![It was definitely out of my comfort zone to get [the dress] and decide I loved it enough not to wait and risk not having something that memorable.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Precious_20180902_JRS_00008_ed1.jpg)
![Sophomore Sahasra Mandalapu practices bharatanatyam choreography in class. These new dances will be performed in an annual show in February. Mandalapu found that practicing in class helped her overcome stage fright during her performances. “When [I] get on stage, Im nervous Im going to forget, even though Ive done it for so long,” Mandalapu said. “Theres still that little bit of stage fright [when] I second-guess myself that I dont know it enough, but I do because Ive been practicing for a whole year.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sahasra-6-Large-1200x844.jpeg)
![In their full runway outfits, (from left) Audrey Lee 25, Olivia Lucy Teets, 25, Fashion Design teacher Ms. Judy Chance, and Xueying Lili Yang pose for a photo. All three girls made it to Austin Fashion Week by getting in the top 10 in a previous runway show held by Shop LC.
[I like my students] creativity and how they can look at a fabric and make it their own, Ms. Chance said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_9686-e1714088765730-1129x1200.jpeg)
![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
This summer, while some of us were relaxing, on vacation or working junior Alexis Alden was setting records in her BMX division.
“I am now the second best in the world for BMX in my age group for both of my bikes,” Alden said.
Alden spent the first few weeks of August competing in Glasgow, Scotland, at the UCI BMX World Championships.
This time last year, Alden was number seven in the world.
“I was in France last year around July and I prepared not as much for that as I did this year,” Alden said. “Last year, it [the race] took a toll on me because I didn’t do as good as I wanted to because I got crashed out, so mentally I wasn’t there in that race, so I ended up getting seventh in the world,” Alden said.
Like athletes in any other sport, Alden has built up her career over the years through hard work, practice and dedication.
“My dad did motocross before I was born and his friend owned a bike shop and he was wondering what these bikes were so he let us run it and we took a track that was like ten minutes away from our house and we just loved it. Me and my brother [have] loved it ever since,” Alden said.
Balancing school and other responsibilities is heavily a part of high school culture, and no less is this true for Alden.
“I try to not let it take a toll on me because I tell my dad ‘Hey, I cannot do two hours of practice.’ Sometimes I have to skip it. It does affect [me] not practicing because I actually have a race this weekend coming up and I haven’t practiced at all this week. It’s going to be a little different because I’ve had so much school,” Alden said.
BMX is not as common as other sports like football. Finding a mentor who understands the ins and outs could have been challenging, however Alden has her friend Carly Kane, another rider in her sport.
“[Kane is] super strong. When you crash it affects you, but she gets back up. She continues to train, she doesn’t throw her career away. She goes back, and fights for it even more,” Alden said.
As she approaches her senior year, Alden’s goals look a bit different from the average high school student.
“I plan to become world one. Honestly just do better over the whole year and maybe mainly work on mentally winning because it’s way easier to be hard on yourself than positive,” Alden said.
This story was originally published on McIntosh Trail on September 20, 2023.
