As a member of TAB, Vollenweider and 14 others meet every fourth Monday of the month and discuss ways to improve the hospital. The board also takes trips to the hospitals “teen room,” where teen patients admitted to the hospital can go to play video games and socialize. TAB visits the patients as well as organizes special activity and game nights for the teens.

“The teen room has a Wii, tons of video games and an air hockey table.” Vollenweider said. “It is a really nice place for teens admitted to the hospital to go and have fun.”

Over the next few weeks, the members of TAB will be selling Pedia Pals I.D. badges in the shape of happy-faced animals for $7 each and Children’s Mercy lanyards for $1. All of the proceeds will help to fund the making of a new pre-operational surgery video for children and families.

“The video explains what the kids will go through, what equipment is in the room and what to be expecting.” Vollenweider said.

The video is used to help calm children and make them comfortable with the operation they are about to undergo, as well as inform the family what their child will experience. The video currently used by the hospital is over 13 years old and with the development of new technology and procedures, is largely outdated.

The company the hospital must use to create the new film charges $1000 dollars a minute, currently having raised $3000 the hospital is hoping for 10-12 minutes of footage.

“I want to give back to the hospital because they have helped me so much over the past 16-and-a-half years,” Vollenweider said. “ I want to give back to the community that gave so much to me.”

Grade: 12

Tools: Pencil to sketch out initial piece. Oil pastels and acrylic paints for AP concentration. “I like the vibrant looks acrylics get when I’m finished with them.”

AP Studio Art Concentration: “Through each piece I try to highlight animal qualities in people. Because we’re different species, but we share similar qualities. In each piece, I’m putting an animal head on a human body. The one I’m working on right now is a bull’s head on a business man’s body and he’s holding money.”

Future: “I want to major in fine arts or graphic design. I’m not totally sure about which school I want to go to, but art is something that I love and I’m very passionate about it. I plan on doing art even if I’m homeless; it’s what I want to do and what I plan to do. Even if I don’t have a lot of money, art is what gets me through most days, and that happiness is more important than money.”

Inspiration: “This sounds weird, but I get a lot of inspiration from Lady Gaga. Those who know me know that I’m Lady Gaga obsessed. She inspires me to do my own thing and that’s what draws me to her. When I first found out about her, I thought she was weird and she almost made me uncomfortable, which was interesting and daring. I try to do that with my art. I want to make people uncomfortable so it leaves an impression. That’s what people remember. It may not be accepted, but I’m fascinated by weird things.”

Grade: 9

Tools: camera, pencils, acrylic paint. “I’ll work with whatever I’m given.”

Benefit of Different Media: “I like doing different projects with different mediums because there are different ways to do different styles. I like the diversity and how it turns out in the end.”

Began: “Probably when I could first start writing because my dad would always encourage me to get involved and do little projects. He still has some of my projects from when I was three.”

Inspiration: “My dad. People have always told me they love my dad’s artwork and I see it everywhere I go. I’ve always been inspired to be artistic like him.”

The cold air nipped at her face, and she hurried to pull on her army green cargo pants and blue sweatshirt, anxious to get on the road. Along with her 15 classmates, she rushed through the morning routine—shoveling down what seemed like the millionth bowl of cereal that she’d eaten since she had started this adventure, washing her dishes, and packing up everything that she had used during the night, saving the green canvas tent for last. By 5 a.m., the group rolled out of camp, under a sky still pitch-black except for the clusters of stars.

***

While her friends from home were sitting in classrooms receiving a traditional high school education last semester, Weindling was traveling around southern Africa with a program called The Traveling School. She initially heard about the program from East graduate Margo Brookfield, who went on the trip during her junior year. At the end of her sophomore year, Weindling decided that it was something she wanted to try.

“It was kind of an impulse decision,” Weindling said. “I think I was just looking for something new. I was bored with the monotony of my everyday life.”

On Aug. 19 she boarded a plane to Washington D.C. to meet the 15 other girls that would eventually become her second family. But becoming so close was by no means an overnight process.

“A lot of the girls were really quiet, which was very different for me,” Weindling said.

The plane ride from Washington D.C. to Johannesburg consisted card game after card game, where the sound of the cards hitting the tray tables was the only thing interrupting the silence on the plane.

“We were all thinking it was so awkward,” Weindling said. “But we just went with it because we were all kind of freaked out at that point.”

Eighteen hours later, the plane touched down in Johannesburg. They were officially in Africa.

***

It took close to a month, but eventually the awkwardness subsided and the girls became “like a family.” They shared their thoughts in discussion-based classes like Southern African history and travel journalism. A circle of Crazy Creek camp chairs became their classroom. They learned to surf together in South Africa’s Jeffrey’s Bay, nicknamed “J-Bay,” and canoed down the Orange River despite triple-digit heat. They drove to the center of a salt pan in Botswana that was the size of Switzerland, where they were surrounded by nothing but white ground and silence, from horizon to horizon.

“I became so comfortable with the tent I was in and the people I was with and my sleeping bag,” Weindling said. “It really became my home.”

The fact that she was surrounded by other girls made for a laid-back atmosphere, which she noticed as soon as she left.

“I think the thing I miss most is just not caring,” Weindling said. “It was really nice to just not have to think about what you’re wearing, or your hair, or your make-up. It was refreshing and really carefree.”

***

Their blue truck pulled up to what looked like a mountain of sand—Dune 45. The girls took their shoes off, and felt the fine grains between their toes. This was one hike that didn’t require hiking boots. As the sky lightened, they started up the side of the dune in a single-file line, feet sinking into the brown sand with every step.

Before long, they were at the top, surrounded by a sea of sand in every direction. The dune sloped down on either side of them as they sat in a line and watched the sky grow lighter. Finally, the orange sun peaked out from the horizon beyond. Weindling sprawled out in the sand and watched the glowing rays rise higher into the sky. This had to be what paradise felt like, she thought to herself.

***

And then it was over.

“Coming home was weird,” Weindling said. “It felt like I had never left.”

Posters from her friends lined her walls. A giant stuffed giraffe from her mom sat in the corner of her room. Her house felt like a castle, so much bigger than when she’d left three and a half months earlier. She immediately started getting rid of the unnecessary things that just a few months ago she couldn’t live without.

“Everything was so cluttered,” she said. “I just felt like there was stuff everywhere.”

Looking around her room, she thought back to the townships she’d walked through in Cape Town—the discombobulated wooden shacks, the tin rooves, the barefoot children playing in the dirty alleys.

“People were so content with so few things there,” Weindling said. “That’s what’s so difficult and hard to grasp, is that people here have so much more, and they’re never happy. And then you see so many people who I might consider have nothing, and they’re so happy.”

***

In Weindling’s room, a picture of the group on Dune 45 hangs on the wall right next to the picture of her real family, because the girls know her almost as well.

The picture shows them jumping in the air on top of the dune, High-School-Musical-style. The desert goes on for miles in front of them, meeting the sunrise at the distant horizon. The fifteen pairs of hands and feet are all caked in a solid layer of sand, but none of the girls seem to notice.

“You were just always dirty,” Weindling said. “There would be times when my feet were literally coated with dirt and sand, and yes, it was disgusting, but it was just another day in Africa. I miss those days.”

Kate Collison

“I was just stunned at seeing this place that just looked like a war zone. There’s no other way to describe it,” 2009 East graduate and current University of Southern California junior Kate Collison said. “I’d never been in a place like that before.”

In the last year, Tahrir Square has seen its fair share of bloodshed. In one November riot alone, at least 23 people died and 1,500 were injured. Police mercilessly beat protestors, broke up their camps, arrested anyone they saw as a threat, and shot rubber bullets into the crowds. And Collison was close enough to hear the shots fired.

“They threw tons and tons and tons of tear gas, and fired lots of rubber bullets. Those are normal crowd control methods, that’s what they use to break up protests in the U.S., but the amount they were using, that’s what the problem was,” Collison said. “People were suffocating on the tear gas… then they started using live ammunition, and actually killing people, and that’s absolutely when it got out of line.”

As Collison was faxing in her applications to go to Cairo, Egypt was erupting. In the past year, Egypt has been uprooted by a revolution, sparked by the ousting of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president of nearly 30 years. Even as the distress continued in Egypt, Collison was still determined to go to a place where she would learn something new. She was confident that she would be able to stay safe.

“[My friends in Cairo] said that on the news, these events and protests seem really huge and seem like they’re all through Cairo, that they’re affecting everyone,” Collison said. “The reality was that it’s only happening in a really small part of the city… and everyday life really hasn’t changed. That made me and my parents feel a lot better about it.”

While in Egypt, Collison stayed in a USC dorm on the quiet, peaceful island of Zamalek. For the first few months of her stay, the riots were a far-off and forgettable problem that barely affected her as she attended classes and visited with friends. That all changed the week of Thanksgiving.

One November night, a fellow student came back to the dorm late and told Collison that one of their friends was still in Tahrir Square with two other students. They didn’t think much of it until the boys didn’t come back to the dorm the next day. Then they started seeing the tweets about three American students arrested in the square. They quickly called to inform the American Embassy of the arrests.

“The whole thing was just really surreal,” Collison said. “Every time we would turn on the TV, we would see our friend’s face there… Thanksgiving day, he was still in jail, and we were so nervous and worried, and then Thanksgiving afternoon, we found out that he had been released. It was the best Thanksgiving present ever.”

The riots had finally impacted her, but it only made Collison more careful. She learned that Cairo indeed was a hectic and sometimes dangerous place. But Collison still found what she was looking for there. She found a place that reminded her to be thankful for the clean, quiet streets and clean air she knew she would find back home.

“There’s trash everywhere, and there’s so much pollution, and there are so many people there, and there’s lots of traffic,” Collison said. “But I really think that it’s those moments that, though they’re frustrating at the time… it really makes you appreciate what you have at home that you don’t think of every day.”

Although many tourists feared the unrest and avoided Egypt in the last year, Collison explained that the riots were less widespread and severe than the media portrayed them to be. Since she was staying in a quiet, safe area, she was able to avoid the protests and still enjoy being a part of life in Cairo.

“[In Egypt], I think people try to just take time to enjoy life, and listen to live music, and dance, and sing,” Collison said. “That’s a huge part of the culture there, just to celebrate living…and I definitely think America could learn a little bit of that.”

So, as she stood in Tahrir Square last December, Collison thought of all the things she was lucky to have at home. As she looked at the broken glass in the street, she was thankful for her safety. The burn stains on the buildings made her appreciate that she didn’t have to fight for her right to a clean election in the United States. And as she stared at the burnt out cars that lay empty in the streets, she was grateful for her opportunity to learn about a culture she would never have known before.

Brendan Dulohery | Harbinger Online

The entire IB Precalculus class heard it, the telltale vibration of an iPhone against the hard metal of a desktop. Junior Eden McKissick-Hawley, the owner the sound, waited a few moments until the teacher’s disapproving eyes were no longer upon her and then swiped across her phone’s screen to open the distracting Twitter notification.

McKissick-Hawley’s hands started shaking. She was no longer worried about getting caught with her phone. She just kept refreshing her feed over and over again to make sure it wasn’t a mistake: Elle Fanning had favorited one of her tweets.

This is important, not because McKissick-Hawley is a particular fan of Fanning’s role in “Super 8” or her involvement with designer Marc Jacobs. It’s not because she regularly tweets pictures of her stylings at celebrities. McKissick-Hawley works at Her Majesty’s closet, a couture consignment shop in Corinth Square. As a student, her involvement in both the aesthetic and business side of Her Majesty’s Closet have resulted in her unique task of revitalizing the store. McKissick-Hawley’s job as a stylist and PR representative developed her interest in ethics that digs farther than her involvement in debate, a feeling of responsibility for her job and a love of fashion that spans from vintage hatboxes to $12,000 fur coats to the individual styles of celebrities like Fanning.

“It made it really meaningful that she took the time to do that,” McKissick-Hawley said. “Little things like this have given me motivation to try and make it in the fashion industry— something that has always felt nearly impossible.”

***

“Hair ties off wrists, everyone! Lean back, like put your arm behind you. Pretend you’re in your room naked, dancing around or something!”

McKissick-Hawley stands on the torn, maroon vinyl cushion of a rickety wicker chair, shouting out orders to her impromptu models, friends from East. Junior Maaike Slosse wears a strapless velvet gown with a length of fur around the waist and poses for McKissick-Hawley’s camera against a white sheet of paper. A sign reading “WPA by Her Majesty’s Closet” lies on the floor. The unfinished space that will soon turn into a bigger Her Majesty’s Closet is filled with racks of tweed jackets, velvet and fur dresses and plaid scarves, but the floor is littered with stray heels and half a dozen makeup bags. It’s as if a vintage couture shop has exploded in an all-girls slumber party.

These photoshoots are McKissick-Hawley’s favorite thing to orchestrate when it comes to her job as a stylist and a PR representative, and are just one example of the accountability she holds as an employee at Her Majesty’s Closet.

