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ELEVATE

REGIS JESUIT HS STUDENT MEDIA | AURORA, CO Vol. 2 Issue 2 | March 2017

AN RJ MEDIA PUBLICATION

When the bell rings, RJ students

Work. Serve. Play. Practice. Perform. Live.

WHATâ€™S INSIDE

I I.

After Three Profiles pg. 6

II.

Music Reviews pg. 81

2 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

III

III.

Season After Sundown pg. 82

IV.

Beauty and the Beast pg. 84

RJ Media [Elevate Magazine, rjtoday.org, RJTV and RJTV Sports Network] operates as a limited-open forum for student free expression. The publications are for the students, by the students.

ELEVATE MAGAZINE Patrick Britti ‘17 & Anastasia Conley ‘18..........Editors In Chief Maddie Munger ‘19, Connor Lyford ‘18, Nick Faber ‘18, Sarah Darley ‘17.......................Copy Editors Ron Fishleigh ‘17, Erin Biafore ‘18.......Photography Editors Jorge Paredes ‘18 & Jason Lewis ‘17................Art Direction Patrick Koenigs ‘18............................................Op-Ed Editor Jason Lewis, Taylor Bush, Lilli Maples, Bella Ames, Brielle Bajek, Katie Berrian, Ashlyn Carr, Avery Chapman, Dominique Ebedes, Kaitlyn Forte, J’Den Humphries, Molly Kennedy, Liz Koch, Sarah McDevitt, Maddie Plank, Natalie Skaggs, Lauren Winston, Alec Martinez, Jaime Tarango, Sam Bornhorst, Grant Breeden, Nick Faber, Victor Diaz, Hans Helland, Joe Lampty, True Potter, Hunter Sherrard, Jack Harpole, Will Barbera, others by byline .....Staff Reporters

RJTODAY.ORG & SOCIAL MEDIA Leo McCabe ‘19 ........Social Media

RJTV & RJ RADIO Nick Faber ‘18, Erin Biafore ‘18, Sam Bornhorst ‘17, Kyle Schwulst ’18, Nick Sangalis’18, DJ Jackson ‘18.......RJ Radio Noah Winston ‘17, Max Zahringer ‘17, Brent Dibiase ‘19, Nick Smith ’17, Maddie Munger ’19, Jorge Paredes ‘18, Jason Lewis ‘17, Sydney Linquist ‘18, Lila Smith ‘17, Mathew Palowski ‘18, Nick Faber ‘18...............RJTV Special Events Nick Sangalis ‘18, Matthew Bornhorst ‘19, Kyle Schwulst ‘18, Patrick Britti ‘18, Carly Schwulst,’18 Sam Bornhorst ‘17, Angela Serwaa-Marfo ‘20, Michael Manoogian ‘19, Jack Potter ‘19, Sam Stern ‘20, Phil Postek ‘20, Hannah Smith ‘20, Nick Rizzi ‘20, Jeron Johnson ‘20..................Raider Sports Network Adam Dawkins ‘98 & Jason Ell ‘04................. Advisers Paul Brock ‘18................... Cover Art Design

The staff aims to balance what the audience wants with what it needs, and strives to make solid judgments with regards to news value and news awareness. The publications will serve as a medium for student opinions and ideas. RJ Media strives to produce objective, well-balanced and accurate reporting and content that features a range of students, their interests and their viewpoints. The staff is dedicated to being fair, accurate, balanced, truthful and responsible. The staff will seek the truth and report it, minimize harm and act independently. We promise to be transparent, accountable and open. The staff also upholds Ignation values with regard to social justice and openness to growth. The staff prides itself on using the Ignation Pedagogical Paradigm to help make decisions: context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation. The student Editorial Board will have final say in the content of the publications. School officials, administration or faculty and staff shall not practice prior review or the have the ability to censor any student publication, with the exception of material deemed to be legally obscene, libelous, substantially and materially disruptive, or coverage on any one of the following three topics, wherein coverage will be worked through with the president and principals: Obituaries, employee termination, and crimes or cases in the court of law.

EDITORIAL POLICIES

RJ MEDIA STAFF

The views of columnists are not necessarily those of the newspaper staff. Opinions will be published on designated pages or otherwise marked. All material published by RJ Media is copyrighted to RJ Media, year and date of original publishing. RJ Media will not publish any material that is a violation of copyright. We take our own photos and produce our own content. We sometimes use photos with express written permission, but only if we absolutely have to. Those will be credited to the photographer with attribution specified by the permission of use. Read our full editorial policies at rjtoday.org/policy Read our full Editorial Policies at rjtoday.org/about

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Letters to the editor are welcome and encouraged, but will only be published if they are accompanied by a name and signature. Letters should be short and free of “bashing” or obscenity. Letters to the editor do not reflect the views of the RJ Media staff and will be marked on pages designated as such. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for potentially libelous material and length. The staff will not edit letters for punctuation, grammar and usage. Letters with issues will be returned to the submitter for further review. Contact the RJ Media Editorial Board at rjmedia@regisjesuit.com or in the RJ Media Lab (PAC-102). You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram

IMPRESSIONS CLUB submit your art photography poetry short stories

rjtoday.org/impressions

win cool prizes and be published in the Impressions Magazine

4 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

WHO ARE WE AFTER SCHOOL?

It began with that question: what defines us after the bell? Soon, over 80 journalists were working hard to collect information on their classmates by going to the scene, intent on telling their stories. The result of their hard work is a magazine that contains profiles on over five percent of the student population. Why does this matter? Regis Jesuit is a community that doesn’t stop after class ends. We are all pieces to the greater story of this school, and without any of us, our story wouldn’t be nearly as beautiful as it is. Your hobbies, passions, and dreams deserve to be known, and many of you and your friends had the chance to show us all what makes you great outside of grades and due-dates. If you want to tell your story or have something you want reported on, reach out to us at rjmedia@regisjesuit.com.

YOUR EDITORS, PATRICK BRITTI ‘17 ANASTASIA CONLEY ‘18

Hit the stage with The Midnight Club on rjtoday.org 6 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

Owen Coleman Senior // Musician

Story and photo by Brent Dibiase ‘19 The amp static. The roar of the crowd. The rush of adrenaline. As he steps into the purple glowing spotlight at the center of the stage at The Summit Music Hall in the heart of downtown Denver, he is overcome with emotions of joy, eagerness, and a sense of peace. It is truly something not everyone is able to experience in their lives, but it is a regular occurrence for senior Owen Coleman. Owen suddenly snaps back into reality from the state of awe as he races across the stage yelling into the mic as the concert begins. Owen Coleman is the lead singer of The Midnight Club, an alternative rock band based out of Denver, Colorado. Owen, alongside with his band mates Sean McCarthy and Harry Springer, are living the childhood dream that everyone once had of being on stage with hundreds of roaring fans chanting their name. This February they traveled to Los Angeles to begin recording on their new album. 8:00am to 3:00pm is school for Owen. As soon as the clock strikes 3:00pm though, all of his attention is devoted to his band. He races over to Harry’s house and the boys begin editing and fine tuning their album that they are set to release early next year. Owen is devoted to his music for the entirety of the night and they sometimes find themselves working on it until midnight. Owen first became involved with music when he was little. He found his passion through musicals, as he recalls, “It was Beauty and The Beast and High School Musical, which really got me interested in singing.” His parents bought him a piano when he was in sixth grade, but Owen always related to and felt more comfortable with a microphone in his hand. Owen has a very strict warm-up that is performed before every concert. He goes through his various routines of going up and down the major and minor scales as well as screaming and laughing in order to get his vocal cords entirely warmed up. Owen then does his physical stretches for his body, which allows him to open up his lungs and access the passion and soul behind all of his notes. Finally, moments before going on stage he takes his “special spray” for his vocal cords that he must use before every performance. One last breakdown with the entire band and a, “1...2...3… The Midnight Club!” before they rush onto stage. Owen is not only the face of the band, but he is also the heart and soul. He brings so much creativity and excitement to the band, which is what makes the entire thing such a fun experience for his band mates and fans. Owen loves to joke around, prank, and cause mayhem with his band mates, but he also loves to meet his fans and interact with them. After every show he is eager to head out and meet, take pictures with and talk to them in order to closer relate to them. Owen and his band believe there are great things ahead as they are planning a tour and album release. He has a good chance at going big with is music career, and for now what happens just after three o’clock in the afternoon will pay off in a big way.

Story and Photo by DJ Jackson ‘18 Hunter Sherrard’s fastball may be clocked in at 81mph, but his work ethic might exceed even that high of a bar. Hunter was raised in a family of baseball lovers. He was first introduced to the game of baseball in the first grade, when he played for the Centennial Yankees. His biggest influence in baseball was always his father, Kevin Sherrard. He learned the game from him, which was where they built their special bond. “We gained a relationship through baseball,” Hunter says, “when I was younger I remember going to work with my dad downtown at his portable toilet and dumpster business and using my little 25 inch tee ball bat to hit rocks with and act like I’m hitting home runs at Yankee Stadium.” Hunter’s goals in baseball aren’t what many would expect. Although everyone wants to become a professional straight out of high school, Hunter is humble and values his education above anything else. He sticks to the thought that baseball isn’t lasting and an education is always something that he can turn to throughout his life. “Baseball doesn’t last forever and you can always rely and fall back on a education. It’s just the simple fact that I value my education deeply, so I would rather attain that over a major league contract,” Hunter said. He has played baseball for quite some time now, but it all started in the front yard of his suburban home and continues on the Regis Jesuit baseball field. The pure determination to be the best is what drives him to work so hard and be a valued member of the team. Lifting in the offseason and strengthening his pitching arm, he hopes to strike out even the strongest batters in Colorado.

Emma Rarden // Senior EQUESTRIAN

Hunter visits The DJ Jackson Show podcast on rjtoday.org

Hunter Sherrard // Junior BASEBALL PLAYER

Visit practice at Cross the Meadow Farm with Emma on rjtoday.org

Crunch, crunch, crunch. The sound of gravel under tall black riding boots fills her ears as Emma Rarden walks down the long driveway to greet her horse Rainbow at ‘Cross the Meadow Farm. The ten year old mare excitedly waits for her to open the stall door. “She’s not afraid to show me how she feels, that’s for sure,” Emma chuckles as she pats Rainbow on the neck. Then she pops open her tack trunk, reaches for her bridal, and slides the dark polished leather carefully over her horse’s ears. Aside from being an accomplished student, senior Emma Rarden is also a dedicated equestrian. Her sophomore year, Emma was invited to join a friend at her riding lesson. “AfStory and Photo by Brielle Bajek ‘17 ter my first lesson,” Emma says, “I fell in love with the sport and the rest is history.” Driven by this experience, she began taking lessons at Three Pines Farm. Because she started much later than most English riders, Emma was not very interested in showing at first; for her it was about doing something she loves. However, fate had a different plan. As time progressed, Emma’s natural talent began to shine. Her quick progression amazed not only her trainer, but herself as well. After moving to ‘Cross the Meadow Farm in March of 2016, Emma took an interest in showing. English riding has various types of competitions: ‘hunters’ in which the horse is judged based on form and style as they jump through a course, ‘equitation’ which is similar to hunters except the rider is judged, and ‘jumpers’ which is a timed course scored on speed and number of jumps cleared. In May 2015, Emma participated in her first hunter and equestrian show at Colorado Horse Park. Her hands were shaking and her nerves twisted in the pit of her stomach. Although she did not place, she learned more than she had just attending lessons. Amidst the blur of the day, she remembered that she “just wanted to find the right horse and not to fall off.” Goal achieved. Click, click, click. Emma gracefully dismounts, unbuckles Rainbows bridal and takes the bit out of her mouth. Her breathing is heavy and hangs in the cold air. Riding seems so simple, all one does is sit on a saddle and tell the horse where to go right? No, it is much more complicated than that and requires an impressive amount of balance. To become a great rider, Emma had to overcome many obstacles and just keep trying. “Falling off then getting back on and doing the same thing over again boosts your confidence like you wouldn’t believe, it carries you through life,” she says. “It helped me find my authentic self not just when riding, but all of the time.” 8 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

Katie Neal // Junior FIGURE SKATER

Story and Photo by Frannie Scheitler ‘18 atie Neal is regional ice skater. Katie has been dedicating hours of ice time a week since when she began at the age of four. These days, she skates up to twelve hours a week. The amount varies on ice time, which is very hard to get. She became inspired to skate when her mom, a former figure skater, brought her to skating classes. Katie knew she had found her passion, and soon all she wanted to do was skate. As she became better and older, she started to compete and went to her first competition at age nine. Since RJ does not have an ice skating team, she skates with East High School’s team, where most of her friends practice. When she

competes she represents Alpine Skating Club. The club has as many as 150 members. Her East practice team has ten skaters. She travels all over Colorado to compete, and occasionally travels out of the state. This summer, Katie traveled to Texas where she competed in regionals. Competitions take place almost every other week. “Ironically, most major competitions take place during the summer,” Katie says. She places in the top three in most competitions and has acquired many medals through lots of hard work. Katie skates up to six days a week, most of the days waking up before school to go to the rink and after school as well.

Katie and her sister both figure skate, and she has made many of her most close friends through skating. Most colleges Katie is looking at have ice skating teams. She hopes to continue excelling in her talent throughout college. “I give credit to incredible coaches who helped grow me talent over the years,” she said. Her mom is also a “big inspiration,” she says, and provides the tools Katie needs to continue to be a better and stronger skater. Hit the ice with Katie on rjtoday.org 9

Lily Martin

Kate McDonald // Senior Special Olympics

Sophomore // Hospital Volunteer Story and Photo by Connor Blue ‘19

Story and Photo by Hunter Sherrard ‘18 t 3:00 most high school students are on their way home or to an after school activity. For senior Kate McDonald, her activity spans both. Kate’s most important hobby is being a part of RJ Special Olympics. At Regis Jesuit, it is the largest club, but for Kate it is more than just a club. Being a part of Special Olympics is the most important thing to her by far. To Kate, this club is not only a way to get service hours or a resume booster, it’s a club that combines both her love for service and a way to bond with her little sister, Megan. Megan McDonald is a 17 year old sophomore at Rock Canyon High School. Even though Kate and Megan are both high school students, they are not able to attend Regis Jesuit together. Megan has autism and because of this she is part of the public school’s special education program. Kate wanted to be able to be more involved with her sister’s life and for them to be able to do more things with each other. She realized she would be able to bring her life at school and her life at home together through Special Olympics. This encouraged Kate to join the RJ Special Olympics club her sophomore year. Kate has been the president of the club for three years now, as well as head chair for the annual Special Olympics Dance Marathon.

10 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

Although she enjoys her leadership roles and being able to make the club the best she can for the volunteers and the special needs participants, her favorite part of Special Olympics is being on the Unified Basketball team with Megan. Being able to be part of something with her sister is something Kate doesn’t normally get to do because they aren’t at the same school. When Kate and Megan are at their practices on the weekends and after school on Wednesday’s they are very dedicated to the practice and working together as teammates. To Kate, being together on the team helps her grow closer to her sister because of the people involved. “Megan and I don’t always get along and she doesn’t always like to be around me at practice, but when we are there I get to watch her face light up as she sees partners like Caleb Sloan. To me, being a part of what makes her happy is how I bond with my sister,” Kate says. When Kate leaves class for the day, she is entering a life not only as a big sister but as a volunteer that goes out of her way to make sure that those she is helping are getting the most out of life. She is “able to bring her sister into her world outside of their home.” And for Kate, she says, “that’s everything.”

Doctor: a title Lily Martin hopes to be referred to as someday. The process of becoming a doctor is very long and extensive, as it includes four additional years of schooling, and a three to four year residency. If there is a field you want to specialize in, it takes an additional year to complete a fellowship. Overall, takes time, dedication, and discipline. From an outsider’s point of view, Lily seems to live an average life. She goes to school everyday, she runs cross country in the fall, she plays basketball in the winter, and she is going to run track this spring for the first time. She also hangs out with friends on the weekends, and stresses about finals, just like the rest of us. But one Sunday of every month, Lily does something truly unique. At 10 a.m. she walks into a meeting room in Children’s Hospital, and sits down with 11 other high school students from different high schools around Colorado. They have an hour meeting, going over ways to make the patients lives at Children’s Hospital more enjoyable. They organize all kinds of events, for example, during the thanksgiving holiday season, they organized a pumpkin puppet show, and in January they hold a story hour to “help lift kids’ spirits,” she says. “It is inspiring and life giving to be part of it all,” she adds. December 4th is their biggest fund raiser of the year. The Harley Motorcycle toy drive is a huge event in which hundreds of motorcycle riders, and others who just want to help out, donate toys to the hospital, for kids families who can’t afford to buy their children gifts. For now, volunteering at Children’s Hospital and being a member of the Junior Advisory Board will do for Lily, hoping one day to reach the esteemed title of “doctor.”

Casigly Chonzo

Seniors // Bandmates // Alex Restivo, Rob Holfstader, Mike Schonebaum

Story by Jack Morris ‘17 The blistering sound of melodic, rhythmic, and harmonized sounds fill the room. Drums, guitar, and vocals all come together to form one of the numerous songs the band Casigly Chonzo has created just for their upcoming show. You can hear the load static of amps and smell the ashes of used cigarettes as they get up onto the stage to set up each instrument for the long set list they have ahead of them. You can hear the murmurs of the crowd and their skepticism of the young, and potentially inexperienced, band of high schoolers that show up on stage. As the band prepares for their performance, lead singer senior Rob Holfstader, looks around to make sure his fellow band mates are plugged in and ready. As he gets the nod from fellow seniors Alex Restivo and Mike Schonebaum, he turns to the crowd, takes a deep breath, and starts singing his own brand of punk music. Casigly Chonzo, while maybe not the most well known band, has actually made a splash in the underground punk scene. The band has played many shows on multiple occasions at the infamous 7th Circle, as well as places in Colorado Springs and even

Breckenridge. “My favorite part about being in a band is performing live,” Rob says, “I love the way the audience reacts to our music; I enjoy seeing people just dancing around and having a good time.” The band feeds off of the energy of the crowd, the louder and rowdier the crowd becomes, the louder and more energetic the guys become. They often run around on stage, and have even climbed an oversized amp once or twice throughout their many shows. Over two years, 26 total songs, and 11 shows, Casigly Chonzo has continued to rock out and play hard. While asking the band about where they get their inspiration from, the lead guitarist, Mike, says that they gathered much of their style from many other punk rock bands that formed when they too were in high school. “I like to look back at these high school bands that started it all,” Mike says, “we get a ton of our sound from bands like Minor Threat, Bad Religion, and the The Descendants. We can see ourselves in many of these bands’ earlier albums and can often

Rob Holfstader plays the bass with his band.

connect to what they are singing about. Our music all draws from other music. Just like we draw inspiration from bands before us, those bands used to draw as well, and may continue to draw inspiration from other bands before them,” But while they do find some inspiration in many other bands, they are very unique, to where you can even put them into their own separate genre of music. Many of their songs are admittedly crazy enough that you can laugh at the title before you even get into the actual song. Some of their biggest and most widely recognized songs are inside jokes or just very weird and fun, such as “John’s Taco Truck.” But while having their fair share of fun and laughs in their songs, they also tackle many problems of everyday life and controversial topics in songs like “I Dislike the Government” and “Fred is Dead.” Casigly Chonzo highlights the fun of being in a band at such a young age while also pointing out many problems of the word in a very fun, unique, and satirical style. Mike, Rob, and Alex are all very passionate about this band and all love what they are doing. Their unique, funny, and sometimes downright absurd songs make this band one you should definitely think about adding to your record shelf.

From left: Mike on guitar, Alex on drums, and Rob on vocals

Go behind the scenes with Casigly Chonzo on rjtoday.org

EVAN LIPSKY

Senior // Racer

Story and Photo by Max Zahringer ‘17

As the engines roar to life at the starting line, senior Evan Lipsky puts on his helmet and prepares to race his shifter kart. Evan is living proof of the motto “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”. Working in a family business would seem stressful for some, but for Evan it’s gifted him the opportunity to be around his passion of racing more than ever. At 14 years old, Evan began working in his family business, Wine Country Motorsports–which his grandfather started in California–when a store opened up in Colorado. At this store, run by his dad, Evan helps by selling racing equipment and safety gear. When Evan turned 15 he began venturing into the sport of kart racing, starting with a lower powered kart to learn the sport and switching to shifter karts, a cart with manual transmission and more power, to grow and secure his spot on the track. “They’re a little harder to drive since I have to make sure to shift, but the experience of driving them can’t be matched,” Evan says. “Racing is my hobby, my passion, and my sport.” He tries to garner as much track time and practice as possible, and works on his karts when he can to combat the others on the track who have raced since they were kids. “Working in the store and karting go hand in hand,” he says. “Working in the shop makes me love the sport even more since I’m always around the gear and karting gives me more knowledge in the store to helps those looking to get started.” As he progresses through karts, Evan is looking to the future in hopes of getting more track time with his BMW E36 M3, and moving from karts to full on car races. While his car is still used as a personal car and not built for racing just yet, Evan is looking to buy a car to transform and race. “Racing is an escape for me. When I put on that helmet and gear nothing else seems to matter,” he says. “It’s just me, the kart, and my opponents.” Go inside the store and hit the streets with Evan on rjtoday.org 12 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

Hunter

Dobbs In his own words

Freshman // Hunter

The sun is just below the horizon and the mountains around are engulfed in a dark shade of blue and gray. To the west, the valley opens where twenty miles away a small town sits in darkness. You see the small specks of light turn on the other end of the valley. The time is 5:30 a.m., the still air is 30 degrees. Sitting on an elevated position atop a hill surrounded on three sides by mountains that go five hundred feet up, I hear a rustle of leaves from the bushes behind me. Turning at a turtle’s speed in my full snow camouflage, I see my dad gathering leaves to make a more comfortable bed to sit on. My name is Hunter Dobbs and I am a hunter. I have been hunting ever since I have been able to hold a

“

rifle. Whether it is hunting birds or elk, I have almost done it all. Hunting is not just a sport or a pastime, it is a way of life. Any avid hunter will tell you that hunting is a lifestyle, a time to get away from the stresses of society, a time to be yourself and have fun. Hunting is a time to spend time with family, and it isn’t always about getting a bull or cow. I didn’t get anything this time, but I had a great time with my family. There is this adrenaline rush that you get when you have a massive buck in your sights–hunters call it “buck fever.” When you get it, you shake so much your heart is racing and it feels like it is about to beat out of your chest. There is only one way to conquer it- just breathe. I have gotten

My name is Hunter Dobbs and I am a hunter.”

