Northwest Passage Special Edition: Senior Magazine

VOL. 44 + ISSUE 11 + MAY 10, 2013

This Year in Photos // 04 Destinations // 12 Influential Seniors // 15

+ PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MIKALA COMPTON

Shawnee Mission Northwest 12701 W. 67th St., Shawnee, Kan., 66216

TABLE TABLEOFOFCONTENTS CONTENTS 07 A NEW IDENTITY 04 THIS YEAR IN PHOTOS See photos that defined the school year.

06 CURRENTLY: GRAD EDITION

See statistics, quotes and facts about the senior class

07 THE ONE THING I LEARNED IN GYM CLASS

Acceptance and love are the most important things to carry with you through life.

Decisions made in high school are learning experiences.

08 GOOD PEOPLE, GOOD SUPPORT

In order to accomplish your dreams, you need to surround yourself with supportive people.

08 RACING TO NOWHERE

High school isn’t a competition.

09 THE SHOW MUST GO ON Hiding behind smile won’t get you anywhere in life.

09 NO MORE PETER PARKER

15 INFLUENTIAL SENIORS

A chance encounter while in Africa changed my perspective on life.

10 YOU WON'T MISS THIS High school is the worst time of your life, but things will get better.

10 LEARNING TO DEAL Some things you just can’t control.

12 DESTINATIONS

See plans for every graduate next year.

ASHLEE CRANE, PAIGE WALTMAN, DAVIS MILLARD, BAILEY KOPP, MIKALA COMPTON, MAC COOK, EDELAWIT HUSSIEN, AARON MESSICK, SAM BELLMYER

The top 10 most influential seniors discuss their time in high school.

22 THEN AND NOW

See how media trends have changed over the years.

23 ADVICE FROM THE CLASS OF 2013 Seniors offer advice to underclassmen.

24 SENIOR SONG

Lyrics and photos of senior Davis Millard’s performance of the senior song.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ASHLEE CRANE DESIGN: BAILEY KOPP PHOTO: MIKALA COMPTON COPY: MAC COOK ADS: PAIGE WALTMAN ADVISER: SUSAN MASSY

+ MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

Jerad Carson getting yelled at by Coach Barnett" — Hunter Bruders

Taking the last bow for Gypsy" — Gabby Rehor

When Andy Marshall climbed out of the window in English class junior year" — Mackenzie Daniels

Mr. Pabst's senior IB English class" — Sarah Hansen

Sophomore year we pierced a kid's ear in seminar" — Rachel Hoelting

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04 NW PASSAGE // SENIOR MAGAZINE

Crying my eyes out when Laphonso won State" — Carly Johnson

Mr. Stubenrauch broke a desk trying to wake Ryan Ellis up" — Zach Protzmann

+01 Senior Marcus McNeace celebrates after the secondto-last game on Feb. 22 at Northwest. The Cougars won 72-56. PHOTO BY NATE COMPTON

Walking with my brother for Homecoming court" — Caitlin Chen

When Andrew Banks fell asleep in orchestra and we built a fort of chairs around him and turned off the lights and left him in the empty room for lunch while we videotaped him" — Sam Shreve

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Flinching, Senior Carlos Castaneda prepares to give blood on Nov. 6 in the gym. PHOTO BY MONICA CASTELLON

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Sophomore Brooke Nelson dances at the Spring Special on May 3 in the auditorium. PHOTO BY MIKALA COMPTON

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Senior Kaitlyn Nguyen cheers during the first football game of the season at SM South on Aug. 31.

PHOTO BY BRITTANY BONSIGNORE

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Student Council parliamentarian Raegan Wilks informs juniors Sam Gross and Connor Johnson that they are the new president and vice-president; they react to the news on March 7 in the library. Gross and Johnson have served as class president and vice president for the last three years. “[When we found out], I immediately thought of many swear words and, in my mind, I was jumping on the table,” Gross said, “but I had to keep my cool.” PHOTO BY BRITTANY BONSIGNORE

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+06 Senior Jerad Carson cheers at the Bonfire on Aug.

30 in the gym. “My favorite part of Bonfire was when the whole school was screaming ‘We are Northwest.’

I have never seen so much school spirit come out of N-dub,” Carson said. PHOTO BY MIKALA COMPTON

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+07 Junior

McKayla Ross shoots a lay-up in the gym on Dec. 6 at the girls’ basketball game against SM East.

The Cougars won 58-48. “I always feel focused and am thinking about what I can do next to help my team score,” Ross said. PHOTO BY KYLE TONG

+08 Senior Galen Gossman passes the ball to a teammate

at during a boys’ soccer game at ODAC on Sept. 22.

The Cougars won 4-0. “Personally, I think I could have stepped up a little more and scored more goals, but I had a solid season,” Gossman said. “I feel like from the beginning of the season to the end, we just grew so much as a team. Everyone played at a high level in the end when it really counted, and we earned ourselves a plaque for the school.” PHOTO BY NATE COMPTON

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+09 Junior Andrew Moss plays the trombone during the first jazz band concert of the year. PHOTO BY CLARA DAVISON

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Just crossing the finish line, sophomore Carson Wapp finishes her race at the State cross country meet on Oct. 27 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. Wapp earned 57th place with a final time of 16:34.60. “I was so happy when I finished because I honestly thought I was going to die,” Wapp said. “Being on the cross country team was a really good experience because I made a lot of new friends. I love the passion that all of the runners have for what they do.” PHOTO BY CARLEIGH WHITMAN

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Junior Kristoph Geis plays the part of Trever Grayson in the fall musical Thoroughly Modern Millie on Nov. 1-3 in the Greg Parker Auditorium. The musical’s cast rehearsed for 12 weeks prior to the play. PHOTO BY

ADDISON SHERMAN

MAY 10, 2013

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+ MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

Dinner with Mr. Poplau" — A.J. Mendoza

Going to Chicago with Orchestra" — Jackson Gulick

Finding out I only had four classes second semester of senior year" — Miles Manson

The J-1 field trip to KU" — Baili McPheeters

When Clark Anderson's shirt got ripped off and all you saw was hair" — Rena Soller

SENIOR EDITION English ORSocial studies?

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Math OR Science?

Out of 408 total students in the graduating class, 64% are staying in Kansas to attend college

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now trending at nw: YOLO SWAG THESTRUGGLE FADED FOREVERALONE YAK LETSGETWEIRD

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NW PASSAGE // SENIOR MAGAZINE

OTHER

PITT STATE

KU

K-STATE

JCCC

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GETITDONESCOOTER TRU MERICA FIRSTWORLDPROBS TTT WITHEYBLOCKPARTY REALTALK

Scantron OREssay test?

YOU CAN'T LOSE HEART, OR GROW CYNICAL IF THERE ARE TWISTS AND TURNS ON YOUR JOURNEY. THE CYNICS MAY BE THE LOUDEST VOICES—BUT I PROMISE YOU, THEY WILL ACCOMPLISH THE LEAST. IT'S THOSE FOLKS WHO STAY AT IT, THOSE WHO DO THE LONG, HARD, COMMITTED WORK OF CHANGE THAT GRADUALLY PUSH THIS COUNTRY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND MAKE THE MOST LASTING DIFFERENCE,"

— President Barack Obama in a commencement speech to the Ohio State University class of 2013 on May 6.

Passing chemistry."

— Alex Phelps

Landing my first backflip at a basketball game."

— Ashton Revis

Marching band winning Raytown Marching Festival junior year." — Toni Ruo

When I nearly passed out on stage during Black Comedy." — Matt Styers

THE ONE THING I LEARNED IN GYM CLASS

+ Mikala Compton

+ Ashlee Crane

ey, I need you to do me a favor,” I told one of my only good friends in my gym class, just days before my final week of being a Cougar.

“Sure, anything,” she said.

“I need you to look out for” — we will call her Katelyn — “for me when I’m gone,” I said.

My friend looked confused at first, but then she realized exactly what I meant.

Let me preface this story by saying that it took me until the very end of senior year to learn the importance of tolerance and acceptance.

You see, Katelyn was what some would consider a “strange” girl. She seemed socially awkward, and although she was extremely friendly and always excited to talk to anyone, she was an outcast. A pariah, just because she was a little different from everyone in gym class.

