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
“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

Kendall Conway

Kate Roland, Staff Writer • September 20, 2023

“My biggest accomplishment was when I placed second at nationals for racquetball. I started playing racquetball in sixth grade because I was passionate about beating my brothers in the sport, and it was just fun. My brothers have played racquetball for years, and they inspired me to start. I did not have a winter sport, so I decided I might try racquetball. I am glad I started because I have found a good community through [the sport]. I met many nice people and made good relationships. I beat someone at state, but when [I played singles], I placed second at nationals, I felt defeated. At nationals, I played both singles and doubles. The people I lost to at nationals — [when I played doubles] were upperclassmen, a senior and a junior. Getting that far as a freshman [was] an accomplishment. Racquetball has taught me that pain is temporary and legends are forever. It is painful, but it is worth it.” - Matt Lancia, 10

Matt Lancia

Kate Roland, Staff Writer • August 28, 2023

“When I was in eighth grade, my grandma passed away. My grandma lived right next to me, and when she passed away, it was very strange to see someone else moving into [her] house. After she passed, my grades started dropping and I took her death very hard. I was very close to my grandma my whole life. As a child, I would go to her house and make chocolate chip cookies; which helped me bond with her. She showed me how important it is to donate and be active in the Church. My grandma helped me grow closer to God because she was very close with Him. She taught me how to be a better person.” - Juli Moellenhoff, 10

Juli Moellenhoff

Kate Roland, Staff Writer • August 22, 2023

“My favorite place to be is my lake house because I grew up spending my summers there. I go there every summer with my friends and family. I've made a lot of friends that also have summer [lake] houses there. I have strong relationships with some of the friends I made there. I consider them my family. My favorite memories are going wakeboarding with all my friends there and spending the whole day on the lake,” - Casey Bowman, 10

Casey Bowman

Ruthvi Tadakamalla, Editor-In-Chief • August 21, 2023

“Something exciting happening in my life right now is lacrosse season. I’ve been playing lacrosse since freshman year, and I’m looking forward to playing this year since there will be more new people on the team. I recently had tryouts, and it was nice to see all the girls again and the new people coming up and just hanging out together. It was a little stressful just because everyone was worried about what teams they were going to be placed on, but in the end, it all worked out well, and everyone was happy with where they were. I’m excited about the team bonding this year since we didn’t get to do that many things together outside of school last year. Our team has already been planning different hangouts this year, and some of my favorites are movie nights, brunches, and slideshow nights. I plan to play lacrosse throughout the rest of high school since I want to improve myself and work on my stick work.” - Ruby Pfiel, 10

Ruby Pfiel

Angie Ren, CJ1 Writer • April 28, 2023

“I spend a lot of my time after school working at HiTea, and I work there once a week. At first, I started working there because I wanted to earn money, but I really enjoy making the drinks and serving them to customers. It’s fun to see first-time customers who have never had boba before and to see their reactions to it since it is pretty different from other popular drinks. Work can sometimes be draining since I’ll have a long day at school, but then I have to go straight to work after. I have made some of my closest friends through work, which makes it less draining, and sometimes I even look forward to going. I can see myself working there for the rest of high school, but after college, I want to pursue a career in math or science. Even though working at a boba shop and a career in math is different, working at HiTea for two years has definitely given me a lot of experience in the business world. It has improved my social skills tremendously.” - Louis Liu, 10

Louis Liu

Angie Ren, Staff Writer • April 21, 2023

“Tennis is something I spend a lot of my time on. My dad played tennis throughout high school, so he wanted me to get involved in the sport so that he could teach me. I enjoy playing tennis because I love to win, and it gives me satisfaction to have a mindset to strive to win every game. My favorite tennis player, Roger Federer, inspires me to do my best in tennis, and I learned a lot from him just by watching him play. His strokes are very pretty, and his form is really good, so he usually is my go-to pro tennis player to watch. Along with just enjoying tennis, it has also improved my thought process and mentality a lot because when you’re playing singles, you don’t have a lot of help, so you have to think and do everything for yourself. This has also helped me in school because, say if you’re taking a test or doing work, you have to work independently and for yourself.” - Kai Daudsyah, 10

Kai Daudsyah

Angie Ren, Staff Writer • April 17, 2023

Performing at the Spring Pep Assembly, junior and co-captain of the Parkway South-West Winter Guard Cora Tiemeier takes center stage alongside fellow members on the rifle line. With this season being her sixth, Tiemeier played the lead in their routine, “Pity Party.” “I will remember this team; they have my whole heart. I love each one of them and the connections we made so dearly. It's really sad when the season ends because you don't see your teammates every day at school,” Tiemeier said.

Spin it

Triya Gudipati, Editor-in-Chief • April 12, 2023

On Saturday, April 1, the Parkway South-West Winter Guard competed at the Mid Continent Color Guard Association (MCCGA) Championships against five other teams at Willard High School. The guard, made up...

Sophomore Sadie Burgess poses with her grandmother's novel "Spirited Sisters." Burgess' grandmother grew up in India and has written 20 novels with her experience.

Discovering diversity

Ava Griswold, Yearbook Editor-in-Chief • March 31, 2023

After spending time with her grandparents twice a year, sophomore Sadie Burgess felt a connection far beyond Ballwin, Mo. Burgess’ grandma was born and raised in India, where she attended...

Sydney Etchason

Sydney Etchason

Ava Griswold, Yearbook Editor-in-Chief • March 10, 2023

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