Amplifier 2017-2018 Senior Edition (Volume 98-Issue 4)

INSIDE

Amplifier West Linn High School

Page 2 - Options other than college Page 3 - Animators and airline pilots Pages 4 & 5 - Where to? Senior map Page 7 - Plays & prom Back - Try the college crossword

WHAT NOW? West Linn, Ore. / Volume 98 / Issue 4 / Senior Edition

At 3:10 every day, an avalanche of students spills from the front doors.

In a mad dash toward the finish line of their high school careers, the mystery of their rapidly approaching futures draws nearer. From here, the familiarity of high school gives way to the chaotic freedom of adulthood. It’s a moment of fear, a moment of tension and a moment of exhilaration. Here, at last, the line between childhood and adulthood. Where will they go and what will they amount to? Their final few days of high school begs one daunting question: what now?

Photo by Philip Chan

Leap of faith

Putting a hold on college, many look to gap years

BY BROOKE MCKELVEY co-editor-in-chief

Anisha Arcot, left, and Kaitlin Lampson, right, have been named as the 2018 valedictorian and salutatorian. Arcot will be attending Yale University and Lampson will be attending Harvard University in the fall. Photo courtesy of Kendra Frankle.

Leading the pack

BY GRACE NICKAS co-editor-in-chief The late nights of studying, taking the hardest classes and pouring your heart and soul into school all become worthwhile once you have been named the top two in the class. For the Class of 2018, those two are Anisha Arcot and Kaitlin Lampson, seniors.

Arcot has been named the valedictorian. Lampson will be the salutatorian.

“I’m excited but I’m nervous to give a speech,” Arcot said. “I never made becoming valedictorian a specific goal in high school.

I think it just happened because I like to take lots of advanced language classes.

I think it’s pretty cool that it worked out this way and I’m excited to be on stage with Kaitlin and Shay!”

Lampson will be the salutatorian.

“I feel grateful to be rewarded for the hard work

I did over the past four years, and obviously very excited about this honor,” Lampson said. “I never went into high school with this goal in mind, but it has turned out to be a gracious byproduct of the classes that I was most interested in taking.”

Arcot is not just an academic. She is a member of the Willamette Sailing Club and the Gold Mock Trial Team. Arcot is also fluent in multiple languages and has studied abroad in both Russia and China.

Arcot will be attending Yale University in the fall.

“I visited in October of senior year and had the opportunity to sit in on an advanced Russian class and go to a sailing practice,” Arcot said. “I loved the classroom environment, campus, and enthusiasm that everyone showed and felt like I could really see myself there.”

Continued on pg. 3

Even though it’s a trend increasing in popularity, making the decision to take a gap year can be risky and nerve-racking. It’s a choice that comes with new adventures one might not find at a traditional college.

“I’m pretty nervous to travel halfway around the world and not know anyone,” Emily Craddock, senior, said, “But I knew I would probably never get another opportunity to travel here.”

In the middle of July, Craddock will be leaving on an 11-month journey to Cambridge, New Zealand. There, she will be attending a Bible school called Capernwray New Zealand where she will stay in a home with 50 other students, and they will spend their time studying the Bible and then going out into the community and teaching what they’ve learned.

“I’ve never been a huge fan of school, so I knew it would be a good idea to take a break before starting college,” Craddock said.

18 years of constantly being assigned projects and tests in classes that may not directly appeal to a future career is a tiresome annoyance for many seniors nationwide. A desire for a break after this time period is understandable, but not one that is usually taken.

“I’m nervous that I’m doing something out of the norm,” Diana Bob, senior said. “I never expected to do something so different for me, so I’m excited and nervous for that.”

Bob will be heading to Hawaii in the fall through a program called Youth With A Mission. She will be attending a Discipleship Training School for three months in a faithbased community, training and adventuring. Following those three months, YWAM will then

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send her to a surprise country for another three months.

“I will be helping the people there while experiencing the cultures and exploring the cities,” Bob said.

College may be filled with preparatory classes designed to be thought-provoking, but taking a gap year provides real-world experience not able to be taken from a classroom alone. Study abroad programs have been incorporated into many fields of study for this reason, but to take a whole year in the unknown is an easy way to accelerate this process.

“For years I’ve felt I needed to experience some of the many things the world offers as soon as I had the chance,” Will Glausi, senior, said. “I felt that college would be for the most part a continuation of high school and I wanted a break to explore other things before I committed to another four-year program.”

Glausi will be heading to Costa Rica next year to teach English at a university level as well as immersing himself in their culture.

“I’m excited for the program to help me meet people and pay me,” Glausi said, “But I’m mostly excited for the freedom I’ll have to do everything I can there.”

