Vol. 8, Issue 3

SENIOR ISSUE

2

Cover is by Ainsley Giorio

THE CHARIOT STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emma Mertz PRINT EDITOR Anjali Sanil

GRAPHICS EDITOR Raneen AlRammahi PUBLIC RELATIONS EDITOR Ainsley Giorio BUSINESS EDITOR Ria Gupta BODY COPY EDITORS Ria Gupta and Ashley Park ADVISOR Morgan Clark

STAFF REPORTERS Malak Al-Sharabi Michelle Baik Matthew Grabowski Grace Haugk Laith Hermiz Mehereen Kaur Sally Kim Alex Kostreba Nidhi Kuchulakanti October Marquez Leena Martin Lilly Martin Aly Matuza Keira Mertz Gia Micene Sabreen Sais Megan Sims Abby Werenka

TABLE OF CONTENTS: The Road Ahead..........3 A Trip Down Memory Lane..........4 Survey-osaurus..........5 Senior Playlist..........6 Getting on Board..........7 The Last of the Greats..........8 & 9 Modeling Success..........10 The Last Laugh..........10 Code to Success..........11 Up the Octave..........11 Darius Whiteside II: The Rush Towards Greatness..........12 When Music Meets Muscle..........12 A Dive into Troy High School’s Synchronized Swimming Team..........13 Senior Summer: The Ultimate Guide.........14 Senior Editor Farewells..........15

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

The Chariot is a student-produced news publication that publishes information relevant to the times as well as material that is essential to the overall well-being of its readers. It is The Chariot’s responsibility to cover school, city, state, national and international events and issues that affect the concerns of the campus, its students and its readers.

The Chariot operates as a designated public forum for student expression.

The Editorial Board, consisting of student editors, is the sole decision-making and policy-setting body of The Chariot and has final say over all content decisions.

Opinions expressed in letters to the editors represent those of the author.

Letters to the editors should be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s name, signature and class or position. Names of individuals may be withheld upon request, pending a vote of the Editorial Board. Letters may be submitted via email at troychariot@gmail.com. All letters are subject to review by the Editorial Board. Letters will not be edited except to fix space limitations. Should the Editorial Board deem a letter to be potentially libelous or containing content inappropriate for publication, it will be returned to the author with an opportunity for corrections. The Editorial Board is solely responsible for these decisions.

The Chariot’s purpose is to be the voice of the school. Its purpose is to shed light on groups and people that are not often discussed while bringing news that is important to the community.

THE VOICE OF TROY HIGH. WE SEE YOU. WE HEAR YOU. WE GET YOU.

SENIOR ISSUE

3

The Road Ahead

Troy High School seniors speak on their plans for after graduation.

Emma Mertz// Editor-in-Chief & Keira Mertz // Staff Reporter

Yvona Nikitin

Tridib Chakraborty

Megan Moceri

Niru Varma

“I’m going to UChicago in the fall! Go maroonies! I applied to other places like George Washington University, Temple University, Bates College, and Amherst College.

I’m majoring in Environmental Science because I want more people to know about just how badly the Earth is hurting right now, in ways they didn’t even know were possible, and maybe even help fix it! I chose UChicago for a lot of different reasons, the main ones being the quality of education and its proximity to my family.

It was the only expensive school I got into that seemed worth the price, and I’m really comforted by the fact I have family to go to when I need help.

I definitely want to try to be a part of a news reporting broadcast or paper on campus, and I think I’d like to do some community outreach as well.”

“I was going in for environmental science as an application, but I’m going to do bio-chem instead and I have a level degree in mathematics because I finished all of the community college requirements for math.

I got into Cornell University and I got into Johns Hopkins and I got into University of Michigan. I got waitlisted at Harvard. I’m choosing Michigan out of all the three, which I know surprised a lot of people, but scholarship wise, I know financially it is such an important thing, and Cornell was almost four times the cost. Film has always been a very important part of my life, so I can do this interdisciplinary approach with film and science in Michigan, they do a lot of documentary stuff, which I think would be a great way to do research and then show off my findings, which is not available at a lot of higher Ivys which are a little bit more picky about the things you do. I recently got awarded the Corporate National Merit Scholarship. National Merit does regular scholarships, college scholarships and corporate scholarships.

I got a Corporate scholarship for $2500

“I am going to Hilbert College.

I applied to many others. High Point, Loyola, Lake Superior State, Paul Smiths, Niagara, Rowan, Lawrence Tech. I chose my school because it’s class sizes allow more individualized learning and had good hockey program. I am majoring in sports management because I’ve been around sports my whole life and if I could stay around hockey that would be a dream. I also decided to continue my hockey career because obviously I love the sport, but I am looking forward to new life long friends, memories, staying involved, and keeping in shape.”

“I’m going to West Virginia University. I applied to a bunch of Pennsylvania schools and Michigan schools. I chose WVU because I’ve always wanted to go to a bigger school and go out of state so it seemed like the perfect school for both of those wants.

I’m majoring in Nursing because I’ve always been interested in healthcare, but I like interacting with people so I thought nursing was the best major to go into. I’ve thought about joining sports clubs next year like the swim club or the gymnastics club but I’m not totally committed to doing it yet.”

Georgia Becks “After I graduate, I’m going to start working full time at my current job & get all the experience I need over the summer & save up! I decided college right after school wasn’t the best idea for me so instead I’ll apply to OU to major in journalism in January, hoping to become a sports journalist.”

