Read the latest issue of the Sandia Prep Times.

sandiapreptimesVolume 31Issue 6May 11, 2016Home of the SundevilsAlbuquerque, New Mexico

So Long, Seniors

Faculty Lineup Sees Changes

By Keely LovatoStaff Writer

The time has come for the class of 2020 to say farewell to their middle school days and look ahead to what awaits them over the next four years.

“I’m really excited, but there is a lot of weight on your shoul-ders,” said eighth-grader Blue Kozikowski.

For Kozikowski, the stress stems from thinking about life beyond high school.

“What you do (in high school) is important,” he said. “It’s actually a huge part of life, and it is really important to do well now so you can end up doing well later.”

Kozikowski’s not alone when it comes to feeling pressure about next year. Fellow eighth-graders Evan Custer and Avery Cordero share many of the same feelings.

“It feels a little scary because it’s high school and you really can’t screw up that much,” Custer said.

Cordero said she feels ner-vous about entering high school because colleges look at tran-

scripts from freshman year, which puts pressure on her to get good grades.

Although high school comes with more challenges, it also opens the door for new experi-ences.

“I’m looking forward to all the opportunities we get,” said Kozikowski. “High school sports are always exciting.”

Another eighth-grader, Da-vid Sanchez, also plans to take part in high school sports, though he said he will miss the less com-petitive atmosphere of middle school athletics.

“I’m going to do baseball for sure and then I might do basket-ball,” he said.

Extra-curricular activities are another source of enthusiasm for the class of 2020.

Melissa Espalin, a fellow rising freshman, is most excited about the high school dance pro-gram, and Cordero plans to be-come part of the yearbook staff. Kozikowski looks forward to the photography and art programs available in high school.

Custer plans to take advan-tage of several extracurricular op-portunities next year.

“I’m excited about becoming a CA (camping associate), getting to go on those trips, all the dif-ferent classes that you get more in-depth on one specific subject,” said Custer, who’s also look-ing forward to doing more high school swimming.

Rising freshmen have more classes to choose from in the up-coming school year.

“I’m really excited for the sciences. I’ve always kind of liked science a lot,” Kozikowski said.

Sanchez said he’s looking forward to history and science courses, including chemistry.

Despite the new opportuni-ties that await, saying goodbye to middle school is still a bitter-sweet experience for this year’s eighth graders, as moving on can mean leaving behind old friends or parting ways with a more re-laxing way of life.

“A lot of my friends are go-ing to different schools so that’s kind of upsetting,” Cordero said.

“I think I’d miss being kind of relaxed,” Kozikowski said. “Next year I just need to get ev-erything done. Relaxing is going to be a side thing.”

By Lauren Juarez-DuranStaff Writer

The 2016-2017 school year will begin with a few changes to the faculty roster, with several teachers parting ways with Prep at the end of this year.

Teachers Kelly Bull, Hope DeLaRue, Marie Milne, Céline Perreard, Erik Playe, Cassandra Osterloh and Daniel Shorb plan to leave at the end of this school year.

DeLaRue, a middle school history teacher, had a baby and moved to Colorado with her fam-ily. Wyatt Lane has taken over her position.

Bull and Playe, who are married, plan to move to Cali, Columbia, where they will teach for two years at Colegio Bolivar. Bull, a middle school science teacher, will teach seventh-grade math, while Playe, a mid-school English teacher, will stay in his field and teach eighth-grade En-

glish.Playe, who has worked at

Prep for four years, said students at Colegio Bolivar are taught in English, their second language.

Playe said Lion and Unicorn Day ranks high among his favor-ite memories at Prep.

“My first Lion and Uni-corn Day, I went into the gym not knowing what was going on at all,” he said. “This is just not something that happens at other places.”

Perreard, who has taught French here since 2007, plans to move with her family to Laus-anne, Switzerland, where she will be closer to her family in France.

Perreard’s husband has a job at an international school, and she hopes to continue to teach French as well. She said she will miss the students and staff at Prep.

When asked about her favor-ite memory, Perreard responded, “When a student I did not even know gave me a hug just because she saw I needed one.”

Milne and Shorb, both math teachers, said they plan to pursue other interests.

Shorb said he wants to take some time off to bike along the Continental Divide.

While Milne isn’t sure about her next career move, she said she’d “really like to spend more time solving math and logic prob-lems. I’m looking into some grad-uate programs.” Milne said she

loves New Mexico and intends to stay in the state.

Cheryl McMillan, the school’s Assistant Head of Ac-ademics, said several teachers have been hired to replace those leaving the school.

In related news, Jesse Van Dam, who began teaching middle and high school jazz band in Jan-uary, will take on a seventh grade computer rotation next year, mak-ing him a full time staff member.

An important change is in the works with middle school study hall. Courtney Giannini, a co-sponsor of the school’s dance team, will become a full time study hall coordinator next year, McMillan said.

This year, as in years past, teachers staffed study halls throughout the school day. Mc-Millan said Giannini will help students with their organizational skills and also will provide con-sistency to the study hall program.

Moving ForwardEighth-Graders Look to High School

The class of 2016 celebrates as the final school bell signals their last day of high school. After the annual countdown on the quad on April 27, seniors embarked on their three-week internships known as Senior Experience. Graduation is scheduled for May 28 at 10 a.m.

By Amali Gordon-BuxbaumStaff Writer

With presidential campaigns heating up and the election steadi-ly approaching, seniors who are voting for the first time have tak-en up the discussion of politics.

Prep senior Sydney McDer-mott, who plans on voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders, is among many 18-year-olds who are in-vested in politics and the presi-dential race.

“It’s something that I can actually participate in,” she said. “My voice can actually be heard now.”

Daniel Kavelman, a senior at

La Cueva High School who sup-ports former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, expressed similar sentiments, even though his fam-ily “is always politically active so I have always made an effort to be informed.” Kavelman added, “The voting is now just the abili-ty to put my ideas and desires into action.”

