may-june 2014 steinmetz star

Notable students

Adriana Latuzcek, Sabrina Ruf-folo and Justyna Szczech and applied for and were awarded Early College Program (ECP) Scholarships to the School of the Art Institute this sum-mer. They are enrolled in figure draw-ing classes.

Senior Marcos Gabriel won one of the three Audience Choice Awards from the All-City Exhibit. He received a plaque as well as a gift card to Blick art supplies.

Christophe Bedu, Alexandra Gonzalez, and Judy Lobello won the Steinmetz Mother’s Day essay contest. Each received a card and $50 to spend on their moms. •

Steinmetz StarVolume 79, Number 5, May-June 2014

Valedictorian Vanessa Colin at the top of the classCongratulations Class of 2014

Ms. Jabour, Ms. Grant, Mr. Henry, Sgt. Hill to retire

Mr. Ngo applauds students’ great work Six Illinois state scholars

By Vanessa Colin

Being part of the Top Ten was not an easy task to accomplish, especially with all the work that comes from being

an IB student. There are endless amounts of homework and sleepless nights that tend to be overwhelming and stressful. But this does not just come with being an IB student; this comes with being a high school student.

So, no matter who we might be, we should all take pride in everything that we have all accomplished.

Each one of us overcame many struggles; we should all be recognized and take pride in surviving high school.

The key for me in surviving high school and being part of the Top Ten was time man-agement. I also avoided drama and had that special someone to lean on when things be-came overwhelming to handle on my own.

I would always skip lunch and just go to the library and work on any homework I was given. It does sound like a nerdy thing to do, but I didn’t mind because I knew it will benefit me in the end.

Ever since elementary school I would always keep to myself and not socialize as much and this carried on to high school as well. Many of you will think this was crazy, but I found it rather normal because in my classes I will just focus on getting done what was supposed to be done.

However, outside of school I was some-what of a different person, especially when it came to soccer season both my junior and senior year. Soccer was something new that I tried out and I am glad I took a risk and was part of it. I met new friends and I was able to forget the stress that came from being in IB. Although it was difficult to balance soccer and school, with time management it wasn’t so difficult for me to handle.

Seniors Don John Stage (above) and Vanessa Colin, Alejandra Sanchez, Taylor

Silvestri, Karla Solis and Melissa Valdespino (pictured above in Top Ten photo) were

named Illinois State Scholars based on their excellent grades and test scores.

The students with the highest grade point averages (GPA) in the Class of 2014 (from bottom, left): Luz Miranda, Alejandra Sanchez, Karla Solis, Taylor Silvestri, Vanessa Colin, Sabrina Ma-zon, Melissa Valdespino, Tonatiu Morales, Rogelio Nepomunceno, and Ashley Aquino

Continued on Page 4

By Stephen Ngo, principal

Dear Class of 2014,

We are all so proud of you. Earning a high school diploma is evidence of grit, perse-verance, and hard work. These same qualities will carry you far into the future.

Never forget that you are part of the greater Steinmetz family. You must return and visit often.

Your mission here as students is complete, but you will always be life-long ambassadors for your

school and role models to the students who follow behind you.

I wish you every success in

the world!Cheers, Mr. Ngo •

Principal Ngo with senior class officers Michael Amaya, Kielvin Bariso, Moriah Belt and Zaina President

Math teacher Beverly Grant taught for 26 years, all of them at Steinmetz. She

said one of the highlights of her career was “working with some re-ally spectacular dedicated teachers, staff and students.”

During her tenure she started the Math Club to compete in the Chicago Math Competitions, ad-vised the Key Club, and taught in the first years of the IB program. She also enjoyed taking a group

of girls to a “Day for Women” at Argon labs teaching some of the students to ice skate.

She said she plans to spend time travelling in a pop-up camper.: “I’m also going to organize my life and have lots and lots of fun!”

Counselor Tamara Jabour will move soon after her retirement this June to Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and dog Lily. They have a daughter who lives in Nash-ville as well as Ms. Jabour’s sister.

Ms. Jabour worked for 34 years in the Chicago public schools. She began as a kindergarten teacher at Harvard Elementary and also taught at Funston and Oscar May-er, where she became a guidance counselor. She then worked for 24 years as a counselor; her last ten have been at Steinmetz.

This year Ms. Jabour taught three classes of senior seminar. She said she liked getting back to teaching, although she joked about

the maturity level of the students:“I began my career teaching

kindergartners; I’m ending it teaching kindergartners!”

Science teacher David Henry will retiree this year after nine years at Steinmetz. He taught for a total of 35 years.

“I hope I made a positive differ-ence in the lives of the thousands of students that were in my classes or in the swim program,” he said.

Continued on 4

2 Steinmetz Star May - June 2014

Star Seniors and Alumni2Steinmetz

StarSteinmetz College Prep High School

3030 N. Mobile, Chicago IL 60641

773-534-3030, Star office (x) 25241

Email: [email protected]

School website: www.steinmetzac.com

“Steinmetz Newspaper” link

Principal: Mr. Stephen Ngo Assistant principals: Mr. Jaime Jaramillo Ms. Cheryl Williams Ms. Ruquiyah Rahman-Aquil Budget director: Mr. Paul Chase

Star adviser: Ms. Sharon Schmidt

Editor-in-chief: Michael Amaya

Layout: Mateusz Gasienica

Journalism class reporters, Room 333Luis Avila, Samantha Ayala, Leyla Bazan, Ahrell Cua, Christina Davenport, Ariani DeJesus, Javier Delgado, Monica Frackowiak, Tavonna Howard, Valeria Huerta, Patrycja Jarzabek, Chakiya Jennings, Kamari Joiner, Carissa Knox, Judy Lobello, Zuleyma Martinez, Carmelita Mendez, Daisy Najera, Hailey O’Brien, Valerie Padilla, Erick Panfilo, Elizabeth Pineda, Vicky Rivera, Shay Sanders, Asia Sims, Brandon Smith, Danielle Stencel, Emely Valdez

Newspaper club reporters: Aida Abarca, Yadira Abarca, Juan Alvarez, Cynthia Arroyo, Maria Barajas, Lissette Barcenas, Kielvin Bariso, Victoria Boccia, Jessbelle Bronski, Alexander Camacho, Joanna Colin, Edmund Dones, Marcos Gabriel, Kala Geralds, Savannah Gon-zalez, Serlecia Jones, Ahmad Hamdan, Rikeya Hargrove, Alejandro Hernandez, Anthony Kowalczyk, Anthony Lagunas, Nayeli Martinez, Lupe Medina, Dalia Mena, Karen Nava, Taj Newson, Viv-ian Palma, David Pravinchandra, Phil-lip Quezada, Marisha Reynolds, Elianis Rosado, Emily Santiago, Karla Solis, Koya Scott, Jaylon Smith, Rad Stasik, Justyna Szczech, Quijna Walton, Jalan Veal, Brenda Villegas

The Newspaper Club meets on Mon-days after school in Room 333.

The Steinmetz Star welcomes letters to the editor, corrections, comments, and bylined articles from all members of the Steinmetz community.

