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

All content by Isaiah Meese
With a steady hand, junior Lucy Moore participates in a gel-electrophoresis lab in Biology 3. The lab procedure required the use of a micropipette to discover the length of DNA through electric waves. Moore and her partner, junior Nidisha Pejathya, have completed many lab experiences throughout the year. “I like how Bio 3 is set up. Its fun to work physically with something and see it for myself instead of doing it online,” Moore said.

[Photo] Photo of the Week – May 17

Samir Shaik, Multimedia Editor-in-Chief
May 17, 2024
“This is my 10th year [teaching] at West. I started teaching because I struggled a lot in school, [but I decided to teach English because] I really like writing. I had a really hard time in high school and learning did not come easy to me in middle school. I would study for tests and still [did] not do well, or [I would] work really hard to write an essay and it just wouldnt come together. Once I got a grip on how to learn at the end of high school and in college, I really wanted to help students who were struggling to break down the learning process and make it easier because school is not easy for everyone. Math might not be your [specialty,] but maybe youre really good at theater, English or something else. So I’ve been helping students find what they are really good at, and [I have strived to] give them the confidence to continue.” - Diana Uffman, English

Diana Uffman, English

Isaiah Meese, CJ1 Writer
May 16, 2024
“I was the girl that always played teacher when I [was] growing up. I [would set]  my dolls up and stuffed animals up and they’d be my students [that I] would play school with. When I graduated high school, I went to Mizzou to become a broadcast journalist. I talked to a couple of people in the field and they all said to go wherever the jobs are.  I knew I wasnt the type of person [whose] career was going to drive them around the world, and I knew I was in the wrong place, so I talked to my parents, and they [said] that I’ve always loved teaching. I went to Missouri State University, [then got a job] in a small town called Buffalo just north of Springfield and I worked there for two years. After that, I decided to get my graduate degree in math, and I had an opportunity to get a grad assistantship where I could go to school and teach. We ended up moving here to St. Louis and I taught for 10 years in the Fort Zumwalt district, and then seven years here at Parkway West. The one piece of advice I always give students is that they will spend more waking hours of their adult life in their job than anything else they do; so find something that youre passionate about and something that you love. Oftentimes as an adult, I feel like Im saying one thing and doing another thing, but that [advice] I feel like Im truly living.” – Andrea Horn, Math

Andrea Horn, Math

Isaiah Meese, CJ1 Writer
February 21, 2024
Laughing as he assembles the foundation, junior Jack Brau works to build the Latin Colosseum. The team stepped into roles that varied from an architect to an unskilled worker to complete the task. “The skilled craftsmen would go to the architect and ask what are the next steps to the construction,” Brau said. “The most difficult part was going back and forth between the architects in order to get a better understanding of how the next piece is built, but we were having a great time.”

[Photo] Photo of the Week – December 1

Dana Zafarani, Photo of the Week Editor
December 1, 2023
“I’m originally from Milwaukee, Wis. I started out [working] at a retail music store. to pay the bills when I was still back in Milwaukee. I could play piano since I was six and taught myself the guitar and drums. In high school I was in a band, but then I started writing music seriously when I was in college. By the time I finished college, I had enough [music saved up] to make a CD. I went ahead and loaded a CD and started promoting it. [Later] I made another EP which is a shorter [version of a] CD. In the midst of moving to St. Louis, I built a recording studio. By the time I was in St. Louis, I was actually recording a lot of my own stuff, and then I started working with rappers for a while. I was trying to find [an] angle in the music [industry], so I experimented with different things. At the end of the day, I just kind of got burnt out, and I knew that retail didnt have a future for me. So my wife just suggested that I become a teacher. I thought I liked kids, I liked history, and I already had a history degree. I liked the lifestyle of a teacher, so I decided to give it a try and it was a good choice. ” - Aaron Bashirian, History

Aaron Bashirian, history

Isaiah Meese, CJ1 Writer
November 20, 2023
Donate to Pathfinder
$190
$800
Contributed
Our Goal

Activate Search
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High
Isaiah Meese