Brinda Ambal, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
Pronouns: she/her
I am a senior, and this is my fourth year on staff. The Pathfinder has helped me push myself independently, build a supportive community and grow through my mistakes. Though I write a lot of opinions, I do seek to understand the other side— my newfound knowledge always either strengthens my own position or changes my mind. I love fairy princess tea parties with my friends and 12-hour study marathons. In the rest of my time, I am Student Body co-Vice President, a part of the Scholar Bowl team and often found on or around Creve Coeur Lake with St. Louis Rowing Club. I most enjoy the small moments; a friend’s laugh, the brush of my fingers against a piece of paper and the first glimpse of daffodil yellow after a really long winter (gotta love Missouri weather).
![Seniors Zeina Daboul and Kayvon Rezaei give an impromptu performance of “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen in English teacher Andria Benmuvhar’s AP English Literature and Composition class. Benmuvhar’s sub plans instructed the class to audibly react to the dramatic final scene as two students read the parts aloud, but halfway through the scene Daboul and Rezaei decided to instead act. “I felt like the energy of the classroom really made me want to stand up and act it out face to face. The emotion in the play is based on [Nora and Torvald] interacting with each other, [so] it seemed more true to the play and a lot more fun,” Rezaei said. “[‘A Doll’s House’] is a very entertaining play so [when] we were told to audibly react to it, the whole class’s emotions were so authentic and raw. It made it more suiting for us to perform in a more authentic way toward each other.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FINAL-MARCH-POW-900x600.png)
![Junior Darcie Morgan and senior Annie Zahoran work on teapots in their Ceramics II class. The requirements for the project included the use of slabs and the creation of a linoleum stamp to make a functional teapot. “[When doing ceramics], you have an original idea in your head, and then [when] you try it out, and it doesn't work out, you have to go back and revise,” Morgan said. “Originally, I was going to have different plugs on the teapot, but then I realized I didn't go with my design, so I changed it so it'd be more geometric.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/DSC_0016-900x600.jpg)
![Digging their sandy toes into the ground, seniors Areeb Hasan and Uzair Mohsin prepare to block senior Nathan Meek’s spike, set up by seniors Manoah Inje and Gordon Yu. The boys took time to hype each other up after plays. “There's a lot of boosting each other up. As you play, you have like five people telling you how great you are and that feels great. When we get off [the pit], people always comment like 'Oh, so-and-so has gotten so good at this.’ I love that we’re learning and having a good time,” Meek said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/volleyball-feat-FINAL-900x600.jpg)
![Spending their seventh hour in the cafeteria Jan. 6, juniors Matthew Feng, Sangarshan Kumar, Michael Feng, Govind Menon, Om Shinde, Samarth Samal and Bennett Christofferson join a Zoom with their teacher to get help with their assigned work. Their teacher assigned a packet with lecture notes, guided problems and self-check problems and opened a Zoom room during class hours to ensure students were supported. “For some people, school is the only place they feel safe. On the other hand, we’re also in the biggest COVID-19 spike [of cases] right now. Both sides have ups and downs,” Samal said. “I personally am fine with staying in school as long as it doesn't interfere with my learning too much because I'm vaccinated and I wear my mask properly. If I can cover the content by myself with my teacher available on Zoom, I'm flexible with any option.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Sub-Shortage-Red-900x600.jpg)
![Senior Trisha Manna examines a flower while at a fairy-themed tea party that her friends decided to throw. Manna picked out the music they played for their party. “My favorite thing was the feeling of being there,” Manna said. “It kind of felt like it was a world away because we had school the next day [and] we were escaping from that.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AmbalBSept2-copy-e1636131243867-900x611.jpg)
![Experimenting with prototypes to create different types of motion, freshman Joseph Britt works on his automaton for engineering teacher Chris Donaldson's Intro to Engineering class. In the week leading up to spring break, Britt, along with junior Levi Ladd and sophomores Rick Biswas and David Meisinger, worked on their robotics project during class in anticipation of competing at the 2020 Vex Robotics World Championships, under the agreement that they would finish the class project over spring break. "I offered to build [the automaton] because I had the parts to build it, and it's important to keep busy. It can be fun to challenge yourself and do new things," Britt said. "I am planning on learning some new skills, like text coding, that I might use next year in robotics. If you don't always have something interesting to do, the time can just kind of blend together and you can get bored."](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/IMG_5823-900x675.jpg)
![Jamming out to “Don’t Stop” by DJ D-Sol, teachers Jeff Chazen, Jessica Wheeler and Katelyn Arenos get ready to ramp up the endorphins. When teacher Emily Lovercheck is not able to make it to the spin sessions, Arenos takes over leading the class with her playlist. “Music, especially with spinning, dictates how fast we go, if we add resistance [and] if we get a break. When the song speeds up, we speed up. When the song slows down, we slow down,” Arenos said. “I’m just really thankful that the school provides us with this opportunity to have a nice workout center. We are just thankful to have this space.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TeacherSpin-900x622.jpg)
![Junior Arden Dickson acts out applying makeup onstage. Dickson believes that acting teaches you how to tell a story, which is also important for singing. This led her to create her blog where she shares her experiences with friends and family. “I have heard people [respond with] ‘thank you for sharing’ or ‘I have been in a similar situation myself,’ so it's good to hear that other people are also facing similar situations and that my work is helping others.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IMG-3659-900x600.jpg)
![Writing a Teacher of the Year nomination note in World History teacher Amy Thornhill’s class, sophomore Kate Yates gets the opportunity to thank her teacher of choice, as well as possibly nominate them as Teacher of the Year. “[Teachers] spend so much time and effort to teach us and make sure we understand the content. We need a way to appreciate them so they know we are thankful for everything they do for us,” Yates said. “We should [have a say] because we spend the most time with [teachers]. We are the ones in their classes all day.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/DSC_0053-900x600.jpg)