With an upcoming year of new adventures, cultures and experiences on their minds, seniors taking gap years aren’t typically thought of sharing the common college stress, however, it is still on their minds.

Once they return from their programs abroad, Craddock, Bob and Glausi plan on attending college in the fall of 2019.

“I’m doing deferred admissions, but I think it might feel a little weird just because I’ll be starting school a whole year after most of my class,” Craddock said. “Hopefully I can figure it out and be motivated to do whatever it is when I come home.”

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OPINION

AMPLIFIER

SENIOR EDITION 2018

Charity Work Skyler Westover, senior, will spend a two year mission in Paraguay. While there, Westover will work with other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as part of a charity organization.

“I’ve always been wanting to help people and give them something,” Westover said.

For more on students participating in charities, visit WLHSnow.com

Gap Year Evan Duncan, senior, will be traveling directly after high school.

He has a few different ideas as to where he’ll go and what he’ll do, but no plans that restrict him from his goal.

“I want to find myself,” Duncan said. “I’ve been super lost for a very long time.”

For more on students taking a gap year, see “Leap of faith” on pg. 1

Summmer Internship Katharine Koehler, senior, plans to intern in Barcelona, Spain.

“I like to travel, and it just seemed really cool to do an internship abroad,” Koehler said.

For more coverage of student interns, visit WLHSnow.com

REIMAGINING LIFE AFTER Military HIGH SCHOOL Assignment

BY WALLACE MILNER AND MATILDA MILNER coverage editor and opinions editor ARTWORK BY PHILIP CHAN copy editor

Steven Burch, senior, will be a mechanic for the US marine corps.

Burch hopes to follow in the footsteps of his parents, who both served.

“It’s a brotherhood. It’s a sense of belonging. That’s one of the main reasons why I’m joining. Someone’s going to have my back, I’m going to have someone else’s back” Burch said For more on military bound students, see “Sky high ambitions” on pg. 3

Breaking the Mold

BY WALLACE MILNER AND MATILDA MILNER coverage editor and opinions editor There has always been a push for stepping straight from high school to a traditional higher education a four-year university. However, the generation coming of age and graduating now is moving away from the norm.

The societal stigma around forging one’s own path runs high.

“A lot of family members have been saying ‘Oh, you can’t skip a year of school ‘cause you won’t want to go back,’” said senior Evan Duncan, who plans to go straight to work and travel to Greece and California next year.

Opting against the standard college experience is not an easy choice to make, but some have looked beyond the traditional university as they prepare for the next step of their lives.

So, why are students bucking the trend?

A PERSONAL JOURNEY

“I want to find myself,” Duncan said. “I’ve been super lost for a very long time.”

For some, the cost of college just isn’t manageable. For others, specialized schools offer a fast track to success. For others still, college just doesn’t appeal to them.

“I hate school. I really hate school,” Duncan said. “I don’t agree with the way education is portrayed in society. Public education has been the same for 100 years, yet we’re a generation that has come so far. We’re ready for something new.”

West Linn High School is a college prep school. The courses and the classes are geared towards

preparing students for college.

Beyond that, the route to a fouryear college isn’t just encouraged; it’s portrayed as the only option. But maybe it’s time for that to change.

High school shouldn’t just be a pipeline to college. It should be a place for preparation, where students are equipped with the knowledge and the skills necessary to succeed, whatever s u c c e s s looks like for them.

T h e four-year university still has its merits, and for many students, it remains the best option. But an increasing number of high school graduates are exploring other options.

College can seem limiting. For Katharine Koehler, senior, the opportunity to intern in Barcelona was too good to pass up.

“I like to travel,” Koehler said, “And it just seemed really cool to do an internship abroad.”

time devoted to filling out applications, it’s easy to forget that there is no rule about when you attend college. A year off to work to serve or to find yourself is not the end of a students college dreams.

We live in unusual times. The traditional routes to success seem to be disappearing. High school students are losing faith, not just in the college system, but in the American e c o n o m y as a whole.

High school graduation rates are growing to record highs, but college enrollment is actually decreasing, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

“It’s either schooling where it’s classwork, books, that type of stuff, or you’re doing what you want to do and getting paid for it.”

-Steven Burch

TAKING A BREAK

Not everyone is circumventing college entirely, however.

“I plan to go to CCC when this is over,” Koehler said. For some students, alternative options are compatible with college.

“I plan on going to a four-year college as soon as I come back,” Skyler Westover, senior, said. Westover who will spend the next two years in Paraguay.

This is one of the problems with the college prep system. With so much

LOOKING FOR WORK

“So, it’s either schooling where it’s classwork, books, that type of stuff, or you’re doing what you want to do and getting payed for it too,” said senior Steven Burch, who plans to work as a mechanic for the Marines. For all the students, the opportunity to work is an exciting chance to gain independence.