14 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

buck fever almost every time I have a decent size buck in might sights and the only thing I can do is take a deep breath and pray to God that I hit the animal and get a clean kill. While many have suggested hunting inherently harms the environment, I have also seen the positives hunting can provide. The tags and licenses that hunters purchase help fund programs that save and protect endangered animals along with funding clean-up programs for parks and national forest. For example, by harvesting the “big” elk, you strengthen the gene pool, genetic diversity may be increased. Larger elk have a natural advantage in breeding, so hunting them reduces the number of offspring they have and reduces the likelihood of hereditary diseases in a herd. I love hunting. The game season is my favorite time of the year. It is a time where I can relax and forget all the worries of the real world. You spend time with family and have a great time while doing it. I get to learn that my dad and uncles were a lot like me when they were young and got into a lot of trouble. I get to see how good of a shot I am compared to my brother who always brags that he can out shoot me, which we now know he can’t. Going up in the mountains and breathing in fresh, crystal clear air has an unearthly feeling that lifts you up and refreshes you. Being surrounded by trees and animals in complete silence is a therapeutic experience. But, there is nothing like looking down the scope, in the cross-hairs at massive six point buck with antlers the size of ones that are on elk, even if, without a clear shot, the once in a lifetime opportunity walks away over a hill.

Kiana Roberts // Senior WRITER

Story and Photo by Ashyln Carr ‘19

itting across the table is a bright and bubbly senior, Kiana Roberts, filled with laughter, smiles, and a sparkle in her eyes, but she’s as focused as can be. Kiana sits in front of Fika Coffee House listening to the cars whoosh past and the wind slightly whistle. She types vigorously on her keyboard, the keys clacking with each touch. As she brushes her hair back away from her face with her fingers, her eyes, full of passion and a love for poetry, become visible. Kiana has a passionate love for writing poetry. She began writing poetry in eighth grade when her teacher asked the class for a piece of writing in the style of their choice. Kiana choose poetry and it’s stuck with her ever since. “I for some reason choose to write a poem and I really liked it

and I wanted other people to hear it. So my friend recommend that I put it in this contest and my teacher was like ‘go for it’. So I did, and I ended up getting published , It was crazy! And it kind of started a love for poetry,” she said. Now, Kiana takes a poetry class as one of her senior electives and writes in her free time as well. With poetry as a major part of her life, Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society has left a resounding impact on her. “He has this line where he’s talking about how doctors are people who make it easy for us to live, they’re the reason we’re breathing and living, but poetry is the reason that we get up in the morning. Poetry is the reason that we can voice romance and love and crazy

ideas that are harder to say with just words in everyday conversation,” she explains. Kiana says that poetry has affected her life in many ways. She describes poetry as having made her more confident, because “I finally feel that I have an outlet,” and “it makes me feel like my opinions are more validated.” If you have been thinking about writing any poetry, you may be interested in Kiana’s advice, “I think that it’s important that no matter what your story is, you’ll be able to tell it, and if you choose poetry, then I say run with it.” Kiana talks about the writing processs on rjtoday.org

Elijah Martinez // Junior BASKETBALL PLAYER

Story and Photo by Nick Smith ‘18

any teenagers are intrigued by the uncertainty of what their future entails. They have been told what others think they should do, but truly do not ever find their true passion. Elijah Martinez, on the other hand, found his destiny in basketball. “I just love the game, the people, the energy, the shoes, everything,” Martinez says. Around campus, he is known as a hard-working and energetic basketball player. “The gym is like my second home. I’m always there. Sometimes I hang and ball with my bros. Sometimes I work with a coach or trainer. Sometimes it’s me working alone,” says Elijah. Many Regis Jesuit 16 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2 students believe Elijah could play

basketball collegiately or professionally in the future. “He’s a great player and friend. I know he has a lot of colleges looking at him and I think he can play at any of those places,” Junior Rock Azo says. “I plan on playing basketball in college, but I do not know where I am going to play,” Elijah says. “I’ve gotten letters of interest from colleges and universities, but I am trying to find the right fit.” Boys head basketball Coach Ken Shaw adds to the point, describing Elijah as “a smart, dedicated player who has quite a future.” Not unlike many Regis Jesuit students, Martinez blueprints his future with a college degree, with the hope of studying psychol-

ogy. Elijah’s work ethic transfers from the court to the classroom like air. Many days, Elijah wakes up and heads straight to the gym, escaping from the cold outside his Lakewood home. He finds himself sweating, working alone in the public gym near his house. Cone drills. Shooting around. Defensive slides. Anything for improvement. “I love the feeling of improvement, the grind of knowing what I love is turning into a reality,” Martinez says.

Watch Elijah, Caleb, and Patrick on rjtoday.org

Caleb Foxhoven // Senior BUSBOY

Story and Photo by Jake Butler '17

Senior Caleb Foxhoven zooms across the restaurant with surprising speed. Wiping down tables and bringing dirty plates back to the kitchen. While this isn’t the most glamorous work, it is important and not just to the restaurant. He started his job only a few months ago and took a short hiatus, but is currently working hard at the Parker location of Village Inn as a busboy. Caleb gives a lot of time to work, he works Saturdays and Sundays for seven to eight hours each and he worked a staggering 31 hours over Thanksgiving break. When Caleb, the third oldest of seven kids, moved back from Maryland this August he was having family troubles. He decided to get a job because he didn’t want to rely on his parents. “A job gives me a sense of independence,”he says. Caleb finds this work freeing as he no longer has to rely on his parents for money or permission when he wants to

The rhythmic clicks of a twisty cube-style puzzle are subtle and soft. The clacking of plastic on plastic as a cuber’s fingers whirl around the puzzle making order out of chaos. This is a refined skill that takes time, patience and an eye for seeing the obvious. “I went hiking with a friend, and he had some cubes and taught me how to solve them. I was interested, so I learned algorithms and bought some more cubes,” senior Patrick Heffernan says. Cubing is more than a hobby for Patrick, he has really turned it into a brand. The @cubeisgrain Instagram page has 317 followers, and 98 photos, and the page is dedicated to amazing photos of twisty cube-style puzzles in exotic locations, from the mountains of our beautiful state to Florida beaches, and even Italy. Patrick also brings a lot of humor to Regis Jesuit; he is the creator and star of Cubology videos, and the founder of “The Regis Rabble.” He is one of the most clever writers at Regis Jesuit. You can read his satire on rjtoday.org under the Regis Rabble tab. Patrick talks about how a English project freshman year inspired him to write. He continued to write, eventually completing a novella, called Hours. He is currently working on a untitled second novella. Patrick began to write when he stopped playing lacrosse and had a lot more free time. “I had always like The Onion, and when I started writing was like ‘that makes me laugh,’ I’ll just write stuff like that,” he said of why he started the Rabble. Now he is trying to build the Rabble into an establishment at Regis Jesuit. If you would like join the Rabble come to their meetings Mondays at lunch in room 255. Patrick will be leaving Regis Jesuit next year, but the Rabble and the school will never be the same without him.

buy things. He also finds it a good escape from his chaotic household. Even though this is Caleb’s first job, he wasn’t nervous as he found that much of his household duty experience as one of the elder siblings transferred directly to his job at Village Inn. “It’s a constant job working at home so coming to a job where I’m a busboy it’s basically the same,” he said. Caleb is one of the main caretakers for his two younger sisters, Gracie and Emmie, and two younger brothers, Eli and Seth. He cleans around the house, makes lunches, helps with homework, and does their laundry. Caleb also uses his job to help support the rest of his family by using his 50 percent off discount at Village Inn to provide meals for his family three to four times a week. Family is very important to Caleb, who works with his oldest sister Caitlyn. They both enjoy each other’s company, cracking jokes at one another and having a good

time. Caitlyn started a month before Caleb and helped the fledging busboy when he first started. Caleb himself loves the dynamic. “It’s a really good experience working with my sister because it makes it a lot easier,” he said. Sometimes the work itself is quite stressful but the siblings have each other’s backs. “For me there isn’t a lot of decompression time, but when I talk to my sister she can calm me down,” he said. They still manage to work hard and aren’t afraid to critique each other. “Although I don’t have a great relationship with all members of my family, I believe that family is one of, if not the most important connection that we need to build and develop during our short time on Earth. Never take your family for granted because they care for you and want to love you so accept it.”

Patrick Heffernan // Senior CUBER & WRITER Story and Photo by Sam Bornhorst '17

ANDREW HOLT

Amelia Tadanier // Senior RESCUE CENTER VOLUNTEER

Sophomore // Sacristan Story and Photo by Mark McIntire ‘20

Story and Photo by Wiley Kemp ‘18 enior Amelia Tadanier stumbles over the uneven ground of an outside play pen for rabbits. She chases a gray lop-eared rabbit with piercing blue eyes. She is tasked with catching all of the bunnies in the pen so they can be put into the crates she has just cleaned. Rabbits are incredibly fast and wily; you have to be incredibly quick and precise to even try to catch one. Luckily, Amelia and her mother have been coming to the clinic since Amelia was 10 years old. She uses part of a wire fence to corner the rabbit while her mother attempts to grab it but it escapes again. After about two minutes of trying, they eventually get it back into its crate.

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This is a normal day at the Colorado House Rabbit Society (CHRS) in Broomfield, a clinic for bunnies who have been abused or whose owners could no longer take care of them. “I got my first rabbit when I was seven after pestering my parents for months,” she says. She had been asking her parents for a rabbit for her birthday for years, but they didn't think that she could handle the responsibility. She loved that rabbit since the day her family caved to the day it died. Soon after getting her first rabbit, she found her calling at the CHRS. The CHRS takes care of hundreds of rabbits. Most rabbits come from

households who get rabbits for their children who eventually get bored of them. Other rabbits have escaped or ran away. When they are caught by animal control, they given to the CHRS. This was not the case for Amelia. She helps out for one reason: she “loves rabbits”. Rabbits are kept there until the personnel can find a good home for them. On a normal day, Amelia will clean crates and pens, feed the rabbits, collect some of them from outside, and give others toys to play with. She says that she “doesn’t mind doing most things as long as it helps a rabbit.”

Visit Amelia at the bunny clinic on rjtoday.org

Sophomore Andrew Holt works two to three times a week as a sacristan at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. A sacristan is someone who sets up for the holy events; this includes lighting the candles, burning the incense, putting out the holy books, and everything that comes with the setting up these holy events for the many people who will get to enjoy the hard work everyone puts in to strengthen their relationship with God. Andrew first started working as a sacristan in August of last year. Because of his family’s heavy involvement with the Church, someone at St. Thomas More suggested it for him and he eagerly agreed. “I think it has definitely led me to pay more attention to the mass,” says Andrew, “and appreciate how much hard work so many individuals put in to make these holy events happen.” Andrew credits his original inspiration to serve the Church as a way to give back some of what the Church has given to him and his fellow parish members. He encourages others to do the same. “I would just say try to get more active with your church because it’s a great experience and a great joy to be more fully a part of the Church. It’s pretty awesome,” he says. Andrew also credits Regis Jesuit with part of his formation into a more generous young man. He says RJ has taught him to release some of the more material aspects in his life–his “image”– and to focus on the more important things such as friends, family, faith, and school. Andrew is also passionate about making music. His favorite type of music is electronic, but that doesn’t discourage him from exploring different instruments like guitar, piano, drums, and singing. In addition to his musical interest and willingness to serve, Andrew pulls an impressive academic load consisting of all honors classes. As an inspiring faith leader, aspiring musician, and gifted student, Andrew Holt represents several important RJ values and is a prime role model in our community.

Jack

Helfrich Junior // Guitar Player

Story and Photos by Patrick Koenigs ‘18 Fluorescent lights flicker on Jack Helfrich and the room becomes quiet. In the dimly lit lounge, the clanking of silverware and the murmur of conversation stops. His fingers pressed against the strings of a guitar, he exhales. Then he plays, slowly at first until the sound reverberates around the room. “It’s a little weird,” he admits. “Everyone is staring at you. But I’m comfortable up there.” He’s in Regis Jesuit’s Advanced Jazz Ensemble and the Colorado Conservatory of Jazz Arts. He’s also in an R&B band, “Soul Confluence”, with other high school students. He auditioned for the band at 14 years old. “I mean, I sounded okay but

“

I wasn’t a part of the band like I am now,” he says. “Now I’m a key part [of the band]. I used to be backup guitar number three.” After wearing out albums, he would practice until his fingers cramped. Now, he’s the lead guitarist, recording in studios that have produced for legends like Al Green as well as going over to Europe to perform in concerts for thousands of people. It takes dedication, but for Jack, it’s well worth it. “The amount of time and money I’ve spent on music is kind of crazy,” he admits. He doesn’t know how many guitars he owns but he would guess two acoustic and four or five electric. He’s started collecting vinyl.

The sad truth in music is there’s a lot of weird editing going on and it’s different from live the performance.”

“None of it I’ve gotten from my parents,” he says. “I’m kind of proud of my collection because I bought most of them myself.” If you look at his play-lists on Spotify, you’ll find alternative bands like Flying Lotus, Knowledge, and The Bed Plus. He tries to go see as many concerts as he can. “The sad truth is with all the music people listen to there’s a lot of weird editing going on and it’s different from the live performance,” he says. That’s not true for Jack or “Soul Confluence.” In the dimly lit lounge, Jack plays to a mesmerized audience. After the song fades, and the crowd roars, Jack smiles and unstraps his guitar as the fluorescent lights flicker off. Slowly, the clanking of silverware and murmur of conversation resumes. “It takes a lot of practice, but being up on stage makes it all worth it.”

Listen to our podcast with Jack on rjtoday.org

Jack (far left, on stage) performs with his red guitar in his band Soul Confluence at Dazzle Jazz. 19

JAKE GRASER

Story and Photo by Ron Fishleigh ‘17

Senior // Crew

Michael McPeek // Senior Bowler

Story and Photo by Will Kullick ‘17 Inhale. Exhale. This is the sounds of focus. This is also the sound of someone about to make a very important move. As senior Michael McPeek is about to bowl to win the game, he stands there gathering his focus. Getting ready to bowl. He gathers himself. He takes his preceding steps. He cocks back his arm. He thrusts his arm foreword aiming right down the middle. He releases the ball. He sits in anticipation eating for the sound of the pins dropping. Boom. He looks up and he has bowled a strike. He has won the game for his team. McPeek might seem like your average athlete in high school. However, at AMF, he embodies a whole different identity. He has a passion for bowling in his free time. This may come as a shock to the people that know him best. However, according to McPeek “ever since he was young his parents had been taking him bowling.” His interesting hobby is

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deeply rooted in his family. “My parents both love to bowl and that rubbed off on me and all my siblings,” he says. This family hobby has paid off as a great pastime for the McPeek’s. “It serves as a great way to relax and even sometimes a great way to compete with other bowling groups,” Mcpeek says when talking about what he likes most about bowling. He feels at peace when he bowls. He likes how even in stiff competition he is able to gather himself, relax, and get the win. When others find out about his strange hobby for an athlete that plays sports such as football and baseball, he says “ they usually are very shocked to hear that I have a passion for bowling, especially my coaches.” That is just a little insight to the secret life of Michael McPeek.

The piercing sound of screwdrivers ripping bolts from the old play set. The buzzing of saws cutting wood into precise pieces. The pounding of a metal hammer against the wood boards. The laughter of friendly faces that have become more “like a family,” according to senior crew member Jake Graser. All echo through the Z Theater after school. The crew is winding down the process of “striking” the Beauty and the Beast set after an incredible performance by the cast, but not without the help of the crew. Jake Graser was introduced to the theater his freshman year by a friend, Noah Brown. Jake explains the simple introduction he had to crew, “Once he convinced me to join, I fell in love with it.” Naturally, as a senior, Jake, along with close friends Matthew Weis and Max Stern, took on leadership roles to help get the job done efficiently and safely, as well as help the newer crew members learn how to safely work with and around the equipment. As a four-year crew veteran, Jake has taken on the job of commanding stage right, every prop, light, and set piece on the right side of the stage is all controlled by Jake and his team. Throughout his time in the Regis Jesuit Theatre Program, Jake has worked on seven performances, including How to Succeed Business, as well as Jesus Christ Superstar. Along with theatre, Jake enjoys to talk and discuss war strategies and tactic, as well as spending lunches watching funny videos with friends in the Latin room. Next year Jake plans on studying engineering. Unfortunately, none the schools Jake has his eye on have a solid theatre program, but he hopes to continue building in someway.

Hit the lane and visit the scene shop on rjtoday.org

Alex Higley // Senior

MAGNET MASTER & DMNS INTERN Story and Photo by Dominique Ebedes ‘17

usy people stroll past information-packed pamphlets that sit in stacks and glossy banners that hang from the ceiling reading “Denver Museum of Nature and Science”. This is a familiar and beloved scene for many natives to the Denver Metro area. For senior Alex Higley, this is her work place. It was the summer before her junior year that Alex officially became one of two space science interns in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s high school internship program. Earning a coveted spot in this internship program is a significant achievement. The application process is rigorous, thorough, and extremely selective (over 150 students apply each year). Being offered an internship requires extensive scientific comprehension, steely diligence, and most importantly, a love for science. Alex’s passion for science, specifically the space sciences, began early. “In fifth grade I turned on the science channel for the first time,” Alex reminisces, “and there was a big documentary going on about nebulas. I turned to my dad and said, ‘This is awesome! This is what I want to do.’” From then on Alex’s interest only grew. She read books about theoretical cosmology, black holes, and alternate dimensions. Through her studies, she has learned much. Yet, to this day what interests Alex the most about the space sciences is all that we do not know. “In a lot of other fields, I feel like we are reaching limitations, but there are no limits

Talk science with Alex at the DMNS on rjtoday.org

to the space sciences. It becomes such a creative and strange concept to work with,” Alex said. During her internship at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Alex, along with continuing her prior passions, has been able to learn much more about this desired unknown. The majority of her museum work has consisted of researching and working with superconductors, which are elusive, scientific phenomena that are tantamount to magic. “If you put one over a magnet, it will levitate,” Alex explains. “It’s super sci-fi and fantastic.” Not only can superconductors levitate, but some can hold up to 40,000 times their own weight and reach temperatures as low as -270 degrees Celsius. Along with the obvious entertainment which these tools provide, superconductors have numerous applications in the fields of healthcare, cosmology, and technology. Alex cites MRI magnets for scanning patients, hadron colliders for advancing the study of cosmology, and

magnetometer devices, which can detect something as small as the magnetic flux emitted by the heart of a mouse. One of Alex’s biggest challenges yet has been constructing a N-42 magnet track for the Museum for the superconductors to glide along. “You can’t just use your average, runof-the-mill refrigerator magnets. These things are super powerful,” she says. “It was literal blood, sweat, and tears working with them. You’d be holding them, and they’d snap together, and your fingers would get caught in between.” After the experience Alex and her co-worker Anley have donned themselves with the title “magnet masters.” While Alex’s internship at the museum was no easy work, it was certainly worthwhile. “It’s amazing how much progress mankind has made in the past few centuries,” she says, “but it’s even more mind-blowing to think about what we can do in the future.” And that, Alex says, is most definitely a future which she would like to take part in.

KIANA PERRY

CLIFFORD PINKERTON Sophomore // Actor // Gymnast // Wrestler

Senior // Francophone

Story and Photo by True Potter ‘19

Story by Liz Koch ‘18 “J’aime la France!–I love French!” Kiana Perry’s love of the French language is almost immediately recognizable. This, however, isn’t all that fascinates her. Along with being a francophone, she has a passion for the Victorian Era. “French means the world to me. It’s more than just a language,” she says. Kiki wants to stand out from the rest of the Raider crowd. She decided her freshman year that she didn’t want to take Spanish, Mandarin, or Latin. This left her with one option: taking French. She fell in love with it right away. Kiki describes French as “elegant and romantic.” It’s not only considered the language of love, but it’s also one of the most spoken languages. On her way to becoming a fluent French speaker, Kiki has gone to great lengths to learn about the Victorian Era. She shares interesting facts, like that during the Victorian Era only the nobles spoke French, and they were fluent as well.

Kiki recalls scandalous factoids on the Victorian Era, such as Queen Victoria marrying her first cousin, Prince Albert. She details how, forty years after Prince Albert had passed away, Queen Victoria still grieved daily for him and laid out his clothes for him. Kiki describes learning French as “taking a small piece of history and bringing it back alive,” because not many people choose to learn French at RJ. She aspires to inspire others to be bilingual learners. “I want to someday go to France, and teach French students English and have the hope that will inspire them to go teach French in America.”

Visit the art room, ER, and stage on rjtoday.org

NADYAH SPAHN

Senior // ER Volunteer Story and Photo by Katie Berrian ‘20 An hour-long bloody nose. A cut that needs stitches. A broken arm. For senior Nadyah Spahn, this is a normal Saturday. Nadyah volunteers at Rose Hospital and dedicates her time to patients that need immediate help. Every Saturday, Nadyah cleans rooms, checks patients in, helps assess emergencies, and gets patients whatever they need. Whether she’s getting blankets for infants or trying to find rooms for urgent emergencies, Nadyah acts calm and composed. Whenever she sees something serious, she acts. “If I just freeze in times of stress and when things get bad, its just gonna get worse,” she says. “So I have to act. I’m not just going to sit there and

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wait for it to be over.” Nadyah receives a large amount of homework, but she doesn’t let this stop her from fulfilling the needs of others. She explains why she decides to spend time volunteering when she had homework to get done, “I can’t place my homework above the needs of sick people [or] an ER that’s constantly busy regardless of how much homework I have.” Nadyah’s favorite part of volunteering is being able to affect people’s lives in the smallest ways possible. “It makes me incredibly happy when someone thanks me or tells me that I made their ER trip a little more bearable,” she said. “The little thank you’s that people say make me feel happy.”