Printing: Mr. Hugh Hefner’s October 2013 donation to the Star covers the costs of printing the paper at NewsWeb Corporation, Chicago. •

High school: A mixed bag of memoriesBy Michael Amaya, Editor-In-Chief

High school is definitely an odd time; some of the best and worst times of our teenage years happen within these four years. Since graduation is upon us, I’ll keep my reminis-

cence of high school positive. A handful of great friends and some teachers made my time

here amazing. But in all honesty I cant wait to see what the future holds. College will be an exciting new chapter for (most of ) us.

It’s going to suck saying goodbye and knowing you’ll lose touch with people you’ve seen on a daily basis day for four years. But high school is just a small chunk of our lives and there will be Facebook and Twitter (if those websites are still relevant when we’re older), so this isn’t goodbye. It’s more of a “see you soon” (once the awkward teenage years of our lives are over).

Now for the shout-outs: I’m not going to list friends just because I don’t want someone to read this and get mad he or she didn’t get a shout-out even if we only had like three actual conversations during the four years here. Instead I’ll use this as a thank you to the teachers.

First and foremost, I can’t thank Ms. Schmidt enough for what she’s helped me with. It’s thanks to her that a shy sophomore bookworm who kept to himself came out of his shell and became a vocal senior who tried things I wouldn’t have imagined.

My junior year journalism class is still one of my favorites in all of high school. Ms. Schmidt was one of the first teachers I met who cared about what students had to say and actually listened. She’ll turn this back on me and give me the credit, but thanks to her I received an award and scholarship that’ll go a long way in helping me with college.

Another special shout-out goes to Ms. S. (Gina Szulkowski). I only met her the start of senior year but she’s already one of my favorite people in the building. She put so much trust and faith in me that a lot people don’t usually give students. She is one of those amazing teachers that works to educate students and has a passion for what they do, it’s not just a job to her.

Some quick thank yous to Ms. Russo, Mr. Sutphen (who prob-ably won’t see this), and basically every English teacher I had in my time here. They just got better as the years went on, making for some of my favorite classes (even though all of them strategi-cally had maternity leave during time I had them as teacher: Ms. Perez, Ms. Stubber, and Ms. Walsh).

Congrats class of 2014 — these were a weird couple of years.•

Congratulations, seniors. Did you know the Steinmetz Alumni Association is one of the largest, most active high

school alumni associations in the United States? We could not have earned that repu-tation without everyone’s help.

Why join? We hope to help continue friendships developed while in school.

It costs only $25 for five years or $12 for two years. You will then receive at least three

newsletters per year which will enable you to keep informed of classmates, alumni activi-ties such as the free annual picnic, notice of class reunions, school activities, e-mail listings and other information in which you may be interested.

We also try to assist the reunion commit-tees with the class lists and help in locating addresses of “missing” classmates

Check out our web site: steinmetzalumni.

org. You can join via paypal or make check out to the Steinmetz Alumni Association.Mail to:

Steinmetz Alumni Association 3030 N Mobile, Chicago, IL 60634Or just drop your application (name,

phone, address, year of graduation) and money off in the office.

Any questions? Contact Dan Altobello, 708-567-7709, [email protected]•

Class of 2014: Join the Steinmetz Alumni Association

“I will miss the teachers like Mr. Arroyo, Ms. Russo, Ms. S., Mrs. Schmidt, and Mrs. Dunne. I’m going to miss all the security guards (thanks for not taking my ID), especially Fred, Sam, and Greg. They kept my head on straight throughout these four years.”

Zaina President

“I will miss the senior teach-ers Ms. DeJesus, Mr. Henry, Mr. Arroyo, Ms. Rieger, and Mr. Kotcherha because they looked after us like they were our own parents by making sure we had our grades up.”

Emmanuel Lagunas

“Voy a extranar las bromas en la escuela, y a mi maes-tra Ms. Serritella. Me llevo muchas experiencias boni-tas de high school.”

Lucero Rivera

“I will miss my friends Dennis, Luigi, Gerald, and Sammy. I will also miss all of my teachers such as Ms. Sullivan, Mr. Henry, Ms. Buckmaster, Mr. Rittmeyer. While I was here I swam on the team and played soccer. ‘Drop bass, not grades.’”

Abraham Velazquez

“I will miss my coaches and Ms. Russo!”

Kaylon Smith

Submitted by Franky Feliciano

May - June 2014 Steinmetz Star 3

Star Opinion 3

Letters to the Star Editor

What will you miss about Steinmetz?

May 23, 2014Five years at the same high school isn’t an easy thing

to do. I hope it doesn’t happen to anybody else because it really sucks. You get picked on, and teachers joke around, saying “what are you still doing here?” It’s just a sad thing to hear.

But if it happens to somebody, and that somebody gets to the finish line, it feels good that you actually made it. You can show everyone that it was a worthy thing to do and that you made it happen.

The reason I was at Steinmetz for five years is because of my stupidity in my junior year. I wasn’t attending school that much, even though I did have good grades. The day when I got dropped was the day it changed my whole life. I was like, what am I doing? What am I going to do next? That was the day I thought for the first time (since a long time) about my future.

I signed up back to school the day the Class of 2013 were actually seniors, and I was a junior again instead of a senior. It was really tough for me, seeing my classmates being all happy it was their last year.

I really hope nobody goes through that because it takes a strong person to actually survive. If I could go back in time, I would. But then again I’m really glad where I am now, finally at the finish line.

The reason that I’m making it this year is because of the teachers I have for my classes and counselor. He helped me get through a lot. I really like when some teachers don’t give me a hard time in their class because what I had been through. I really appreciate them doing that, because they know I had been already through that.

Sincerely, Adrianna Czech

A ‘demote’ makes itSenior SeminarMay 18, 2014My senior year was full of surpris-

es, and a lot of learning experiences. I learned many things about growing up, and getting used to the fact that the real world is not as simple as you think.

I will admit that this year is ex-tremely stressful, but with the help of my senior seminar class it made it much easier.

Many students have said that it’s a pointless class, but in reality they have their opinions and I have my own. I love my senior seminar class. Having a counselor in that class made

it so much easier. We were able to ask questions about FAFSA, and different scholarships.

I love the communication I have with all the counselors. They support my plans, and they’ve helped me make up my mind.

Before senior seminar was estab-lished I had a hard time deciding my major, and had almost no interest in it. They’ve helped me along with many other students.

College is obviously not for everyone but they have given students many op-portunities and ideas on career choices. These counselors work extremely hard

every day because they’re not just coun-selors but they serve as teachers. They grade papers, make lesson plans, and obviously teach classes. Apart from this they organize schedules, talk to parents, and still listen to many students every day. They always make time for stu-dents and sometimes barely have time for themselves. Trust me I walk in every morning and try to help them in any way I can.

I respect this class and consider it my favorite; I love all of the counselors and interns that work extremely hard. I will never forget them or my senior year.

Sincerely, Lissette Barcenas

(Below): Lissette Barcenas (with her teacher, counselor Yaritza DeJesus) praises Ms. DeJesus and counselors Deono Powell (above) and Tamara Jabour for their work teaching senior seminar.