But money isn’t the only factor.

“I’ve always been wanting to help people and give them something,” Westover said.

Both Westover and Burch’s parents support their decisions. Indeed, the two students are following in the footsteps of their relatives in some respects. Westover’s parents both went on missions, while Burch’s parents both served in the Marines. It’s a mark of the positive impact that can be made by role models when they support

student’s dreams.

Of course, the uncertainty of the future can be a problem.

“I’m nervous,” Westover said. “I’m very excited, but I’m nervous.”

Especially for students who plan to move to a foreign country, the prospect of leaving the familiar world behind can be daunting.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a culture shock.” Westover said.

But it’s a sense of opportunity and the thrill of adventure that is driving students across the nation to break the mold when it comes to post-high school life. For some it’s service. For some, it’s a job. And for some, it’s a personal preference. But for many West Linn students, the college prep design is missing the mark. It’s time to consider how we could better prepare our students for the realities of life after high school.

We can do this in a number of ways, by reorganizing our curriculum to be geared as much toward work and life skills as it is towards college. We can increase our internship programs and work more closely with local business to give students real life experience.

But more than anything, our school should present the options available.

Most students will go through their full four years of high school without ever recognizing that they have alternatives to college.

Our high school has an incredible outreach program. It’s time to broaden its scope. Let’s look beyond the traditional. The goal of high school should not be to find which college is best for a student, but which route is best for a student. To help every student succeed, following the route the wish to follow. The times are changing, and it’s time for our school system to change with it.

PEOPLE

AMPLIFIER

Sky high ambitions

BY SAM MISA current events editor While other people plan to go to college after school to do ordinary jobs, there is one senior going to flight school next year to pursue his dreams of being a pilot.

Jake Wahlstrom, senior, wants to fly airplanes, like his grandfather.

“I think it was just like I had a passion when I was younger to do it,” Wahlstrom said. “My grandpa flew fighter jets in the Air Force and retired as a commercial airline pilot for Continental Airlines, and I just saw it as a kinda really cool job career and as a path of life. So, I decided it’d be a really fun career to pursue.”

Wahlstrom credits his parents as being the largest part in his path to success.

“They’ve been keeping me on the right track, just making sure that I always keep my grades up and always focused on what I need to do.”

Those good grades surely helped Wahlstrom with getting into flight school, but there were many other

Senior pursues career as pilot

things that he had to do in addition to doing well in school to get accepted.

“You have to do a lot of research, because there’s a lot of different components of the school itself.,” Wahlstrom said. “First, you’d need to go to Hillsboro Aero Academy and apply there through the PCC program, because they offer a great dual program where you get your prerequisites at PCC as well as the flight training at Hillsboro Aero Academy.”

Walhstrom has plans for after finishing at Hillsboro Aero Academy.

“That’s a two-year program, going to both the schools. After that you can continue to there or transfer to another school.

I’m going to transfer to EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University,” Wahlstrom said.

Over the summer, Wahlstrom plans to first get his private pilot’s license, so he can cover the prerequisites for the academy itself. After that comes ground school where he’ll be learning all the different rules and regulations of flying.

In order to get into flight school, Wahlstrom has to get a certain amount of flight hours to get or start a career, along with the previously mentioned ground school training.

Every summer Wahlstrom would do “discovery flights” at the Aurora Airport or Hillsboro, where he would go up and fly for an hour with an instructor to learn the ropes.

Wahlstrom hopes to be a pilot for a major airline after finishing his flight training, which is why he is going to transfer to Embry Riddle after finishing with Hillsboro Aero Academy. The former happens to offer a continued curriculum that enables Wahlstrom to expand his utility.

“Since I’m getting a four-year college degree, that’ll allow me to work for a larger airline, but if I only had my two-year degree, it’d only be like regional Pacific Northwest flights. I’ll be trying to fly for a major airline. That’s my overarching goal,” Wahlstrom said.

SENIOR EDITION 2018

Creating clay creatures

BY PHILIP CHAN copy editor

Last May, a 17-yearold filmmaker wrote and directed a silent slapstick seven years in the making, which won them $4,000.

Brice Brown, senior, won first place in the International Youth Silent Film Festival last year with his stop-motion slapstick “Thomas and the Extraordinary Bathroom Incident.” Now 18, Brown submitted another film, “Geladuch,” to this year’s competition.

“It reminded me of a ‘Twilight Zone’ or ‘Black Mirror’ episode,” Dylan Jahnson, senior and the film’s editor, said. “But less extreme.”

A portmanteau of the Latin word for jelly and the Czech word for ghost, “Geladuch” allowed Brown to create a world of agender, jellyfishlike aliens. Brown came up with the idea a year ago, while working on “Thomas and the Extraordinary Bathroom Incident.”

