Summer Recap: Learn about what Lancers were up to this summer

While the school year can be stressful and full of demanding schedules, summer break is the time of the year when students have the opportunity to explore passions, interests and careers in a variety of ways. Check out what Lancers were up to over the summer. From unique vacations to celebrity sightings, this Lancer summer is definitely one to remember.

Chloe Harmon

Senior Chloe Harmon was examining samples from a group of female mice that had recently traveled to space through a high-tech microscope. This was part of Harmon's typical day at the Kansas Medical Center's Education Experience (KEE) program for high school students. Harmon attended the program, where the students can pick different professional lab teams to work with in a range of medical fields throughout July. 

Harmon worked with other high schoolers from the KC area in a lab where they investigated the effects of zero gravity on female fertility. The lab specialized in reproductive endocrinology, perfect for Harmon, who aspires to be an OBGYN. The lab provided Harmon with the opportunity to work one-on-one with resident doctors at KU Medical Center, seeking their help in testing different samples from the mice. 

“It was just really cool to connect with the actual head doctor in the lab and all the graduate students,” Harmon said. “They had a lot of good advice and experience, so I could ask them any questions or talk to them about how they got to where they were.”

Margot Fair

Picking up her phone to record another Instagram Reel, sophomore Margot Fair is enjoying working with social media for her new summer job. When Fair applied to work at We Got Your Back Apparel in downtown Overland Park, she expected to be working the register or stocking the merchandise shelves, not running their social media accounts.

We Got Your Back Apparel sells clothing, jewelry, candles and other boutique items. It’s Fair’s job to promote these items on their social media for viewers. Fair makes TikToks, Instagram Reels, stop motions, and Instagram posts of new merchandise almost every day for the business, keeping up with trends to keep viewers active. 

Over the summer, Fair made countless posts and reels on Instagram that gained the attention of other local vendors. While Fair originally started this job to earn money over the summer, it quickly turned into a potential career path. Now, Fair has been asked by her aunt — who owns a pilates studio — and other local vendors to run their social accounts as well. 

“It’s just nice to have an opportunity to be able to put something new on my resume, get new experience, meet new people,” Fair said. 

Eli Moon

Senior Eli Moon was standing in the 90-degree July heat, searching for a shady spot at Worlds of Fun amusement park to escape the blazing sun.

Moon has loved roller coasters since a young age, and this summer, he’d decided to help out with the behind-the-scenes work at the amusement park. Moon operated three main rides: The Bamboozler, The Spinning Dragon and a small Ferris wheel tucked behind the main entrance. He worked with a group ranging from five to eight teenagers, with whom he quickly became friends. 

Working outside every day of summer taught Moon a great deal about managing job and home life, while also finding ways to enjoy his work, such as bonding with his coworkers. 

“The important part is how serious you take your job,” Moon said. “It really taught me like, ‘Okay, this is a job I need to take seriously.’”

And while ensuring guests were safe on the rides was always Moon's top priority, he also enjoyed the benefits Worlds of Fun offered. Moon got free admission to the theme park whenever he wanted and now has a unique story to tell when people ask him what he did over the summer.

After three seasons of putting Kansas City Easter eggs in Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis, writer and star of the series, has finally brought the show to Kansas City, filming in many popular locations.

Ted Lasso is a sports-comedy TV series that follows American football coach Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, who’s been hired to coach a struggling English men’s soccer team. Despite his lack of knowledge, Lasso has managed to catch the hearts of many, inside and outside the show.

Junior Anne Bower has been hooked on the series since she watched the first episode over the summer. Bower says she’s excited for what the show will look like in this next season with the new Kansas City representation.

“Whatever they come up with, I’m really excited to watch it,” Bowser said.

In the first three seasons, fans have found hints of Kansas City scattered throughout various episodes, whether that be KC shirts, a picture of Arthur Bryant’s barbecue restaurant as Lasso’s desktop background or a care package with a bottle of Bryant’s barbecue sauce. 

Sudeikis, a former KC resident and SM West graduate, has gained attention for his love of his hometown. 

East parent and Ted Lasso fan Ashley Dean is excited to have part of the show filmed in Kansas City, after following it since 2020.

“I fell in love with it during COVID because it was a bright beacon of joy amidst all the sadness and just despair," Dean said.

According to the Kansas City Star, the crew has been filming all across Kansas City, including the Country Club Plaza, the CPKC stadium, Gates Barbeque and more. 

Dean saw the cast during a Mumford and Sons' concert at Azura Amphitheater.  

Standing next to the cast in the pit, Dean was offered a poncho by Brendan Hunt, or, as most know him from the show, Coach Beard. Later, Dean had the chance to talk to Hannah Waddingham’s brother about the cast’s time in Kansas City.  

Though most of the cast had been to KC before, for some, including Waddingham’s brother, this was their first time.

“They just all seemed pretty excited to be in Kansas City and pretty excited to be taping again,” Dean said.

In the middle of the show, the cast went on stage to help sing the show’s theme song, written by Marcus Mumford and Tom Howe.

Senior Ellie Moilanen, a fellow Ted Lasso fanatic, also saw the cast sing at Mumford and Sons.

“It was raining, and it was so cool,” Moilanen said. “It just added to the vibe and everything.” 

Azura Amphitheatre wasn’t the only Ted Lasso sighting for Moilanen this summer.

Moilanen saw Waddingham and Juno Temple, who plays Keeley Jones, walking around Ward Parkway while driving to work at Summer Salt. Though she saw no cameras, Moilanen said it looked like a staged meat market had been set up, and they were working on filming. 

Moilanen is excited for season four and the fact that it will be about Lasso coaching a women’s soccer team. 

“I think [a women’s team] would be really cool, especially because filming it in Kansas City, where I feel like it is such a dominant place for women’s sports, and specifically soccer,” Moilanen said. 

The summer of 2026 is now over, along with the days of sleeping in until noon, procrastinating summer reading homework and enjoying the high UV. But, while this summer will always be memorable, it’s time to make even better memories in the new school year.