Adrian Crowell Brian Park “I am going to Oakland Community College. I chose OCC because it’s very affordable. It’s also close, so I can live at home. I am majoring in Theatre. I’ve been doing technical theatre for 2 years now and I really enjoy it. I plan to join OCC’s theatre club. After I get my Associate degree at OCC, I want to transfer to Northern Michigan University. I want to get my Bachelor degree in Technical Theatre, with a focus on Lighting and Set Design.”

“I am going to MSU to persue business and marketing because I want to eventually become a part of the US Men’s volleyball maketing team. I plan on further growing the program and to improve the grassroots programs for young boys, and also pursuing my own athletic career through their club teams.”

Aidan Lenaway “I’m going to Eastern Michigan University to study Aviation Flight Technology, I also looked at going into Western Michigan University’s flight program as well as the flight program at Northwestern Michigan College. I chose Eastern Michigan because I wanted to stay close to home. I’m not committed to any sports at EMU but I’d love to join a club or be part of something.”

Dakota Daley “I’m not going to college just yet, I might not even go at all, school has just never been my thing. Honestly the only reason I’m choosing to not go to college is because school is just not for me. The place that I work (Qdoba) at, I was promoted to manager so I’m gonna work a lot over the summer and try to get a decent apartment by the fall!!”

Athena Senteza “I’m going to MSU with a major in neuroscience. I got into Wayne State, MSU, University of Tennessee, University of Washington, Penn State, and Pitt. I plan on doing dance and acting in college, as well as continuing to study Japanese. I haven’t really applied for any scholarships yet so for now I just have the basic ones for applying. I plan on studying abroad at least a couple of times and maybe doing some research studies.”

SENIOR ISSUE

A Trip Down Memory Lane

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A look back in time on some nostalgic memories from the Class of 2023’s childhood.

Anjali Sanil // Print Editor, Graphics by Anjali Sanil // Print Editor For the Class of 2023, first generations to grow way to infinite imaginary childhood was a mix of long up playing all kinds of vid- worlds on sunny days, and evenings spent roaming out- eo games. From the coveted rainy afternoons meant the side and exploring the won- Nintendo Wii to the treasure bins of magnet toys and Linders of technology. We often trove of flash games available coln Logs would be brought spent hours flicking through on CoolMathGames.com, we out for indoor recess.

TV channels, deciding be- had an entire digital world Altogether, the Class of tween hours of Disney Chan- at our fingertips. Many of us 2023 experienced a unique nel, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids spent hours exploring mix of the utter freedom of or Cartoon Network, laugh- ClubP e n - the outdoors and the whirling at the antics of familiar wind of new cartoons, vidcharacters like Mordecai and eo games and websites to Rigby, Spongebob Squarepexplore. Now that we have ants and Aang. grown up and are graduatguin, ing, we have this expansive Animal J a m list of nostalgic memories to and other multiplayer games. look fondly upon.

Despite being surrounded by the new and exciting Internet, many of us still spent hours playing outside. Over the summer, we listened to the mourning doves coo and When the cicadas buzz as we filled we weren’t holding epic Bey- each long day fighting Nerf blade tournaments in our wars, playing soccer matchfriends’ driveways or show- es and marveling at that one ing off our new collections kid’s brand new Heelys. of SillyBandz and Littlest Pet When school came around, Shop toys, the Class of 2023 we had fun browsing Schowas one of lastic Book Fairs and the fooling around with the scooters and giant parachute in gym class. The jungle gym at recess was a gate-

Designed by Grace Haugk // Staff Reporter

SENIOR ISSUE

Survey-osaurus

5

The results of the 2023 Troy High School senior survey. All percentages are out of the 118 anonymous respondents.

Raneen AlRammahi // Graphics Editor & Anjali Sanil // Print Editor

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SENIOR ISSUE

Songs that sum up the Class of 2023’s senior year.

Leena Martin // Staff Reporter

Laith Hermiz // Staff Reporter

1

Fifteen (Taylor’s Version) Taylor Swift

Hey Look Ma, I Made It Brendon Urie, stop lying to your mom, you didn’t make it. In your attempt to make your music sound more like theater music or pop, you’ve ruined your band. The backing music to this song is uninspired and dated to the late 2010s in the worst way possible, your singing continues to be bad and I despised every moment you thought your synth-pop-musical-pop-punk music style worked. I’m happy Panic! at the Disco broke up every day. You rat. 1/10, I’d give you worse if it was possible, Brendon.

Coco Jamboo Mr. President

The Color Violet Tory Lanez

My Little Love Adele

Gasolina Daddy Yankee

Ribs Lorde

Boy’s a Liar (Pt. 2) PinkPantheress, Ice Spice

Stolen Dance Milky Chance

For Good (from “Wicked”) Wicked Cast Senior Playlist

ni to the or P laylist

Se

Senior Playlist

Laith Listens

Prom SZA

The Spins Mac Miller

Never Grow Up Taylor Swift Bittersweet Playlist

Hype Playlist

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now The Smiths, everybody likes them, nobody likes Morissey. This song is solid, as much as I despise the singer. The drums, guitar and bass come to make a catchy song that, when you listen to it, makes you feel superior to just about anybody listening to any other song.

The guitar tone glistens like a star, and then as the drums and bass mix to build up into magic, I hear the sound. The sound of Morissey hitting a high note. My body turns from bliss to disgust, I shrivel up and I die until he finally stops.

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, now that Morissey is singing. 8/10.