“I hate gym class so much,” she told me the other day.

She then proceeded to tell me all the names that the girls at school called her, and to be honest, I wasn’t shocked by their cruelty: I know how vicious teenagers can be, but in the end, I couldn’t imagine what Katelyn had been going through since she began high school.

I told her that it was awful what had happened to her, and that she certainly didn’t deserve it. My best advice at that moment was to ignore it, which I’m sure she had already been doing that since the beginning of the year. I assured her that it would get better, but I’m sure it was hard for her to believe that the torture would ever end.

While I have never been the victim of constant or particularly vicious bullying, I know what it’s like to be different. Coming into school knowing hardly anyone was one of the most terrifying things I have had to do.

I was afraid to put myself out there, simply because I didn’t want to be that “strange” girl.

And I will be the first to admit that I was,

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at one point, a bully. Maybe I wasn’t pushing people around or calling people names, but I have occasionally joined in when making fun of someone who was a little different, or at least not stepped in when I saw a person struggling with bullies.

I’m not sure if it was getting older and maturing, or if I just had a sudden epiphany and change of perspective, but this year, I have realized just how important each and every person is in the world. Everyone is put on this Earth to fulfill a certain goal, and we have all been made differently and given specific talents to be able to accomplish these goals.

While Katelyn might not be the “coolest” girl in school, I know she has many talents that I didn’t see on first glance. I only learned more about this amazing girl through talking to her. It’s a shame that I am the only person in that class who talks to her, which is something she brought to my attention last week.

I just want all girls and guys who are struggling to find their place in this school to know that it really does get better.

Freshman year was the most troublesome year of highschool for me by far, and, even as a senior, I still haven’t figured it out completely. But before you even know it, you will begin to find a place, and life will get so much easier. It just takes time and patience.

And to all of those who bully or judge, I just want you to know that you can overcome the urge to tear those around you down. It may seem like it’s something you need to do to fit in, but trust me when I say that getting along with everyone and making friends with every person that you meet is so much more spiritually satisfying.

I can’t express how important acceptance and love are in high school. I’m just disappointed that it took me all four years at Northwest to realize that every life is precious, and every person that you know has a story that is worth hearing.

Tackling Tyler Sliva in 9th grade English."

— Zachary Schmidt

A NEW IDENTITY n the first day of high school, I was terrified. I was coming from a Catholic school that I’d been attending since preschool. I’d been with the same 75 students for nine years, and that was all about to change. Only about 15 of us were moving on to Northwest.

I spent my middle school years obsessing over movies that portrayed high school as a shark tank, and I mentally prepared myself to be the bait. The only thing I thought I knew about high school is that it would be full of cliques and that I’d be struggling to fit in.

That wasn’t the case at all. I started to break out of my shell. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and started talking in all of my classes. Soon I had somewhere to sit at lunch and friends to hang out with on the weekends. I was expecting high school to be cliquey, but it actually helped me see that my grade school was cliquey.

High school helped me escape from my old identity and form a new one. Almost no one knew anything about me. It took some time but I learned to be comfortable in my own skin and was accepted for being me. As a timid, soft-spoken freshman, I never would have imagined that I would be on Prom Court or considered someone that underclassmen could look up to.

For better or for worse, I’ve changed. I’ve made decisions that I’m not proud of and some that I can look back at and smile. I’ve learned how to make friends with strangers. I’ve learned how to find the beauty in something ordinary through photography, how to be a leader and that gaining something you’ve wanted is ten times better if you work towards it and wait patiently to get it.

I’ve learned how to make tough decisions, how to pray and how to love. I’ve learned that it’s okay to feel broken and that you can’t be anyone’s savior, no matter how much you wish you could be. I’ve learned that you don’t need a boyfriend to feel whole. I’ve learned how to hold my feelings in, and let my feelings out. I’ve learned that the friends and family that will be there for me and help me through any situation are the most valuable relationships. I’ve learned that important people can let you down. I’ve learned that you won’t always receive an apology, and that you have to forgive people who hurt you even if they aren’t sorry. I’ve learned that it’s best to try and have a positive attitude. I’ve learned to enjoy the moments while they last.

I’ve learned that life goes on — and that’s exactly what is about to happen. Four years later, the cycle is starting over again. We’re all moving on. We’re all recreating our identities. We’re all about to learn a new set of lessons. Just remember to learn from decisions you will make. Our decisions do not define us, but they do shape who we will become.

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MAY 10, 2013

+ MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT

Going to school on a late start day freshman year" — Jorge Amunatigui

When two girls thought I called them cute when I was actually talking about the small oranges called 'cuties'" — Zachary Bair

A certain organization misprinted the name 'Cook' on the back of their shirts to something... less appropriate — Mac Cook

Ripped a hole in my yoga pants on my butt and didn't realize it" — Kailee Evatt

GOOD PEOPLE, GOOD SUPPORT f you’re the kind of person who senses there’s something out there for you beyond whatever it is you’re expected to do - if you want to be extraordinary you will not get there by hanging around a bunch of people who tell you you’re not extraordinary. Instead, you will probably become as ordinary as they expect you to be”.

I read theses words while browsing through author Kelly Cutrone’s autobiography. These words have stayed with me. I began freshmen year as an awkwardly shy girl whose main goal was to fit in and find herself.

I quickly became a “yes” girl. Want to join Interact Club? Yes. Want to run Track?

Yes. Want to write for newspaper? Yes. Want to start a club? Yes. Want to be in NHS? Yes. Want to volunteer here, here and here? Yes, yes and yes.

These are only a small selection of all the clubs and organizations I was involved in. My willingness to explore these groups within Northwest has helped me surround myself with a diverse group of friends.

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+ Edelawit Hussien

They say that you are a combination of all the people you surround yourself with. I attribute my maturity, success and happiness to the people I have met over the past four years. There is no better place to show my gratitude than my senior column.

International Baccalaureate Diploma students: The past two years of this grueling program have sure been a roller coaster, but I wouldn’t take back the all-nighters, the study sessions or even the mental breakdowns. I can say with certainty that I would not have survived without all of you.

I now know true friendship is staying up until 2 a.m. with your friends so that they can do well on a test the next day.

Room 151: I can honestly say that I have met the most welcoming and genuine people in this room. I will never forget the memories from worknights. Room 151 will always be the room where people accept you with open arms in spite of all your weirdness. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to meet you and work with you to publish The Passage, The Lair and smnw. com

Interact Club: I have been involved with Interact Club since the first day I stepped into Northwest. I attribute most, if not all of my leadership skills, to this club. I am thankful that I had the honor to collaborate with my fellow classmates on projects that not only benefited our own community but also the world.

Friends and Family: It is difficult to put into words how thankful I am for the people closest to me. There is nothing more important as a human being than having a good support for the good and bad times. I want to thank you all for helping me grow from an awkward and shy freshman to a confident and fearless adult who is ready take on the world.

By surrounding myself with a good group of people who believed in me, I was able to accomplish my goals and ambitions.

The advice that I would like to leave behind for underclassmen is that one of the most important aspects of success is the elimination of negativity. If someone does not believe that you are able to succeed, you should not accept their negative energy.

RACING TO NOWHERE hy do we go to school? Is it to make us richer as people, to train us for society, to train us for the workforce?

What are we supposed to get out of an education? New perspectives, a “good” grade, an assigned worth? For a long time, I thought I had the answer.

Rewind to day one of my junior year.

Going through those doors, I thought I was pretty smart. I knew what I wanted out of high school: an “impressive” resume and a pathway to a “top” college. Since high school began, I was told that this is what I wanted. It seemed like everyone from my parents to my teachers to my peers to even the media had drilled it into my head that this was a recipe for success.

Then something changed.

I began the IB Diploma program in August of my junior year. If I wanted to get far in life, I felt that I had to “challenge myself.” For me, that meant taking on a rigorous workload in school as well as being committed to many things outside of school. But none of this was actually making me happy. I was stressed out all the time. I felt pressure to spend lots of time on school work and lots of time on

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extracurricular activities. This made me feel like I wasn’t giving enough attention to any one thing. Suffice to say: I wasn’t happy with my plan.

