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
Maura Lottes

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager

Pronouns: she/her

Grade: 12

Years on staff: 2

What is your favorite candy? Gummy bears.

Who is your favorite musician? Frank Ocean.

What is your dream job? Sports photographer.

All content by Maura Lottes
Junior Noor Hacking hands the ball off to sophomore Natalie House during a game against the Oakville Tigers on Sept. 8. Hacking played third base, and her main objective was to get people out and hit the ball deep. “I love playing third base because it is not only really fun, but it is also a big part of the team’s defense,” Hacking said.

[Photo] Athletes of West – Noor Hacking

Owen Ulmer and Patrick May
October 10, 2025
Wind blowing through the tennis court, sophomore Maddie Mills serves, tying the score against Marquette at 5-5 on Oct. 8. Playing with a new partner, junior Bree Lang, the duo kept their game strong despite the harsh wind. “We [worked] well together; [Bree] is good at the net, and I’m good at my groundstrokes,” Mills said.

Photo of the Week – October 10

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
October 10, 2025
Tug of war rope in hand, senior Casey Bowman chats with her friends, seniors Samantha Doolittle, Paige Hudnall and Jordyn Hopper, on the football field. Bowman and the seniors came up with a game plan for the competition, where their team faced the juniors. "We were hyping each other up for the pep rally. We were excited just to be near Fox 2 News," Bowman said.

Taping over a tube filled with sucrose, sophomore Shree Nidhi Sikkal Kumar and her group mate, junior Bethany Liao test the osmosis of a potato. Sikkal Kumar took AP Biology this year after taking both Honors Biology and Honors Chemistry as a freshman and loving the classes. “I want to major in biomedical science and work in a medical lab (in the future),” Sikkal Kumar said.

Photo of the Week – October 3

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
October 3, 2025
Breaking through the pre-game Homecoming banner alongside his team, senior Mason Freund, wearing number 15, runs ahead across the field. Freund stepped into the role as one of the quarterbacks for the game against McCluer North on Sept. 12. “I needed to be the leader, and I wanted to be the leader in this situation. It all has to work together to win. You can’t just have one good player to win. You’ve got to have all 11 pieces work together,” Freund said.

Photo of the Week – Sept. 19

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
September 19, 2025
Hugging senior Ella Wheeler, senior Jamaya Love beams after scoring a touchdown at the Powderpuff football game on Sept. 11, putting the seniors on the scoreboard with a score of 6-2 above the juniors. The seniors went on to capture the victory with a final score of 12-2. “I was actually gassed [at this moment]. I was so tired. But, everyone on the sideline, all my teammates and everybody in the stands were cheering,” Love said.

Photo of the Week – September 12

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
September 12, 2025
Football clutched in her hand, senior Maggie Leahy leaps past the end line and into the end zone as her fellow teammates rush to celebrate the touchdown. The juniors had been leading the scoreboard, but Leahy’s touchdown had turned the tide. “It was a really fun atmosphere to be in. Everybody was happy to be there because it was homecoming. We had a little rough start, but we figured it out in the end,” Leahy said.

[Photo] Powder Puff, Powder Play

Pathfinder Staff
September 12, 2025
Sophomore Natalie House pitches the ball during an intrasquad scrimmage for Red and Blue Night on Aug. 22. House played catcher for the varsity softball team. “I started [playing] softball when I was five. My brother played baseball, and I wanted to start sports like him. Scrimmaging against our own team is always kind of difficult because we all know each other's [weaknesses],” House said.

[Photo] Red and Blue Night: An everlasting tradition

Payton Dean, Sanjana Daggubati, Ryder Williams, and Noor Hacking
September 8, 2025
Grinning at the lab results, junior Devyn Baichly records the temperature of a liquid after mixing it with aluminum foil. With a passion for forensic science, Baichly enjoyed the copper sulfide lab and looked forward to the hands-on experiments in Honors Chemistry. “Since I was a kid, I’ve seen my dad [working] in labs. He’s one of my biggest supporters, and some of my fondest [childhood] memories are of him bringing home dry ice from work to experiment with me. A part of me is at ease when it comes to doing science labs — I tend to be more relaxed and focused on the moment,” Baichly said.

Photo of the Week – September 5

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
September 5, 2025
Hands kneading clay, junior principal Nancy Smith crafted a heart-shaped trinket dish while following instructions from sophomore Johnya Farrow. Ceramics “Teach a Teacher Day” took place Aug. 29, allowing students to bring in a faculty member and guide them through the class. “I did [Teach a Teacher Day] last year with some students, and it was fun participating with the kids. [Johnya] was so helpful and patient in teaching me. It made me see another side of a student who is very talented in her craft, and for her to show me how [to create ceramics] was awesome,” Smith said.