“Because I had already done slapstick, I wanted to do sci-fi,” Brown said.

“Because you can do some really cool things with stop motion.”

In addition to Brown’s stop motion, “Gelduch” also required some 2D animation and futuristic sets, done by senior Grey Ross and junior Nicholas Bergerson respectively.

Jake Walhstrom, in the cockpit, before takeoff with certified flight instructor, Jordan Quiogue. Photo courtesy of Jake Walhstrom.

It took Bergerson three days’ worth of hours to Meet your valedictorian complete the sets. “[Brown] does give a and salutatorian lot leeway for the designer Continued from pg. 1 the perfect balance also studying political incredible teachers and to kind of put their between competitive D1 science and economics,” faculty at West Linn High personal touch to the set Arcot will be a softball and emphasis Arcot said.

School to find mentors or to whatever they’re member of the sailing on academics.”

Lampson is leaning and role models.” designing,” Bergerson team for Yale.

Both Arcot and more toward the science Lampson has a few said, “Which is nice.”

“I am excited to have a route for her major. ideas of how to make Brown created spot on the team, though “I will be starting off your time in school and characters from Van I am not a recruited on the molecular/cellular life valuable.

Aken plastalina, a highathlete,” Arcot said. bio track,” Lampson said.

“I would advise quality modeling clay.

Lampson is a student“But I plan on pursuing a younger students to The creatures were athlete as well. She has secondary concentration challenge themselves originally creepier, been a member of the in linguistics, or and not to be afraid of Brown admits, but the varsity softball team for something that has to do what could go wrong,” cuter ones appealed to all four years of high with anthropology.”

Lampson said. “As I Brown as the film’s main school and has played on Arcot has some words have found many times numerous club teams. of wisdom for making in my life, you never Lampson is committed the most of your time in know what you can do to play Division I softball high school. until you take the leap for Harvard University.

“I hope students at and try it out. We as “I have wanted to West Linn High School students are capable of play softball in college continue to pursue more than we think; test for as long as I can think their passions and dive yourself and see what back,” Lampson said. deep into their areas of you can achieve.”

“As I grew up, I realized interest,” Arcot said. “I Arcot and Lampson that I wanted to play at believe it’s important to will be giving speeches school that would allow make your commitments at graduation June 5 me to put my academics Lampson have big plans meaningful by devoting at the Chiles Center in first and attain an for their studies in college. your time to something University of Portland education that I could “I am not completely that you are genuinely at 7:30 p.m. truly flourish with. sure about my major yet, passionate about. I also The softball program but I’m hoping to study hope that all students Photo by Philip Chan. at Harvard is, for me, Russian and Arabic while take advantage of the

ABOVE ACADEMICS “As I have found many times in my life, you never know what you can do until you take the leap and try it out.”

-Kaitlin Lampson

3

characters. The aliens are forced to deal with a thieving astronaut in the three-minute movie.

“It’s sort of like ‘Alien’ but reversed,” Brown said, “Where instead of an alien invading a human ship, it’s an alien ship being invaded by a human.”

“Geladuch” was screened May 10 at the Pacific Northwest Regional at the Hollywood Theatre.

Brown attended the event with family and Ian Underwood, senior.

The festival’s founder, Jon “JP” Palanuk, announced the regional winners starting with third place: a stop-motion film called “The Western Heist.” Then, for second place, Brown noticed JP squinting his eyes.

“I could tell, oh, he’s going to read ‘Geladuch,’” Brown said. “Because it’s hard to read.”

Brown was right; “Geladuch” won second place.

“Once he announced it,” Brown said, “I was like ‘Yes!’ because I was really happy to get that type of award.”

Brown walked over to the mic to accept the award.

Brown hadn’t written a speech beforehand, but delivered thoughtful thanks to family for being life and friends for being inspiration.

For the hard work, Brown took home a wooden plaque and $500, which was shared with the rest of the film’s crew.

The international awards ceremony takes place June 6.

Regardless of the outcome, Brown will continue to animate.

“What matters to me is making things. And whatever path allows me to make more things, that’s my path.”

For more on Brice Brown, visit WLHSnow. com

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SENIOR MAP

AMPLIFIER

WASH.

Annaliese Martinsen Jack Vanderpool

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Grace Nickas Jon Udell Benjamin Walker Taylor Wright

Raymond Berry Lilly Burnett Chloe Evans Lizzy Herrick Theresa Li Kenna Royse Rose Schoenfeld

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY Abigail Beckett Rachel Cupparo

MONT.