I made the choice to leave the Diploma program. It was one of the best decisions I made in high school. This column isn’t about IB, AP or any activities. This column isn’t trying to tell you what you should do with your time in high school.

This column is asking where we are as a culture and how we got here.

We have become obsessed with competition. Everyone is focused on being the best. The best student, the best athlete, having the best resume. Being the best for ourselves is always something we should strive for. The problem comes when we are told that there is an identical “best” for every student. It seems that everything underclassmen are told is about how to be more competitive.

I’m a debater, so I’m used to healthy competition. Are college admissions competitive? Sure. Does that mean everything before college should be a race? No. If my original plan is what works for someone, they should do it.

NW PASSAGE // SENIOR MAGAZINE

+ Mac Cook

That’s the beauty of having choices. Like I said, I take issue with the notion that we should all strive for the same goal. Being hyper-competitive just doesn’t work for everyone. But that’s the direction high school is moving. Students are being told they need to race for the same goal, but for many, this means racing to nowhere.

You’ll have to do things in life you don’t like. Stress is unavoidable. But you don’t have to put yourself in these situations.

I did that for too long. My decision to change my plans to focus more on my passions like debate and journalism was

a great one. I’m much happier than I was during my first 2 ½ years of high school.

The whole point is that the choice I made worked for me. High school is a time to learn about who you are and what you want.

Next time you’re worried about how competitive of a student you are, stop and think. Take some time to figure out what YOU want and do it. Don’t spend your time in high school racing to nowhere just to do what convention dictates. Decide what you want and make it happen.

Tripping into IB Euro class while in heels. Then my pearl necklace got caught on the door handle, in turn breaking the necklace and having the pearls fall everywhere" — Amanda Gerber

Dove into the pool for PE and shorts fell off" — Tyler Holcom

When I was a freshman, I wore jean shorts for a week. I thought they looked nice. They didn't" — Eric Holton

When I sat in gum at lunch and my butt stuck to everything" — Lucy Ross

+ Davis Millard

+ Aaron Messick

NO MORE PETER THE SHOW MUST GO ON PARKER ’m a good actor. I can be a jock, a journalism nerd, a video production geek, a bowler, a wannabe frat guy, a musician, a hipster, the list goes on and on. Just name the part and I’ve probably played it. I’ve always known that I was different, that I never truly fit in with any particular crowd, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t acted like I have. I’m a chameleon, I can blend in with any of my surroundings.

Throughout high school I wanted to be liked by everyone. I tend to mirror the characteristics of the people that I am around, and am very good at it. By playing all these parts, I lost touch with the real me.

I had a lot of “friends” but I didn’t consider them true friends because they had no idea who I really was.

About halfway through my sophomore year I met one of my closest friends to this day: depression. It’s weird to say depression is a friend, but if you think about it, it knew the real me and never left my side, a true friend. At first, I didn’t know what was going on. Why was I feeling sad all of the time? The only thing that I knew was that nobody could know about our friendship. I pretended to be happy, even when I was broken inside. Every day, at school, I was hiding behind a smile.

With depression by my side, like any good actor, I continued to perform. “The show must go on,” I told myself. The audience wasn’t just my “friends” at school, it was my family as well. For over a year, I kept this hidden from my parents, but after awhile, the mask began to slip.

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I knew that I needed to change my life and figure out who I truly was if I wanted to end my friendship with depression. At the end of my junior year, I made the decision to move away. I wanted to get as far away from Kansas as I could, so I wound up 1,600 miles away in Carlsbad, Calif. I used this opportunity to start fresh, to find out who I really was. No acting, no pretending, nothing but the real me. I made new friends, actual friends that liked me for who I was and not for somebody I pretended to be for them. I changed my life and experienced something I hadn’t felt for a long time: happiness. The only thing missing was my family, which is why I came back to Kansas.

Through this crazy, amazing, and exhausting experience I call my senior year, I’ve learned a lot of things. I’ve learned who I am, what’s important to me, and who my real friends are. I hated high school for three years, but this year, it’s taught me valuable life lessons. Lessons that I would have never learned if I kept on acting. There are going to be people who don’t like you in high school and in life, no matter what you do or how nice you are. The most important thing is learning who you are and being proud of it.

Depression will always be lurking, but it gets easier. By taking things one step at a time, I’ve learned to handle stress better and not let things get me down. I’m happy to say that after a three year battle, I’ve turned the corner and am looking forward to what comes next, whatever that may be.

or nearly my entire high school career, I have been just about the closest thing to Peter Parker you could find: shy, nerdy, a little bit of a loner. Did I mention that I am also a photographer?

Something changed during the summer before my senior year. And no, it wasn’t because a radioactive spider bit me.

I spent a month in Africa and came back radically different. There was one moment that will always stand out to me. We stopped in a township one day to spend time with the local children and to visit the church. I sat with one of the local boys in the back of the crowded church. After a while, we both became bored and went outside to play. We ran and walked around the church and we played catch with whatever he could find. Every so often, he would grab my hand and tug on it until I picked him up and held him for a little bit. After three or four times of picking him up and putting him back down, he noticed the logo on my jacket. It was a small spider. He then spoke for the first and last time that day.

“Spider man?”

This took me by surprise.

“Yeah, Spider Man!” He then flung himself toward my head, wrapped his arms around me and refused to let go. He thought I was a superhero. I didn’t need to fly or have super strength to be a superhero. I just needed to play with him and hold him and treat him like a normal kid.

Looking back on that day now, I have realized one thing: I’m done being a shy, awkward introvert. I’m done missing out on everything because I’m afraid of putting myself out there. Ever since that day I’ve been trying to live a little bit better. Live a little more like a superhero. Looking back on the on the past six years, it shocks me to remember the stuff I have missed out on. All the friends I could have made, all the cool events I missed because it was out of my comfort zone.

Has it worked? Yes. Over the past six months I have been happier and developed better friends just because I’ve started to step out of my shell and decided to be a superhero and stop being a super zero.

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+ HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED SINCE FRESHMAN YEAR?

I have learned who I am as a person and who my true friends are." — Caitlin Beatty

Not as nervous to stand out and be myself."

— Monique Ware

I stand up for myself and am stronger." —

Alexandra Wilkerson

I'm more aware of the world."

— Ben Chavez

YOU WON'T MISS IT ’ll be honest with you, high school is possibly the worst thing ever.

In middle school and elementary school, we were too young to have real nostalgia or a sense of impermanence, and so leaving was easy. We only hang onto high school because it’s the only thing we know we can’t go back to, but, in truth, high school is terrible.

In a high school, people do things that they would be put in jail for outside of it. I’ve seen assault, battery, larceny, sexual harassment of every conceivable degree, and I once saw someone sneeze into someone else’s soup. Why would you even do that?

It wasn’t an accident, he laughed about it, and sneezed into the poor guy’s thermos. You might as well just sucker punch his dog, if you’re going to be that ridiculously bad of a person. Arguments like “boys will be boys” keep bullies doing the same things they always do, and high school girls are the meanest thing since middle school girls.

Our environment is all stress, from class to class. With hours of

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+ Sam Bellmyer

homework and even more hours of studying, and your entire future on the line, combined with the fact that every college in the world is judging you based on your years of puberty, this is the most turbulent time in anyone’s life. We could just throw darts in the middle of the hallway and whoever shouts gets into college, and we’d achieve about the same result.

People are going to cry because they can ‘never see people again’ but that sentiment is obsolete because of the internet, so any isolation you experience your own fault. So, to the graduating class of senior year, stop crying, this place is awful. Whatever you so choose to do, nobody is going to call you a loser for doing it.

What you should remember about high school is the people, the good people, the people you like.

Retain contact for as long as you can and live in a way that makes you happy. If you can perform both of these actions, you will never miss high school because the only thing that will be replaced is the hyper-

stressful environment that you’re forced into every moment of every day, combined with being forced to attend social events and hang out with people.

We can actually live in a place where we don’t have to worry about absolutely random fights breaking out at any place at any time, we can actually work at a place that pays us instead of loading work onto us 24/7 and requires us to show up at ridiculous hours of the morning. I honestly don’t care what time you wake up every morning, taking an actual academic course at 7 in the morning is like coming up with an analogy a day before publication.

