What’s recently happened?
Red and white graduation caps were flung into the air as the Munster High School (MHS) Class of 2023 had its commencement ceremony on June 4.
“It was surreal to graduate,” Costa Tsakopoulos, a graduated senior, said. “I have made many good memories to look back on and have learned many lessons throughout my high school years that I will carry with me.”
Leading up to the commencement ceremony, the seniors cherished their last week of school. On May 21, the Sunday before their last Monday of high school, the seniors gathered in the school parking lot with buckets of sidewalk chalk. They spent time with one another as they decorated their parking spots.
On the last day of school, May 25, a U-Haul filled with water balloons awaited the seniors in the school parking lot. As the final school bell rang, they met outside and organized their own water balloon fight.
“It really wasn’t until the final weeks of school that it really sunk in that this was it,” Tsakopoulos said. “It was important for us seniors to make sure that we cherished every moment that we had left and that we ended it off with things to look back on and smile about.”
What’s coming up?
The MHS graduates are looking forward to their next chapter beyond MHS. A multitude of experiences at MHS have greatly shaped and solidified the future pathways for several of the graduated seniors.
Austin Beetson, graduated senior, is grateful for being a part of MHS’s incubator class. Beetson was a “student aid” for the class, but he used the class time to 3D print and build prototypes for the business students. He has always wanted to be an engineer, as he is going to Purdue University - West Lafayette to major in mechanical engineering technology. However, he is now planning on minoring in business.
“Without the incubator class and help from Mrs. Kristen LaFletch, business teacher, I would not be anywhere close to where I am today,” Beetson said. “Whether it is showing off products I designed or just public speaking in general, I have become more confident in myself. ”
Jillian Childs, graduated senior, has been able to get a crucial head start into her career path. With MHS’s provided dual education with the Area Career Center (ACC), Childs was able to secure her required high school credits while becoming a licensed EMT in Indiana and Florida.
“As I attend college in Florida to study nursing, I know that the ACC’s EMT program has given me a big advantage,” Childs said. “I have already actively treated patients during clinicals and practiced IVs. I have had many great opportunities to gain that firsthand experience.”
Staff spotlight:
Winning 18 conference championships, seven sectionals, two regionals, and having a 437-126 record during his 23 years of coaching, Mike Hackett, varsity boys’ basketball coach, is extremely passionate about coaching and the sport itself.
Hackett played basketball and baseball at Michigan City Elston High School. He then went on to play basketball at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana.
“I love the game of basketball,” Hackett said. “I loved playing it, and now I love coaching it. I love the competition and the comradery involved with the game. It is fun to take a group and try to mold it into a successful unit.”
Hackett tries his best to be the best coach he can be for a sport that is important to him. He stresses that preparation, communication, and discipline are all key factors to being a good coach.
“As a coach you must prepare your team for anything and everything that the opponent might do,” Hackett said. “The coach must be able to communicate to his players in a way that they can understand.”
As he looks forward to the next season, Hackett is excited as the team will be filled with seniors that have all played together for a long time. The players have already begun preparing for the season by lifting weights, playing summer league games, and practicing various skills.
“Our main focus for next season will be to try and continue our winning ways,” Hackett said. “We are all looking forward to a fun and successful season.”
Student spotlight:
“School just didn’t feel real, it felt optional,” said Senior Kamila Navarro.
Navarro was a freshman when the school year came to a halt with covid. As she went into her sophomore year as an in-person student, she did not expect the school days to consist of an excessive amount of time on one simple task mixed with long, overwhelming downtime in the classroom.
“I remember in my first hour, I would spend the whole hour just doing the bellringer then do nothing else,” Navarro said. “I would also have enough downtime to watch at least three movies each day.”
From binging “the Maze Runner” and the whole “Hunger Games” series, she felt that during the COVID-19 school year she gained little to no learning skills and more bad habits. Navarro got comfortable with the long periods of time to complete her assignments and the leniency that the teachers showed toward latework. This comfortability followed her into her junior school year.
“I struggled making the transition back into the regular school routine,” Navarro said. “It was a hard hit because I had to review all the lessons that I ‘learned’ during the past two years and had to refine my time management skills to do homework. I no longer had the time to complete it during class.”
As she took on her senior year, Navarro reflected on the fact that she did not have a normal year of high school until this year. She, at times, thinks about what her high school experience would have been like if COVID-19 was nonexistent.
“Now that it is a normal year, I feel that I am meeting all these new people and actually getting the chance to talk to people,” Navarro said. “I could have had all this fun two years ago, but because of COVID, I didn’t have that chance.”
With her Canon SX740 HS camera, she captured the memories of her last and only normal year of high school. She has been filming little moments since the first day of school, and compiled a video collage of all the moments combined.
“I just carry the camera along with me to be able to look back and remember this fun-filled year,” Navarro said. “The first football game, Homecoming Court, Turnabout Court. Just all the little moments to some of the most memorable.”