Regis Jesuit Theater’s performance of Beauty and the Beast left the audience very impressed, many images from the play swirling in their head. The amazing musical scores, the impressive set and light work, choreography, and singing were professional and exceptional. But the moment that probably stuck out was a nutcracker, walking onto the scene on his hands, before doing two back handsprings and a back flip across the stage and moving mechanically like a toy soldier off-stage, to a roar of applause. Sophomore Clifford Pinkerton appeared as both a nutcracker and wolf, and his aerobatics were unforgettable. “My favorite role was the nutcracker–I got to show off a little,” he says. Clifford is a wrestler, ex-gymnast of eight years, and amateur dancer. He decided to use his many talents in the play. “It’s kind of always been my thing to show off and doing it on stage in front of people who aren’t expecting it is really fun,” he says of performing. Clifford, who goes by Cliff, had never performed in a musical or sung in any kind of musical until Beauty and the Beast and ended up loving singing. The singing was new, the acrobatics were not. Since he was a gymnast for many years Cliff didn’t really need to practice his routine, allowing him to focus on the choreography and musical scores. Clifford is also a wrestler now beginning his second wrestling season with the RJ team. He was looking forward to this season because he really enjoyed this past season. “The balance and core strength required in gymnastics definitely carried over to wrestling,” he said. When asked if he’d do another show he replied, “of course” without hesitation. “It’s a little bit of a rush absolutely, there’s an intensity . I’m nervous with hundreds of people watching me, [but] all of these shows were sold out which really amazed all of the actors.”

Aaron Chen // Freshman ARTIST

Freshman Aaron Chen has a passion for art. When he was eight years old, his parents introduced him to a famous Chinese artist, whose name is most directly translated to Dominic. Dominic taught Aaron everything he knows. He began with the basics, having Chen copy his own drawings and sketches, then helping him to build his own creativity to make his own paintings. Aaron visits “Dominic Art Studio” in Centennial once a week, where Dominic helps students develop their art and provides feedback and supplies. Aaron’s favorite type of art is oil paintings, which he considers himself best at. Throughout the school year, he has worked on a watercolor portrait, as well as an acrylic. “When I was young, it began with him teaching me how to use a pencil, how to draw something,” Aaron said. “As I progressed, he taught me different

Story and Photo by Maddie Munger ‘19 ways to use a brush, and then how to copy this and that. As I got used to it, he would have me work from my own inspiration and imagination.” Dominic has an account on Etsy, where his students are able to sell their artwork. Aaron’s generally sells for anywhere between $100 and $300 dollars. The buyers are art lovers, and although the studio and everything within it is Chinese, most of the buyers are American. Aaron’s most recent work is his landscape oil painting. A little while back, he went on vacation in California. While there, he found the perfect scene and took a photo to use as inspiration. From there, Aaron adds in his own spin to the painting, making it his own.

Aaron has recently been working on a watercolor portrait and an acrylic painting for Fine Art. “In order to create the idea in my head, I look at multiple pictures and the most prominent characteristics. What catches my eye from each, I put together into one painting,” he said. It took him five hours to complete his portrait, working both inside and outside of class. “For now, art is just a hobby for me,” Aaron says. “For my work outside of school, the paintings take a lot longer than five hours. They can take around sixteen to thirty hours to complete one piece.” It’s not easy, he says, but the time and effort are worth it for Aaron. “The art I do is meant to draw you into the painting; to be relaxing,” he says.

Michael Gaessler Junior // Creator Story by Owen Coleman ‘17 Think, create, repeat. This is junior Michael Gaessler’s thought process when it comes to making a song or an instrumental. Whether the genre is hip-hop, pop, country, or rock, people love music. Michael happens to love music in a different way: by creating it. Michael has been writing and recording music for as long as he can remember. He enjoys writing folk songs and playing folk music, but he also loves rap and has a passion for creating beats. The interesting thing about Michael is that he hasn’t posted any of his music online yet. “I’ve created so many beats with my friend Charlie, and I have tracked so many ideas for folk songs, I just haven’t posted any of them because I want to reach a certain level where I’m over the top happy about my work,” Michael says. “I want people to take my music seriously, and the music scene is a challenging field to compete in. I want to be able to compete right away.” The music scene is hard to compete in. However, Michael believes he’s not too far from reaching the level to compete. “I have been hard at work for a while getting better at producing and creating tracks. I think I’m almost to the point where I can start posting regularly,” he says. Producing is a very hard skill to perfect. Building the studio is one thing, but knowing how to make a song sound good is on a whole other level. “First, I think of exactly what I want. I listen to the made-up song in my head, and then figure out how to make it come to life.” Michael goes through folders with different synth noises, strings, horns, and more to create exactly what he wants. “I like to sing too, so I’ll add basic vocals over the track so I can really start to hear how the song will sound when I’m finished,” he says. However, Michael is not in this business for the performance and fame; hardly anyone knows creating music is one of Michael’s greatest passions. “I am more interested in the creation aspect of music, rather than the recognition and popularity that music can bring to a person afterwards. I don’t want to perform this stuff, I just want people to hear it and say ‘Yeah, that’s cool’ and maybe download it or maybe not.” Michael is interested in CU Boulder because of their music production program. He wants to do music production as a career even though he understands how hard it can be to make money off of his music in the beginning. “I honestly just want to do what I love for a career, and right now, this is what I love most” Michael says. “I think I’d rather do this than anything else, I hope to be a great producer someday.”

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Sit in the studio with Michael on rjtoday.org

TORAN THOMPSON Deep reds and faded browns blend with a myriad of sweet sounding notes emanating from the viola of senior musician Toran Thompson. Standing in the middle of a professional grade stage, Toran’s face takes on a serene expression as he expertly coaxes his viola to produce melodies. Toran started playing the viola as a second-grader attending St. Mary’s Academy. He attributes his musical beginnings to his mother, who loves classical music and first encouraged him to enter the school orchestra. He slowly fell in love with what he calls the “language of music,” practicing profusely to become the skilled musician he is today. Even with his extremely busy high school schedule, he still does his best to meet his goal of practicing for at least 30 minutes a day. Thompson’s great dedication to the music he is so passionate about is paying off. Right now, Thompson is playing with two orchestras, the Regis Jesuit Co-Divisional Orchestra of which he is currently the president, and the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestra ,in which he holds the third chair, an impressive achievement. Recently, Thompson has toured multiple colleges in which he is looking to pursue a major

Senior // Violist Story and Photo by Michael Corigliano '17

in music. His top choice school is Vanderbilt University, more specifically the Vanderbilt University school of music: the Blair School of Music. In this prestigious music program, resides Toran’s personal musical hero and master violist, Philip Dikeman. If admitted to the Blair School of Music, Toran would eventually study under this great maestro of music, something he believes to be a great honor. Thompson’s love for music extends beyond the beautiful pieces of music that he is able to bring to life. “My favorite thing about my musical journey is the people I am able to meet along the way. I am blessed to be able to preform my passion in my everyday life.”

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A Watch and listen as Toran and Avery perform on rjtoday.org

Avery Sandler // Sophomore

SINGER

Story and Photo by Avery Chapman ‘19 and Sarah McDevitt ‘19 s Avery Sandler walks onto the stage, she feels a rush of nerves, but even more so, a rush of excitement. As a sophomore, she is already signed to a record label and has produced three songs. She started singing as young as ten months old–she has a video of her singing into a recorder like it was a microphone. She has always had a love for music, and has been using it as a platform to reach out to kids who are going through a difficult time. “I want other kids to have a role model,” says Avery, “and I just thought what is a way to reach out to them.” Avery finds it difficult to just sit and write songs without a specific event to motivate her. She says, “if I go through something really emotional or it has a huge impact on me, it takes

me maybe, at most, ten minutes to write a song.” All of her songs have shared this attribute of written about a difficult time in her life. She says that there is always room to grow and that never thought she would get this far. “If you write a song about positivity and love,” says Avery, “it spreads so much farther than the songs you hear on the radio.” The first time she wrote allowed the rest of the world to hear her music, the producer she worked with read them, and together they edited the songs. After, they came up with the music behind it. She went into the recording studio, and “felt the magic happen around her”. Although the process took about three to four months to come up with, Avery knows that all of her

hard work will always pay off. “In the future, when I start to write more songs,” she says, “I want to make it more upbeat and popish.” Each of her songs has a different message, including her favorite one, Stars. She says it has a message that says to be yourself, “and my favorite line in it is, ‘some choose to count the stars, while I choose to run straight for them,’” and the message she is trying to send out is to overcome the obstacles in your life, and follow your dreams. To Avery, music has always been an outlet for her, “because no matter how sad I am, or how happy I am, it will always bring me back to a place where I am centered.”

Fran Belibi Sophomore // Basketball star Story by Blake Whitelaw '19 Photo by Colby Jaramillo ‘20

You will find sophomore Francesca Belibi working in the gym most days of the week, looking to improve her game in any way she can. The super-athletic 6’ 3” forward works hard on improving her shot and dribbling along with continuing to improve her knowledge of a game she is relatively new to. The most impressive thing about Fran’s basketball career so far is the fact that she had never played basketball until her freshman year, as tennis had been her primary sport. She stands out another way, too; she can dunk. Now, Fran is quickly becoming one of the best female basketball players in the state and has the potential to be one of the best in the country. She has scholarship offers from hundreds of schools that include Michigan State, Arizona, and Texas Tech with many others interested in her unique basketball abilities. Along with that, a writer at ESPN Sports said that she has the potential to be an ESPN Top 10 player. She can jump out of the gym, and has expanded her range to the three point line. In her first game of the season, Fran put up 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. She helped the Regis Jesuit team beat Cherokee Trail 51 to 39. Since, she has led the team to a 18-6 overall record and a run in the playoffs. This is only the beginning for Fran. She still has two years left to get even better. Fran stunned the crowd and fans across the country as she became the first girl in Colorado high school history to dunk when she threw down a one-handed jam against Grand Junction on January 6th. The play made the number one slot on SportCenter’s Top Ten Countdown, and the reaction has been nothing short of viral. “It’s been a whirlwind. I don’t have social media, so I’m not quite as exposed to the hoopla,” Fran said. “During the game, it’s just two points, but it also shows girls can do cool things, too. And it gives little girls hope that maybe they can dunk, too.” Although dunking is exciting, Fran also knows that the best part is it also brings the team together. “It’s all just really fun for us,” she says, “we still have to come out and score and play the solid defense we’ve been playing all year, because without the defense, the dunks would never come.”

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Watch “The Franimal” in action on rjtoday.org

RJ VS GRAND JUNCTION, JANUARY 6 > Belibi became the first player to dunk the ball in a game in the history of Colorado girls high school basketball. “It’s been a whirlwind. I don’t have social media, so I’m not quite as exposed to the hoopla,” she said of the media circus around her feat. “During the game, it’s just two points, but it also shows girls can do cool things, too. And it gives little girls hope that maybe they can dunk, too.” Fran has received hundreds of scholarship offers since the dunk.

Michael

Berrian Junior // Power Lifter Story and Photos by Nick Faber ‘18

Just off of Quebec and C-470 is a small garage-turned-gym called Virtus Gym. It’s dark, hot, and packed with equipment and machines. The walls are covered in pictures, newspaper articles, and mirrors. Trophies and medals from past competitions take up any space left. Metallica blasts from the speaker. It’s currently 3:15 in the afternoon. Michael Berrian stands in the corner looking at his workouts for the day: dead lifts, weighted push-ups, and bench press. Ron Garofalo, head trainer at Virtus and former Regis Jesuit teacher, started the gym. Garofalo is a world-class power lifter, having been awarded the “Champion of Champions” title in both 2005 and 2006 for his talent. Following in his footsteps, Michael Berrian is becoming one of the top teenage power lifters both in the state of Colorado and the nation.

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Berrian started power-lifting in December 2011. He needed to earn his Personal Fitness Badge–a requirement for becoming an Eagle Scout–so he went to his mom’s trainer, which he still works with today. After three months, he earned his badge and also attention from Ron, who encouraged him to keep lifting. “I really liked the improvements that I had,” Michael said on why he stuck with power-lifting. Right now, Michael holds world records in dead-lifts (490 pounds, 195 kilograms) bench press (270 pounds, 122.5 kilograms), and squats (402 pounds, 182.5 kilograms). Berrian competes in a range of different meets. Each year he generally will compete in 4-10 a year, including lot here in Colorado such as the Rocky Mountain State Games, which hosts a variety of different

Everything for powerlifting is all in the brain. Everything else just comes to you.”

Michael has won many trophies including a sword at one of his competitions.

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sports and activities to compete in. State meets are generally easier to win. For Michael, it is easy to qualify for a national meet due to his numbers and ability. “[M]e being in the 181 [pound weight class], I kind of just lift what I normally lift and I can qualify,” he says. On November 30th, Michael was offered a spot on the USA’s National Team to compete in a world power-lifting competition in April of 2017. To attend a National Meet however, one must “lift a certain amount and/ or win the competition,” to qualify. To go to a world meet, in most cases you have to attend a national one first. He has attended four out-of-state meets. Three were in Las Vegas, which were all World Meets. The other was in a national meet in Philadelphia. A world meet consists of power lifters from many different nations, speaking many different languages. “Going to a world meet is an amazing experience and is so nerve-wracking,” says Michael, “[They] are an amazing experience and [they] motivate you to try and progress as fast as possible in order to be invited back to another world power-lifting meet.” Focus is key when attending these meets. There are hundreds of competitors generally at each meet Michael attends. He has to be focused at all times during his competitions. “Everything for power-lifting is all in the brain. Everything else just comes to you. For me, I just have to stay as focused as possible and tune everything else out.”

Visit the gym, robotics lab, and press box on rjtoday.org

SCOTT MARIN

Story and Photo by Kyle Macdonald ‘18

Kyle Schwulst & Nick Sanglis // Juniors RAIDER SPORTS NETWORK BROADCASTERS

Senior // Robotics When Scott Marin arrived at Regis Jesuit, he was unsure how he was going to make his mark on the school. A moment would soon present itself to a freshman who didn’t know that what he would turn out to love most at this school. It began at the activities fair when Scott walked up to the robotics table. “I knew they made a lot of cool robots,” he said, “but they were too big and too complicated and the club itself, too, a lot of time. I thought about it, said ‘nope’ and turned right around.” It was halfway through the semester when Scott decided to go back and see what robotics was all about. He went to one of the meetings and “ended up loving it on that first meeting and [never] looked a back.” Each year, the Robotics Club builds robots to compete in an annual F.I.R.S.T. Robotics competition where a committee decides what the certain games and task the teams’ robots will have to do. The teams then have to build the robot in relation to the committee’s specifications. The robotics club members work hard to build these robots throughout the year. During building season, Scott says they “meet four times a week, and the most dedicated members spend up to 25 hours a week,” just to work on this robot for competition. During his junior year, Scott was elected captain of the RJ Robotics team, which means setting up all the meetings and coordinating all the competitions, requiring more commitment, but he was up to the task. This year, however, Scott is just taking the back seat, and although he still helps any way he can, the time he puts in has gone down, which gives him time to do other things. “I ran Cross Country in the fall, I like to rock climb, I write for the Regis Rabble. which is a satire writing club, and I like to spend time with my friends.” But his true passion is still robotics, he says. Now, he mentors others. “Being a student mentor and still learning new things everyday, and finding new ways to solve things is pretty cool,” Scott says. It certainly won’t be the only thing that Scott decides to do in his life, but in the mean time, Scott’s desire and love for robotics is not only fun for him, but it’s a pure joy to watch for everyone else. The RJ Robotics team will compete this spring.

Photo by Ron Fishleigh ‘17

Story by Casey Wardynski ‘18

t’s a cold Friday night. There are five minutes until kickoff. The camera comes on, and words come through to viewers in their homes: the voices of Raider Sports Network. Juniors Nick Sangalis and Kyle Schwulst, the voices of RSN, are the lead commentators for the live coverage of Regis Jesuit’s athletics. From volleyball to football, they commentate on the live video feed of the games on the network. They spend their many Friday nights in the fall–and other nights–covering athletic events for those who are not there able to watch in person. The two juniors have been a part of the Raider Sports Network since the beginning of sophomore year when they started working as camera operators. They have worked their way up in the network and now switch off between the play-by-play and the color commentary. Nick Sangalis says, “It’s a great outlet for me to do. I love commentating. It gives me a chance to stay involved with my passions, sports.” With over a 1000 viewers during the football season, these juniors provide a way for students, parents, and alumni to follow the athletics of Regis Jesuit. Nick and Kyle’s experience as commentators gives them the ability to analyze on the fly, along with their extensive research about the teams in the week leading up to

the games. “I just like talking,” Kyle says. “I really like to be able to know my facts and be able to analyze what’s going on, like Kirk Herbstreit. I try to be as much like him as I can.” These juniors dedicate hours a week to their roles in Raider Sports Network. “We spend usually an hour or two on Monday preparing and discussing what we are going to be doing during the week,” Kyle says. “Then we spend a while going over notes about teams and players, and then a couple hours setting up for the game and during the game.” “The one downside to it is that I’m not able to spend time with my friends during the game because we are busy running the live feed,” says Nick. In addition to broadcasting live for the network, Sangalis is the in-game PA announcer for all home girls basketball games. The time spent has paid off for Nick. He was rewarded for his commitment and his performance on the mic when he was selected as runner-up for the state Colorado Student Media Association “Broadcaster of the Year Award” last year. “It’s definitely always a good time, and I really hope that even more people join our broadcasting crew,” Nick says.

Tune in to the “DJ Jackson Show” on rjtoday.org as he hosts a monthly podcast with Raider athletes.

DJ Jackson // Junior FOOTBALL PLAYER

Story and Photo by Will Kerscher ‘20 t’s an icy Friday night. Regis Jesuit’s DJ Jackson lines up in the backfield, ready to go. The quarterback calls an audible and suddenly DJ has the ball. He breaks through a gap in the offensive line, flies past the middle line-backer, spins past the safety and he’s off to the races. “It feels amazing,” DJ says on scoring touchdowns, “It means I did my job and it means the offense did their job,” he says. “It’s just one of those things, it’s the promised land.” This season DJ rushed for 15 touchdowns and a total of 634 yards, putting him at number three in the state. Football is a place where DJ can relieve his stress and get out his frustrations. “There’s nothing like being

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on the field with people you can call your brothers,” he says. “When I’m in a tough spot and I need to release some frustration, I can hit someone and it’s encouraged. Its my safe space.” DJ started the sport at the age of four alongside his brother. “We always had conflicts [over] who was better,” he said, “when we started playing football and we got in an argument we would get our pads and go do the Oklahoma drill for a solid twenty minutes. It got to the point where we would concuss each other.” To this day they are competing and, “We don’t know who’s better,” he says. For DJ, football is special; “it’s a game of lessons,” as he puts it. Its taught him that everything is go-

ing to be hard and that he just needs to put his head down and go get it. “I cried when I was told I couldn’t play,” he said, “my eighth grade year I broke my pelvis, dislocated my hip, and I messed up my back. When that first happened to me I never gave up, I played through it no matter how much it hurt because of how much passion and love I had for the game of football.” DJ will continue to start as running back next year as a senior. He was recently invited to participate in the Nike Pro Football Camp for high-level recruits. As a senior he will have lots of lessons to teach the younger players. His advice on scoring touchdowns? “Don’t get caught.”

JOE VAETH Jessica Desanctis // Junior CLIMBER Story and Photo by Natalie Skaggs ‘20

Sophomore // Super Fan Story and Photo by Connor Hodes ‘20

hand white with chalk grasps at a small ridged stone for support while the other reaches upward attempting to find another. A faint mixture of music and laughter stirs in the air, accompanied by the sharp clip of a carabiner. On the ground, gravity holds her to her place, but on the wall not even this is a certainty. She zips down towards the earth for a near second until the intricate tangle of ropes secures her. Disappointed, but with a smile from ear to ear, junior Jessica Desanctis is lowered to the ground ready to begin climbing yet another wall, and to begin yet another small journey towards the clouds. “Rock climbing,” says Desanctis, “is a challenge. It's not just a physical challenge, it’s mental too.” Jessica has been rock climbing practically her entire life. When she was little she used to climb the little walls in Breckenridge or Boulder from time to time, and always made it to the top even if “it was the auto-belay pulling [her] half the time because [she] was too small.” But it wasn’t until she joined the Rock Climbing Club during her freshman year at Regis Jesuit when she

Climb with Jessica and visit Folsom Field with Joe on rjtoday.org

began climbing more seriously. Now, she climbs about three times a week when she can and is loving every moment of it. To the average person, rock climbing seems transparent and simplistic. “You have to figure out how you’re gonna climb up to the top without falling,” she says. But to Jessica, this simple yet difficult sport has been much more than this. It has been a challenge, a chance to spend time with friends, and a way for her to see “how much [she has] grown over time.” “You just can’t go into it thinking you’re gonna fail,” Jessica explains, “otherwise it won’t work very well.” But she says if you put your mind into it, anyone can complete a wall. This is what makes it such a unique sport. Jessica has even seen a girl in an ankle boot scale a wall by “just hopping the whole time.” Rock climbing is one of the few things “you can do no matter how old you get, no matter what you're doing, you can just go and climb.” Jessica continues to keep climbing. To her, there is no reason to ever stop.