The voting age dropped from 21 to 18 in 1971, and 50 percent of young adults, ages 18 to 24, voted in the 1972 presidential election. Voting among young adults has declined since then, which concerns lawmakers and other policy leaders.

Continued on page 8

First-time Voters Prepare for Polls

Eliana Daskalos

Feature page | 2

I’m going to Switzerland to work with a company that specializes in security design and anti-coun-terfeit implications. I was con-nected to this company through a friend’s dad.

Avery Johnson

I will be shadowing a youth pa-role officer at CYFD (the state Children, Youth and Families De-partment), and conducting inter-views with personnel who have experience with troubled youth.

Adrian Medina

Senior ExperienceUnderway

By Rahul ModiStaff Writer

Once a high school tradition, pranks pulled by seniors have lost momentum over the years.

Maybe it’s laziness, or maybe it’s the repercussions the pranks brought, but senior shenanigans have faded away.

“I don’t think people would tolerate a lot of the pranks today,” said history teacher Ron Briley, a former assistant headmaster who’s been teaching here for 38 years. “In 1978, I came into teach and the classroom was filled up to almost waist level with empty beer cans. The headmaster at the time, Elton Knutson, was upset about the beer prank.”

Some pranks were far more acceptable and successful than others.

“My favorite was when someone brought goats, and they set up a little pen out in the quad,” said Karen Lyall, Coordinator of Health and Counseling. “I think they may have had a little kiddy pool. It was nice because it didn’t hurt anyone.”

Briley recalled, “The goat was about to give birth.”

Biology teacher Ernest Po-lansky recalled a prank in which seniors moved the contents of Briley’s office into the old gym.

“It was the junior class’s job to put everything back,” Polansky

said. “They probably didn’t do as good of a job putting everything back as the seniors did of setting it up.”

Briley said “students took my office, which had a great number of books, and they reconfigured it all in the old gym, and they redid the entire office in the old gym. It took them almost the entire night to do it.”

Teachers don’t mind senior pranks if they don’t cause vandal-ism or harm anybody.

“As long as it’s not malicious or damaging property, offending someone personally, I don’t real-ly have any problem with them,” Polansky said.

Pranks have become less common and harder to carry out. It’s unlikely that today’s seniors would make the effort of getting a Volkswagen on campus, like they did several years ago.

A few years back, students painted the windows in the Com-mons with slogans—a prank that gave the custodians more work to do.

“On one level it (a prank) is kind of understandable; on an-other level, it’s very easy for it go wrong and hurt someone’s feel-ings,” Briley said. “As the school gets bigger, I think it’s harder to control.”

He added: “We are in a dif-ferent place today, where there is far less tolerance for it.”

By Octavio PérezStaff Writer

Theater teacher Erin Moots, who began teaching here in 2012, is the Times fac-ulty member of the month. To level the playing field, the staff put the names of all faculty members into a hat and picked one.

Q: What do you like to do on your free time?

A: Most of my free time is consumed by my son. He plays on three different hockey teams, so I spend most of my time in a car driving him around all over the place. I’m also a costume designer. I have a company called Moots Design, and so I do contract costume designs for theater and film.

Q: Who is your favorite superhero?

A: Batman because he is a

little dark but he is a good guy. When I was a kid I was in love with Optimus Prime.

Q: What is your most memorable moment here at Prep?

A. When I locked my kids

in the bathroom for a lockdown for an hour. I did not hear the all-clear bell. It was the first lockdown that I was involved in, and I did not want to mess up.

Q: What’s your favorite type of music?

A: I would say alternative music such as Iron and Wine. When I was growing up, I lis-tened to a lot of metal and rock.

Q: Where is the most in-teresting place you have been?

A: Ireland, because of its atmosphere.

Q: What has been the highlight of your career?

A: I have had a couple. I was on a national tour of a one-woman show. I was the one woman. Being the artistic and managing director of the Albu-querque Little Theater.

Q: What’s your favorite movie?

A: “Pride and Prejudice” But I really love “Better Off Dead,” because I can watch it over and over again.

School PranksTake Calm Turn

By Ryann RaelStaff Writer

Dozens of brightly colored test tubes sit in wooden holders. Posters line the cabinets. A mix of Bio 1 and Bio 2 students scurry around finishing labs. And at the center of it all is the man in the crazy tie, short sleeve dress shirt and jeans: Ernest Polansky.

This year marks Polansky’s fiftieth year of teaching, 36 of which have been spent at Prep.

“(It’s) no different than any-thing else. It’s just another year. Nothing special. I just do what I’m here to do,” he said.

Polansky has earned a repu-tation as a formidable science teacher over the years. But for the students who choose to enroll in his class-es, the reward is well worth it.

“It’s very difficult but it’s very interest-ing,” said junior Andrea Orozco, who took Polansky’s Bio 1 class and is now in his Bio 2 class. “Once you really get into it, you’ll realize that it’s something you re-ally do want to learn. Once you get that spark of interest you’ll just want to keep learning, and that’s when you’ll see your grade go up,”

Polansky said he’s still fo-cused on preparing competent science students.

“I always try to provide chal-lenges to students so that they can be as prepared as possible for col-lege,” he said. “And while I’ve had that reputation, I demand a lot out of my classes, but I’m also willing to give help.

Science Department Chair John Suding said Polansky’s con-sistency and longevity have ben-efited the entire school, not just his students.

“He has a sort of academic standard that he thinks the kids can get to and he doesn’t bend on those too much,” Suding said. “There’s an academic stability there, a sort of uniformity to the school.”

With 50 years under his belt,

Polansky has no intention of slowing down any time soon.

“I am not planning on retir-ing yet … as long as I can get up in the morning and still enjoy coming to work and doing my job in the classroom,” he said.