Life is going to get so much better, in so many ways. This isn’t a time to cry. We can hold onto the bonds we’ve made. This is a time to realize that we’re breaking free of the prison that everyone is required to be in.

We can stop trying to make the best of a bad situation and start trying to make the best of a great situation, one full of real opportunity. Trust me, you won’t miss it.

LEARNING TO DEAL rowing up I didn’t notice the noises too much. Or I just didn’t think my acute awareness of every single sound going on in a room was unusual. Looking back, I can recall certain events as early as fifth grade.

But it wasn’t until a few months ago, after two years of therapy for anxiety and trial and error with medication, that I finally received a doctor’s diagnosis of misophonia, or selective sound sensitivity.

For me and thousands of others, everyday sounds (pen clicking, typing, chewing, nail biting, feet shuffling) are amplified in the mind and distorted to sound like nails on a chalkboard. Despite the lack of available treatment, just knowing a name and that I was not alone was a huge turning point in my life. In the past I had felt guilty or embarrassed about my “annoyances”, because the person or cause of my anxiety was

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usually doing nothing wrong or out of the ordinary. I convinced myself it was something I could eventually just learn to ignore.

Because of all this, sitting behind a desk surrounded by people for seven hours a day wasn’t my favorite thing to do. Math and science, already difficult for me, became an even more daunting challenge. The thought of taking a test in a crowded room overwhelmed me and finding a seat where I could concentrate was always difficult. I often worked during lunch to avoid certain situations.

This year, I’ve tried to find ways misophonia can benefit me. I’ve found hobbies, movies and music that I probably wouldn’t have discovered if I hadn’t had to occasionally isolate myself from society. Those interests led me to find jobs at a record store and a cupcakery, and I’ve learned so much from being a small business

NW PASSAGE // SENIOR MAGAZINE

employee. Therapeutic meditation has led me to discover my interest in world religions, which has also had a positive impact on my life.

I was able to go through all this with the support of a few great friends, my family and some amazingly understanding teachers.

Despite all this, I desperately hope 2009-2013 are not my glory years.

I’ve had plenty of good times, but high school has also been uneventful and full of upsets.

The most important things I learned in high school didn’t happen in the classroom, and I know I’m not alone. If I could give myself advice as a freshman I would say that it’s never too late to start over. Learn how to deal with what you can’t, or shouldn’t, control. Optimism isn’t synonymous with naiveté, and cynicism can sometimes be a mask for unintelligence.

+ Paige Waltman

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BELMONT UNIVERSITY

BENEDICTINE COLLEGE

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BROADMOOR

Lucy Ross

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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

Galen Gossman

Kirk Bado Ashley Sanders

Katt Cooper Cody Sliva Tyler Sliva Maddie Wilcox

BAKER UNIVERSITY

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Brittany Bonsignore

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ART INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL OF KC

Lauren Wilderson

1

ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

College

9

11

66

INDIANA UNIVERSITY

Junior Agbor Garrett Alexander Andy Alvey Jorge Amunatigui Clark Anderson Morgan Anderson Jordan Armstrong Tristian Anderson Jordan Armstrong Gustavo Azate-Santos Tyler Bailey Logan Berberick Melanie Bohling Eyoel Boke Emily Boring Marvin Borlaza Austin Bray Nathan Brunner Roosevelt Bryson Aaron Carroll Carlos Castaneda

26 JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Joey Kendrick

25

Marcus McNeace

6

13 56 57

1

62

44

47

41

46

63

19

30 32

64 24 15

8

12

3

68

53

16

43

18

61 65 36 7 70 2 26 28 27 29 22 59 58

23 5

42

55

50

37

17 20 38

48

60

52

3 67 69

25

10

51

21

14

45

31 49

Peter Campain Blair Chandler Brandon Custer Wyatt Filmore Luernza Jackson Corey Johnson Austin Lang Arazah Ramsey

34 40

35

BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY

DRAKE UNIVERSITY

DRURY UNIVERSITY

15

16

17

EVANGEL UNIVERSITY

Patrick Boisvert Hunter Bruders

24

IOWA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Alex Allen Kelby Quint

23

HIGHLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Alexandra Wilkerson

22

HASKELL INDIAN NATIONS UNIVERSITY

Makela Hayford

21

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Matt Peterson

20

FORT SCOTT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Briana Collins Hanna Meigs

19

Valerie Lewis Scottie Shelby

18

EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY

Ben Koeller

Andrew Mitchell-Bueso

Sam Broll Nathan Rupp

Briana Savior

COLUMBUS STATE

14

Josh Gomer McKenzie Iverson

13 COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

Lovell Jones

12

COFFEYVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Joe Busch

11

CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Anthony Young

10

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

Melissa Egger

9 CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY - SAN LUIS OBISPO

Cortney Weaver

8

Orlando Gatlin

Bowen Chapel Jesse Choate Nick Clohecy Ashlee Crane Saige Cullen Katie Daniels Shannon Doughty Alix Drummond Zachary Drummond Gina D’Amato Chris Edelman Anna Ewing Kylie Fanning Jeremy Farmer Maggie First Nicholas Foudray Hannah Fromholtz Tyler Funk James Gdanski Brooke Golladay Edgar Gonzalez Claire Gordon Jake Greer Aubry Gudikunst Jackson Gulick Lidya Hailekeross Katelyn Heindel Kyra Heller Paul Hinerman Tyrone Husband Jr. Akibah Jackson John Jacobs Mitchell Jinks Carly Johnson Lawrencia Jonah Mason Jones Nickson Karitu Daniyal Khan Nick Larkins Anaya Lloyd Courtney Margrave Dylan Marshall Paloma Martin-Blasio Aishlee McCray Baili Mcpheeters Jackson Meeter Jessica Metz Amanuel Mikre Bryan Mohling Adam Moore Shelby Moul Trent Moyer Katie Nelson Kaitlyn Nguyen Mike O’Nele Zachary Osbern Ryan Palmer Skylar Palmer Araya Parks Neeraj Pawar Anna-Marie Pemberton Emily Perry Allison Petrehn Ethan Price Daniel Rabiee Logan Ragsdale A.J. Raith Hayley Redmon Ashton Revis David Rice

KANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Zachary Bair Madeline Becker Morgan Blake Reed Bowker Nick Boyer Taylor Breckenridge Chase Congrove Brooke Cooper Laura Crosley Kaitlyn Delamore Brooke Evans Luke Fields Morgan Fisch Kathryn Fix Nicole Fuchs Zach Hannum Meghan Haun Amy Hein Mary Hellmer Elizabeth Jackson Connor Jarman Lucas Karlin Bridget Killeen Kelci Krier Davis Millard Ashley Moore Max Oberbroeckling Morgan Parsons Jake Priddy Jack Prince

30

Stephen Bables

29 KANSAS CITY KANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Taylor Dean

28

Isaiah Johnson

27

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE FIRE ACADEMY

Alonzo Robinson Graham Rockers Alan Romero Natalie Rowan Waleed Saifan Krissa Samuelson Tanner Sherman Kylie Skelton Aaron Smith Sophia Spencer Ivy Strandt Arieonna Strickland Lauren Toomay Nathan Treas Koty Troughton Lily Trujillo Jesse Vargas Zoe Weber Christi West Graham Wills Chloe Wilson Haley Wofford Austin Wood Kyle Zarda

LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY

MUSICIANS INSTITUTE NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Whitney McMillon Connor Rockrohr Johnny Terry Raegan Wilks

41 OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Edelawit Hussien

40

Dylan Weber

39

Rachel Hoelting

MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

38

Eric Holton

MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART AND DESIGN 37

Alex Pogozelec

36

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE - PENN VALLEY

Claire Marley

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN 35

Emily Maddox

MARYMOUNT MANHATTAN COLLEGE 34

Cle’era Hollingsworth

MARINELLO SCHOOL OF BEAUTY 33

Grant Foard

MANHATTAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE 32

Cameron Rex

31

Joey Ptak Gabby Rehor Shannon Riemer Morgan Roenigk Ramin Rostampour Julia Ruszczyk Eric Schlaikjer Graham Schlaikjer Charlie Schmidt Tavoni Simpson Cecilia Smith Hannah Snider Rena Soller Nick Sosaya Maggie Stuart Lucas Verschelden Haley Waters Allie Watson Collin Weems Colleen Weigel Sommer Wiebrecht Reagan Wood Josh Zdeb

