam Mosburg placed second in the pole vault.

“Our team had a lot of medal winners, which was amazing considering North, in some cases, can be harder than the state meet to medal in,” Bird said. “I was really proud of our team.”

Bamburg notes part of his team’s success is a result of his golfer’s hard work in the offseason.

“The boys all play a ton of golf, they love the game,” Bamburg said. “They all understand it’s not like riding a bike, you have to have a club in your hand everyday.”

Although the team has had a few big wins, Allen is not satisfied with team’s performances thus far.

“We have not played to our full potential yet,” Allen said. “We need to work on execution. We give up too many shots in the last couple of holes.”

Allen is confident his team can make the necessary changes to finish the season out strong.

“Everyone of us is playing good golf it’s just a matter of finishing our rounds better,” Allen said. “We have some minor things to work out and once we do that we should be very tough to beat.”

+BY JACKIE SAYERS

Boys baseball continues a solid season and prepares for state

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fter a successful start to their season, the baseball team is determined to finish their regular season strong before their hopeful state run.

“The season is going fairly well this year as we are getting it done on the mound this year [and] pitching well every game,” senior Alex Towler said. “Our defense has its hiccups but it also has its fair share of sportscenter top 10 plays. Once we start hitting the ball like I know we can, we will be a scary team and nobody will want to see our name on the schedule.”

Head Coach Domenic Mussat credits much of his team’s success to his pitcher’s solid performances.

“Our pitching staff has been a strength of ours this year,” Mussat said. “They have kept us in games and given us the chance to win in late innings. It is always nice to know they are going to go out every day and compete on the mound.”

Mussat says the team’s offense will need the most work going into the final stretch of the season.

“We are struggling with getting key hits,” Mussat said.

“Getting that two-out hit with runners in scoring position. We are averaging 10 base runners a game, so those key hits become extremely crucial to scoring runs and giving our pitchers the

offensive support they deserve.”

The many offseason training sessions that the players committed to is finally paying off on the pitch, according to Mussat.

“The work the boys put in during the off season has translated nicely to the field,” Mussat said. “They are much better conditioned and stronger than before. They are stronger mentally as well as physically. We see as much hustle in the first inning as we do in the seventh. Plus that mid season camaraderie was there from the beginning.”

After last year’s varsity team lost in the state championship, which placed them second in state, Mussat and his players are extra determined to win this year.

“I am happy, but not satisfied [with the team’s performances so far],” Mussat said. “Our team possesses some good talent. We need to harness that talent and take it to the next level. Once we accomplish that we will be a tough team to compete with day in and day out.”

+BY JACKIE SAYERS NW PASSAGE | sports 31

PHOTO BY BRYCE REX

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PHOTO BY SHELBY BEAUMONT

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PHOTO BRYCE REX

WHEN WE GET WHERE WE’RE GOING Verse 1: They say, “It’s the thought that counts.”

But lately, I’ve been counting my thoughts About you and leaving this place We can’t forget what it costs So keep looking forward And don’t forget to look behind You’ve got one foot in the door And one hand on my heart Chorus: Because, when we get where we’re going This time will be long gone Please tell me this is where I should be I don’t wanna be just a memory to you If she asked you to remember Do you think you’d let her?

Please tell me this is where I should be I don’t wanna be just a memory to you Chorus Repeats Bridge: Even if you fall behind I will help make up your mind

1. Sitting on the Main Gym floor, senior Jake Nobrega takes a video on his phone of the senior song. The song, “When We Get Where We’re Going,” was written and sang by Rebecca Carroll, Tevyn Pak, and Sophie Tomasic.

2. Getting in formation, seniors Deon Richmond, Joel Fry, Braden Pomerantz, Ethan Nelson, Jessica Broll, Colleen Freeman, Quinn Bonge and Estephany Vasquez perform the senior skit during the Prom Assembly on April 22 in the Main Gym. 3. Smiling at eachother, seniors Rebecca Carroll and Sophie Tomasic sing the senior song together. The senior song is written and sang by a senior every year at the prom assembly.

Chorus 2X (2nd time is reversed): If she asked you to remember Do you think you’d let her?

Please tell me this is where I should be I don’t wanna be just a memory to you Because, when we get where we’re going This time will be long gone Please tell me this is where I should be I don’t wanna be just a memory to you