“It’s great for me in terms of creativity, but also responsibility,” McKissick-Hawley said. “Here I’m respected because I care about the store and care about what I do. And if I make a mistake, then it affects not only me and possibly my paycheck but the company and the customers.”

McKissick-Hawley feels that her job holds more weight because of the nature of Her Majesty’s Closet. The consequences of losing or damaging a piece of clothing are different because each item is one-of-a-kind. Mistakes McKissick-Hawley makes in selling or buying pieces affects the company deeply due to its nature as a small, family-owned business.

This department that she oversees hasn’t always been hers to take care of. McKissick-Hawley started by doing inventory and other basic jobs around the store. Over the six months that she’s been there, she has gained control of a section of the store dedicated to high school girls as well as her job as a PR representative.

“We’re very happy with her because she’ll be here two years and can grow with the business,” owner Barbara Bloch said. “Over time, she’s shown that she wants a bigger role within the company— and that role has been bringing in a different demographic of teenage girls.”

McKissick-Hawley didn’t originally expect the amount of creative freedom that comes with her job. The 25 to 40 hours a week she works are spent not behind a cash register, selling designer pants to 50- and 60-year-old women, but coming up with new ways to revitalize the store. Within a week, McKissick-Hawley hopes to have the online store up for Her Majesty’s Closet— a task that requires taking photos, writing copy and putting online thousands of pieces. McKissick-Hawley hopes that this will expand their market by allowing the beauty of their clothing to be more accessible to girls here in Kansas City and customers around the country.

***

“A consignment store is not a thrift store.”

McKissick-Hawley is adamant about the nature of Her Majesty’s Closet. Unlike Goodwill or Plato’s Closet, Her Majesty’s Closet puts an emphasis on the history of a piece and the client who sells it to them. McKissick-Hawley attributes her interest in history to her job. To her, there’s something fascinating about touching and wearing an item that has its own story and origin.

And this is what McKissick-Hawley truly loves about the store— she loves asking the clients about where the clothing is from. Sometimes, while she is working, clients’ tears spring up as quickly as their memories do when giving away a sentimental item.
According to McKissick-Hawley, these moments happen at least once a week. Despite the frequency of these occurrences, some items stick in McKissick-Hawley’s head— items such as a vintage Oscar de la Renta gown, a Degas sketch or almost two dozen old hats in lavish pillboxes.

An older lady and her husband brought the hats into Her Majesty’s Closet. And as she opened them, one by one, she told McKissick-Hawley about them: where they had been worn, who made it, how old it was. All of them were different, yet shared one thing in common: her husband had given all of them to her. And as the she took one of the last hats from its box, not her, but her husband broke into tears. He had watched the other ones go— the hats from the honeymoon, from balls, from symphonies, from birthdays— but this was the hat he had given her before he proposed. He couldn’t bear to see it go, but they in their old age, they felt that there was no room for them— in their house or in those of their children.

“We’re not here to take your things and just make money off of them,” McKissick-Hawley said. “If the customer cries when giving something to us, we don’t take it.”
That day, despite his previous assurances that he would be fine, McKissick-Hawley put the engagement hat in a bag and gave it to him just before he left.

***

McKissick-Hawley’s job at Her Majesty’s Closet has not only given her an appreciation for history and clients’ stories, but for the fashion industry as a whole and the issues that come with it— from environmental concerns about manufacturing to sweatshops where goods can be made cheaply to intellectual property theft. This has piqued her interest and created a focus for her in law— and in fashion. McKissick-Hawley believes that reusing clothing and appreciating the ideas and fabrics are dynamics that most people don’t realize.

“People either get it, or they don’t,” McKissick-Hawley said. “Someone will walk into the store and either they’ll pick up a beautiful leather Prada shoe, look at the price sticker and gasp and walk away, or they’ll gasp and say ‘I have to have to have these.’”

And fashion, according to McKissick-Hawley , is understanding the meaning behind pieces such as 40-year-old hats and the process of creating something new out of a mishmash of vintage and modern, couture and dollar-store. She hopes that she can be a part of the fashion industry in the future, even if that means simply that she will continue to visit consignment stores in other towns or have a love of fashion.

“What I love is law and fashion, so why can’t I do both? I want to change the industry for the better; it doesn’t have to be disgusting and superficial,” McKissick-Hawley said. “Fashion is going to be something I try to talk about and write about and be a part of any way I can. And Her Majesty’s Closet is a place where I feel I can be a part of it.”

Freelancer

The Freelancer, East’s literary magazine, started off the year with two senior editors, Sarah King and Duri Long, along with a staff of between four and five

Molly Howland

people– some members would come to certain meetings while others would not. The staff list fluctuated as time wore on, some members left while others joined. Throughout the first semester, King and Long talked to students and put up posters in the hallways in an attempt to attract new staff members. By the end of first semester, the staff had grown to nearly fifteen people from every grade level.

One of the main goals for the Freelancer and its head editors, King and Long, is to increase the different types of submissions to the publication along with the general knowledge of what the Freelancer is and what sort of things they publish.

   ”We want to be more well rounded with the group of submitters,” King said. “It didn’t work out so well, but we wanted to expand to other things such as music or recipes.”

Even through all of the growth and the change this year, the overall idea for the Freelancer has stayed the same–increasing the variety of submitter and growing the staff numbers. Talking to their peers, Sarah King and Duri Long have found that some students still don’t know what the Freelancer is and what types of content are published in it.

 However, along with the expansion of the magazine comes some difficultys. The staff of 15 students, along with advisor Laura Beachy, must do everything for the magazine–from selling and publicizing, to editing and designing.

This can cause the Freelancer to put certain jobs on the backburner. One of these jobs is publicity. Most of the staffs time is spent putting together the different pages, leaving little time for the staff to go out and sell subscriptions and publicize the magazine.

One of the other struggles for King and Long is finding more people to help increase the size of their staff and more evenly distribute tasks.

“There are so many clubs at East that it’s hard for all of the different clubs to get a group of people together who want to work on it and get it put together,” King said.

Stage Managers

For four and a half hours after school and on Saturday mornings, walking down the hallway next to the main gym sounds of the crew for the East musical can be heard. The stage managers and assistant stage managers are in charge of an assortment of things on the play from painting sets to calling timing cues.

“Because of my position, I do an assortment of things,” assistant stage manager Chloe Vollenweider said. “I mostly help keep the show going and get actors on stage. When there is a change in scenery or props, I make sure that it gets done correctly and on time.”

With all of the responsibilites of being a member of the crew also comes with a large time commitment, sometimes making it difficult to find time for homework.

“The hardest part is the really long hours,” Vollenweider said. “ Finishing your homework can be a challenge, sometimes you’re there ‘til nine and then you have to go home and find time to finish your homework and sleep.”

Molly Howland

For some members of the staff, participating in musicals is not only a source of enjoyment, but also possible career path for acting. Many of the staff and managers of the crew have been putting in these kinds of hours for years. Many of the crew for musicals started their acting careers in different ways, from starting acting at the age of six to trying out for Frequent Fridays on their first full day of freshman year.

“Freshman year I didn’t know anyone,” junior stage manager Dani Mader said. “This girl in my art class kept telling me to come to an art day, I finally got tired of her asking so I went and ended up really liking it.”

Looking back on how crew members felt for thier first muscial, stage managers look to offer a piece of advice to current freshman and incoming freshman.

“Dont be intimidated,” Mader said. “We are all really close, so freshman get scared, but we are really nice and will help you if you just ask.”

Team Managers

For four and a half hours after school and on Saturday mornings, walking down the hallway next to the main gym sounds of the crew for the East musical can be heard. The stage managers and assistant stage managers are in charge of an assortment of things on the play from painting sets to calling timing cues.

“Because of my position, I do an assortment of things,” assistant stage manager Chloe Vollenweider said. “I mostly help keep the show going and get actors on stage. When there is a change in scenery or props, I make sure that it gets done correctly and on time.”

With all of the responsibilites of being a member of the crew also comes with a large time commitment, sometimes making it difficult to find time for homework.

“The hardest part is the really long hours,” Vollenweider said. “ Finishing your homework can be a challenge, sometimes you’re there ‘til nine and then you have to go home and find time to finish your homework and sleep.”

For some members of the staff, participating in musicals is not only a source of enjoyment, but also possible career path for acting. Many of the staff and

Molly Howland

managers of the crew have been putting in these kinds of hours for years. Many of the crew for musicals started their acting careers in different ways, from starting acting at the age of six to trying out for Frequent Fridays on their first full day of freshman year.

“Freshman year I didn’t know anyone,” junior stage manager Dani Mader said. “This girl in my art class kept telling me to come to an art day, I finally got tired of her asking so I went and ended up really liking it.”

Looking back on how crew members felt for thier first muscial, stage managers look to offer a piece of advice to current freshman and incoming freshman.

“Dont be intimidated,” Mader said. “We are all really close, so freshman get scared, but we are really nice and will help you if you just ask.”

Grade: 12

When He Began: “Probably when I was about five. It was a way for me to connect with my mom.”

Favorite Meal To Cook: Braised chicken with homemade gnocchi (an Italian potato pasta), roasted root vegetables, braising jus, and shaved parmesan (This recipe will be featured in the Kansas City Star on January 18th).

Advice: “You need to have a persisting passion. You need to be patient, optimistic, but you need to be able to persevere. You need to be patient, but you need to have a sense of urgency as well. Don’t do it unless you love it.”

Future: “I plan to go to school in North or South Carolina and work for, hopefully, either Chef Tom Condron of The Liberty of Charlotte  or Chef Graham Daley of Peninsula Grill of Charleston.”

Chicken and Gnocchi (Serves 6)

For the Spice Sachet:

6 peppercorns

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

5 stems fresh parsley

For the chicken:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

10 chicken thighs

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1/2 medium onion, minced

1 1/4 cups white cooking wine

2 cups chicken stock

For the gnocchi:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes

2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons goat cheese

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups bread flour

3/4 cup cake flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Assemble the spice sachet by placing peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and parsley into the center of a 6-inch square of cheesecloth. Draw up each end of the square, keeping all spices in the center, and tie ends together with a piece of cotton twine to create a bundle. Set aside.
3. To braise the chicken: Into an oven-safe cast iron Dutch oven, melt butter and olive oil together over high heat.
4. Place chicken thighs, skin side down, in pot for 2 minutes, or until skin turns golden brown. Flip chicken and allow it to cook on other side. After 1 minute, turn heat down to medium, and add garlic, shallot and onion and sauté until translucent.
5. Pour in white wine, reduce heat to medium and allow liquid to reduce to about ½ cup.
6. Pour in stock and add spice sachet.
7. When liquid comes to a boil, remove from stovetop, cover pan tightly with lid and place into oven.
8. Braise chicken for 2 hours, or until it is falling off the bone. Allow mixture to cool before deboning chicken. Reserve all thigh meat and strain all pan juices for later use. Place chicken pieces and pan juices into separate containers and place in refrigerator.
9. To make the gnocchi: while chicken is braising, spread 1 tablespoon olive oil onto a large baking sheet. Add potatoes to baking sheet, covering with oil and seasoning with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Place in oven to roast for 55 minutes.
10. Into a medium mixing bowl, stir egg yolks, goat and Parmesan cheeses, basil, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt together. Set aside.
11. When potatoes are fork tender, remove from oven, cut in half length-wise and allow to cool.
12. Add 8 cups water to a clean Dutch oven, season with reserved 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
13. Press cooled potatoes through a ricer and place into a separate large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of riced potatoes.
14. Add egg yolk / cheese mixture into the center of the potatoes. Stir until ingredients are just incorporated.
15. Add bread and cake flours to mixture. Fold mixture together by hand, without kneading. Gently work mixture until a soft dough forms. Do not over mix.
16. Onto a lightly floured surface, gently roll dough out into a log that is ¾-inch wide. Using a sharp knife, cut dough log into ¾-inch pieces.
17. Grease a clean baking sheet with reserved 1 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.
18. Place 12 pieces of cut dough into boiling water. When dough pieces float to the top of the pot, turn heat off and allow boiled gnocchi to sit for 30-45 seconds in the water. Carefully scoop gnocchi out using a fine mesh sieve and place onto prepared baking sheet.
19. Repeat process until all dough is used and gnocchi are cooked. Place tray of gnocchi into refrigerator.

To serve: Skim the fat off of cooled, reserved pan juices and place into a large sauté pan. Melt fat over high heat and add gnocchi to the pan. Sauté until gnocchi become caramel colored. Add in reserved chicken and braising liquid and heat through.

Dish can be garnished with additional salt and pepper, butter and shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Note: Hendry prefers Montrachet, French goat’s milk cheese. He may also add ½ cup sautéed Enoki mushrooms, ½ cup fresh peas and 3 roasted carrots, cut into a 1-inch dice, when heating chicken and braising liquid.

