Summertime and the Livin’s Easy

The Kansas Boy

Papers scatter across the empty office. Junior John Horvath jogs to a shattered window and climbs outside—descending into the chaos that is Soviet Russia.

Gunshots sound at a constant rate. Bombs drop in the distance. Through the smoke Horvath spots his comrades racing down the street. He aims his M16A4 assault rifle at a nearby enemy, only to be struck in the chest by a bullet.

Horvath falls to the cement, clutching at his heart. Blood splatters across the television screen.

Click. Not bothering to check the scores of the match, Horvath shuts off the video game, cracks his knuckles and springs up from the brown leather loveseat in his family room. Call of Duty would be the closest he’d get to leaving the country this summer.

While his friend junior Michael Hill went to debate camp for a month, and his brother Mike was off visiting colleges, Horvath stayed in Kansas. All summer. The farthest he drove his dad’s white 1996 Lexus was 35 miles to Lawrence.

Tucked away in Prairie Village, he followed a strict schedule of sleeping in until 11, lifeguarding at Prairie Village pool, and playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Throw in a few musical jam sessions with friends and multiple fajita chicken burritos at Chipotle, and you’ve got the summer of Horvath: 2010 edition.

“I basically worked a lot, made a lot of money, got a tan and met new people,” Horvath said. “It was pretty repetitive…but it was nice to have the money, so it balanced out to be a decent summer.”

As a lifeguard, Horvath spent more than 350 hours looking out for the lives of local pool-goers. He found that the values he gained, such as being on time and putting duties before play, carry over to real life.

“It was a good learning experience” Horvath said. “I feel like I know about how business works and how to act professionally.”

Another thing Horvath learned this summer was how many shades darker he could get. In early June his SPF was in the 30’s, but by late July he was using SPF 4—sparingly.

“This one girl asked if I spray tanned,” Horvath said. “And on the first day of band camp someone asked if I fell asleep outside.”

As long as he doesn’t fall asleep on the stand, Horvath is hoping for a salary raise next summer. He’s currently saving up to buy his own car, preferably a used Toyota Solara. One thing he won’t be spending any money on is an M16A4  assault rifle in Russia.

A True Amigo

Last summer, senior Maddie Bavley’s daily routine consisted of sleeping in and spending time with friends at the pool. This summer her days were spent educating kids about environmental awareness and building concrete walls.

Bavley spent eight weeks working and living in the town of Lomobonita, Panama, an opportunity offered through the Amigos de las Americas program.

She first heard about Amigos in her Spanish 3 class.

“I didn’t know much going into it, but I went to the informational meeting and it sounded like a cool experience,” Bavley said.

During her stay in Panama, Bavley spent her days teaching the children of the community environmental awareness by playing variations of tag.

“In the games, the kids were like trees or animals. It was more the format of summer camp than school,” Bavley said.

In the evenings, Bavley and her family went to many events for the Santa Liberada Festival happening in Las Tablas,  the city next to Lomobonita. The festival kicked off with a city- wide procession honoring Saint Liberada. People of the city followed the small float carrying a  statue of the saint to the church. The ceremony ended with a fireworks show. The following nights consisted of singing, dancing, and torros, or bull fights.

Over the course of her stay, Bavley began to feel like part of the family.

“Whenever they would go anywhere they would take me with them, and we always joked around. It was easy to become close with them because my siblings were around my age,” Bavley said.

Bavley spent many hours playing cards and hanging out in the town with her siblings, Gilisa, Dianis, and Mario, and the local jovenes, or teens. She felt welcomed by them from the minute she arrived.

The most important thing she gained from her experience was independence.

“I had to go there by myself and I didn’t know anyone, but I got to meet a lot of neat people,” Bavley said.

Half way through her trip, she had a mid-term. This was the only communication with her parents, other than a few letters. While Bavley thought she would be homesick after weeks away from her family, the warmth of her community made her feel at home.

“I would love to go back and visit my community if possible,” Bavley said. “Maybe next summer.”

Super Geek

It may be small and out of the way, but for senior Meagan Dexter, the “super geeky” tattoo inked into her right foot is perfect.

In chemistry, the equilibrium symbol represents balance and equality, and for Dexter, it’s something she can see when she wants to. Hide when she wants to. Ever since taking her first chemistry course sophomore year, science has been Dexter’s scholastic passion. And it’s the thing that led her to spend six weeks of summer studying at Vanderbilt University.

Dexter first heard about PAVE, a pre-college academic program at Vanderbilt, from a generic mailer that thousands of students receive nationwide. After talking with her mom, she decided that she should apply. Dexter then began the lengthy process of writing essays, sending in her transcript, and even getting a letter of recommendation from her favorite teacher, chemistry teacher Cole Ogdon.

“I’m always excited when I know students are going to go above and beyond, and take a look at real research,” Ogdon said. “This was not a play camp; this was truly about students who have a propensity for and interest in actual research.”

With roughly 200 students accepted from a pool 3,000 applicants deep, Dexter didn’t hear anything until the second week of May. Her mother received a call informing her that one accepted student had backed out of the program and after reviewing the remaining applicants, they had decided on Dexter. Overjoyed, she accepted, and on June 29th was headed to Nashville, Tennessee.