It’s Saturday morning after a long week at school. Almost every student is eagerly looking forward to catching up on some sleep and simply relaxing. But Joe Vaeth is not your average student. An early wake up, an early tailgate, and a loud University of Colorado football game fill the average Saturday for sophomore Joe Vaeth. “I usually wake up around 7 a.m., so we can get to the stadium early and enjoy the experience as much as we can,” he says. Joe is continuing the tradition his father started over two decades ago, when he attended his first CU football game and immediately fell in love with the Buffaloes and has never looked back. Joe has been to every home game for the Buffaloes since before he can even remember, and now has his total tally at just under 100 games. With a three hour tailgate before the game, a three hour game, and hanging out for another hour afterwards, this dedicated fan has spent about 705 waking hours at CU for football games, which works out to about 30 days of nothing but football. That is dedication. And this year was a lot of fun. “The players were really playing more like a team this past year and the results showed. It really makes the atmosphere so much better because there are so many more fans and everybody is there to watch football.” The Buffaloes had one of their best seasons in the university’s history. Colorado had their first winning season since a 7-6 2005. The unit was in the top 10 in the College Football rankings for three consecutive weeks, and it is the first time they have were in the top 25 since 2007. While they made it to a bowl game, they were sadly beaten. “It really speaks to the strength of the program and the coaching. And this breakout season could mean great things to come for the team as far as recruiting. I’m really excited,” Vaeth said.

AMANDA MITCHELL

Senior // Dancer Story and Photo by Luke Connelly '20

Hit the dance studio with Amanda on rjtoday.org

Amanda Mitchell gracefully twirls around the black chalkboard dance floor in preparation for her long day of rigorous dance class. Her coral pink pointe shoes, worn and frayed at the edges, hit the floor like pebbles overturning in an otherwise quiet stream. Amanda puts in countless hours of work every week at Miller’s Dance Studio in Aurora, Colorado. The studio has been sharing its love and passion for dance with its students since 1957. That passion and commitment for dance is genuinely present in the studio and its students. When the doors of the Miller’s Dance Studio open, you can almost feel the love and commitment to dance radiating off the pastel blue walls. The worn, black dance floor bears the marks of many committed young men and women perfecting the art

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of ballet. It is truly a place that cares much about its students and the art of dance. Ballet also demands obedience and attention from those wishing to learn it. When Amanda arrives, she sits quietly on the dance floor and stretches. This will help her to perfect her technique, posture, and flexibility while dancing. “Ballet has helped me get a different outlook on life, and it has put some discipline in me because of all the rules,” Amanda says. Ballet has also helped Amanda make some of the best friends she has ever had. That is evident from the happiness and joy that she and her fellow classmates show each other. They all really care about how everyone is doing. This shows that ballet is not just an individual sport- it is a true and stead-

fast team effort. As well as this, ballet has also brought her closer to her brother, who also shares a passion for ballet. “Before dance, we didn’t get to talk that much at all,” Amanda says. The connection she shares with her brother is inspiring and profound. It is very evident that they care so much about each other, and that nothing could ever come between them. Not only has ballet done this for Amanda, but it has taught her important life lessons. She has learned to put an abundant amount of work into anything she does, after all, that is what ballet demands. It is truly amazing how she knows that by doing ballet, not only has she become more loving, but she has become a better person to others.

Jorge

Paredes

Story by Alec Breeden ‘19

Junior // Film Maker // Photographer

Junior Jorge Paredes doesn’t regret any of the countless hours he has put into his videos as he says “I feel like without those mistakes and hiccups in the road I wouldn’t have been where I am today.” Jorge Paredes is a storyteller, and he shares his experiences with his friends by filming and editing videos. He has his own Youtube channel called “Abstract Films” that has over 20 videos. Jorge shoots video at every kind of event and in all kinds of conditions. Once you have viewed one of his videos you get hooked and want to see other pieces of his work. The best way to get an idea of what Jorge is capable of is watching his video “Jorge’s demo reel” on Youtube.

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Even though Jorge makes most of his videos for fun he says “I’d like to continue on to a film school for college.” With over 90 colleges and universities across the country that offer a film program, Jorge has a wide range of opportunities to decide from. Jorge’s passion for filming is inspirational. This comes at the cost of the potential time to do other important things as Jorge says “when you are as passionate about something just as I am passionate about films, having an impact on other things such as grades, is bound to happen.” Jorge also has some advice for anyone who is thinking about getting into video production, “At first you’re going to be really bad, I still have a lot

At first you’re going to be bad at it–but stick with it– you will get better.”

to learn, but I’m definitely better than I was when I first started out” but then he continues and says “but stick with it–you will get better.” He also says that you don’t have to spend $1,300 on a DSLR camera. “Use whatever you have at your disposal; great quality videos can come from an iPhone.” Jorge has been in situations where he only has his iPhone to capture the moment, and its more important to him to get the right shot than worry about the tool he is using. Jorge is not only just a video producer, as his experience with cameras has led him on to be an excellent photographer. He enjoys taking pictures and this has only made him more intrigued with the ultimate possibilities of a camera. It is truly remarkable how much talent, passion, dedication, sacrifice, and joy Jorge Parades has for filming, editing, and uploading his videos. Look for him at the next event. If it’s happening, Jorge is there with his camera.

Subscribe to Jorge’s Youtube channel, Abstract Films

Jorge has captured many inspirational portraits of RJ and its culture, such as this one of the d statue of St. John Francis Regis.

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Jack Dunn Senior // President

Story and Photo by Hank Galan ‘19 It is 9:20 am. Rectangular glasses on and ready to go, the Boys Division student body president walks into the main office, smiling and greeting everyone he passes. He looks at his paper and grabs the mic, ready to address the school. He reads the daily announcements and ends with his signature catchphrase: “I’m Jack Dunn; have a dandy ol’ day.” A man of many talents, Jack has become a senior for the students to look up to. Student body president, Rowdy, and synchronized swimmer, Jack always looks for opportunities to create good experiences for himself and others. “Everybody is different, and I celebrate my own uniqueness and the gifts that I’ve been given,” Jack said. No matter what a person may struggle with, it provides more opportunities for them to become one-of-a-kind, Jack says. Jack has embraced his challenges and turned them into strengths, and he provides an example for others to do the same. “I was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade,” said Jack, who explains he was also diagnosed with ADHD. “I was only diagnosed with that last year.” For Jack, he never saw these as restrictions. When Jack read the Percy Jackson book series he identified with the main character, who was both adopted and dyslexic. His biological father was even Greek, making his case even stronger. “It was one of the first book series that I really read and really got into it,” he said, smiling. “I was convinced, for a number of years, that one of these days some monster was going to show up. I was convinced that I was a demigod.” Although he was disappointed to find out he was not the son of Zeus, Jack knows how to communicate and be a leader. From yearbook to aquatic sports, Jack does not just do this for show. He does everything he can for other people, allowing them to enjoy themselves and forget about what could be bothering them. “I do these things just ‘cause. I know the personality I have,” Jack said. “So if I can smile, and make a person’s day, that’s what I’m gonna do. That’s why I finish with ‘a dandy ‘ol day’ on the announcements, to finish with something positive.” Jack sets down the intercom mic, and walks out of the main office. Kids walk past Jack, turning to their friends saying, “hey, that’s the ‘have a dandy ol’ day’ dude.” Just 30 seconds after Jack finishes his announcements, he’s already making students smile and encouraging a positive start to their day.

Katherine Clawson & Jessica Bixler Seniors // Presidents Story and Photo by Bella Ames ‘20 At precisely 7:55 every morning, seniors Katherine Clawson and Jessica Bixler walk down to the main office, their coffees in hand. Ideas for the “fun fact of the day” run through their minds as they walk to the familiar oak table with the mic on it. One girl turns on the microphone, while the other gets the papers in order for that day’s announcements. They then wait patiently for the bell to ring through the school, before starting the morning prayer. “It’s not nerve-wracking like everyone assumes once you get used to it,” Kate says, Jessie nodding beside her. “Its almost like we are talking to each other each morning, and not to the whole school. It’s really fun in that way, and what makes me look forward to the announcements each day.” These girls have made history as Regis Jesuit’s first ever co-presidents. Each day, the duo says the information given by several teachers and staff, informing the whole Girls Division on the events for that certain date. These girls are almost all-knowing of what’s going on in school. But Kate and Jessica not only preform the duty of being the voices that every girl hears in the morning. Being student body co-presidents, they have other very important jobs. In addition to being student representatives and planning dances, these co-presidents do tasks such as organizing meetings and meeting with the administration once a month. They also are in charge of getting the Student Council’s ideas approved, along with managing the balance of ideas between the Girls and Boys Divisions. But once they exit the conference room, their jobs switch to what not everybody sees. How their fellow students and faculty see how they carry themselves and behave serves as an example to the others. “This is not a job that someone can just do in a night like their homework ,” Jessie states with a grin on her face. “It’s stressful most times, but in the end we are rewarded with a happy and functional school. That’s what makes it worth it.” Kate Clawson has been a part of Student Council for three years now. She didn’t know she was going to be in this big of a leadership role when she was a freshman, and described her young self as “wanting to lay low.” But, after realizing what she had the potential to be, Kate and her best friend had changed the school by senior year. Jessica Bixler has been a part of Student Council since she was a freshman, and knew coming in to RJ that she would eventually want to pursue a leadership role. After four years of hard work and late nights, she and her best friend became some of the most important voices in the Girls Division. The friends spend every morning, most afternoons, and nights with each other, working and having fun. “We have done mostly everything together in high school, so we can’t get tired of each other anytime soon. We have to like each other,” says Jessie, laughing with Kate as she explains their relationship. “But it’s how we work so well together, and are able to be successful in this job.” “When I first came to Regis, I never thought I could be doing something as cool as the announcements, let alone being a co-president,” Kate says, laughing as well,“But it shaped who I am, and I think this school provides each student with opportunities to grow and figure out who they are, regardless of which role someone is in.”

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Tune in to the “Kate in the Quad” comedy show on rjtoday.org 39

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DREW MAERSCH

Freshman // Referee

Story and Photo by Ben Varga '20

Freshman Drew Maersch tucks his coin into his tall, black socks. He wraps a lanyard holding his whistle around his wrist and begins to count the young players on the field, nine to a side. After pressing “START” on his stopwatch, he blows the beginning whistle and begins to run up and down the field, raising his arms, calling fouls, and dealing with angry parents. He controls the 18 players, two coaches, and dozens of parents for the next hour all with the whistle that he grasps in his right hand. On Saturday mornings during the fall, 14year-old Drew can usually be found on the soccer fields, not as a player, but as a referee. After years of playing for his club and now playing at Regis Jesuit, he has taken up a job that allows him to “help the kids grow and develop their skills in the sport I love.” He says that he enjoys refereeing, and that it provides a new way to enjoy the sport. Having the kids come up to him after the game and thank him and “give him knuckles” means a lot to Drew. Unfortunately, according to Inland Empire Soccer Referee Association, about half of new certified soccer referees quit a year after their first game. This is largely in part to the heckling of parents and coaches towards youth referees. Drew says that he sees this often, but just decides to ignore the yelling and tries to focus on the game. “When parents yell at me, usually I will ignore them, but if it continues, I will ask them to be quiet because they are disturbing the game,” he explains. However, there are some parents out there that are very kind and gracious to Drew. Many thank him after the game is over, whether the calls he made were correct or not. He says, “When a parent congratulates me or says that I reffed a great game, it makes me feel really good, and also makes me want to continue reffing.” Of course, refereeing pays. But money aside, Drew seems to truly enjoy refereeing as he gets to spend time with younger kids and enjoy the sport of soccer. His passion allows him to be a great referee that is respected by many of his peers and mentors. The world of youth soccer could really use more people like Drew. Drew says, “Through reffing, I’ve learned that it’s all about the betterment of the kids. When you walk away from a game feeling that you have learned a lot and have become a better ref, it’s a great feeling.”

Meet the man behind the whistle on rjtoday.org

Matthew Wiles // Senior EDM ARTIST Story and Photo by Victor Diaz ‘17

His bedroom is bathed in the sunlight that is shining through the windows. Senior Matthew Wiles sits at his desk, staring intently at the monitor. His right hand experiments on an electronic piano keyboard, while his left taps away at his iPad to create his newest mix. EDM–Electronic Dance Music–is a fairly new art form. Matthew began his journey with videos on YouTube. Two songs in particular stood out to him that, “set me on this path,” he says. Joyride by Draper and Still Life by Slow Magic both drove him to delve deeper into the

relatively unexplored world of EDM. Having started on his path, two other songs, Alway this Late by Odesza and I’ll BE Your Reason by Illenium encouraged him to create music that inspired the same thing he felt when he listened to them for the first time. He began by teaching himself to play an instrument. He has spent a little over a year learning to play the piano and mastering sound manipulation to create music that makes him feel the same way he did when he first heard Still Light by Slow Magic.

The surface of the world that he saw only drove him deeper into the 30+ sub genres of EDM. They range from Dubstep and House, to Glitch Hop and 8-Bit . Having carefully sorted through the enormous variety, he settled on Melodic Dubstep, and Liquid Drum & Bass. The systemic chaos of the music, it’s beat-based rhythm, and the simplicity of sound drew him in. He was hooked. Over the years, Matthew has created multiple songs, and he’s working on more. However, his work is not without it’s challenges.

The most difficult thing, according to Matthew, is sound design. Sound design is, in simple terms, messing with synthesizers and waveforms to translate the song you have in your head into a song blasting from your speakers. The sheer complexity of sound design is enough to drive him away from certain genres, such as dubstep. “It’s all about knowing how to modulate and understand all these intense concepts that you have to go to school to figure out, because they’re so difficult,” Mathew said. The structured format of Dubstp alone draws Matthew away from the genre, instead he specializes in Liquid Drumbass and Melodic Dubstep; each providing a simplistic, and flexible structure in which Matthew can freely experiment with.

Justin Markel // Senior GOLFER Story and Photo by Jason Lewis ‘17

Hit the links with Justin on rjtoday.org

Justin Markel looks out of his kitchen window to the golf course that lies behind his house. It serves as a constant reminder of his passion for life and his enthusiasm for the sport. “It is more than just golf ” to Justin, it is a way to appreciate life and everything that he has been blessed with. “When I look out over the course and see the green, the sun hits my face. There is a slight breeze coming

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from the west and everything just seems to line up in life.” Many athletes can relate to this feeling that Justin describes, a feeling of oneness, a feeling of truly being in the moment. Golf allows Justin to relax after a long day and to focus on a source of competitiveness and love within his life. Justin describes golf as especially offering him a gratitude for his family and friends. He explains how when

he is on the course and sees how lucky he has been in life that he is able to golf every day, he is reminded of how kind his mother, father, sister, and friends are to him. It is this appreciation for life that allows Justin to compete at an extremely high level. This year Justin and three of his golf teammates, Tyler Zhang, Drew Anderson, and Cal McCoy, lead the Boys Division team to a First

Place State Title for the 5A Colorado Golf Championship. The team came away with the victory by merely one stroke, a demonstration of the extreme precision and focus required. This victory meant the world to Justin because it was his final golf season in high school. “I couldn’t ask for more from my last season at Regis. It was a huge weight off of my shoulders knowing that I preformed to the best of my abilities and came away victorious.” Although his victory is boast-worthy, Justin keeps himself quite humble and modest. He models the perfect example of a loving, intellectual, and humble man formed by RJ.

Alfred Jones // Senior SKATER

Story and Photo by Joe Lamptey ’17 or senior Alfred Jones, Friday nights are filled with chants from a screaming crowd, sounds of helmets smashing together, and the pressures of the football in his hands on a third down. He is in his element. On Saturdays, however, the chants of the crowd become whistling wind, helmets smashing together become boards on the iron, and the pressure is all in landing his next trick. The star power runner shows he’s got some finesse with skateboarding. “I love coming out and skating. It’s a second world for me. When I’m skating I’m not thinking about much else.” You don’t know Alfred Jones if you don’t know he boards. “I’ve been doing this for seven years and I love it,” he says.

But skateboarding is no cakewalk. The years Alfred has spent boarding are marked with the battle scars and scrapes on his body, many on his legs. At the skate park, it was easy to realize that the easiest part of skateboarding was falling. The only way to get better is to fight the adversity, fight the pain, and fight the mind that wants to quit. The fighter’s mentality carries over to other things Alfred does, especially football. “If you can’t handle falling you can’t handle skateboarding. It’s all about falling down hard and quickly getting up to do exactly what just made me you fall, “ Alfred says. “In football you get hit and knocked down hard, but just like in skateboarding you have to bounce back up and play on.”

Like many sports, there are stereotypes around skateboarding. These stereotypes bring a negative connotation to the sport and the athletes. Alfred and his buddy Anthony, who is the reason he skates, want people to drop stereotypes about skateboarders and they are two great spokesmen because these two are great kids. “People like Alfred I have skated with for so long it’s like a competitive thing, so you’re always striking to become better than the other person and that just makes it that much more fun,” says Anthony, “People see skateboard as a delinquency they don’t understand that we’re just trying to come here, have fun, but people don’t understand the work you

have to put in. They don’t see skateboarding as a sport when you’re still out here putting in a certain amount of work, you’re out here sweating getting a workout and people just see it as oh he is a delinquent little kid just getting into trouble when all we’re trying to do it have fun. It’s as competitive as any other sport could be.” Alfred agrees. Skateboarding isn’t just a hobby it is a part of him it is what he does and what he learns from. “Skating has become a huge part of my life and I enjoy doing it more and more,” he says.

Skate with Alfred and his friend Anthony at the park on rjtoday.org

JACK BRUSTKERN

JOE KASSAL

Story and Photo by Walker Fuller ‘19

Freshman //Woodworker

Story and Photo by Grant Breeden ‘17 As an incoming freshman, it can be difficult finding your place and identity in high school. Adopting to a new lifestyle and experience, kids can sometimes lose who they are, but not Jack Brustkern. Jack, a current freshman, has a unique talent and hobby that has become a lost art in this day and age: woodworking, a noble and difficult task that used to be an everyday thing in a man’s arsenal. Now, this art has been mostly taken over by modern day technology. Jack first started woodworking a couple of years ago and has grown increasingly devoted to it. He now has a whole work station in his garage where he creates amazing pieces of his own. Bowls, statues, and other projects are turned out each day, all unbelievably appealing to the eye. The freshman prodigy has forged over 20 major projects and continues to ramp up his productivity. Starting out from nothing, Jack has turned this work place into his own. He has created an identity for himself as a woodworker. He currently has one turning machine and belt, but wants to add on and gain more heavy duty tools create bigger and badder masterpieces. For Jack, woodworking is a passion of his because it came easy to him. “From the first day, I fell in love with

BRAD TERRY Junior // Lacrosse Stick Repairman

Story and Photo by Dominic Mata ‘18

On any given weekend, you can find Bradley Terry in the basement of his Castle Rock home, jamming to Fergie and stringing lacrosse heads. For many lacrosse players, their stick is an extension of their arm. They are fine-tuned and crafted to their very liking. Bradley’s job is to create a lacrosse player’s best friend. Terry strings the weapon of choice for many players around the country. Bradley is the founder of Mountain Man Strings, a lacrosse head stringing business based out of his basement. His business began three years ago after many of his teammates came to him to get their sticks strung. Through the years his company has expanded from Colorado to across the country. MarchMountain Man Strings2allows players to 44 2017 | Vol 2 Issue

it and continue to really enjoy it,” says Jack. “Whenever I get the opportunity to, or if I don’t want to do homework, I go out to my garage and just work.” That work Jack has been putting forth has resulted in the creation of his Etsy site. Jack, like other artists, hopes to share his work and inspiration with others by selling these pieces. At the end of the day, Jack closes up shop, sweeps up his wood shavings all to have created his wonderful piece of art. Each day, he finds more inspiration and puts forth himself so that he continues his amazing talent after 3 p.m. Go behind the scenes in Jack’s wood shop on rjtoday.org

contact Bradley directly through social media, and create their heads to their every liking from color, pocket size/area, and ball control. Brad takes time to make each head unique and individual for the owners. “Brad creates quality weapons and tools that can’t be found in anywhere else,” said Sean Traynor, “I only have my heads strung by Brad and haven’t had a complaint.” Brad makes an annual income of around $1,000-$1,500. But to him, Mountain Man Strings isn’t just a way to make money. It is a way for Brad to expand lacrosse. His company gives him the opportunity to share his love for lacrosse with other players. “I started this company because I loved lacrosse so much I needed a way to have my own influence on the game. Stringing is a way that I can influence players and the game because everyone needs a strung head in order to compete.” You can truly see the love and passion Brad has in his stringing and the sport. He enters his own realm when he strings. His focus and determination shows as his work allows players to become better and better. Brad’s company allows him to give back to the community as well. Ten percent of his proceeds will eventually be donated to City Lax or other foundations. “I find that my company benefits not only myself, but the communities I am a part of. Regis has taught me to live to the greater glory of God, so by not giving back I am not fulfilling my God given duty on earth.” Mountain Man Strings will continue to grow the game one head at a time.

Sophomore // Lacrosse Lacrosse: this is the sport that Joe Kassal has played throughout his entire life. From a very young age, Joe has always been very talented at lacrosse. He has extremely high hand-eye coordination, which has helped him to be one of the best lacrosse players in the nation. Not only is he athletic, but he is a morally good person. Joe’s parents make sure to push him into being a Catholic and brave person in everything that he does. Listening to what his parents have taught him has given Joe the idea to be generous towards others. From the years 2019-2023, Joe is planning to attend the United States Air Force Academy, both to play lacrosse and serve in the Air Force. Joe’s forthcoming coach, Eric Serement, is very pleased that Joe has made the decision to play for his team in the near future. When Joe met with his coach for the first time in person he said, “I was very nervous, but my coach wasn’t. He seemed very relaxed, and it really helped me to become more calm.” Joe then said that his coach made the experience feel very natural, and it really helped him to make the decision of committing to the Air Force Academy. Although lacrosse is very important to Joe, giving back to the citizens of the United States seems to fill his priorities more. Joe plans to serve in the Air Force for twenty years the moment after he graduates. Joe says that he possibly wants to be a Navy SEAL, but he doesn’t know for sure. Joe, asked if he is ever scared of the fact that he will serve, Joe say, “No, it kind of makes me excited. I feel like it is right for me to give back to my country.” Joe showed his selflessness by not just making the decision of committing for himself, but for the United States of America.

