Last summer junior Megan Barton did not just spend her vacation hanging out with friends. Barton spent most of her summer traveling the world, visiting places like California, Scotland, England, Wales and the British Virgin Islands, including the U.S. Virgin Island.
“My favorite place I traveled to was definitely the British Virgin Islands. We visited 20 of the different islands and my favorite was Anegada because we got to see the culture and the people. It was just a regular town and it wasn’t industrialized by tourist,” Barton said.
Each vacation she traveled with her dad and then took a friend.
“In each place we got to experience the culture because in each place the culture is so different. I loved each place, but England was my least favorite just because I have family there so I have been there so many other times,” Barton said.
Barton wants to someday revisit the Islands because they are so different than anything she is used to. They were her best experience of the summer.
“All these trips makes me want to spend the rest of my life traveling. My dad is trying to plan future trips to Australia and Canada and I think those would be really neat experiences,” Barton said.
Between each vacation Barton only had a week break back at home in St Louis. During her trips she saw family, hiked, whale watched and snorkeled.
“It was really cool seeing humpback whales when I whale watched in California. This is always something I have wanted to do since I can remember. It was one of the coolest things that I got to do during all my vacations,” Barton said.
![Alongside club sponsors Andrea Horn and Tim Burkard, assistant principal Kate Piffel prompts a discussion at the first Black Student Union (BSU) meeting. She accepted suggestions for BSU from members like BSU Leader and junior Tanatswa Zirengani, who moved from Zimbabwe in 2021. “Moving here and transitioning into a new school [and] lifestyle, [BSU] became [a place] where I could be myself and talk about issues that I felt comfortable talking about back home. BSU [also] gave me the opportunity to venture into the post-high-school experience, telling me [some] things to expect,” Zirengani said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DSC_0120-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Junior TJ Polack plays his saxophone solo at halftime for the 2024 marching band show, ‘Coloring Book.’ This year, Polack was one of two soloists in the marching band. “[Polack] is very hard on himself. [His saxophone solo] sounds amazing [and] everyone [cheers] for him; [still], somehow, he thinks it’s a bad performance and he's down. What he does is not easy. It takes a lot of confidence as a person [and] a lot of musical skill to be expressive, and he's doing an amazing job,” drum major and senior Dominic Perez said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/462488499_2973926416100522_5057718068659607183_n-1200x925.jpg)
![Sophomore Isaiah Meese smiles after his Eagle Scout Ceremony. Meese has participated in the scouting program since first grade, learning new aspects of life and growing a community of a second family. “I almost didn’t do [boy scouting], but I'm glad I eventually did start doing it. I regret that I wasn't [working towards Eagle Scout during COVID]. It might not always seem like the most rewarding thing, but if you put your time into it, there's a good chance you'll get quite a lot out of it: friends, new activities and hobbies, or just more experience,” Meese said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_1004-1200x800.jpg)
![Junior Justin Lutz arranges his collection of basketball sports cards. Lutz started his first hand at entrepreneurship with an online store on eBay, dealing and trading in the sports card market. “I was already collecting sports cards [before], so I knew a lot of these players and I understood the market. I ventured into other sports, but I really stayed with the ones that I knew the most, [like] basketball. It’s really important to focus on what you know because it's so much easier than starting completely from scratch in a market that you don't understand. Find something that you're interested in," Lutz said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Untitled-design-2.png)
![Standing in front of the American Sign Language program’s mural, junior Brooke Hoenecke signs with freshman Darren Young. Hoenecke began cadet teaching for ASL this year alongside working towards earning her seal of biliteracy. “I was in ASL class when I received the email [that I qualified for the seal]. I was jumping up and down with my teacher and the rest of the class. One of the reasons why I took cadet teaching this year was so that I could prepare for the Seal of Biliteracy and be immersed in ASL,” Hoenecke said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/hoenecke.jpeg)
![With a keen eye for detail, senior Natalie Lashly writes her signature onto the senior hand wall. After some encouragement from her friends, Lashly applied to make the hand wall with her Lorax-inspired design. "I thought the [bright] colors would be fun. Our quote on the wall is 'Let us grow,’ based on the 'Let it grow' song [from the movie]. [I was hoping that the design would] make the cafeteria feel more exciting," Lashly said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0099-1200x801.jpg)
![Walking onto the field, freshman Erastus Adewusi wears a pink jersey in remembrance of cancer awareness month. With the number seven on his jersey, Adewusi reflects on his life in Nigeria before moving to America. “I [used to wake up] at 5:30 a.m. and school would end at 5 p.m. [versus] now,” Adewusi said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0029-1200x800.jpg)