Polansky discovered his pas-sion for science early. He started with science fairs and eventu-ally earned a degree in chemis-try. From there, he began student -teaching in biology and has stuck with it ever since.

He remembers the Science Department 36 years ago. Suding credited Polansky with taking the Department into the modern age. With the help of former Head of

School Dick Heath, Polansky said he remodeled the two science labs from “kitchen type facilities to where we are today.”

“A lot of the wooden test tube racks and things I made on my spare time, a few microscope cabinets,” he said. “As we needed things, it was more expedient to get the raw materials, and wood-working is a hobby of mine.”

His hard work and dedica-tion to science have rubbed off on his students, and they strive to do their best in his class as well as outside the classroom.

“As an overall student, it’s really taught me that you have to dig deeper than what the teachers expect of you,” Orozco said. “You want to make a difference in your own life and you want the teacher to be proud of what you’re doing. He pushed me to be a better per-son and a better student.”

The fruit fly and the DNA labs are two of Polansky’s fa-vorites because they challenge students to think beyond what they’re taught and to use their in-stincts.

“I think it lets you see first-hand what really happens in sci-

ence,” he said. “The fruit flies don’t read the textbooks and don’t do necessarily what they’re sup-posed to. It puts a little challenge for the student to decide ‘what test do I believe in?’ and with a little guidance I think it helps you to build trust in yourself.”

Building a student’s con-fidence is something Polansky loves about his job.

“I find that one of the things that I’ve come to appreciate is how much it builds confidence when they succeed at isolating a bacteria and identifying it,” he said. “When they succeed in do-ing the genetics with the flies, there’s a certain amount of ‘wow

I did it.’”While Polansky

has a number of unique traits, a student favorite is his impressive array of unconventional ties.

“When I first started teaching, shirt and tie was a requirement and

over the years my daughters and my wife and various students have brought me back ties,” he said. “It’s become one of those sorts of things that’s become a trademark.”

Whether the occasion is a holiday or the due date for a lab, students can count on Polansky to display the appropriate neckwear.

“If there’s a special event I try to match, so on the days I col-lect the fly labs I wear my fly tie,” he said.

However, not all of his ties are quirky. Some have moving histories that Polansky cherishes.

“A number of years ago, there was a young lady at Prep. Her father passed away when she was in ninth grade, and I had her for Bio 1 and later on Bio 2,” Po-lansky recalled.

“In her senior year, I was walking over to the Field House and she came up and was walking with me. She casually said she had something for me, and she just handed me this little package and basically she said, ‘my dad really liked this,’ and it was one of her dad’s favorite ties.”

Moots Takes the Stage

‘I always try to provide challenges to students so that they can be as prepared as possible for college.’--Biology teacher Ernest Polansky

50 Years & CountingPolansky Committed to His Students

We’re going to San Diego for the first week, then San Francisco for the second. We’re driving up the coast and doing community service with North County Solutions for Change and Hands on Bay Area.

Sam Trainor (left) and Alex Cruz

Compiled by Eliana Daskalos and Octavio Pérez

Entertainment page | 3

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We’re Proud Supporters of Sandia Prep!

By Mike Snowand Harris McConnellStaff Writers

Mexican food is like wa-ter: We need it to survive. In our quest to find the best, we visited three Mexican restaurants, rating them on a scale from 1-5.

El ModeloLocated on 2nd Street near

Isotopes Park, El Modelo looks more like a factory than a restau-rant. At first we worried we had the wrong place, though upon further inspection we found we were indeed inside the famous El Modelo.

The prices are ridiculously low, and the portions are ridicu-lously huge. We ordered the #2, which consists of four red chile enchiladas and chips. After the first bite, we knew we had stum-bled upon greatness.

The enchiladas were intense-ly spicy but delicious nonethe-less. The chips blended with the dish after a while, and then they became makeshift nachos.

For the price and the portion size, El Modelo is a diamond in the rough. The place may not be flashy or upscale, but it sure is tasty. We gave El Modelo a 4/5.

El PaisaEl Paisa is a true Mexican

restaurant on Bridge Street in the South Valley, with its signs and menus in Spanish.

The enticing aroma of burri-tos, tacos and enchiladas hit us as

we walked in, and we settled on the classic cheese enchiladas. We were not disappointed.

The gooiness of the cheese was unbelievable. It tasted just as good as it smelled. The big por-tion proved impossible to finish, so diners can get two meals for the price of one. We saw the peo-ple next to us devouring the carne asada tacos, and those looked even better than our enchiladas.

A drawback of this place is that customers have to pay in cash, so don’t get stuck with only a credit card.

El Paisa is a great choice if you want a quick, cheap and large bite to eat. We gave it a 3.5/5.

Mariscos AltamarMariscos Altamar, on Co-

ors Boulevard just south of I-40, brings a seafood flare as it mod-eled after places found on the beach in Mexico. The eatery is fa-mous for its seafood cocktails and also offers amazing fish tacos.

We were enamored with the delicious seafood and even more impressed with the sauces driz-zled on top. Although the place is known for its seafood, it also offers several options along the lines of traditional New Mexican food.

Enchiladas, chimichangas and carnitas are featured on the Mexican food plate. We tried both seafood and traditional Mexican food and were fans of both. But, as the establishment focuses on seafood, we determined in the end that the seafood we tried was the true winner among the two. This is a 4.5/5.

Summertime Fun in the 505

Tasty Mexican FoodRight at Our Doorstep

By Brendon Gray Staff Writer

Summer is just around the corner, and, if your schedule is like mine, you don’t have much on the docket after that final school bell rings.

Here are some events to keep you moving once school lets out and the fated dog days of summer come your way.

On May 28, the Creative 505 will come to Civic Plaza in down-town Albuquerque. Creative 505 is a festival of vendors, musical groups, theatrical performances, art installations, interactive ex-hibits, strolling entertainment and food.

On July 16, the annual Route 66 Summerfest will parade down Central Avenue. The street will

be filled with live music and en-tertainment, a car show and shop-ping for this summertime Albu-querque favorite.

