![Holding their third place medals from districts, senior Robert McKnight stands alongside his teammate Matt Boyd and tennis coach Katelyn Arenos after a practice during their junior year. They spent most of their season playing doubles matches with each other. “Playing tennis has taught me a lot. Staying committed to my training has taught me discipline. Struggling through back injuries has taught me how to always find the silver lining. Most importantly, my tennis career has taught me a lot about humility and respect,” McKnight said. “Respect is earned in many ways. It’s about correcting your mistakes and putting others first, and improving the lives of those around you, because you [can] personally have an impact.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/DSC_0687-900x596.jpg)
![Sprinting toward the finish line, senior Ryan Caton races at the Missouri Sectionals meet at Parkway Central High School Nov. 2, which was one of the last cross country races of his career. He finished the race in 14th place and qualified for state the following week. “My teammates [were] everything. Nobody was motivated for themselves; everyone was motivated for the whole team, and that is something I can’t thank them enough for,” Caton said. “I felt very happy that I was able to end my season at state. Not very many people were able to do that.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/unnamed-1.png)
![Aside from learning rowing techniques and mindset skills, junior Emma Wistuba also spends time bonding with friends during her month-long stay. The girls resided in dorm rooms and spent breaks getting to know one another. “There are always going to be people that you don't get along [with] and ODP helped me overcome that. I knew I wasn't going to [immediately] get along with everybody, so I went out of my way to be nice and do things,” Wistuba said. “One night, the whole floor came into my room, and we started making friendship bracelets. That's what we did, and we just had fun. That's important for my future because I'm going to have to do that around people who I really don't like, and it's important that you can take those people and turn them into people that you can be friends with.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_1941-900x675.jpg)
![Hands in the air, members of the softball team, celebrate together at home plate. The team played kickball during practice Oct. 5 for some team bonding. “[After team bonding activities] girls who I didn’t feel like I could talk to before I was able to talk with because I now knew we had things in common and could joke around,” Leahy said. “It helped expand my friendships of the team.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/DSC_0087-copy-900x600.jpg)
![Performing as Nibs in “Lost Girl,” junior Avery Hermann inspects a drawing of Neverland made by the show’s main character, Wendy Darling. Hermann not only acted in “Lost Girl”, but he also served as assistant director of the show. “I found ‘Lost Girl’ to be a beautiful and touching story, and I’m really glad I got to be a part of it. My favorite part of the show [was] my work as assistant director. I spent a lot of time working with every [cast member] on character, deliveries and emotional development. It was so amazing to see these brilliant actors come to life on stage in such a colorful way,” Hermann said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DSC_1258-Enhanced-NR-1-1200x798.jpg)
![Gazing up from the stage, junior Joseph McCurdy who played Peter Pan in the school play, Lost Girl, sits next to senior Juliana Rogers, who plays Wendy Darling, during a theater rehearsal. McCurdy’s passion for theater began when he observed a West High production in middle school. “I've been in the high school theater program since I was a freshman. I've always loved theater, but [what prompted me to join] was [when] I went to see [a performance here] when I was in middle school, and it was super cool,” McCurdy said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_6535-1200x798.jpeg)
Nov. 7 to Nov. 9, Parkway West’s theater department traveled through the life of Wendy Darling, in their newest production. “Lost Girl,”...
From down the hall, bursts of laughter and applause spill out of a classroom unlike a typical history class. Inside, instead of sitting through...