Per serving: 569 calories (38 percent from fat), 22 grams total fat (6 grams saturated), 162 milligrams cholesterol, 58 grams carbohydrates, 24 grams protein, 2,376 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

Chocolate Chip Carrot Cake

1 1/2 Cups of Flour

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar

1 1/4 Tsp of Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp of Salt

Beat Together:

3 Eggs

3/4 Cup of Oil

1 1/2 tsp of Vanilla

Gradually mix into dry mixture

Stir in:

2 Cups of Grated Carrots

2 Cups of Chocolate Chips

1/2 Cup of Walnuts

Pour into greased and floured 13×9 pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes

Frosting:

3 Oz of Cream Cheese

1/4 Cup of Margarine

2 Cups of Powdered Sugar

1 Tsp of Vanilla

Grade: 12

Training: “I am mostly self-taught and beyond that I have only taken a few school classes.”

Inspired by: “Art reflects my emotion and what I personally am feeling. It’s not influenced by a particular artist, more the world around me.”

Future Plans: “I would love to continue with photography. I currently have a 365 going and I would like to either do another one next year or maybe a 52 [similar to a 365 but once a week]. I would also like to take some classes in college.”

A little about the pieces:   The leaves that form a boat is one of Leyann’s favorite pieces, entitled the “Maple SS”.  ”I like my pieces to focus more on simplicity and not flamboyance. It has a deeper meaning to me than what most see when they look at it.” The big bowl with a leaf pattern is also of significance to the artist. She feels that it symbolizes the first time she was recognized as an artist, when she and other classmates toured the Missouri River and put together an art gallery.

***

The most difficult aspect of running for Marquis isn’t the pain. It’s not the multiple injuries she has suffered over the past three years, not the up-hill climbs during a 12 mile run or the blackish-purple blisters of blood that form underneath her toe nails from running seven days a week. The hardest part for Marquis is taking a day off.

Marquis’ ambition for running goes back to her freshman year at East in 2006, when she first discovered cross country and track.

“It was simpler then,” Marquis said. “I liked it because it was something I was really good at and felt motivated to work at even more because of that.”

Her training in high school earned Marquis a scholarship to run to run cross country and track at KU. The offer had been something Marquis had yearned for ever since she realized her talent for the sport freshman year. Marquis’ best friend and former coach, Tricia Beaham, has watched Marquis grow from the moment she joined the cross country team. After high-school, Beaham and Marquis frequently kept in touch, and now call each other as often as once a week to catch up.

“She has this diligence about running that is remarkable,” Beaham said. “She puts in so much time and effort, but it was something that made her happy too.”

Even with her drive, the glitz of collegiate running began to wear off when Marquis entered her freshman year at KU. Instead of the 35 – 40 mile a week runs Marquis was used to in high-school, she and other teammates were now clocking in at 90 miles a week. Marquis would see a nutritionist every day, advising her with a regimented diet to make sure her caloric intake was sustaining her.

Marquis had to make sure she could balance out the 1,000 calories she was burning some days. The change was like a freight train to her body.

“I think a lot of people believe that once you compete in college, you’re just in love with it,” Marquis said. “You have days though, where you’re just exhausted and my body definitely went through shock.”

Marquis eventually found herself having frequent hip problems, an injury she noticed that was gradually becoming more painful which affected her stride because they were out of alignment. Marquis had to take daily trips to the trainer for her hips to be pulled in and out of their sockets to get them normally aligned again. Later in her sophomore year, Marquis was hit with a stress fracture in the bone of her foot, a common, yet serious injury for many track athletes where the weight-bearing bone in the foot is cracked because of overworking the muscles from the impact of her feet constantly hitting the ground.

“It’s frustrating because it’s not muscle so you can’t massage it out, you can’t heat it,” Marquis said. “You have to take a lengthy break because that’s your bone healing.”

By the spring season of her sophomore year, Marquis healed enough to hop back on the track with her teammates. During an intense practice one day, Marquis began to feel the same pain she had felt in her foot just months before. It was unbearable and sudden. Just days before she was feeling the healthiest she had felt in weeks. The bone in her foot had fractured again. Marquis had to stop her training, and decided to quit for a few months.

“It literally happened like one day I was on the roads fine and then the next day it was like I couldn’t take a step,” Marquis said. “The sudden injuries are the hardest because a couple days earlier you were having a great run and feeling it.”

Even with a successful fall season her junior year, Marquis felt like she had hit a brick wall, not enjoying the short distances as much as she once did. She was in a funk. She had lost the desire she had felt in high-school to run every day – she was no longer running because she loved it; she was running because she felt she had to.

“My heart and mind always go back to the longer distances,” Marquis said. “I love just pushing the body just to see how far you can go before it breaks down.”

***

Thousands of people pile behind the blue starting pads – 5k runners, half marathon runners and the marathon runners – the air still crisp so the fog from their breath creates a collective cloud of exhaling.

“Five minutes runners! Five minutes!” The starter announces over a megaphone. Marquis thinks back to what Beaham told her the night before.

“She’s one of those people who will go out and say ‘Wow, I feel good let’s keep going this pace’,” Beaham said. “With a marathon though, you can’t do that so I told her to ease into her pace, and gradually up her speed with each mile.”

“One minute racers! One minute!” The starter yells again. Marquis’ heart-rate elevates – not because she is nervous and not because she is afraid. Despite losing valuable warm-up time beforehand, Marquis remains calm. She knows this feeling.

“10, nine, eight, seven, six, five…” The crowd joins in as the starter counts down until the long “beeeep,” sounds the start. Like a school of fish, the runners cross the starting pads in clumps of 40.

Marquis treats her first four miles like a warm-up, just as Beaham told her, running steadily to the rhythm of the up-beat rap playing from the iPod strapped around her arm.

By her fourth mile into the race, Marquis feels her hips and calves tightening up. She tries to shake out the strain in her muscles, but the cold air prevents any relief.

“Run through it,” Marquis thinks to herself. “Just go another hour and see how you feel.”

By mile nine, Marquis has loosened up. Two more miles pass, then three, then five. At the half, Marquis remembers why she started running in the first place. She picks her feet up quickening into a seven minute pace.

“Keep it rolling,” Marquis repeats the phrase in her mind. “Keep it rolling.”

At 15, Marquis realizes she is first in the women’s race. As she passes more mile signs, Marquis feels her hips locking again. The next four miles are hell. She lifts her head up and sees a girl in front of her.

“Catch up to her,” Marquis tells herself. “Pass her.”

Marquis pushes herself past the other runner, only to realize she wasn’t in the race, but she doesn’t look back. She goes through a highway underpass and up a small, gradual hill leading to the finish. There are no other female marathon runners in front of her, only the tunnel of onlookers bundled in blankets and coats and the giant clock above the blue finish mats. Marquis takes a deep breath and takes her final steps of her first marathon. She looks at the clock as she crosses: “3:10.”

“The second you cross the finish line you’re exhausted,” Marquis said. “But, it’s such a good feeling.”

***

A black Jeep Liberty rests outside of a house on W. 20th Street in Lawrence, KS. The back windshield of the liberty displays a red and blue bumper sticker that reads in bold letters “KU TRACK.” A petite, blue-eyed blonde dressed in a baby-blue, dry-fitted zip up and Adidas running leggings opens the screen door to the house, as a little, brown fur ball sprints past her, into the front yard. “Trixie! Trixie, come back inside,” the blonde yells in a bubbly tone to a small Yorkie.

Inside the house, the chatter of three other girls is heard from the kitchen; laughing and joking, food sizzles on the stove. Framed photographs of KU track runners hang on the walls and sit on tables.

The photos of the track runners show a chapter in her life that Marquis is gradually closing. Just three weekends ago, Marquis ran her first marathon, the annual Thanksgiving Gobbler Grind, finishing first in the entire women’s race with a time of 3:10  – a time that qualified her for the Boston Marathon. Just a year ago, she was battling two stress fractures and a lack of passion she once had for the sport.

“(Running) is an every day thing,” Marquis said. “Some days you’ll really feel it and other days, you’ll just want to take a break, but once you just get out there, you feel better.”

Even after her successful finish in the marathon, Marquis continues to train. She is still unsure of whether she will run next fall, her senior year, but knows her track days are over. Marquis plans to run Beaham’s last marathon with her, supporting the coach who grew to be the person she calls once a week. She also plans to properly train for marathons in the future, including Boston, which she will run in two years.

Beaham sees something in Marquis that parallels with her own running career in high-school and college. She knows Allie will always continue to run, and is hopeful to see where it takes her.

“There’s this new frontier in running she’s willing to work hard to discover and go after,” Beaham said. “She’s got so much passion for the sport, but she’s excited about it too.”

Marquis continues to set new goals for herself, especially now that her spark for the sport has returned. She has been looking through Olympic time trial times on the internet and feels as though that could become a reality for her eventually.

“I want to run Chicago and New York too, and the Olympic trials are something I’ve been looking at lately” Marquis said. “There’s always something more to go after.”

Spring Gehring-Lowery – English Teacher

Spring Gehring-Lowery has been thrown, bucked and trampled by horses all her life. She says this is typical after a lifetime of horseback riding and training. Gehring-Lowry has always made herself get back on the horse. Except for the time she was knocked unconscious after falling underneath the hooves of her own horse, she couldn’t climb back onto the saddle.

“All I’ve ever wanted was to be with horses,” Gehring-Lowry said.

At the age of nine, Gehring-Lowry entered in her first competition. It was a 4-H club, which is a local event with different levels for kids. That year, Gehring-Lowry entered Ms. Kitty, her pony, and Patty Puff Special, her buckskin quarter horse.

Since Ms. Kitty and Patty Puff, she’s owned Shelly, Ahle, Allocate, Twister, and now, Aoife. Aoife is an Oldenburg, and Gehring-Lowry trained her herself.

Aoife is kept at Willow Creek Stables, where Gehring-Lowry visits at least five times a week. This allows Gehring-Lowry to be in touch with her “quiet” side.

“When I’m with horses, it’s like my moment of zen, and at risk of being sacrilegious , it’s my church,” Gehring-Lowry said. “It’s my moment when I feel completely quiet and I feel in tune with the world.”

Although the horses fulfill Gehring-Lowry’s sense of peace, it’s also been difficult. In addition to a horse lover, she’s an Honors English teacher, a wife and a mother. All four of these things are important to her, but finding time for them is hard.

“It’s caused arguments,” Gehring-Lowry said. “I know there are times where my daughter or my husband get frustrated because I’ve spent so much time with my horse. I love it, but at times riding does make me feel selfish.”

Gehring-Lowry’s had to do some “creative thinking” in order to please her family and herself. Because, to Gehring-Lowery, “riding horses is like music for a musician and art for an artist.”

“You can’t ask them to stop painting or stop making music,” Gehring-Lowry said.

Gehring-Lowery’s daughter, Kaela, started taking lessons when she was 10, but recently dropped out at the age of 12. Gehring-Lowery was disappointed, but didn’t push her daughter to continue on with something she doesn’t like.

That doesn’t stop Gehring-Lowery from asking Kaela to come to the barn with her. Sometimes she bribes Kaela with a trip to Culver’s.

“It’s probably one of the stupidest hobbies you can do because it’s terribly expensive, dangerous, you can get very badly hurt and even die,” Gehring-Lowery said. “It takes a ton of time…but yet, I love it. I absolutely love it. And I can’t imagine my life without horses.”

One of the horses at Kirin Stables rests in between practice runs. There are 30 different horses at Kirin Stables, of all different breeds. Sophomore Kathryn Sackett prefers riding Thoroughbred horses. “I like riding Thoroughbreds because they are more spirited,” Sackett said. “I’m not sure what kind of horse Leo is, but I like to ride him because he actually makes me work and pay attention when I’m riding,” Sackett said.

Sophomore Kathryn Sackett

Sophomore Kathryn Sackett has a feeling that her dad is going to get her a horse for Christmas. She’s been taking lessons since she was eight and hopes to one day compete in a show. But first, she would love to have a horse of her own.

“I would be so happy and thankful if I were to get a horse,” Sackett said.

Since she was eight, Sackett has been riding horses at Kirin Stables. Usually, she rides Leo, who is very sweet, Sackett explains, but can sometimes be stubborn.

“[I’ve] always loved horses,” Sackett said. “Taking lessons was the only way I could think to get close to them.”

When Sackett was 13, she started mentioning to her dad, Troy Sackett, that she wanted to start competing. His initial reaction was doubt. He thought she was going through a phase and would grow out of it. Although she has yet to compete in her first show, Sackett has attended the American Royal and the White Fox Manor competitions and would like to compete in show jumping and possibly cross country.

Sackett also believes that competing will look good on her resumé. She hopes to join the equestrian team in college, maybe at Minnesota State and Kansas State.

“I want to continue [riding] because it’s fun and I love the bond you form with the animal,” Sackett said. “The way you and the horse work together to achieve something.”