Gabe Schulze

Alexis Gutierrez // Senior

Story and Photo by Nick Mordini ‘17

FASHION AMBASSADOR

Senior // Water Polo Senior Gabe Schulze has been competitively playing water polo since he was six-years-old. Everyday after 3:00 he drops off his carpool and ventures to the pool. He practices up to five days a week in preparation for the tournaments his team attends. Of all the games they play, Gabe says only one tournament was actually in Colorado. Although traveling can be difficult and tiresome, “it helps us grow as a team, just being together for long periods of time,” Gabe says. Some of the places they travel include California, Arizona, and New Mexico. His team, The Pirates, is a high level organization that strives to bring all the athletes together and be the best that they can be. Gabe’s starting position is normally a hole-set defender, but he is also able to play any defensive position when his team needs him to. The water has always been a second home for Gabe. In addition to water polo, he was a competitive swimmer for many years until having to choose one over the other. “It was an extremely difficult decision for me but I knew I was better at water polo so I just stuck with it.” While the sport of water polo continues to grow in popularity, it’s fair to say it will always remain an important part of Gabe’s life.

Story and Photo by J’Den Humphries ‘18

imple black boots, light wash blue jeans, a knit light pink sweater, and a black anorak coat; senior Alexis Gutierrez’s simple outfit exudes comfortable fashion as she steps through the Park Meadow Nordstrom store. When complimented on her look, she smiles. “I had a meeting today. We have to look cute, especially since we’re fashion ambassadors.” Alexis Gutierrez is a small girl with a big smile and an even bigger passion for the fashion industry. “Ever since I was little, it was always something I was interested in, but I didn’t know where I wanted to go with it,” she says of her admiration of the industry. However, she says that her passion for the complex industry never really clicked until she went prom shopping, and saw a small advertisement on the cashier’s desk about a fashion ambassadors program going on at Nordstrom. She took a chance, signed up, and ended up finding her calling. In the beginning, Alexis was not sure where she wanted to approach the competitive industry. However, she says that since she’s been in the program at Nordstrom that she’s decided she wants to explore it all. “I do want to explore different fields of fashion. I’m not limited to one,” Alexis said.

Visit the retail racks with Alexis on rjtoday.org

While open to all options, she admires the business aspect the most. She loves the reality of being able to grow a business from the ground up, and then being able to see it flourish and spread across the world–hopefully affecting others the same way it has affected her. “Fashion is so diverse,” she says, “Everyone has a different perspective to it, and people from different places in the world add their own touch to their work, which is incredible.” Alexis herself is of Spanish descent, and mentions her Spanish mother, whom she credits with planting the seed of love for fashion in Alexis. Her mother always encouraged her to look her best, and told her that fashion is a major part to feeling good. Alexis hopes she can encourage others the same way her mother did for her at a young age. Alexis answers immediately when asked what is most important regarding fashion, “Feeling comfortable and confident,” she says. She says being confident in any outfit, day-to-day or high end, is key to pulling together an outfit. And who knows; maybe the Alexis Gutierrez signature label will one day be on the world’s top runways.

DRAKE MORLEY Visit the range, game room and garage with Caspar, Drake and Evan on rjtoday.org

Junior // Dungeon master Story and Photo by Hans Helland ‘18

Caspar Placke // Junior SHOOTING ENTHUSIAST Story and Photo by Daniel Carr ‘19

very day after school, for two hours you will find junior Caspar Placke a ways from his house in a field in Castle Pines. On the weekends, you will find him there in the mornings. He stays as long as he can, until he runs out of ammunition. Caspar has been shooting guns every day since he was five, and has fallen in love with it. He has an extensive collection of guns, and he knows the history of each one. He even remembers the first gun he shot. “I shot my first gun when I was about 12 or 13 at the Boy Scouts. It was a .22. This was a special moment to me. It was a surreal experience.” He spends as much time as possible shooting, practicing, and learning new techniques. “Shooting is an escape for me from everyday life. It calms and relaxes me when I am holding the gun in my hands.” Caspar has gone to the same field near his house where he has permission from

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the owner to shoot, since he was five-years-old. The field is less than a mile away from his house and has a perfect landscape: no trees, mountains, and a city in the far distance. He feels like it is just him in the field with no one else. “I feel very calm and tranquil when I am in the field. This helps me practice for fulfilling my dream of joining the aviation corps.” Caspar has aspirations of going to the Naval Academy. “I have dreamed of going to the Naval Academy ever since I started using guns. I want to help people who can’t help themselves because there are plenty of people like that in the world who need help.” While this is his main aspiration, he has plenty of other goals with his skill of shooting. “I also want to be generally enlisted in the Army. Any job in the Army you must have an experience with guns, so if I can’t become a naval aviator, I will definitely have a job that is related to shooting.” Caspar has many reasons to love guns, but there is one that stands out against all the rest: “We live in a world where it is pretty dangerous out there, and in a world like that, I would rather know how to use a gun and defend myself than to not know how to use a gun. That is the drive for why I have developed this passion.”

“There’s a saying in [Dungeons and Dragons] that whenever somebody sits around a table they revert to the age that they were first at a table,” says junior Drake Morley. Drake is the dungeon master for the Strategic Gaming Club. As dungeon master, he’s the equivalent of the artificial intelligence of a video game. He controls all of the “people” in the game who are not actual players and creates scenarios for the players each time they meet up. In the BD Spanish room every Tuesday after school, the Strategic Gaming club meets and he helps to set the stage for their session of D&D. Drake never started the club, but once he saw they had an opening for dungeon master his love of the game drew him to join. “It was the basis of all MMOs (Massive Multiplayer Online games) that we know,” Drake says. After watching a game of D&D, it clearly has plenty in common, a fantasy based story, role playing, and of course backstabbing your friends. While D&D has plenty of rules, the dungeon master makes the game and creates the story. “You can to hang around a table and laugh and joke with your friends all the while having to kind of dice things,” Drake says. D&D has plenty of laughing in it, whether it was because they are plotting on killing one of their party members or if someone simply made a joke. Even if D&D isn’t your cup of tea, Drake still encourages you to come to the club. He says it’s where nerds come to hang out, whether they want to play D&D or another strategy game.

EVAN BREGA

Sophomore // Forger Story and Photo by Andrew Cohlmia ‘17 Sophomore Evan Brega could be considered a humble man. When you see him passing in the hallway, you may consider him just another student, but what you may never believe is that he has forged over 30 swords in his garage. Evan withholds a very spectacular talent, that is the art of forging swords. “I started forging swords around the age of 11,” Evan says. Sword forging is a task that belongs to an elite craftsman, and Evan has all of the necessary tools and knowledge to be considered nothing short of elite. His “at home” workshop includes angle grinders, C-clamps, special drills, and intricate machinery that produces perfect edges for Evan’s custom built swords. He starts with the highest quality form of 7/16ths flexible plate steel as a base. The next step is cutting the metal to achieve a completely custom look. Evan has a lot of respect for the art of metal crafting and specifies metal as the “unmovable object”. The high pitch sound of his professional grade angle grinder echoes through his garage and sparks fly ubiquitously as he achieves the perfect sword shape. He then spends hours brush grinding the edges of the sword to establish perfectly smooth edges. After the actual sword body is complete he places the sword in a contraption with six high powered flame outputs that heats the sword body up to unbearable measures. And that is the art of forging that Evan has mastered. Evan sees himself engineering in the near future. “I have attempted to create go-carts and other interesting objects from scratch,” he says. He has already started selling his finished products and sells them for anywhere between $50-100 profit. It was quite the honor being able to watch Evan run through his carefully built procedure.

Caleb Sloan // Senior SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Story by Kate McDonald ‘17 ike clockwork, senior Caleb Sloan is on his way to what he considers his “happy place:” Push Performance. At Push, he focuses most of his energy on becoming stronger as a soon to be D1 baseball athlete. At Push his endurance and attention is looked up to by many of the younger athletes. But his leadership and work ethic is also transferred over to one other place: Special Olympics Unified Basketball. At Unified Caleb has been given the nickname “Big Daddy Sloan” by Special Olympics athlete Ryan Berg. “Athletes” is the term used throughout Special Olympics to refer to those who have special needs. Caleb has been a partner in Unified Basketball the past two years, but this year he has finally gotten his chance to be a coach for the 2016 -2017 team. The male athletes look up to Caleb not only as a coach- they think of him as family. Although many of the partners and athletes who love him would say he is family, there is one athlete that he means the world to. When Megan McDonald (my sister) met Caleb three years ago, he was a partner on the basketball team and whenever he talked with

Megan, her face would instantly light up. Caleb became like her older brother. Megan always says, “Caleb is my brother even if we aren’t really related,” and this started to rub off on Caleb and over the past three years he has thought of her as family as well. Caleb took her to her homecoming her freshman year and goes over to her house to watch movies. “Megan has made me become more aware of my surroundings,” he said. “I’ve been able to grow as person and learn how to accept everyone for who they are.” Through Special Olympics Caleb Sloan has not only become an amazing leader to the Special Olympic athletes but he has been able to show his leadership in baseball, too. Since Caleb is now a senior he is a leader of the school and one of the best role models Regis Jesuit has to offer. The Unified Basketball team is looking forward to Caleb leading the team to many wins this season and rooting for him as he prepares to play at TCU as he trains to try and become an MLB player in the near future. Special Olympics Unified has been greatly affected by Caleb Sloan through his compassion and leadership. 47

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Natalie Skaggs Freshman //Fencer

Story and Photo by Molly Kennedy ‘18 The crash and clank of sabre and the squeaking of specialized shoes across the floor are all familiar sounds at the Fencing Academy of Denver, a place where young fencing enthusiasts not only strive to become better in their art, but to create a family with a common goal. One of these committed athletes is freshman Natalie Skaggs. Fencing might seem like an unusual sport to choose, especially when mainstream sports such as volleyball and basketball dominate the athletic world. Fencing, however, has been an Olympic sport since 1896 and usually follows a generational pattern of participation. No one else in Natalie’s family fences, but they support her every step of the way. Natalie started in fencing in the 5th grade. According to her parents continuing passion is partially due to the loose ligaments in her legs. Natalie, however, has a different point of view on how she got started in fencing. “As a kid I was always the tomboy,” she says. “I always wanted to be the knight not the princess, so fencing was like a dream come true for me.” During the week, Natalie’s schedule usually consists of fencing practice on Monday and Tuesday, youth group on Wednesday, more fencing practices, and a tournament on the weekends. Natalie says that the time of her interview that her practice schedule was even more hectic as she was preparing to attend a national fencing tournament in Milwaukee. There she participated in fencing categories that were above her skill level and did a team event for the first time. Natalie did very well in the team event and even though she did not move on to the second round in the higher skill levels, she still considers it a fantastic learning experience. Natalie says her favorite memory of fencing “is probably my first tournament. It was a small, local one and I was really happy at the end of it because I medaled and it brought me this passion for fencing that I will always have.” Through fencing she has made new friends and some of those friends want to go all the way to the Olympics. Natalie says, “for now I am working on getting to the point where I could potentially fence in college.” Natalie Skaggs hopes her hard work, passion, and determination will allow her to pursue even more possibilities.

Stand behind the sabre with Natalie on rjtoday.org

Isalina Colsman & Clare Davidson // Freshmen CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS

GRIFFEN ROLLERT

Sophomore // Fencer Story by Andrew Fisher ‘19

Story and Photo by David Burnham ‘20 salina Colsman ties her shoes and begins to stretch out with her friend and fellow cross country runner Clare Davidson. “For me, running was more of a hobby than a sport” says Isalina. “My mom was the coach so I have always had running in my life,” says Clare. Both Clare and Isalina are star freshman cross country runners. Isalina finished 17th at state this year and Clare finished 131st. The RJ girls team finished 13th place, an improvement from last year. “Our success was thanks to great coaches and a great team mentality,” Isalina says. The cross country team greatly values this, they have team dinners before every meet. The coaches run with the students at every practice. “The cross country team is a family, and we are both glad to be a part of it,” says Clare.

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Isalina and Clare ran every day for miles when the season was going, but now that the season is over they are doing other sports. They still run a couple miles once a week. For the girls, what keeps them driven is running for the team and running to improve. They hope to improve the team next year into the top ten. “Neither of us ran our best race at state. We can improve,” Clare says. Both have helped the team improve from 2015’s 21st place into last season’s 13th place. The girls are excited for the upcoming season. For now, you find them in the hallways, or on the basketball court, or the swimming pool or studying. They are waiting anxiously for the start of summer when once again they can race for the team they love.

After school, instead of studying or working on homework you’ll be able to find Griffen Rollert fencing. As he lunges at his opponent you can see how the years of experience come into play. He slides back and forward trying to be the one to get the point. You can hear the sounds of swords clanging and shoes rubbing against the wire mesh floor as people battle on the stage. Griffen is comfortable and happy and you can tell by the way he laughs and talks with his companions. As he prepares to go into battle, Griffen explains all the kinds of equipment he has to wear and what they all do “The sword is called a foil and I have two of them,” he says, “They have a wire running through them so you can tell if you got the point or not.” As Griffen faces his opponent you can see the grace and capability with which he moves and attacks. Back and forward he goes dodging and lunging at his opponent. You can hear the sound of the buzzer after a successful touch on the chest of a fencer. And as fast paced as this may be, for him its just a warm up for his every day work out. When you ask Griffen how he got into such an activity he’ll simply reply “My dad got a flyer and I came to summer camp here and I just fell in love with it.” After six years of fencing Griffen has found this sport to be something he loves and hopes to do in the future. With college fencing in his sights, Griffen is working as hard as he can to improve and beat all his competition. Griffen has a lot of work to do if he wants to be the best at what he does, but he isn’t far from his goal. With only a year and a half before he can fence in college he works as hard as he can every day to be the best he can be. “I love the sport, I’ve loved it since I started it, so I’m going to try to be as good as I can at it.”

Connor Martin // Freshman PIANIST & CELLIST Story and Photo by Nathan Maloney ‘20

“I continue to play music because when you are preforming in front a crowd, you just lose yourself,” says freshman Connor Martin. “Just when I play and I finish, and I have no idea what I played. That’s when I know I had a great performance.” Connor plays the cello and the piano. He learned the piano first at a young age. A couple years after, he tried the cello and fell in love with it. He has continued to bounce back and forth between the two instruments.

When I first walk downstairs at his home, I notice that Connor is just sitting at the piano and not noticing that I am there, he is just sitting there playing very softly, warming up. He then quickly transitions into a piece, and I can see Connor is lost in it. He was so devoted to the song he didn’t realize I was there. Then, as I inched my way down the stair, his dog followed and without skipping a beat Connor took one hand off the piano and petted his canine companion. He

would then go back and forth from petting the dog to playing the piano. Once he finished the song I walked down. Soon, he was flowing from one song to the next. After a few pieces on the piano, Connor got up and went to the cello without missing a beat, where he played three songs before heading right back to the piano. While he was in his second song back on the piano, I noticed that his dog was now gone, but there was another little fur ball was

listening. It was his cat, sitting on top of the piano. After switching instruments a couple more times, he got up and finished his performance by informing me that he had forgotten I was there. Connor has been playing piano for around nine years and it all started because his older sister played and that he was jealous of her. He began practicing and fell in love with not just the instrument, but the idea that he was actually playing music, saying “I decided on music because it was different than my sister and it was different from most people.” Connor’s love for music has never left him even for a second. Watch Connor practice his art on rjtoday.org

Austin Layne // Junior CLIMBER Story and Photo by Pierce Briney ‘19

Junior Austin Layne swings his foot up, attempting to move his center of mass higher up the artificial boulder. He then uses all of his strength to reach for another handhold and pulls himself up. Austin finishes making his way to the top of the boulder with ease, portraying his adeptness at the sport of rock climbing. “The sport’s just so unique and cool,” he says. “You spend so much time mastering this

puzzle with your mind, and then you have to be physically strong enough and capable enough to do it.” Clear Creek Canyon, west of Golden, is his favorite place to go climbing. It has varying difficulties and textures of rock, potentially making it a more unique climb than his second favorite place to go, Boulder Canyon. Climbing is more difficult than you might think.

Tremendous amounts of experience and equipment are required for certain climbs. As far as equipment goes, you need a harness, helmet, carabineers, a belay device, and a rope. However, there are many “non-essential” accessories that are beneficial to have such as chalk, climbing shoes, and climbing pants. In August, Austin climbed something called a multipitch, which is essentially a series of belay systems, one after another. For

the wall Austin climbed, the walls totaled to 1500 vertical feet, which is an immense amount of climbing. In addition to being an avid rock climber, Austin chose to spend “just about every weekend” of his summer climbing 14ers, making him a regular to the hiking environment. Some of these 14ers include Bierstadt, Longs Peak, Mt. Evans, and Quandary. He also spent much of his time hiking with foreign exchange student and sophomore Oriol Juan Sabater, who was a “big time trail runner.” Because of this, Austin picked up that hobby as well, and has added it to his arsenal of mountain activities.

music, it’s beat-based rhythm, and the simplicity of sound drew him in. He was hooked. Over the years, Matthew has created multiple songs, and he’s working on more. However, his work is not without it’s challenges. The most difficult thing, according to Matthew, is sound design. Sound design is, in simple terms, messing On Saturdays in the with synthesizers and waveforms to early months of fall, you can find senior Corey Peck out in the translate the song you have in your middle of nowhere, exploring the head into a song blasting from your off-road trails of Colorado with speakers. Emma, his 2005 Toyota 4Runner. The sheer complexity of Corey has turned Emma sound design is enough to drive him from a stock 4Runner into a comaway from certain genres, such as plete beast. With a 3.5” Toytec lift, dubstep. “It’s all about knowing how Story and Photo by Spencer Chuck ‘17 a light system that could compete to modulate and understanding all with an aircraft, and wheels and these intense concepts that you have His bedroom is bathed in ney with a video on YouTube. Twomore than little aover a year the does it in a way that he loves, hobby; it islearning truly a to playand tires that are meant for the baddest something that he says he can truly tohis go car. to school to figure out, because through piano and mastering sound manipsunlight that is shining through thecall his songs in particular stood out to him lifestyle that he lives. The senior own. trails Colorado has to offer. they’re so difficult, ” Mathew As for now, Corey is busysaid. ulation create music windows. Senior Matthew Wiles sits that, “set medoes on this path, he says. said, “It is the to experiences thatthat makes Corey many of”the Emma can truly go anyThe structured format of playing variety ice hockey for thedubstp Raidtruly make it for ” way he did when him feel theme. same at hisThis desk, staring vehicle intentlyrepat the upgrades (insert the names the songs here.) himself. Someofexamples where. beautiful alone draws Matthew away ers, as well as completing his seniorfrom Living in Colorado, he heard ‘Still Light’ by Slow Magic. monitor. His right hand experiments Both drove him to delve deeper into are a completely custom sound resents a lot of love for the senior. theyou genre, year. But can instead be sure,he as specializes soon as trails for no shortage Theof surface of the world anthat electronic piano keyboard, theaunexplored world of EDM. there is system, roof rack that carries Heon says as he was growing up in Liquid Drumbass andin Melodic the snow melts, he will be back the Coreythat to continue to explore, and deeper he saw only drove him while his left taps away at his Having started on his his back-up lights, a shovel, and there were a lot of things he was Dubstep; each providing a simplisRockies with Emma. push himself and his car to theof EDM. into the 30+ subgenres _________ to create his newest mix. path, two other songs, (Nmaes of a hi-lift jack. On top of all that, a passionate about, but he never felt tic, and in which “It’s flexible my ownstructure project, and It is love thatfrom trulyDubstep keeps this range and EDM short Elec- custom other two songs here)that encouraged limit. They fabricated bumper any of it was on his is own. Hisforcar Matthew can experiment freely with. beautiful 4Runner on the road, House, to Glitch Hop andand 8-Bit .that’s honestly what I love about it. I tronic Dance him to create that “I inspired the carries a second 30”music light bar. is something thatMusic. really Matthew’s carries a “anything that I want with the can do in constant improvement. Having carefully sorted through EDM journey beganfor with a video completely same thing feltsound whensyshe listened guttedhethe sense of independence him. that I have to earn the money Corey considers it took three weeks the enormous variety,himself he settled capacity on and has grew into flaming to them forabout the first time. Corey put hisaheart andpassion soul of tem, and to do it, and have the knowledge to a true Melodic ColoradoDubstep, resident,and making to get it back together. ” Liquid Drum sound and soul. He began by teaching himself to into his car, and turned it into complete whatever I’m doing.” of theThe place he liveschaos in, of the Forinstrument Corey, his .car & Bass. systemic Matthew began his jour- play an Heishas spent athe most

Corey Peck // Senior OFF ROADER

Go off-road with Corey and into the studio with Tayler on rjtoday.org

Tayler Mcguire // Junior DANCER Story and Photo by Miranda Krenek ‘17

As school ends, junior Tayler Mcguire is on her way to Michelle Latimer Dance Academy to start what might seem like an unbearable six-hour practice. But the skills she must develop all those hours to master. Tayler has been dancing competitively for ten years. She takes competition to the next level and truly invests a large majority of her time outside of RJ into dance. Her dance studio has even

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given Tayler her own key to enter the studio to practice whenever she wants. Dance is not only a sport, but it is an art. Dancers must commit at a young age to be able to be classified as elite amongst other dancers across the nation. “Keeping a steady level of physical fitness helps me achieve my best work,” says Tayler. With the start of the

music and just with one step, she is in a whole different world. Each step is a feeling. As competition day rolls around, a sense of nerve-wracking pleasure rushes through her mind. “Although I am nervous I know my countless hours of practice and hard work will pay off.” She puts her headphones in and patiently waits for her set to get called. When she steps onto

the floor, a wave of relaxation flows through her body. “As soon as I start my routine, an unstoppable sense of accomplishment rushes through me. I know I am about to impress everyone out there,” she says. She finishes her dance and the reaction of the crowd is nothing short of amazing. “The excitement that fills the room is one of the best feelings ever, and this is the reason I dance year after year.”