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND Isabella Bean

SENIOR EDITION 2018

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bethan Cleminson Megan Mullin Olivia Olmsted

Samantha Dunbar Kaela Morrow Jorgen Stauffer

WHITMAN COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA

Drew Vannaman

WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY Amanda Blanc-Gonnet Jonah Coffee Munya Fashu-Kanu

IDAHO

Madeleine Itschner Emily Martin

BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY Morgan Schutzler

ORE. CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Mary Gilmour Jaden Goldschmidt Giselle Guerra Talon Hogan Tayler Lundquist Tyler Starr Maddie Stathas Caetano Vega Maya Zachary

CLACKAMAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Millie Adzasu Beau Coffie Erin Groppe Isabelle Hattenhauer Matt Landstrom Brandon Matthews Cynthia Medhaug-Aversano Carson Steinbrenner Tabassom Taghinejad Cristian Villanueva Serena Villarreal Emma Williams

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY Justin Harrel

EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY Justin Gould

GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY Sean Beuckens Priya Kadel

HILLSBORO AERO ACADEMY Jake Wahlstrom

LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Zoe Georgiadis Logan Williamson

LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE Zach Gilburne

LINFIELD COLLEGE Tyler Good

NECROPOLIS TATTOO SCHOOL Hailey Bravo

OREGON CULINARY INSTITUTE Peyton Lee

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY Brittany Ard Brett Bell Griffin Bell Thomas Boe Haden Bromley Seth Cornelius Frank Craft Zach Daniels Hailey Davis Keishon Dawkins Chuck Emerson Avery Esau Emily Fogg Emily Foushee

THE COLLEGE OF IDAHO Kade Freeborn Cody Fretwell Nikolay Galtsev Elle Gardner Micah Gibson Rachel Gross Kipp Hamersly Isabelle Harries Hailey Holmes Alex Houlette Shelby Isert Luukas Lemetyinen Matthew Lewis James Marshall Sam McNinch Grace Miller Weston Miller Eamon Minges Elizabeth Paschal Aubree Schrandt Hannah Schwartz Steven Shelofsky Isaac Shih Aidan Sloan Zach Stotz Kayla Tence Sophia Vahsholtz Chris Winjum Ellie Young

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CASCADES Sarah Heiden Maitland Marth Anah Shatz-Muzaffarr McKenna Wright

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY, HONORS COLLEGE Benjamin Chan Cailee Ito Liz Lofurno Nick Olson

PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE Soroush Azizi Rose Brandtner Kaden Carpenter Daniel Dorsey Nicolas Esteve Dylan Jahnson Seba Pop Alexius Rodriguez

PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY

Abigail Egan Nataliah Colbert Eliana Portillo-Avelar Zoe Robinson Davis Schmitz Hunter Scott Ian Walsh Katie Williams

SOUTHWESTERN OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Abigail Cakebread Kaylee Cavoto Harrison Chebuk Bryce Cumpston Brooke Daugherty Hannah Drake Laila Elmashni Tessa Evans Jordon Fahey Grace Gabler Lauren Griffith Sheridan Hardy Julia Hughes Olivia Ilas Ireland Johnson Kyro Keener Maddie Kelley Andrew Kidd Emma Kirby Abby Manley Nolan Moore Erin O'Connor Marlee Odell Nathaniel Olds Kellen Olsen Olivia Paul Mitchell Peterson Alex Qiu Sam Raffetto Dominic Ragalie Lauren Roensch Michael Sabbaj Jordan Socherman Logan Spinks Katherine Stallard Natalie Steele Keaton Straub Dylan Tiffany Joseph Trierweiler Makenzie Whitlock Maddie Wick Brad Wicklund Tayler Wright Jim Wynne

Vince Seth

Alyssa Betts

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO

Nick Zimkas Logan Maly Nicole Maly

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO Katy Miller

AMPLIFIER

BY BROOKE MCKELVEY co-editor-in-chief

MINN. NEB. CARLETON COLLEGE Brooke McKelvey

After more than a decade of schooling together, the Class of 2018 prepares to walk out the front doors one last time.

Our futures are unknown, ranging from

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY Emily Kim

ILL.

international adventures to four more years of education only a few miles from home. Either way, these next few years will shape who we become, and the 2018 Senior Map acknowledges every senior and the next step on their journey.

Map template from vexels.com

PA. N.Y.

SENIOR MAP

MAINE BOWDOIN COLLEGE Thomas Skates

BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY

IND.

DEPAUL UNIVERSITY Andrea Swenson

Luke Hamper

CORNELL UNIVERSITY Caden DeWitz

PACE UNIVERSITY Shaylee Hicks

MASS.

PURDUE UNIVERSITY Shashank Thandri

BOSTON UNIVERSITY Lauren Adelman

BOSTON UNIVERSITY, HONORS COLLEGE Abby Gross

HARVARD UNIVERSITY Kaitlin Lampson

R.I. CONN.