On Aug. 6, Civic Plaza will host the annual Downtown Sum-merfest. That night will feature live music from local bands, lead-ing up to the Wailers, who will take the stage to close out the event. There will be shopping with markets of handmade goods created by local artisans and some favorites from on-site food trucks.

Several concerts are coming our way this summer. Here’s a list:

Slipknot, a popular alterna-tive metal band, June 19 at Isleta Amphitheater.

Jason Aldean, a country art-ist, at Isleta Amphitheater on June 23.

The rappers G-Eazy, Logic, YG and Yo Gotti, July 1 at Isleta Amphitheater.

The Rascal Flatts, a popular country band, July 16 at the Am-phitheater

Country singers Keith Urban on July 23 and Josh Turner on July 29, both at Isleta Amphithe-ater.

The Piano Guys, a group that mashes classical piano with pop songs, on Aug. 3 at the Kiva Au-ditorium in the Albuquerque Con-vention Center.

Brantley Gilbert, another country artist, on Aug. 5 at the Is-leta Amphitheater.

Wiz Khalifa, another rapper, on Aug. 23 at the Amphitheater.

If you’re looking for a fun, creative place to spend your af-ternoons, look no further.

Junior Andre Girod (middle left) observes a fellow gamer’s new videogame during a recent meeting of the Albuquerque Game Developers Guild. Girod joined the club because of his interest in gaming and animation.

Students rehearse a scene from the play “Flowers for Algernon” for this year’s One Acts Festival, held in late April. From left are seniors Andrew Achusim and Brendon Gray and sophomores Micaela Pacheco and Jon Mullins.

Amali Gordon-Buxbaum

Picturing Prep

Senior Will Lucero signs a pledge promising to drive responsibly and to hold others to the same standard. Hundreds of Prep students signed the pledge, created by the senior class in memory of Grace Sinfield, who died in a drunk driving crash in November.

Students paid tribute to biology teacher Ernest Polansky, who celebrated 50 years as a teacher. Polansky was honored in a surprise ceremony during the school’s Earth Day festivities on April 22.

Earth Day festivities on campus featured Native American dancing and drumming, with students join-ing in and learning the steps. The April 22 event also included a swap meet and good food, such as Indian tacos and “dirt and worms.”

Seventh graders put their climbing skills to work during a trip to El Malpais National Monument near Grants, N.M.

Activities abound on and off campus as the 2015-2016 school year draws to a close. From a lively Earth Day celebration in the quad to field trips in other parts of the state, students pursued their interests, tried new adventures and participated in events and ceremonies.

Junior Gabe Van Dyke rides atop junior Virgil Wood’s shoulders as students moved to their new spots in the gym for all-school assembly. With seniors now off campus for Senior Experience, each class shifted to its new area based on next year’s grade level.

Freshmen Camping Associates practice tying knots during an activity period. From left are Brian Altavas, Tim Ton-That, Dylan Summers and Tony Onsae.

Octavio Pérez Jon Toman

Lauren Juarez-Duran

Lauren Juarez-Duran

Amali Gordon-Buxbaum

page | 6 Sports

By Ryann RaelStaff Writer

The school’s no-cut athletic policy hasn’t stopped Prep from turning out top-notch athletes who go on to play college sports.

Prep has produced athletes from several sports, including track, volleyball, baseball, dance, soccer and basketball. This year, five seniors have signed letters of intent to compete at the college level.

“In college, the level of skill in every player is much higher and the overall level of play goes up,” said Mikey Gangwish, a 2015 graduate who plays base-ball at Colorado School of Mines. “That amplifies every mistake because in high school you have the ability to recover from those mistakes easier.”

Fellow ’15 graduate Ryan Hunter, a soccer player at Trinity Uni-versity in San Antonio, agreed with Gangwish about the elevation of the game.

“All the players are stronger, faster and smarter,” he said. “In order to be successful, you have to be much more focused and be willing to give your all at all times. It turns from a hobby to a full time job when the level changes.”

As a college athlete, time management becomes more im-portant than ever. Hours of prac-tice, classes, road games and intense training mean athletes’ schedules are jam-packed leaving little time for anything else.

“The academics are a whole new level,” Gangwish said. “Though I was prepared, play-ing four games every weekend changes the way you approach school and trying to have a so-cial life. If you’re committed to academics, you’re going to have to sacrifice something. You can’t have that stereotypical college life of going out whenever you want to because extra time is go-ing to be spent in the weight room or doing school work.”

A volleyball player at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, 2013 graduate Dixie Coo-per said her teammates are her best friends, and they’ve bonded over grueling workouts and in-tense games.

“My team is my family. There are so many extra things that you have to do as a collegiate athlete, and getting to do those with your team is what makes them fun,”

she said. “We always used to joke that we were all so close because we were all suffering together and knew each other’s pain. It’s like having a bunch of built-in sisters, and it has been one of the best parts of college for me, because I never have had a sister.”

Shawn Moore, a 2014 gradu-ate and baseball player at New Mexico Military Institute in Ro-swell, adds that any time not spent on the field or in the weight room is spent getting caught up on schoolwork or studying to get ahead, which drastically affected his social life outside of sports.

While it may be more diffi-cult to carve out time for a social life, Hunter said college soccer has given him new friends.

“My social life has been im-pacted in a very positive way,” he said. “It is nice to come into a new

school and automatically have 30 friends through the soccer team. Also, a lot of the athletes hang out together and have similar sched-ules, so it is easy to find people to hang out with.”

Another ’15 graduate, John Twohig, said time management has been the most difficult aspect of college soccer because of the long school days and practice. Twohig, who plays soccer at Win-throp University in Rock Hill, S.C., said he usually has to eat quickly, sometimes while rushing to his next commitment.