Just Wanna Rock My first thought going into this song was “stop breathing in my ear.” But the synth hits very hard and it is a great build up into a song fitting for any large crowd of stupid 19-year-olds to do stupid things to. And then the build up goes into more buildup. And then more, and more. Then the song ends. Lil Uzi Last Words of a Shooting Star Vert did a massive cop out here.

Mitski This could have been THE song of the year. Pure laziness, 5/10 for the incomplete mess this song is.

Album covers courtesy of Spotify.com

SENIOR ISSUE

Getting on Board A look at the seniors who lead Troy High School’s clubs to success.

Abby Werenka // Staff Reporter

As President, Brooklyn Crockett oversees everything going on in Student Government. Crockett has been a dedicated member of the club since her freshman year and decided to apply for the Executive Board to have a bigger role. To Crockett, the most rewarding aspect of her position is seeing all of the things Student Government has worked hard to accomplish. She is especially proud of Homecoming and Senior Sidekick, which were both received positively by the student body. She will be attending Michigan State University to major in Secondary Education, the first step in her goal to become a teacher.

Zachary Balcoff makes up the other half of the Co-Presidents of the Troy Theatre Ensemble. Alongside Kiara Gilmore, he helps plan events and keeps track of group bonding activities such as buddy bags before shows.

Since joining the Troy Theatre Ensemble in his freshman year, he has garnered a large presence in both the cast as an actor and crew as Prop Manager and Publicity Designer. Because of this, he felt he was capable of leading the club with an understanding of both sides. He is continuing theatre at Michigan State University through a double major including Theatre Design, where he can express his creativity through props and sets.

Rena Foo is one of the Co-Vice Presidents of Model United Nations. She plans and runs club and board meetings, organizes logistics for competitive conferences, trains delegates and serves as a point of contact for all members. She has been a member of Model United Nations all four years of high school and previously served as the club’s Communications Director. “Model UN has been one of the most important aspects of my high school experience, so I wanted to gain leadership experience and contribute to an organization that I truly cared about,” Foo explained. She will be majoring in International Studies and Economics at the University of Michigan, a career interest developed during her time in Model United Nations.

Passionate about Japanese culture, Nitya Upadhye is the President of Japanese Club. As well as leading every meeting, Upadhye also makes club presentations and announcements. After joining the club her freshman year and becoming an official member her sophomore year, Upadhye sought to improve how the club was run and introduce new activities, thus leading her to apply for the position of President. To her, Japanese Club has always been more than just a club, but rather a place where she could share her long-held interest in Japanese culture with others who felt the same way. She will be attending Wayne State University to major in Business Administration.

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SENIOR ISSUE

THE LAST OF THE GREATS

The senior Class of 2023 is the last graduating class to have experienced high school before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s how it’s shaped their lives and the world around them.

By: The Seniors of The Chariot The Class of 2023 was among the last classes to have lived a semi-normal high school experience through the beginning of freshman year. Suddenly, the football games, school dances and sounds of lockers were wiped out of our lives with Clorox wipes and masks. Our high school years, meant to be buzzing with excitement, were muted down with Zoom meetings alone in our rooms. Everything we had known before was left to resign, and our minds became nothing but a deserted hum of white noise. On May 5, 2023, the pandemic was officially declared over, but the long lasting effects will continue to affect people, even in unexpected ways. But with light at the end of the tunnel, our pandemic years allowed us to wave goodbye to the sorrows of the past and welcome an unprecedented and necessary era of change.

Last of...

...Final Exams:

With the sudden shift to online school in 2020, teachers were forced to abandon their tried-and-true methods of testing in favor of simple, cheat-proof finals and midterms.

During the 20202021 school year, some teachers took a gamble by giving students regular exams virtually and accepting the risk of cheaters, while others gave their students a break by assigning “semester reflections” and still others dropped the final exam altogether.

Even in our first year back to in-person school, we ended up with online midterms, once again opening exams up to cheating and pressuring many teachers to assign us reflections for the third time in a row. Some teachers went so far as assigning reflections for last year’s final exams as well in an attempt to lessen our workload as we recovered from the pandemic. This year, we have finally returned to regular assessments, but the Class of 2023 remains the last class to have experienced a midterm week entirely devoid of “easy A” reflection assessments.

...Attention Spans:

Although the Class of 2023’s freshman year was cut short, we still got to experience high school preCOVID-19. We are the last of many things, one of which is being the last class to have a lasting attention span. The attention span of the 2023 graduating seniors is definitely not perfect. However, it is far better than the younger high school students.

Current teenagers, especially high school lower-classmen, feel the need to have multiple forms of stimulation. One such example is the rise of split-screen tablets and laptops. Students are unable to stick to a task for long periods of time without getting distracted. Unfortunately, this is the new reality of high schoolers.

...Skinny Jeans:

Gazing around the hallways in 2019, you’d find yourself in a sea of skinny jeans. Groups of people wearing acid-washed ripped jeans with socks pulled obnoxiously high over them fanned out in every direction. Then, in 2020 during the pandemic, the rise of TikTok led to many emerging fashion trends. These trends such as a Y2k reboot, indie and alternative led to the decline of skinny jean’s popularity. Following lockdown, not one style is “in.”

Many fashion fads are

shared and admired all across social media; the only common denominator is the new-found hatred for skinny jeans.

