What’s recently happened?
On December 19, Chesterton High School (CHS) held a Holiday Trivia Night in the cafeteria. The night was hosted by the CHS Student Government representatives from the Class of 2027. Donations for the current sophomore class were accepted throughout the night to help raise money for any expenses that may come up during their senior year. During Trivia Night, teacher and student teams gathered to compete against each other and test their knowledge of holiday trivia and other miscellaneous topics.
Teams at Trivia Night were served drinks and snacks and were strongly encouraged to dress up and decorate their team’s table, with the opportunity to win gift certificates to Gelsosomo’s Pizzeria if they came in the best holiday attire or had the best table decorating skills.
Luke Starkey, one of CHS’s economics teachers, was the trivia host of the night. He arrived dressed in a dazzling holiday suit and read trivia questions to the participating teams.
Dominic Rhed, CHS senior and trivia participant, said the night was very fun, and his group was one of the two teams to win a Gelsosomo’s gift certificate.
What’s coming up?
On Saturday, January 11, the CHS show choirs, The Drifters and The Sandpipers, and their backup band, The Business, will host a performance showcase for the upcoming competition season.
This night is an opportunity for students, families, and community members to celebrate the CHS show choir groups and wish them luck before they begin competing the following weekend. The Drifters will perform their show, “Shattered,” and the Sandpipers will perform “Homecoming Spirit Week.”
At the event, supporters can purchase snacks and Good Luck Ducks for show choir members and performers. This event also serves as a fundraiser for the show choirs and helps these groups with any costs that come with the competition season.
“The winter showcase is an amazing opportunity for us to show what we have been working on the past few months. It allows us to have a great performance under our belt before we go out competing in our many competitions. The support of our families and friends gives us an awesome boost to have a great season,” said CHS Senior and Show Choir Member Cooper Fowler.
The showcase will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at https://cur8.com/15468/project/128112 or at the door on the day of the event. However, it is recommended that tickets be purchased online so seating is guaranteed.
Staff spotlight:
Luke Starkey is an economics teacher at CHS. He has been a teacher for 18 years and taught at Merrillville High School and Chesterton Middle School before finding his place at CHS. Since Starkey grew up in Northwest Indiana, he knew about Chesterton’s school system and was interested in pursuing his teaching career there.
“I grew up in the Lakes of the Four Seasons and live in Valparaiso. I knew that Chesterton had a great school system, so when there was an opening, I made sure to jump at it,” Starkey said.
After high school, Starkey went to Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana University Northwest to earn his undergraduate degree. He also attended the University of Delaware to earn his master’s degree and graduated with a 4.0 grade point average. Starkey knew teaching was the career path he wanted to pursue because of his family – his biggest role model – and their involvement in teaching.
“Many people in my family are/were teachers—my parents, grandparents, cousins, etc. I grew up around education and knew I wanted to do something with social studies. My family is my biggest role model and each member of my family has characteristics that I try to uphold ” said Starkey.
Outside of school, Starkey keeps himself busy coaching various sports to his students.
“I have coached middle school cross country, Boys Basketball, and Girls Basketball. I have also coached junior varsity and varsity volleyball and have been the freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity assistant Girls Basketball coach throughout the past 18 years,” said Starkey.
In his free time, Starkey can be found running or hiking. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and his dog. Starkey takes pride in his hard work and willingness to try new things. He is dedicated to his students and hopes they can use the material they learn in his classroom in real life.
Student spotlight:
Sophia Persin is a current senior at CHS. She has gone to Duneland schools her whole life and is working hard to finish her high school career and begin college. After college, she plans to pursue a job in nursing.
Persin initially became interested in nursing because of its versatility and because of her desire to help others.
“I think about why I would like to go into nursing quite often, but I feel like the main reason is that nursing is so vast and there are so many possibilities and opportunities to learn. To know how to help people when needed is also another reason,” said Persin.
Although nursing is her main career focus right now, it is not the only job Persin has considered before.
“The goal right now is nursing, but if time, schooling, and cost didn’t matter, I think it would be enjoyable to be a lawyer or something a little less heavy, like a wedding planner or a florist,” Persin said.
Persin is involved in the CHS Vocational program for a second year and is currently taking Health Science II. She takes this course at the Porter County Career and Technical Center and will obtain her CNA license through this class as well. She is also the president of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) in her Health Science vocational.
“I am currently in Health Science II, which is commonly known as the CNA course at the Porter County Career and Technical Center. I learn so much every day and enjoy my time in class with people who share the same goal as me. I loved Health Science I, so I wanted to further my vocational journey by completing Health Science II,” said Persin.
Persin keeps a busy schedule outside of school and her vocational by participating in the CHS National Honor Society, volunteering at the CHS Library Cafe, and working at Culver’s. She has worked at Culver’s for around two years and has lots of experience working in different positions each shift.
“I would like to call myself an experienced worker as I have done all of the upfront positions, but mainly I work with the custard. I fulfill orders, communicate with guests/coworkers, do back-of-house tasks, and so much more. My favorite parts are my coworkers and just the overall atmosphere. I don’t think there is a shift I worked where I haven’t laughed,” said Persin.
After high school, Persin plans to attend Ivy Tech Community College. Here, she will take two years to obtain a nursing license and then will consider returning to school for a bachelor's degree in nursing. Staying local will help Persin get an education while also saving money for her future.