Skip to Main Content
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

Seniors Andrew Son (left), Tommy Eschbach (center) and Kaiden Kelley (right) laugh together while waiting for their robot, OverDriv6, to compete at the 2024 Missouri VEX State Championship. Although the competition was stiff, the trio managed to have a good time, content with their performance and teamwork. “We’re very good at recognizing small victories while in the face of adversity. If one of our subsystems failed or one of the parts of our robot broke, we'd spend half an hour or so fixing that. The next match, even if we lost, we'd still celebrate the fact that that adjustment we made ended up working and succeeding. Being able to celebrate minor victories was very good for our team chemistry and strength,” said Eschbach. (Photo by Mikalah Owens)

Graduating gears

Mikalah Owens, Staff Writer March 28, 2024

All four robotics teams competed at the 2024 Missouri VEX State Championship in Park Hills, Mo. While each individual team did well in competition — robotics team Blue Brains even earned a spot at the...

On March 2, West High’s Robotics team competed in the state competition, in which the B team placed ninth and the A team qualified for the world championship. Senior Lillian Dwyer is a notebooker and strategist in robotics. “Robotics is one of the many STEM opportunities offered at West High that is an enjoyable experience for anyone looking to go into engineering or science. I highly recommend joining it, because outside of school, it is fun to talk and hang out with people who are also excited about STEM and willing to dedicate time and energy to work on engineering projects,” Dwyer said. (Photos are courtesy of Mikalah Owens)

STEM mayhem

Audrey Ghosh, Opinions Editor March 25, 2024

STEM is a highly popular field, garnering interest from more than 75% of Gen Z students in the United States. Despite this large majority, only about a quarter are exposed to careers in STEM and real-world...