“Pretty much every night I end up staying up past after mid-night doing work, and I’m up be-fore 8 to lift or go to class,” he said. “If I can get a nap during the day it’s a lucky day.”

Riley Cronin, a soccer player at Missouri University of Science and Technology, said going to college made her appreciate her family on a whole new level.

“I really started to appreciate my parents more,” she said. “In high school, my parents always cooked dinner for me. I would help sometimes but they were the ones with the plan.”

Teams at Prep are generally close, but playing at a college level and living with teammates brings a new level of unity.

“We often call ourselves our own fraternity, because in a lot of ways we are very similar to a

fraternity,” Hunter said. “During season, we spend at least three to four hours a day together, so we are all very close. We all live together for the most part too, so that helps with building a good bond.”

A major difference between Prep and other high schools is the opportunity for underclassmen to become team leaders. In college there is a more traditional hierar-chy.

“The dynamic is much different, because at Prep the leadership roles are spread out among the classes, but in col-lege if you’re a freshman you’re not going to speak up as a leader because that’s frowned upon,” Gangwish said.

While the days are long, practices hard and sleep rare, the college student-athletes agreed

that the recruitment pro-cess is a much more dif-ficult road to travel.

“The recruitment process is so stress-ful, but once you’re in, you’re just playing the sport that you’ve played

since you were little,” Gangwish said.

Cooper remembers the feel-ing of despair at volleyball tour-naments when she didn’t play her best in front of coaches and her anxiety at going to different col-leges to practice with the team.

But despite the trials and tribulations, the athletes say col-lege sports are worth it. Looking back to high school, they leave their wisdom to future college athletes.

“Never be content with any-thing,” Moore said. “You can always get better day in and day out. Put in the work now, so you do not have to live with that re-gret. Another thing is to always enjoy everything. You do not know when your last game is going to be, so love it while you can.”

Hunter said it’s more impor-tant to be happy where you are than to let others dictate where you wind up.

“Trust in what feels right, and don’t let the views of others impact your decisions,” he said. “I was dead set on playing Divi-sion 1 soccer and am now having the time of my life at a Division 3 school, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I got where I am today because I trusted in what felt right and what made sense to me.”

By Garrett CleavallStaff Writer

Senior Beau Williams, an Eastern New Mexico commit who’s been playing baseball since age 5, pitches and plays first base for the varsity baseball team. Williams is May’s athlete of the month.

Q: How did you begin playing baseball?

A: I started playing because my parents threw me into many sports when I was young, but baseball was my favorite.

Q: How often do work on baseball outside of practice?

A: I try to put in as much work outside of practice as I can. I usually try to stay and hit after practice, or hit on my own on the weekends.

Q: What’s your favorite memory on the field?

A: My favorite memory would be winning the state tournament as a junior with all of my best friends.

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

A: I would choose to live in San Antonio because I love Texas, and I like the small town feeling in a big city.

Q: If you could have a super power, what would it be?

A: If I could have one super power, I would choose to have super strength because I think it’d be cool to be able to lift up anything.

Q: What are you afraid of?

A: I’m afraid of not succeeding after everything my parents, peers and coaches have done for me. I’m also afraid of failing myself after all the work I’ve put in.

Q: If you could be any animal, what would you be?

A: I’d be a lion because they are the kings of the jungle. They also are strong and looked upon by everything in the jungle.

Q: Did you have a baseball role model growing up?

A: Madison Bumgarner, the lefty pitcher from the Giants, because I’d love to always turn the TV on to watch him dominate whoever he was facing. Seeing him pitch made me want to be like him.

Ballin’ with Beau

By Dustin GaddisStaff Writer

LacrosseThe lacrosse team began the

2016 campaign with five straight wins and came in second in State over the weekend.

The boys fought a hard game against Santa Fe Prep, losing 3-2 on Saturday.

“A lot of our players have really improved,” freshman goalie Ethan Pratt said. “A bunch of our freshmen and sophomore players have gotten really good.”

The team beat Bosque, 10-2, in its senior game last month.

BaseballYour reigning 4A champion

baseball team is poised to continue its exceptional play deep into the state tournament.

“We have the expectation to play well in the state tournament and take back the state title,” senior Marshall Grandjean said.

The Sundevils won the first round of State, beating the New Mexico Military Institute in two straight games, 16-9 and 10-2.

State tournament play continues this week.

TrackThe track team enjoyed a

season of success. Several athletes qualified

for State at District play over the weekend: eighth-grader Skylar Gee in the 200-meter dash and freshman Epherem Zerai in the 3200-meter run. Both the girls and the boys qualified in the 4x100 and 4x200 events.

Junior Abby Young said the team is looking good for State

this weekend.

Boys’ TennisThe tennis team, with

a record of 8-3, wrapped up state tournament play over the weekend.

The team lost to Robertson of Las Vegas, 0-9.

Junior Hunter Reeves said the team performed well thoughout the season.

Girls’ TennisThe girls’ tennis team has

experienced a solid season this spring.

“Our biggest obstacle has been injuries,” junior Sophie Castlemain said.

The girls’ team finished the season with a record of 7-4, losing to Hope in State tournament play.

Golf The golf team has battled

against bad course conditions and other obstacles in its fight to get the low score.

“There is no state for us this year. Looking toward next year, however, there is a bright future,” junior Tim Chavez said.

The golf team finished up its season with a district tournament at Los Altos golf course.

SoftballFor the softball team, the

season was full of ups and downs. While the girls did not

qualify for State play, junior Emily Hubbs said she’s proud of the team.

“I cannot wait to see what we accomplist next season,” she said.

The team finished the season with a 6-15 record.

College Sports a New GameSenior Mike Snow’s teammates congratulate him after he signed to play baseball at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. See the full story on seniors who signed letters of intent on the back page.

