People of South: Elizabeth Stanza

Elizabeth+performing+in+Bye+Bye+Birdie+last+school+year

Elizabeth performing in Bye Bye Birdie last school year

In this edition of “The People of South High,” we would like to introduce you to a senior named Elizabeth Stanza. Most people know her as Ellie. She is 18 years old and is part of the theater program at South High.

Stanza has two brothers: William is 14 and Benjamin is 16. William is a student at Parkway South Middle School and Benjamin is a sophomore at South. She lives with her grandpa, mother, two brothers, and her dog lily.

Stanza has been in the Parkway School District since she was in KIndergarten, she was in Barretts Elementary and South Middle. She has made a lot of friends and is a very friendly girl. She said she gets along with most people in the student body.

“For the most part yes but if you lack respect for others I won’t take the time to respect you,” Stanza said.

After four years of attending South High there are a lot of things that she has realized over the years.

“South presents a lot of opportunities that other schools don’t have. I kind of found my place in the theatre department and because of that I’ve felt more at ease and a sense of belonging here at South,” Stanza said.

Stanza is the President of the Drama Club, part of Donuts and Documentaries, in charge of tech for 5fd, and senior directing. There are a lot of differents parts of theatre that people can be involved in and not only the acting part of it. She said the theatre department is always working on something new to perform.

“I am one of the directors for the Senior Directed One Acts. My One Act is called Boiling People In My Coffee. It’s a dark comedy and it has such a great theme; I really love it,” Stanza said.

Stanza said she has a few regrets after attending South for the last four years,

“I might have tried and push things I was to scared to do. I really regret not doing more art classes. I took painting one with Ms. Marie and then I was recommended for AP Studio but because I didn’t take enough art classes I couldn’t be involved. I really enjoy art and would have liked more opportunities to express myself through art. Other than that I’ve really liked my time here,” she said.

Stanza has many friends at South.

“Brooke Fortner, Samantha Ruland, Deniz Killic, Ethan Kraus, Kate Andrea, and many more. A lot of close friends have graduated and that’s what I think is the hardest thing about being a senior. There’s no one else to look up to and admire. You’re it, and underclassmen now go to you for advice and you still don’t have a clue on what’s going on,” Stanza said.

Stanza is also involved with things outside of school,

“I work at the Des Peres Lodge as a Tot Care Aid. It’s like a day care; I really enjoy it and it pertains to what I want to do in my future,” she said.

While she’s not working, in plays or at school, Stanza can often be found watching movies or listening to music.

“I am a big film fan. I like to try to watch a lot of award winning films, shorts, independent films and foreign films. I like listening to music and have a pretty extensive taste so I make a lot of playlists for people. It’s enjoyable it’s like a personal letter in a way. I like to paint and I’ve recently realized I’m pretty good at pottery too,” Stanza said.

“I work very well with people. I am empathetic to others and I make other people’s problems my own and sometimes it gets to the point where I don’t focus on myself. I want to get a BA in psychology and hopefully be able to work with kids and young adults,” she said.

One of her close friends is senior Kate Andrea. Andrea and Stanza have the same sense of humor with a lot of things and they can always think of funny stuff to do.

“I admire that she’s always concerned about how others are doing,” Andrea said.

Stanza’s theatre teacher, Jennifer Forrest-James, also commented on her favorite thing about her.

“Her kindness and the way she treats everyone fairly and with compassion,” she said.

Forrest-James later explained that Stanza is a hard worker. Forrest-James has one favorite talent of Stanza’s,

“Her ability to get people to work together.”

Andrea said she likes how to dedicated Stanza is to the theatre department,

“She’s really involved in theatre, and she’s poured a lot of herself into it to make the department better. She’s a wonderful stage manager and is always working hard on something for the department,” Andrea said.