.”


Star Seniors: Top Ten4

But I have to admit, there were many times where I could not han-dle the pressure and stress and I would end up breaking down and feeling as if I could no longer handle everything that was thrown my

By Melissa Valdespino

In order to have good grades I had to have great time manage-ment. Being in IB requires more

work and so I spent a lot of nights working on homework, projects and labs. Overall, I just set my priorities straight and did what I had to do instead of complaining about it.

I think I helped myself become such an academic success. At the end of the day you have to want it, not your teachers or your parents but yourself. I pushed myself and that’s how I got here.

I participated in both volleyball and soccer all four years at Steinmetz. I am also part of the Garden Club.

To me what’s been really important has been staying true to myself. I have grown as a person and changed for the better but to please myself and myself only. My friends have also been very important to me through high school.

The best advice I can give to others is to list your priorities. If you plan on being successful in life, you need to push yourself and hang around people who also want you to succeed. Don’t think about dumb stuff that won’t matter in five years. Stop complaining and do it; being successful isn’t easy. If it was, everyone

would be successful.I’m attending Trinity Christian

College in the fall. Go Trolls! I plan on double majoring in criminal justice and psychology. I’m applying for an intern-ship with the FBI junior year of college. If everything goes as planned, I’ll be working for the FBI some day.

I will miss my soccer team so much! Those girls are truly my family! I will also miss my teachers and the school garden. Other than that, I’m ready to go.

Soccer was by far the most fun time ever. Everyone was amazing! I’m proud to say that we won conference this year and Steinmetz will be a premier team next year!

Shoutout to Mr. Lichaj (A.K.A can-kles) for being a jerk and pushing me to be not only a good soccer player but a great student, gardener and all around a good person.

Also to Ms. Carter for being there academically, es-pecially through everything that came with senior year.

Ms. Barnes for being Barnes and always being there for me with open arms as I walked into the room with my wagon full of problems.

Last, but not least, Husna Afzal. Thank you for being you and being a wonderful friend and pushing me day after day. I might be going to college, but I’ll be there for you during every step of your senior year! I love you, Pompee! •

Focused on success

Planning to teach

Being true to self is most important

way. Even if I am number one in the class, it does not mean that I’m a robot because I’m not. I have had my flaws, mistakes, and my limits pushed.

Let’s face it, we all have gone through those breaking moments but what helps is having just that one person who will be there for you. Having that one person who will hold your hand, look you in the eyes and say that everything will be okay. It sounds corny but it’s true.

My advice to everyone is no matter who we might be, we all matter and we have to push our-selves to success no matter how im-possible it might seem. Whenever we stumble and fall down, wipe off the dust and continue on to the road of our own success.

Thank you to all my teachers from freshman to senior year, all my friends that I made along the way, and my high school sweet-heart. •

Hard work will pay offThanks, teachers

By Tonatiu Morales

The teachers that I’ve had throughout my years at Steinmetz have contrib-

uted in many ways to help me be successful. I am in huge debt with them for giving me all their time and dedication. Thank you so much!

My parents also helped in the process of of becoming an academ-ic success by keeping me motivat-ed throughout the past four years. When times were really tough they helped me to stay focused and mo-tivated. That’s something that no one will ever be able to do for me and I’m thankful for them.

My advice to others is to go to school. That’s the best investment that you can make towards being successful in life. Set goals so that with hard work and dedication you may be able to accomplish them.

I will miss all of the teachers and the staff at Steinmetzf. I will also miss all of the friends that I’ve made throughout these four4 years.I’d like to give a shout out to my friends: Jorge, Eazy-E (Eliseo), Diego ,Melissa, Rogelio, Gerardo, Francisco, Jaime (Suarez and Gar-cia), Anthony G. And there are many more.

Shout out to all of the teachers and staff that make up Steinmetz. Each one of you is very important in making Steinmetz the school that it is today and I thank you for your service. •

By Luz Miranda

I maintained my Top Ten ranking by making sure I

was always concen-trated and focused solely on my grades. I not only did it to make my parents proud but I wanted to achieve some-thing greater.

Being the first female generation in my family (mother’s side) to go to college has been a goal ever since the begin-ning. I decided to give the best of me and try as hard as I can to be the person my little sisters would look up to.

I believe that all my teachers helped me academically. However, I believe that my dedication and concentration helped me through-out my four years of high school.

During my freshman year and part of my sophomore year, I was probably the laziest in my class. I always thought I was the most unintelligent. I would always say that and actually started to believe it. Nevertheless, I decided to work harder, setting my goals higher each school year. I became an academic success because I pushed myself to become what I was meant to be.

Besides academics I was in the National Honors Society, elected for the Service position. I am also a youth group leader in my local church where I help organize fun-draisers and activities to help fund the church and our youth group. I also love making art. It is the only activity that is therapeutic to me.

I would recommend others to focus on grades and tests. I regret not studying for my ACTs and get-ting my GPA higher.

Although I am a good student and an “academic success”, I still could’ve done way better. I espe-

cially regret getting a 20 on my ACTs and not a 22 because, ac-cording to new ISBE rules, I could have used an above-22 ACT to re-place another required test for teacher

certification. It would’ve been nice for me to already be set. My final advice is to not screw around and waste time. You’ll have plenty of time for that when you’re out of high school.

I am going to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). My plans there is to basically do the same thing I did in high school: to appre-ciate the opportunity I was given.

I plan to be a teacher. An art teacher would be fine but in reality I would be blessed with any subject I end up having to teach. I am a Golden Apple Scholar so I will be going each summer for an intern-ship at DePaul University, where I will be teaching middle school students. I am looking forward to every summer now.

When I finish my four years of college I will be teaching in a school of need for five years. When I’m done with that, who knows where life would be taking me next.I will obviously miss the teachers and staff. What I will not miss is the students. I have been really anti-social.

I would like to give a shout out to all the teachers that influenced me: Ms. Carter, Ms. Mark, Ms. Ferrarini, Mr. Lichaj, Mr. Am-douni, Mr. Mink, Ms. Ochwat, Ms. Barnes, Ms. Eshoo, and Ms. Jabour. They’re the teachers I will never forget. •

By Alejandra Sanchez

Iworked really hard my four years to be able to achieve the success I have, There were days where

I didn’t sleep all night just to fin-ish an assignment that was due the next day or just to study to be able to pass my test. There was times where I couldn’t go out with friends or spend time with my family be-cause of the amount of work that I had to do.

My parents definitely had a big impact in my academic success. They always reminded me of what I was capable of doing and sup-ported me through my four years in high school and continue to do so. They were always checking on me during those long nights and understanding that I had to do all that to be able to pass a class.

Teachers were a big help, all my IB teachers throughout these four years impacted me in one way or another, which helped me reached my success. My boyfriend also pushed me and supported me in everything

Another activity I did was play on the soccer team all four years. I had some very fun times, espe-cially my senior year because we won conference again and made it to city quarterfinals. Thanks to the team’s effort and Lichaj being a jerk at times, we were able to ac-complish what we did.

