- 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
![Facing a large audience, senior Caitlyn Dunn recites poetry passionately. She prepared beforehand for the competition. “I [went] on the poem site and I picked a poem that seemed doable but also interesting to me, and I practiced it a lot, starting a week before the competition,” Dunn said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/DSC_5875-Enhanced-NR-1200x733.jpg)
![Handing out candy to excited trunk-or-treaters, President of the United Nations Children’s Fund club and junior Sara Ashok represents that group. Ashok was eager to participate in this event for multiple reasons. “I really wanted to be a part of the event because I get to help create memories for kids and spend time with my friends, spreading the things [I'm passionate about],” Ashok said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DSC_8648-1-1200x800.jpg)
![“I’m the vice president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the co-president of the Women in Healthcare club, and [am also in] of ABC club, NHS first aid, the diplomacy club, and other volunteering activities [in my community.] My main goal in these clubs is to be actively engaged in the school and give back to the community. [Through these opportunities,] I’ve learned to be a better organizer and planner, especially with my roles in MSA and Women in Healthcare. I think these skills will be valuable towards the career path I choose. I’m particularly interested in the medical field, which is why I co-founded Women in Healthcare. As a freshman, I was the chief financial officer of the Muslim Student Association. This year, I’m the vice president. We’ve worked hard to improve the organization and make the club more fun and interactive for everyone. It’s been great to see the club grow, with a lot of new freshmen joining. Balancing all of these activities with my schoolwork can be challenging at times, but the whole team helps with the workload. A misconception others have about the MSA is that [there is minimum involvement.] One time I went to stamp the MSA flyers to get approved down at the office, and the woman was hesitant about it. She asked how many people actually come to our meetings, so I explained that we usually have 35 to 40 people. Parkway West includes lots of diversity and it [helps strengthen] our community.” – Yusra Khan, 10](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1f5dbf90-8b69-452a-a610-22726c8a6ed9-1200x800.jpg)
![Cutting into a celebratory cookie cake, the secretary of the Indian Club and junior Swati Kumar kicks off the first meeting. Club board members introduced themselves and reviewed what future meetings would look like. “[I am] excited to see how far we could take this club. Indian culture is overlooked many times, so being a part of educating and celebrating it with others [is] so fun,” Kumar said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0093-1-1-900x675.jpg)
![While taking a selfie, freshman Samir Shaik and his friends try on face masks. Skincare, a prominent part of South Korean culture, was focused on during the club meeting dedicated to the country. “[My friends and I] wanted to try something different in this club. They offered us facemasks and we were just like, ‘Of course we’d [try them]’. I had never tried a face mask and [neither had] some of my friends. So it was a mess trying to put them on, but it was so fun,” Shaik said. “I just love that this moment was captured in a photo.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/selfiephotoshopped-900x600.jpg)
![The Blue Brains team members juniors Katherine Hanses, Joseph Britt, Isaac Porter and Anushka Dharmasanam and seniors David Meisinger and Rick Biswas pose in front of their robot and awards at the Speedway signature event in Indianapolis. The awards include their trophies from smaller competitions and World 2021, as well as a small trophy gifted to the team for their performance by robotics sponsor Chris Donaldson. “The trophy was for just being a good team, because this was our first big signature event outside of the virtual ones we did last year,” Hanses said. “[At this competition], we had six matches on the first day, and we won five. We got knocked out in the quarterfinals.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/5430A_SpeedwayPit-900x675.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)