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

Samari Sanders

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.

All content by Samari Sanders
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 youre gonna be as a team,” junior Archie Arnold said.

Is the NFL rigged?

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
February 11, 2024
On Nov. 8, seniors Mason Beno, MJ Surtin, Maddi Lang and Rachel Livak signed their recruitment letters to the colleges of their choice. Every year, senior recruits bring along their team, coaches and family as they announce their commitment to colleges. “Recognition doesn’t solely define an athlete’s talent or ability. D2 and D3 athletes showcase tremendous skills and dedication in their respective sports, even if they might not receive as much attention as their D1 counterparts,” Surtin said.

The journey doesn’t stop

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
January 11, 2024
On Dec. 21, the day before students went on winter break, the Parkway School District put in place new signs displaying classroom room numbers. The signs were installed as a safety measure for first responders to locate emergencies around the school. “It makes it a lot easier and universal for people to understand the location of students and staff,” Sophomore Principal Jamaal Heavens said.

A path to safety

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
January 5, 2024
Rod Wave released his new album “Nostalgia” Sept. 15. The album reached No. 1 on the top albums chart on Apple Music, overtaking the album “GUTS” by Olivia Rodrigo. Starting Oct. 19, Rod Wave will tour 35 cities —  including St. Louis — up until Dec. 18.

“Nostalgia” by Rod Wave

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
November 6, 2023
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.

Focused on the Future

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
March 8, 2023
Junior Krish Bhagat has been on the Debate team for three years and has competed in more than 20 tournaments. Over the years, Bhagat realized how passionate he is about Lincoln Douglas (LD) Debate. “LD seemed like a perfect fit for me. I was the only person who could feel the rush of debating LD, especially during my sophomore year, which is not common at all,” Bhagat said.

Krish Bhagat

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
Senior Thomas Bruns has been on debate for four years and has accumulated up to 500 National Speech Debate Association (NSDA) points. Bruns hopes to gain 750 points by the end of the year. “It’s pretty hard to get over 100 NSDA points. I think its a reasonable goal to get to the next level,” Bruns said.

Thomas Bruns

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
Senior Noah Schell has been on debate for four years and has gained recognition for his dedication to the team by competing in various events and debates. After four years of debating Policy, Schell is thrilled that Policy will still be going. “Ive been super proud with the amount of novices that we have this year doing Policy. It gives me hope that once I graduate this year, Policy at Parkway West will still continue to be around. Im happier with the way the team has grown and just learning how to do policy than I am with receiving the award,” Schell said.

Noah Schell

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
Junior Dee Tummala is a first-year debater and is learning what it takes to be on the team. Tummala has enjoyed seeing issues through other perspectives during her experience debating in Policy. “I learned from my mistakes easier with my partner. We worked together and built a friendship through the process. It was a really nice experience,” Tummala said.

Deekshanjani Tummala

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
At the Ladue Invitational, debaters compete in a variety of events. Students that qualified for the tournament had the chance to receive awards for their events through teamwork. “There was always someone willing to help you grow as a debater, and getting into the community was always such a welcoming place. It solidified being a family when we started to spend so much time together on tournament weekends,” junior Serpil Kuccukaya said.

The Rookies vs. Veterans

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
Junior Mallory Bricker is a first-year competitor for competitive speech and debate. Bricker would give one of her favorite pieces of advice to all debaters. “Never feel like your opponent is smarter than you and that everything they’re saying is correct because they could be just as nervous as you,” Bricker said.

Mallory Bricker

Samari Sanders, Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
Fine-tuning his masterpiece, junior Jeff Bakers uses mineral spirits to help develop more detail in painting. Bakers 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.”

[Photo] Photo of the Week – Dec. 9

Elle Rotter, Deputy Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
December 9, 2022
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The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High
Samari Sanders