Some advice I would give younger students is that you got to do what you got to do, meaning if you have to pass up a party just to finish an assignment then pass the party up because in the end all your hard work will pay off.

I plan on studying psychology at UIC and go to graduate school and specialize in child psychology.

I will miss playing soccer here, my friends, and some of the teach-ers (not all). I will miss the small activities that we had here like the

chalk fest, spirit week, etc. What I will not miss is the drama people would cause.

I want to give a shout out to Ms. Carter for supporting me and my classmates, for telling us what we needed to know about college, always caring about what we did and pushing us to do our best in her class and in the IB program in general. She would always tell us things straight up and I really appreciate everything she did for us and always reminding me about division.

I also want to give a shout out to Mr.Lichaj, even though he an-noyed me at times and made me mad he was always there for me and helped me through a lot and always pushed me and made me release my full potential. He helped me accomplish things I didn’t know I could accomplish and he always put up with the stupid things I did. He helped me become a better soc-cer player, and better student, and person.

To Ms. Ferrarini for putting up with my IB class and helping us with all the tests and teaching us our TOK class and to all my IB teachers — I want to thank all of you for helping me and to my friends for making these four years unforgettable.

Also to my amazing boyfriend for always being there and support-ing me, helping me get through everything and helping me strive for better, he helped me and con-tinues to help me get through any challenges that I come across.•

Continued from Page 1


Star Seniors: Top Ten 5

By Karla Solis

It’s no secret that I’m pretty much a nerd. People are always telling me that I’m smart. That is only partially true; what I am is hard working. Being

hard working is how everyone can be “smart.” There is no magic brain juice or some type of fancy vaccine that you can take to be a good student. If you want to get good grades, good test scores, and have a lot of knowledge you should put a whole bunch of effort into it. You can’t expect for it to simply happen on its own!

Also, do not blame teachers for having low grades. I have managed to get straight A’s all through high school with the same teachers that you say are failing you because they don’t like you. You cannot solely rely on the information that the teachers give you if you want to be comfortably prepared. Use the Internet for extra help. Don’t just settle for passing grades, aim for an A. Take honors and AP classes too!

Doing well in school also involves a lot of time management skills. I have been in the recycling club, the archery team, the marathon team, the Stand Up Stand Out club, the cross country team, and the track team here at Steinmetz. Clubs and sports are extremely fun and you meet awesome people! Sure they’re pretty time consuming, but they will add interesting things to your high school experience. There’s something for everyone out there!

For those who are heading off to college, I know that it’s going to be a change from what we’re used to at Steinmetz, but as long as you try your absolute best you will be happy with the results. We will need some time to adjust to the college life, but we’ll probably get the hang of it once the first semester is over. I’m going to miss the teachers here at Steinmetz (yes, all of them).

This fall I will be attending Dominican University to study biology-chemistry. This might lead me to becom-ing a pharmacist, but I’m keeping my options open.

The hard work is not over yet guys! We still have to keep going, so don’t shut off your brain (like, ever). Keep learning new things every day of your life. Now let me give you some tough love: stop making excuses for why you can’t do something, don’t get stuck in your self pity, and get your work done even if you’re so tired that you feel like collapsing (harsh right?).

Well I think that’s enough lecturing for one day, so let me move on to the sappy stuff. My senior year has been filled with great, amazing, fun, awesome friends. They have taught me how to have fun again, which I had forgotten how to do because I was so trapped by school. Thank you to those peeps, especially Cesar because he’s such a wonderful person! I’m not going to say that I’m going to miss them because I will keep bothering them once school ends even if I have to hunt them down… well that’s it. Have a great summer ya’ll, and be kind! •

By Sabrina Mazon

There really is no secret in getting excellent grades. Just simply listen, pay attention, and work hard.

I really had no one to help me in school or with school. I have always been very inde-pendent, and what helped me in my academic success is trying to get out of here and doing better for myself.

I was on the Streaks swim team for two years and my family has been extremely important to me these past four years besides school.

My advice for others is to work hard and try your best.

My college and career plans are to go to Tri-ton for two years and get my nurses certificate then transfer to UIC and get my NP degree and become a pediatrician.

I am going to miss my friends and my coach. Nothing more.

Shout outs to my best friends Sheliee Gal-loza, Camila Ledesma, and Lisette Barcenas. Without them I wouldn’t be able to survive. •

Sports and coaches played a huge role

There’s something out there for everyone — get involved

By Ashley Aquino

Ialways figured out new strategies to study, and constantly stayed up to

date with my grades. I had student portal’s tab always signed in on my phone, and I am connected to my trig-gers to let me know when I started slipping lower than an A, so I could talk ot my teacher’s right away to fix the problem.

My elementary school math teacher Mr. Barral helped me become a success. He helped me grow in multiple ways and always pushed us to succeed. He inspired me to always aim higher and achieve more, as well as my family, who give their moral support and/or opinion on everything I do.

Also important to me are sports, sports, and more sports! I love, love, love softball, and volleyball. They are second nature. I tried basketball, but not such a huge fan of it.

My advice for other students: become a nerd/ teacher’s pet. It helps make your life easier when you can communicate well with a teacher.

I am currently enlisted in the U.S. Army as a 68W (Combat Medic). I will be doing Active Duty, so I won’t be in Chicago or Illinois for that matter.

My contract is for eight years, during which time I will receive an associates degree. After that, if I don’t plan on making a career out of it, I will be a civilian medic. I am already guaranteed a job at a veterans’ hospital to open doors for me for my future career.

I will miss the feeling of being young and carefree (at times). I will definitely not miss the school’s lunch!

I’d like to shout out to the following: Justice Castillo, my girlfriend who is also currently enlisted Active Duty for the U.S. Navy, Nicole Perry, my cousin who works my nerves so much, yet I love dearly, Carleaaaaan, my best friend who I’d do anything for, and everybody else who I’ve missed. Softball girls, volleyball girls, basketball girls, my classmates and all my teachers.

I will definitely miss you all when we graduate. May you all en-joy life, and continue a journey that is nothing but successful and prosperous. •

By Taylor Silvestri

Keeping up your grades in high school is difficult be-cause there are so many

distractions. You have friends, sports, and especially drama. I pushed myself to look past all that and work extremely hard to get to where I am.

I played volleyball all four years and I played softball for three. Being in the IB program it was even harder to keep up with everything because there is so much work and sports take

Planning to teach

up so much of your time. Sports helps your grades because you must maintain a certain gap in order to be eligible to play so you are very consious of your grades.

My advice for other students is to learn time management. This will be an ideal thing for the fu-ture.

I would like to send a huge shout out to Ms. Chaparro who pushed me to be the best I could be. She has always been there for me and she has become like a mother to me. She has played a huge role in my success and I could never repay her for everything she has done.

Also, I would like to send a shout out to Ms. Barnes. She has been there for me as well through every difficult moment that I go through. I will always be grateful for these two people.

My last shout out goes to Mr. Everage who is my twin. We are so alike and I will never meet another person like you.

These past four years at Stein-metz have been amazing, but now I am ready to continue my educa-tion at Illinois Wesleyan and make new memories.•

Family, friends, and sports important

No secret to getting good grades

Don’t procrastinate!