...General Disgust:

Whether it was sticky, food-infested tables, “friendly” hugs in the band hallway or a rotting deer head covered in the football team’s “substances,” freshman year for the Class of 2023 was, without a doubt, a disgusting time. The reign of COVID-19, despite its fatal consequences, did little to change many people’s hygiene habits, but something is always better than nothing. The school hallways are still gross, but we can only be thankful they’re not more disgusting. For once, people have been enlightened by the wonders of hand sanitizer and covering coughs.

The age of masks provided a haven from the acidic smells of the main gym and hand washing is no longer scarce. The normality of wiping down desks between classes was a treasure and tears of joy fell with every tissue used. The lack of everyday colds and fevers proved a shocking experience to many; it’s crazy to think about the power basic hygiene can have. While we are still far from reaching optimal hygiene, our skewed years helped us become one step closer to the bare minimum.

...Social Interaction:: When

quarantine began, it was fun to entertain ourselves by being on our phones all day with nothing to do.

However, the overall result is that we now would rather entertain ourselves with our phones than with each other. It’s sometimes frustrating when we want to talk to our friend when the teacher says we have freetime to do whatever, but we can’t since the rest of class goes silent for the whole hour since everyone is on their phones instead. There’s an awkward silence; we all know we’d rather be talking, but no one wants to be the first one to disrupt the quiet.

...Tolerance:

During the COVID-19 lockdown, people were stuck inside their homes all day. This led teens to either do all of the Chloe Ting workouts or spend excessive time on the Internet and social media. Many human rights issues gained prominence on the Internet, and with lockdown starting the same year as a presidential election, many took to social media as an outlet for political speech. Everyone and their mother was on Instagram or Facebook posting how they felt about every uprising political issue, and, since everyone was tucked away in their respective homes, it was difficult to communicate differences and misunderstandings. As a result, people began to lose their tolerance of their relatives’ and peers’ opinions, ultimately cutting off relationships based on people’s political opinions.

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SENIOR ISSUE

First of... ...Mental Health Awareness:

Since COVID-19, we have seen a massive uptick in acceptance of mental health issues and have become more accepting of these differences. Throughout bad experiences during lockdown, many people who do not have mental health disorders were under incredible amounts of stress and were socially isolated. This has led to an increase in support of mental health issues and disorders, which has led to many people having access to necessary resources for their mental health.

This includes a wider acceptance of therapy, counseling and acceptance of people sharing their emotions.

Troy High School has started specific activities to increase student support, such as Character Values highlights at the end of the week.

Teachers have also begun to allow extensions for mental health reasons.

This cultural shift for the better of society has helped lead to many teachers and staff

members understanding mental health problems, and in turn can foster a better learning community for students.

...Excessive Independence: Zoom did substantial damage to the Class of 2023. One issue that has presented itself is being alone far too often. While quarantine is over, quarantine-era habits have yet to die out.

We’ve all felt a sense of independence that has become a little too excessive. School work has been a major issue for many kids in this grade: many choose to finish super fast and treat assignments as busy work instead of learning opportunities. We don’t ask for help often, trying to get things done on our own

even if we don’t understand it. Many resort to YouTube videos, similar to quarantine. Furthermore, we don’t socialize for as long as we used to.

Instead of hanging out with friends all day or exploring the city, many of us are at home asleep or doing independent activities. The old social extroverted lifestyle we all had is gone and everyone is on their own for the most part.

...Online Activism:

Following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other unarmed Black people, 2020 marked a year of national and global protests. But for the first time, we turned to social media to advocate for social and political change. Considering how easily accessible social media is, this enabled us to express our opinions

whilst quarantining at home. While many of us took the initiative to educate ourselves on important issues, too many simply shared popular posts without actually knowing or caring about the subject.

This has continued to this day, with users sharing serious infographics and immediately returning to their regular content. This performative aspect of activism is not effective in creating long-term change. Nonetheless, politics became less of a taboo subject and became more commonly discussed in the classroom, especially during the 20202021 school year. With another presidential election on the horizon and many of us becoming eligible to vote, it’s vital that

we continue to feel empowered to use our voice, both online and at the ballot box.

At the end of this chapter of our lives and the beginning of a new one, the Class of 2023 must look back and reflect not only on our high school experience, but how it was changed because of the pandemic. As the final class to begin high school with a normal experience, our version of high school is vastly different from the following classes. Throughout multiple lockdowns, social media became a primary method of communication. Even after the lockdown ended and the pandemic ensued, our lives were changed forever. Many of these drastic changes altered our personalities and morals, yet still brought us closer together despite being further apart. Now we get to graduate in-person and follow our passions and dreams wherever they take us. Yet, at the end of the day, we must ask ourselves, what could have been? That question will follow us throughout our lives, and we may never have the answer. All we may know is that we began and ended with a pandemic, and came out as changed people.

SENIOR ISSUE

created by Grace Haugk // Staff Reporter

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SENIOR INJUSTICES

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Modeling Success George Perakis’ accomplishments inside and outside of Troy High School.

Ainsley Giorio // Public Relations Editor

Senior George Perakis, throughout his high school career, has invested himself in a multitude of communities at Troy High School and outside of Troy High School.

When asked what he’s been involved in at Troy High School, Perakis shared, “Currently, I’m involved with the Model UN team, and I’ve been doing that for the past four years and I’m president of that currently. I’ve also been involved with the TED-Ed club here, and I’ve given a few TED-Ed talks over the years. I’m also on the DECA team, where I’m an executive council member.”

Perakis is especially known for his involve-

ment in Model United Nations, where he has made a significant impact.

