The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

Four couples share their love stories, and their chance meeting at West High.

Alumni share how they met their soulmates

Brinda Ambal, Staff Writer August 27, 2019

Look to your right, look to your left, you never know if that person sitting next to you in class will be your forever. Four couples share their love stories, and their chance meeting at West High. Adam...

Alumna Celeste Rudd sits with Lisa Gardner and Sheryl Wharff at the 2018 Women of the Channel Leadership Summit East in New York City. This event is where female leaders advance their careers and strategic goals. “My interest in software stemmed from the desire to make a meaningful impact on society as well as my love of softwares constant need for adaptation to market needs and potential to make an incredible living. I am never bored and I know that what I do is impacting people in a meaningful way daily,” Rudd said.

Alumna Celeste Rudd making an impact through the software business

Sarah Lashly, Copy Coach May 20, 2019

From selling enterprise-grade scalable software to providing consulting, alumna Celeste Rudd has been promoted to Americas Alliance Manager for Micro Focus since joining in March 2016 as an Account Manager...

Posing for a picture by the Steinberg Ice Rink in partnership with Uber, alumna Summer Albarcha shares the image on her blog. Albarcha posts regularly on the site, as well as on her Instagram and YouTube channel. “Use social media as your portfolio in anything you do,” Albarcha said. “[Your social media] is out there for companies to see when applying to jobs, so it’s best to make it a reflection of yourself or the traits you’re trying to portray. For example, if you’re applying to a fashion job, you might want to have a fashionable Instagram to show your taste and styling work.”

Alumna Summer Albarcha: Instagram icon for modest fashion

Fatema Rehmani, Staff Writer May 9, 2019

Creating lookbooks, traveling to fashion weeks worldwide, replying to emails, editing content or just updating her site, alumna Summer Albarcha, class of 2014, has built a name for herself in the fashion...

Laura Kleffner stands on the red carpet with coworker Jason Watson at the annual Mission: St. Louis Night for the Town Gala in September 2018. Kleffner and Watson were emcees for this event that raised $450,000. “Professionally, [this was] one of my greatest accomplishments at Mission: St. Louis,” Kleffner said. “[I am] constantly [wanting to] expand the awareness [about Mission: St. Louis] but also raise more money through different avenues.”

Utilizing Mission: St. Louis to change lives

Sarah Lashly, Copy Coach March 25, 2019

Not only did freshmen hear from alumna Kelly Quinn for Day of Service, they also heard a speech from 2006 alumna Laura Kleffner. Kleffner joined Mission: St. Louis, an organization that provides education...

Alumnus Glen Leber performs the song “Down On Me” by Janis Joplin during the Letterman Dance in the cafeteria. He played the guitar, while his friend played the drums. “I never was good at dancing so performing was a perfect setting for me,” Leber said. “I enjoyed performing in front of an audience and knowing that while we were playing, they were having as much fun as we were.”

Inside class of 1969 alumnus Glen Leber’s band that ‘rocked’ through high school

Jacob Stanton, Staff Writer March 12, 2019

After attending Parkway Central from 1966-1968, alumnus Glen Leber transferred to Parkway West, and was a member of the first the class of 1969. During his senior year he became the lead guitarist for...

Kelly Quinn, standing to the left, poses with Best Buddies at a Pre-Season St. Louis Blues game hosted by St. Louis Blues Alumni. This opportunity helped members of Best Buddies strengthen their friendships through a shared passion for hockey. “[I love] witnessing two people click as friends,” Quinn said. “It is like watching magic or seeing someone truly come to life. The joy from seeing others feel joy is extremely powerful.”

Inspiring and building friendships through Best Buddies

Sarah Lashly, Copy Coach March 4, 2019

After graduating 19 years ago, alumna Kelly Quinn will return March 7 as a guest speaker for Day of Service. As State Director for Missouri for Best Buddies International, Quinn is one of the four speakers...

Taylor Scott embraces her boyfriend Derik Scott at the Rose Bowl on the Tuesday before the premiere of “The Titan Games.” They both agree that their experience with “The Titan Games” has been life-changing. “Being in such a crazy atmosphere with Dwayne Johnson himself and 64 athletically gifted competitors was humbling,” T. Scott said. “The people Derik was surrounded by were such amazing humans. They have so much talent and so many things that could have or even did alter their paths, yet they found how to switch gears and make the most out of their lives through the gym and working out.”

Pursuing nursing while cheering from the sidelines at “The Titan Games”

Sarah Lashly, Copy Coach January 29, 2019

After attending Lindenwood University for two and a half years, alumna Taylor Scott decided to leave behind her plans to attend Goldfarb School of Nursing to pursue a career in personal training in Los...

Scott Bender prepares for a four minute fight scene for the short film, “The Eagles are a Country Music Band,” in which he starred. The film made its premiere at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood in August and the fight scene took 12 hours to film with the help of a stunt choreographer, a fight choreographer, a props team and a special effects team. “Me and the actress who plays my wife [get into a huge fight] and it is a little over the top, but it is part of the film. She breaks a wine bottle and throws it at me and it gets stuck in my back and I pull it out. We just have this crazy fight and she ends up killing me. The prop team attached a harness that goes around my chest and back and they cut a hole out of the shirt and put the shirt over the hardness and lodged the bottle into a suction cup in the harness so it looks like it went through my shirt and my back,” Bender said. “It is a really cool action movie and I have never done something to that effect before so it was really cool to learn how they do that so I can look at all these movies that have all these special effects and fights in them and break them down.”

Surviving as an actor in Hollywood

Sarah Lashly, Copy Coach December 10, 2018

From taking on lead roles in short films to participating in Buzzfeed and Google Home commercials, 2005 alumnus Scott Bender has pursued his passion as an actor in Hollywood. This dream first surfaced...

Tricia LaRocca Morris holds her newly adopted daughter, June Caroline. Morris, working as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse, helped tend to sick newborn babies everyday while attempting to adopt. “We are just so grateful for our little girl, June Caroline, that its hard to fathom that someone else is grateful for us. I think thats part of what makes a successful adoption so special. It is the answer to so many peoples prayers,” Morris said.

Riding the adoption rollercoaster

Sarah Lashly, Copy Coach November 16, 2018

Working as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse in Ann Arbor, MI after graduating in 2002, alumna Tricia LaRocca Morris achieved her goal of creating her own family by adopting her first baby June Caroline. “My...

Alumnus Ed Alizadeh continues to make a difference in the community as the CEO of Geotechnology

Sarah Lashly, Copy Coach October 26, 2018

From overseeing and participating in the construction of the current Busch Stadium to public works projects in the City of Blue Springs, 1980 alumnus Ed Alizadeh has participated in many engineering and...

Donate to Pathfinder
$175
$800
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

Please use your own name and keep your comments respectful!
All Pathfinder Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest
Activate Search
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High
Alumni Stories