Sophia Metroulas
![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/DSC5306-600x399.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/DSC2795-600x399.jpg)
!["[The happiest moment of my life was] when I got my braces off, because I felt free; [I had them] for six years, and finally got them off in seventh grade. I didn't enjoy them, because my teeth hurt all the time and I would not want to bite down on anything unless it was soft. People say to be excited about braces, don't [be]. But I [feel] a lot more secure about my smile now, [because I think] I look better," - Sophia Metroulas, 10](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/unnamed.jpeg)
“[The happiest moment of my life was] when I got my braces off, because I felt free; [I had them] for six years, and finally got them off in seventh grade. I didn’t enjoy them, because my teeth hurt all the time and I would not want to bite down on anything unless it was soft. People say to be excited about braces, don’t [be]. But I [feel] a lot more secure about my smile now, [because I think] I look better,” – Sophia Metroulas, 10