W h e n asked what effect Perakis has had on the community surroundi n g

Model United Nations, Jacqueline Ciolek, Model United Nations’ advisor, responded, “He’s made it more approachable.” Ciolek continues, “I think George has modeled for his peers how you can be invested and committed to more than one club. Modeling that behavior, that you can be invested in more than one thing, and showing well-roundedness, I think, is what he’s done for our club while also setting the standards very high.”

Perakis’ involvement doesn’t stop at Troy High School; he is also incredibly involved in many other com-

munities. Perakis currently entrepreneurship challenges. leads and plans events for his Perakis’ team placed first: “We Greek Orthodox Youth Associ- got to present on stage to the ation. He is also a member of judges, and our prototype for the Superintendent Stuour product is currently dent Advisory board, in the Nobel Peace where he assisted Prize Museum in in planning the Stockholm, SweMartin Lurther den.”

King Jr. Day of Whether it George Perakis was Service. be in the classfeatured on Fox Perakis has room or GermaNews in October ny, Perakis strives also made incredible individual to bolster commu2022. accomplishments, innity with innovative cluding his participation in efforts. He plans to attend The Berlin Global Leadership the University of Michigan’s Summit in Berlin, Germany Ross School of Business in the in the summer of 2022. After fall. being placed in 84 teams, participants were presented with Photo by Ainsley Giorio

DID YOU KNOW?

The Last Laugh

Anna McManus shares how her life has led her toward pursuing a career in comedy.

October Marquez // Staff Reporter

Many students spend high passion for leadership. school learning and experiMcManus has involved hermenting with their passions, self in many extracurricular ultimately searching for a po- activities, surpassing expectatential career path. Even outtions in many ways. side of the classroom, clubs, She served as sports and other extracurTroy High ricular activities help School’s students determine the Class of course they would like 2 0 2 3 to follow in life. The op- “Senior year is more S t u d e n t tions may seem stressful fun the second time President and overwhelming, espe- around!” - Anna Mc- for three cially on top of classwork y e a r s , Manus and expectation to know this and as Vice pursuit by senior year. HowevPresident for er, on top of finding her career one year. Along goals, senior Anna McManus with her leadership duties, has involved herself in many she played varsity lacrosse for school activities to explore her three years. McManus also

LITTLE LAUGHS

qualified for DECA Internationals twice, and is on the Executive Board for the Michigan Student Board of Delegates, which communicates directly with district representatives to provide feedback and new ideas for improving Michigan schools.

However, McManus chose an unconventional career path: comedy.

“It was something that was always just easy for me to get into professionally,” McManus shared. “I really started writing when I was around fourteen and it came naturally to me almost, so it just made sense to continue it.” McManus plans to

major in Comedy Writing and Performance at Columbia College Chicago.

Currently, she performs open mic comedy in Detroit, which i s

part of this career path choice.

McManus said, “I love the community Detroit has,” McManus said. “[They were] very accepting to me when I first started, which was surprising, because a lot of the people are grown adults who have full time jobs and families. It almost seems like a teenager who has no clue what they’re doing doesn’t quite fit, but they were very accepting and they really want to see me continue [to] flourish in the industry.”

Photo courtesy of Anna McManus

SENIOR ISSUE

11

Code to Success

Sonnet Xu, who got into Stanford, tells how she found her passion in high school and gives advice.

Sally Kim // Staff Reporter High school is a time for exploring different passions and activities. Senior Sonnet Xu, a semifinalist in the nation for the United States Presidential Scholars Program, will be attending Stanford University to pursue a career in Computer Science.

Throughout high school, Xu explored different activities to find her passion. In her freshman year, she joined the Robotics team and discovered that she enjoyed programming. She spent her extra time during the COVID-19 pandemic studying machine learning, and in her sophomore year, Xu founded the Machine Learning club to share her knowledge with others. She also invited some professors to talk to Troy High School students about machine learning during the summit she held. She also said involving herself in the STEM community led her to understand that there’s a community there for her and other girls.

All these experiences led her to find her dream major, Computer Science.

“I think for me, figuring out that I wanted to do computer science was really about getting hands-on experience that allowed me to find the significance of learning at school. The reason that I chose

CompSci is because I had the most experience with it,” said Xu. “I think all of those different experiences let me see how computer science can make changes in people’s lives and inspired me to pursue Computer Science.”

Xu expresses her excitement for entering the Computer Science Program at Stanford.

“College is a chance for me to develop a more fine sense of myself. In college, there’s a lot more experiences that I didn’t have[in high school]. I can do more research, [have] more global experiences, travel, meet new people, work with the industry more.”

She says. “I’m just excited to form new relationships that I think will really take me where I want to go in my career and my life.”

As she leaves Troy High School to start a new path at Stanford University, Xu gives other students advice for finding their own passions: “If you want to try something, don’t be afraid to try it.

Don’t believe anyone when they say you can’t do anything or if it’s too hard, because only you know your limits.”

Photo courtesy of Sonnet Xu

Up the Octave

Senior Jonah Midtgard talks about the highlights of his musical career at Troy High School and what’s left on his path.

Ashley Park // Body Copy Editor On Dec. 13, the Troy High School Symphony Orchestra premiered The American Symphony Op. 3 composed by musician and Troy High School student, Jonah Midtgard, for the annual Holiday Concert. Just over a month later, String Quartet No. 2, also composed by Midtgard, premiered at the 2023 Young Composers of Michigan Concert at the Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Midtgard talks about how these achievements played a part in pushing him to pursue his music career.