By Rogelio Nepomunceno

There were times where I didn’t have such good grades, but I always managed to pull through. I pushed through all the assignments and I managed to stay in the Top Ten.

My teachers were a big help in my academic success. They always went out of their way to help my classmates and me outside of class.

Some helpful advice to help the lower classmen would be to not procrastinate. Procrastination will lead them to always miss deadlines and turn in late work like myself.

I would like to give a shoutout to Ms. Carter for pushing everyone to do their best in the IB exams.

I would also like to give a shoutout to Mr. Amdouni for al-ways working with me when I needed the help. He never denied help to a student and always did his best to push his students.

The last people I would love to send a shoutout to are my parents. They have been there for me since day one. We have our fights and disagreements, but they have always been by my side. I don’t know where I would be without them.•Shout out to my parents. They have always been by my side.

I don’t know where I’d be without them.

Zaina AlqueroYadira AlvarezMichael AmayaKarylees AlviraLisette Barcenas Christophe BeduMariceli CadenaPatrycja Cztern-astek

Daniel DelgadoElidia DelgadoVanessa DiazMichelle GarciaJanalizze GubaAnthony LagunasKayla MatiasSabrina MazonLuz Miranda

Araceli MojicaTonatiu MoralesFrevelyn NavaKaren NavaXavier NerisStephanie NevarezKeegan OusleyValerie PadillaLovely Pontiveros

Silvia RodriguezDzenana Skend-erovicKarla SolisEvelin StoyanovaMelissa ValdespinoBriana Wesley


Star News6

By Kielvin Bariso

There will never be a day where I will not hide from a sounding danger alert alarm because of the Senior Lock-In,

on May 9-10. I certainly gained PTSD when there was a mock alarm the following Monday, I ran out of the classroom!

The lock-in will be a great memory for those who came and spent the night. One of the activities that went throughout the night, that a student actually suggested, was called

The Purge. This concept was based off a movie that basically you can do whatever you want within 12 hours of the night including mur-der. Obviously there was no murder last night but the feeling of hiding for your life trying to keep quiet definitely kept your adrenaline rushing!

I remember panicking just to hide some-where until I decided to hide inside a locker. The air was hot, I was covering my mouth just to keep quiet, and the Purgers that were wear-ing these creepy white masks that were literally

pacing back and forth in front of the locker I was in. It was extremely terrifying! Plus, it didn’t help Ms. Egan was yelling “HELP ME!” “RUN!!” “NOO!!” while the school was in absolute silence and half in darkness!

The Purge went throughout the night at random intervals but there was at least a long pause so we could do activities such as bas-ketball, volleyball, swimming, watch a movie (The Purge), ceramics, have a competitive but breathtaking scavenger hunt, and basically have fun throughout the night.

Although there was a long break, some kids were so paranoid of The Purge, they hid inside a room for at least an hour and a half! So the building seemed as if as it were empty. All the seniors would like to thank all the teachers that participated in the lock-in, especially teacher Robin Russo for planning and setting it all up! It’s not easy staying up all night when you’re not used to it like we usually do.•

“The Lock-In was honestly one of the most amazing experiences ever! Being chased by teachers, eating ice-cream at 3:00 in the morning — the Lock-In was definitely on of the best senior events ever!” — Itati Ayala

“Shout out to my Lock-In buddies: Funnest things we’ve done! We ran our lives away, got chased, and hid from the ‘purgers.’ It was one of my best high school experiences, something I’ll never forget!” — Janelle Muñoz

The Purge adds excitement to late-night fun of the Lock-In

Students help ‘Fight for 15’

By Emily Santiago

Since November of 2012, fast food and retail workers have been protesting against their industries to be paid $15

an hour and have the right to form a union without any consequences because living on minimum wage in today’s society is becoming nearly impossible.

Living on minimum wage in today’s soci-ety is becoming nearly impossible. Some of these workers have families to provide for and are relying completely on public assistance programs.

So, to help fight for the cause, two Stein-metz students, Dalia Mena and Brian Geans took it upon themselves to rally up a group of students from the school to go to protest in front of the Rock’n’Roll McDonalds in downtown Chicago on May 15.

With the help of the Albany Park Neigh-borhood Council (APNC) and other neigh-borhood groups, this small group of Stein-metz students protested for nearly two hours while holding up signs and swaying the flags of other nations all participating in strike, making this a global event.

Several of the students were rewarded with the opportunity to be witnessed on the news

supporting the cause and even getting the pictures taken by local photographers for their stories.

Although it’s a fight to still be continued, this small group of Steinmetz students did their part in fighting for a better cause. •

From the “Fight For $15” website:Fast food is a $200 billion a year industry

and retail is a $4.7 trillion industry, yet many service workers across the country earn mini-mum wage or just above it and are forced to rely on public assistance programs to provide for their families and get healthcare for their children.

Each year, our labor brings billions of dol-lars into stores and restaurants nationwide, but almost all of these profits go to make executives and investors even richer, while we struggle to provide our families with basic necessities like food, rent, healthcare and transportation. Just in fast food, 52 percent of families are enrolled in one or more public assistance programs—like food stamps and medicaid—compared with 25 percent of the workforce as a whole.

We believe that people who work hard for a living should make enough to support them-selves, their families and their neighborhoods—and that workers should be treated with dignity and respect. •

Activist junior Dalia Mena (above with megaphone) and sophomore Brian Geans organized students to join a city-wide protest on May 15 to fight for fair wages for workers.

41 new members inducted in National Honor Society

33 NHS seniors


Star News 7

Dozens of deserving students recieved recognition at Senior Awards Night on May 15. The annual event was sponsored by teacher and senior events

coordinator Robin Russo, who passed out “Senior Award” certificates recognizing outstanding work and improvement in class and in extracurricular activities.

Ms. Russo created the certificates according to teacher nominations. Jennifer Bates, Gina Szulkowski, Jason Mink, Iwana Dabrowska, and counselors Tania Moumji and Perla Ocampo, as well as Ms. Russo, were among the staff mem-bers nominating many seniors.

Star adviser Sharon Schmidt attempted to recognize all the seniors on the Star staff, whose combined work pro-duced a newspaper ranked as one of the best in Chicago.

(At the March 2014 McCormick Media Awards, the Star fininished third in the city in Overall Newspaper, beating Taft, Lane, Whitney Young, Payton and many other schools that entered the contest).

Unfortunately, Ms. Schmidt forgot a few seniors’ awards, including Serlecia Jones (Best news reporter), who won city-wide honors at the McCormick Media Awards for her news reporting, and Javier Delgado (outstanding sports and music reporter) who has been publishing articles in the Star since his sophomore year.