Pat Snow

‘In college, the level of skill in every player is much higher and the over-

all level of play goes up.’ --2015 graduate Mikey Gangwish

Teams FinishStrong Seasons

High Skills, Good Friends, Time Commitment

page | 7 Editorial

Times Staff Editors-in-Chief: Mike Snow Brendon Gray News Editor: Amali Gordon-Buxbaum

Editorial Editor: Ryann Rael In-Depth Editor: Keely Lovato

Sports Editor: Mike Snow

Entertainment Editors: Harris McConnell Garrett Cleavall

Feature Editor: Brendon Gray Business Managers: Octavio Pérez Harris McConnell

Editorial Cartoonist: Layla Getz

Photo Editor: Octavio Pérez

Staff Writers: Garrett Cleavall Eliana Daskalos Lauren Duran Dustin Gaddis Amali Gordon-Buxbaum Brendon Gray Sean Jarvis Keely Lovato Harris McConnell Raul Modi Octavio Pérez Ryann Rael Mike Snow Staff Advisor: Joan Goessl

Address all comments to: Sandia Prep Times 532 Osuna Rd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87113

The Sandia Prep Times is a student forum composed en-tirely by and for Sandia Prep students. Opinions expressed on the editorial page are solely those of the author or the student editorial board. They do not reflect the poli-cies or opinions of the admin-istration or faculty. The Times reserves the right to edit all letters to the editor.

By Brendon GrayCo-Editor-In-Chief

Mike Snow and I, as editors-in-chief, have spent the year at each other’s throats. When he said he liked beards, I needed to debate him. When he said cereal was a soup, I was up in spoons. There is one thing we can agree on, we’ve had a great time writ-ing for the newspaper.

I’ve been lucky to come to a great school, have a great news-paper staff, and write riveting columns about the deeply contro-versial topics. Are beards worth it? Is cereal a soup? Are ghosts real? Should Adam Sandler be re-membered as a giant in the come-dic sphere?

While my time drifting through these halls has been fun, I do have some regrets. I wish in my time at Prep I’d picked up the Birkenstocks fad. I can’t believe I didn’t begin wearing ornamental glasses my freshman year. And I’m disappointed that I didn’t wear tighter pants.

I’m also disappointed that I didn’t study harder in all my classes, listen closer to lectures, or do more homework.

Just kidding. None of that is true. I wore adequately tight (and short) pants and, if you haven’t noticed, the homework load, test-ing schedule, and general edu-cational method at Prep is thor-ough—so no, I don’t regret not studying more.

There is some sadness that comes with graduating, though. Way back in the fall, a sudden nostalgia overwhelmed me.

It was strange. In that mo-

By Mike SnowCo-Editor-In-Chief

Over the past year, Brendon and I have argued and debated over a vast array of topics, from beards to Cheetos. Now that we’re on our final issue, we fi-nally agree on something; we’ve had a great time writing for the

newspaper.As a

tiny, inno-cent sopho-more, I em-barked on my Sandia Prep Times j o u r n e y . I’ve written around 50 stories (edit-ed hundreds more) and d e s i g n e d 20 pages. I can’t begin to explain how much Taco Ca-bana I’ve consumed at after-school

work sessions. I’m grateful for my time on

the staff. I’ve been co-editor-in-chief for the last two years, which has proved to be difficult but re-warding. I could not have picked a better, more fun staff to be a part of.

I still remember the first story I ever wrote. I interviewed Tommy Smith for a feature on the soccer team. What seems like an easy write turned into a nightmare as I struggled to find the right

ment, all the excitement, hope, joy and craziness of high school dissipated, and I wanted, beyond anything else, for it to last longer.

To say the least, I felt a little sad.

Since, I’ve changed my out-look some. I’ve begun focus-ing on the goofy-- ghosts, Mr. Sandler, and beards-- because that’s what makes high school worth it. As se-nior day ap-proached, all that excite-ment, hope, and craziness settled back in.

O n c e senior expe-rience comes to a close and g radua t ion arrives, that nostalgia will come back. I’ll walk on campus and watch the neon shoes of middle schoolers stampede through campus, and see the cotton circling by the math buildings, and listen, terrified, as Hogan, the little white terror, yips his way through the commons and yeah, I’ll feel a little sad.

But that’s OK. I’ll have had the goofy, silly,

and craziness that is high school. That’s pretty awesome.

Thank you, Prep, for being goofy. And thank you for making me goofy, too.

words to finish the story. It took almost a week for me to finish.

Now I can crank out stories like nobody’s business. I wrote this “goodbye” column in 20 minutes.

All jokes aside, newspaper has made me a better, more pro-ductive writer. It has helped with my essays, critical thinking and reading. Those who are looking to challenge themselves and im-prove their writing skills would flourish in this class.

Even though I have had an awesome experience, it is not without regrets. I regret not hav-ing Octavio write his “shoe cor-ner” sneaker review, I regret not going on more food adventures for “Hungry with Harris,” I regret not putting more funny memes on the bulletin board, and most of all, I regret saying that Adam Sandler is the worst actor ever. I watched “The Longest Yard” again the other day, and I found it hilarious.

It feels a little strange to be writing this heartfelt goodbye, mostly because it is actually a serious topic (probably the only time Brendon and I have been serious all year), but also because this is my last one ever.

As a last ditch effort to sat-isfy the readers of this fine pub-lication, I would like to say that breakfast cereal is most certainly a soup. Deal with it.

Thank you to everyone who helped with, supported, and read the newspaper over my time on staff. It means a lot to know our work is appreciated. I will miss being a part of this great school.

Stay golden, Sandia Prep.

Dustin GaddisPlaying basketball at Prep

has been a blessing for me, and I am excited to see where that takes me. From eighth grade to twelfth, Prep taught me so much. I’m hap-

Rahul ModiFrom learning about New

Mexico’s green chile contro-versy to digging into the history of senior pranks at Sandia Prep, I truly have enjoyed my time on the newspaper. The staff is no dif-ferent than a family.