SMITH COLLEGE

Eleanor Williams

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND Abby Fillion

YALE UNIVERSITY Anisha Arcot

D.C.

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY Rory Bialostosky Bethany Greeff

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, CLARK HONORS COLLEGE

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

Ben Carr Sonny Kusaka Madeline Seifer Haley Thayer

Skylar Kool Evan McKinley

UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND Aileen Converse Grace Ann Converse Ellie Weber

WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY Melina Mullin Emily Nielson Ian Noel Sydney Wilbur

WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY Brady McDevitt

UTAH

G.A.

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Gillian Dawson Kylie Fretwell Reed Rissberger

UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY

Isabella Bean

Avery Gill

SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN

ARIZ.

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, ONLINE

L.A. MISS.

Megan Larsen

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY

Gabe Armattoe Max Becker Nicola Bittner

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY

Andrew Roethe

CALIF.

AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

HAWAII

Kali Burkhartzmeyer Braden Curalli Evan Klinkhammer

Rachel Tarmy

Joey Campbell Grace Eaton Liam Herman Julie Rucker

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA

COLO.

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES

WHERE TO? SENIOR EDITION 2018

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS Brice Brown

CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY Riley Murphy Jake Thompson

CITRUS COLLEGE

Claire Newrones

HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY Myzanne Huss

LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN Alexis Mooney

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY Leah Briggs Raina Hines Megan Talbert

NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR UNIVERSITY Brooke Landis

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE Jaiden Cirioli

OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN Lauren Kyles

POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

Allison Comings Christopher Comings Griffin Riley

Savanah Stokley

Kennedi Byram Payton Goebel Megan Joerger Anna Speer

SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA

TEXAS

Catherine Godzyk

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY

Christian Neal

RICE UNIVERSITY

McKenzie Hill Liana Li Mikayla Vincent

SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY Arianna Chappell Lexie Pritchard

SANTA MONICA COLLEGE Tristian Tiganescu

SOKA UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Madeleine Kawanesicayuga

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES Zack Huffstutter Theresa Li

UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS

AUSTIN COLLEGE Anna Spear

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY Garrett Robinson

ALA.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA Zach Anderson

John Wall

WHERE ELSE? ADULT TRANSITION PROGRAM Will Hixon Ivan Miller Tanner White

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PARIS Andrew Callaghan Eliza Victory

CAPERNWRAY BIBLE SCHOOL, NEW ZEALAND Emily Craddock

COSTA RICA

VANGUARD UNIVERSITY

Haley Intile-Epstein

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SHANGHAI Xavier Juhala

PARAGUAY

Skyler Westover

TRADE SCHOOL

Ji Hyun An

GAP YEAR

Soula Von Seebach

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

Adam Pierce

DENMARK

Callista Noel

Anna Butts

Kennedy Roby

Chris Carrasco Cameron Walter

Gabe Romero

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DEIGO

INSIDE ELECTRICAL JATC

Will Glausi

Jessie Becker Evan Duncan Katharine Koehler Madeleine Marble Miki Nakai Morgan Rauch Ian Underwood

Kiana LeBlanc

Kendra Frankle Griffin McLaughlin

GERMANY

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS Steven Burch

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Elise Hlady Grant Wiler

YOUTH WITH A MISSION - BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA Kassie Thierauf

YOUTH WITH A MISSION - KONA, HAWAII Diana Bob

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5

6

SPORTS

AMPLIFIER

SENIOR EDITION 2018

BEATING EXPECTATIONS

New-look Lions baseball team hopes to win big in playoffs

BY RORY BIALOSTOSKY sports editor

in early April on a walkoff homerun

by Chris Freese was quickly turned into the thrill of victory following Coming into this season, nobody an 11-5 pounding. That two game really knew what to expect from the series took three days due to rain.

2017-18 Lions baseball team. They Campbell, who will be attending lost some of the best players in West Cal Poly this fall, had one of his best Linn baseball history. At this point, outings of the year on baseball’s with a 20-8 overall record, it’s safe biggest stage on May 21. He was to say they turned out just fine. perfect for the majority of his Led by seven returning seniors team’s first round playoff game along with two standout juniors, versus North Medford until his Xavier University commit Jonathan perfect game was broken up by an Kelly and JJ Hoover, the team has infield single. put together quite “I’ve had a lot the year as they of fun,” Campbell “Once we got roll- said. “Us being march through the post-season seniors, it’s looking to do what a ing and really got in different. We’ve West Linn baseball played well this team hasn’t done in a groove, it felt good. year. A lot better recent memory win than I expected, a championship. everyone has been Spring break We’ve thrown the ball hitting well too.” was a tough Y o u n g e r stretch featuring well this year and hit guys like Kelly some of the best have played an competition in the instrumental well.” country. The Lions role for the Lions went to San Diego as well. He hit and lost three of -Zach Anderson multiple home four games. runs on the year, They returned most memorably a to sunny Oregon and kicked it into walkoff home run versus Sherwood high gear. after blowing the save the prior “Once we got rolling and really half-inning. got in a groove, it felt good. We’ve “It was awesome, I knew that thrown the ball well this year and we had to do something big,” Kelly hit well,” Zach Anderson, senior, said. “I wanted that one more than said. anyone else.”

