Pronouns: he/him
I am a senior, and this will be my fourth year on staff. I first decided to join the Pathfinder when I was failing yearbook, and realized maybe page design wasn’t for me. The fact that I enjoy all sports has helped me as a writer because I feel a passion for my writing when the story is about sports. Outside of school, you will most likely find me practicing baseball or in the weight room. Beyond the Pathfinder, I spend my time playing different sports, this summer I really picked up golfing and disc golf. After college, I hope to become a sports broadcaster, or any other career path in journalism.
![Hearing the bridge creak, Latin teacher Tom Herpel winces as he carefully stacks another book on top of a popsicle stick bridge during Latin 3 on Feb. 7. Within groups, students were randomly assigned different hierarchical roles of Ancient Roman construction workers and attempted to build bridges for their Roman Engineering unit. “I created this activity to showcase how certain [Romans] on a construction site would not talk to each other because they were higher or lower in society, and that creates problems when trying to create a final product. So then, after [the students’] bridges were done, we tested how strong they were. We slowly put more and more books onto the bridge to see when the bridge would break. And believe it or not, that bridge got to the point where someone actually sat on it,” Herpel said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_5942-2-1200x800.jpg)
![High fives and smiles all around, senior Sadie Burgess and her partner junior Charlotte Putnam
compete in the Red Cross Club’s pickleball tournament fundraiser at Chicken n Pickle on Feb. 1. The fundraiser benefited those recently affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. “It felt good [supporting the cause], especially since [pickleball] was easy to pick up and fun. I would have spent that $20 probably at Target anyway, so it was good that I was giving it back to something better,” Burgess said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pickleballpotwedited-1200x779.jpg)
![Reaching for the wall, sophomore Bella Lamb glides through the water in the 100-meter backstroke on Jan. 28 against Lutheran South High School. Lamb’s main event has been the 500-meter freestyle and she worked the most on pacing during practice. “I really wanted to go to state for my 500[-meter freestyle] and the state cut is six minutes. At the Kirkwood Invite, I went 5:47, so I currently have a state cut in the 500. And so [now] I'm working towards getting a lower time,” Lamb said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/swimeditedpotw-1200x799.jpg)
![Attempting to skate the puck between two Oakville defenders, senior Caden Lindley gets closed in. On Jan. 16, Lindley was honored before the game for senior night at Queeny Recreational Complex. “It was weird to be spotlighted as a senior since I’ve always looked up to other classes and didn’t realize how close my time as a senior was. [But,] it was definitely nice to play in honor of our class,” Lindley said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_2498-1200x966.jpg)
![Reading the answer on the back of the card, freshman Madi Bell quizzes her classmates. Social studies teacher Lara Boles prepared a board game activity to help her US and World History 2 students study for their final. “I liked this activity because the answers on the cards were also the answers on the test, so it helped prepare for what you would see on the final. I [also] enjoyed having some competition against my classmates to see who knew the terms the best and who could make it around the board first,” Bell said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/potwbell-1200x800.jpg)
![Eyes on the clay slab roller, social studies teacher Rachel Money learns how to use pottery equipment from sophomore Madeline Tipton during the “Teach a Teacher” AcLab event. Ceramics teacher Ashley Drissell hosted this event after receiving trinket dish pottery forms from a grant, which facilitated the process for teachers. “It was fun to take a break and be creative, [doing] something different with my day. It was really neat to get [teachers] into an art classroom with students [and] learning what they do in there,” Money said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ceramicsedited-1200x801.jpg)
![Looking out into the audience, senior Jack Mullen solos “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Frank Sinatra at the annual winter choir concert on Dec. 10. Mullen volunteered to sing a solo to aid the transition between choir groups on stage. “I chose that song because I really like the crooner genre when it comes to holiday music. [That song] had all the element[s] of Michael bublé, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Also, it's a simple melody, so I did vocal gymnastics when I could and made it my own,” Mullen said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/jackedited-1200x800.jpg)
