Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
Pronouns: she/her
Grade: 11
Years on staff: 2
What was your favorite childhood TV show? My favorite childhood TV shows were “Doc Mcstuffins” and “Sofia the First”
What is your favorite book? Divergent by Veronica Roth
What motivates you? To be honest, I don’t have a specific person who motivates me, I think the feeling of me just wanting to be successful is my only motivation. I want to be able to not worry financially and to be able to live life to the fullest.
![Sports organizations have changed lives on and off the field, improving athletes’ muscle strength, reducing their risk of diseases and building energetic work capacity worldwide. However, many student-athletes struggle to balance schoolwork and athletic commitments, hoping to seek more understanding and support from their teachers and coaches. “To lessen mental strain student-athletes [face] and create a healthier, more comfortable lifestyle, there shouldn’t be any homework. I'm already [at school] for eight hours and [homework] creates a bigger load for student-athletes in AP or honors classes,” track and field sprinter and sophomore Lucy Penton said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0095-1-e1713883278514-1200x847.jpg)
![On Sun, Feb. 11, the 2023 Super Bowl champions — the Kansas City Chiefs — will take on the San Francisco 49ers for the 2024 Super Bowl. During the playoffs, there are seven teams from each conference who battle for the chance to make it to the Super Bowl at the end of the season. “A good team comes from bonding, unity and overall synergy. The better [the] team’s synergy, the better you're gonna be as a team,” junior Archie Arnold said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Big-Match-1.png)
![Oftentimes, African American students face misjudgment from their peers based on age-old stereotypes surrounding their race. Because of this recurring issue, many Black students have shared a common experience of stereotypes, such as assumptions of their character based on their skin color. “I'm Black [and] I live in the county. [People] automatically assume, ‘Oh, she doesn't live in the city; she's whitewashed with some color.’ I [also] have hearing aids, and [people] assume because I'm a part of the Hard of Hearing group, [I’m] not aggressive or hostile. [Instead, I’m] approachable, the token character,” sophomore Mya Jenkins said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/White-Name-Youtube-Channel-Art-2-900x506.png)
![Juniors Tristen Banks, Kimora Jones, Nylah Thompson and Chris Williams smile with the trophy after winning the national Stage Breakers competition on April 15. Five teams competed for the championship. “Things that we [had] were [competitiveness], eagerness and determination, because the other teams who were here did good. To be able to beat other step teams, you need to [be the best in] precision, rhythm, and know how to put first things first,” Banks said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/stepteamwinapril15dallas.jpeg)
![Early graduate Mia Irving moves the tassel on her cap, signifying her next move in life. After graduating, Irving plans to enter the U.S. Army while attending Lindenwood University. “[The military] told me that if I do go into the military, I’m on track to graduate at 30 to 37, so I [plan to be in the military between ages] 30 [and] 35, just so I can have everything planned out for afterward,” Irving said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DSC_0160-900x600.jpg)
![Fine-tuning his masterpiece, junior Jeff Bakers uses mineral spirits to help develop more detail in painting. Baker's favorite work from this semester was painting still-life objects including a chair, skates and fruit. “My teacher inspired me to do better because at first I wasn’t going to try in this class, but she influenced me to try harder [in my artwork],” Baker said. “This class was a lot harder, a lot more [work] than I expected.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/unnamed.jpeg)