The Star Steinmetz Star senior staff awards list follows:Michael Amaya: Editor-in-chief, best BS detector, Mc-

Cormick Media Awards Student Journalist of the YearLuis Avila: Most interesting transfer studentKielvin Bariso: Most versatile reporter Lissette Barcenas: Excellent foreign correspondentChristophe Bedu: Best all around athlete and scholarMoriah Belt: Best story tellerGardena Caron: Best satirist (a little too good)Maricelli Cardena: Most diverse subjects covered by a

Star reporter (from WWWF to book club)Ahrell Cua: Nicest tennis playerChristina Davenport: Best fashion reporter,, fashionistaJavier Delgado: Great sports and music reporterMatt Gascienca: Best sense of humor and McCormick Media Awards Superior reviewSavannah Gonzalez: Great adviserAnthony Guerrero: Most enthusiastic Francisco Holguin: Best illustrator McCormick Media Awards Excellent original drawingTavonna Howard: Easiest to forgivePatrycja Jarzabek: Most likely to succeedSerlecia Jones: Best news reporter McCormick Media Awards Excellent News ReportCarissa Knox: Best wordsmithAnthony Kowalczyk: Excellent reporter (and most re-

grettable instance of a student forced to take senior seminar instead of journalism)

Anthony Lagunas: Great reporter Judy Lobello: Strongest seniorZuleyma Martinez: Most sincereGuadelupe Medina: Top Star photographer McCormick Media Awards Superior PhotoDaisy Najera: Most determined to get the storyHailey O’Brien: Most directKayla Padilla: Most understated talentValerie Padilla: Most heartErick Panfilo: Best smilePhillip Quezada: Steadiest contributorVicky Rivera: Most fun in journalism classAsia Sims: Most cross-cultural studentBrandon Smith: Best sports reporter.•

Many family members attended the awards ceremony, including Leo Rubio’s brother Mauricio and mom Yolanda, as well as Stephanie Nevarez’s mother Rita who saw her receive the following awards: Outstanding work in Algebra, Excellence in Urban Alliance, Excellent GPA, and Most Likely to Succeed awarded to Stephanie by her teacher.

Thanks to Ms. Russo, Ms. S. and other staff members who recognized the excellent effort of the students, many seniors received awards,

Serlecia Jones, Itati Ayala, Victoria Nu-ñoz, Stephanie Presa, Janelle Muñoz, and Kayla Tomich recieved awards.

Seniors awarded for academics, athletics, and service

I would like to send a shout out to all of my seniors:

Since teachers are bestowed with the re-sponsibility of nourishing their students, to make them become better people, responsible citizens and ideal sons and daughters, the happiness of achieving a distinction is not just limited to the students, but also to the teachers, who prepare them for their lives beyond of Steinmetz.

As a teacher, you would want to express your happiness to your students, who have achieved any kind of success in their studies, especially at their graduation.

I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known. — Ms. S

A shout out to Division 440.Best division I ever had, I expect all of you

to live very fulfilling productive lives. Best of luck in college and beyond. — Mr. Dowling

Congratulations to Daisy Najera, my fa-vorite worker in the Attendance Office.

Thank you for all your help. May God bless you in all you do. I will miss you very much. I hope you stay in touch with me always.

Love ya, Ms. Laura

Super Soccer Star Shout Out to Maria Vargas, Vicky Nunez, Vanessa Colin, Lissette Barcenas, and Karen Nava!

Congrats on an historical final season! — Nicole Barnes

A big shout out to Cindy Salcedo, for the great accomplishment in becoming a Golden Apple winner.

God bless you and I hope to see you teach-ing here at Steinmetz.

Love you always, Ms. Laura

Shout out to Dzenana “Banana” Skend-erovic and Taylor “Mary Jane” Silvestri.

I am so proud of your adventurous spirits and perseverance through challenges. Keep making good decisions and remember, noth-ing is ever over until Hector says “No min-utes!”

— Nicole Barnes

To Alicha Anderson and Yulissa Hernan-dez: Great work as Teacher Aids this year!

— Maribeth Ward

I would like to send a shout out to this year’s JROTC graduating Class of 2014.

We’ve been together all four years and I am very proud of you all. You helped take this JROTC unit to one of the best in the city.

Take what I have taught you and make sure to apply it in everything you do in life. I know, if you stay strong and focused, you will succeed in life and make a difference to someone or something.

Stay in touch! — SFC Billy Hill

Congratulations to all the After School Matters seniors. It was such a joy to have you in our program. You will be missed but never forgot. Take care and go out there and make us proud. Remember it was you who paved the way for all the up and coming seniors.

Sincerely, Ms. Laura

Staff shout outs to the Class of 2014


Star News

By JROTC Staff

Steinmetz JROTC attended their annual Kane County Cougars Army Day baseball game on

May 7. A total of 80 Cadets attended the game.

The Steinmetz JROTC Color Guard, led by Cadet SGM Alfonso Castro, presented the Colors for the National Anthem in front of about 15,000 fans consisting of elementary school students, who are part of the Ozzie Reading Program throughout the Chicagoland area. •

JROTC baseball outing

To the Class of 2015I would like to send a shout out to this year’s

JROTC class of 2015. We’ve been together three years now and I am

very proud of you also. You helped take this JROTC unit to one of the best in the city. Take what I have taught you and make sure to apply it in everything you do in life.

You have the opportunity now to make the JROTC unit better than ever. Follow your predecessor’s foot-steps and continue the tradition we started! You now control the destiny of the unit.

I know you will do well and I wish you all the best. Stay in touch!

— SFC Billy Hill

By JROTC Staff

JROTC outgoing Cadet Com-mander Destiny Miranda was honored On 28 May 2014

with all 44 JROTC school Com-manders in a resolution by the Chi-cago City Council and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

A resolution was passed honor-ing them for their service, dedi-cation and sacrifices in helping develop high school students in becoming future leaders within their communities. •

8

Memorial Day Parade

City of Chicago honors cadet commander Destiny Miranda Whereas, The Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps

(Junior ROTC) is a program sponsored by the United States Armed Services in high schools across the country to train high school students in leadership, character education and military sciences; and

Whereas, The focus of Junior ROTC is reflected in the program’s mission statement: “To motivate young people to be better citizens,” and

Whereas, Chicago Public School students who partici-pate in Junior ROTC learn the value of citizenship, service to the community an personal responsibility through a challenging educational curriculum, which is designed to prepare them for leadership in their community, to instill in them self-discipline, self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment, and to foster in them an awareness of their rights, responsibilities and privileges as American citizens; and

Whereas, One of the greatest distinctions that a Junior ROTC cadet can achieve is to serve as commander of their school’s Junior ROTC unit, the forty-five Junior ROTC Unit Commanders, under the guidance of the City Corps Commander, are responsible for leading their school’s respective Junior ROTC programs. They are chosen for this prestigious leadership role based on their exemplary personal conduct, the leadership example that they set for younger students, their academic achievements, and their commitment to their communities, and...

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that suitable copies of this resolution be presented to each of these exemplary Chicago Public High School students as a token of our respect and our best wishes for a bright and prosperous future.

Rahm Emanuel, Mayor; Emma Mendoza, City Clerk,Resolution sponsored by Alderman Latasha Thomas

More than 200 give blood in May 19 eventBy Judy Lobello

Steinmetz held its final blood drive of the year on May 19 in the big gym. Teachers Paul Bagdonas and David Henry were

among 217 people who donated blood. Nearly 100 were first time blood donors.

