![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)
Kaeley Pearce, a senior at West High was born on April 10, 2007, 16 short hours after her father passed away. Managing the loss of her father was hard for Pearce. She began her dancing journey at only 7 years old. A way to express her emotions and the grief that came with losing a loved one in a form of physical and mental activity.
Pearce is involved in her third year on the West High dance team. While trying other extracurriculars, Pearce says that dance has always come first. Trying different studios and taking a break from her own team has shown Pearce discipline, time management and confidence.
On Jan. 15, 2025 Pearce performed her final high school solo at the West High Dance Showcase. Pearce brought emotion and sensation to the crowd moving the room to tears. Pearce dedicated her solo to her late father Andrew. “Ashes” was choreographed by her coach Jensen Steinbronn, who helped make sure Pearce’s vision came to life.
“While we were creating the dance we talked about emotions that I want to express because the ultimate goal was to inspire others, tell my story, honor my dad but also to have an outlet for me and my emotions,” Pearce says.
Up until the showcase Pearce had never performed with a photo of her father let alone a prop of any kind, this simple yet heartfelt commemoration of Andrew brought Pearce to tears saying, “I’ve never cried on stage in my 10 years of dancing because that is what you are taught, the show must go on no matter what- but I was feeling the emotions so heavily that I couldn’t help it and I think I not only touched but inspired many many people who are also going through such an unfortunate loss.”
Leah Kalsem, a West High senior and four year dance team returner, has watched Pearce improve over the years, from teammate to friend. Kalsem says, “Kaeley has never let her dads passing tear her down, she’s heavily motivated by her dad and always lets him know that she’s doing big things on earth in his honor of him and it is truly inspiring. she’s one of strongest people I know and I am so proud of how far she has come.”
Andrew Pearce, a West High alumni who graduated in the spring of 2002 was a compassionate, considerate and diligent father. Before Andrew’s passing, he worked two jobs to support Pearce and her mother.
Shortly after an unforeseen wave of fatigue would hit Andrew and stop his work efforts.
Dozens of hospital visits would follow this sudden increase in tiredness and exhaustion. Andrew was diagnosed with pneumonia, an infection that inflames both lungs and may cause an overflow of fluid and pus in the air-ways.
Andrew’s family would soon find out that he had Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a condition that occurs when the body produces too many abnormal lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. A diagnosis that was made too late. Andrew lost his life due to an untreated misdiagnosis.
Andrews passing did not only affect Pearce. Andrew was a beloved father, son, brother and uncle. Michelle Medhaug, Pearce’s grandmother and Andrew’s mother has dealt with the unimaginable grief that comes with losing a child.
“As his passing was a devastating and complete surprise, he gave me a gift to carry on. I was at a sudden shock, numb to life. Something no mom or parent should face. Coping was a challenge, I was very blessed and fortunate to have Kaeley with me. She looks like him, she laughs, like him, a part of him beats inside of her heart,” Medhaug says.
Medhaug is one of Pearce’s biggest supporters saying, “Kaeley has been my inspiration to be the grandma I was gifted to be. To show her unconditional love, to turn a tragedy into a testimony. Throughout her young life, Kaeley has a gift. She is soft spoken, has a big heart, and has dedication without any reserve. Kaeley has a drive. To say I’m proud of her is completely accurate and admirable. Little does she know just how much she has helped me to be strong, courageous, and completely vulnerable at times, too.”
After high school Pearce plans to attend Hawkeye Community College to study police science and join their dance team. Pearce received a $1,500 scholarship to become a retail dancer and plans to continue her passion throughout college.
“I feel like grief is something that never goes away, and I also think that coping is almost impossible when you go through a loss like this. I wouldn’t say that I ever coped with the situation, I more so just adapted to it,” Pearce says.
The sudden loss of a parent is an unimaginable type of grief and Pearce has pushed herself to use her story as a way to show others what they are capable of even while mourning a loss. Pearce is dancing for a purpose, she is dancing for her dad.
This story was originally published on The Wahawk Insider on February 26, 2025.