OZARK CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY

TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Chris Wartko

54 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - LOS ANGELES (UCLA)

Cierra Carbajo Ryan Ellis Robby Fry Anna Kiene Abigael Stricker

53

Lucas Lowry

52

Sarah Hansen

51

Kendall Toren

50 TRINITY CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

Sam Shreve

49

Elijan Van Hoecke

48 SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

Alan Baur

47 SOUTHERN NAZARENE UNIVERSITY

Ashley Hermerding Emily Utech

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY 46

Summer Foth Kaitlyn Richmond Jeffrey Willard

45 SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN

Tyler Jewell

44 PRATT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Faith Bohlken Jonathan Bruntzel Cameron Bryles-Ford Jerad Carson Nick Duffelmeyer Anna Guigli Tiffany Jordan Vanessa Jurado Bailey Letts Samantha Male Crystal Osei Ryan Spaits Grace Stutheit

43

PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY

A.J. Mendoza Sara Nurnberger

42

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

Eliot Alpert Ethan Alquist Jessica Anspaugh Arianna Badocchi Alexander Barbour Amit Bhatla Tim Blake Jeff Brann Cassidy Brinckman Thomas Carney Monica Castellon Erica Chaltas Tara Chase Caitlin Chen Mac Cook Paige Cook Anthany Credit Mikey Daly Taylor Daneke Alex Dang Mackenzie Daniels Shelby Dominguez Kailee Evatt Alan Fernandez Amanda Gerber Eden Hailemariam Jennifer Hanneman Taylor Hockersmith Tyler Holcom Brett Hustead Jaylyn Jenks Grace Johnson Zaid Khalil Megan Kleiss Andy Marshall Tess McCann Joshua Miguel Grant Morgan Andrew Morris Kaitlin Neill Lindsay Nelson Mitch Nolan Elissa Ojeda Ashlynn Owens Vivek Patel Alex Phelps Ryan Pierre Mitchell Powell Peter Rebori Arel Roxas Giovana Silva Brett Skillet Halie Snider Michael Stanchik Matt Styers Monique Ware Joe Werle

58

Anna Lindholm

57

Rodolfo Lopez

56

Emily Babcock Aaron Messick

55 UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI

UNIVERSITY OF ST. MARY'S

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY WASHBURN UNIVERSITY

Melodie-Jayne Aldrich

Working

Elizabeth Hudson

WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE

70

Krista Hill

69 WATKINS COLLEGE OF ART, DESIGN AND FILM

Garret Allen Lindsay Butts

68

Kate Tarne

67

Toni Ruo

66 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON - SEATTLE

Kristina Purinton

65

Connor Kelley

64 UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA - OMAHA

Caitlin Beatty Willis Kessler Clayton Henderson Ramayan Maniktala

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA - LINCOLN 63

Jake Filsinger

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA - KEARNEY 62

David Dougherty Dani Golladay Fabio Imperiale Bailey Kopp Chloe Segale Alex Sweeney Paige Waltman Chloe Weishaar Jessie Wilson

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI KANSAS CITY 61

Mikala Compton

60 UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA

Peter Madrigal

59 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Jorn Winkelmolen Jinju Yu Ethan Zolotor

Colton Almos Jonathan Altamirano Nick Cortez Anna King Jacob Long Cristina Lopez Daniel Magwire Miles Manson William Ramirez

Undecided

Cameron Schroeder

YEAR OFF

Laura Assmann

MISSION WORK IN SOUTH AFRICA

Other

Svea Bulka (Germany) Martina Laudato (Italy) Jonas Martinson (Sweden) Riccardo Masina (Italy) Lucia Pedulla (Italy) Sandrine Reist (Switzerland) Beatrice Tunisi (Italy) Linh Wagner (Germany) Sylvia Wang (China)

Returning home

Tim Dormady Martin Ndichu

US NAVY

Sarah Cumbia Tyler Koonce

UNDECIDED

Aaron Bullard Ben Chavez Josh Humphrey Brandon Lopez Zach Protzmann

MARINE CORPS

Nick Allison Sam Bellmyer Katia Cedilla Jonathan Jones Peter Karanja Zachary Schmidt

AIR FORCE

Military

Brandyn Reed Leondr’a Reed-Morgan Trevor Robinson Alan Rodriguez-Reyes Christian Sears Aaron Staley

CLASS OF 2013's

BACK: KIRK BADO, ANNA KING, CLARK ANDERSON MIDDLE: LUCAS LOWRY, EDELAWIT HUSSIEN, JAYLYN JENKS, CAITLIN CHEN, A.J. MENDOZA FRONT: AMY HEIN, ANNA KIENE + PHOTOS BY MIKALA COMPTON INTERVIEWS BY ASHLEE CRANE + SARAH EGGER

MAY 10, 2013

+ FAVORITE SPORTS MOMENT

When the power went out at the football game this year, and we waited for it to turn on again in the pouring rain." — Laura Assmann

University of Alabama // History or International Relations +WHAT ACTIVITY DO YOU DO THAT BEST DEFINES YOU?

Winning State and having Harry Shroeder lift me up and shout 'Immortality!'" — Kirk Bado

Winning the first game at volleyball sub-state with my team senior year."

— Madeline Becker

Freshman year football, we came back and beat Lawrence."

— Nathan Brunner

LUCAS LOWRY

it, but you can definitely find one and there’s someone out there that will be perfectly suited for you as a best friend, and you never really need to feel alone because there’s always some sort of community that will adopt you, whether it’s journalism or orchestra or a sports team, I think there’s acceptance out there for everyone.

The involvement that I have with orchestra is probably the most defining of me because, I know that sports teams talk about having families within their team, but in orchestra I really did find a family and I’m in here every morning, before school and after school, and so my work with orchestra leadership team and +IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU WISH my time spent with [orchestra YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED WITH director] Jeffrey Bishop has come THAT YOU DIDN'T DURING YOUR TIME AT to define me and shaping my NORTHWEST? character over these past couple In the long term, I think I kinda years in high school. regret not joining the GSA and +WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON kind of getting involved with THAT YOU'VE LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL? that because even though I came Probably that you can always out junior year, I was never really find a good friend somewhere. involved with that organization And for that matter, you can find and I think it would have been a good friend anywhere. You may really cool to kind of lift that up not be expecting it or looking for and make it more prominent in

the school this year like it has been in past years.

+WHAT KIND OF LEGACY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE BEHIND AT NORTHWEST? I guess I would want them to remember me as not the guy who takes naps during lunch. But maybe as the guy who always put himself out there to make friends, or was always willing help anyone, like in the orchestra community, to sort of lead that and bring everyone together in orchestra as a family.

+IF YOU COULD SAY ONE MORE THING TO THE CLASS OF 2013, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I guess I would say that they were an amazingly and surprisingly supportive welcoming, overall friendly group of people and that if they continue to show that kind of friendliness and compassion towards everyone they meet in life, they’ll do OK.

involved with what you like, +HOW DO YOU THINK HIGH SCHOOL and never hesitate to talk to different people and to ask HAS PREPARED YOU FOR THE FUTURE? I think that I’ve learned questions and to do different High school has prepared several things from it. First me for the future by giving things.” of all, the sense of the word +WHAT HAVE YOU DONE IN HIGH me different experiences “family,” outside of your and putting me in different SCHOOL THAT YOU ARE MOST PROUD settings. Like, for example, actual family members.

OF? with group projects, you’re Because these four years I think what I’m most proud not always going to get to be up here have been amazof is coming back from my with the people you want, so ing as far as my team, and ACL tear. And the other thing you have to work with other for example, had we done that I’m proud of is being able people, and that’s a little bit awful this year, I would to play two varsity sports and like life. And, like in life, high have still loved playing keep up with my school work school has thrown different because I was playing with and my grades because I did things at me, like tearing great people who want to work hard to do that, and I’m my ACL and things like that, be there and have total really happy that I was able that I can’t prepare for, and respect for each other. And, to do so. you just have to figure them I guess, through not play+YOU WERE VOTED AS ONE OF THE out.

+WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM PLAYING BASKETBALL?

ANNA KING

Undecided // International Relations Political Science

ing last year, I learned a lot [about] perseverance and endurance, like you just have to wait and keep working, and the reward will come eventually.

MOST INFLUENTIAL SENIORS OF THE +IF YOU COULD SAY ONE MORE THING CLASS. WHO INFLUENCES YOU? TO THE CLASS OF 2013, WHAT WOULD Coach Dickson has been a IT BE?

big influence just because he is an amazing coach and just gives so much time and +WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT energy, and it just makes you LESSON THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED IN want to put that much time and energy back into what HIGH SCHOOL? The biggest lesson that he is doing, just to match him.

I have learned is to get

I think I would just thank everyone for the great journey that we’ve been on together for the past four years, and wish everyone luck in the future, where ever they go, that they are happy and successful.

Laying out a 320-pound lineman."

— Jonathan Bruntzel

Boys' soccer winning over Olathe East when everyone said they would lose." — Paige Cook

Winning all four matches at the Gardner Quad." — Mikey Daly

+WHAT ACTIVITY MOST DEFINES YOU?

AMY HEIN

Kansas State University // Undecided University of Kansas // Strategic Communications and Political Science +WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON THAT YOU'VE LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL? That it’s really beneficial to be involved in everything, but at the same time, to not be overly involved because that’s kind of what I did. I got so jam-packed with everything, and it kind of takes away from other things.

Freshman year, I played for the sophomore basketball team. We were down 14-2 at half to SM East. We came back to beat them by about ten." — Mackenzie Daniels

Homecoming Court or been a captain of any sport. I gained a lot of confidence from the leadership roles I have achieved and from getting out there and seeing the people who have gone before me.

high school, but I wish I had put myself out there a little more. I think it could have helped me more now with confidence. I just wish that I had understood how fun high school was freshman year and hadn’t looked at it as a job. High school isn't just about taking classes and suffering through tests; it’s about meeting new people, and winning or losing competitions. I wish I had learned that it wasn't all about academics.

Probably track. I think part of that is because it would be the thing that I have put the most time into at Northwest.

Pole vault definitely; I wouldn't say that is the thing I have been most influential +WHAT WAS YOUR GREATEST SUCCESS in necessarily, but I think for IN HIGH SCHOOL? me that is the biggest thing Probably all of the things I that I do in my life right now. did with [National Honors +WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM POLE Society]. I think just because it was an honor to be elected to VAULTING? Everybody has bad days, such a leadership role, but on and you can't freak out just top of that, I think I did a good because you have one. You job with getting better and have to persevere. If you give more service opportunities. I +WHAT IS YOUR LIFE GOAL? up, you are not going to get think that is what I am most To find a life goal. No joke, I better, which is something proud of. do not know what I want to that applies to everything. +IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WISHED do with my life. I think that is OK right now, just because +WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL? YOU HAD DONE IN HIGH SCHOOL? Confidence, that is the I wish I had stepped out of there is so many things that biggest thing. When I started the box a little bit more. I I like to do, and I don’t know out as a freshman, I wasn't only did one club, which was where I want to be in ten shy, but I was definitely not National Art Honors Society. years. My life goal is to find a the outgoing person that I I mean, I did two sports. It’s dream because I really don’t am today. Freshman year I not like I was uninvolved; I have one right now. I’m just never would have guessed was probably more involved keeping my options open I would have been on than some people ever are in right now.

CAITLIN CHEN

involved in all these different clubs and activities, and I’ve gotten to know different people from different walks of life, and so I think that will help me with my future because I know how to do that, so I can take that and make it applicable to my daily life.

+HOW DO YOU THINK HIGH SCHOOL HAS +WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM BEING INVOLVED WITH STUDENT COUNCIL? PREPARED YOU FOR THE FUTURE? Well, I did the IB diploma program last year, and honestly, college-wise, I think that’s prepared me so much.

I’m going to know how to study, I’m going to know how to work, and it’s going to be great, I’m going to know how to balance everything. I think that high school has prepared me to be social and to network because I’m a big networker, like I’m

Ran a 5K in less than 20 minutes."

— Alex Dang

StuCo has definitely made me overall a better person; like I try to be an example. It’s helped me with my leadership skills and my communication skills, for sure. And on top of it, I’m the publicist and so it’s helped me get into the field that I want to study, because I’m doing Strategic Communications and that’s a lot of mass media and that’s what I do as publicist.

+IS THERE SOMETHING IN HIGH SCHOOL THAT YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED IN? Academic Decathlon and Robotics. I just think those things are so cool. They’re so outside of my comfort zone but they are so interesting, and it takes so much intelligence and dedication that it’s very intriguing.

+WHAT IS YOUR MAIN GOAL IN LIFE?

I just want to make a difference, honestly, in everything that I do. That was my goal in high school: to leave an impact on the school and overall, my life goal is make a difference in something.

their all. I mean, I’ve put so much time and dedication to this school, and love. I adore SM Northwest, and I just want +WHAT LEGACY SO YOU WANT TO LEAVE to be remembered as a person who was really involved here AT NORTHWEST? I want to be remembered as a and tried to make it a better person who gave Northwest place.

17

+ HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED SINCE FRESHMAN YEAR?

I've become myself again."

— Melanie Bohling

My priorities have changed and the important things in life are much clearer now than freshman year." — Erica Chaltas

I'm taller... probably...

God, I hope so."

— Shannon Doughty

People thought I was a girl as a freshman."

— Ryan Ellis

CLARK ANDERSON Johnson County Community College // Criminal Law or Politics

+WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL? You can’t live your life with regrets, so you’ve just got to do what you want. That’s a good lesson, and [I learned that lesson] by being me.

+WHO INSPIRES YOU?

I like that [graduate] Isabel Zacharias girl, she was pretty smart. She had a good outlook on things. Also, there’s a student teacher here, Keaton Vander Hart; we hassle Mr. Vander Hart a lot, but he’s still a great teacher, and he still comes to class every

day with a smile. I wish I could met in a room, but that’s actually have his resilience. like 60 people in a room. They +HOW DO YOU THINK HIGH SCHOOL HAS have a lot of influence around the school and they make a lot of PREPARED YOU FOR THE FUTURE? cool events. And they get booths Well, when I first came to high at lunch; I would want to work at school I wasn’t a very outgoing one of those. person, and by that I mean I didn’t talk to a lot of people, but I +WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED don’t know, I think [high school] FOR AT NORTHWEST? has given me a character.

I don’t know how long I’ll be +IS THERE AN ACTIVITY OR AN ORGANIZATION remembered for, probably not a while, but I just want to be THAT YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN remembered as a guy who was INVOLVED WITH AT NORTHWEST? a pretty nice guy. I also want to Student Council, definitely. I be pretty memorable for being always thought StuCo was a the student news and as a pretty group of eight or nine people that interesting person. I don’t know

ANNA KIENE +WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PURSUE ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN COLLEGE?

if that’s true, but I would like it.

+IF YOU COULD SAY ONE MORE THING TO THE CLASS OF 2013, WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS FOR THEM? I would just like to say, you know how in movies, people are really mean in high school, I thought that was really weird because in this school, there are a lot of nice people. It’s full of a lot of really nice people. Like you know in movies, you see people who play football, they’re always mean to the nerds and stuff, but everybody is really cool at this school.

University of Arkansas // Elementary Education

really big passion for hanging out and loving other people and just encouraging people. I think the Lord has just shown me how great he is throughout high school; I’ve learned so much about him and how great he is.

I really love kids, I have a passion for kids. And my mom is a teacher, and all of the bloodline ladies on my mom’s side are elementary teachers. That’s not why I chose it, but I thought it +WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON was cool, and I just love kids and YOU HAVE LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL? seeing them learn.

