![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Seniors feel all sorts of emotions regarding the upcoming election in November. As we mature into self-sufficient citizens in a modern American society, the responsibility of the future invokes passionate feelings Americans across all ages experience.
There are about 86,000 Johnson County residents ages 18-29, according to the United States Census Bureau. There are roughly 400 seniors in the 2024-25 graduating class, many of which are eligible to vote. Although we compose a very small number of JoCo residents, we still have the power to turn the tide of an election. CIRCLE data shows voting and civic engagement lies around 36 percent for JoCo youth. Regardless of how we feel about voting, it is impossible to deny that our vote makes an impact.
Senior Maliyah Warren feels lucky about being eligible to vote and intends to be part of that statistic in November.
“I feel really lucky. I think it’s a big way to do my part in society. So I think it’s really cool that I get to do that this year and I feel like it’s just a whole other level of growing into adulthood,” Warren said.
Many high school students look forward to voting, and many may not. The truth is, that’s okay. Not everyone’s first time voting is the first chance they had.
Meagan Ruport is a United States Government teacher and Women’s Studies teacher at Olathe West. She reflects on her past experiences regarding high school and voting.
“I was a little bit older. I actually turned 18 the day after a presidential election my senior year. But honestly if it would have been before that I probably still wouldn’t have voted, and wouldn’t have felt informed enough yet, so my first time voting would have been four years after that while I was in college, in a presidential election year,” Ruport said.
It is important that we educate ourselves. But it is equally important that we don’t miseducate ourselves in attempt to do so. High schoolers tend to lean toward social media for their political information.
Senior Kaylie Stone, who is already registered to vote, reflects on how she gets her political information.
“I don’t really watch the news or anything like that. Most [information] comes from what my parents are telling me is going on, or what my friends at school are telling me is going on, or what I see posted on Instagram. I think I stay pretty up-to-date on national politics, but definitely not as much as some other people,” Stone said.
The ways we receive our political information have developed as generations pass on their knowledge to the next one.
Seniors must rise to the challenges of addressing the responsibilities of the future. We must continue educating ourselves and others, and facing our emotions head-on, whether political participation makes us nervous, excited, or a bit luckier than most.
“I remember being in government class, just like I teach now, but not really understanding the importance of it as an individual. I don’t think I took the class [seriously] enough to really feel like I personally would make a change,” Ruport said. “I think that’s one thing I’m striving to attempt to do with our government kids today, is helping them to understand it is really important to be an informed voter and to get out there.”
This story was originally published on Owl Post on August 30, 2024.
