Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor
• October 24, 2022
Business teacher Bill Mitchell and his identical twin brother became homeless at 17 years old after a turbulent home situation arose. Throughout high school, Mitchell and his brother found comfort in wrestling...
Raj Jaladi, Newsletter Editor/Data Analyst
• October 24, 2022
For junior David Hawiger, summer was not just relaxing and travel but also time to answer his question: Is a medical career for me?
Hawiger pursued an internship opportunity at the St. Louis University...
Ashlyn Gillespie, Deputy Managing Editor-in-Chief
• October 14, 2022
One day at West, former Principal Beth Plunkett was in an English classroom when she saw a fire start from a telephone line. It shimmied towards a nearby generator, which exploded into flames, sending...
As the horn sounds for the second time to alert everyone of the upcoming voyage, junior Caitlyn Allendorph boards the Fydraca, a 32-foot-long Viking ship, along with her seven other crew members. While...
Entranced in an internet rabbit hole, 10-year-old Alan Song perused the pages of Wikipedia, exploring atomic orbitals, a chemistry topic he had recently discovered. Little did he know that seven years...
According to junior Joseph Federer, leadership and fast thinking are two of the many traits of a successful quarterback. Since transferring from Marquette High School, the 5-foot-11 junior has thrown over...
With a tight grip on his stick, freshman James Callahan skillfully carries his ball down the stadium field. He pulls past defenders, keeping his head up to look for passes and charges towards the goal.
Callahan...
Elle Rotter, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
• September 23, 2022
Principal John McCabe crowned senior Hope Green queen at the Homecoming Pep Assembly. Coronation also took place during the football game. There will be no court festivities at the dance. Green spent the...
Elle Rotter, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
• September 23, 2022
The Longhorn Council is a team of high school students who plan activities like Homecoming, spirit week, prom, pep assemblies and other school events. The executive board is a smaller group of students...
A late-night summer breeze blows as junior Kristen Skordos and four others sit on a curb with Ted Drewes in hand. The ice cream freezes their palms as they chatter about the event from earlier that night:...
![Senior Nick Menendez chose to honor Business Teacher Bill Mitchell during Teacher Appreciation night for varsity boys soccer. Players wrote letters to their teachers and gave them to them before the game. “I chose Mr. Mitchell because I enjoy his class. I believe what he's teaching will actually be useful to me later on in life. [I like] solving problems, working out how to best present an idea or a concept and then working through that and delivering on it,” Menendez said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Teacher-Appreciation-900x600.jpg)
![Junior Caitlyn Allendorph carries the shield of her mentor during the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) Laurel Award Ceremony. The award is presented to those who have excelled in the arts and sciences category. “This was a huge honor to do this, [my mentor] helped me get my bearings at the SCA. It makes me so happy that I was able to be in this,” Allendorph said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image_50802177.jpg)
![Clutching the ball on a quarterback run, junior Joseph Federer hustles on the field, attempting to score a touchdown. As a child, Federer grew up watching football. “An NFL player who inspires me is [quarterback] Kyler Murray. He is a very accurate quarterback and can also make tremendous plays with his feet,” Federer said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DSC_0358-1-900x600.jpg)
![Knees bent, freshman James Callahan lifts the ball for a fast pass during the 2021 Young Men’s National Championship in Virginia Beach. Despite his high skill level, it is difficult for Callahan to find opportunities to play with other boys. “I can’t play in any tournaments in St. Louis. To get practice with other boys, I’d have to fly out to California or Pennsylvania. You have to spend $400 to pay for the practice, and you pay for a plane ticket. We don’t even know if they’re giving us rooms, [or if] we also have to get the hotel and transportation,” Callahan said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/unnamed-22.jpg)
![Dressed in spirit gear, senior Hope Green is handed the golden football, representing her title as the Homecoming Queen. Homecoming week has always been Green’s favorite week of the year. “I didn’t tell anyone to vote for me. I’m just not that person. If I was going to be on [homecoming court], I’d want [people] to vote for me because they genuinely liked me as a person, and liked who I am. It meant a lot to know that I’ve made somewhat of an impression on people and that people appreciate me,” Green said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DSC_0927-900x600.jpg)
![Celebrating the 2021 Fall Pep Assembly, seniors Esha Franics and Maya Malhorta dress in spirit colors red, white and blue. The duo worked on planning the Homecoming assembly, parade and Powder Puff game. “I'm more in charge of the parade and the floats. Esha is more in charge of the pep assembly and Powder Puff,” senior Maya Malhorta said. “There’s a lot of things to do behind the scenes, especially picking [main] theme and planning all of the spirit day themes, but it is a lot of fun. I picked disco [for the class theme] because I think it would be the most fun. I am disappointed the teachers didn’t get rock; I was hoping they would.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Esha-and-Maya-900x578.jpg)
![Junior Kristen Skordos sings for her band Okay Violet’s third performance at Ballwin Sno-Cone. Skordos believed being in a band helped her develop as a person and deal with non-music related problems. “Later in life, if I’m ever facing a challenge, it will be different than learning a song, but I’ll put myself in those shoes. In the moment, things can be so stressful, but once you’ve done it, you’ll [see how] amazing it is,” Skordos said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Kristen-Skordos2.jpg)