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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

Junior Justin Lutz arranges his collection of basketball sports cards. Lutz started his first hand at entrepreneurship with an online store on eBay, dealing and trading in the sports card market. “I was already collecting sports cards [before], so I knew a lot of these players and I understood the market. I ventured into other sports, but I really stayed with the ones that I knew the most, [like] basketball. It’s really important to focus on what you know because it's so much easier than starting completely from scratch in a market that you don't understand. Find something that you're interested in," Lutz said.

Getting down to business

Risa Cidoni, Editor-in-Chief September 26, 2024

For most high school students, starting their own business remains a hope for the distant future. For junior Justin Lutz, however, entrepreneurship is a part of his immediate reality. From online start-up...

Business and personal finance teacher Evan Stern stands in front of  his classroom. After facing hardships growing up, Stern learned how to deal with them with the help of role models like  his dad. “We dealt with some trauma when I was in middle school, and my dad had to be responsible for all three of us while he was working full-time. I know he had to sacrifice a lot. I'm sure it was really hard for him, but looking back on it, he did a really good job . I didn't appreciate everything that he did at the time because I was so young. Now, I'm engaged and probably going to have kids of my own in the next couple of years so I [am starting] to look at things differently,” Stern said.

Flashback Friday: Business and personal finance teacher Evan Stern

Sakenah Lajkem, Staff Writer February 9, 2024

What school did you go to? I grew up in Parkway school district. I went to Green Trails [Elementary for] elementary school, [and] then I went to Parkway Central Middle School and Parkway Central High...

Business and personal finance teacher Andy Croley stands in front of his 5th hour, Intro to Business. In high school, business was the class Croley enjoyed most. “Business class was my favorite course in high school. I didn't know that was something I wanted to teach coming out of high school, but I wanted a business degree and to own my own business. When I entered university, I thought about a [teaching] avenue. I met with my advisor and looked at different departments. I fell in love with the people in the education department, the professors and the coursework, because it tied right into what I loved about the class when I was in high school. I fell in love with it even more when I was student teaching,” Croley said.

Flashback Friday: Business and personal finance teacher Andy Croley

Sakenah Lajkem, Staff Writer November 10, 2023

What school did you go to? I went to a school outside of Richmond, Va. [called] Scott Dinwiddie High School. It was named after a general in the Civil War. How was your childhood home life? We...

Senior Nick Menendez chose to honor Business Teacher Bill Mitchell during Teacher Appreciation night for varsity boys soccer. Players wrote letters to their teachers and gave them to them before the game. “I chose Mr. Mitchell because I enjoy his class. I believe what he's teaching will actually be useful to me later on in life. [I like] solving problems, working out how to best present an idea or a concept and then working through that and delivering on it,” Menendez said.

From Struggle to Success

Esta Kamau, Staff Writer October 24, 2022

Business teacher Bill Mitchell and his identical twin brother became homeless at 17 years old after a turbulent home situation arose. Throughout high school, Mitchell and his brother found comfort in wrestling...

At the Springfield Expo Center, freshmen Shirah Ramaji and Samir Shaik pose with State medals. Ramaji and Shaik were partners in the Intro to Social Media Strategies category and were the only members of their club to make it to State. “It was a cool experience, and I got to share it with my good friend. I had a good time when I was there,” Shaik said.

Accidental Ac Lab encounter leads FBLA accolades

Brooke Hoenecke, CJ1 Writer May 11, 2022

Hoping to get help from business teacher Laura Strickland during AcLab, freshman Shirah Ramaji unknowingly walked into a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club meeting. FBLA is a program that helps...

Posing for a picture, junior Lexi Lutz wears thrifted clothes to promote her brand, Divine Minds. Junior Thomas Anderson and Lutz ran similar businesses and collaborated to advertise each other's items. “[In Spark!] we get unstructured business time to work on our business, so Claire [LeDuc] and I went out and did a photoshoot in our clothing,” Lutz said.

A passion for fashion

Ava Prsha, CJ1 Writer February 9, 2022

When junior Lexi Lutz and senior Claire LeDuc went shopping, they felt like they couldn’t find what they wanted. So they decided to create it themselves. LeDuc and Lutz started a clothing business through...

Writing on a chalkboard, members of the Blue Brew staff and juniors Katie Evans and Julia Ligoure prepare for Blue Brew to reopen. Prior to reopening, the staff was trained in preparing coffee and taking payments. “My favorite thing about Blue Brew reopening is getting to work with friends and [being able to] see [and] help customers every morning,” Ligoure said. “I hope to gain some work and customer service skills [from working at Blue Brew].”

News Brief: Business is brewing

Sarah Boland, Staff Writer October 19, 2021

Dragging their feet into school in the early morning, students set their sights on one thing: a caffeinated beverage. After being closed for 18 months due to COVID-19, Blue Brew reopened Oct. 4 and plans...

Gesturing to her board, business teacher Kelly Kennedy teaches her sixth hour Web Design class. In addition to Web Design, Kennedy teachers courses on Brand Marketing and Multimedia. “I loved the creativity involved with all my jobs. I am sure there were plenty of other things I did not like, but like with most things, the longer I am away from the industry, the more positive the memories become,’” Kennedy said.

The business of teaching

Kathryn McAuliffe, Managing Editor-in-Chief May 18, 2021

Attending welding school, flying to Hawaii and teaching students, business teacher Kelly Kennedy’s career has been anything but traditional. Kennedy explored unconventional approaches to both business...

A collage of coasters painted by the Special Education program.

Special education students coast through communication skills

Sara Albarcha, Staff Writer May 14, 2021

At 12:50 p.m. room 2302 changes from a classroom to a full-fledged business operation for students in Jessica Bowman’s Job Experience class.  Bowman found an innovative way to teach life skills,...

Surrounded by mountains of shoes like Nike SB Dunk Chicago, Yeezy 350 Bred, Jordan 11 Concord and Jordan 4 Raptor, sophomore Nick Malchanav uses his basement to store his inventory. Through pulling off great deals with resellers, collectors and consumers, Malchanav has been able to attain the skill of negotiating. “Whenever I negotiate with people, I just ask them the price they're looking to get the shoes for, so I can know if we're on the same page,” Malchanav said. “But if they don't give me a price that they're looking for, I just throw them a low balling offer just to see where the dice rolls. Because if they base their emotions, I can see how negotiable they're going to be on the deal.”

Making the big bucks: sophomore Nick Malchanav and his pathways to fortune

Anijah Wilson and Hannah Choi April 14, 2021

All it took was a global pandemic for sophomore Nick Malchanav to begin his journey to making thousands. With extra time on his hands, he began to search for ways to make money and was able to find great...

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