“It was mostly a combination of support with my teacher Mrs. Stuart [Troy High School Orchestra Director] and the overall support I have been getting from my classmates.” He continues, “It’s really been pushing me to pursue music and pursue my dream.”

The process leading up to the premieres of his pieces began nearly two years ago when he first started sharing his pieces with Alan Macnair, the former Troy High School Orchestra Director.

“In tenth grade, I emailed Mr. Macnair some of the pieces that I wrote, and I was like ‘Hey, check these out!’ and he did.” He

shares. Macnair listened to his pieces, which encouraged Midtgard to continue sharing music with the class.

Midtgard tried the same with Stuart when he sent her The American Symphony Op. 3., leading to its eventual performance.

Unlike The American Symphony Op. 3, String Quartet No. 2 had a rushed start to its success. Midtgard had been approached on the day of the due date for the Young Composers of Michigan Concert submissions.

Nevertheless, his piece made it to Grand Rapids and debuted on Jan. 21.

Midtgard thanks the Troy High School orchestra program, as he feels the opportunities given to him would not have been elsewhere.

Midtgard will be attending Michigan State University as a composition major in the fall. As he leaves Troy High School, he gives advice to his fellow composers.

“Even if you think your music sounds bad, there’s always going to be someone out there who thinks it’s good. You may have to do a little bit of digging like I had to do for Troy High, but I eventually found that people do enjoy your music, and you may not like it, but other people will 100% love it, so don’t give up!”

Photo by Ashley Park

SENIOR ISSUE

Signing Off

Compiled by Giadelle Micene // Staff Reporter Designed by Grace Haugk // Staff Reporter

Darius Whiteside II Grand Valley State University

Jennifer Bricker Carleton College

Lauren Boehmer Adrian College

Megan Moceri Hilbert College

Lydia Dardar Wayne State University

Jessica Rowe Michigan State University

Ryan Maddock Madonna University

Colin Glenn Kansas Wesleyan University

Austin Cicerone Saginaw Valley State University

Lizzy Bultnyck Bowling Green State University

Jordyn Green Rochester University

Jusuf Kercishta Lawrence Technological University

Matthew Matuza Jr. Kalamazoo College

Sophia Worden University of South Florida

12

Darius Whiteside II: The Rush Towards Greatness Future college football star and award winner Darius Whiteside II reflects on his sports career.

Raneen AlRammahi // Graphics Editor

Senior football star, track runner and basketball player Darius Whiteside II joined Troy High School’s Varsity Football team during his sophomore year. He began playing football as early as kindergarten, “[starting] off with flag football, and [then] playing tackle football in 5th grade.”

“I’ve just always played it,” said Whiteside. “Football is a great sport for me to play, that’s probably the best sport I play. I felt like it was a great fit.”

Whiteside’s capabilities set the standards for Troy High School’s football team higher than ever. “Individually, Darius did things that no other kid in Troy High could do,” said Chris Fraiser, the varsity football coach. “He can jump higher than most kids on the team.

We’d just throw the ball up, and we knew that most times Darius would come down with it.”

Named a 2022 Michigan High School Football Coaches’ Association first-team All-State defense player, Whiteside made history with his athletic abilities. He received college offers from Bowling Green State University, Central Michigan University, Northern Illinois University, Wayne State University, Saginaw Valley State University and Akron University. In addition, he was nominated as one of the Top Ten D-Zone performers during the Rising Stars Martin Luther K i n g Camp and was voted into the All-State honors

team by the Michigan High School Football Coaches’ Association.

However, Whiteside comments, “My greatest accomplishment is that last year and this year, we had a great record.

Past two years, we’ve only lost four or three games.”

“His athletic abilities are what got him the college scholarship

and what put his name on the map,” said Fraiser. “the best thing about Darius is that he never had a bad day. He never took plays off at practice, he was never questioning things [and] he’d try his hardest every day.”

Whiteside dominated the field throughout his high school career, whether it be through powerful steals, record-breaking times or strategic touchdowns. But, notably, his personality outshines his abilities.

“As a player, we’ll miss him because he was one of our best players, but more importantly, as a person, we’ll miss Darius next year because he brought just a positive energy to the high school,” said Fraiser.

Whiteside committed to play football for Grand Valley State University, majoring in Criminal Law. Photo by Raneen AlRammahi

When Music Meets Muscle

Senior Riley Patton makes history as first Troy High School female to qualify for States in wrestling.

Ria Gupta // Business Editor, Body Copy Editor Thirty seconds. That was how long Riley Patton, firstyear wrestler, would need to hold out to win her match.

Patton walked into her qualifying meet a few points ahead of her opposition, but the results could make or break her chances for the state competition. “[It] was my blood round,” Patton explained. “If I won, I was moving on in the season and if I lost, I was done. That was the end of my wrestling season.”

On Feb. 19, Patton made Troy High School history as the first female wrestler from the school to qualify for Wrestling State Finals. By doing so, Patton also became the first female wrestler to complete a full season.

Currently, Patton makes up the entirety of female participation in wrestling at Troy High School. “It’s hard as a girl wrestler to earn your place on the team,” Patton shared. “I was constantly competing against myself because I was setting the standard.”

