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
Throughout the year, the Pathfinder has welcomed an excellent addition of new stories to our site. Certain stories have especially caught viewers’ and writers’ eyes: take a look at this year’s extraordinary articles in the 2023-2024 Pathfinder Wrapped.

2023-2024 Pathfinder Wrapped

Pathfinder Editorial Board • May 30, 2024

All good things must eventually come to an end, and as the 2023-2024 school year finally draws its curtains closed, students reflect on all the memories that they forged this year. Likewise, it’s time...

Though the 13 year anticipation of graduation has finally culminated to its climax, the conflicted emotional baggage that comes along with it hasn’t settled down just yet. With one final summer left with the class of 2024, reminiscing in the good times, while making memories and preparing for the future, the tracks associated with the season are bound to become, in the words of singer-songwriter Dua Lipa, “Future Nostalgia.” So blast that song, scream that tune and anything else that’ll solidify the moments and memories made with the graduated seniors.

You’re gonna go far

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief • May 20, 2024

This weekend, Parkway West said its final goodbye to the class of 2024. From entering high school as confused teenagers, navigating education through Zoom boxes and online learning, to exiting as mature,...

Senior Yena Ahn (back row, ninth from the left) smiles with her fellow recipients and class principal Mario Pupillo after receiving their awards and before visiting the Whispering Gallery. The process of receiving the certificate began with Plocher reading the definition of each virtue, then the student taking the stage and snapping a picture with him. “It was a wholesome moment because we're all seniors, so we all know each other, we've grown up with each other for the past eight years. When each of us got called up, we knew that they deserved that award because the description matched that person,” Ahn said.

Inscribed legacy

Cindy Phung, Editor-in-Chief • March 21, 2024

A graphic of the 2022-23 Pathfinder senior staff.

Seniors signing off

Addie Gleason, Ashlyn Gillespie, Elle Rotter, Madi Michajliczenko, and Makinsey Drake • May 12, 2023

Addie Gleason I’ve been a shy person for just about as long as I can remember. While I always completed coursework on time, my teachers often commented that I rarely participated in class. This followed...

In Convergence Journalism, junior Claire Creely works on a story for the Pathfinder. The student-run journalism staff seeks to cover stories that matter to our readers.

More to the story

Serena Liu and Katie Wallace • February 27, 2023

In 1983, students in a Journalism II class at Hazelwood East High School wrote stories about teen pregnancy and divorce for their school newspaper, The Spectrum. But when their principal reviewed the issue,...

A woman points a camera at the viewer

Photography through a racial lens

Serena Liu, Editor-in-Chief • February 23, 2023
For many students, seeing people of color misrepresented through photography is disheartening. However, the effects also bleed into students’ daily lives. While occasional unflattering photos may be inevitable, some students of color have found that their skin tone has looked inaccurate or improperly exposed in their photos. These photos are put in the yearbook for everyone to see and look back on. 
This photo illustration is inspired by the copious political attack ads plastered over all news and local stations in the St. Louis Metro area. These commercials exploit current event issues by using the biggest concerns to attract attention. "Marijuana is one [concern] in Missouri because they’re having a ballot issue. Illegal immigration and cutting taxes are the ones that Republicans use. The whole ‘[Republicans] being very right-wing and autocratic’ is [an issue ad] that you would see the Democrats doing. They’re all over the place depending on what the hot-button issue is," social studies department chair Jeffrey Chazen said.

They can’t be trusted

Elizabeth Franklin, Editor-in-Chief • November 9, 2022

On televisions across St. Louis, the faces of Democratic Senate candidate Trudy Busch Valentine and Republican Senate candidate Eric Schmitt were familiar ones from August to November. One moment, Valentine...

Distorted images of teen TV shows “Pretty Little Liars,” “Riverdale” and “Euphoria,” all of which feature adult actors and mature themes. Both “Euphoria” and “Pretty Little Liars” made it onto Teen Vogue’s “10 Best Teen TV Shows of the 2010s” list. Meanwhile, according to Mediaweek and Deadline, “Riverdale” was one of Netflix’s most popular shows across a global scale.

The distorted reflection of teens in television

Elizabeth Franklin, Editor-in-Chief • October 17, 2022

I will be the first to admit that I love trashy shows. Reality TV, vulgar comedies, stupid Hallmark movies — I will watch all of it. But in my latest binge of TV series, my focus has been on media that...

The Pathfinder has posted hundreds of stories throughout the 2021-2022 school year for the community to read. These stories are this year’s fan favorites, from bachelorette shows to wacky traditions.

Pathfinder “fan favorites” of the 2021-2022 school year

Addie Gleason, Managing Editor-in-Chief • June 2, 2022

The school year is coming to an end. Lockers are cleared out, friends are saying goodbye and everyone’s cramming to get their missing assignments turned in. Amid yet another atypical school year, students...