Elle Rotter, Awards Coordinator
Grade: 10
Years on Staff: 2
What has been your favorite quarantine hobby? I have really enjoyed being able to spend time on personal writing projects.
Is a hot dog a sandwich? *Thinks for way too long* No..?
Who is someone that inspires you? My Grama has always been someone who has inspired me and has been a major role model in my life.
![Sitting in her at-home office, Spanish teacher Sonya McGowin prepares to converse with her students. After teaching middle school students for 13 years, McGowin adjusted to teaching at a higher level. “It doesn't feel that different, except for the difference of virtual learning,” McGowin said. “High school students are more focused, [and] the course is more challenging.”](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/McGowin-874x900.jpeg)
![Senior Braden Jensen sits on the stairs of his Jazz Choir classroom Nov. 19, his last day of in-person school for the semester. Jensen preferred in-person classes because it was easier for him to learn in a school setting, especially for choir. “Singing through a mask is pretty interesting because you had less air to breathe in and the sound that came out could be kind of muffled,” Jensen said. “[But] with [choir] it was much better to sing with each other in-person.”](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/DSC_0006-1-900x600.jpg)
![After receiving feedback from her friends about what they wanted to see on the cover of the school planner, senior Maddy Truka combined her own ideas with friends' to create it. Truka was to hoping to represent diversity in her design. “[Planners] help to just keep track of anything your teacher may assign that’s not listed up on the board like usual,” Truka said. “Also, class set up may be more difficult and there is definitely more work to do so it’s important that students are organized now more than ever.”](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_4387-900x675.jpg)
![Taking advantage of ASL Club time after school in ASL Club Sponsor Jessie Menchak’s room, freshman and ASL Club member Bella Neisius cuts out hand-shaped Valentines. Club members gathered together to cut out cards and make tissue paper flowers for Valentines. “I like learning new things about the Deaf community at West and [meeting] all the Deaf kids within [our school] and connecting with them,” Neisius said.](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/DSC_0093-900x600.jpg)
