![“[My dad] has directed me towards good things. I don't want to do what a lot of people do out there. I want to do great things, [so] I work on my grades. I try to stay focused and do the right thing at all times. I'm appreciative that I have an example in my life. I want to provide for my family and kids when I get older. He helps me avoid certain things that he has done so I don't have to make the same mistakes. He helps to direct me on the right path.” – Sylvester Young, 11](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/kyoung-1-900x600.jpeg)
![“I think the best part about being a teacher is seeing how many different lives you impact. Sometimes it takes years. You see a student you haven't had in 10 years and they come up to you and they have a conversation; that impact that we have on many [ students] lives can help shape the world. Obviously that's the main goal for what I would hope a lot of people in teaching, but I feel like that it is hard to see when you're in the moment, but you can find that if you teach long enough. I come to different insights. [I] focus in on what I find to be important, and what we need as a society and culture. Right now, we need more interactions with each other. And unfortunately, we're dealing with a situation where there's a lot of impersonal contact that we have. Part of it stems from our technology; we can also lay some blame on our current situation with COVID. I worry about those aspects and students' abilities to socialize and work together." – Brian Welch, librarian](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC_0020-900x600.jpg)
!["I love to play music, and I love to compose. It’s sort of like my safe space. Whenever I have a really stressful day, I like to just sit down at the piano and just play whatever I want, it helps me relax. I didn't start formally playing the piano until like second or third grade. But even before that, I was always at my little keyboard in my house just picking up the keys and playing some random stuff. I, actually, had the privilege of going to the University of Missouri composition summer class, this past summer. I got to write music that was played by professional musicians on a stage with an audience. That was just like a transformative experience because it was the first time I ever heard my own music played live. And in that moment something just clicked in my head. I was like, it would be really cool if I did [composing] like actually as a as my job because I find so much joy in just writing music, going to rehearsals, and listening to actual people play it, not just a computer program." –
Samir Shaik, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/kshaik-1-900x600.jpeg)
![The greatest struggle in my life would probably have to be losing my grandpa. I lost my grandpa this past July and there was a two-week span where, after my grandpa passed, a lot of other stuff happened too. I kind of bunkered down in my shell for a little bit there. I didn’t go out or see any of my friends much over those two weeks. When I did, all I thought about was the loss of my grandpa. Losing someone is hard. He was one of my biggest inspirations. My grandparents lived in Florida. Any chance they got to travel to Missouri, they would. I will always cherish those moments even more than I did in the moment. My grandpa loved to watch me and my sister play sports, especially [when I played] soccer. Whenever I would talk to him on the phone, he always told me to get out of my head because that was something I did a lot. [He] told me that I would be fine and to keep my head up. I looked up to him throughout my life. I never saw my grandpa without a smile on his face. [He was] always so funny and always loved to crack jokes. Knowing he won’t be there for my big milestones, like [when I] graduate high school, is something really difficult to deal with. He was one of the hardest workers. He served in the Vietnam war [and] then went back to Gloucester, Ohio where he worked in the coal mines for 15 years. Rain, shine, happy, upset, angry—he worked through it all to support my dad and aunt. My papa loved his family so much and showed it by goofing around all the time. I remember one time when I was seven and my papa and I were watching Nascar and my favorite driver had always been Kyle Bush. Papa said something like, ‘I hope Kyle spins out.’ Papa knew how angry I would get but always made it up with a hug. I aspire to be like him every day. My grandpa made himself who he was and always stayed true to himself. So I would say that [losing him] was really a struggle.” - Derrien Gatchel, 11](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_8086-1-900x675.jpeg)
![Performing as Nibs in “Lost Girl,” junior Avery Hermann inspects a drawing of Neverland made by the show’s main character, Wendy Darling. Hermann not only acted in “Lost Girl”, but he also served as assistant director of the show. “I found ‘Lost Girl’ to be a beautiful and touching story, and I’m really glad I got to be a part of it. My favorite part of the show [was] my work as assistant director. I spent a lot of time working with every [cast member] on character, deliveries and emotional development. It was so amazing to see these brilliant actors come to life on stage in such a colorful way,” Hermann said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DSC_1258-Enhanced-NR-1-1200x798.jpg)
![Gazing up from the stage, junior Joseph McCurdy who played Peter Pan in the school play, Lost Girl, sits next to senior Juliana Rogers, who plays Wendy Darling, during a theater rehearsal. McCurdy’s passion for theater began when he observed a West High production in middle school. “I've been in the high school theater program since I was a freshman. I've always loved theater, but [what prompted me to join] was [when] I went to see [a performance here] when I was in middle school, and it was super cool,” McCurdy said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_6535-1200x798.jpeg)
Nov. 7 to Nov. 9, Parkway West’s theater department traveled through the life of Wendy Darling, in their newest production. “Lost Girl,”...
From down the hall, bursts of laughter and applause spill out of a classroom unlike a typical history class. Inside, instead of sitting through...