Don’t let yourself be defined by +WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY THAT BEST what others think of you because it’s not worth it. And don’t waste DESCRIBES YOU? My favorite activity at school all of your time trying to please would be StuCo because it’s others because it’s just going to really fun and [allows me to end up hurting you. And don’t be] involved in everything. But regret anything that you do. outside of school, I would say my youth group because they have +IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND RE-DO HIGH really influenced me in a lot of SCHOOL, WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD ways. I love my youth group.

HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY? +HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR LIFE? I think I would take a foreign I think my faith is honestly language. I mean, I took Spanish, the biggest part of my life right but I think everyone is like, ‘Oh, now and it’s influenced me in Spanish is the easiest language, the way of a lot of the decisions I’m going to take it.’ And also, I make and the scenarios I put I think I would have taken myself in. Also, just the way photography or art classes. I that I treat people. The Lord has really wish I could draw. I’m given me his love so that I can literally the most unartistic love other people. I just have a person in the world.

shy freshman year because obviously as a freshman you’re kind of insecure and intimidated, so I think that I definitely did I would say [English teacher get involved in stuff. I didn’t Marc] Gibbens. He has influenced get straight A’s, so that’s kind of me in the way that, his disappointing, but whatever. teaching style, I love it. He’s so enthusiastic, just the funnest, +WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO YOU WANT YOUR and makes you want to learn CLASSMATES TO REMEMBER YOU AS? and that’s how I want to be when The person that wasn’t I’m a teacher. judgmental towards anyone but really accepted them for who +WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR GOALS AS A just they are and loved them; and just FRESHMAN? DID YOU ACCOMPLISH THEM? as the person who represents I’m pretty sure I made the goal Jesus and God in everything freshman year to get all straight that I do. Also, just someone that A’s, and obviously that did not people aren’t afraid to come up to happen. I think I made the goal and talk to and not intimidating to just be involved. I was really or anything.

+YOU WERE NAMED ONE OF THE TOP MOST INFLUENTIAL SENIORS IN THE SCHOOL. WHO INFLUENCES YOU?

I have embraced being different."

— Hannah Fromholtz

Become more lazy, yet more responsible" — Hanna Meigs

I've realized that I shouldn't let people walk all over me, and that I should stand up for myself." — Morgan Parsons

+WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM BEING A DIPLOMA CANDIDATE IN THE IB PROGRAM? IB really fostered my time management and organizational skills. It gave me an opportunity to really expand my horizons academically, and also understand the global world that we live in.

+WHAT IS YOUR MAIN GOAL IN LIFE?

New York University // Economics

I got taller, a little smarter and a lot braver."

— Ashley Sanders

+YOU WERE VOTED AS ONE OF THE through clubs or journalism TOP MOST INFLUENTIAL SENIORS. WHO or anything like that. I want to leave younger INFLUENCES YOU? The teachers that really put in all of their time for their students. I’ve had some of the best teachers through the IB program, who really went above and beyond for their students and actually understood the pressure that there is being an IB Diploma student, and all of those teachers that actually, really made the effort to accommodate everyone.

I want to do something in life, whether it’s a career or anything else, that’s made an impact, and I know that’s kind of cliche to say, but I want to create something, + WHAT KIND OF LEGACY DO YOU WANT invent something, produce TO LEAVE BEHIND AT NORTHWEST? something that makes an I would like to be known impact on other people’s as the person who made lives. an impact in the school, whether small or large, I just want younger students to build on whatever I left at Northwest, whether it’s

EDELAWIT HUSSIEN me so much about how to be a better person. The lessons I have learned from Cross Country The most important lesson I have are too numerous to count; they learned in high school is that made me the person that I am. there will be a lot of brick walls in your life. Brick walls that pop +WHAT WAS YOUR GREATEST SUCCESS IN up, at least for me, in the forms of HIGH SCHOOL? injuries and time restraints and I am very proud of seeing things like that. But those brick my teammates around me be walls that are blocking you from successful. I quit a lot of things getting something are not there in high school like forensics, to impede you, they are there to debate, StuCo, journalism, and show you how much you want I really enjoy seeing others be successful. I think the greatest something. +WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM CROSS success for me personally is the last two years in cross country.

COUNTRY? My accomplishment that I’m It really changed my life because very proud of is winning the that’s how I’m going to college state meet my senior year and — through running. I never going out with that. Looking dreamed it would be like this. We beyond the material stuff, my are very blessed and lucky with biggest success is all the bonds our coaching; these are guys that I have formed with all of these have a big passion for what they people, through cross country are doing and a passion for us and through KUGR, because and want to help us get better. my dad likes to say that life is I think the biggest thing I have not about the destination, it’s learned from it is that excellence about the journey. It’s about the cannot be the goal but needs to relationships that we make and be the standard, and that it is the bonds we form. all individually driven. It is so much greater to win our state +WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU HAD DONE IN HIGH championship with my team SCHOOL? than any individual race. It has I have missed out of a lot of taught me a lot about people, opportunities socially, maybe and about goal-setting, it taught even academically, because I

Better dressed."

— Brett Skillet

students with something that I taught them, to pass on the legacy to incoming NW students.

+IF YOU COULD SAY ONE FINAL THING TO THE CLASS OF 2013, WHAT WOULD YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS BE FOR THEM? There’s a really big world out there, and there are so many different things that we can all do, and there’s absolutely nothing standing between us except for ourselves, and I would say that, if you want to do something, go out there and do it. Don’t be scared about all the obstacles in the way or anything; if you have the motivation to do it, go out there and do it. Nothing is stopping you.

+WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL?

KIRK BADO

Belmont University // Public and Political Law was so focused on cross country and doing well with running. I can’t go hang out after school because I have to go running, and that wears out on some of my friendships. I’m not friends with people who I would like to be. That being said, I don’t think I have had the typical high school experience, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Those experiences have changed me and made me who I am. My biggest regret is getting too caught up in the moment and not looking around me and

appreciating it.

+HOW DO YOU THINK HIGH SCHOOL HAS PREPARED YOU FOR THE FUTURE? I think a lot of high school is just like what we are going to face in the real world. It might not be 7 hour days when you change places, but socially and the people that you meet and the challenges you face. The challenge of learning how to differentiate equations or the challenge of analyzing Macbeth prepares you for challenges later in life.

A.J. MENDOZA

Ozark Christian College // Preaching Ministry comfortable with life, with what’s going to happen, so I just not have so much expectations want to be useful for progress on people. All of them in essence and for people until I die. are trying to do the same thing +YOU WERE VOTED AS ONE OF THE TOP MOST so you can’t get mad at them if INFLUENTIAL SENIORS IN THE SCHOOL. WHO they do it in a different way. So INFLUENCES YOU? I guess I just learned to be able Originally, Grant Foard. He is to accept them more and to love my most influential person. He, them more. when I first started to understand what it means to follow Christ, he +WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST GOAL IN LIFE? To be useful. And I guess just was there; he showed me how, he to not waste time. I really want taught me. He’s been my mentor to try and, before I really go out through this whole process, so he’s done a really significant and be independent, to fill my portion of my growth. mind up with information and +WHAT KIND OF LEGACY DO YOU WANT TO to get disciplined and prepared LEAVE BEHIND AT NORTHWEST? for anything that unexpectedly I don’t want to be remembered, can come at me. I’m pretty but I want to leave back behind a

+HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED SINCE FRESHMAN THAT YOU'VE LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL? YEAR? To give people some slack, and to For most of the time, all the way up to the end of junior year, I didn’t do anything at all. But then things changed, and that’s when I started to talk to people, because I’m really introverted, and I would have a lot of anxiety when talking to people, that’s why I didn’t do it too much. But though the confidence that has been given to me, I was able to go out there and do more stuff, and so senior year was really all out, and everything changed and new stuff happened, so it’s been really cool.

+WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON

JAYLYN JENKS

University of Kansas // Education

+WHAT ACTIVITY THAT YOU PARTICIPATE IN DO YOU THINK DEFINES YOU THE MOST? It would be Student Council in the aspect of running events because what it is is trying to represent everyone and trying to help the community and get people involved, which is what I want to do when I get older.

meet my sister, I would. She is so friendly to everyone and would do anything for anyone. In her life, all she wants to do is help people, and she never thinks about herself. I would say my sister definitely inspires me and influences me to be who I am.

