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The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder

Posing for a picture, junior Lexi Lutz wears thrifted clothes to promote her brand, Divine Minds. Junior Thomas Anderson and Lutz ran similar businesses and collaborated to advertise each other's items. “[In Spark!] we get unstructured business time to work on our business, so Claire [LeDuc] and I went out and did a photoshoot in our clothing,” Lutz said.

A passion for fashion

Ava Prsha, CJ1 Writer February 9, 2022

When junior Lexi Lutz and senior Claire LeDuc went shopping, they felt like they couldn’t find what they wanted. So they decided to create it themselves. LeDuc and Lutz started a clothing business through...

Senior Emily O'Connor poses in her navy and gold cheer uniform at the ICE All-Stars competition. For years, O'Connor looked up to the ICE athletes. "I feel lucky to be able to take the mat with ICE across my chest. The owner has built such a well-oiled machine, and the coaches at ICE have helped me become a better person by their life lessons and examples."

Senior Emily O’Connor cheers on a new generation

Emily Kate Beach, CJ1 Writer February 7, 2022

Fixing her high tight ponytail and wiping the sweat from her face, senior Emily O'Connor lightens the mood at practice with a cheesy joke as her team, ICE All-Stars Aftershock, perfects their routine before...

Librarian Brian Welch stands with a library cart, preparing to shelve books. He feels that there is a lot that goes into keeping the library organized. “You always try to make yourself busy, because there's a lot to do,” Welch said. “There are things that always can be done. If you look around, you can see that there's stuff going on in this library. It's a working library, and it sometimes looks chaotic [with] stuff everywhere. But that just means we're doing our job and the people are utilizing the space."

Meet the man behind the reading reservoir

Christopher Reed, Staff Writer February 4, 2022

Librarian Brian Welch has always loved books. As a kid, he would check out his books to his friends. He helped open a bookstore from scratch. Now, he has accomplished his dream of working in a library. Welch...

In a performance for the senior dance, Mascot and the Longhorn security perform a dance followed by a stunt taught to them by the cheerleaders. After the stunt fell, they were cheered on by the crowd. “The funniest moment for me was when the cheerleaders had us do stunts for the senior dance. Me and my Longhorn security tried to do a stunt during the halftime of the football game against Central,” Wesley said. (Contact us to claim photographer credit)

Mascot mystery

Grace Loethen, Staff Writer February 3, 2022

The smell of popcorn wafts through the air. Fans fill the bleachers in anticipation of the game. All eyes are on Wesley the mascot as the Longhorn security supports them for a stunt. Wesley topples over,...

The Podcast Immature, featuring freshmen Cassidy Oliff, Shirah Ramaji, Gianna Lionelli and Samir Shaik, discusses the life of teenagers in 2021.

Feeling misunderstood, four freshmen launched ongoing podcast, Immature

Addison Merz, CJ1 Writer February 2, 2022

In the seventh grade, what started as a joke turned into a 47 episode podcast about teenage life in 2021.  Freshmen Shirah Ramaji, Samir Shaik, Gianna Lionelli and Cassidy Olliff started recording...

Five Black journalists who have impacted our society through their work.

Blacks making an impact

Leah Schroeder and Mira Nalbandian February 2, 2022

The impact of Black journalists is felt year-round, not solely during Black History Month. Black writers have made immeasurable progress since the days of laws that prohibited Blacks from reading and writing....

Mathematics teacher  Jason Townsend travels with 34 students to experience life outside of America.. “You kind of get really addicted to wanting to travel around to see it all. And I've probably been to 40 of the 50 states and about 20 different countries, but I would love to just keep piling on to that. It's been a lot of fun and you'll learn so much just about different people, different cultures, different, you know, social things, different geographic things,” Townsend said.

Traveling out of his comfort zone

Hayley Hubert, CJ1 Writer February 1, 2022

Outside of school, math teacher Jason Townsend can be found at the podium guiding college students at Maryville University through website and app development. Townsend has over 22 years of high school...

Junior Ryan Feng meets with Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe. Feng managed the head of the red and yellow lion when they performed. “Even with all the performances, fireworks, parades and shows, the best part of the Lunar New Year is family. Being able to just come together and eat good food, like dumplings or even hot pot,” Feng said.

Dancing into the year of the tiger

Audrey Ghosh, Opinions Editor February 1, 2022

The tanggu, a Chinese drum, beats in rhythm with the red and gold dancing lion while the eager crowd parades along excitedly. The onlookers smile with warmth underneath their masks, celebrating the arrival...

After surgery, senior Zina Alshekhlee comes home to flowers and presents arranged by friends and family. She left the hospital in a wheelchair and attended school for four months. "Before the surgery, I wasn't too nervous or anything; I was like, 'okay, I'm just going to show up and get this over with just kind of where I was at that day.' I expected to be okay soon," Alshekhlee said.

Road to recovery: senior Zina Alshekhlee’s journey with scoliosis

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief January 28, 2022

After receiving a diagnosis in the eighth grade, senior Zina Alshekhlee works to recover from major surgery to help better her scoliosis. At first, it had little impact on Alshekhlee's life; however,...

Standing in front of the Marine Corps symbol, junior Audrey Griswold tours Iowa State University ROTC. Griswold always thought the Naval Academy was the place where she wanted to start. “At the Naval Academy, once you step on campus you are active military, whereas by taking an ROTC program you would be able to have your own college experience. So it's very different, but I think both are exceptional options,” Griswold said.

Hoping to continue her family legacy in the military

Ava Griswold, CJ1 Writer January 27, 2022

With a family history in the military, junior Audrey Griswold decided at the age of 13 that she wanted to continue the family legacy, serving her country.  Griswold is thinking about the Naval Academy...