Life Source provided us with sandals this time instead of water bottles. The blood drive ran from 7:30 in the morning until 3:15 in the afternoon.•

Retiring teacher David Henry gave blood for his 52nd time.


Star News

SFC Billy Hill to retire

9

By JROTC Staff

The Steinmetz JROTC held its annual Awards Ceremony on 14 May 2014. The cadets lined up outside in front of the school in their Brigade formation. Principal Stephen Ngo and many staff

attended the ceremony.

JROTC annual awards ceremony recognizes top cadets

Cadet of the Year: Cadet Elidia DelgadoLeader of the Year: Cadet Destiny MirandaSuperior Cadet of the YearSenior: Cadet Lissette BarcenasJunior: Cadet Carmelo RiosSophomore: Cadet Carlos SanchezFreshman: Cadet Alexandra GonzalezSteinmetz Alumni Awards (for GPA)Senior Cadets: Ashley Aquino, Daniel

Delgado, Christophe Bedu and Silvia Ro-driguez

Junior Cadets: Alondra Rebollar, Ameerae Lunjas, Regina Baggett and Marianna Furyk

Sophomore Cadets: Patrick Oasin, Lukasz Kuczynski, Cecilia Alvarado, Jesenia Garcia, Marc Villapando, and Dmytro Holyk

Freshmen Cadets: Alexandra Gonzalez, Kiara Toney, Melissa Tello, Catherine Del-gado, Jonathan Ovalle, Eric Roman and Denise Munez

AMVETS Award:Cadet Carlos SanchezSons of American Revolution Award:Cadet Jaritza DelgadoAssociation of the United States Army:Cadet Gabby CaudelCollege Bound Award: Twenty-six cadets

awarded for being accepted into a four-year university.•

Alumni association president Dan Altobello con-gratulates Daniel Delgado for his GPA award. Daniel was one of four seniors to receive the award.

Col. John Baynes presents the Sons of the American Revolution award to Jaritza Delgago (with her mother). Jaritza wrote an essay on “What JROTC means to me,” which was read to the crowd.

JROTC ceremony photos by Guadalupe Medina

By Tavonna Howard

SFC Hill will be leaving Steinmetz after four years as an instructor for JROTC. SFC Hill also coached the boys bowling

team for two years with two winning seasons and a city playoff appearance.

He will be moving to Elberton, Georgia to be close to his family.

“I will truly miss the Steinmetz family and the students,” he said. “I watched and coached the cadets into becoming successful people for our future.”

SFC Hill said he loved working with stu-dents:

“They definitely kept me up with the way of the world, with technology and language; they kept me young.”

He became close with many cadets, know-ing their families, their personal lives, and making life-long friends.

“The nice thing about technology,” he said, “even though you’re physically gone, you’re really not.” •

By Valerie Padilla

Throughout my four years of high school I had many teachers impact me, but one person in particular

is Billy Hill. I switched to JROTC this semester and SFC Hill and I clicked from the start.

From the first time I stepped foot in the room, SFC Hill made me feel like I was one of his students. He is really close to many of the students. Instead of treat-ing me like I was new to the program, he cracked jokes and welcomed me into discussions.

I can’t put in words how close we are because he is more than just a sergeant, he is like a father to me. I have opened up to him for advice and he has helped me, especially with enlisting in the Army.

I will miss all the teachers I’ve had throughout my four years here in Stein-metz, but SFC Hill is someone who gained a special place in my heart. I actually love going to JROTC because when we see each other, we instantly hug one another tight.

“Even though we’re going our sepa-rate ways, just know I’ll still be right here in your heart.”

Those were the words Sgt. Hill told us that really touched my heart. He is really the best and will absolutely be missed.•

This is a second retirement for SFC Hill. Like the other JROTC instructors, teaching at Steinmetz is a second career.

SFC Billy Hill retired from the United States Army with 27 years experience.

His former jobs include Medical Recruit-ing First Sergeant, Medical Recruiting Station Commander, Medical Recruiting Recruiter, High School Recruiting Station Commander and Recruiter, Military Police Officer, Admin-istration Specialist, Communications Special-ist and Infantryman.

He graduated college with a Master’s De-gree in Business and Marketing from Capella University and a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration from Columbia Southern Uni-versity in Orange Park, Alabama. He attended Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois. He was born in Tennessee, raised in Illinois. •

‘He is like a father to me’


Star News

By Nicole Barnes, teacher

After nearly a year of preparation, ju-niors Husna Afzal, Karolina Jaworows-ka, Guadalupe Santana, and Berenice

Vara, and seniors Taylor Silvestri and Dzenana Skenderovic, accompanied by teacher Mark Lichaj and me, headed to the Dominican Republic on April 13, for the school’s first international trip in recent history.

The purpose was to practice Spanish, work alongside Dominican students on environ-mental service projects, and learn about the culture and history of the Dominican Re-public.

We spent the first morning touring Santo Domingo and learning about the island. It was really amazing to walk through where so much history was made. After the tour, we headed by bus to Jarabocoa, a town in the central mountain range of the Dominican Republic.

Over the next few days we stayed in Ja-rabocoa and did several service projects, made many new friends, and learned a lot about language, culture, history, and ourselves.

The first thing we did was set some goals for the trip. Our goals were to practice Spanish, try all new foods, meet one new person every day, learn about new gardening practices for the school garden, and our hidden goal —to not kill Mr. Lichaj!

Goal 1: Practice Spanish “I had the opportunity to practice my

Spanish. We basically had no other option but to speak Spanish with the environmental school we were working with. I was also able to experience a new lifestyle and try new foods, which is my goal whenever I travel to another country.” — Husna.

“I am very happy to say that we were able to achieve this goal. We were forced to use our Spanish skills because many of the people we were around did not speak English at all. It was difficult at first, especially speaking be-cause it was hard to remember the vocabulary, but after a couple days it became like second nature. We were the only group on the trip that was able to communicate with the stu-

dents at the environmental school without a translator at all times.” — Taylor

Goal 2: Try all new foodsThis was a difficult goal for some of us,

myself included, because the food there is different than what we are used to. But we all tried everything and no one ever went hungry because they were always feeding us.

“We tried different foods that were native to their country and fresh fruit that was freshly picked from the school.” — Taylor

Goal 3: Meet one new person every day-

We had the opportunity to meet many new people. We worked with students from the environmental school and the community, and traveled with students from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland.

Our tour leader, Hector, the bus driver, Yohan, and our security escort, Miguel, were among our favorites.

“I was surrounded by amazing people that made this trip a life-changing experience for me.” — Husna

“My favorite part was getting to know new people of the Dominican.” — Lupe

Goal 4: Gardening practices to bring home

“Some of the activities we did consisted of painting trash cans to place in the community, pulling out invasive species, painting benches to protect them from the weather, and working in the school’s nursery.” — Dzenana

“We also went on hikes and learned about all the different plants and their uses that are all around us. The lesson of the week was about sustainable development. We had group meetings every night where we discussed re-lated issues to sustainable development and how we can improve the environment around us.” — Taylor

It wasn’t all work though. We were invited to the school’s pre-spring break dance, went on a waterfall hike, and visited a tiny island off the northern coast of the Dominican.

