The student news site of Parkway South High School. All opinion pieces represent the views of the writer alone, not the school or district.

Treaty
The student news site of Parkway South High School. All opinion pieces represent the views of the writer alone, not the school or district.

Treaty
The student news site of Parkway South High School. All opinion pieces represent the views of the writer alone, not the school or district.

Treaty
"Balancing baseball and school has taught me that effort must be equal in both to succeed. On the field, one of my biggest challenges has been handling failure when the pressure is high. Being on the mound and not playing my best used to get in my head, but I've learned that mistakes are inevitable and don't define me. In school, taking five AP classes has pushed me more than I expected, with long nights of homework and studying. On top of that, thinking about the future and college brings its own stress. Even with all the challenges, I've learned that resilience, focus and the ability to keep moving forward are what matter most."

Jacob Hurst, senior

Sydney Hurst, Photojournalism
October 17, 2025
"I enjoy problem solving, which makes math my favorite subject. I had a happy childhood and share a close bond with my older sister, who I love spending time with. I was born in Brazil and moved here in Kindergarten. Looking ahead, I hope to improve my Personal Record in cross country over the next four years, while also staying true to myself and leaving South an even better place than when I first arrived."

Evelly Lima, freshman

Tramon Jackson, Photojournalism
October 17, 2025
“Before I became a strength coach I was a college student and went to grad school. I have always been in the gym and I first started working at a gym in Iowa. What got me started with strength training was that I was always an ambitious and very motivated athlete. Also, I was always surrounded by people who were always in the weight room like coaches, friends, and mentors. One thing that led me to become a strength coach was about how cool it was to see the amount of confidence a person can gain from lifting weights and what comes with this is putting yourself in a very uncomfortable and vulnerable spot. A quote that I always tell my students is, 'without challenge there is no change.' I mean, at one point you are going to realize that health is going to become really important to you."

Kyle Whitcher, P.E.

Keaton Koch, Photojournalism
October 10, 2025
"I really like to be involved in things, even though I don't have much time to do anything. I try to involve myself in school as much as possible. When I get older I want to join the Air Force, but I have to do a lot of training [in order to do this] and you have to be able to do a lot of conditioning to get in. Managing my time is one of my biggest struggles, but there [are] a lot of things I want to do [so I make time] to do them. My biggest advice for someone who is having trouble managing their time is to pick the things you really love and stick with those things."

Elise Marx, junior

Payton Scheitlin, Photojournalism
October 3, 2025
"Your freshman year is your most important year. It sets you up for the rest of your years in high school. So make sure you do your work and study. Things that got me through high school were sports (track basketball and football.) After high school I plan to go to a community college and then transfer to a university."

Carl Bevineau, senior

Kennedi Lathern, Photojournalism
October 3, 2025
"I love playing football because it's the only sport where you can hit someone as hard as you can and not get punished for it. As a captain I contribute leadership and bring energy to the team. I don't give up easily--I'm the first one to start and the last one to stop. To me, a good captain is someone who is the 'tip of the spear'--a player who pushes hard, lifts his teammates up, and leads by example, whether at practice or in school."

Grant Williams, senior

Adi Senthilnathan, Photojournalism
September 26, 2025
"[My advice for incoming freshmen is] stay on top of your work. Set a good first impression for everybody because the teachers are going to be looking at you. I would say freshman year was my hardest year because I was in a new environment with new people and a new space. It takes a lot to get comfortable with. It's not like middle school--it's a complete change."

CJ Jones, junior

Mariya Smith, Photojournalism
September 26, 2025
"I love being a YoungLife leader. It's a great way to connect with students outside of the classroom. It brings me life as well as joy to everyone there. Some advice I have for high school students is to figure out who you are and what you want. If you can solidify those two things, your choices will be grounded and firm. Sure there were times where I didn't follow my own advice. I'm human and imperfect like everyone else. But as a teacher and a YoungLife leader, what I say or encourage is always ringing in the back of my head, keeping me accountable to myself, which is a good thing." --Anton Ruiz, English teacher

Anton Ruiz-English

Lexi Summers, Photojournalism
September 19, 2025
"One thing that really helps me get prepared for the big game is to just listen to music and hang out with my guys. One of my biggest role models is my dad. I am always trying to make him proud. My athletic goals for this season is to get a starting spot on varsity and help my teammates and coaches be proud, and some academic goals I'm striving for are to get A's and B's in all of my classes. One piece of advice that has always stuck with me is that you only get one shot at this game of life, so you can't let one thing ruin your day. You always have to keep pushing and trying." --Cole Dudding, sophomore

Cole Dudding, sophomore

Weston Vineyard, Photojournalism
September 19, 2025
“When I have a camera in my hand, I feel and I know that I can capture moments that nobody else pays attention to. Before teaching, I worked in camera sales. I was offered to teach people how to use their camera if they wanted the help. I loved that after I helped them, they would come back to me and show me the pictures they took, and it made me feel like I was a part of their journey. Before photography, I always wanted to do something with art. It wasn’t until I took a photography class in college, and that's when I realized that was my passion. Photography is my comfort zone. Photography is what I know; that's why I took the job here.” --Sarah Zickler, photography teacher

Sarah Zickler, photography

Omar Whitt, Photojournalism
September 12, 2025
"I am very passionate about baseball. My dad was a high school baseball coach, and growing up I went to all of the games. Seeing the joy it brought him while he was with the team. Once I saw that, I knew I wanted to follow the same path, but be better than he was. Being the head baseball coach of Parkway South High School was one of the best things ever. I love coaching baseball cause all the players I have coached make it so easy to just laugh and be serious. All of my success had shown when my team and I made it to the final four, we worked so hard for all of it, and being able to see all the work that we put in come to life was a big exciting time. One of my biggest fears is disappointing people, not doing a good enough job. Preparing my players, each game or each day, wanting to make everything about it perfect so we can succeed in the games. One piece of advice I would give to someone is always pursue what you love to do.” --Matt Brown, varsity baseball coach

Matt Brown, baseball coach

Ella Wolf, Photojournalism
September 12, 2025
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