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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

On May 3 at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in Chesterfield, Mo., seniors Emily Kate Beach and Jack Mullen celebrate together after being crowned Prom Queen and King. Prom court nominations were announced to the school via Instagram on Apr. 22. “We got an email from Taggart that we were on court, and then all the people on court started texting each other ‘good luck,’” Mullen said.

Crowned: A look at your 2025 Prom King and Queen

Payton Dean, Staff Writer 12 hours ago

Sitting in front of a sea of peers dressed in flowing gowns and perfectly-tailored suits, the eight members of the senior prom court wait patiently to see who will represent their grade as Prom King and...

Pitching the ball on Apr. 14, senior Henry Wild and his team play against Belleville East. Wild was named scholar athlete of the year by St. Louis Post-Dispatch after maintaining a high cumulative GPA and staying involved with athletics for all of high school. “It’s an amazing honor. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to represent my school [and] what [it] stands for,” Wild said.

Driven to excel

Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor 3 days ago

Every year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recognizes a group of students attending high schools all over St. Louis based on their prestige in academics and athletics. This year, senior Henry Wild was chosen...

Red, white and blue, the American flag holds the values of our democracy. The fight that we once endured has returned, as student journalists and senior correspondents across the country are losing their voices due to government control. “[Are] the White House and [the] government limiting free speech [and] freedom of the press? Yes [they are],” chief communications officer of the Parkway School District and former journalist Elisa Tomich said.

The fight for the first: Protecting journalists across the country

Parkway West Editorial Board March 31, 2025

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Jefferson’s words still ring true 一 today, as press freedom in the...

Freezing in their position, the Addams Family cast hits the “rigor mortis” pose after cast member and senior Jack Mullen, in character as Gomez Addams, calls out the stiff death move. For the past four months, the combined company of cast members, orchestra pit, crew and directors all worked to create the familial chemistry of the show. “I’m excited for [the audience] to see the numbers, the music, the scenes, but I also just love all the technical aspects of it. The whole spectacle, the costumes, makeup and the people that put in the work backstage in order to make the show successful on stage. I’m excited for people to see and appreciate that,” Mullen said.

Rigor mortis!

Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor March 7, 2025

Snapping their fingers underneath the dim stage lights, the Addams family will make their stage debut on March 7 through March 9. “The Addams Family Musical: High School Edition” will tell the story...

A board in the Parkway West counseling department displays pennants of selective universities. With a wide range of students interested in attending, it’s important that these schools have clear priorities when deciding who to admit. “[Washington University] had the major that I wanted, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience. That's a holistic study of the brain, and [WashU is] the only college in the world that offers that. That's the main reason I wanted to go; I got into that program,” senior Dima Layth said.

Through the looking-glass

Pathfinder Editorial Board February 28, 2025

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s UNC/Harvard decision to overturn the use of race-conscious affirmative action policies in college recruiting, many have bemoaned the end of what was seen as a panacea...

Sitting courtside and observing the game, basketball coach Rich Rogers tries to help his team win in any way he can. Rogers has coached all levels of basketball at Parkway West for over 57 years and still has maintained a constant level of dedication and focus throughout his career. “If you're going to play basketball, you have to be willing to work as hard as possible and be ready for things to go wrong,” Rogers said.

A legacy of leadership and excellence in sports

Owen Ulmer, Staff Writer February 18, 2025

57 years ago, Parkway West opened, but there has been one constant figure in it other than the building: basketball coach Rich Rogers. Coaching for so long takes commitment and passion for the game, making...

Some of the most deadly instances of gun violence have occurred in schools, communities and other ‘safe spaces’ for students. These uncontrolled settings give way to the need for gun regulation, including background and mental health checks. “Gun control comes about with more laws, but there are a lot of guns out there that people could obtain illegally. What is a solution that would get the illegal guns off the street? We have yet to find [one],” social studies teacher Nancy Sachtlaben said.

Lives on the line: Gun violence’s impact on America

Ruthvi Tadakamalla, Sports/Newsletter Editor January 24, 2025

On Nov. 23, as Christian Brothers College junior Colin Brown and his father drove home from a hockey game on Interstate 55, a stray bullet hit and killed Brown. Brown’s tragic death sent shockwaves of...

Within the U.S., the busiest shopping period of the year is Cyber Week, the time from Thanksgiving through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, shoppers spent $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday, which is a 7.3% year-over-year increase from 2023. “When I was younger, I would always be out with my mom getting Christmas gifts or just shopping in general. Now, as she has gotten older, I've noticed [that almost] every day, I'll open the front door and there's three packages that my mom has ordered. Part of that is she just doesn't always have the time to go to a store for 30 minutes to an hour, but the other part is when she gets bored, she has easy access to [shopping],” junior Grace Garetson said.

Season of giving, season of getting

Pathfinder Editorial Board December 20, 2024

Temperatures drop, snow begins to fall and colorful lights go up around residential neighborhoods: the holidays are here. This ‘season of giving,’ as it’s been affectionately named, arrives with...

Complex global supply chains supply the goods for everyday luxuries, such as the coffee at West High’s Blue Brew. Low tariffs enabled much of the prosperity of modern history. “Higher tariffs lead to higher costs. A tariff is a tax on an imported good, and someone has to pay for that tax, and typically that [will] end up impacting consumers,” economics teacher Rachel Money said.

Spread the wealth

Will Gonsior, Opinions/A&E Editor December 5, 2024

The threat to trade A “giant sucking sound” was Henry Ross Perot’s famous description of alleged job losses due to free trade policies, and many Americans now seem to be hearing one. Most now believe...

Following his victory, Mr. Longhorn and senior Henry Wild gets lifted up by fellow senior contestants in a moment of celebration. After making it into the top three of nine competitors, Wild responded to an interview question posed by senior class principal Beth Aromando to cinch the victory. “Being up there with all the boys when they're picking me up and throwing me around was a fun time. I didn't participate to win; I just did it to have fun with them,” Wild said.

And the winner is…

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief November 22, 2024

After weeks of planning, preparation and practice, on Thursday, Nov. 21, senior Henry Wild was crowned Mr. Longhorn. Initially stepping on stage as a salsa dancer during the occupation portion of the night,...