![With the AISD rank and GPA discrepancies, some students had significant changes to their stats. College and career counselor Camille Nix worked with students to appeal their college decisions if they got rejected from schools depending on their previous stats before getting updated. Students worked with Nix to update schools on their new stats in order to fully get their appropriate decisions. “Those who already were accepted [won’t be affected], but it could factor in if a student appeals their initial decision,” Principal Andy Baxa said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53674616658_18d367e00f_o-1200x676.jpg)
![Junior Mia Milicevic practices her forehand at tennis practice with the WJ girls tennis team. “Sometimes I don’t like [tennis] because you’re alone but most of the time, I do like it for that reason because it really is just you out there. I do experience being part of a team at WJ but in tournaments and when I’m playing outside of school, I like that rush when I win a point because I did it all by myself, Milicevic said. (Courtesy Mia Milicevic)](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/c54807e1-6ab6-4b0b-9c65-bfa256bc7587.jpg)
![The Jaguar student section sits down while the girls basketball team plays in the Great Eight game at the Denver Coliseum against Valor Christian High School Feb. 29. Many students who participated in the boys basketball student section prior to the girls basketball game left before half-time. I think it [the student section] plays a huge role because we actually had a decent crowd at a ranch game. I think that was the only time we had like a student section. And the energy was just awesome, varsity pointing and shooting guard Brooke Harding ‘25 said. I dont expect much from them [the Golden Boys] at all. But the fact that they left at the Elite Eight game when they were already there is honestly mind blowing to me.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_7517-e1716250578550-900x1200.jpeg)
![BACKGROUND IN THE BUSINESS: Dressed by junior designer Kaitlyn Gerrie, senior Chamila Muñoz took to the “Dreamland” runway this past weekend. While it was her first time participating in the McCallum fashion show, Muñoz isn’t new to the modeling world.
I modeled here and there when I was a lot younger, maybe five or six [years old] for some jewelry brands and small businesses, but not much in recent years,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz had hoped to participate in last year’s show but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts. For her senior year, though, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by.
“It’s [modeling] something I haven’t done in a while so I was excited to step out of my comfort zone in a way,” Muñoz said. “I always love trying new things and being able to show off designs of my schoolmates is such an honor.”
The preparation process for the show was hectic, leaving the final reveal of Gerrie’s design until days before the show, but the moment Muñoz tried on the outfit, all the stress for both designer and model melted away.
“I didn’t get to try on my outfit until the day before, but the look on Kaitlyn’s face when she saw what she had worked so hard to make actually on a model was just so special,” Muñoz said. “I know it meant so much to her. But then she handed me a blindfold and told me I’d be walking with it on, so that was pretty wild.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53535098892_130167352f_o-1200x800.jpg)
Somewhere in Austin, TX, a nine-year-old boy started learning an instrument that would take him all the way through his childhood. Before, he played the piano, but there was just something not quite right. The music was fun, the boy’s fingers glided over the keys, but it did not fill him up, did not instantly connect with him the way it was supposed to. It just wasn’t working. That changed when he decided to watch his sister’s violin lesson.
Nine years later, he’s still playing violin. But this time, he won’t be practicing at home. In July he will be an adult, ready to take his beloved violin to the University of Illinois.
“I started when I was a kid,” Darren Liu ‘24 said. “I got into music and thought it was cool because I actually started piano first but I didn’t really like it so I thought it was a good time for me to try another instrument,”
While watching his sister play, his mother asked him whether he wanted to try learning violin. Liu responded, “Sure, why not?” Since then, Liu’s been on an incredible journey, from performing in front of several parents to taking it to one of the most prestigious internationally recognized concert halls, Carnegie Hall, in New York City.
“I was extremely grateful to play at Carnegie Hall during eighth grade,” Liu said. “[I went there because] I won a [international] violin competition. It was really special to me and was a very good experience because it was my first time playing in front of such a big audience, in front of people from all over the world.”
When he’s not on a stage, Liu is at school with his fellow classmates, perfecting every note in the Westwood Symphony Orchestra, getting ready for the night when they deliver a breathtaking performance.
“Just being there, present, and participating in orchestra is already super enjoyable. It’s a great way to connect with other [people who play] different instruments,” Liu said.
“Just being there, present, and participating in orchestra is already super enjoyable. It’s a great way to connect with other [people who play] different instruments,”
— Liu
“I would say the feeling is bittersweet because I’m happy for them to go start their lives,” Mr. Thompson said. “That’s what commencement is, it’s the beginning, not the end. But I’m sad to see them go. We get really close in orchestra all these four years, and I’ll definitely miss them. At Westwood, there are so many options they can do. For them to make music a priority when taking a thousand AP [and IB] classes, it’s great that they still find a place to make music.”
Liu’s mother, Ms. Mei Chang, is also extremely proud of her son’s perseverance and balance between academics and hobbies. Though she always wished he would go to a college in Texas, she knows that it is time for Liu to go out and see the world.
“I am so proud of [Darren],” Chang said. “I knew he was a brilliant child with a talent in playing the violin. I knew it wasn’t the end of his musical journey when he quit piano. I’m glad that he has a very special hobby to take with him anywhere in Illinois or maybe even the world [and] I hope he studies hard and has fun [there].”
This story was originally published on Westwood Horizon on May 20, 2024.
