![“I like that I'm able to socialize with all my friends at sports practices. I would say one of my biggest setbacks has been the summer between seventh and eighth grade when I injured my foot and I was unable to play with my soccer team [during] state cup for two games. My soccer team. That [experience] was definitely [a bad time for me] and it really did not make me feel good. [During this period of my life], A piece of advice [was given to me by] one of my soccer coaches who told me to ‘have the memory of a goldfish’. So the idea of this is that it's good to learn from your mistakes, but you can learn from them too much [and not value the life lessons in the midst]. That's really changed how I go about school sports, friendships, all that sort of stuff because you can't live in the past [and will have to move on to the future]. I think that getting past mistakes and moving on from them can really benefit you in the long run.” -Cal Kampelman, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/calkampelman-1200x790.jpg)
![“I went through a sport-ending injury. There was a lot of time where I questioned coming back to my sport because of how separated I felt from my team and all the complications that came with my surgery and physical therapy. It just felt like a lot was holding me back and that I shouldn't even attempt to come back to my sport but [I had to] push past that. I've been playing soccer for 12 years. If I wanted to come back and play soccer, which I love, I had to rush past the pain and the mental part of not being ready to come back. I value hard work and always push myself to the limit because, if you're not putting in 100% you won't get anything out of it. You have your highs and lows but it's up to you whether or how you react to them, and [the circumstances] will get better. This is just a period in your life, [and it’s] tough. But you have to work really hard. You have to [do what you] want to get past it to feel better.” - Hanna Jacquin, 10](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Option-1--1200x800.jpg)
![“Whenever I was younger, I did competitive cheer and I loved it. I was mid-competition of my
cheer when my appendix ruptured. After that moment, I stopped doing competitive cheer. Obviously, it wasn't my ideal situation to be in. I wasn't very happy that I discontinued competitive cheer, but I decided that I wanted to start doing something else that filled the shoes of competitive cheer. That was tennis. My parents pushed me [to become] the player I am today. Of course, like any other athlete, I've had regrets and moments I felt proud. After all of it, I knew I was happy with the friends and the person I have become from tennis. The environment [around] tennis was just amazing. I continued playing tennis and now, freshman year, I'm on junior varsity and love it. I look forward to practices and matches after school. I love the activities we do as a team and I love how my team just bonds. Overall, taking the risk is scary but it's worth it.” - Kaitlyn Sundermeyer, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_6354-3-1200x800.jpg)
![“Even though I really love performing and practicing every day, my favorite part about the dance team has to be the people on the team and the bonds that I've made the past two years. That's really what's kept me coming back. I've made friendships on Longhorn Line that will last a long time and I have met my best friends through dance. This year, I'm taking harder classes than I did last year. So, my biggest fear going into sophomore year was having too much homework and having to either pull back on the amount of dance that I was doing on the dance team or quit dance altogether in order to get all my work done. Around this time last year, I dislocated my shoulder during a performance. It took me out of dance for a really long time while I tried to rehabilitate my shoulder. It was really hard for me because I couldn't move my arm at all. I pretty much lost any strength I had in my arm. I had to get it all back and it took a really long time. I had to work everyday to get my strength back. It was a struggle for me because I couldn't dance and I literally had to dance with one arm. A struggle for me right now is balancing everything that's going on in my life, like studio, Longhorn Line and homework. It’s hard because I try to make sure I get all my homework done, but also knowing all my routines and [being able to] go to practices and studio every night. I’m happiest at studio dance because that's where all my best friends are. When you go to the studio each night you can forget anything that happened during your day. It's kind of like a little escape from the rest of your life or whatever is happening at that moment.” - Lila Kayser, 10](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DSC_0002-1200x800.jpg)
![“I have always wanted to play a sport that I was good at, and have [a] strong community [within] a team. I hadn’t played a sport since 6th grade so I was very excited when I made C-team lacrosse at tryouts last year. During the eighth practice of the year, I stepped in a hole in the back field [at school] and shattered my ankle. At the time, I felt like my whole team was improving while I had to sit on the sidelines. But as I have grown, I’ve realized that it brought me closer to the people on my team, but especially [my] coaches. It made me realize how close our team really was because they treated each other like family. [If someone is going through the same thing], ask them if they need help. Moving around was hard, getting to class with your bookbag, [and] going up the stairs to your house. [But] my friends were really helpful during this time, making sure I was okay and didn’t need anything. It’s important to keep your friends close to you. Especially when they go through hard times because you never know what they're actually going through.” - Kendall Conway, 10](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/kendallconway10.jpg)
![Senior Henry Dittmar celebrates his 18th birthday in recovery from a drive-by shooting that left him seriously injured. During this birthday, Dittmar was still unable to walk from the effects of a bullet that ripped through his calf. "The most challenging part of this experience was being patient with everything," Dittmar said. "Building that patience was definitely the best thing for me, [because] I am definitely not a very patient person. I learned a lot about myself during this experience."](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Untitled-design-9-900x506.png)
![Fully running through “Pippin” for the first time, sophomore Jack Mullen performs the opening number alongside his castmates to kick off tech week. Having been diagnosed with COVID-19 one week before the show, theater teacher and Director Amie Gossett relied on her students to step up to help the show run smoothly in her absence. “As a whole, this has been a very collaborative experience for all the kids. They’ve learned to take responsibility [while] pushing themselves to keep the show going. [They learned] to believe themselves in stepping outside of their comfort zone and to push for what they want,” Gossett said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DSC_0036-900x600.jpg)
![Mid-air, junior Donovan Qualls leaps for the soccer ball during the varsity game against Ladue on Oct. 21. As the goalie, Qualls focused on keeping the ball away from the box and the back of the net. “[Being a goalie] is pretty tough. You have to be the commander of the team in your box, step up for your team, be loud, and have a lot of communication. Once you do it for a while, it gets fun. I really enjoy being the backbone of my team,” Qualls said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC7136-Enhanced-NR-1200x798.jpg)
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