Friday, December 13, 2024
2024 graduation edition
Payton Little Cayden Clark spent the fall semester student teaching at Sapulpa High School, a requirement for her music degree.
December graduates leave their mark
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B Y H AY D E N A L E X A N D E R
s students head home for break, others will walk across an orange stage. Cayden Clark is a fifth-year senior pursuing her degree in music education. Her fall semester looked very different from most. “I have not been on campus,” Clark said. “I’ve been at the school that I was placed at, learning how to
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be a better teacher.” As part of the Greenwood School of Music’s four-year degree program, those pursuing music education spend a semester student teaching. Typically, students teach during the spring, but Clark opted to jump in during marching band season. Clark woke up every morning at 5 a.m. to drive to Sapulpa and work with high school students, learning and growing alongside them. She
NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR loved her time at Sapulpa and said the students made the experience worthwhile. “Getting to know all the kids and being with them through all of marching band and watching the beginners learn how to play their instruments, it’s such a cool feeling,” Clark said. Her time as a member of the music fraternities Kappa Kappa Psi and Sigma Alpha Iota and serving
as a student leader in the Cowboy Marching Band set her up for success in teaching. However, she had to adapt to a new teaching style for the younger age group. “Having that leadership experience from the Cowboy Marching Band, teaching them how to play a certain thing was pretty easy, and I wasn’t too stressed about that,” Clark said.
See GRADUATES on page 5A
Homeless at 11, hero at 18 OSU student’s journey in giving back ALIYAH YOUNG
STAFF REPORTER Meeting Trinity Smith, you would never know she was once homeless. It is not always that easy to identify. Someone struggling with homelessness could be in class, sitting right next to you. Smith, a military private, an OSU student, a leader of a service group and an advocate for her community, once faced these challenges. She was born in Germany and later
moved to Florida, which is when hardship hit. “There was a really bad tropical storm,” Smith said. “Me and my family were out doing some school shopping, my brothers were home, and we got a call from my brother saying he smelled smoke in the house. There was a fire in the backyard.” Lightning struck the breaker box, igniting a fire that destroyed most of their home.
See HERO on page 4A
Daisy Gower Cowgirl cheerleaders at Gallagher-Iba Arena cheering for the women’s basketball team on Nov. 4.
Cheerleading injuries on rise, athletic officials weigh in RAYNEE HOWELL
fell forward, coming down on one leg. Thinking the third time’s the charm, she went for it again. “And on the third time, I just felt my knee basically go in a circle, and knew rather instantly that it was wrong,” When Lindsay Bracken walked onto Bracken said. “I was very fortunate that it was only my ACL.” the familiar blue mats in GallagherBracken’s torn ACL didn’t stop Iba Arena for a cheer clinic, she didn’t her from finishing out her season know she wouldn’t be walking out of in a knee brace. She was a graduate her own accord. student cheering for the Cowboys at Bracken was practicing a stunt she the time. Now, she is the OSU cheer had done countless times before, but it coordinator coaching the cheer club felt different this time. and STUNT teams. During her first two attempts, she ASSISTANT NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR @RAYNEEHOWELL
See INJURIES on page 5A
Payton Little OSU student Trinity Smith, inspired by her past, is making a difference in her community.