![Striking a final pose, seniors Bart Connors, Gavin Hamlin, Colin Hughes and Henry Wild parody The Barden Bellas’ Finals performance from “Pitch Perfect” during the talent portion of Mr. Longhorn. The group practiced at Wild’s house for hours to memorize the dance and song; it was difficult for Hughes in particular as he had never seen the movie before. “I was pretty nervous, and it didn't help when [Connors] didn't have his mic. I was standing out there for like 30 seconds; I didn't know what was going on, and then I looked back and he was not there. But, once I was performing, it was really fun. I ran up into the stands and high-fived people,” Hughes said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DSC_8417-Enhanced-NR-1200x800.jpg)
![Drawing her bow, junior Gracie McLeod performs with chamber orchestra at the annual fall orchestra concert. To prepare for the concert, McLeod spent time during AcLab and practiced together with the symphonic orchestra. “[The concert] was pretty exciting. It was
the first concert of the year, and I was really excited to play ‘Just What I Needed’ because it's a well-known song. [But,] watching symphonic play was definitely my favorite part because they always play beautifully each time,” McLeod said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DSC0015-2-min-1200x818.jpg)
![Some of the most deadly instances of gun violence have occurred in schools, communities and other ‘safe spaces’ for students. These uncontrolled settings give way to the need for gun regulation, including background and mental health checks. “Gun control comes about with more laws, but there are a lot of guns out there that people could obtain illegally. What is a solution that would get the illegal guns off the street? We have yet to find [one],” social studies teacher Nancy Sachtlaben said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/DSC_5122-1200x800.jpg)
![Within the U.S., the busiest shopping period of the year is Cyber Week, the time from Thanksgiving through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, shoppers spent $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday, which is a 7.3% year-over-year increase from 2023. “When I was younger, I would always be out with my mom getting Christmas gifts or just shopping in general. Now, as she has gotten older, I've noticed [that almost] every day, I'll open the front door and there's three packages that my mom has ordered. Part of that is she just doesn't always have the time to go to a store for 30 minutes to an hour, but the other part is when she gets bored, she has easy access to [shopping],” junior Grace Garetson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DSC_0249.JPG-1200x801.jpg)
![Complex global supply chains supply the goods for everyday luxuries, such as the coffee at West High’s Blue Brew. Low tariffs enabled much of the prosperity of modern history. “Higher tariffs lead to higher costs. A tariff is a tax on an imported good, and someone has to pay for that tax, and typically that [will] end up impacting consumers,” economics teacher Rachel Money said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Flag-1.png)
![Eyes glued to his sheet music, senior Andrew Gillies accompanies the Jazz Band as the pianist. During the annual Winter Jazz Concert, Gillies was chosen to improvise a solo during the song, “T.J. Boogie.” ¨I love concerts [because of] how the audience reacts, and just the stage lights [shining on me],¨ Gillies said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DSC_3774-1200x801.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. (Courtesy of Christina Block)](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/462488499_2973926416100522_5057718068659607183_n-1200x925.jpg)
![Blending together a concoction for a science experiment, science teacher Joel Anderson scares his students by bringing excitement and thrill into his classroom for his annual Halloween show. It took about six weeks for Anderson to set up his classroom for the show. “It’s pure terror. I came up with this idea a couple decades ago to do something fun for Halloween. So I pretend to be this mad scientist [that creates] a Frankenstein-like creature [with the class], learning a little bit of science along the way and [then ending] with a laser show. It’s just for fun; entertainment value,” Anderson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DSC_0021.JPG_-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Sally Peters stands in the history hallway, contemplating her choices in the 2024 United States and Missouri elections on Nov. 5. As a member of Diplomacy Club, Peters has discussed key candidates and issues in contemporary American politics. “[As students], we're starting to become adults. We're realizing how much the policies that are enforced and the laws that make it through the House and Senate are starting to affect us. [Opportunities such as] AP [U.S.Government] and Diplomacy Club [make elections feel] a lot more real,” Diplomacy Club vice president and senior Nidhisha Pejathaya said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Flag-1-1.png)