Patton has been training her younger sister to wrestle, much to the younger’s exasper-

ation. Tenacity, the wrestler argues, is half the battle. Experience is another, she laments, commenting on her lack of a wrestling past: “I’ve done tournaments and stuff but all the girls that made it to State, you walk in there and you see everyone knowing you’re not on their level. Knowing that they’re better than you. I put in a lot of work just this season but they’ve b e e n wrestling their entire lives.”

Aside from the sport, Patton harbors a passion for music.

Using the recording studio at Troy High School, she’s been able to create recordings of her songs. Patton will be attending Albion College with a music scholarship, where she hopes to continue her wrestling career, in the fall.

To the future female wrestlers of Troy High School, Patton hopes that they, too, will qualify. “We have these boards in the wrestling room and they have all the names of the state qualifiers, placers, the years the team has won Districts and Regionals. Get yourself up there. Put yourself up on the board. “ She adds, “I know I’m the first but I don’t want to be the last.”

Photo by Ria Gupta

13

SENIOR ISSUE

A Dive into Troy High School’s Synchronized Swimming Team

A celebration of the successes of the Seniors on the Troy High School Synchronized Swimming Team.

Michelle Baik // Staff Reporter

10th Girls 5k

CHARLOTTE GULLION 18:41 minutes

2nd Boys 400m

KRISH GUPTA 50.17 seconds

1st Boys 400m

DARIUS WHITESIDE II 49.35 seconds

Troy High School’s synchronized swimming team has been on an influential streak in recent years. The team cele b r a t e d a first place victory at the 2022 State Synchronized Swimming Championship last year and recently finished this year’s season by placing second at the State Championship. As six seniors, Noyonima Masud, Yejin Moon, Cynthia Wang, Niru Varma, Helen Xiao and Erin Xia, leave the team this year, their accomplishments and contributions to the state-winning team are celebrated.

After winning the State Championship title back in 2015, the girls were able to reclaim the title last year. Senior Cynthia Wang, captain of Troy High School’s synchronized swimming team, recalls that winning the State Championship was “kind of a fever dream.”

She continues, “It’s just

something that [we’ve] worked so hard for.”

Senior Helen Xiao also adds, “Honestly, we were holding our breaths because we had lost a lot of membership after COVID. So when we won last year, it was like a miracle.”

The team attended five meets over the span of two months last year, excluding the time for tryouts and additional practices. Senior Niru Varma discloses the team’s journey to winning the State title: “A lot of time was put into it. It was definitely stressful for all of us but we all kind of just helped each other out.” The team spent many long hours at the pool perfecting their routines and their hard work definitely paid off, considering their big win

at the State Championships.

This year, the team fell to the Ann Arbor Pioneer Synchronized Swimming team and placed second in both the figure and routine categories season. Wang discusses her thoughts on this year’s season: “I think our girls did super good. We had a really successful figure season as well as a routine season. We did lose our state streak, but it’s always friendly competition and we respect Ann Arbor Pioneer for winning.” She continues, “I think we always gave our best effort when it came to practices and meets so I am very satisfied with how we did this year.”

“The team really rose to the challenge and turned in some impressive performances,” states Head Coach Lori Uchwal-Hollier. “But we are going to take what we learned into next season and hopefully win back our title of State Champions!”

Not only did the team spend a lot of time working on their routines, they also spent a lot of time bonding and creating

e h t r Fo cord Re

r stronger relationships rte epo rter ff R Repo a with everyone. As the t ff /S a / / Sta / tuz seniors look back on Ma augk y l y A ace H their past years on the r db pile by G team, they discuss their Com igned s e D favorite memories with the team. Varma shares 5th Girls 100m Hurdles her favorite memory: “Last year we had a movie night where we watched Mamma Mia. That was fun.”

Wang also stated that 16.64 seconds one time before practice, the team went into 200m Girls Medley Relay the snow to make snow angels and then hopped in the pool with snow all over.

The seniors of the synchronized swimming 1:59.69 minutes team express the impact this team will leave on 5th Field Goal them. As Wang says, “I love the people this year from this team and I think that I built a lot of connections that are 45 yds going to stay with me for For more a lifetime.” records broken Photos by Ainsley by seniors, visit Giorio and Ria Gupta troychariot.org.

AMANDA WU

JESSICA ROWE

ZACH PENOZA

14

SENIOR ISSUE

Senior Summer: The Ultimate Guide

Some fun things to do after you graduate to make this summer count.

Lilly Martin // Staff Reporter & Maddy Hiser // Public Relations Editor, Graphics by Lilly Martin // Staff Reporter You’ve just graduated high school and this is your last summer before becoming an adult. Making your senior summer the best summer yet is an amazing way to start off your new journey as an adult by making memories you will never forget with friends and family. Sure, you may be looking forward to going out late and hanging out with your friends, but this summer is different. You could be saying some bittersweet goodbyes to friends you may have grown up with. Before you head out to discover new challenges and life changing experiences in the fall, here are some ways to make this the best senior summer.

As you are transitioning into the summer, it’s important to remember to not only spend time with friends, but your family as well.

For some, this may be the last time for a while that you will get that quality time with your loved ones before you go off into a new job, higher education and in general creating a life for yourself. Spending time with friends and family could

mean anything from game nights to going on little trips, as well as creating the most enthusiastic summer bucket lists ever, filled with anything and everythng that shares both of your interests. This can help give you those long-lasting memories and strengthen your relationships with them before you start in this new chapter of your life.