Joey Campbell, senior, and They ended up finishing the Anderson have led the way on regular season with an overall the mound for a team that was record of 19-8 and a league record in command of the Three Rivers of 13-4, good enough for the Three League throughout the conference Rivers League title. season.

A year filled with uncertainty A 2-1 series victory over Lake has ended up being a year of Oswego was one of the highlights of contention. The Lions will seek to the regular season. continue to advance through the Anderson threw a no-hitter post-season prior to the departure versus Lakeridge, a milestone that of the seniors. was the first of his career.

The agony of defeat to Tualatin

Senior and varsity catcher, Micah Gibson, directing his team to throw the ball home to stop a runner on third. Gibson is one of seven seniors on the Lion team. Photo courtesy of Amanda Whitttington.

CURRENT EVENTS

AMPLIFIER

SENIOR EDITION 2018

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STUDENT DIRECTORS STUN WITH ‘SHORTS’ Senior thespians direct the last production of the year to wrap up their theatre journeys

BY JI HYUN AN co-editor-in-chief Throughout the years, plays like “Spamalot” and “The Addams Family” have received recognition and praise inside and outside the school for their spectacular quality. But every

year, a particular production called “Shorts” stands out from the others due to it being directed by students themselves, more specifically, senior thespians. This year, Kendall Gordon, Emma Kirby, Brady McDevitt, Hannah Schwartz, Keaton Straub and Maria Tinio produced short plays that were

In this short, “The Library,” Sonny Kusaka, senior, plays a boy who meets characters he has met in his books.

Kendall Gordon, senior, wrote this short and enjoyed working with “kids who are younger than [her] and fostering their love for theatre.” Photo courtesy of Steve Beckingham

all performed in succession. From May 10-12, five 20-30-minute plays were performed from 7-8:30 p.m.

“My short [was] about a guy named Stan who is going to propose to his girlfriend of three months and, throughout the proposal, all these things go wrong,” Schwartz said. “It was one of the shorts that Steve, our adviser, submitted for us to look at.”

Although these senior thespians spent a majority of their theatre journey on stage, they were given the opportunity to direct as a way to celebrate their last year as WLHS thespians.

“The best part of directing was seeing what I have been doing my whole life from a different view,” McDevitt said.

“I got to make my mark on the actors and choose where they were positioned and how they said things.”

For Gordon, her favorite part of being a director was working with underclassmen and doing something her mentors had done for the last three years. “[My favorite part has been] working with these kids who are younger than me and fostering a love for theatre,” Gordon said.

As these students move on to college, some of them will be pursuing a major in theatre.

“I am going to continue theatre in college and I am probably going to major in it,” McDevitt said.

Others will pursue another major and focus on theatre in their free time. Gordon is planning on becoming a writer while Schwartz is planning on becoming a teacher.

“Being a thespian has made me a better person,” McDevitt said. “I have learned that no matter how old you are or where you come from, thespians will always accept you for you.”

“Being a thespian has made me a better person.”

-Brady McDevitt

‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ Shining a light on prom

BY SARAH HEIDEN photo editor

Stars line the stairway down to the dance.

The 2018 prom theme, which correlates with May Day’s theme, was “Dancing in the Moonlight.” “It came from ‘Star Wars,’” Annie Kaiser, ASB adviser, said, “And turned into ‘Dancing in the Moonlight.’ We wanted to find something that was really pretty.”

A moon constructed of old newspapers, wood and barbed wire gives students the perfect place to take a memorable picture. “A lot of people [in ASB] had come up with the idea of space, and some people were worried about it looking like a science project or something, so we tried to come up with a theme that incorporated something with space but was more beautiful and elegant,” Ashley Hayter, junior and class director for ASB, said. “We actually used the decorations from May Day, so the moon and strings of stars are all from May Day, and then we tried to incorporate some other things to make it more party like, like balloons and the stars on the walls.”

Students dance and socialize under paper stars meant to symbolize the prom theme “Dancing in the Moonlight.” The 2018 prom drew the largest crowd to date. “It just makes me really happy the way the students have embraced the events that we are throwing,” Annie Kaiser, ASB adviser, said, “And want to be a part of creating memories for themselves.”