Rene Del Barco // Sophomore LINGUIST Watch Rene speak eleven languages in one take on rjtoday.org

here is a lot of pride that comes with knowing two languages. Being able to speak three languages is even more impressive, and knowing four or five is nothing short of incredible. Sophomore Rene Del Barco seemed to find that knowing four or five languages was not enough, so he taught himself 12. Rene can speak 11 languages fluently, 12 including his familiarity with Latin. He speaks Spanish, English, French, Italian, Russian, German, Hungarian, Danish, Dutch, Turkish and Portuguese fluently, and is currently finishing up learning Latin. This raises the question: how exactly does one learn 12 languages? “In elementary school, I was forced to take French, and I grew up speaking both Spanish and English. I realized I had a real knack for learning languages, so I taught myself more by reading books and just talking to family members. Languages just fascinate me, and I really pick them up

Story and Photo by Connor Lyford ‘19

easily,” Rene says. Rene makes learning these languages sound like a simple task, as if he just woke up one day with an arsenal of languages at his disposal, but knowing these languages is anything but a simple accomplishment. The German word for “airplane” is “flugzeug”, the Russian word is “самолет”, the Spanish word is “avión”, and the Dutch word is “Vlak”. This is just one word in only five of Rene’s 12 languages. Imagine learning thousands of words like this in 12 different languages. That’s a whole lot of “Vlaks”. Naturally, the logical response Rene receives when he tells people of his abilities is pure doubt. “Most people are in denial– they don’t really believe it at first,” he says. “Then they really get to know me and they see how well I can speak those languages.” Although Rene’s abilities may be an awesome party trick for

when people ask him to say “pineapple” in 12 languages, they serve a far greater importance in how he understands different cultures and lives his daily life. “Several people who speak a different language [come to the U.S.] with a different language being their first language. Being able to speak to them in their native tongue gives them a sense of safety, that they are at a home away from home, and they respect that,” Rene said. He knows these languages will help shape his future. “I definitely think it will be part of my job, no matter what I decide to do. Whether that’s medicine, or an ambassador, or law enforcement, whatever it might be, I definitely want my talent to be a part of my future.” Rene plans to learn two to three more languages by the time he graduates Regis Jesuit. Wait two years, he may be able to tell you how to say “pineapple” in 15 languages.

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Matthew Rau // Sophomore Baseball Card Collector

Story and Photo by Whitman Hamilton ‘19

It’s the end of school on a regular Tuesday. Each student parts their ways, with either sports or homework on their mind. Sophomore Matthew Rau is different. You can find him browsing collections at a baseball card shop, or in his basement reviewing his gigantic baseball card collection. For some people it’s just paper, but in Matthew’s eyes, “it is not only a passion I have, but a way to practice life skills I may need for the future.” Matthew’s baseball card collection consists of around 20,000 cards with cards from the 1950s up to the present. The humongous collection in total is worth over $6,000, some cards going for over $100 each. “It all started when I was about 10-years-old. I went to the local baseball card shop and asked my mom to buy me cards that I thought looked cool,” he says. “It started getting serious over the summer and when I was 12, I spent a lot of money and my collection grew to what it is now.” Matthew’s favorite card, a Mike Schmidt rookie card, was given to him by his dad. It is one of many coveted cards in his collection. In order to organize all

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20,000 cards, Matthew has multiple Excel spreadsheets, where he researches the price of each card, and inputs them to keep track of the cards and each of their values. “I have spent too many hours to count inputting and editing amounts on the computer,” Matthew says. “It took almost a full year to get all of my cards onto the spreadsheet.” Along with the spreadsheet, Matthew keeps his cards neatly in boxes and shelves where he can pull a card out at any time. The whole collection takes up more than a full table, some boxes needing to be stored on the ground. Even though school and sports get in the way, every once in a while, Matthew finds the time to search for more baseball cards, sometimes with the help of his dad. He has it all, from vintage cards, to jersey cards, and even to the past 2016 baseball season, each card kept in mint condition.

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Gabby Thomas // Senior SINGER

Story by Caleb Sloan ’17 ach Monday when school ends, senior Gabby Thomas heads to Young Voices of Colorado with one thing on her mind: getting better. Her teacher and fellow students wait on the arrival of the most important piece to there puzzle, Gabby. At the time of my visit, Gabby was working towards her show in early December. Although the shows are fun and she loves her music class, Gabby is ultimately working for a scholarship to a college for music. When Gabby talks about music, she lights up even more than usual, which may seem impossible given that she’s pretty joyful and animated all the time. Music truly makes her happy and always will. “Music is always there when I need it,” she says.

Gabby started singing at a very young age, but it was not by her choice, but rather her mom’s. As time went on, she gradually fell in love with this hobby. She now is in the Regis Jesuit Advanced Choir and continues to represent the school. Gabby Thomas’s teacher as well as fellow students consider her a silent leader, meaning that she is always working hard and always working toward a career in music. Even though Gabby is an outstanding singer, that is not all that she is known for. In choir, she is known for helping the younger kids and always having a smile on her face. She smiles because she truly loves what she does and the people she is around each and every day. “Gabby has the kind of

smile that lights up a room,” says Kate McDonald. “She is always there to make someone’s day brighter.” As Gabby walks down the hallway everyone knows who she is because she is the absolute nicest person around. Students and teachers always feel loved by her because she is open and always willing to listen. “People who are around Gabby love her and always know they are loved,” says senior Taylor Bush. “She truly is a special person.” Gabby’s kindness continues to amaze the people she comes in contact with and her amazing voice is like that of an angel. Visit Young Voices of Colorado to hear Gabby sing on rjtoday.org

56 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

JADA MOORE

Freshman // Basketball Player

Story and Photo by Kaitlyn Forte ‘20

Thump! Thump! Thump! The basketball is forced to the floor of the gym, and flies back up just as powerfully. It makes everything in the area vibrate as the crowd keeps their eyes on it like a hawk. Suddenly, the vibrations stop. The ball is thrust into the hoop, and falls through the net with a “Swish!” The crowd erupts in cheers, and the deafening alarm sounds. The game is officially over. “I’ve been playing basketball for as long as I can remember, since I was about four or five,” freshman Jada Moore, the energetic star, describes. Through club and school sports teams, Jada has about ten years of experience in the sport, so it was no surprise to her friends when she was chosen for the Regis Jesuit varsity team. “No,” one of Jada’s friends, Mekayla Iaquinta responds when asked if she was surprised that Jada made the team, “She’s just a really athletic player. I played volleyball with her so I saw her team spirit and her desire to improve the team.” For many people, the six-days-a-week spent at basketball practice sounds like torture. Jada Moore thinks differently. “I just have a strong love for the game. I’m just really committed and dedicated to it,” she says. Her feelings around basketball are made even more apparent when she speaks only fondly of the sport, detailing her happy memories with basketball, and how it has helped her become a better person. “I definitely think the activities I do help me as a person because playing basketball, I have to know how to work with all different types of people, and respect everyone’s opinions, because everyone will say something, your coaches, your teammates and parents,” she says. “And being someone your teammates and friends can depend on helps. In games and practices my teammates will depend on me to do stuff and my coaches will, so it’s helped make me a person who is definitely not self-centered.” 57

WE GET THE BIG INTERVIEWS Here’s some of what we’re working on for our final two issues of the year. • Immigration in Aurora, CO • 5 Days without technology • How to discuss politics without losing your mind • Why they’re wrong about our generation • Service: It’s who we are • RJ FIRST Robotics Team • Playoff runs & Spring sports • Spring Play & Diversity Day • RJ Military Connections • More student and teacher profiles • RJ on the slopes: Skiing & Snowboarding • Climate change, sustainability and solar panels • Distracted driving: a public health crisis

58 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

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email rjmedia@regisjesuit.com

Visit rjtoday.org to see Connor, Alec, and Brentâ€™s piece on the Mentor Event that brought alumni (and this dog) to campus.

Gigi Pacheco // Sophomore DANCER

Story by Grace Sayers ‘19

he music for The Nutcracker starts and ballerina Gigi Pacheco ‘19 begins the dance. At Denver Academy of Ballet, a pre-professional dance studio, she rehearses for the upcoming performances with her fellow dancers at the studio. Gigi’s talent is on display as she gracefully pirouettes across the floor. Her strength has built through the last 11 years, allowing her to perform in many major roles such as a soloist in The Nutcracker four times. Gigi’s talent is a product of her many hours of practice and her passion for the sport. Becoming a successful ballerina has not come without its challenges. Balancing school, dance, friends, and everything else has created a tight schedule. She does not have much time for homework and works

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on it in the car on the way home from school, to dance, back from dance, and all the time in between. When she comes home, she has to eat and finish her homework, keeping her up late. Although difficult, “I think it is totally worth it because I love what I do,” she says. She had always loved to dance, but it was not until she transferred to Denver Academy of Ballet that Gigi developed a passion for ballet. At her studio, she says, everyone “really offers encouragement and support.” Her teachers give her extra help and her friends give helpful corrections and advice. All the dancers work hard everyday to get better. Gigi hopes to continue

dance after high school, either in college or for a professional company. She “can never see [herself] not dancing” and is excited to see what the future brings for ballet. For Gigi, ballet is not only for her pleasure. She seeks to provide the audience with a compelling and entertaining show. She keeps her focus on practicing for her upcoming performances, which is her favorite part of dancing. Gigi loves to dance and perform not only because she loves it, but also to give herself to her audience. As Gigi pirouettes across the floor at the studio, all her stress and worries melt away. She expresses herself in “a way she can’t through words.”

Ron Fishleigh // Senior PILOT

Story and Photo by Cole Stevens ‘19 enior Ron Fishleigh enters the gate to get in Centennial Airport with one of his best friends. They talk to each other about school which they have just come from, once they get into the gate they walk over to the hanger where Ronald loves to spend his time. Ron became interested in flying planes in 2011 while on a family vacation. “My cousin was into aviation and he had a flight magazine,” Ron says, “I couldn’t sleep that night so I picked it up and read it, and ever since I have been hooked.” Ron moved out to Colorado the winter before his freshman year at Regis Jesuit. Ron would have his first flight in con-

trol of a plane that next spring. “My first flight was a discovery flight, when a flight school will take you up for a flight in a plane to see what it is to fly,” says Ron. “I didn’t like it as much as I thought, I thought it might just be a hobby and not my main job.” In September of 2015 a family friend called Ron and asked if he wanted to fly down to Colorado Springs with the pilot from Centennial Airport, and Ron said that would be fun and flew down. The pilot actually let Ron land the plane by himself, which was the first time he had landed a plane. After that Ron says that he was hooked and knew what he wanted to do. Ron continued with a couple more of the

flights including a night flight and a trip up to the mountains. Ron has now decided that he will attend Lewis University, just south of Chicago, to become a professional pilot. Ron plans to have his pilot’s license by the beginning of summer, which is going to be tough, but he hopes to fly during the summer and get a head start before college. On leaving, Ron says, “I know this is cheesy but there is something about the community, and the way I have grown is remarkable. I am going to miss this place.” Fly high with Ron on rjtoday.org

Jason Lewis Senior // Skydiver Story by Jason Gilliss ‘20

It’s a strange spectacle to see a cluster of skydivers floating down from the sky, each one carefully diving towards the ground and landing one after another. Among the fleet lands Jason Lewis, a senior who spends his time soaring through the clouds with an exclusive passion. During the school week, Jason is busy learning at Regis Jesuit, but when the weekend arrives, he’s off to the runway packed with his heavy skydiving gear ready to jump from thousands of feet in the air as many as five times in a day. The feeling of a person when they’re skydiving is “indescribable” as Jason explains. “The only place where you can actually see what it’s like to sky dive is in the sky itself,” he says. This exhilaration and euphoria is what convinced Jason to become a certified skydiver back when he was a freshman; today he’s completed dozens of jumps from thousands of feet above the ground. What’s especially remarkable to Jason about the experience are the moments when he reaches the end of the platform on the plane with the wind roaring in the background. Looking ahead at his partners who have already jumped out of the plane and awaiting his turn, he is cleared of any thoughts about school, work, or anything else in his life. His focus shifts to nothing but the ground below him. Then he escapes from the airplane into the void below him. “Friends for me is another exceptional part of skydiving that you don’t really get anywhere else,” he adds. “You make so many friends in a day, and what separates them from others is that these partners share that special interest with you to sky dive.” Jason says what makes flying through the sky a truly unforgettable experience is “floating like a liquid” through the sky. It evokes a special feeling that he says he doesn’t ever feel anywhere else. It’s a spark of attachment to the people around him and the opportunities that he’s been given which makes these few moments unparalleled to any other experience. To Jason, skydiving is one of the rarest experiences that a person can have, and he sums up these experiences with the a specific phrase; “Jump from planes! Some ask me ‘why?’ Yet words convert such weak reply. Among the clouds in big blue sky, the only place where true answers lie.” If you happen to look up at the sky some day, there’s a chance you might catch sight of Jason Lewis soaring by and pulling out his colored parachute and landing into the earth with the unmatched spirit of any other skydiver.

Touch the sky with Jason on rjtoday.org

62 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

OLIVIA GRENARDO

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Juniors // Track and Field Story and Photo by Elliot Steinberg ‘18

KYLIE DAVIS

A brisk Wednesday afternoon, wind at their back, two girls escape the stress of high school as their feet hit the track. They move with the ease of a fish in water, and fly higher than any bird. Their happiness is contagious, but once they take their starting positions, even though it is just a photo shoot and an interview, the intensity of their competitive spirits is profound. Juniors Olivia Grenardo and Kylie Davis first met in middle school when they joined the same track team. Kylie states, “I had no ball control skills,” referring to the reason for leaving soccer. They had never met before, but when they had their first conversation, they knew that they would be best friends. “We’ve been besties ever since,” says Olivia. They are rarely apart unless they are in class, as they have no classes together. Olivia explains that Kylie is “the first person I call or text” on any day of the week. They fit each other perfectly because of their playful personalities. “When Kylie gets really nervous, I tell really good jokes,” Olivia says sarcastically. Even though their demeanors are serious on the track, they still know how to have fun at a meet or at practice. Before each of Kylie’s races, Olivia looks at Kylie and says, “Get ‘em Ky” while she holds her blocks. Despite their playful sides, they are very serious athletes. Both of them have competed at a number of national level meets. They have both gone to state for Regis Jesuit and have been very successful in all of their events. Kylie got 3rd in the 300 hurdles and 4th in the 100 hurdles for Regis Jesuit at state, and Olivia was given the allaround sprints award in her freshman year. These two did not need the track to bring them together; they would have found one another regardless. However, track has played a significant part. They do not compete against one another, but support each other under any circumstance. Line up on the starting block with Kylie & Olivia on rjtoday.org

ALL STORIES IN THIS MAGAZINE HAVE VIDEO & AUDIO EXTRAS

Our reporters went with their sources to the scene “After Three” to take you there. Watch and listen to these extras online at RJtoday.org & subscribe to RJ Media on Youtube

66 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

Katie Whittelsey // Senior LACROSSE

Story and Photo by Lilli Maples ‘17

“

ame day” is often used in a cliché fashion at Regis Jesuit, but for senior Katie Whittelsey, it means something completely different. Waking up early on Saturdays, countless workouts, injuries, homework assignments, and extra activities don’t stop Whittelsey from being an amazing student athlete. After making the varsity lacrosse team her freshman year, Katie’s success in her high school lacrosse career felt inevitable. She works extremely hard to reach all of her goals, and her time management and ability to balance everything in her life makes her stand out. Being a student athlete may seem normal, and perhaps easy, but for Katie, it takes a lot to accomplish all her goals. Not only is she on the Regis Jesuit girls varsity lacrosse team, but she is also on Team 180, a rigorous club team that also takes up a lot of her time. From warming

up for a game, to practicing for hours, to writing essays, to going to debutante events, to hanging out with friends, Whittelsey’s life is very busy and her schedule is extremely packed. Now a senior, Whittelsey is deciding what to do with her life. She still wants to play club lacrosse, but most likely will not play for her school. “I am not going to play lacrosse in college because I want to focus on having the full college experience, but I will miss my high school team, especially the seniors because we have been playing together for four years and we have all become really close,” she says. “No matter how much of a pain workouts can be, I will miss everyone I have met and everything I have gained from doing this sport.” Like many athletes, Katie has suffered from a few injuries. “In lacrosse it is easy to

strain muscles and get concussions,” she says. “It is sad when I am not able to play, and being on the bench is obviously not fun.” Not only are injuries a risk of playing lacrosse so seriously, but sometimes she has to sacrifice her sleep schedule as well. Sometimes I don’t get home from games until late at night, so by the time I do homework and eat dinner, it’s really late,” she says. Despite the demands, Katie shows up where she needs to be and works hard to get where she wants to be. Next year, Katie plans on attending either Creighton University or CU Boulder. “I am excited to start fresh next fall, and although I will miss playing with my team and working out hard, I cannot wait to see what I do next year.” 67

Lou Vera

Senior // Leader

Story and Photo by Campbell Thurman ‘19

Captain of the rugby team, chef, rowdy, weight lifter, role model: Lou Vera. Being one of the very first people to be a captain of the rugby team, Vera is a symbol of peak performance at Regis Jesuit. “I love to workout,” Vera says. “I love to be fit, it helps me be at my best game.” But the reason Vera plays rugby comes from a rather sensitive story. “I was playing rugby for the first time one day. It was a very hot day, but we decided to go throw around the ball,” Vera recalls. “But later that day, one of my best friends that was out there playing rugby had a heat stroke and died.” From there, he decided to play every game of rugby from then on in the name of his lost but not forgotten friend, Harry Kim. Vera is a very big extrovert, and it is very clear through conversation. Being very social, he loves to go around and talk to random people he is interested in meeting. He tells the story of a man he met while watching a rugby game in Chicago, and “[he] never realized how much love someone could have for a game.” He also credits his extroverted communication style to why he is a Rowdy. His extreme positivity and energy obviously keeps the crowd engaged in the game, and his love for people is exemplified in his rowdy performance during the games. One thing that not many people know about Vera is that he is actually quite the cook for friends and family. “My favorite food to cook is Beef Tapa,” says Vera. The dish, originating from his Filipino background, is something he loves to cook for his friends and family. Consisting of sunny-side-up eggs, steak, and fried rice; this dish is one he can easily cook for a large group of people. Vera says that in life, one of his biggest rules he follows and lives for everyday is, “expect the unexpected.” Listen to Campbell’s podcast with Lou from the RJ Radio Studio on rjtoday.org

68 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

MICHELLE HONG

AUSTIN BOYLE

Story and Photo by Alejandro Martinez ‘17

Senior // Fly-Fisher

Fly fishing is not a hobby that you just pick up, something senior Austin Boyle knows all too well. A skill that goes past what the eyes see and one that few can learn. “For me, fly fishing is an escape, a way for me to be one with nature and at peace,” he says. Austin has been fly fishing for about three years and is still learning everyday. “No matter how good you get, there’s always more to learn.” As a student of fly fishing, Boyle practices fly casting about three times a week right in his back yard. He describes it as a very delicate sport, one that has many techniques that requires years of hard work and practice. But at the end of the day, Austin is just a high school kid fly fishing to have fun. “It’s hard to make fishing fun, and fly fishing is a completely different way of catching fish. It takes skill, “Austin said. While on the river with

Freshman // New Student

Story and Photo by Kaitlyn Forte ‘20

Austin, no fish were caught, but that didn’t matter. To the senior, it’s more than catching fish, it’s an escape, and a way to have fun. “This is something I’ll be able to do for the rest of my life, and that just gives me a smile,” says Austin, “feeling and being one with the river is something I’ll treasure forever and I’m grateful to be able to do it.” Fish the stream with Austin on rjtoday.org

MARLINE MCKERNAN Senior // Space Scientist Story by Zach Meade ‘17 Senior Marline Mckernan (left), is working with different space programs around the country at only 17-years-old. McKernan worked in California over the summer on simulation machines, working on situations that could really happen in space, from the ground. Her team had to make all the right calls at the right time or everything would fail. She is also working on scoring a job at one of these organizations in the future. She has interest in school work, video games, and anime, but her biggest interest is definitely in space. Marline went to Regis Jesuit as a freshman and then moved to Japan and then back to Colorado.

The main thing that got her interested in space was how little we know about it. “We definitely know a lot, but there is so much more that we must discover in this lifetime,” Marline says. As far as what kind of space exploration job she’d like to have, she wants to run things from the ground. “I would much rather stay on the planet than leave the planet,” she says. Marlie says this can actually be more difficult then being in space. “You can’t forget all the math that goes into things like this and everything is checked three times over,” she says. “You must be extremely precise, and there can be absolutely no mistakes.”

On the warm, sunny day of August 15th, two days before the beginning of school, Ji Yeon Hong, who also goes by Michelle, arrived at her new home to start her new life. Michelle, a freshman South Korea, went from going out to karaoke with friends, to football games, with paint-slathered faces, and screams cheering our team on. She was “leaving [her] family, leaving what’s familiar, leaving the people that love and support [her], and being so, so far away,” says Kristi Dindinger, Michelle’s English teacher, responds when asked what the most difficult part of Michelle’s move must have been. After a move like hers, some might have been struck with fear, not knowing what to do so far from home and everything familiar. Michelle reacted differently. She has taken the opportunity with graciousness, and enthusiasm; already speaking about fun experiences she’s had in the U.S. Michelle has had no problems with making new friends. On any day before school, you can look around to find her sitting around a lunchroom table with a group of girls, who are all overjoyed at the prospect of spending high school with her. They aren’t the only ones who are excited for these four years with her; teachers have had similar reactions. Mrs. Dindinger describes how excited she is to have Michelle in her class, and expresses her gratitude around having such a sweet, hardworking, and quiet girl. Michelle has had no trouble taking on the challenges presented. She could have stayed in South Korea and received a good education, while still being with all of her friends and family at the same time. So why would she move? While South Korea does have an incredible education system, Michelle felt it was lacking something worth moving for: a true high school experience. In South Korea, school is about one thing, learning, and Michelle describes her thoughts on this by saying that she “wouldn’t survive in that atmosphere.” Without learning about yourself, Michelle believes the education you receive won’t be nearly as helpful or important. Many see school dances and football games as absolutely nothing compared to what you learn in class. However, these experiences are, in Michelle’s opinion, vital and a reason to leave everything behind. “I don’t know if I could do it,” Sarah Sykora, freshman and one of Michelle’s friends, says when asked about her thoughts on Michelle’s move. “She has handled it so well.” We have a courageous girl among us at Regis Jesuit. Michelle is a girl willing to be brave and give up all that is familiar to do what is right for her and her life. It may be time for us to start taking notes.