“We did a big summer barbeque and ended the night with a bonfire,” shared Biology teacher Rachel Cervi when asked how she celebrated graduating with her closest friends.“We all went to a coffee shop and wrote each other letters to take with us away to college,” Cervi added. These actions are usually seen to be small, when in reality this action can give your friends some sort of assurance that you’ll be able to say “see you later” instead of “goodbye” before embarking on new adventures.

When asked how to make the best out of the summer, senior Roza Lulgjuraj stated, “Hanging out a little bit longer, not just staying in as much and going to the beach with a

bunch of friends.”

“I constantly was out with friends and did things that made me happy,” Grace Carruthers, Troy High School graduate, stated about how she spent her senior summer.

Carruthers also explained that, “It’s honestly about soaking up every last second with the people you love from high school.”

What do you do to soak up every second of the summer with your friends and loved ones though? Of course going to the beach or pool is an idea for spending time with friends in that nice summer heat. You could also plan a road trip even if it’s only a day long. Driving around, blasting that favorite song of yours and seeing beautiful sights with friends and family. With the important people in your life. Even

going on a picnic, having a movie marathon, going on a shopping spree or trying out a restaurant can be memorable activities, especially when you know that some of your best friends are moving away and there being a possiblity that you will not be able to see them for a while.

time was just have bonfires and bring as many people as we could together and just have fun.”

Overall, the summer is yours to create, whether that be relaxing or having the time of your life before getting back into that education mindset.

Time will start going by faster than you may expect, and this summer will eventually be coming to an end, despite wishes for it to never end, even with the excitement of new experiences in which you may learn from and opening new chapters in your life. Experiences and all the good and bad you’ve been through with the people who are close to you, knowing this can help you from feeling homesick even after your loved ones are hundreds of miles away from you.

Along with Cerv i , English teacher Joey Verhelle recalls bonfires being one of the popular things he did: “Some things we did all the

••• Teachers’ College Struggle Meals ••• created by Grace Haugk // Staff Reporter

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mustard swiss cheese

mayonnaise american cheese

lettuce

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bread of your choice

sic Cheese

by Ms. Allgeier

eat dry

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drink lots of water

SENIOR ISSUE

15

Senior Editor Farewells The Chariot’s senior editors say goodbye.

When I switched into Newspaper halfway through my freshman year, I was told it would be a super fun, super laid-back, blow-off class. During my first day in the class, I discovered that it was anything but that. Being a part of The Chariot was easily one of the hardest and best choices I’ve made throughout my high school career. After my sophomore year, I decided I would be done with the class because some of my closest friends were leaving, but I am so glad that I didn’t. The next year, I did some of my best writing, perfected the art of the last-minute essay and spent some amazing time with some of my best friends before they left for college.

After my junior year, I started my very first editor position. After my three years of being a Staff Reporter, I became Editor-In-Chief. Working my way up through The Chariot was one of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced. Thank you to the current, and most of the past, Chariot Staff and thank you to Ms. Clark for believing in me for all four of these years, even if I turned in almost every story late.

~ Emma Mertz // Editor-in-Chief

I joined The Chariot as a Staff Reporter during the pandemic on a whim, and since then, it has become one of my passions and the highlight of many of my days. I have never found an opportunity to express myself and learn freely like this outside of The Chariot, and while I look forward to graduation, I will miss the time I spent in the newspaper and the people I have met. Newspaper has allowed me to diversify my art and explore new creative styles in a way that no other high school experience I’ve had has. Making graphics and designing pages has been incredibly rewarding, and so has writing all kinds of articles. I have enjoyed every part of the article-writing process and I consider myself very lucky to have gotten to work on some very interesting stories. Not only has the newspaper given me a unique opportunity to learn, but it also gave me the chance to meet some amazing people. My fellow staff members and our advisor, Ms. Clark, have made my experience here nothing short of incredible. Working with the wonderful newspaper staff, I have been able to grow my writing, artwork and friendships, and that is something I will always be grateful for.

~ Anjali Sanil // Print Editor

I joined The Chariot in my sophomore year and have fallen in love with it ever since. Initially, I thought it would be one of those electives I would drop after a year, but something about the class just stuck with me. I can’t even begin to imagine what my life would be like without Newspaper. It was one of the only classes that gave me so many opportunities to unleash my creative side through both my graphics and my writing. I feel so lucky to have been part of such an incredible editorial team, and I want to thank everyone for all their hard work. I especially want to thank our adviser, Ms.Clark: words can’t even begin to describe all that she does for us and for Newspaper. When I think of graduation, I know Newspaper will be one of the biggest things I miss about high school. Some of my best memories and relationships were formed inside this classroom. The Chariot has become such a big part of me, and I am so thankful to all the staff for always showing kindness and helping me become the person I am today.

~ Raneen AlRammahi // Graphics Editor

I joined The Chariot in my sophomore year after my English teacher suggested it to me. I always loved writing but I didn’t think I was any good at it and was very nervous. I soon discovered that writing with The Chariot and getting to know all the people in the class would end up being one of the best decisions of my high school career. I’ve met some of the best people and will never forget the memories I made while not only writing, but hanging out with all of my best friends in the class. It wasn’t only the people who made taking Newspaper worth it, but the adviser. Thank you, Ms. Clark, for making me want to keep writing and always hyping all of us up every day. My journey in Newspaper has been surreal. I’m going to miss hanging out everyday with my friends and our tight knit family of reporters. I am extremely excited to experience new things in the future. I know I will cherish the memories I’ve made here forever and use what I have learned for years to come.

~ Maddy Hiser // Public Relations Editor

SENIOR ISSUE

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