Sophomore Kathryn Sackett rides a horse named Leo. Sackett practices vertical jumps and courses two times a week at Kirin Stables. “I don’t compete now, but I hope to someday compete in jumping,” Sackett said.

Sophomore Lauren Weinrich

Dressage translates directly to English from French, meaning “to train.” It’s a type of style that horses compete in when they show. It’s “very complicated,” explained sophomore Lauren Weinrich, and there are multiple levels with different patterns of groundwork for each level. This is what Weinrich has been training horses to do in addition to groundwork with fouls.

“Horses make me happy,” Weinrich said. “I understand them.”

Ever since she can remember, horses have played a part in Weinrich’s life. Her mother, who grew up with horses, got her started at the age of four. She’s been riding ever since.

Five years ago, Weinrich and her family had a stallion named Dierderik imported from Holland. Throughout the years, they acquired mares along the way. When Dierderik and the mares produced fouls, the Weinrich family needed someone to train them.

“I figured I could do it myself,” Weinrich said. “Because I’m a decent enough rider.”

She has no set schedule, but she tries to get out to Pendragon Farms, which is in Liberty, Missouri, at least three times a week.

In her career, Weinrich has successfully trained six horses. She considers a horse to be fully trained when a horse is able to “do the basics,” which includes being able to go at a walk, trot and canter, which is a slow gallop. Weinrich usually starts training them when they’re about four years old. Usually, depending on the horse, training takes around a year to be complete.

When Weinrich is having trouble with a horse, her mom or other more experienced trainers are there to help. Each horse trained is a success for Weinrich.

“I feel proud,” Weinrich said. “I feel very proud of myself and the horse.”

Junior Anne Recker

Every year, junior Anne Recker travels to Estes Park, Colorado with her family to trail ride. This tradition started when Recker was six. It’s where she first fell in love with horseback riding.

Recker began taking horse lessons from Tara Passmore, a horse trainer, when she was an 11-year-old. She rides at Passmore’s house near Hillside Lake.

“She taught me how to actually ride,” Recker said. “Not just hang on.”

Recker and her family own three horses: Aurora, Star and Bambi and a mule named Rudy. Aurora, who is an American Paint Horse, belongs to Recker.

“[Aurora] has been a really good friend to me,” Recker said.

This fall, Recker competed in a series of rides called Competitive Trail Rides. There are simple obstacles like walking over a log, Recker explained, but there are also obstacles designed to frighten the horse. Ten points are judged for the horse, and 10 for the rider.

Recker won the competition. Her prize was called a Belt Buckle Award, which was “very cool,” according to Recker.

This past summer, Recker also worked at Jackson Stables, Inc. This is the same place she and her family ride every year in Estes Park.

“It’s my favorite thing ever,” Recker said. “Being out there, with all the horses.”

Freshman Katy Young

With her hair twisted into a tight bun at the base of her head and her black riding suit buttoned, freshman Katy Young trots into the Kemper Arena on her American Saddlebred, Scooter. Fearless, she trots around the arena a few times, letting each of the three judges observe how “animated and accurate” he is.

November 15-19 was Young’s second time competing in the American Royal. On Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon, she competed in Pleasure – a division open to mares and geldings shown by amateurs. Young finished fourth on Tuesday, winning $50. On Thursday, there were a total of 14 riders in Young’s division. She didn’t place.

Young has been taking horseback riding lessons since she was six, after two years of begging for her parents’ permission. Her trainer, Annalisa Hall, gives lessons every Thursday and sometimes Sunday at R&R Stables.

“I don’t feel like I’m good with school,” Young said. “But I do feel like I’m good at horse riding.”

Young’s hopes for the future include going to a college and studying to be a veterinarian for horses. So far, she’s looked at William Woods University, Kansas State University and the University of Missouri. She’s also interested in becoming a trainer and giving horseback riding lessons.

“When I’m near horses or in the barn, I feel whole,” Young said. “I feel like I can forget all of the problems I’m having in my life. I just ride.”

Q. How difficult are college courses compared to high school regular, AP, and honors courses? – Jack Kovarik

They are significantly more difficult than regular high school courses. A rule of thumb here is that each hour you spend in class, you should be spending 2-3 hours outside of it working on it. Like for my English course I do reading every night and I am generally working on an essay every week. In my math and combo Chem/biology course it is more doing problem sets. Tests are really challenging. The way testing is here, we had two midterms and a final this week, so there are only three tests that your entire grade is based upon. For my biochem class, the median grade on tests is a 65. You have to keep in mind during the test that it is OK if you aren’t getting it, because no one really is.

Q. How do you spend your time daily? – Louis Ridgway

I get up earlier than most, so I can get work done. I get up at 6:45 and I study for a little, head to breakfast and go to my earliest class at 8:45. I study more right after that class and then head to lunch (sometimes) and then I go to the library around one and then I go to the gym and then dinner and then sleep. I know, it sounds really exciting but that is my average day. It’s a lot, but I have breaks in there.

Caroline Barnett, Kalamazoo

Q. What is the hardest part about being on your own (moving away)? – Casey Schmidt

I think the hardest part is just adjusting to new experiences. For awhile its hard adjusting to a new community because you’ve spent so much time in one community. You have to figure out a new way to fit in and meet people. I think the best way to meet friends is to have no anxiety about it. You’re always going to be nervous, but you just have to push past that and try new things. Just go out and start a conversation with someone you don’t know; everyone is pretty much in the same boat as you not knowing anyone on campus.

Q. What is the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make? - Morgan Satterlee

I have found that the type of work that you are doing in college is a whole different way to think about things. Instead of doing ten problems of math and reading a chapter for an English class, it’s more like reading 100 pages for each class and then discussing it the next day. You have to get better at time management. There is always stuff going on on campus and after awhile you want to do all of it, but you have to realize “I can’t do everything, I have to take a break and go do homework.” You have to balance work and social life.

Henry Foster, KU

Q. Is joining a fraternity a good idea? - Michael Esselman

I definitely think it is a good idea because if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t know as many people. This way you are automatically thrown into a group of friends that you get to know throughout the year and then can be friends for the rest of your lives. Academically, without being in it and having the competition I wouldn’t get the grades I have. For guys we just have rush parites throughout the year and it is an informal way to get to know everyone. I know some fraternities have really big parties where they drink, but we don’t drink at ours.

Q. What’s the hardest thing about living with a roommate? – Heather Hartong

I technically have 20 other roommates. I love it because you get to know everyone so much better and quickly and it is just a central meeting area too. A lot of parties actually happen in the locker room [where the boys live]. The girls love the locker room, which is cool too. It’s basically just a big room with a bunch of open closets in two lines across the room. We also have a common sleeping dorm which is called “The Roost” and in theory everyone is supposed to have their own bed but we actually have too many people. It’s really not hard at all to live with these guys, it’s really cool.

Katy Richardson, TCU

Q. Is it better to go Greek or be an independent? – Kellie Johnson

I would say that going Greek at TCU has been a really positive thing and I’m really glad I did. College is really different and when you are just thrown into it it gives you a really great outlet to make friends right off the bat. It gives you a smaller community within the bigger community. I think if you are not really sure what you want to do you should just try it out and you don’t have to stick with it. I actually really enjoyed rush, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I went into it thinking ‘alright, well this will be fun.’ You just go to all of the houses with a group and talk to girls from each of the houses. At first it was a little intimidating, but I got the hang of it. The whole rush process allows you to see what philanthrophies the house does, what kind of events they do and the kind of girls they look for.

Ross Guignon, Illinois

Q. What is the biggest perk of being a college athlete? – Caroline Dodd

A lot of things. For starters, you are given an unbelievable amount of resources. We actually have our own academic center and we are required to come to it as freshman for ten hours a week. As far as academics go, that side of it is pretty incredible. We also get a lot of different clothes, which is awesome. We  get practice clothes to wear to practice and there are also a bunch of other clothes they give you that you can wear around. I get my laundry done for me (laughs), I don’t think everyone gets that done for them.

Q. How do you manage your time with the responsibilities of independent living, homework and extra activities? – Shannon McGinley

That’s actually the most important thing. I’m usually pretty good with time management, but I got hit pretty hard when I first came with how much work I had. It is really a matter of taking advantage of your down time and knocking out some studying or knocking out some small things that usually you put off. But if you are able to stay on top of the small things, then it really opens up time at night if you just want to relax and watch TV. And always keep a planner.

Sarah Genton, KSU

Q. What is the easiest way to make friends? - Carolyn Welter

I’ve made a lot of friends that live in the same dorm as me. I think that living in the dorms your freshman year is a really good idea, because you’re bascially just living with those girls on your floor and it’s not hard to just knock on their doors and hang out. I’m in a four girl room and I knew Mary Joyce [her roommate] and she knew another girl and then the last girl we went pot luck with. It has worked out really well so far because we all really get along. I don’t recommend rooming with your best friend, especially alone. I recommend going pot luck for sure.

Q. Freshman 15: Myth or fact? – Emma Cousineau

It’s hard to adapt. You come from home where you are eating healthy food that is constantly provided for you that is obviously free. But if you know how to make the right choices, then you aren’t going to gain 15 pounds. One section of the dining hall is Mexican food and then there is Italian food and they always have hamburgers and hotdogs and deli meats and soup and salad. They also have ice cream, which is the worst part for me. They give you a lot of options, but it’s just really about picking the right option. You also walk everywhere, so you don’t realize how much you are actually doing.

Junior Stefano Byer stands in the Italian Alps mountains during his vacation there with his family last summer.

Some of Stefano’s friends make fun of him for wearing a seat belt. Racing through Italian cities, these young Italians consider the speed normal, not reckless.

“Never drive with an Italian,” Stefano said.

Stefano’s driving experiences are an example of the two greatest contradictions in his life: Italy and America. Students who grow up in multicultural homes, like Stefano or Korean-American sisters freshman Rachel and junior Jeemin Kim, are shaped by their cultural inheritance by interests, careers and language.

Stefano spends almost 11 months a year in Kansas City, home to his father and that half of his extended family, but he stays with his mother’s parents every summer since he was born, speaking and thinking in Italian. In these few weeks, Stefano and his family are immersed in Italian culture in everything from food and family to architecture, until they return to his American life in Kansas City after six weeks.

Growing up with two different cultures has affected Stefano in more ways than his tendency to swear at other drivers under his breath in Italian when he’s behind the wheel. For him, being exposed to Italy while growing up in both American and Italian culture has shaped not only his perceptions of the world, but also his hobbies.

“I kind of fell in love with art after going to the Vatican,” Stefano said. “I’ve always liked architecture, always liked photography and taking pictures of architecture, but after visiting the Vatican Museum, I appreciated art a lot more.”

His time spent in Italy has given Stefano exposure to both his interests and his future career. Stefano believes that everyday life in Prairie Village doesn’t show the hardships of life like a big city like Turin, Italy does. While Johnson County, one of the most affluent counties in the United States, is, in his opinion, a great place to grow up, he plans to move abroad. He hopes to go to college in Italy and thereafter do humanitarian work with Doctors Without Borders in less fortunate areas.

“I want to help other people, people that have nothing–especially in comparison to Prairie Village,” Stefano said.

Stefano’s mother, Silvia Byer, is a native of Italy. She believes that Stefano’s goals reflect how spending six weeks in Italy every year of his life has given him a more worldly perspective.

Stefano’s desire to go to college abroad has fueled his decision to enroll in the International Baccalaureate program. By the end of his senior year, he will take tests in six subjects that are standardized across the globe, making his high school credits easier to transfer to an Italian college.

“The fact that he is in the IB program is an indicator that he feels this international atmosphere within the household and within himself,” Silvia said.

Italy and his cultural inheritance have defined Stefano’s interests and plans for the future. However, other multicultural students, such as Rachel and Jeemin Kim, embrace their inheritance without being defined by it.

The Kim family is from South Korea. Unlike Stefano, Rachel and Jeemin don’t think twice about the culture contrast between their Korean parents and their peers’ parents.

“Over the years, it’s just become part of who I am,” Rachel said. “We’re in both cultures pretty equally and I wouldn’t call myself completely American or completely Korean.”

In 1996, when Jeemin was one year old, she and her parents moved to Wisconsin, where Rachel was born, to follow a job opportunity for her father. The two have grown up and lived all of their lives in America and are therefore more accustomed to American culture with Korean influences, especially predominant in language.

According to Korean custom of using titles, Rachel never simply calls Jeemin by her first name but rather uses “eonni,” a Korean term used for an older sister.

“At home, when I’m talking to my sister or my parents, we use a mixture of Korean and English–we call it Kanglish,” Jeemin said. “My sister and I have this unspoken agreement that we never speak Korean to each other. It’s just awkward because we both know that English is more comfortable for the both of us.”

For Rachel, growing up in America has given her a piece of two cultures. According to Rachel, though it can sometimes be difficult, growing up in a bilingual home has been a unique experience. She’s happy to have been able to learn not only two languages while growing up, but two lifestyles.

