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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

Scroll through to meet some of our newest staff.

Meet the teachers: New staff introductions

Sarah Boland, Staff Writer October 7, 2021

A new schedule, new COVID-19 guidelines and new challenges that come with school during a pandemic are among the challenges the school community is facing. But 12 new faculty members are also navigating...

Freshman Triya Gudipati types on a computer while sophomore Samari Sanders and freshman Cindy Phung write on paper. Gudipati found that typing became second nature as using pencil and paper became an infrequent occurrence. “We can submit something and get feedback much quicker,” Gudipati said. “There’s a lot more things we can do online that we can’t do on paper.”

Digital divide

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief October 5, 2021

With a quick shift to digital learning in 2020 and a plethora of new technologies available, teachers have to make a decision between continuing digitally or going back to paper. While thousands of websites...

Celebrating his one year sobriety mark, Trevor Shukers and his fiancée Courtney Jaboor smile with their two children: Hailee [6 years] and Sutton [20 months]. Hailee was diagnosed with autism in the middle of last year. “My three girls have all helped me find a purpose for life,” Shukers said. “I believe Hailee is part of God's reason for helping me and giving me another chance, she needs me. Little does she know I need her more than she needs me. The girls have given me a life better than I could have ever imagined.”

Alumni Trevor Shukers’ journey from addiction to inspiration

Makinsey Drake, Staff Writer September 29, 2021

Today marks day 575 of 2012 West graduate Trevor Shukers' sobriety. After six years of drug abuse and struggling with mental illness, Shukers decided to get clean not only for himself but for his family....

Ahmad and Joudi take a quick photo with their mother and older sister, Leena, during the hot air balloon ride. Leena lives in Dubai where she works as an Instagram influencer, and this was their first time seeing her in almost three years. “I was shocked to see her because I hadn’t seen her in so long. When we saw each other, we both kind of ran towards one another,” Joudi said. “She was in Cappadocia for the [music] festival because [a brand] reached out and invited her so that she can post about it.”

Summer Sojourn: senior Ahmad Kaziz and junior Joudi Kaziz vacation in Turkey

Tanvi Kulkarni, Features Editor September 20, 2021

One afternoon in late July, junior Joudi Kaziz and senior Ahmad Kaziz piled into their cousin's car and caught a 13-hour flight from Chicago, Ill. to Qatar, their final destination being Istanbul, Turkey.  The...

Sophomore Lia Emry and her sister Jadyn Duczman smile in pictures that they’ve exchanged. The sisters have been sending photos back and forth on social media. “We look alike. We’re definitely not twins, but we do have some similar features,” Emry said.

Sisters separated: sophomore Lia Emry discovers biological sister

Leah Schroeder, Managing Editor-in-Chief September 10, 2021

After she was abandoned at birth, sophomore Lia Emry was adopted from China when she was just nine months old. At the age of eight, Emry took a 23andme DNA test to learn more about her ancestry and this...

Alumnus Antajuan Adams stands smiling in front of a mural painted at New Roots Urban Farm.

Alumnus Antajuan Adams gardens toward food sovereignty

Ulaa Kuziez, News and Sports Editor June 3, 2021

2000 alumnus Antajuan Adams first became familiar with gardening when he was just seven years old. Learning simple skills from an elder in his community, he found that spending time in nature was enjoyable...

Junior Scotty Peterson finishes painting three of his brake calipers, a sky blue to match with his headlights. He was waiting for suspension upgrades to be fitted into the car, which makes the car more sensitive to steering inputs.  “I chose a bright blue because it seems unique,” Peterson said. “I wanted them to stand out while also being cohesive with the rest of the colors on the car.”

Junior Scott Peterson stays connected to his father through his passion for cars

Joseph Denklau, Staff Writer June 3, 2021

The sun is setting. Vroom, brab, brap. A car. Without warning, it flies into vision, a gray bullet amongst the red sky. It slides to the left, then the right, then the left and comes to a standstill. A...

As part of Creative Writing, students publish short stories.

Aspiring authors: Creative Writing Students publish short stories

Madi Michajliczenko, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief May 28, 2021

Usually in English classes, students are asked to write narratives, literary analyses and even research papers; however, students in English teacher Dan Barnes’ Creative Writing I and II get to create...

The stories of student cadet teachers assisting in classrooms.

Cadet teachers reporting for duty

Madi Michajliczenko, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief May 27, 2021

Able to complete administrative tasks like collecting materials, grading papers and passing out books, student cadet teachers gain experience teaching first-hand without the responsibility of teaching....

Frank Mortimer, a certified beekeeper in New Jersey, stands smiling next to a Cornell University sign where he teaches a beekeeping course. Photo by: Sofie Mortimer 

From Pathfinder to pollinator, alumnus Frank Mortimer publishes new book

Ulaa Kuziez, News and Sports Editor May 25, 2021

Spending time in the beehive is a peaceful experience for 1984 alumnus Frank Mortimer. As he holds a frame with nearly 400 bees on it, he can smell the honey, touch the wax and feel the fuzz on the bees’...