Photo of the Week – August 29

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
August 29, 2025
Raising her hands in the air, freshman Jillian Sternhagen follows Mr. Mooney’s lead during an activity Aug. 15 at freshman orientation. Surrounded by other freshmen, Sternhagen learned an “A O E day” chant to help remember their new weekly high school schedule. Students participated in several activities to get to know each other, the school and the upperclassmen. “We got to tour the school and learn where everything in our schedule is. The energy [at orientation] was fun; the leaders were peppy and got us excited,” Sternhagen said.

Photo of the Week – August 22

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
August 22, 2025
Jumping and spiking the ball, junior Katie Byergo tries to help lift her team above her opponents, Borgia High School on September 7th. Byergo has a huge role on the team, hitting the ball with power and blocking the opponents’ hits. ¨My favorite part of volleyball is winning games with my friends and hitting the ball hard,¨ Byergo said.

[Photo] Athletes to watch in the 2025-2026 season

Owen Ulmer, Staff Writer
May 21, 2025
Covering second base, junior Ethan Brookshire attempts to tag out the runner on May 7 against Rockwood Summit. Following a successful doubleheader on April 18, Brookshire said he felt a spark throughout the team that kept them motivated. “It’s a very competitive schedule and team. We all work well together and push [each other] to become the best versions of ourselves we can be. It’s [a] really fast [game], so cooperation is important.” Brookshire said.

Photo of the Week – May 9

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
May 9, 2025
Celebrating their landmark victory, the Parkway West Boys Hockey team gathers together on the ice. Over the course of the season, the team grew closer together while pursuing their final goal: winning the coveted Wickenheiser Cup. “[Winning the cup] was awesome. [As] a senior, it was super rewarding to end on a high note. It had to be the most memorable part of my career,” varsity hockey player and senior Hunter Beach said.

[Photo] History on ice

Samir Shaik and Ruthvi Tadakamalla
March 5, 2025
Building the base, junior Zaid Aujaimy creates a zen garden in Ceramics on Feb. 25. Aujaimy learned about making plants and rocks out of clay and incorporated those into his garden. “The most significant lesson I learned in Ceramics was to be patient [and] gentle and [to] think about unique ways to approach things and use my resources. I enjoy [Ceramics] class because I can express my creativity. It's not like other classes where there's a specific way to do something. I can [go] about it however I want and make good art my own way,” Aujaimy said.

[Photo] Photo of the Week – February 28

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief
February 28, 2025
Pickleball

[Photo] Serving up support

Risa Cidoni and Samir Shaik
February 7, 2025
High fives and smiles all around, senior Sadie Burgess and her partner junior Charlotte Putnam compete in the Red Cross Club’s pickleball tournament fundraiser at Chicken n Pickle on Feb. 1. The fundraiser benefited those recently affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. “It felt good [supporting the cause], especially since [pickleball] was easy to pick up and fun. I would have spent that $20 probably at Target anyway, so it was good that I was giving it back to something better,” Burgess said.

[Photo] Photo of the Week – February 7

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief
February 7, 2025
Attempting to skate the puck between two Oakville defenders, senior Caden Lindley gets closed in. On Jan. 16, Lindley was honored before the game for senior night at Queeny Recreational Complex. “It was weird to be spotlighted as a senior since I’ve always looked up to other classes and didn’t realize how close my time as a senior was. [But,] it was definitely nice to play in honor of our class,” Lindley said.

[Photo] Photo of the Week – January 24

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief
January 24, 2025
Striking a final pose, seniors Bart Connors, Gavin Hamlin, Colin Hughes and Henry Wild parody The Barden Bellas’ Finals performance from “Pitch Perfect” during the talent portion of Mr. Longhorn. The group practiced at Wild’s house for hours to memorize the dance and song; it was difficult for Hughes in particular as he had never seen the movie before. “I was pretty nervous, and it didn't help when [Connors] didn't have his mic. I was standing out there for like 30 seconds; I didn't know what was going on, and then I looked back and he was not there. But, once I was performing, it was really fun. I ran up into the stands and high-fived people,” Hughes said.

[Photo] Photo of the Week – November 22

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief
November 22, 2024
Surrounded by teammates, junior Katie Byergo is coached by Susan Anderson during a team huddle between sets. Anderson told the team that their energy was lacking, and the team needed to start getting excited about every point. "Cheering on my teammates is something I love to do. Celebrating their success over mine- it's my team over myself," Byergo said.

Beyond the net

Maura Lottes, Social Media Manager
November 14, 2024
Touching various chemicals to the flame of a Bunsen burner, junior Julia Kiffer discovers how electrons impact the color of fire. In this chemistry lab, Kiffer explored eight different chemicals as her lab partner junior Kate Hardy made observations on each flame’s color and duration. "[The lab] was a lot of fun. I like doing experiments [and seeing how] things happen. We were exciting electrons and depending on the chemical, the color of the fire was different. There was a teal green chemical that was super cool,” Kiffer said

[Photo] Photo of the Week – October 11

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief
October 11, 2024