Two lifestyles are exactly what Stefano’s mother had envisioned for her son. Thanks to her efforts, Stefano has retained Italian culture and is fluent in Italian even without contact with many other Italians while in Kansas.

Sisters Jeemin and Rachel Kim pose with their grandparents on Geojedo Island off the coast of Korea in 2009.

“He integrates himself fairly easily in both cultures which was my goal, in fact, of making him comfortable in both worlds,” Silvia said.

Belonging to two cultures is a unique part of Stefano, Rachel and Jeemin’s lives that gives them a different worldview than their peers.

“I know that my life has been completely different from most people at East by being in a different culture at home than at school,” Rachel said. “It’s not living in two different worlds, but it feels like it sometimes.”

Anna Danciger | Harbinger Online

As the story comes to a close, the Choraliers madly erupt into applause and cheers.

This is Nick Lee, who student-taught in the choral program at East for eight weeks. Lee, who is studying at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska, is planning on getting his degree of Bachelor of Science in Education, endorsed in Vocal Music and Drama and then graduating in the Spring.

Mr. Lee found out about Ken Foley, the choir director at East, when a student at Concordia, who previously had Mr. Foley as a teacher at Pembroke, told Lee that it would be a great opportunity to learn under him as he student taught.

“After the fact, I said ‘Hey, I had a student from Pembroke who went up to Concordia, do you happen to know Whitney Cain?’” Foley said. “He said, ‘Yeah, that’s the reason I found you, because she said you should go work with Mr. Foley in Kansas City.’ It’s sort of a small world type of deal.”

In order to find out more about the choir that Lee was about to direct, he decided to make the four hour drive to East on a Wednesday night for the fall choral concert. Lee wanted to get the chance to hear the choirs before choosing songs for them to sing at their next concert.

“I was really nervous the first time I walked in the school because I just had no idea what I was getting into,” Lee said. “It’s weird sitting there in that seat and watching these students, all of whom I was about to get to know really well and listening to this beautiful concert that they had put on and spent all these weeks preparing.”Lee was finally able to meet Mr. Foley after the concert. The man who up until this point he’d only heard about, read about and seen in pictures online. Lee calls meeting Foley a “surreal experience.”

Anna Danciger | Harbinger Online

Even with all the driving that evening, Lee was still energized and ready to start being a part of East.

“I got in the car and we started driving home,” Lee said. “You think I’d be tired from all the driving, but I was so ecstatic, just so excited to get down here. It was a good kick off, even though I did get home at 1:30 in the morning.”

Despite his current dedication to choir, Lee wasn’t always planning on going into music. Originally he started out at the University of Nebraska Kearney, where Lee, a percussionist by trade, was a part of the drumline. At the time he was looking to go into medicine, but a single experience changed his mind.

“We were singing Handel’s Messiah and right in the middle of that piece, something just hit me,” Lee said. “I just was so taken by the musicality of that and I just decided that I wanted to devote my life to music, so I decided right then that I was going to become a music teacher.”

In order to pursue his new career path, he transferred to the University of Concordia back in Seward, his hometown, because he was looking for a more challenging choir program than the one offered at his previous university.

In the middle of October, when Lee showed up at East on his first day teaching, he didn’t know what to expect. Between the sheer number of kids and fear of the unknown Lee was “terrified.”

Lee quickly became integrated into the choir program as he got to know people and as students had the opportunity to discover his personality.

***

It was a Friday, and just like other Fridays, the piano was in the center of the choir room, with all of the students circled around Lee as he led them through warm-ups.

“I’ll never forget the first time I was telling the Choraliers this dream I had about this crocodile encounter,” Lee said. “For whatever reason, [at] the last second I decided it was a good idea to tell 155 strangers about the weirdest dream I’ve had in a very long time.”

Although the story seemed random for Lee at the time, it marked a turning point for him and the group.

“I just got in the zone where I was telling this story and people were laughing,” Lee said. “That was the first moment that I really, really felt comfortable being in front of these people, and shortly after that I started sharing other stories with the choirs.”

After sharing the crocodile story with the group, Lee started “Mad Props” Fridays, a time when he congratulates the choirs and tells them what they’ve done well that week. It’s also a time when goals are set for the upcoming week. Usually a story or other funny happening is involved as a reward.

Anna Danciger | Harbinger Online

Junior Dani Mader, like many other choir students, enjoys the “Mad Props” Friday that Lee started. They’ve become something that is looked forward to each week.

“The ‘Mad Props’ of the Week really make us feel good and get us excited to work on a Friday,” Mader said. “Plus you never know what to expect from him and he’s one of the kindest student teachers I’ve ever met.”

Mader, who plans on studying the arts in college, thinks that Mr. Lee has been a valuable example for students who are thinking about teaching in the future.

“I love going to choir even more which I didn’t think was possible,” Mader said. “He’s an awesome teacher and is really inspiring. I want to be a fine arts teacher and he’s a really good example. He’s going places in life.”

Lee is thankful that his time at East went smoothly. He says that student teaching can often make or break a prospective teacher. Since it is the last chance to make up your mind, some people end up dropping out at the last moment.

“[Student teaching at East] really has secured me with this idea that I do want to become a teacher,” Lee said. “I look back and just think, if this wouldn’t have been a good experience, I could be changing the course of my life. But because it has, I’m ready for years in the future that maybe aren’t as good.”

Throughout his time at East, Lee has seen classroom ideology truly come to life.

“[In our educational classes] they said the number one thing you can do is just really get to know your students,” Lee said. “Whether or not you actually teach them anything should come secondary to you being involved in their lives.”

From Foley’s perspective, who has been teaching for years, student teachers can either help or hurt the classroom.

“[In] the immortal words of Forrest Gump, ‘Student teachers are sort of like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get,’” Foley said. “And it’s true, because if you get a bad student teacher it makes your life tougher, but if you get a good one it really helps. [Mr. Lee’s] really fun to work with, he’s been great.”

Reflecting on his time at East, Lee feels that he’s been impacted more than the students have been.

“I came here to teach all this stuff and I’m not sure I’ve taught anybody here anything, but I have learned so much about myself and about what it means to be a leader in the classroom,” Lee said. “I’m very, very excited to start teaching in my own classroom and just start changing lives, but we’ll see, because I came here to change lives and my life has been changed.”

***

Choir student teacher Nick Lee shares his thoughts about the Dec. 6 choir concert at East.

What was it like leading the students whom you’ve taught at the concert?

I thought kind of going into it, it was going to be this feeling of ultimate power, to have all these people watching you and waiting for you, but it’s actually — I found it to be a very humbling experience and I didn’t feel so much like a leader so much as just a member. I just very much felt like I was a part of this music and part of the sound and it was just really an incredible feeling; I’ve never felt like that before, so much of a whole. Definitely last night, especially, there was something much greater than the sum of our parts which I know is kind of modeled in this choir — many singers one voice — and that totally came out last night and I understood what that was about.

What was going through your mind, before and during the concert?

Before the concert I was just sick, I was just nervous. It’s one of those things, because I knew I was going to have a moment to say some ‘thank you’s on the microphone and I was just nervous about what I was going to say and how I was going to say it, and obviously you want to sound professional, but when I got up there, something else just took over. It wasn’t really me directing last night or leading it was just something greater working through me, and that was just an incredible feeling to just be on autopilot with the students.

How did you feel after the concert, once it was all over?

I was overwhelmed, and not merely from the concert, from a music standpoint, but just from the love that I received from the students here. It’s just an incredible feeling to have that much support from your students, and I just really felt lifted up last night. Having my parents here was incredible and just meeting the parents of the students afterwards just to say, they wanted to say thank you, you know, I feel like I should be the one thanking everyone here for letting me even come in and do this and have this experience, because it truly has been life changing.

What was your favorite part about the concert?

My favorite part about the concert, I would have to say, was at the end when I realized that it had all worked out exactly like it was supposed to. That’s not to say everything’s perfect, but just that everything worked out the way it was going to happen, and it was just a feeling of relief and a feeling of excitement. But just the accomplishment knowing that these students were willing to follow me from the beginning and we got to this point, and Mr. Foley gets to live that feeling all the time, which has really set my desire to be a teacher which is definitely, that is now concrete, that is what I want to do, as I want to build experience, that feeling of accomplishment when you have that many people all accomplishing together.

Everything there is to know about Lloyd Robinson can be found pinned on a navy KCPD hat.

“That’s my history right there,” Robinson says pointing at it, stroking each medal and pin.

There’s a crest from Saint-Lô, France, where he was stationed most of his time in World War II, that fills him with memories of adventures with Captain Griffin and trucks filled with gasoline exploding. A gold Star of David reminds Robinson of his relationships with Jews during the war, a gold hook tells tales of German prisoners who worked for him.

Robinson, 94, lives alone in a humble wooden house in Mission, and has since his wife Martha passed away six and a half years ago. His pale blue eyes are hidden by wrinkles and bristling grey eyebrows that fan out like a garden rake, but those blue eyes light up when you ask him about anything on his hat. He has trouble breathing, and can’t speak for more than 20 seconds without having to take a few seconds to catch his breath again, but that doesn’t stop him from pointing out each medal or pin and telling you story upon story about where they are from, and how they are significant in his life.

“The Lord has blessed me with… with an incredible memory,” Robinson said.

Jake Crandall | Harbinger Online

He’d rather not speak about what they did, though.

Born and raised in Ottowa, Robinson and could tell you about growing up and dreaming of being a Chemical Engineer for a big corporation. About how he can remember buying his mother the first washing machine invented, and having to crank the side of it when he came back from college at the University of Kansas and wanted to get laundry done. He could tell you about how he almost fought in the famous “Battle of the Bulge,” because his general, who according to Robinson, “hated his guts,” and frequently tried to send him to the front lines.

Twenty pins and mementos hang on Robinson’s hat. Some war medals. Some walnut scrapings he’s found in his back yard that look like a smiley face. Some abstract pins that remind him of past friends, like the Jayhwak pin, that reminds him of Ernest Lindley, the seventh Chancellor of KU, who was the best friend Robinson ever had. He’d love nothing more, though, than to get one more medal before he passes away: a purple heart.

“You see…when I was walking on [Utah Beach] my leg hit a steak in the ground and cut through three layers of clothes and caught my leg… right by my knee,” Robinson said. “Of course, people don’t usually care about the engineer who got a scratch on their leg… but I slept in a foxhole with two mosquitoes that night and it got… infected a little. I don’t know, I just think it’d be… really nice to be able to show my great-grandchildren… their old grandpa got a purple heart.”

Robinson has sent a letter to the government, and is waiting on a reply.

In the mean time, Robinson doesn’t do much now-a-days. He tries to keep up with is three children and grandchildren, but he mostly putters around his old wooden house and reminisces. He has a study where he keeps everything. Every award. Every old picture. The walls are littered with newspaper clippings of important dates. Pictures of him and Martha sit quietly on his desk. He attributes his length of life to his old 1986 pick up truck, or as he calls it, his “alter-ego.”

“The Lord has blessed me with… an incredible memory.”

After being diagnosed in 1985 with Colon Cancer, doctors predicted Robinson to live no more than three years. He had a simple procedure by a local doctor, who is now deemed one of the best doctors in the country, and after, was cancer free. After the surgery, half of Robinson’s large intestines were gone, which explains why he can’t speak for more than 20 seconds without taking a break. Robinson walked out of the hospital, and spotted an ‘86 Chevy, and fell in love. He bought it, and has kept it ever since. The car is bent out of shape, and has worn rusty with age, and costs about $2000 a year to keep running, but in Robinson’s mind, it’s worth the money to keep it.

“The way I see it… if I can keep that truck running… then… I will keep on going,” Robinson said. “That truck is running like a top now, and I’m in good physical shape as well. I’ve been blessed to live this long…and see…what I have seen.”

Grade: 11

Tools: Big Time Rush spiral notebook and pencil

When She Started: “I started as a freshmen as a sort of stress reliever. It was just a nice thing to do at home if I had a free minute.”

Inspired By: E.E.Cummings, T.S.Eliot

Favorite Genre: Big Time Rush fan fiction

Polly’s Poems:

1. 
dried gum sticks to the heel of
my boot
air so thick it can sit
on top of me
and so filled with cigarette smoke
that i can’t breathe
my bag is tucked safely under my arm
and away from thieves
now i’m lost
but it doesn’t matter
because i love the city

2.
i wish i could say no regrets
but then i would be a liar
lying hasn’t stopped me before
but it’s hard to keep a secret from yourself
i regret wasted time and gas
i regret my 4 year old self’s taste
i regret my chronic tardiness
i regret staying awake past 10
i regret tears and runny noses
but more than anything
i regret you
my one wish is that i could be my own best friend
maybe, maybe then
i could say no regrets

3.
Missing You
For hours you sit on your shelf
Waiting so that I may be by myself
That is the moment that you pounce
You have a hope that I may renounce
Woe is me!
For I made a bet against thee
Forever you sit and grow old
While I will begin to grow cold
Without your warmth around me
I am merely a lone tree
When I say what long was unspoken
You have rusted and broken
Dear popcorn machine!
I cannot survive without you
And your after school snack

4.
why is it that when the written word
is still a thought
it’s merely a thought?
a notion in the mind
is just as beautiful
as a sonnet on the paper
the whirring of the brain
can only lead to
the scratching of pencil and paper
the two are more intertwined
than ying and yang
more related than
identical twins
so why must the written word
trump that of a thought?