ABOVE: Outside, students refresh in the cool evening air. Last year’s theme was based on the party that Jay Gatsby threw in “The Great Gatsby” film directed

by Baz Luhrmann based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. “The students had a better connection to last year’s theme because, by that point, all of the seniors had read Gatsby,” Emily Martin, senior, said, “But I liked the consistency of the decorations this year.”

Students put their coats and other valuables into paper bags before they headed into the dance room. Many students traveled by party bus or carpooled with friends.

These bags offered a safe place for valuables such as car keys and phones.

In the dance room, DJ Spencer Crum’s wife plays up to date songs recommended by students through Instagram. DJ Crum joined her later in the evening, having been at a wedding earlier. Tables lined the back of the dance room, giving students and staff an area to rest and enjoy refreshments, cookies and candy.

Dancing and socializing lasted until 11 p.m., by which time, prom ended.

LEFT: A mountain goat greets students at 8 p.m. as they make their way to the Oregon Zoo cafeteria, where prom is held down a flight of stairs. At the entrance, students could either purchase tickets for $35 or sign in if they bought their tickets earlier in the week for $25.

VOLUME 98 / ISSUE 4

WLHSnow.com

College crossword 1

Letters to the editors

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1 This college holds the most NCAA Football championships 2 Both of Ice Cube’s parents worked for this college 3 The bobcat is the mascot for this college 4 This school is #120 for 2018 Best Colleges 5 Branch of the military founded Nov. 10, 1775 6 This college is known for its philosophy of learning by doing

7 This college was opened in 1912 after the murder of its namesake 8 A professor at this college perfected the process of making marashino cherries

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1 College with motto “Lux et Veritas,” Latin for “Light and Truth” 2 The graduates of this military school first saw action during the Vietnam War 3 This school’s rival is OSU 4 This university is located

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in Manhattan and focuses on the liberal arts 5 Rapper Lil Pump wrote a song about dropping out from this school 6 This community college is located in Clackamas 7 Private university in Washington D.C. 8 Ivy League University in New York 9 The 31st president of the United States attended the precursor to this college 10 University Colors: Black & Old Gold

May Day& Graduation Videos

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BY PHILIP CHAN copy editor

With the end of the Amplifier’s 98th year, five senior editors will be graduating. Although they may not pursue a career in journalism, they have made an impact on this class, its staff and its students. Undoubtedly, they will succeed in whatever adventure they choose to embark on next. I wish them the best as they move on to greater challenges and rewards. Now, let us thank them.

Dear Sarah, thank you for your photos. It’s unfortunate but it’s true: we lack photographers. Not only have you committed yourself to sharing your talent, but you have done so with care, documenting beautiful moments and powerful stories that our words could never capture alone.

Dear Rory, thank you for writing sports. Even when you don’t show up, eventually, you’ll write a much-needed sports story, which greatly adds to the diversity of our coverage. It’s nice to be able to rely on a good sports story in every issue. God knows no one else wants to write sports.

Dear Ji, thank you for making an impact, even from beyond second period. Without you, we might not have bothered to update our website so regularly, and it would be quite bare. We also appreciate the hard work you put into getting awards for our website, which we had talked about for years.

Dear Grace, thank you for your hard work. Sometimes journalism can be a drag, but even when you didn’t want to be in our dimly lit, fishbowl classroom, you put out work. Especially on deadline, you kept us honest and in check.

Dear Brooke, thank you for your dedication. Few on our staff have taken on a greater responsibility than you, Brooke. I have watched you stay late, working hard, subjecting yourself to the stress of pulling print issues to-

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gether when no one else will. I mean, look at that senior map. We will also miss your sarcasm.

Thank you all.

Amplifier West Linn High School

West Linn High School 5464 West A. Street West Linn, OR 97068 503-678-7800 wlhs-amplifier@wlhs.wlwv.k12.or.us WLHSnow.com

BROOKE MCKELVEY co-editor in chief GRACE NICKAS co-editor in chief JI HYUN AN co-editor in chief PHILIP CHAN copy editor WALLACE MILNER coverage editor RORY BIALOSTOSKY sports editor SAMUEL MISA current events editor KATHERINE STALLARD arts and culture editor ALEKS BROOKS advertising manager SARAH HEIDEN photo editor MATILDA MILNER opinions editor GLENN KRAKE adviser TWITTER: @WLHSAmplifier @WLHSNow FACEBOOK: @westlinn.amplifier INSTAGRAM: @wlhsnow SNAPCHAT: Wlhsnow YOUTUBE: WLHSnow The Amplifier is published quarterly by the West Linn High School Journalism Class.

Opinions expressed in commentaries and editorials represent only those of the writer, and are not necessarily the opinions of West Linn High School, its administration, faculty, staff or student body.