For most high school students, starting their own business remains a hope for the distant future. For junior Justin Lutz, however, entrepreneurship is a part of his immediate reality. From online start-up...
A new school year is underway: freshmen are adjusting to the exciting world of high school, sophomores have returned to the familiar routine, juniors are ready to be upperclassmen and seniors are counting...
Samir Shaik, Multimedia Editor-in-Chief
• May 29, 2024
On May 15 at the 56th annual Honors Ceremony, junior Brooke Hoenecke walked across the stage after marking a landmark achievement for the school: becoming West’s first student to earn the Seal of Biliteracy...
Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor
• May 18, 2024
Taking a step into the seniors’ next chapter in life, the class of 2024 winds down after four long and eventful years of high school, reminiscing their memories at graduation. One long-standing, memorable...
In seventh grade, freshman Erastus Adewusi and his family stepped off a plane into America after living in Nigeria for 11 years. His mother landed a job in St. Louis as a contract nurse. After picking...
Emily Early
I began Convergence Journalism 1 as a freshman on a Zoom call. It feels like a lifetime ago. Sitting next to my mom in my dining room, I remember feeling so scared and so small in such a...
This spring, senior Soren Frederick was one of 34 artists whose work was selected to be featured at the Missouri Capitol for the Missouri Senate Student Arts Exhibit. Founded in 2014 by the Missouri Alliance...
When she was nine months old, junior Amelia Geistler flew across the Pacific Ocean to her new home in St. Louis. Originally born in China, Geistler was abandoned close to a fire station in the rural Chinese...
The world of photography first caught senior Abbi VanValkenburgh’s eye when she had a camera placed in her hand in fifth grade. Now, she is captaining her self-run photography business at just 18 years...
What school did you go to?
[Parkway] Central for middle and high school. For elementary school, [I went to] Highcroft.
How was your childhood home life?
It was great. I have an older...
![Junior Justin Lutz arranges his collection of basketball sports cards. Lutz started his first hand at entrepreneurship with an online store on eBay, dealing and trading in the sports card market. “I was already collecting sports cards [before], so I knew a lot of these players and I understood the market. I ventured into other sports, but I really stayed with the ones that I knew the most, [like] basketball. It’s really important to focus on what you know because it's so much easier than starting completely from scratch in a market that you don't understand. Find something that you're interested in," Lutz said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Untitled-design-2.png)
![Standing in front of the American Sign Language program’s mural, junior Brooke Hoenecke signs with freshman Darren Young. Hoenecke began cadet teaching for ASL this year alongside working towards earning her seal of biliteracy. “I was in ASL class when I received the email [that I qualified for the seal]. I was jumping up and down with my teacher and the rest of the class. One of the reasons why I took cadet teaching this year was so that I could prepare for the Seal of Biliteracy and be immersed in ASL,” Hoenecke said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/hoenecke.jpeg)
![With a keen eye for detail, senior Natalie Lashly writes her signature onto the senior hand wall. After some encouragement from her friends, Lashly applied to make the hand wall with her Lorax-inspired design. "I thought the [bright] colors would be fun. Our quote on the wall is 'Let us grow,’ based on the 'Let it grow' song [from the movie]. [I was hoping that the design would] make the cafeteria feel more exciting," Lashly said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0099-1200x801.jpg)
![Walking onto the field, freshman Erastus Adewusi wears a pink jersey in remembrance of cancer awareness month. With the number seven on his jersey, Adewusi reflects on his life in Nigeria before moving to America. “I [used to wake up] at 5:30 a.m. and school would end at 5 p.m. [versus] now,” Adewusi said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0029-1200x800.jpg)
![Envisioning a cathedral in his mind, senior Soren Frederick puts pencil to paper and practices a rough sketch in the drawing room. Frederick grew up surrounded by a family of artists who helped him realize his passion for drawing and painting as he matured. “My family [is] very much [an inspiration] for drawing and painting. [Art] didn’t start [in the family] with me; it started with my mom and my older sister, and my older brother is very good at drawing [too],” Frederick said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0017-1200x800.jpg)
![Junior Amelia Geistler poses with her aunt, uncle and cousin. Moving through childhood, Geistler learned that having parents with a different appearance from her meant facing awkward, upsetting situations. “Something I faced [after] being adopted was that I was [treated] better when people discovered I had white parents. A childhood memory [is] when I went over to a friend's house for the first time and her parents seemed to be very passive-aggressive, but when they learned I was adopted by white parents, they gave me equal treatment and ‘love’ as their white daughter,” Geistler said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-30-7.54.03-AM.png)
![With the click of a button, senior Abbi VanValkenburgh snaps a shot of her twin sister, senior Alli VanValkenburgh. Abbi found her passion for photography during her freshman year, allowing her to expand her class knowledge into her current photography business. “Photography has taught me how to be patient with myself. I learned that sometimes I'll fail, and that's okay. I know that not every image will be perfect, but the ones that [are] keep me going,” Abbi said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_5197-copy-2-1200x940.jpg)
![English teacher Leslie Lindsey smiles for a photo behind her desk. Growing up, Lindsey participated in many things outdoors, learning life skills that she still uses today. “I loved fishing and was never grossed out by it. I could get my hands dirty and spend time outside; even when it was cold, I didn't care. Fishing takes a lot of patience, and that is [now] a virtue of mine because I have great patience that translates into my classroom,” Lindsey said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_6632-1-e1712758336310-1200x983.jpeg)