![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)
Cheered on by excited spectators and parents, Aaron Akin, junior, threw the first no-hitter in a decade, and the fourth at MHS, at the varsity baseball game against Northwest High School on Friday, March 29.
“It was a really special moment,” Akin said. “I was proud of myself.”
You kind of just prepare to pitch as your best and do your best each game,
— Aaron Akin
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which the pitcher doesn’t give up a single hit. Akin said most players don’t practice specifically for no-hitters.
“You kind of just prepare to pitch as your best and do your best each game,” Akin said. “That’s what I tried to do and it worked out well.”
John Meyer, head baseball coach, said throwing a no-hitter is rare in high school baseball. Meyer said the in-game atmosphere was competitive but overall positive.
“As the game starts to build around the third or fourth inning, I think most people quietly know what’s happening and what’s at stake,” Meyer said.
Meyer talked to Akin between innings encouraging him to just keep throwing strikes, get ahead of hitters and focus on the lead-off out. Meyer said Akin didn’t recognize he was throwing a no-hitter during the game.
“That played a role in being able to pull it off because you’re not even distracted by it,” Meyer said. “You’re just competing and trying to get hitters out.”
A key part of completing a no-hitter is the defense, Meyer said. Left-fielder Jake Miller, senior, made a sliding catch along the left-field line to save a hit and the no-hitter, and Meyer said it was a defining moment of the game.
“[The defense] gets locked in and they don’t want to be the guy that keeps it from happening,” Meyer said.
Ryan Heil, senior, was Akin’s catcher during the game last Friday. He said the no-hitter could be great for Akin’s baseball career.
We were struggling before that but now I think we’re all on the same page. We’ve seen what success looks like on the field.
— Ryan Heil
“It gets his confidence way up which is really good for him,” Heil said. “It could allow him later in the season to better develop.”
Heil said he looks forward to the team continuing to play good games for the rest of the season.
“We were struggling before that, but now I think we’re all on the same page,” Heil said. “We’ve seen what success looks like on the field.”
This story was originally published on Marquette Messenger on April 3, 2024.