Grade: 12

Instruments:  Martin Acoustic Guitar, Fender Stratocaster, Boss Looping Pedal (RC20XL Phrase Recorder), Also plays piano and sings in the SME Chambers Choir

When did he start:  Christmas of freshman year

Who Inspires Him: Andy Mckee

Future Plans: ”I would love to study music in general in college to a certain extent. I don’t plan on majoring in it, but I enjoy music enough that I would want to keep taking guitar lessons or music theory.”

What makes him unique: “I really enjoy a lot of different styles, for example Andy McKee is a guitarist who uses a lot of finger style which I’ve been experimenting with. At the same time, I am in the pit for Bye Bye Birdie playing jazz chords on an electric guitar and enjoy that just as much.”

Marisa Walton

After doing some research, she learned that the red forests are caused by global climate changes. Because the temperature keeps rising, a type of bug called the pine beetle reproduces earlier than the birds do. Without the birds to eat them, the beetles thrive and turn tree after tree red.

Since then, Throckmorton has dedicated her time to raising awareness of the environmental issues that are prevalent today.

“It’s such a surreal state to be in nature,” Throckmorton said. “To see our plastic bottles or candy wrappers that are so obviously alien objects, it just deteriorates the whole feeling.”

Because she felt this way, Throckmorton decided to become an active member of the environmental club. She is dedicated to raising the awareness of her fellow students at SM East. She also hopes that through the club, she can improve the state of the environment.

She has attended conventions and discussions that focus on environmental problems, and has gone to see documentaries, including one titled “An Inconvenient Truth.” This film, narrated by Al Gore, discusses the deadly impacts on the environment done by climate change. The movie had a “huge impact” on Throckmorton: it opened her eyes toward the scientific basis behind climate change.

The environmental club, sponsored by science teacher Rusty DeBey, is a small, low profile club—on average, 10 students at East are members each year.

Freshman Emily Perkins Rock joined environmental club to be more involved with East. Perkins Rock admires Throckmorton, who has a huge impact on the club by running the Facebook page and planning the agenda for each meeting.

“[Throckmorton] is really great and comes every Tuesday,” Perkins Rock said. “She always has something to say and something to add to the discussions.”

Throckmorton’s passion for the environment has grown throughout the years. She gets frustrated when she sees people deliberately ignoring the climate changes.

“It’s our future,” Throckmorton said. “It’s not ethically right—degrading our futures, and our children’s futures.”

And yet, every day, she sees a cafeteria full of students who throw away their plastic bottles. The blue plastic recycling bins are two feet away, but Throckmorton has observed that they mostly go ignored.

“Yes, it’s easier to dump your whole tray at once, but what else are you going to do with those two seconds? Get to class a little faster? I don’t think that’s significant,” Throckmorton said.

The environmental club tried to raise the awareness of their fellow students through a recycling contest: in the weeks that stretched between Oct. 17-28, they handed out raffle tickets to those who recycled—not just their water bottles, but their plastic bags and biodegradable items. The student who recycled the most was presented with a bag of candy.

The environmental club was proud of this project, but Throckmorton felt that they could have done more. She feels that perhaps the students at East would care more if the environmental club could supply a visual.

For example, Throckmorton has noticed that some sporting events don’t use reusable water bottles like the football teams do. If the environmental club could somehow create a visual to represent the amount of plastic being thrown away, Throckmorton feels that they could reach out to more students.

Although Throckmorton hopes to spread her love of nature and passion for the environment, she realizes that undergoing changes, no matter how small, takes dedication.

“I just try to do my best to live eco-friendly for myself, because it’s hard to change other people’s minds and ways,” Throckmorton said, “so you just have to start with your own.”

Throckmorton’s family also tries to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. They do their laundry with cold water, and only at night to conserve as much energy as possible. They drive hybrid cars. They always turn their lights out. They don’t leave appliances like cell phone chargers and toasters plugged in all day.

“Little things add up,” Throckmorton said. “We’ll never make a difference if we don’t start small.”

Throckmorton’s found her one true passion: the preservation of the environment. She plans on making a career out of it.

“Once you’ve found that thing, you might as well stick with it,” Throckmorton said.

She likes the idea of “outreach,” which is a title she’s given to someone who spreads awareness by speaking at public events and supplying information about climate changes. She would also consider being a policy maker or working as an environmental engineer.

If everyone at East cared about their environment as much as Throckmorton and the rest of the environmental club did, Throckmorton believes that the future might look brighter because so much that goes on is “so easily preventable.”

According to planetpals.com the energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV for three hours, which is equal to half a can of gasoline. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can light a traditional light bulb for four hours. To recycle aluminum cans takes 90 percent less energy than to make a new one. Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil.

There are solutions out there, and Throckmorton wishes that more people would try and apply them to their every day lives.

“Of course it takes a lot of energy to switch to a new energy source or drive a hybrid car, but that’s not necessarily reasonable,” Throckmorton said. “But if everyone recycled and used less energy and less water–those little things will help a lot.”

Four boys, all in separate places, connected together by one thing: a song on the radio. The boys, more well known by their band’s name, Local Talk, listened to their track ”Electrocution,” on Alice 102 at 6 o’clock on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Local Talk, which consists of four male juniors, Max Braasch, Ian Harmon, Thomas Petrie and Gardner Grantham, have always been brought together by their music.

***

Local Talk has come a long way from the basement they started out playing in. In their year and a half of being together, the band has performed at events and venues in the community and recorded their debut album “Local Talk EP.”

Last year, they slaved away at an original album that they shared with their family and friends. Recently, one of the hosts of Alice 102 got a hold of the album and wanted to broadcast one of the songs. He called Grantham and asked him questions about their background and told them that Local Talk was going to be on the radio. This was the first time their song was played on a popular radio station at a prime time.

“I was so glad that our music finally went somewhere even if nothing came from it,” Grantham said.

The band was started by Harmon, Grantham and Braasch. Harmon and Grantham were starting to get involved with music and guitar lessons. They were playing around one day and had the idea of starting a band. They knew their friend Braasch played the drums so they talked it over and the idea was an overall success. The boys discussed with their friends that played instruments and after a long list of members, Local Talk had finally landed on their final four: Grantham, Harmon, Braasch and Thomas Petrie.

Ever since the band started, Harmon, Grantham and Braasch have been the only steady members. Petrie was added about a year and a half ago and Braasch believes this is the most cohesive group that Local Talk has been through.

“I think we all understand music equally, so we know what sounds good and what sounds bad,” Grantham said, “and we are all very accepting to new ideas of how to play something or write something.”

Watch Local Talk’s first place performance at last year’s Bunch of Bands competition.

Their understanding of each others’ music taste came from similar musical backgrounds. Harmon’s father was in a band, which gave him the desire to learn an instrument. Harmon started out playing the trombone; however, he believed that this instrument was not going to get him anywhere because he “felt too restricted.” He wanted to write his own music and be able to sing. In sixth grade, he decided to begin guitar lessons. He never had to be told to practice because he loved it so much, and did not get the chance to sing seriously until he joined choir at school, where he was able to experiment with professional music.

“I don’t want to be too cheesy, “ Harmon said, “but the reason I find music so intriguing is that it has been around for a long time and I think it is cool to know that you can shut the outside world off and play a piece of music written 500 years ago.”

For Braasch, this was not the first band he was ever a part of. In 2004, he started playing the drums and this was been the only real instrument that he has ever played. In elementary school, he was in a band that was basically run by the parents instead of the members. Braasch was not great friends with the members so he did not enjoy the experience. He gets along with the members of Local Talk so well that he enjoys going to practice and they are able to get all of their songs and rhythms done within a decent amount of time.

“The thing [about music] that intrigues me the most is that it is totally made by you and interpreted by you” Braasch said. “When writing a song you have total control over the music and that is pretty cool to do. There is so much music I listen to that there I always something new, which keeps it fresh and exciting.”

Petrie agrees that when he plays or listens to a song that he is feeling, everything stops and he is in his own world for those few minutes. Petrie believes that his musical taste comes form his family because his mother was a great musician. This led him to try playing a lot of instruments as a child before finding one he enjoyed: he started with violin and clarinet in elementary school, but was not inspired until seventh grade when he began taking guitar lessons.

“After taking lessons for a while, I played an acoustic version of “Read My Mind” by the Killers with my guitar teacher,” Petrie said. “I realized music was going to be one of the most important things in my life.”

Like Braasch, Grantham’s father listens to classic rock types of music, inspiring Gardner to do the same. The boys all share this musical taste and understand music equally, a key factor in the group’s ability to succeed. They have known each other since elementary school so they’re aware of how to act around one another in order to get work done.

“We all know what sounds good and what sounds bad,” Grantham says. “We are all very accepting to new ideas how to play something or write something.”

As of now, Local Talk performs at private parties and events through the school and community. They played at a basketball tournament at East, First Fridays at the Crossroads in downtown KC and runs like the Dragon Dash and Trolley Run. Their favorite event was at this year’s Bunch of Bands competition at East because the whole crowd was into the performance and they were pumped up. They tied for first place at the competition, which is just another step forward for this local band.

The band has been recording their second album over the past couple weeks. All of their songs are original and a collaborative effort within the group. One of them may come up with a beat or verse and they all bounce ideas off of each other. According to Petrie, none of them are afraid to correct each other or share their opinions. They believe it is constructive criticism and they are able to improve from each others’ input.

The group is unsure about their future and are just “going with the flow,” according to Harmon. Local Talk is considered a fun thing to do for the members and they are wanting to work hard this upcoming album. They are planning on spending more focus this time around on recording and producing a really well thought out album.

“I want to keep playing with these guys for as long as possible” Braasch said. “Obviously with college creeping up we may be separated from one another but nothing is for sure.”

Watch Local Talk at last year’s Coalition Love 146 concert.

What they don’t know is that on this morning, like many mornings recently, he woke up while the majority of them were still asleep. He drove his silver Jetta, covered in Bass Pro Shop stickers, to a nearby lake to fish while the sun was still creeping over the horizon. Unlike most mornings, today Sauls lost his footing and fell in the lake.

Given his passion for fishing, it is probably not very surprising that Sauls is one of the founders of the new fishing club at East, along with fellow junior Grant Sitomer.

“Mitch and I figured if we were going out and fishing with our friends, we might as well get it to be school sponsored, and get people who might not have gone with us to come along,” Sitomer said.

With their informational meeting only a month ago, the two estimate that at least 20 students have already signed up, which is more than they expected.

“My good friends have always been interested in fishing, so when I heard about the club, I decided to join and try something new,” junior Chris Watkins said, one of the first-time fishers to join the club.

Although they have been fishing all of their lives, Sauls and Sitomer only actually began fishing together at the end of last year.

“[Grant and I] just wound up fishing at the same spot one day, and from then on we just started fishing together,” Sauls said,  “At the time, [the idea of starting a fishing club] was a joke. We were like, ‘That could never happen.’ Then we thought about it and we realized it could be a good use.”

Their plan for the club is to organize students for fishing outings, where they can enjoy nature and the pleasure in reeling in nice-sized Bass or Catfish. Sauls and Sitomer want to attract people who may not be able to experience fishing otherwise.

“[Our] main goal for the group is to get younger kids and first-time fishers caring about fishing,” Sitomer said.

With winter on the way, the fishing will have to be put on hold until the spring. That hasn’t kept Sauls and Sitomer from considering the possibilities of ice fishing. They have also already thought out the plans for the club after winter.

The guys would like to have a club fishing outing every weekend, at some local fishing spots such as Lake Longview and Lake Olathe. Club members would come down to the lake, cast a line, and have fun with fellow East students as they wait for the fish to bite.

One way the students plan on using their passion to give back to the community is hosting a tournament. It will be held amongst the club members, and they’ll raise money by charging the fishermen $5 to buy into the tournament. Then, they’ll donate all of the proceeds to cancer research. The club members who place in first, second, or third will also get gift cards to Cabela’s or Bass Pro Shops, the leading stores in fishing and outdoor gear.

While Sitomer uses fishing as a way to pass the time, Sauls finds a deeper connection.

“My grandpa started me on fishing at a young age. He died in 2008, so after that, dad took over the fishing duties,” Sauls said, “That’s when I started hanging out with my dad a lot more; we’d just go out in the morning, bring our rods, and just go fish.”

The two have fished at distant fishing spots as well as local ones.