But past newspaper, high school overall was amazing for me. It is easy to appreciate high school because I understood this time was the easiest my life was

Harris McConnellPrep. A home. A family.

Somewhere I have called home for seven years. Some place, lo-cated in the desert, in a little town called Albuquerque. It will be hard to leave this place, but the broad horizons ahead make me eager to move on and find even more opportunities.

Prep has given me a founda-tion that I couldn’t find anywhere else. In turn, I’ve met people that

Octavio PerezNewspaper has been a great

experience. The countless hours debating over unrelated topics in the newspaper room have been fun. The newspaper staff has been a big part of my life and I have enjoyed every second of it.

I’m going to miss the “donies” Ms. Goessl brings into class and taking hundreds of pho-to poll photos during lunch. I’m going to miss the little things: tak-ing photos of events and having the opportunity to socialize with the Prep community.

Keely LovatoWithout a doubt, there are

things I’m going to miss about this place: teachers who’ve changed my life by inspiring me to be my best, friends who’ve brightened my existence, quirky traditions that at times made me wonder if it was a cult rather than a school, and May afternoons spent in the quad.

What I’m worried about, though, are the things I’ll for-get. The names of people I never really knew but exchanged a kind word with now and then, the smell of the scented candle mounted on hot plate in Ms. Mo-ses’s room, the bored and mildly distracted faces of the student body during assembly, which so sharply contrast with the giggling SGA members standing beside me as I fumble with the micro-phone and attempt to sound like I know what I’m doing, the way sentences come out choppy and rough during a 45-minute run but somehow make all the sense in the world when spoken during cross country practice in the shad-ow of the Sandia Mountains. The feeling of pride that comes from doing push-ups in a nice dress

Seniors Say SayonaraGarrett Cleavall

Eighth grade was my first year at Prep. The thought of leav-ing my old school to attend Prep didn’t sound appealing to me at all. But if I had to do it over again, I would.

From the first day, I realized Prep would be the perfect school for me. The sports, students, staff and faculty members make the Prep community unbelievable. The teachers and support staff, including the custodians, are un-believably caring, while the stu-dents are outgoing and enjoyable.

Prep has pushed me to be the best I can be, and to try my hard-est, no matter how hard that may be.

Sean Jarvis Since sixth grade, I have en-

joyed everything Prep has had to offer. I made many new friend-ships and felt like a part of a fam-ily.

Prep has encouraged me to broaden my horizons with the non-academic programs it has to offer. I began playing with the baseball team in eighth grade and fell in love with it. I’ve enjoyed everything I have been involved in at Prep, and the school has made me a better person.

The newspaper is responsible for many of the connections I’ve formed over the past two years. Everyone supports each other and the group comes together to get work done. The class has also taught me a lot about responsibil-ity and deadlines, something that will be important later in life.

After butting heads over highly sensitive topics such as cat videos and cereal, edi-tors Brendon Gray, left, and Mike Snow shake hands at the completion of their final column.

After two years of arguing in their monthly columns, editors Mike Snow and Brendon Gray come together as they say goodbye to Sandia Prep.

and blazer along side seven other high school students in suit jack-ets and slacks, and a silver-haired attorney before each and every Mock Trial competition, and the rare occasions when I manage to slip out of my angsty, narcis-sistic teenage-mind long enough to realize how lucky I am to have spent the majority of the past sev-en years at Prep surrounded by truly phenomenal people.

Seniors on the Sandia Prep Times staff recall

the year as they say their goodbyes.

I wouldn’t have if I had made a different decision back in the spring of 2009.

This is a place I will never forget. For a variety of reasons, the best times of my life have tru-ly come from my years at Prep. Cheers to y’all who’ve made it so great.

going to be. All of my teachers taught me something that I will hold on to for the rest of my life. I truly hope this will not be the last time I see anybody from Prep.

py to say it was the perfect fit for me.

My time in newspaper has been one of the highlights of my senior year. This experience has brought me closer to everyone on the staff. Even though at times it seems like the year has been a wild rollercoaster ride, I would not have changed anything.

page | 8 News

Campus News

Mock Trial Finishes Strong

Junior to D.C. Conference

Dancing to Success

Seniors Sign On

By Harris McConnell and Garrett CleavallStaff Writers

The Mock Trial team placed second at state, coming in behind Albuquerque Academy in the competition at Metro Court downtown.

Senior and Mock Trial member Mohammed Assed believes the team came together during the March 18-19 event.

“The team wasn’t carried by any one student,” Assed said. “I believe that with our experienced group, we all shined in tremendous ways.”

The judges recognized senior Keely Lovato as an Outstanding Attorney. She was one of three students in the state to receive the award.

“I was really honored to get the award, but really I owe my suc-cess to my team and coaches,” Lovato said. “I’m happy to have got-ten to work with everyone this past year.”

Junior Amali Gordon-Buxbaum has been selected to participate in the all-expenses-paid Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Con-ference in Washington, D.C.

The conference, sponsored by the Newseum Institute, “targets rising high school seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism and who demonstrate qualities of ‘free spirit,’” according to the conference website.

The conference will run from June 18-23.“I was really excited when I got the email saying I was accepted,”

Gordon-Buxbaum said. “Because journalism is something I’d like to pursue, it’s an amazing opportunity to get to work with what I love doing.”

Gordon-Buxbaum had to enter examples of her journalism work, write two essays and submit two letters of recommendation.

Kavelman explained his the-ory on why the numbers of young have declined.

“I don’t think that enough people take their voting rights seriously,” he said. “They are turned off by the political drama and forget what differences they can actually make through vot-ing.”

Sandia Prep senior Kathryn Fleddermann emphasizes the re-sponsibility of being able to vote.

“I feel like I have more of an obligation to pay attention now because I can’t just blow it off,” she said. “I would hope that most seniors plan to vote since it’s our

country and our future.”Richie Rattan, a Prep senior

who planned on voting for Gov. John Kasich, echoes Fledder-mann’s opinions.