OWEN BUEHLER

Freshman // Runner Story and Photo by Jack Harpole ‘20

Eight miles does not seem like a hobby. But for Owen Buehller, running is a way to release and relax after a long day at school. He can be found a lot of the time out on long training runs for Track and Cross Country. For most people, running is dreaded, but for Owen it is his favorite past time. “Not a lot of people that run take it as a lifestyle like I do,” he says. Owen loves running and often runs four to eight miles almost everyday after school to be at peak shape for running competitions. He also realizes his favorite hobby is a true gift and can’t be taken for granted, “I know there are people that can’t run due to disabilities,” he says, “and I am so blessed to be able to run as far as I can.” He grew interested in cross country in 7th grade when he was the mile and 800 meter champion, beating the fastest 800 meter record for Sagewood Middle school at a district competition, or as he calls it, “the best running experience I ever had.” The farthest Owen has ever gone was nearly 13 miles in the mountains near Turquoise Lake. “It was the hardest thing I had ever done,” he says, “it took me ten minutes to just get my shoes off and another 5 minutes to just take my socks off out of exhaustion.” Owen also hopes to make a lasting impression on Regis Jesuit Track and Cross Country teams. He had an impressive Cross Country season as he made varsity this past fall. He also hopes to make a statement on the Track and Field team in this upcoming spring. Running for Owen isn’t dreaded, it is enjoyed and is a giant part of what he lives to do.

70 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

Delaney Howell Chris McAninch // Junior Artist

Freshman // Irish Dancer Story by Madison Plank ‘20

The music starts and so do her feet. Faster than you can see, her feet move with a swiftness only possible thanks to years of practice. There is perfection in every step. Straight legs lead to pointed toes. She is so in sync with the music it is like it flows through her. Freshman Delaney Howell can say something that most cannot. She is the best in the world at what she does. Delaney is a world-class Irish dancer. She has qualified for the World Irish Dance Championships for the last four years and has done it again this year. “I just love how it feels,” she says, “knowing all my work has paid off.” The World Irish Dance Championships are held in February of every year. This year they will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. The top 15 qualify for Worlds from each regional competition, resulting in over 5,000 competitors. Delaney started dancing after her aunt took her to see a performance and she was immediately drawn to it. “At first I actually hated it, but now I love it,” she says about sticking to it through the hard times, and the pressure of competing at that high of a level can be hard. But Irish Dancing isn’t all about the competitions. “I have taken away the importance of friendship, doing the right thing and always doing your best,” she says. “And that although you may fail, you will always succeed in the end.”

Story and Photo by Ty Coen ‘18 he final bell of the day rings and the halls are filled with students rushing to get home or to practice. Inside the art room you will find junior Chris McAninch doing what he loves: painting oils on a canvas. Chris spends most of his evenings working on his art at home in his basement or in one of the art rooms on campus. Chris takes 5 AP classes, but devotes the most effort to his AP Art class. He always looks forward to the class, and always comes out with a smile on his face. He enjoys relieving stress by putting the brush to the canvas. “Everything is stressful, but in art I can just draw some, and really relax with that,” McAninch says. His favorite things to draw are faces because of the endless possibilities that they have. “Faces are so much more interesting to draw because they are never going to be the same,” he says. “There’s something different about everyone.” He plans to send in a face drawing or two in his collection for the AP test.

Chris was not always skillful in his art. Up to the summer after his eighth grade year, he readily admits his art was not anything to be proud of. From then on, he worked hard to improve his skills. “My artwork used to be the things parents would hang on the refrigerator out of pity,” he says. Chris is the only one in his family that excels in art, and he takes pride in that uniqueness. His parents embrace his talents and support him in any way they can. They only fight it when it takes away from his other responsibilities. “Sometimes they think I get distracted with it,” he says, “but for the most part they like that I do it.” And for Chris that is a good thing because his art is very important. “Art is a pastime, but it means a lot to me,” he says.

Hit the track, dance mat, and art room with Owen, Delaney, and Chris on rjtoday.org

PAYTON EGLOFF

Sophomore // Basketball Player

Alex Hemmat

Story and Photo by Joe Vaeth ‘19 Its been a long exhausting day of school. Assigned homework lingers. But Payton Egloff has his mind focused on basketball. Because for him the hardest part of a school day starts after three. “We get started around three” said Payton about practice, “then it is a non stop workout after that.” A normal RJ basketball practice tests the players physically and mentally. Practice lasts for a long three hours. Most players are done for the night, but not Payton. Four days of the week, Payton is doing extra work to improve his game. “My night doesn’t end after Regis practice. Two of the days I go to another coach for private lessons. The other two nights I am working on my shot on the shooting gun.” Payton’s basketball career has taught him the need for hard work in life. “My goal of playing college ball, has pushed me to become the person I am today.” Said Payton “my goal is to get a scholarship, to do that I need the drive to do my best.” That has led him into being a great example of the high school stu-

Sophomore // Chess Player Story and Photo by Tanner Snidow ‘20 dent athlete. Payton describes basketball as a game that has made his life hard at times. “But the desire to be a great player keeps me going.” Payton Egloff and the other young Raiders have long and grueling seasons ahead. “Once the players each lean their individual roles on the team, I know we will be successful,” says Payton. The team’s goal is “to win a championship and be the best in Colorado once again.”

SHEN MCCONNELL

Freshman // Basketball Player Story and Photo by Sam Sica ‘20

Around 6:30 in the morning in Boulder, just as the sun is barely starting to rise, Shen McConnell gets out of his car, and slowly walks onto the infamous Boulder bus. He walks on with his breakfast in a white paper bag, and goes to his usual spot where he sits. Inside, it is warm and very comfortable. He relaxes as the others get on, and they make their way towards school. It is a calm environment, with many of the people either sleeping, or talking about the school day ahead. “The seats are like couches,” he said. “So it makes it super easy to just relax, and maybe even sleep.” He also takes the time to do some homework as well, to balance the travel, academics, and the athletics. Despite the distance, once he visited, and

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later shadowed here in his eighth grade year, he knew it was the place for him. “The community, and the spirit” are what distinguishes RJ for him. So far, he has been playing basketball for the school, which he says is “quite the challenge,” but he has handled it quite well. With handling everything he does, day in and day out, he says it does have an affect on his social life. “It really does affect it, you know, I cant go to a lot of activities and do the things with friends that I would like to do.” But he has found his spot in school. Shen has been successful despite some of the challenges, and he is doing well in his studies and athletics. He has loved his time since he started, and plans on finishing out his high school career at Regis Jesuit, each morning hopping on the bus to make the trek to Aurora.

Many people know Alex Hemmat as a funny and energetic kid and not a chess player. Alex spends most of his weekends playing chess, whether its in a tournament or with some friends. Alex was introduced to chess in middle school and immediately fell in love with it. He started playing a lot and realized he was very good at it. Alex says “you can never prepare for it fully because there are so many ways to win.” Chess is a sport when you are never positive you have won until it is over because there are so many ways to come back and defeat your opponent. Alex has traveled to many places for chess. Tournaments are all across the country and world. “I have been as far as Canada to Uruguay to play chess,” he says. He loves traveling for chess because it allows him to play new opponents and make new friends. Alex says he has won about $8,000 playing chess. Alex says ,“One of my favorite memories was I was playing in a tournament in Colorado and I was the highest ranked player. I ended up losing the first two games and didn’t think I could come back. I told myself I could come back if I didn’t give up. I ended up winning the next five games and winning the four thousand dollar price.” Alex thinks of that tournament as his best. Alex thinks teaching kids to play chess would be fun. He wants kids to love chess as much as him. He plans on getting a job teaching kids to play chess in college. Alex also loves engineering and physics. He says this strategy has worked for him many times and he knows exactly how to do it because he has done it over and over. Alex says, “You need to remain calm so you can think about every move”. “Chess life has been a really good part of my life, it has taught me so many things about the world as I know it,” he says.

Watch Alex, Payton, and Shen master their crafts on rjtoday.org

Jaclyn Murray Senior // Golfer

Story by Jared Worrick ‘17

Senior Jaclyn Murray is a golfer on track to play at CU. Earlier in the summer, she was asked to be part of the University of Colorado girls golf team. It was her number one pick to go to college. “Once I went up there for an official visit, that was where I was meant to be. I feel pretty blessed to be going to my number one school,” says Jaclyn. Both her parents attended to The University of Colorado Boulder. Jaclyn started golfing when she was a child back in her home town, Grand Junction. She had the toddler clubs and would hit the ball around with her father. Her dad would take her out every once in a while to hit some golf balls on the course. One day there was a tournament playing at the local golf course. She hit a better score then the players in the tournament. That’s when her dad realized she had potential to be a very good golfer. The University of Colorado Boulder has had a good history with golfing. They are in the PAC 12 conference. They have struggles with being in the top ranks, but they rank well in the nation. Over the 2016 summer, Jaclyn had 2-3 tournaments every week. “The Regis golf season is kind of like a break. It’s slow and calm compared to my real season in the summer with back to back tournaments,” says Jaclyn. She says now that she is taking a break. From a long eventful summer, it’s time for her to take a break and to get ready to play in the big PAC 12 conference. “I’m excited to be a part of that team. I’ve been talking to some of the girls and they are very warm and accepting.” As Jaclyn is class of 2021, she has a lot to do before the college season starts in the summer of 2017.

Allison Brown // Senior MODEL

Story by Taylor Bush ‘17 odeling had always seemed like an unachievable dream for senior Allison Brown, although it wasn’t something that she had planned from the beginning. The thought had swirled around her head before and, “through doing it and working it. It has become a dream,” she says. Modeling came to her when she was at a concert and an agent from Wilhelmina Denver approached her. Ever since, her life has been full of fashion shows, photo shoots, and runways. She never knows exactly when the next event will happen, but she’s always ready. A show or photo shoot involves much more than what people think. It can range from one to seven hours, and involves drive time, sitting in the hair and makeup chair, and waiting for a show that can be as short as 20 minutes. Even with her up-andcoming modeling career, she still worries about the usual things for a high school senior: college applications, graduation, and just about everything in between. Allison plans on majoring in nursing and hopes to attend a school where she can work on her degree and test a different market for modeling. Despite all the pros that come

along with modeling, it also comes with its cons. “The best is doing runway and getting a surprising adrenaline rush, even if it is for a couple of seconds,” she says, a smile on her face as memories flood from her latest show. Modeling does have its disappointments, though. From someone not “wanting” you or another market not liking your height, “you have to keep going even though people might not like something about you.” Through all of this, Allison is focused on following her dreams and believing in herself. The people who made it big in modeling tend to have already had their claim to fame, but Allison wishes that they would find more models who started from the bottom and worked their way to the top. The perception of models, she says, is rarely the reality. With social media clouding society’s perception of modeling, Brown wishes people, “would get to know the person before they make any quick judgments.” Hit the links with Jaclyn

and the runway with Allison on rjtoday.org

Angela Serwaa-Marfo // Freshman CHRISTIAN LEADER

Story by Patrick Britti ‘17, editor-in-chief s soon as you are within earshot of New Testament Christian Church, you’ll be greeted by the pastor and youth group leaders. Almost immediately, they’ll ask why you’re here. For sophomore Angela Serwaa-Marfo, the answer is a deep devotion to her faith. Angela has been a Christian her entire life. Prior to coming to Regis Jesuit, though, she attended public schools. “I was scared to be a Christian,” she says, worried that practicing or demonstrating her faith while at school would get her in trouble. Despite this fear, Angela made the decision to start bringing her Bible to school. Even with the support she felt from bringing the scripture, she was still struggling. “Middle school was a hard time for me. I fell away from God,” she says. Earlier this year, Angela’s family moved. Several months later, they made the decision to attend a new church. “The pastor [at New Testa-

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ment] taught me to not be so afraid of my faith and to embrace the Holy Spirit,” she says, in a more somber voice than her usual happy tone. Angela’s transition to a new church helped energize her faith, and it’s not hard to understand why. On an average Sunday morning, New Testament’s services are filled with loud, musical praise of Jesus and the Holy Spirit and excite faithful extending their arms as they sing along. The announcer, taking the mic after a particularly joy-filled song praising the Holy Spirit’s ability to grant courage, informs us that the church holiday shop for kids will be opening the next week. Rushing to the mic, the pastor interrupts with a few lines about how Black Friday’s deals, besides being “a joke,” have nothing on their church shop. It’s this kind of faithful levity that pervades the entire congregation. With her arrival at RJ, Angela felt renewed in her belief. A non-denominational Christian,

Angela feels welcome in her Catholic theology course to express her views on faith. With friends and acquaintances, she invites them to attend her church, saying “you’re welcome anytime.” Back at the church, the youth group exits the main chamber and enters a side room where they arrange chairs into a circle. Grabbing an overflowing grocery bag, the youth group leader announces that the bag is filled with king-sized candy. The mostly teenage group lunges at the Kit-Kats and M&Ms as she explains that every time a Gospel reading constrains a word starting with an “l” that they will pass the candy they had now to their left. After the ensuing chaos, everyone in the room discusses the laws in the Bible with more laughter than one would expect for a Sunday class. Angela has changed, with the evolution of her faith being the catalyst for a new chapter in her life, one that she is very excited to live.

Story and Photo by Levi Rush ‘18 Imagine flying down a mountain with the chilled wind flowing through your hair. Bouncing over rocks, logs, and bumps. Dipping into the pot holes that nature has created. At the end of your ride, you gaze out upon the skyline in front of the glorious Rocky Mountains with a blazing sunset casting itself in the background. This is the life of J.T. Kammer. Kammer rides his mountain bike. It is where he finds peace and tranquility. “You know that place where every thing just seems right and nothing can go wrong? This is that place for me,” Kammer says as he stands on a trail in Morrison, CO staring out into the bright blue sky. Kammer didn’t use to mountain bike a lot. His parents loved it, but he never could never figure out what all the fuss was about. But when J.T. decided to quit football, he found himself bored out of his mind. He didn’t know what to do. “I just kind of started doing it one day,” Kammer says. J.T. grabbed a bike off the rack in his garage and never looked back. He bikes just about every weekend, and even goes sometimes after school. Kammer has biked many trails. From your average trails at the base of the mountains, to conquering the paths of Moab, Utah. J.T. Isn’t afraid of falling either. He’ll take on any trail he sees. He is already scarred from the most treacherous terrain that nature has to offer. J.T. doesn’t see himself giving up his passion anytime soon. He plans to keep biking and take on the best trails that the United States has to offer. Kammer plans to live in the mountains when he is older so he can pursue his passion as often as he likes.

JT Kammer// Junior Mountain Biker Ride the trails with JT on rjtoday.org

THE DJ JACKSON SPORTS PODCAST

THE RAIDER SPORTS RECAP SHOW

SUBSCRIBE TO RJ RADIO & RJTV

STUDIO PODCASTS & SHOWS AT RJTODAY.ORG

THE NICK FABER & ERIN BIAFORE MUSIC PODCAST 76 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

THE MADDIE MUNGER & SYDNEY LINDQUIST RJTV SHOW

LUKE SELTTON

Sophomore // Gymnast Story and Photo by Tyler Oldham ‘19

It’s eight o’clock on a Monday evening. The sounds of squeaky trampolines and creaking equipment fill the room. At this point in the night, sophomore Luke Sletten has already been at the gym for three hours. Luke does competitive gymnastics for A+ Athletics. He’s been doing gymnastics competitively for seven years. In the world of competitive gymnastics one slip, one missed grip, or one misplaced foot, can be disastrous, be it for your score or your body. Gymnasts dedicate an extreme amount of time toward mastering their sport. When one bent knee could be the difference between first place and third, they need to be perfect. “Personally I train for about 13-15 hours a week,” Luke says. But it doesn’t bother him. Luke’s events include pommel horse, parallel bars, horizontal bar (high bar), rings, vault, and floor. His favorite event is the high bar. His least favorite is the pommel horse because it “requires the most consistency, and it is the most difficult to keep consistent.” Even so, he says his favorite part of gymnastics is the difficulty, “My favorite part of gymnastics is that most people can’t even imagine themselves doing what we do,” he said. Luke is currently going through physical therapy for a shoulder injury he received in may while doing gymnastics. While doing a double front flip, his arm got caught behind him when he landed, causing his labrum to tear and a piece of bone to break off the socket. He currently attends physical therapy once a week for an hour and says he’s back to 70-75 percent of what he had before. While at his gym, he demonstrated many of events to us. Even though most of his time is used to get his strength back up to his pre-injury levels, he still showed us stuff like “giants” the high bar and handstands on the parallel bars. Luke says that he should be back to doing gymnastics without a problem within a few months.

Senior football player Keegan Krahn has a hidden hobby. Keegan is very silent as he casts his line. “It is just relaxing to go out and cast,” he says as he patiently waits for a fish to bite. During this particular trip, Keegan managed to net five. Keegan started fishing when he was a little kid in Wisconsin, with his grandpa. Now, Keegan fishes at secluded site, unknown to other fishermen. Still, he remembers the lessons he learned long ago about what gear a fisherman needs to be successful: a well-tied lure, a tackle box, and, most importantly, a fisherman’s hat. Keegan brought fellow RJ seniors Alec and Carl on this particular fishing trip and is willing to share his knowledge of his hobby. “I am no expert, but I would say I am advanced. I am not an ordinary, average fisherman. I know how to do everything,” Keegan says. He loves fishing because it is during this time that he doesn’t have to worry about anything else but casting out and catching fish. “Fishing is difficult because you have to have patience. There are times where you won’t have any luck at catching a fish but then other times you’ll have the hot hand,” he says. “I think this is all attributed to the spot. Every person who has fished a lot has their own secret spot.” Head to the gym with Luke and out on the river with Keegan on rjtoday.org

Keegan Krahn // Senior FISHERMAN

Story and Photo by Michael McPeek ‘17

KARI SLETTON

Senior // Equestrian

Story and Photo by Hunter Loy ‘17

Kari Sletten, a Regis Jesuit senior, lives a pretty typical teenage life. With a loving family and three adorable dogs, it may seem like she lives the perfect life. She spends most of her time at Wells Bridge Farm which is where her horse, Belle Veu, resides. Belle Veu is not your typical horse. She likes to cuddle and is a very gentle mare. Right away, I could tell that Belle was as much in love with Kari as Kari was in love with her. Kari is very lucky to have such a tame horse. In fact, she has been lucky with horses for a while. If it weren’t for horses, she doesn’t know where she would be today. “In middle school, I went through a very hard time. It’s something that no one should ever have to go through and that’s when I started riding horses. I kind of started riding because my mom rode when she was little and she always talked about it with such passion.” “I can’t tell you how many times I went to the barn in tears, broken down and feeling dejected. After leaving the barn, I left with a smile on my face and my whole optimistic personality that most people know me for was completely restored and it was all because I was around the animal that I love. I really hope that I can make a profession out of this because I can’t imagine spending my life in any other way.” With horses comes an amazing community that Kari has been so blessed to be a part of. Horses are the type of animal that live to comfort. They are also really great listeners. They may take commands like a dog and in this case, snuggle like a cat, but horses are a completely unique animal that truly save lives. When not riding horses, Kari works with horses at Praying Hands Ranch. There, she sees the impact horses can have on others, just like Belle Veu has on her. “What’s really great about them is that they are incredibly patient and very kind and forgiving. Even if you make a mistake or say the wrong thing or act in the wrong way around them, they don’t hold a grudge. You truly see miracles happen every day. The horses do their job and will just stop and they can sense what is happening.” The way the horses react to people, special needs or not, is really a spiritual experience, she says. No matter what, horses are accepting and their love is so deep and unconditional. As Kari puts it, “we learn a lot from horses.” She even notes, “part of me thinks I would be six feet under, but I don’t know if thats literally or metaphorically. I would not be the same person that I am today. I wouldn’t be as well rounded, if I can even say that about myself today, I wouldn’t have patience with people. I feel like being with horses has brought out my true self and if I had never gotten into riding or fallen in love with the animal, I would still be the introverted, shy little girl that sat alone at the lunch table because there was no one that I could open up to.”

Meet Belle Veu and Kari on rjtoday.org 78 March 2017 | Vol 2 Issue 2

Brent DiBiase // Sophomore

PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER

W Watch Brent create on rjtoday.org

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Story and Photo by Noah Winston ‘17 ith the push of a button, sophomore Brent DiBiase forever captures the moments seen through the lens of his Canon 7D Mark 1. Brent brings a lot of talent to the table. With two siblings that have already gone through Regis Jesuit and the RJ Media Journalism program; he has some big shoes to fill. But he is up for the challenge. Growing up around cameras has exposed Brent to the beauty of photography and shown him how powerful cinematography can be. “Your first few videos aren’t going to be great, but going out and filming something is how you get better,” he says. “You have to find your groove and your own style”. Brent’s passion for film making really sparked when he

entered high school and being able to take classes that challenged his abilities was something he was looking for. Brent looks for new opportunities to gain experience and knowledge all the time, whether it is getting b-roll at a football game or creating a video for a local band. When it comes to equipment, Brent has quite the arsenal. He is strictly Canon when it comes to the camera. He says that Canon is the “tried and true company” when is comes to finding the most important tool in film making. Most recently, Brent has been introduced to the world for drones and aerial photography. “Although they are still new to me, I am amazed at their versatility what they are able to capture,” he said.