The six week program involved the ins and outs of Vanderbilt’s bio-medical and chemistry courses. With 8 hours of classes a day, Dexter had anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours of homework every night, and a 10-15 page lab report every other weekend. Along with classes, the students also took part in real research projects, including analyzing a flooded Nashville river and measuring the electricity levels on human skin when a muscle is used.

“It kind of gave me a good idea of what I want to do in college, and what size I could adapt to,” Dexter said.

Only three weeks into her senior year, Dexter is already back in the lab taking AP biology and honors physics. Hoping to attend Vanderbilt next year, she’s doing everything in her power to boost her resume, and believes that PAVE played a big part in that. While she plans to major in chemistry or mechanical engineering, Dexter still isn’t sure about whether or not to pursue a science career.

“I think once you get through a major like that in college, that’s really intensive, you’re kind of set up to apply yourself in anything you want to do.”

Into the Wild

Rain pounds down onto their campsite and sophomore Chris Watkins questions if he has made the right choice. The soaking packs, which originally weighed 45 pounds, now felt as if they were carrying buckets of water on their backs. After waiting it out for nine hours of down pour, they had no choice other than to cook and set up camp through it.

Watkins and a group of seven teenagers and four adults spent 10 days of their summer hiking up the mountains of Northern New Mexico. The group did practice runs throughout the year at parks and the Ozarks, but even with the training, according to Watkins, it was a very challenging trip.

They were given a Ranger the first two days they were there. The Ranger introduced all procedures and everything they would need to know on the first day. The second day she only observed the group so they would have to use their knowledge and remember what they learned.

Once they learned the basics, they started waking up before the sun rose to take down their camp and start their hikes of 10-13 miles per day. As a fifteen year old with no real training for hiking, Watkins found himself feeling as if he could barely lift his legs. He could not mentally prepare, because he had no idea what to expect. Once he got through it, he realized what he was capable of.

“At times, I didn’t think about anything” said Watkins. “I just concentrated solely on walking.”

Watkins had built up stamina playing soccer and swimming in the weeks leading up to the trip, so he believed he was going to have it easy. The mountains didn’t only push those who are in bad shape; it also challenged Watkins just as hard.

One of Watkins’s favorite days was when they woke up extra early to hike a total of 13 miles to reach the top of a mountain. They woke up around four that morning.  It was so dark that they could barely see anything outside the range of their flashlights.The group felt it was the biggest accomplishment once they got to the top.

“Looking down from the mountain was a rewarding feeling, said Watkins. “It was hard but worth it.”

Watkins and the group, say that they appreciate things a little better now that they have gone for 10 days without eating normal food, showering, and having no real amenities.

According to Watkins, “it really does put things into perspective, no matter how ready you think you are.”

The Explorer

Day 1

After 14 hours of travel, sophomore Tiernan Shank lugs her camping gear down the Eugene, Oregon terminal. Trying to avoid any more problems like the one earlier that day when her flight was cancelled, she glances around anxiously trying to find anyone from the program, Apogee Adventures, with whom she’d be conquering a 635 mile bike ride from Eugene, Oregon to San Francisco. After frantic searching, she finally spots them–a group of eight teens and two supervisors gathered in the far corner near the baggage claim.

Day 2 — Mile Count- 0

If first day awkwardness wasn’t enough trouble, the team wakes up to find that raccoons has eaten every last morsel of food.

“It was an awful start, seeing the food boxes all torn up and littered with bagel crumbs,” Shank said. The team begins their 635 mile biking trek with empty bellies, which forced them to take a pit stop to the closest grocery store about five miles away.

Day 13 — Mile Count- 400

Today the team will volunteer at Redwood National Park. The group eats a delectable breakfast of waffles and bacon in honor of a team member’s birthday.

“It was such a good change of pace to not be eating bagels!” said Shank.

The team rides up to the park and is greeted by Ranger Nicole who promptly takes the group on a ten minute tour of the park. Then the ranger gives the team a job to do to help keep the park looking pristine by having them weed the trails.

“They gave us these huge orange things that we were supposed to weed with–I ended up mostly using my hands,” said Shank.

Day 20 — Mile Count- 598

The team wakes up elated—only 37 miles left of the trip. They pack up camp and head down a biking trail, in contrast from the usual Highway 101. “We passed through a small town, and I was amazed to know towns like that still existed! We hadn’t been near civilization in forever!” Shank said, laughing. “Suddenly, we saw a bridge in the distance, and we were like ‘What is that?’ But once we went over several hills it was obvious—we were staring at the Golden Gate Bridge!”

“Crossing the Bridge wasn’t as amazing as I thought it’d be, because there were a TON of tourists who wouldn’t move, which was annoying considering how much work I’d put in to the trip.” After finally crossing the Bridge, the group goes to a youth hostel, unpacks, and eats a hearty lunch for a job well done.

Day 22—  Mile Count 635

Shank’s flight departs at 6:00 a.m. for Salt Lake City connecting to Kansas City, where she is greeted by her family.

“I really got to know myself on this trip, like my physical boundaries and how much I can do. At first I was like ‘Why did I do this? I’m gonna die!’” Shank said. But after the trip it was like ‘Whoa, I can bike 635 miles!’ That was the best part.”