“Now that I have the ability to vote, if I don’t, I feel like I lost my right to complain about poli-tics,” he explained.

Statistics from the recent pri-maries have shown the wide age gap between Clinton and Sanders supporters. In the New Hamp-shire primary, Sanders won 78 percent of first-time voters and 83 percent of voters ages 18-29, while the only age demographic Clinton won was voters 65 and older. Similar trends were also seen at the Iowa caucus as well as

other multiple primaries. Kavelman, as well as Rattan,

have noticed that the majority of young adults are supporting Sanders.

“Many people are voting for him because they feel that he is authentic and relatable, but I think many of these kids are mis-guided,” Kavelman said. “It’s re-ally easy to be super liberal, but I feel like they don’t consider the pragmatism of these policies.”

Similarly, Rattan added, “(Sanders) shows that he’s differ-ent, he’s not a typical politician, and he’s not a part of the system. Teenagers in general are rebel-lious. Bernie is different, and that really attracts us.”

Continued from page 1

I want to go skydiving.-Arthur Mason

I want to invent a time machine and go back in time before my

dog died. -Jade Velarde

I want to go to Eckerd College, and I also want to go skydiving.

-Ashton Munding

I want to go to a World Cup and make sure I say goodbye to all

my friends.-Naseem Dhaouadi

I want to go cliff diving off the Peloponnesian Coast and go to

an ice bar.-Ian Dennis

By Sean JarvisStaff Writer

Prep’s two exchange students experienced life in a new coun-try and at a new school, tallying up memories as they adapted to American culture.

Both Karina Minx from Ger-many and Çagla Yüksel from Turkey said they thoroughly en-joyed their months at Prep.

“It was a different feeling at first, going to a school where everyone has known each oth-er,” said Yüksel, who lived with senior Kathryn Fleddermann’s family.

She said she adjusted quick-ly, and loved her year here at Prep and in the U.S.

“The people I got to know, the things that I got opportunity to

do, will always have a huge part in my life and heart,” she said.

Minx, who stayed with soph-omore Weston Godfrey’s family, said the Outdoor Leadership Pro-gram, sports and “of course, all the great people” made her year special.

“It was great,” she said. “I met so many cool people and had many new experiences.”

Sports played a huge part in Minx’s life over the school year. She played volleyball, basketball, tennis and track, and she was a manager for the boys’ lacrosse team.

“I loved all my teams and we all grew together,” Minx said. “Something I really like is that sports are a part of school, be-cause in Germany we just have club teams.”

Coming from Turkey, Yük-sel experienced a different style of education. In her home coun-try, she said, schools operate on a set curriculum, and here she liked being able to choose some of her classes.

Both girls said a main differ-ence between America and their countries is the driving age.

“Seeing high schoolers drive is actually really interesting, be-cause we get to drive when we turn 18,” Yüksel said. Minx said the driving age in Germany is 18 as well.

While Yüksel noted differ-ences in the food, not everything appeared foreign to her.

“The food is different, but considering that in every corner in Turkey you can find a Star-bucks, it was not a huge shock,” she said.

Four Sandia Prep athletes have achieved their goals to play a collegiate sport.

Seniors Mike Snow, Dustin Gaddis, Kiersten Huitt and Eva Ep-stein signed their letters of intent on April 14.

“I feel extremely blessed to have been given the opportunity to play two sports in college,” said Huitt, who will play volleyball and run track at Hendrix College in Arkansas. “It’s a dream come true.”

Epstein will attend Delaware State as a member of its equestrian team.

“I’m excited because riding on a team is so much different than how I’ve been competing for years,” she said.

Snow will attend Augsburg College in Minneapolis to play base-ball, and Gaddis will attend Colorado School of Mines to play bas-ketball.

“I’m really thankful for this opportunity, and I’m honored to have the privilege to play after high school,” Snow said.

Gaddis expressed a similar opinion.“I’m excited for this chance, but I’m also thankful that I get the

chance to achieve my dream,” he said.

What’s on Your Bucket List?Sixth-Graders Share Big Dreams

Seniors Take on Elections

‘Exchanging’ MemoriesForeign Peers Recount the Year

The dance team placed second in the state tournament, coming in behind St. Michael’s of Santa Fe.

Senior Kendall McKenzie called the season a success and said all team members played their roles well.

“It was great,” she noted, adding that the team achieved its goal of beating Hope.

McKenzie said the team’s future is bright.“I think they will do really well next year because they are young,

they have a long road ahead of them and (they have) tons of time to get better,” said McKenzie, who is one of just three seniors on the team.

The state competition, held the first weekend of April, took place at the University of New Mexico.

Four juniors were elected to lead the school as new members of the Student Government Asso-ciation.

Sara Trauth has taken over as SGA president, while Zoe Bur-gett, Amali Gordon-Buxbaum and Malcolm Keith are the new council members.

Trauth said she’s looking forward to helping plan Lion and Unicorn Day as well as organiz-ing the Tri-School Dance with her fellow council members.

She also said she wants to hold fun events beyond Lion and Unicorn Day to boost morale throughout the year.

By Lauren Juarez-DuranStaff Writer

Prep’s production of “Guys and Dolls” and several students have been nominated for Popejoy Awards.

Sophomore Micaela Pacheco has been nominated in the Best Actress category, while juniors Matt Burress and Daniel Romero and senior Tanner Gill were nom-inated in the Best Actor category.

Junior Grace Lill and senior Lucas Lujan were nominated as Director’s Choice recipients, while sophomore Logan Lasher was chosen as the student stage

manager for the awards ceremo-ny, held Sunday night at Popejoy.

Winners of the Best Actor and Actress categories received an all-expense paid trip to New

York to compete for scholarship awards, workshop with Broad-way professionals and perform on Broadway.

New Faces for SGA

Students Nominated for Theater Award

Compiled by Brendon Gray