HQ Trivia catches the attention of students and faculty
Freshmen Jackson Gorman and Thomas Anderson play HQ together during their study hall for the 2 p.m. game. “I really like to play the game but I haven’t won any money yet,” Thomas Anderson said. “It is really addicting to play, which makes it hard to not play during study hall.”
February 2, 2018
At 2 p.m., calculus teacher Christy Moellering stops her class to engage in the new trivia app, HQ Trivia.
“One day, when I saw the notification for a 2 p.m. game, I just put my phone under the document camera and we tried it as a class,” Moellering said. “It was fun and gave us a much-needed break from reviewing for the calculus final.”
Unlike other trivia games, answering the questions correctly in HQ Trivia earns the player money.
“There’s always a money prize, but you have to get all 12 right to get any money, and once you get any wrong you’re out of the game,” sophomore Caroline Briscoe said.
HQ Trivia is a live game, run by host Scott Rogowsky.
“I find the hosts kind of annoying,” Moellering said. “But I really liked Jimmy Kimmel because he cut right to the chase and was very funny.”
According to students, winning the game is difficult.
“It can be frustrating because you can come so close to winning then you get one question wrong and you’re out,” freshman Irene Yannakakis said. “The easiest way to win is to get extra lives, so you can stay in the game longer.”
Because conquering HQ Trivia questions is a challenge to players, some opt to play together.
“One game I played with Ale [Calvo],” Yannakakis said. “We tried to help each other out so we could stay in longer and we both did better when we had each other.”
Although sophomore Jenna Mercer has never won any money, she finds the app fun.
“It’s a cool game because it’s just a fun way to make money,” Mercer said. “It’s really fun to play and some of the questions they ask you are actually pretty cool and interesting facts.”
In spite of not answering every question right, Moellering’s students enjoyed the chance of winning money, along with getting a break from school.
“It’s really fun and almost addicting, because each game you’ll think ‘maybe this will be the one where I actually win,’ and then it never ends up happening,” senior Jessica Schlueter said. “The best part is when you have no idea what the answer to a question is and you guess and then get it right so you can move on.”
![The narrow lens contrasts with a diverse reality; whitewashing means altering or concealing something to make it more appealing to white people. The word “whitewashed” as it is used today has caused identity crises for thousands, if not millions, of students. “I have been called whitewashed before, and it feels very sad. [It’s] just hard because it makes me not know who I am. You don’t get a lot of backlash for [saying it], so I think it’s a throwaway term for people who aren’t affected by it. When you are the person [who] is being called whitewashed, over time, it builds up,” sophomore Raaga Golla said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5740-1-300x200.jpg)
![Two of Pathfinder’s most recent editorial accolades shine on display in journalism teacher Lindsey Katz’s room. Pathfinder was recognized as a SNO Distinguished Site on April 24. “Praise isn’t everything, but it feels so nice to see the hard work of our staff recognized. So much more than just writing words on a page occurs [in journalism], and I am so glad people see that. I love being surrounded by such talented writers, but also such great people,” editor-in-chief and junior Payton Dean said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DSC_4941-300x200.jpg)
![There are more than 20 open cardio machines at Crunch Fitness. I enjoyed the spacious environment at Crunch, a sentiment that was shared by sophomore Sanjana Daggubati. “[Going to] Crunch Fitness was the right decision because [it] feels more professional. Crunch’s workers are laid back, but not to the point where they don't care,” Daggubati said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_5242-1-300x225.jpg)
![Setting up the activity for his first meeting, Financial Literacy Club founder and sophomore Yash Bandiananthaiah writes on the whiteboard. For the first meeting, Bandiananthaiah created an interactive experience for members to immerse themselves in. “To me, the most important thing during a meeting is to make sure we are all engaged and participating, and [I do this by] always making sure we have a hands-on activity,” Bandiananthaiah said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC5306-1200x798.jpg)
![Hand raised into the air, senior Lauren Anstrom watches as her graduation cap flies along with the caps of all her peers. Anstrom hopes to leave behind the legacy as someone who was kind, hardworking, and always supportive of others. “Tossing my graduation cap honestly felt surreal. In that moment, everything hit me at once with all the excitement, relief and a little sadness too. It felt really emotional [because] this was the end of such a big chapter of my life, but also exciting knowing that everyone was about to start a completely new journey,” Anstrom said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_3031-Enhanced-NR-2-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Blair Hopkins enters City Coffee & Creperie in Clayton, Mo. for breakfast with her Honors French 4 students and AP French 5 students. Both classes went on a field trip to a fair trade chocolate factory in St. Louis to begin their unit on Côte D’Ivoire, a major producer of cocoa beans. “My ideal school would just be the Magic School Bus — you would always learn about things by going someplace and learning hands-on, being able to see it yourself and asking people questions. I think [learning is] always so much more memorable if you can experience it firsthand,” Hopkins said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC2795-1200x798.jpg)