- June 5On to the next
- May 22The fun in finance
- May 22Photo of the Week - May 22
- May 22Spring in action: A look into West's 2026 spring sports season
- May 21French en route
- May 19Sarah Johnson
- May 19Crime, class and consequence
- May 18Athletes of West - Alexander Berryhill
- May 15What Happens Next
- May 15An empty table
![Juniors Ben Livak and Emily McClurg sit on the track after the fire alarm went off. Because class had not yet started, students gathered on the football field in groups with friends. “I had to make sure I grabbed all my stuff because I didn’t know what was gonna happen. Class hadn’t even started [when] we started heading outside,” Livak said. “[The process of being led back] was actually really smooth. I saw a little confusion with people trying to go different directions, but [teachers] got it under control.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image1-900x675.jpg)
![During the 54th annual graduation commencement ceremony at St. Charles Family Arena, principal Jeremy Mitchell applauds cum laude students' academic achievement. Mitchell has been the principal at West High for the past 12 years and plans to retire after the 21-22 school year ends. “Kids are good. I get irritated by news reports and friends [who say,] ‘Oh, I couldn’t do it, how do you put up with those high schoolers?’ Are you kidding me? I mean, you guys are great. Anytime I doubt that something happens, and boom. So I think that's the lesson that has been verified and reinforced year after year,” Mitchell said. “It's fun because I have my own children, and when I'm with those kids, it's kind of the same thing. I just think the teenage years are really interesting. That's why I work here. I’ve been going to school since 1978, and it's just so fun to see the growth in students. So I think my life lesson is learned from that enjoyment.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/powmay27-900x600.jpg)
![Wearing a bright smile, custodian Sean Smith sits on a bench greeting students in the morning. Smith believed that if the first thing students see when they enter the school is someone saying good morning, it will make their day that much better. “Now, if you're walking up that walkway with an attitude, I want [you] to see a cheery face that says ‘hey, I'm glad to see you,’” Smith said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_1186-900x675.jpg)
![The narrow lens contrasts with a diverse reality; whitewashing means altering or concealing something to make it more appealing to white people. The word “whitewashed” as it is used today has caused identity crises for thousands, if not millions, of students. “I have been called whitewashed before, and it feels very sad. [It’s] just hard because it makes me not know who I am. You don’t get a lot of backlash for [saying it], so I think it’s a throwaway term for people who aren’t affected by it. When you are the person [who] is being called whitewashed, over time, it builds up,” sophomore Raaga Golla said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5740-1-300x200.jpg)
![There are more than 20 open cardio machines at Crunch Fitness. I enjoyed the spacious environment at Crunch, a sentiment that was shared by sophomore Sanjana Daggubati. “[Going to] Crunch Fitness was the right decision because [it] feels more professional. Crunch’s workers are laid back, but not to the point where they don't care,” Daggubati said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_5242-1-300x225.jpg)
![Discarded to the side, Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams merchandise sits in a trash can after the two National Football League (NFL) teams left the state of Missouri. Both the National Hockey League’s (NHL) St.Louis Blues and Major League Baseball’s (MLB) St. Louis Cardinals, two other Missouri professional sports teams, have been in the city since their developments in 1967 and 1882, respectively. “St. Louis fans are incredibly loyal, judging by [the MLB’s] Cardinals and [the NHL’s] Blues. Team owners on the whole, not so much, judging by the [National Football League’s] Rams. This is more a function of ownership and profit than fan loyalty,” government teacher and football coach Melvin Trotier said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/DSC5875-2-300x225.jpg)
![Setting up the activity for his first meeting, Financial Literacy Club founder and sophomore Yash Bandiananthaiah writes on the whiteboard. For the first meeting, Bandiananthaiah created an interactive experience for members to immerse themselves in. “To me, the most important thing during a meeting is to make sure we are all engaged and participating, and [I do this by] always making sure we have a hands-on activity,” Bandiananthaiah said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC5306-1200x798.jpg)
![Hand raised into the air, senior Lauren Anstrom watches as her graduation cap flies along with the caps of all her peers. Anstrom hopes to leave behind the legacy as someone who was kind, hardworking, and always supportive of others. “Tossing my graduation cap honestly felt surreal. In that moment, everything hit me at once with all the excitement, relief and a little sadness too. It felt really emotional [because] this was the end of such a big chapter of my life, but also exciting knowing that everyone was about to start a completely new journey,” Anstrom said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_3031-Enhanced-NR-2-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Blair Hopkins enters City Coffee & Creperie in Clayton, Mo. for breakfast with her Honors French 4 students and AP French 5 students. Both classes went on a field trip to a fair trade chocolate factory in St. Louis to begin their unit on Côte D’Ivoire, a major producer of cocoa beans. “My ideal school would just be the Magic School Bus — you would always learn about things by going someplace and learning hands-on, being able to see it yourself and asking people questions. I think [learning is] always so much more memorable if you can experience it firsthand,” Hopkins said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC2795-1200x798.jpg)