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
Scott Bender prepares for a four minute fight scene for the short film, “The Eagles are a Country Music Band,” in which he starred. The film made its premiere at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood in August and the fight scene took 12 hours to film with the help of a stunt choreographer, a fight choreographer, a props team and a special effects team. “Me and the actress who plays my wife [get into a huge fight] and it is a little over the top, but it is part of the film. She breaks a wine bottle and throws it at me and it gets stuck in my back and I pull it out. We just have this crazy fight and she ends up killing me. The prop team attached a harness that goes around my chest and back and they cut a hole out of the shirt and put the shirt over the hardness and lodged the bottle into a suction cup in the harness so it looks like it went through my shirt and my back,” Bender said. “It is a really cool action movie and I have never done something to that effect before so it was really cool to learn how they do that so I can look at all these movies that have all these special effects and fights in them and break them down.”

Surviving as an actor in Hollywood

Sarah Lashly, COPY COACH • December 10, 2018

From taking on lead roles in short films to participating in Buzzfeed and Google Home commercials, 2005 alumnus Scott Bender has pursued his passion as an actor in Hollywood. This dream first surfaced...

Staring ahead, sophomores Camila Angulo, senior Hira Khan, sophomore Ulaa Kuziez and senior Kinza Awais stand together at school. Although they feel mostly accepted at school, they face discrimination at times due to their religions and identity as immigrants. “It doesn’t happen as much at West, but I definitely get it sometimes where it doesn’t happen to my face. I’d rather have people say it to my face, so I can give them a chance to explain themselves, and I can have a chance to explain myself,” Khan said. “I’ve heard behind my back, whether I’m sitting in class, or just in the halls, that someone either will point out that I look different or has said something to me. I’ve definitely gotten a lot of terrorist jokes made at me.”

Seniors Kinza Awais and Hira Khan share students’ stories of immigration

Sabrina Bohn, Managing Editor-in-Chief • December 10, 2018

While most students would groan at the thought of an English project, seniors Kinza Awais and Hira Khan used the opportunity to address a topic they care about by creating a video raising awareness about...

Standing alone, junior Aaliyah Weston completes a dance routine while her poms teammates drop to the floor. The team performed with the entire school watching at the Homecoming pep assembly Sept. 28. “Once I got all that applause it was like, ‘Oh, I do matter and I’m a black girl making a change at Parkway West,’” Weston said.

Behind the glitz and glamor: junior Aaliyah Weston’s fight against black stereotypes

Tyler Kinzy, Managing Editor-in-Chief • December 7, 2018

“Being a token black kid, not being allowed to be angry ever because people just know me as–” Junior Aaliyah Weston pauses, searching for the right words before redirecting her line of thought. “You...

A Parkway school bus waits outside the building's front entrance.

Zip code and skin color: the power in the stories that nobody tells

Tyler Kinzy, Managing Editor-in-Chief • December 7, 2018

Sixty years ago, 10 before Parkway West opened its doors, Arkansas governor Orval Faubus infamously shut down the entirety of Little Rock’s public high school system following pressure from the federal...

Junior Carly Anderson readjusts a branch for the birds to hang on. Even though Anderson is busy, she had to comfort one distraught bird so she could focus. “There’s a really young pigeon that just sits in his cage and cries until someone takes him out and holds him,” Anderson said. “One day there was a lot of work to do, so no one had time to sit and pay attention to him, but he just kept crying and crying so eventually I just put him on my shoulder and let him watch me work.”

Saving birds one wing at a time

Andrew Li, STAFF WRITER • December 6, 2018

Volunteering her time as a medical intern at Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center (WBR),  junior Carly Anderson works doing various activities, ranging from spraying down old cages to digging up worms. Initially,...

Standing tall, junior Makenna Rugani poses in her South Technical High School (South Tech) uniform. Rugani attends South Tech in pursuit of one day becoming a police officer. "The media makes some people believe we are the enemy, when in fact is is the opposite," Rugani said.

Junior Makenna Rugani pursues a career in law enforcement

Layne Bierk, Convergent Media Writer • November 30, 2018

Every morning by 7:35 a.m., junior Makenna Rugani stands in a single file line ready for inspection at South Technical High School. Rugani's relationship with her grandfather inspired her to serve as...

Sophomore Tyler Kinzy and senior Gokul Venkatachalam converse as they review a document. The two were inspired to pursue mental health activism after alumni Haran Kumar passed away June 15. "There were definitely some nerves when I first met Senator Schupp in person, especially with this being my first time getting involved in the political process," Kinzy said. "That uncertainty I felt quickly dissipated when I reminded myself how fortunate I am to be represented by such a great advocate for mental health initiatives."

Senior Gokul Venkatachalam and sophomore Tyler Kinzy address mental health concerns at the state-level

Lexie Pilz, Convergent Media Writer • November 18, 2018

After losing alumni Haran Kumar who battled depression, senior Gokul Venkatachalam and sophomore Tyler Kinzy contacted State Senator Jill Schupp. “We are working with Jill Schupp to try and improve...

Tricia LaRocca Morris holds her newly adopted daughter, June Caroline. Morris, working as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse, helped tend to sick newborn babies everyday while attempting to adopt. “We are just so grateful for our little girl, June Caroline, that it's hard to fathom that someone else is grateful for us. I think that's part of what makes a successful adoption so special. It is the answer to so many people's prayers,” Morris said.

Riding the adoption rollercoaster

Sarah Lashly, COPY COACH • November 16, 2018

Working as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse in Ann Arbor, MI after graduating in 2002, alumna Tricia LaRocca Morris achieved her goal of creating her own family by adopting her first baby June Caroline. “My...

Sophomore Ayesha Malik poses in front of her wardrobe, containing only 10 items. Malik adopted the fashion minimalist lifestyle 1 year ago. "I was frustrated with the amount of clothes I had," Malik said. "I would always think to myself that I had no clothes, so naturally, I would go shopping for more clothes. This became a toxic cycle."

10. Sophomore Ayesha Malik dons minimalist lifestyle

Maddi Foelsch, Convergent Media Writer • November 2, 2018

Looking in her closet, sophomore Ayesha Malik gets ready to pick out an outfit from her three pants and seven shirts. Malik is a minimalist. “To me, minimalism is a philosophy, or a way of life,”...

Senior Matthew Showers uses improv skills to land a job

Carson Lolley, Convergent Media Writer • October 31, 2018

For most, fall means the opening of haunted houses, but for senior Matthew Showers, it means going to work. Showers spent his weekends in October working as an actor at the Lemp Haunted House. “I...

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