+WHAT WAS THE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT +YOU WERE NAMED ONE OF THE TOP MOST THAT YOU ACHIEVED IN HIGH SCHOOL? INFLUENTIAL SENIORS IN THE SCHOOL. WHO What I’m most proud of is probably keeping it all together.

INFLUENCES YOU? My sister, definitely. My sister is I never really had a fallout or a literally the best person in the time where I was at the lowest world. If I could have everyone of my lows like people have

— I’ve literally just been me.

I’ve been pretty steady of who I am throughout high school, and I think that’s the biggest achievement for me because I never want to change who I am, ever, and I didn’t in high school.

I always stuck to my morals and to who I am, being respectful and happy. I think that’s my biggest achievement: staying true to myself.

+WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PURSUE A CAREER OF HELPING UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN? Growing up knowing adversity and not living the typical Johnson County life, like having divorced parents and having your parents struggle, and having multiple siblings made me realize that people need help.

My sister is really good at the same thing that I want to do, and she works with at-risk youth in inner city New York, and I just know that that is my calling because everyone needs help, and everyone needs a positive environment and people to

good name for Christians. I know that a lot of them have slandered it and have done mean things and I definitely know a lot, and I’ve definitely been one of those Christians that was a jerk. So I want to leave behind a name that they’re not all judgmental and self-righteous. Some of them are actually humbling themselves and will love people.

+IF YOU COULD SAY ONE LAST THING TO THE CLASS OF 2013, WHAT WOULD YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS BE FOR THEM? I guess my final thoughts would be, to those that I met but ignored, that I’m sorry. And for all those that I was never able to meet, that I would have loved to.

encourage them, and that’s what I want to be for people.

+HOW HAS HIGH SCHOOL PREPARED YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

I guess in the sense of being around so many different groups of people, it’s prepared me to coexist with everyone and not judging a book by its cover and being tolerant of everyone. And I think that’s what high school has taught me, to just be tolerant and to go with the flow because you have to; if you don’t you’re going to fail in life.

+WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR AT NORTHWEST? Someone who you could get along with. I want people to remember me as someone that anyone could talk to about their problems or about life or anything about sports or music or movies; I just want to be remembered as someone who could always be there for you, not someone who shut out people or only talked to a certain group, like open to everyone.

+ MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT?

Having a teacher lean up against the urinal next to me and try to start a conversation" — Ethan Zolotor

THEN +NOW: trends

I was walking with my cadet teaching class to the football field, and in front of the class walked into a light pole and hit my head" — Alex Allen

Almost hit by a bus" — Anthony Young

Blowing up the sink in the woods shop" — Elizabeth Jackson

Favorite book series Then:

Now:

1. HARRY POTTER

1. HUNGER GAMES

2. A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS 3. JUNIE B. JONES

2. HARRY POTTER 3. 50 SHADES OF GREY

The senior class was surveyed over what some of their favorite things were when they were 10 years old and what they are now: here are the results.

FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTER

1. SPONGEBOB

FAVORITE TV SHOW

+ ARTWORK BY MITCH FEYERHERM Now:

FAVORITE BAND/ARTIST

2. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 3. WALKING DEAD

Then:

1. DUCK DYNASTY

2. HILARY DUFF 3. BACKSTREET BOYS

Then:

1. SPONGEBOB 2. THAT'S SO RAVEN 3. LIZZIE MAGUIRE

Favorite superhero 1. BATMAN

Then: Now: 2. SCOOBY DOO 2. BATMAN 3. POWERPUFF GIRLS 3. SCOOBY DOO

1. GREEN DAY

Then: 2. SUPERMAN 3. SPIDERMAN

Now: 2. IRON MAN 3, SPIDERMAN

Now:

1.WIZ KHALIFA 2. MAROON 5 3. MUMFORD AND SONS

When I grow up, I want to be...

Then:

1. VET

2. TEACHER 3. DOCTOR

Now:

1. DOCTOR 2. TEACHER 3. NURSE

When I came back to school after my eye doctor appointment and my eyes were dilated, and I had to wear these crazy huge black sunglasses all day." — Grace Stutheit

Slipping in ice cream in a white dress."

— Kylie Skelton

+WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR INCOMING SENIORS? “Don't expect things to be handed to you.”

— MORGAN ANDERSON “Don't be afraid to tell people to walk faster in the hallways.”

— EMILY BORING “Senioritis is real.”

— FAITH BOHLKEN “Seriously, enjoy it while you're here; I know we're all excited for the future, but believe me, you'll make some of the best memories here.”

— BROOKE GOLLADAY “Dress for success.”

— KIRK BADO “Relax: as stressful as senior year is, worrying through it will make it fly by way too fast.”

— AMY HEIN “Learn to do things yourself (i.e. laundry).”

— CLAYTON HENDERSON “Don't do IB unless you know that the college you're going to cares about the diploma.”

— WILLIS KESSLER “Chill out and take a drive during open lunch.”

— AARON MESSICK “If you haven't figured out where you're going to go, relax! You will.”

— BRIDGETTE RIGDON “Achieve the goals that you want, not what others feel are best for you.”

— ALONZO ROBINSON “Don't let anyone convince you it isn't worth it, whatever ‘it’ may be.”

— MATT STYERS “Bring food to school.”

— KENDALL TOREN “Always stay true to who you are, but know that you can change who you are.”

— CHRIS WARTKO “To be boring is a disservice to yourself.”

— JEFFREY WILLARD

I was trying to act cool in front of someone I liked and tripped on my own backpack and fell flat on my face." — Anna-Marie Pemberton

Throwing up in a recycling bin" — Hannah Fromholtz

words from the

+WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON YOU LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL? “Who you surround yourself with reflects you as a person.”

— ALEX ALLEN “Have no fear; fear will hold you back.” — ERIC HOLTON “Your sanity and mental health are more important than your GPA.” — AARON BULLARD “People are worth getting to know.” — PETER CAMPAIN “You can't blame everyone else for your mistakes.” — TARA CHASE “Act like you know what you're doing.” — BRIANA COLLINS “One person can make a difference.” — BROOKE COOPER “That ‘fitting in’ really isn't the most important thing.”

— ANNA EWING “Don't give up: there's so much life ahead of us.” — GALEN GOSSMAN “It's hard to write a paper without reading the book.” — ANNA GUIGLI “Take advantage of all the opportunities that you have been given.”

— MEGHAN HAUN “Mr. Meseke taught me how to change a tire.” — ELIJAH VAN HOECKE “Represent yourself the way you want to be viewed.”

— MARY HELLMER “Don't try to grow up too fast.” — ELIZABETH HUDSON “Don't get caught up in the drama. High school isn't for everyone.”

— EMILY MADDOX “Be on time.” — TRENT MOYER “Getting involved can make or break your high school experience.”

— LINDSAY NELSON “Fate. If it's meant to happen, it will — for good or bad — now or later, it'll happen.” — ABIGAEL STRIKER “Don’t burn bridges.” — TIFFANY JORDAN “Very few things are worth getting worked up about. Looking back, I regret little fights with friends and staying up too late to cram because it takes away from the happy moments.” — KATE TARNE “Always have goals” — CLAIRE MARLEY

23

We've waited for this moment to come and go But now that it's here, I just want to take it slow In a couple of months we're gonna pack our bags Wave goodbye to our moms and dads Leave everything we've ever known and head out on our own We're gonna go our separate ways So lets make the most of these final days Lets show the world what they haven't seen Cause we are the class of 2013 Not a care in the world to bring us down I'll always love my hometown Cause it's times like these where memories are made So let's make them last before they fade away When its all said and done, who will you have become?

In a world full of so many wrongs did you make something right?

Different faces fill different places in our hearts I'll always remember you even when we're apart +PHOTO BY BRITTANY BONSIGNORE

+PHOTO BY AARON MESSICK

+ FOR THE SENIOR SONG MUSIC VIDEO VISIT SMNW.COM

+PHOTO BY BRITTANY BONSIGNORE