Sitomer’s favorite place that he’s fished was on a deep sea fishing trip off of the coast of Saint John’s, Bahamas. His dad grew up in Miami, and spent a lot of his free time fishing with his buddies in the vast Atlantic Ocean. Sitomer’s grandmother still lives there, and once when they went to visit her, his dad took him and his brothers out in the middle of the ocean, where they fished during the middle of the night. Although he didn’t end up catching anything, his dad reeled in a Moray Eel.

“With deep sea fishing, everything is bigger,” Sitomer said. “The rods, the reels–everything is more heavy-duty.”

Sauls prefers the isolated areas of the Boundary Waters, found in southern Canada.

“[The Boundary Waters] are located 50 miles away from any civilization. There’s no electricity, no shelters, no nothing,” Sauls said. “You bring your food, your tent, your rod, and you go and survive for a week. It is rare to see someone else there during your entire trip.”

Sauls and his family have been going there every summer for the past nine years. He goes with a few family friends from around the country, along with his dad and sisters. His sisters have failed to make it some of the past few years, but as Sauls is quick to point out, he has never missed a year.

“That’s what fishing is to me,” Sauls said. “Peaceful.”

Overall, the club will be an opportunity to enjoy time outdoors and learn how to fish. Even if the members join for some extra time to hang with the guys, the new fishing club is quite the catch.

Junior Shane Parcels works on his trapshooting skills at Powder Creek, the shooting range he practices at.

Junior Shane Parcels jr. was four when he shot his first gun. He was in the backyard of his Overland Park home on the Fourth of July holding the gun his dad, Shane Parcels sr., bought in 1989 at a mall in Wyandotte County. Shane sr. was supporting his back so he wouldn’t fall down from the recoil the gun puts out after it is shot.

“It is fun, getting out and getting away from everyday life, and getting to do things that not everyone gets the opportunity to do,” Shane jr. said.

Shane jr. is now mainly competing on the local stage in trapshooting participating in competitions all over Missouri and Kansas. From the fall handicap in Kansas to competing in the Ozarks or Wichita about once every month. To the World Championships in Illinois.

The competition circuit goes year-round. Parcels sometimes shoots every weekend for three months, to not competing for three to four weeks at a time. The schedule he maintains makes it difficult to keep up with his Advanced Placement school work.

“It is really hard to find that balance and then I start freaking out because I’m not getting all my work done and the more stressed I am, the worse I shoot,” Shane jr. said.

Parcels began competing in trapshooting his freshman year. He competes with five friends from his shooting range, Powder Creek, in Lenexa. During competitions, the teammates each stand at different stations and shoot clay pigeons that fly in different directions. They then rotate until each person has competed at each station.

“I like it because it is an individual challenge,” Shane jr. said. “You get one shot and if you mess it up then you don’t get another chance.”

Parcels has competed in shooting competitions referred to as shoots in the zone, or regional shoots and state shoots. He has even made it to World Championships twice in just three years of shooting competitively. In one round of competitions alone, Parcels shot against people from Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland and New Zealand.

“I couldn’t understand a word they said,” Shane jr. said. “But the whole thing was a fun experience.”

Shane jr. has done well on both the local and world stages when it comes to trapshooting, placing second in state and his team placing in the top 50 at the world competition. According to Shane jr. a big part of that is attributed to his coach Kevin Malone and his dad. To Shane sr. shooting has been a place for them to build a relationship and memories.

“I was proud seeing him run his first perfect round of 25 straight,” Shane sr. said. “It was super big to me because it took a lot of time and effort to get there.”

Last May Shane jr. competed in the Youth Hunters Education Challenge where he was challenged in areas of archery, shotgun shooting, 22 millimeter rifle shooting, orienteering, and wildlife identification. Shane jr. had never participated in a competition in archery or orienteering or wildlife before. However, he took first place. To Shane sr. this was one of the proudest moments he has of Shane jr.

“I thought he would do well in some of the areas like shooting,” Shane sr. Said. “But I didn’t expect him to do that well in all of the areas.”

Shane jr. says, shooting isn’t just a physical sport, it is also a mind game. According to him, the key to shooting well is to have the right mindset. From the time he goes to bed the night before a competition to the standing on the sidelines waiting for his turn, he feels he has to stay optimistic about his scores. However, often he can get distracted by school work and all of the stress of that is associated with that.

“You have to go to bed the night before in a mindset that you are going to come out tomorrow and shoot upper 90 scores and you are going to shoot perfect rounds,” Shane jr. said. “You have to wake up in that same mindset and you can’t let anything distract you.”

Shane jr. not only shoots competitively, he is also an avid hunter. Parcels shoots both with guns and bows, however he prefers the bow because of the challenge it poses. In the past five years, Parcels has missed only three weekends of deer season. The season lasts for three months.

“[Deer hunting] is one of those things where you can go weeks without seeing one then out of nowhere you have one walk out in front of you and you get all shaky and excited,” Shane jr. said.

To Shane jr., shooting is not a “cheap man’s sport.” On an easy day of competition shooting Parcels can spend upwards of $200 on shells alone. The cost of shells, entering the competition and the gun itself adds up to the cost of his sport.

“At a competition you have guys carrying around$30,000-$40,000 shotguns,” Shane jr. said. “Shooting is a pre-madonna, rich person’s sport.”

Shane jr. hopes to have a bright future with his competitive shooting. Shane jr. plans on applying to West Point Academy and one day joining the army. If he doesn’t get accepted into his school of choice he plans on attending a school with a shooting team such as Norwich University.

“I will probably go to college based upon it,” Shane jr. said. “If I don’t make it I’ll still shoot for fun, but I doubt they will let me keep my guns in my dorm.”

Shane jr. says, shooting is also way to blow off steam and relax at the end of the day. Whether he is shooting lying on his back on a rack holding the gun behind his head or shooting in the woods with his dad Parcels enjoys it.

“[Shooting] is a feeling of excitement, relief, adrenaline and happiness all mixed into one,” Shane jr. said. “It’s like driving really fast, you can’t explain it, but it is a good feeling.”

What changes do you think still need to be made?

I think a main problem StuCo has had forever is getting people to show up for events and I think we need to strive for that, getting people to show up for stuff. We did really well with that at the Bachelor Auction this year, but the Lancer-Q this year had some issues with attendance. So, attendance is always a big StuCo issue and it’s always something we try to focus on.

In your opinion, what is a strong misconception about StuCo?

We have no power. If we stretch something enough, we can get something done. I mean, everything we do and everything you enjoy here like dances, that’s us. We have the power to stop that. I mean, we’re obviously not going to do that. I don’t want students to think that we’re power hungry people sitting inside of a little room every Wednesday morning. We don’t always crave power, but it’s not as if we don’t have any power at all. We just don’t flex it a lot. We do what’s necessary and we do what we need to do.

What are your thoughts on the success or lack of success of the Can-Drive this year?

Well, I guess it was sort of like we won a lot of “battles”, but we lost the “war”. The huge battle we won was the Bachelor Auction. I mean, wow. I was the auctioneer, and just standing up there and seeing how many people were there and watching Will Cray and Nick Kraskie go for 500 cans, I was astounded. That is a lot. Last year’s Bachelor Auction was really successful for a first time thing and then we quickly realized that this is the one event that goes on here that StuCo created that doesn’t need a lot of people, it just needs people that are there to bid. Having tons of people there doesn’t matter, but it makes it so much more fun when there are a lot of people there. This year was amazing because there were so many people there. That was the single biggest fundraiser this year. We received the most cans from that. So that alone was a huge success, but overall I admit the Can-Drive was not as good as last year. I mean, last year the fourth floor near the counseling hallway, you literally couldn’t recognize it because there were so many cans. Yoda mentioned in previous years, they had to worry about the load on the fourth floor and that it might collapse. That wasn’t the story this year. There’s always the competition between Drill Team vs. Cheerleaders, but you know this was sort of a re-building year, getting traditions back in place for next year, which hopefully will be a better year. So, in a lot of ways it was a success and in a lot of ways, it was a failure.

Executive Board Treasurer Jack Kovarik

What has been topic of discussion lately during meetings?

The Can-Drive. Right now, and we’re still counting, we have 6,000 cans and we’ve also raised at least 3,000 dollars, but probably more. We’re wrapping that up now. I think we’re about the same as we were last year with the Can-Drive, but I know we wanted to go higher. I don’t know if it’s because of the economy or just because people don’t care as much as they used to, it just seems like it was hard to get students to participate. It was hard to get every body involved as opposed to 10 years ago when they were probably raising close to 15,000 cans.

What is one thing you want the student body of East to know about StuCo?

I don’t think people realize enough about everything we actually do for the school as well as charity. We donate a lot to the Johnson County Christmas Bureau as well as other charities and we put on all of the dances and fundraisers. I just think people overlook all of the work we put into those events. I think if they realized all of that work then we would have a lot more participation.

Can you give a brief preview of second semester, since we’re at the halfway point in the year?

Second semester, we’re doing StuCo Ball which is an inner ball with all the Stucos around the districts and everyone asks a date outside of their school’s StuCo to the dance. This year we’re having it at West, and then next year we’ll have it at a different school. The money goes towards the Johnson County Christmas Bureau and it’s in January, but we haven’t decided on a date yet.

Executive Board President Carolyn Welter

Describe a typical StuCo meeting.

Well, it usually starts around 7:10 AM with the joke of the day just to lighten everybody’s mood and gets them excited to be there. Then, we just go through the agenda. We have an agenda board or we just make sure everyone is up to date on things and we have sign ups for different things. We also do class and committee reports where all of the different classes and committees have to share what’s going on. It’s just time for us to regroup and make sure everything is on the right track.

What changes do you still think need to be made?

I think within student council, there’s a lack of effort with things and then they don’t follow through sometimes. There’s just sometimes a lack of enthusiasm, or wanting to be a part of StuCo. We’re trying to enforce the idea that you need to follow through with things and that there will be consequences if they don’t. We have a demerit system set up right now, so we can and will kick people off of StuCo if they aren’t being proactive, or aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing. They signed up for it, so it’s something they should be willing to do. We’ve had problems with that a little bit, but for the most part everyone does a good job at what they are supposed to be doing.

What has been a topic of discussion lately at meetings?

We’ve been talking about the Can-Drive a lot. I think this year was more challenging compared to past years. I feel like the execs tried and we put a lot of effort into trying to raise awareness. I mean, we went into seminars and tried to spread the word on the announcements just to try to get people to bring cans in. For some reason, people didn’t. They were just lazy. Compared to past years, I feel like we really tried to get people to participate and care. We just want to help and do as best as we can. It’s about the same as it has been in past years. We got a lot more money donations this year rather than cans. For the most part it’s about the same.

How have you tried to keep the student body’s voice in mind while still trying to voice your own opinions?

We really don’t do anything without the consent of all of StuCo, and for me, that is a pretty acurate representation of the student body because we have such a diverse group of people on StuCo who are passionate about the school and so we keep that in mind, doing what all of student council wants to do.

Hiba Akhtar | Harbinger Online

Corinne straps on Brady’s blue bib, twists the lid off the jar and scoops out a spoonful. She then helps open Brady’s mouth, slides the spoon in and waits until she swallows. She then turns her attention the the TV and watches “The Office” for a few minutes until Brady has burped; if she tries to feed her before that, she’ll throw up. Corinne repeats until an hour has passed and there isn’t a scrap left in the jar.

Trisomy 18, or Edward’s Syndrome, is a genetic disorder that causes complete dependency on other people to take care of them. People living with Trisomy 18 cannot speak for themselves, feed themselves or even walk. According to PubMed Health, 50 percent of children born with this disease don’t make it past their first week, and those who do make it to teenage years live with serious medical conditions and developmental problems, rarely making it to adulthood.

In the Stratton family’s eyes, this makes Brady a miracle.

“I kind of started preparing [to lose Brady,] but that was just hard because it was when we were after delivery, and you know a mom is so emotional,” Kim Stratton, Corinne and Brady’s mother, said. “It was an older man doctor. He said, ‘you need to prepare yourself because she’s not going to live past a couple weeks’ so it was very emotional. It made me thankful that we had her.”

Brady was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 three days before she was born. According to Kim, doctors had seen small red flags throughout the pregnancy, such as an abnormal amount of fluid in the womb and low weight of the fetus, but were only able to confirm the diagnosis near the end of the pregnancy due to lack of medical technology during that time.

“We got our emotions out that day of course,” Kim said. “It was nice to be able to have that time before she came.  I’ve heard [stories about] other Trisomy 18s who didn’t know the results [prior.] So we just had our cries.”

Despite their five year age difference, Corinne has always felt like the older sister. During childhood, she was often jealous of the amount of attention Brady received. Corinne was especially resentful when Brady got to share a bed with Kim, who decided she needed to be with her in case Brady had a seizure. As Corinne grew up, those feelings of jealousy began to fade, and she began to warm up to Brady.

Corinne even babysits, which doesn’t take much more than just sitting in the same room with her to keep an eye on her. When in the mood, Corinne will play music from “High School Musical” and dance around Brady in the living room to get her to laugh.

