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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

After the winter concert for orchestra in high school, junior Anushka Dharmasanam learns a new piece, Movements III and IV of Britten’s Simple Symphony. Dharmasanam played the double bass for Missouri All-State Orchestra. “I was screaming [when I learned that I made it], and I was at my uncle’s house so we all hugged and celebrated,” Dharmasanam said.

Junior Anushka Dharmasanam’s road to All-State

Serpil Kucukkaya, CJ1 Writer February 10, 2022

Watching her peers gaze over the instrument choices, fourth-grader Anushka Dharmasanam observed that no one was interested in the double bass. Viewing the opportunity to explore a different instrument,...

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...

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...

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...

Working on code with his dad, freshman Sasha Tripathi continues to fix some bugs on his project after winning the Congressional App Challenge for creating an app that detects skin cancer. “It makes me proud because I put my own hard work into it, and it just feels really good to have [it all] pay off,” Tripathi said.

Freshman Sasha Tripathi wins Congressional Award for life-saving app

Gabbie Kerber, CJ1 Writer January 26, 2022

After browsing the internet looking at a forum for computer science, freshman Sasha Tripathi stumbled upon a Congressional App Challenge. Looking for something to do during COVID-19, Tripathi decided to...

Posing for a picture, seniors Claire Folkins and Lauren Beach wear their handmade hoodies from their small business @sundaymorning_stl. Folkins and Beach knew their target market and saw the opportunities from starting their own business. “We want [our customers] to feel like they are living like their Pinterest board,” Folkins said. “We found a way to make the sweatshirts many teens want, affordable and customizable which is different from a professional online shop.”

Creating sweatshirts and smiles; a small business inspires students during difficult times

Maddy Bach, Yearbook Contributor January 25, 2022

With Instagram inspiration and COVID-19 boredom, seniors Claire Folkins and Lauren Beach noticed their friends’ desire for Shein prices and put their digital cutting Cricut machine to work. Customers...