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
After being qualified for the VEX robotics world championship, members of the 5430 robotics team remain humble because of their drive to collaborate and express their ideas with each other. For sophomore and Blue Brains member Esther Young (center), being the newest addition of her team has allowed her to meet people that she shares interests with. It has also allowed her to meet some of the nicest people she has ever met. “Being on the team is very energizing. I know for a fact my team definitely wants to take home trophies, but we also wanted to be qualified for world. That basically just means performing super well — maybe an award, but the experience is good too,” Young said.

Beyond the bots

Esta Kamau, Features/Humans of West Editor • April 17, 2023

Gearing up all four robots in preparation for the big day, members of the robotics program boarded a 5 a.m. bus March 5 and set off for Jefferson City, Mo. Each team — the Blue Brains (5430A), END GAM3...

The Blue Brains Robotics Team and supporters pose together after winning State and qualifying for Worlds. Teammates hold Second place Skills, Tournament Champion and Excellence Award trophies as the competition comes to an end. “It was such an amazing experience to not only double qualify for Worlds, but to do it with my teammates who are some of my favorite people in the world. I’m really glad I get to continue competing for my senior year,” Senior, Notebook Writer and Drive Team Member Katherine Hanses said.

From state to world: Blue Brains Robotics team emerges victorious

Ashlyn Gillespie and Elizabeth Franklin • March 13, 2023

West High became the 2023 Missouri VEX Robotics High School State Champion this past Saturday. Through a series of 2v2 competitions in Jefferson City, Mo., the team won the State tournament, qualifying...

After the winter concert for orchestra in high school, junior Anushka Dharmasanam learns a new piece, Movements III and IV of Britten’s Simple Symphony. Dharmasanam played the double bass for Missouri All-State Orchestra. “I was screaming [when I learned that I made it], and I was at my uncle’s house so we all hugged and celebrated,” Dharmasanam said.

Junior Anushka Dharmasanam’s road to All-State

Serpil Kucukkaya, CJ1 Writer • February 10, 2022

Watching her peers gaze over the instrument choices, fourth-grader Anushka Dharmasanam observed that no one was interested in the double bass. Viewing the opportunity to explore a different instrument,...

During Robotics Club, sophomores David Meisinger and Rick Biswas build a robot that they competed with in local competitions. Freshman Joseph Britt notes that cooperation was an important factor in the team qualifying for worlds. “Our team is mostly new people, so it is pretty exciting that we were able to work together,” Britt said. “I really like the environment there, and we have been spending a lot of our weekends working on the bot. We aren’t fighting over jobs or fighting over who gets to do what or [over] what the bot should do. We are all able to work together and execute it as a team.”

Robotics team qualifies for their first VRC World Championship

Zoe DeYoung, Staff Writer • April 23, 2020

At the beginning of the school year, Blue Brains, one of the schools four robotics teams, set various goals, including making it to state. After not only qualifying for state but winning the competition,...