- June 5On to the next
- May 22The fun in finance
- May 22Photo of the Week - May 22
- May 22Spring in action: A look into West's 2026 spring sports season
- May 21French en route
- May 19Sarah Johnson
- May 19Crime, class and consequence
- May 18Athletes of West - Alexander Berryhill
- May 15What Happens Next
- May 15An empty table
![After winning their respective boards and collecting their awards, the chess team stands together, holding their trophies. Sophomore Prateek Nemmali (right) captained the team and led them to an overall second-place finish. “In terms of community, I feel [chess] is a nice team spirit-building thing, especially when playing in team tournaments. It’s competitive, but you feel together when you play the game,” Nemmali said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image1-900x600.jpg)
![During Ac lab time, sophomore Raj Jaladi plays a game of chess in the library. Jaladi joined the chess club before winter break and has learned different strategies from his peers and YouTube videos. “I think it challenges my intellectual ability and there is a lot to learn. A lot of games there is just an objective to [achieve] but in chess there are variations and it’s an endless ocean,” Jaladi said. “I’ve been playing a lot, maybe too much actually. I’ve made friends with a lot of people in the club and I learned a lot by playing against them.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/DSC_0013-copy-900x681.jpg)
![Focusing in on a new strategy to beat future opponents in an upcoming tournament, chess team captain and senior Matt Boyd draws on his self-made improvements to strategically think through his moves. Earlier in his career, Boyd made moves quicker than he does now; however, he has improved as a player and realized the importance of working through the scenarios. “We have had multiple matches where I spent all of my two hours, and I'm the last one there,” Boyd said. “I'm just so involved [in the game]. I don't think there's any one thing that makes me concentrate more than other people, but I guess it's just that I'm so invested in it.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DSC_0004-900x600.jpg)
![The narrow lens contrasts with a diverse reality; whitewashing means altering or concealing something to make it more appealing to white people. The word “whitewashed” as it is used today has caused identity crises for thousands, if not millions, of students. “I have been called whitewashed before, and it feels very sad. [It’s] just hard because it makes me not know who I am. You don’t get a lot of backlash for [saying it], so I think it’s a throwaway term for people who aren’t affected by it. When you are the person [who] is being called whitewashed, over time, it builds up,” sophomore Raaga Golla said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5740-1-300x200.jpg)
![Two of Pathfinder’s most recent editorial accolades shine on display in journalism teacher Lindsey Katz’s room. Pathfinder was recognized as a SNO Distinguished Site on April 24. “Praise isn’t everything, but it feels so nice to see the hard work of our staff recognized. So much more than just writing words on a page occurs [in journalism], and I am so glad people see that. I love being surrounded by such talented writers, but also such great people,” editor-in-chief and junior Payton Dean said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DSC_4941-300x200.jpg)
![There are more than 20 open cardio machines at Crunch Fitness. I enjoyed the spacious environment at Crunch, a sentiment that was shared by sophomore Sanjana Daggubati. “[Going to] Crunch Fitness was the right decision because [it] feels more professional. Crunch’s workers are laid back, but not to the point where they don't care,” Daggubati said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_5242-1-300x225.jpg)
![Setting up the activity for his first meeting, Financial Literacy Club founder and sophomore Yash Bandiananthaiah writes on the whiteboard. For the first meeting, Bandiananthaiah created an interactive experience for members to immerse themselves in. “To me, the most important thing during a meeting is to make sure we are all engaged and participating, and [I do this by] always making sure we have a hands-on activity,” Bandiananthaiah said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC5306-1200x798.jpg)
![Hand raised into the air, senior Lauren Anstrom watches as her graduation cap flies along with the caps of all her peers. Anstrom hopes to leave behind the legacy as someone who was kind, hardworking, and always supportive of others. “Tossing my graduation cap honestly felt surreal. In that moment, everything hit me at once with all the excitement, relief and a little sadness too. It felt really emotional [because] this was the end of such a big chapter of my life, but also exciting knowing that everyone was about to start a completely new journey,” Anstrom said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_3031-Enhanced-NR-2-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Blair Hopkins enters City Coffee & Creperie in Clayton, Mo. for breakfast with her Honors French 4 students and AP French 5 students. Both classes went on a field trip to a fair trade chocolate factory in St. Louis to begin their unit on Côte D’Ivoire, a major producer of cocoa beans. “My ideal school would just be the Magic School Bus — you would always learn about things by going someplace and learning hands-on, being able to see it yourself and asking people questions. I think [learning is] always so much more memorable if you can experience it firsthand,” Hopkins said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC2795-1200x798.jpg)