“I guess it doesn’t seem like she’s an older sister really. It’s like taking care of a little sister, or even a baby,” Corinne said. “You have to feed her and she can’t get dressed on her own, so you have to do everything for her because she doesn’t understand.”

Taking on the role of Brady’s favorite babysitter has come with its benefits, according to Corinne. She has evolved into a much more nurturing and empathetic person because of having Brady in her life.

“It’s easy to see how much she loves us,” Corinne said. “She gives us hugs and shows us how she loves us and that’s taught me a lot of care. I know I can be more caring because of her. I think [what I’ve learned from taking care of her] does make me a more caring person because I’ve known how to do that.”

Without Brady, the Strattons know they would be a completely different family. Brady has brought them together, especially with the responsibility of caring for her. The Strattons switch off responsibilities with Brady like feeding, waking her up and putting her to bed, and dressing her. By seeing the way Brady lives happily, though it may not be like most people do, she has taught them to keep a wide perspective on certain things in life, have empathy, especially for families in similar situations, and humility.

“We wouldn’t be the same family if we didn’t have [Brady,]” Kim said. “When you’re down and depressed, she helps us look at life with gratitude. I think we’re more nurturing, definitely a nurturing family.”

With their very structured schedule, everyday life for the Strattons is quite a bit different from typical families. Feeding Brady takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, and she needs to be put sleep at certain times everyday, or else she’ll get cranky and start screaming. This restricts them from doing things in public very often, like going out for dinner together or taking vacations.

“[The worst part is] not being able to go as a family all together just out,” Kim said. “She can’t regulate her body temp, so with certain weather we can’t take her out. So, because of her needs, we have to sacrifice our wants a lot of times. So I think that’s taught us about our faith.”

After Brady was born, each of them were tested for being carriers of Trisomy 18 and both Brad and Kim turned out negative. For this reason, during Brady’s first few years, they began to question their faith and grew farther away from God.

“My parents, I’m sure Brad’s parents too, they were kind of doubting God,” Kim said. “So I remember talking to my mom and they were questioning God, like ‘why is this happening to us?’ It kind of made me think that I wasn’t the only one [thinking that].”

After just a few years of living with Brady, the Strattons had a change of heart. They began to realize the value of having Brady in their lives and how much of a blessing she was. They began to notice little things, like how, despite her disability, Brady knows who her family is. When she sees someone she recognizes as her family, Brady will reach her arms out and pull them close to her and a big grin spreads across her face. Even when her family’s car pulls into her driveway she’ll start laughing happily because she knows that she is home.

“Over the years, I really feel like our families have seen why God blessed us with her and how she is like a gift that he gave us,” Kim said. “She has a purpose in our life, and I feel like she has brought us closer to God. I don’t know if we would be the same person if we did not have her. She brings so much unconditional love.”

Brady has specifically taught Corinne how to have strong faith and to be thankful for each day she gets to spend with Brady.

“There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with [Brady],” Corinne said. “And my faith would definitely be different if I didn’t have that to really be thankful for, like God chose us to take care of her and have that really big responsibility.”

For now, the Strattons are looking at every day they get to spend with Brady as a blessing and not something that they just have to deal with.

“Corinne used the word ‘gift,’ and we’ve always looked at it that way,” Brad said. “But it’s a gift with responsibilities. The best gifts are the ones that are truly unique, but in this case the uniqueness comes with responsibility of caring for her.”

Grade: 12

Tools: Graphite, acrylic paints, sketch book

Favorite Type of Drawing: “I love drawing people and interactions. Especially couples or other pairs of people. The paintings [see below] are part of a narrative of my cousins growing up as they move towards the awkward middle school years.”

Began Drawing: ”I’ve always liked to draw. I took basic art freshman year. This was the first year where I really began taking it seriously with AP art and drawing classes.”

Future Plans: Classes in college. Possibly a minor.

Grade: 12

Groups: Vocalocity, Vocalicious

Artist She Looks Up To: Jazmine Sullivan

Singing Since: “The womb”

Other Instruments She Plays: “I can play the kazoo. And I feel like I would be really good at percussion. Because it looks easy. No offense to drumline or anything. I just want to play the rainstick or something.”

Favorite Song to Sing: “In the Beginning” from Children of Eden

Future Plans: “I definitely want to continue with music in the future. I think managing a youth theatre group would be fantastic.”

Song She Has Chosen To Sing: “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess

She and her sister, now eighth-grader Claire, approached the podium at the Serving Up Tears event. She was nervous. They were to speak in front of 500 people they didn’t know, about why she and her sister were in wheelchairs, and how their money can help others just like them: people with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder making all of their muscles weaker than the average person.

Lauren and Claire have been living with SMA since they were born. Lauren can only walk short distances around the house without her back starting to hurt. Claire asks people to cross and uncross her legs because she is unable to do so by herself. Through these struggles, they manage to be positive and go through each day together.

“We can talk about different things that affect our life because she knows what I’m going through,” Lauren told the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

When their parents, Natalie and Tim Gibbs, heard the diagnosis of SMA, they were shocked. They couldn’t believe that their only two daughters were affected by the disease. Since they found out 13 years ago, they have been working to raise awareness and support for SMA. Natalie is a correspondent for families who also have children diagnosed with SMA. She tells the families that their normal will be different from other people’s normal, but they can get through it.

“When you get a diagnosis like this, you think your child will die the next day,” Natalie said. “But you have to remember to take it one step at a time.”

Natalie will admit that her life was drastically changed when she found out the diagnosis. Although it isn’t easy, it is doable. That’s what she tells the parents she consoles when they call her after they get their diagnosis. Sometimes in the middle of the night, she will wake up and hear Claire calling in the night because she needs to be rolled over or changed position. Since the road is hard, she thinks that it can bring families closer together.

Lauren was diagnosed when she was two-and-a-half years old and Claire was diagnosed at the same time. SMA is extremely rare for children in the same family to be diagnosed, which this makes their case unique and it has been recognized at a national level. In 2010, the Gibbs’ were featured on a national telethon put on by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The telethon is put on each year to raise awareness and to raise money for research. About three times a year the girls get up in front of about 500 people to teach them about SMA and to tell them about a summer camp the MDA provides for children like them.

The summer camp is catered specifically to kids in wheelchairs. Each camper is paired with a counselor for the week. Lauren has been paired with the same counselor for the past four years. At the camp they zip line, horseback ride, have bonfires and wheel chair races. It is a time for the girls to be with others who are going through the similar things.

“It’s the best week of the year because nobody is staring at us or saying that we are in wheelchairs, because we are all in wheelchairs,” Lauren said.

Lauren plays basketball with kids from ages six to eighteen, in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. When playing basketball, Lauren uses a different wheelchair with wheels further from her chair. In order to pick up the ball, she reaches down and presses it to the spinning wheel until it is at the top. Although the sport is wheelchair-friendly, most of the other kids do not have SMA. This means that Lauren gets tired at a much quicker rate than the other players, because her arms do not have as much muscle as her opponents and teammates. She lifts weights at home so that she is able to play just as much as the other kids.

“It’s a huge feat for Lauren to be on a court and playing on a team,” Natalie said. “We didn’t think she would ever be able to do that.”

Through Lauren and Claire’s disease, they have maintained a positive attitude and encouraging energy that is contagious to those around them.

“It is important to remember to make the most of what you have and take advantage of every opportunity,” Natalie said.

Not since she got pregnant.

Today, Anna is on her way to one of the many weekly doctor appointments where they check on her baby boy that she’s been carrying for seven months.

Every day of those past seven months, Anna has reflected back on the circumstances.

It was spring break; Anna was staying at a friend’s house. Her parents were out of town. Anna and her friends had people over to the house everyday. She wasn’t dating anyone at the time. Things had been “complicated” with the same guy for a while. Anna doesn’t recall when they used protection and when they didn’t. It was all a blur.

Spring break ended, and Anna’s normal schedule resumed. Waking up early, going to school, and hanging out with her friends. But one thing was off. Her period was two weeks late.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Anna said. “I was stubborn and just thought ‘it’s not going to happen to me, it wont, it can’t.’”

Later on that week, two of Anna’s close friends, junior Mackenzie Bridges and SM West junior Taylor Sheets, dragged her to the local grocery store to get a pregnancy test.

“She was really hesitant about it, and we wanted to be sure,” Bridges said. “At first we tried to make her go to a clinic, but she was really worried about that so we just got [a test] from the grocery store.”

They were worried, and Anna had mixed emotions flooding her brain. On the outside, she made it seem like she didn’t believe that she might actually be pregnant; on the inside, she was questioning herself. She didn’t know what to think; she needed to take that test to be sure.

She took the first one in the grocery store bathroom. The pink smiley face indicated it was positive.

“It came out positive so fast, in a snap, I looked at it and just started laughing,” Anna said. “I didn’t think it was true—I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.”

She saw it and burst out laughing, but when she looked at her friends, their faces were lined with concern. She didn’t know how to handle it. Her friends were unsure at this point. They bought another test.

Positive again. There weren’t any laughs after this test. The only thing she knew to do at that point was cry.

“It didn’t even feel real because I didn’t have any symptoms, it was just like everyone was telling me this and that–and I had to believe it,” Anna said.

When all of the pregnancy tests Ignatovich took turned out positive, she struggled for a week and a half thinking of ways she would tell her mother. She didn’t want to have to watch her mom’s face as she broke the news to her. She didn’t want to see disappointment or anger. Later on in the week, Anna left her a note on her mom’s bed and then went straight to her friends house to spend the night.

Anna’s nerves were on edge when she saw her mom’s number appear on her cell phone that night. She answered it with trembling hands. Her mom wanted her to come home so they could talk in person about the note left on the bed.

“She was afraid to tell me in person about the pregnancy, because she thought I would scream and yell. It was shocking, but I was never angry,” Anna’s mother Olga Ignatovich said.

After the talk with her mom, the two decided to go to the doctors office to make sure the pregnancy was real. When they found out it was, Anna had to look at her options.

She never considered abortion; it was just something she didn’t believe in since she was brought up in a Christian household, and adoption was out of the question, too. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life thinking about all of the “what-ifs.” Olga was surprised to see Anna making such a mature decision to keep the baby. She took pride in the fact that her daughter was growing up.

“She wanted to keep the baby and take all responsibility,” Olga said. “She didn’t want to give him up.”

The pregnancy has taken a lot from Anna. Coffee: she can’t drink her number one tool to staying awake on early school mornings anymore because it’s bad for the baby. Appearance: It has transformed. Anna doesn’t fit into her snug shirts and skinny jeans anymore. Her stomach now feels rock hard, and it feels like she is always “full.” It hurts when the baby kicks, but it’s a good hurt. Relationships: She has had to realize who her true friends are after hearing some of her closest friends didn’t support her decision in keeping the baby.

“I cried at the beginning,” Anna said. “Everyone tells me ‘you’re not gonna make it’, ‘you’re gonna fail in school’ and I’m just trying to prove them all wrong.”

Anna has been through highs and lows. Some days she is very optimistic, she pushes aside all of the looks and stares she receives.

But there are other days. When Anna was at Price Chopper last month, an old lady came up to her and asked her all about the baby, but when Anna told her she is only 17, she rolled her eyes and walked away.

Those are the times Anna feels like she’s just been punched in the gut.

But Anna has proved to herself and the people around her that she is going to be able to handle this “pregnant teenager thing.”

Anna has been doing online school. It gets lonely though. It’s just her and the computer for five hours, four days a week. A friend or two will come visit on school days occasionally, but other than that it’s just her. After she finishes her classes, she will clean the house, do the dishes, and make a nice lunch for herself. She says she’s starting to feel like a “housewife,” something that she thinks will come in handy in a few months.

She is showing people that she isn’t just a kid anymore; that she has responsibilities now. She has to be careful about who and what she surrounds herself with, which means no more parties and no more sleepovers with all of her friends.

“She has definitely grown up a lot,” Bridges said. “She still jokes and has her same personality, but I can tell she’s learned that she can’t just party and be with friends all the time. She knows she has to grow up. She’s already gotten there and she hasn’t even had the baby yet.”

Anna feels as if her whole life is changing. She has to eat, breathe, and think for two instead of one now. She’s changed the way she treats her schoolwork. She used to push off homework to the last minute, but now she finishes up one of her online classes and studies and does her homework right away. She wants to try her hardest and do her best for the baby’s sake.

Anna is embracing the fact that her experience will help her become a stronger person in the long-run; she just wants to raise her son as best as she can and with all of the support she is receiving from her friends and family she knows that a lot of people “have her back.”

“I just don’t want people to feel pity for me,” Anna said. “I just feel like everyone thinks things like ‘why didn’t she give it up for adoption’, ‘why didn’t she get an abortion’, and I just don’t want them looking down on me. Maybe it was a sign from God, maybe it wasn’t. I just want to make the best of it.’”