Every film maker also needs an editing software, and although Brent is still getting used to and mastering the popular software Final Cut Pro X, he is also looking into making the switch to the industry standard, Adobe Suite. In the near future, Brent plans to start his new business capturing and photographing weddings, sporting events, concerts, etc. “I want to reach to a further audience and make more videos that tell a story,” he says. With a young journalism program and the first students who pioneered the program graduating, Brent has the opportunity to create bigger and better things. A new generation of RJ Media journalists and film makers are on the rise and Brent DiBiase is ready.

MUSIC

VIEWS Drake

“Views,” in my opinion, was lack luster at best. After years of anticipation, all we received was a project that we’ve heard before. The world loved Drake’s raw lyrics and hard rap style in ‘IYRTITL’ and we were expecting a project emulating that. And what we got was anything but. We got whiny Drake back, actual “LOL” lyrics, and sub-par singing. Drake is a good rapper when he wants to be. I believe that. I think he’s not diving deep enough. He became as successful as he is mainly due to singing, his most successful songs (the radio repeats that played for months on end) were mostly singing joints. But a mixtape where for the majority of the tracks he’s actually rapping was one of his most successful projects to date. What I did like about this album was the fact that he included so many different influences and producers (like Jamaican-born producer Boi-1da) and beats into this. A heavy Caribbean-Dance Hall vibe is prevalent throughout the album in songs like ‘One Dance’ and ‘Controlla.’ Besides many critics who reviewed this album negatively, many fans loved the project. Every one of the 20 songs on this record appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Top Songs: One Dance Fire & Desire With You Reviewed by Nick Faber ‘18

OP-ED

SKIN Flume

Harley Edward Streten, more commonly referred to by his stage name Flume, is a 25-year-old music producer. He originally began producing at a young age after finding a basic music production disk in a cereal box, which led to his inspiration to produce music. He produced house music for a while, and signed to an artists competition that was being coordinated by Future Classic, an Australian record label. Since then, he has decided to use the stage name Flume, based off of the Bon Iver song of the same name, rather than his original artist name HEDS. He is currently signed to the Future Classic record label, but from 2011 to 2015 he was a music production duo with What So Not (Chris Emerson), who has released an EP album Divide and Conquer on Skrillex’s OWSLA recording label. Harley typically produces electronica and future bass music, subgenres of the growingly popular EDM genre. “SKIN” is Streten’s latest album to date and has easily been the most noteworthy of all of his works. Though Harley has worked with other talented producers in the past, such as Hermitude and Chet Faker, SKIN truly encompasses the raw talent that Flume has to offer. All of the songs in the album are solely produced by him, and he creates tracks that offer instrumental tunes, rap, and great vocals, such as those from Canadian singer Kai and vocalist Tove Lo.

22, A MILLION Bon Iver

Thirty five-year-old, Justin Vernon, otherwise known as Bon Iver, released his new album “22, A Million” on September 30th, 2016. The announcement that fans yearned for five years since the release of the album Bon Iver in 2011. Justin Vernon held a press conference shortly after publishing his album. Speaking about the long and grueling process in the creation of the album he said, “I almost quit on it, in January this year, I almost hung up the album up”. The unique album shocked fans with the dissimilar sounds and meanings than his previous pieces of work. “22, A Million” has more of an electronic distinction instead of the acoustic sounds in his first two albums. The synthesized songs give off more of a mainstream feel. Top Songs: 33 God 8 Cirlce 29 Strafford APTS Reviewed by Erin Biafore ‘18

Listen to Nick, Erin and Dawson’s music podcast, available to download on rjtoday.org

Top Songs: Never Be Like You Say It Smoke Retribution

Reviewed by Dawson Storrs ’19

Under second year coach Danny Filleman the Raiders went 9-1 including a trip to the semifinals, where the season was cut short by Pomona. Photos by Ron Fishleigh â€˜17

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A LOOK BACK

SEASON AFTER SUNDOWN

ls,

A LOOK BACK

Junior Matthew Pawlowski, who played the role of the Beast, said the role was “a lot of work. When we did the first read through I realized how much work this was going to be. It was physically demanding. And that’s the one thing I really wanted to get right was the physicality.” “But it’s really great to have a theatre family there to support you,” he says. “When I didn’t have confidence, they were there for me. That’s the best thing about theatre, especially this year, the relationships.” Head stage manager Lila Smith ‘19 said of the amount of work, “Whenever I wasn’t sitting with the director [Mr. Merz-Hutchinson] I was with the actors on stage working on blocking. I get to know everybody. That’s my favorite part.”

Beauty and the

Listen to Will Barbera’s podcast interviews with Ethan, Kara, Matthew, Katie, and Lila on rjtoday.org

Photography by Jorge Paredes ‘18 Reporting by Will Barbera ‘20

BEAST “This was my favorite production I’ve ever been a part of,” says actor Ethan Clock ‘18, left. “I think about the friends that I’ve made, and just the amazing relationships and the fun that we had putting together this show.” Playing the role of the Lumiere, Ethan was able to display his talents at an extremely high level, from a French accent to physical comedy.

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“Of course, everyone told me ‘oh, you’re going to be the candlestick,’ because, well, I look like a candlestick,” he said.

“Th pa Iw lea To the Be am wo I fe he pla clo the

To suc to tio fel an lot are fri lea ha reh

“W ha eve sm en wa ful Iw for sai

“Theatre has been part of my life since I was five or six,” lead actress Kara Toll ‘19 says. On the lead role of Belle, she says, “I am a huge bookworm myself, so I felt very close to her. I was excited to play a part I felt so close to. I was over the moon.” Toll credits the success of the show to her close relationship with her fellow lead actors and actresses. “A lot of people who are my very close friends were also leads, so we got to have a lot of fun in rehearsals.” “We worked really hard to make sure everything went smoothly. This entire production was just a wonderful experience that I wouldn’t give up for the world,” she said.

Senior Katie Lennon (Mrs. Potts) strives for perfection. Completing the 8-for 8-possible shows in RJ theatre, she has participated in both the fall and spring productions all four years here. But being the star in the show isn’t what Mrs. Potts was about. “Yes, I had a solo song, that’s pretty neat as it goes,” she says, “but that doesn’t matter at the end of the day. What matters is the incredible amount of people I’ve met and been able to work with.” Her journey to completing the 8 for 8 will continue in the spring as her and the rest of her theatre family perform 85 Natural Selection.

Photography and reporting by Victor Diaz ‘17

A LOOK BACK

Left: Wiley Kemp ‘17, watches the cast rehearse from above, standing beside his assigned spotlight.

Below: Kenobi Kinch ‘20 flies through the air as the cast practices fight scenes, with Lila Smith ‘19 directing. “This was my first performance in a musical, and I loved it!” he says, in reference to the cast and crew.

Watch our behind-thescenes documentary on rjtoday.org

Above: Before each rehearsal, the cast and crew meet to discus plans for the evening.

Below: Miles Murphy relaxes beneath the stage in his hammock before rehearsal.

Left: Far above the stage, the control booth dictates background and general lighting, handling everything, except the spotlights. Right Down: Ellie Hill ‘19 gets her tooth painted to seem more like Lefou, villainous aid to Gaston. Below: Matthew Pawlowski ‘18 sits in his chair, while makeup is applied to turn him from mild-mannered Junior, to fearsome beast.

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Left: Before a rehearsal, the entire crew and cast take part in a breathing and relaxation exercise to help with the stress and missing sleep of the infamous Hell Week. Below: The crew, hidden behind the curtain, forms a family, bound together by struggles and challenges. Left: Lila Smith guides the assistant stage managers and members of the light crew on queue and directions. “I get to know everybody in theatre, and that’s probably my favorite part,” she says about being head stage manager for the second time. Left Down: The hallway is always filled with activity, even during performances, as Luke Conelly ‘20 gets prepared to go back out on stage. Below: The cast and crew line up to say a prayer before the first performance of the year. Josh Weis ‘19 puts some final touches on the set; Lead Kara Toll ‘19 gets some final touches from costume director Mrs. Dawkins.

EDITORIAL

OP-ED

A Letter from the Editors It’s appropriate that in an issue devoted to the variety and diversity of the students at this school that we will address the diversity of opinion in this magazine. We respect the diversity of opinions of our fellow students and we want to feature them even more, especially here, in the opinion section. It would be an understatement to say that the op-ed about then presidential candidate Donald Trump in the November issue of Elevate spurred a response. It was a very opinionated article, to be sure, about a polarizing topic. Some readers took issue with the language and content of the piece. Others suggested that the op-ed should have presented an opposing view. It would be wrong not to discuss how our opinion section works and how you can get involved in it. RJ Media and Elevate’s missions have been to respect the ideas, works, and values of the students and other community members at Regis Jesuit High School. As a result, we seek your involvement in the conversation and welcome students to write either as journalists or as op-ed writers. Additionally, we welcome Letters to the Editor, which allow readers (students and faculty alike) to voice their thoughts on community issues and on anything in the magazine. What distinguishes a news or feature article from an opinion piece is that the former is not meant to soapbox upon which a reporter expresses their own opinions and is designed to inform the reader and allow them to draw their own conclusions. An opinion piece, however, provides a space where the writer can sound-off on any number of issues, provided they do not invade privacy, or are deemed to contain legally obscene, libelous, or substantially and materially disruptive content. An op-ed (opposite the editorial page) can be written by anyone and only represents the views of the

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individual whose name appears on the byline. Meanwhile, an editorial–such as this one–is a reflection of the views of the magazine and its editors. The op-ed about then candidate Donald Trump was published among other opinion pieces, but was the only one on politics. As a staff, we try to draw from as many views as possible. We initially intended for the op-ed to run alongside another sharp op-ed which questioned then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but we pulled that piece at the author’s request. Instead of rejecting an opinion piece simply because we did not have an alternative view, we decided to still run the piece on then presidential candidate Trump. For many, this was a point of contention and was seen as an endorsement of the views expressed in the piece or as a silencing of those with different opinions. Was the op-ed about Trump in the November issue harsh? Yes. Blustery? Yes. But we stand by our decision to print it. We are also thrilled to have received very thoughtful Letters to the Editor in response to the article, which we have printed in this very issue. And we would like even more Letters to the Editor, more often. This is what conversation by students in an open forum for free expression is all about. Certainly, not every article in our magazine is intended to expose the harsh realities of existence, tackle complex or sensitive issues, or shine a light on corruption or injustice, but some may. And not every piece we do is going to be ready for a Pulitzer Prize. But no one should expect anything less of the journalists who are published here solely because they are high school students. Student journalists throughout history have been pivotal in breaking stories that matter to you. Their role should not be understated. We will always strive to be better and always take seriously our job as an editorial board and your rights as students to freely express your ideas. –The Editors

Tell Me the Truth

What are they hiding? By Nick Faber ‘18

Lots of false information has been implied, and I’m done. I want the truth. I want the facts. And I’m calling on all of the major retail and grocery stores selling. It’s time we change. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, along with York Patties and the OG candy — M&M’s -- should not be placed with the other candy. It’s as simple as that. Just a quick move and my anger and resentment can be cured. A bar is “a long rod” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. A candy bar is “A solid, bar-shaped confection, as of chocolate or caramel.” Reese’s is a cup. Not a bar. So why are they stored next to each other in grocery store aisles? To save space? To save money? Walmart makes $14.7 billion in profit. They don’t need to save money. On average, Walmart Stores are 105,000 square feet. They don’t need to save space. So what’s the deal? Am I the only one caring or are our voices not being heard? Moving Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to a different part of the candy aisle or AT LEAST to another section of the store would drastically improve customer relations and the time spent in a grocery store. There are the facts. They’re not alternative. They are real. In the end, I want what’s best for humanity. And this is a vital step in improvement. Keep my candy cups away from my candy bars.

OP-ED

Unity

How can we make a better “Hood”?

By Abe Queen ‘17

I think the very question has to change. Brotherhood and Sisterhood can and should be one and the same. Although there might be a difference between how men and women interact, Brotherhood/Sisterhood is about unity. Not just men being united with men and women bing united with women, but everyone–all of us–united. We have seen examples of this throughout the years but we usually turn our heads to only see failures of “The Hood,” such as last spring. If we as a student body, as an administration, and as a school truly care about educating the whole person, we should not focus on raising men and women who only feel united with their own gender. “The Hood” between both brothers and sisters is uniting, empowering, understanding, accepting, encouraging, and– most importantly–loving your fellow student regardless of their gender, their ethnicity, or their orientation. This dichotomy we feel in the school right now isn’t solely between genders and we have to be open to the idea that maybe we have to change, our traditions have to change and how we approach the issue has to change.

Letters to the Editor The following Letters to the Editor were submitted in response to the “Donald Trump Wouldn’t Graduate RJ” piece from our November issue

Hello, I am a student here at Regis Jesuit. I enjoy reading the magazines that come out and am always excited when a new one comes out. The new magazine of Elevate for November I felt had some content within it that should not be included in our school magazine. The one specific thing that has upset me and many of my other schoolmates was the last article titled “Donald Trump Wouldn’t Graduate RJ.” I understand that Donald Trump is disliked by many people, but there are also people within our school as well as out of our school that support him. Personally, I do not support him or Clinton, although I still found this article extremely inappropriate and shouldn’t have been placed in our school magazine. It is very blatantly bias and does have a disrespectful attitude towards him. There are things he has done and said that are obviously shameful and should be

looked down upon, although same goes for Hillary Clinton, where’s the article on her? The rude, bias remarks were upsetting for me to read even as someone who is neutral in the case of this years presidential election. The first thing that caught my attention that was upsetting as a student of Regis Jesuit was how the student who wrote this article used our grad at grads and turned them into negative terms such as “unloving, closed to growth, intellectually incompetent, irreligious, committed to doing injustice.” This was a bit offensive as a student because these should never be turned into positive aspects into negative aspects. In the article I found many points where the author had rude, blatantly biased comments. At the start he states that he doesn’t, “have a degree from Trump University to diagnose a narcissist, but there is something psychologically wrong with a man obsessed with his own name.” This as the opening sentence was not only rude and biased towards Trump, it also seems to be using the idea that those with psychological disabilities are jokes because this sentence came off as a biased joking sentence. I found this disrespectful towards those who actually have physiological problems. Our school is better than this. The article quickly comes to state that Trump’s comments are “idiotic.” That wording is extremely, downright biased and does not represent who we are as Regis Jesuit students and the education we are provided. Later on it is stated that Trump, “turns on the TV to get informed.” This is a bit contradictory in my opinion because most people get their information on the candidates from the TV, which is filled with just bias information. Under the section that says “irreligious” it states that he isn’t sure where Trump stands on Planned Parenthood. This is a hard topic for many people and he’s not the only one that has switching opinions. In the last debate he flat out said he would defund Planned Parenthood and since then has not changed his views. It also ends by stating that, “Trump can’t stand for traditional family values because he doesn’t stand for any values.” This comment was yet another flat out, biased statement that is not necessary. I could continue quoting many more blatantly, biased sentences presented in this article. I feel as if this article should not have been placed in our school magazine for many reasons. One, it is political and biased. Anything politically biased I feel is inappropriate to include in a magazine that High School students, teachers, and parents will see. High school kids are easily swayed and should be provided with information capable to allow students to make their own opinion, which means including

pros and cons of both candidates rather than bashing on one specifically using extremely biased remarks. The rest of the magazine was fantastic and I hope you can understand this concern on behalf of me and other members of the Regis Jesuit community. Thank you, Abbey Miller ‘17 I loved the recent issue of the Elevate magazine, however, as my friends and I were flipping through to the last page, we were disappointed to see an article that targeted Trump, yet failed to mention an article that lists the faults of Hillary Clinton. I realize that this was an opinionated editorial, but the lack of the other side was displeasing. Some of the student body, myself and my friends included, was disappointed to see that their views were not acknowledged. We wanted to know, did you consider featuring an article that reflected the other perspective, instead of just referring to one side of the opinion? I know that some students, especially over the past week, have felt as though their support for the Republican Party/Trump was somehow wrong, and this article seems to “remind” them that their opinion makes them wrong. Opinions aren’t wrong and everyone has a right to their own opinion. For this reason, we would like to say, on our behalf, that we believe that Hillary Clinton would not be qualified to graduate from Regis Jesuit in the same way that you do not believe that Trump would fulfill the Grad at Grads. Also, in your “Letter to the Editor” note, you say, “letters should be free of bashing or obscenity.” However, I find this hypocritical; if the article about the “narcissism” of Trump isn’t “bashing,” then what is it? If you are going to publish something so one-sided, you have an obligation as an editor to seek out various opinions. Hence, I kindly ask that the future magazine articles, featuring both political and non-political issues, recognize all viewpoints, so that the Regis Jesuit student body may be completely informed and make all opinions feel welcome. As I am making my opinions known in this letter, I would like to take the opportunity to give a kudos to the author for having a firm belief in his political views, even though they are very different from mine. If you need help with an alternative piece, I would be happy to provide the RJ Media team with one. Thank you for your time and dedication to journalism. Best Regards, Emily Wrede ‘18

OP-ED

Why I Hate the Term “Political Correctness” By Dominique Ebedes ‘17

Like many families this past holiday season, mine tried to avoid the topic of politics. However, again like many families, these attempts were futile. One topic which emerged frequently was the topic of political correctness. This topic is certainly not one which I had explored much before Thanksgiving but by observing the way in which family members discussed it and by connecting the trends which I observed at the dinner table with the trends which I have seen on a larger scale in our nation this year, I reached my own consensus on the term. I observed that the term “politically correct” seems to be so often used to appropriate the human impact which harmful labels and stereotypes have. The term politically correct reduces abrasive rhetoric to sole politics. Replacing people with politics, the term creates a dangerous euphemism for the human impact of marginalizing and derogatory speech. When people are able to make an issue of human indecency into one of politics, the guilt aspect of name-calling and marginalization is taken away. We begin to use the excuse of desiring to escape political correctness to step around the true moral implications of our speech, to construct a society in which discrimination, hate, and indecency can be put under the blanket term of political correctness. It becomes not a group of people with day jobs, kids, and aspirations which are insulted but a political machine which is challenged. One must look back no further than the rhetoric of the past election to recognize the dangers caused by a culture in which verbal bullying is made political and not personal. During the election, many Trump- supporting acquaintances of mine told me that what appealed to them most about Trump’s presidential campaign was his willingness to speak his mind. He is not, as they coined it, “PC.” In a government system which is becoming increasingly obscured from the public eye, this desire for transparency is understandable. However, the search for transparency can not be a moral justification for hateful and exclusive rhetoric. By calling Trump politically incorrect, rather than acknowledging the very real emotional and psychological effect of his words on the groups that he marginalizes, the possibility for a sympathetic, just, and humane reaction is stunted. For example, take Trump’s infamous introduction to his campaign, during which he defamed and marginalized Mexicans, saying, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best... They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing

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drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” These words might be digested in two key moral manners. 1. In the first moral scenario a person would be immediately shocked by the words, not necessarily because of the words themselves, but rather because of the very human emotional impact which they anticipate. This individual would imagine the hardworking, newly-immigrated Mexican family, and their confused children, and the validity of these people, whether documented or not, as fellow Americans. 2. In the second moral scenario a person would perceive the words themselves, recognizes them as a challenge to a culture which is too “PC,” and, before acknowledging the human impact of this statement, categorizes it as simply politically incorrect. In a world where words have been reduced to political tools, when they have lost their artistic, cultural, and emotional realities, either stance could be accepted as morally just. But, the reality is that words and communication are an integral part of the human experi-

ence, not just a means to garnering political power, or conversely challenging political power. Lauding speech for challenging political correctness, while not considering the way these words impact real human beings, is shortsighted and morally irresponsible. Words can hurt, whether uttered for the purposes of political rhetoric or in our dayto-day lives. All of us have experienced this pain in one way or another. Especially now, we must join in solidarity with each other (not just the each other’s which are most similar to us), and become conscientious of the words we use to interact with each other. Words do not just shape our politics, they shape us. We are the emotional, moral, and psychological products of our nation’s discourse. With words we have both the power of destruction and the power of love. If we desire to empower the latter use of language, we must first accept and understand the gravity of our words and impact they have on those around us. We must actively work to imbue our nation’s discourse with compassion, acceptance, responsibility, inclusion, and humanity.

When Homework Hurts By Katie Berrian ‘20

Dear teachers, I get it, homework helps us learn. It engraves information into our minds and develops time management skills. But is homework always beneficial? As a student who participates in many after school activities, I have mixed opinions on this topic. Work that teachers give me helps review what we talked about in class, but it gets to a point where there’s too much. Due to extra curricular activities, there’s not enough time in the day to complete homework, study for tests, and spend time with family. Regis Jesuit stresses the importance of family life, but doesn’t realize that homework prevents us from spending time with family and friends. Sometimes, I don’t even see my family except for in the car driving to and from school and activities. Have you ever contemplated giving up something important to you in order to do something else? Some nights, I have to give up my activities in order to finish homework. My activities are very important to me and if we had less homework, I wouldn’t have to worry about giving up my hobbies. You constantly say that the class is quiet or that we look tired, but you don’t take

into consideration how late some of us stayed up to finish homework that you assigned. If you want us to be more awake in class, then you shouldn’t assign us as much homework. On top of homework and after school activities, some juniors and seniors have to take SAT/ACT prep courses because they aren’t learning enough test taking skills. This causes more stress than necessary- if test taking skills were a main focus in classes, then students in need of prep courses could practice test taking skills in class. Studies conducted by Harris Cooper, a psychology professor at Duke University, show that too much homework can cause physical and emotional fatigue. Although he found evidence that homework improves students’ attitudes toward school, he also found that it can cause negative views about education. Regis Jesuit is meant to be a positive and happy place, but with too much homework it can turn into an overly stressful environment. So, if you want us to spend time with our families, be more alert in class, and have a positive outlook on school, assign less homework.