I asked the girls for their reflections after we returned from our week in the Dominican.

What was the most difficult part of trip?“To be honest, it was very difficult at first to

get over the fact that there was no wi-fi which meant, no snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, etc., but all of use eventually got used to it, and when we did have wi-fi access, we didn’t really care anymore.” — Husna

“We were placed completely outside of our comfort zone, not just being with unfamiliar people, but we were also faced with the chal-lenge of being placed somewhere that spoke a different language. Another difficulty we faced in the beginning was adapting to a different culture and way of living. In the United States, we have the benefit of always having hot water to shower with and having clean tap water and constant use of technology.

“Throughout this trip I realized that all those things are not that important. It was hard in the beginning to be without the Inter-net and not being able to use my cell phone but within a short period of time, I was able to find other things to do that took my mind away from it all. It was a big change for us but we were able to adapt pretty quickly and it opened our eyes to the over use and how much we take small things for granted where we live.”— Taylor

What did you learn?“I learned that you should always take care

of the resources that we have because there could come a point where the things we have, we will no longer have them.” — Lupe

“I learned that invasive species are things that we have to be careful of because they can take over the environment and it’s important to keep our environment balanced.” — Ber-enice

“We were able to learn all about the new culture and experience living in a foreign country for a week.” — Taylor

“I learned a lot on this trip. Not only did I gain a lot of educational knowledge about my environment, I learned new techniques for our school garden, I learned new phrases in Spanish that I didn’t previously know about. I learned to appreciate what we already have, and how many resources can be limited in other foreign countries compared to America.

I also learned to break my picky-eating habits and try new things.” — Husna

“This trip helped open my eyes to the things I have and think twice when I want to buy something. The lessons that were learned on this trip will be carried with me forever.” — Dzenana

What is the best memory you would share?

“We were able to accomplish all the jobs that we were given on the campus. An instruc-tor told us that we were the only group who finished everything.” — Taylor

“Best memory would be the day we went dancing with the students of the environmen-tal school. The students were great dancers!” — Lupe

“I agree. There was so much dancing and fun!” — Berenice

“Yeah, it was our last day working with the environmental school so the students or-ganized a dance and wanted to teach us three different types of dances: bachata, merengue, and salsa, all of which were somewhat different because of the Dominican culture. It was so much fun dancing with them, dressing up, listening to amazing music, and being with the people you are very close with. It was an unforgettable night!” — Husna

What would you encourage people here to do based on what you learned there?

“I would encourage people to use less wi-fi and try to do things that do not involve technology.” — Lupe

“I would encourage people to contribute more to their environment and school garden and to be more aware of the problems that can arise in our surroundings. Also, I would encourage people to try living without their phones and appreciate what we are given and reflect on that as well as trying new things from different cultures to get a different perspective of things.” — Husna

“Something that I can encourage kids to do here is to take care of your environment because the resources that our environment gives us will not always be there so we have to take care of it.” — Berenice

Small group of dedicated students travels to Dominican Republic

10


Star News

As you can hopefully tell, we had an amazing experience. I could not have been more proud of my six girls. They really stepped up as leaders and friends. They embraced each challenge with a smile and positivity and overcame every obstacle that arose with grace and humor.

Thank you so much to all those who helped make this possible. We appreciate the support we received from the LSC, es-pecially Mr. Swanson, Mr. Quiles, and Ms. Garcia, Chester Musiala and the Alumni Association, the staff here at Steinmetz and our friends and family. We could not have done this without you.

And a super huge thank you to Mark Lichaj, Hector, Yohan, and Miguel for keep-ing us safe, teaching us, helping us, and making us laugh.

“No minutes!” •

Great trip after one year of fund raising and other preparations11


Star Seniors: Prom12


Star Seniors: Prom 13

By Tamara Jabour, counselor

The Steinmetz College Prep High School Class of 2014 graduates will be attend-ing the following universities/colleges

(according to their reported responses).University of Illinois at Chicago: (UIC):

Christophe Bedu, Daniel Delgado, Luz Mi-randa, Colin Quaglia, Alexandra Sanchez, Rogelio Nepomuceno, Kamil Stasik, Patrycja Jarzabek, Michael Amaya

Dominican University: Savannah Gonza-lez, Patrycja Czternastek, Jose Chavez, Karla Solis, Maria Zavala

Concordia University: Yadira Alvarez, Raul Azmitia, Tonatiu Morrales Arroyo, Kyle Taz-elaar, Anthony Guerrero, Daniel Park

North Park University: Michelle Garcia, Zaina Alquero, Anthony Lagunas, Brandon Smith

Elmhurst College: Phillip Quezada, Van-essa Diaz

DePaul University: Mateusz Gasienica, Jaime Garcia

Northeastern Illinois University: Jose Gi-ron, Marco Mujica, Katherine Ramirez, Dalila Sanchez, Alan Batrez, Itsel Garcia, Stephanie Presa, Eliseo Perez

Northern Illinois University: Dzenana Skenderovic, Tavonna Howard, Stephanie Nevarez, Carissa Knox

Southern Illinois University at Carbon-dale: Chakiya Jennings, Adrienne Tate, Devon Mackey, Danny Viscarra

Western Illinois University: Christina Dav-enport, Jesus Chavez, Natesha Hill, Keegan Ousley

Eastern Illinois University: Briana WesleyIllinois State University: Kayla MatiasColumbia College: Juan Alvarez, Norma

Preciado, Angelica Santiago, Taino RiveraRoosevelt University: Sara DurkaIllinois Institute of Technology: Don John

StagenIllinois Wesleyan University: Taylor Sil-

vestriSt. Xavier University: Frevelyn Nava,

Anthony Kowalczyk, Zacharias Lugo, Fredy Barrera

Lewis University: Zaina President, Evelin Stoyanova

Robert Morris University: Gardenia Ceron, JaQuory Smith, Trivon Stevenson, Damian Rozkuszka, Zurielis Chajon, Lissette Barcenas,

Jacob Kuswik, Destiny MirandaTrinity Christian College: Melissa Valde-

spinoMonmouth College: Javier DelgadoUniversity of Northern Iowa: Alexander

TorresIowa Wesleyan University: Alison CappyBarry University (Florida): Amber EdwardsFerris State University: Araceli MojicaBrigham Young University at Idaho: Luis

HernandezUniversidad Interamericana De Puerto

Rico: Carlean GonzalezDakota College at Bottineau: Jaime Suarez,

Santies HowardIowa Central College: Charles IvyCollege of DuPage: Brenda Sedano, Ter-

rell RowellTriton College: Sabrina Mazon, Daisy Na-

jera, Hailey O’Brien, Valerie Selby, Edward Smith, Jasmine Galloza, Leslie Rivera, Dennis Sas, Xavier Neris, Abraham Velazquez, Ashley Cotton, Natalie Aranda, Victoria Nunez, Aar-on Shanks, Camila Ledesma, Marco Lestingi, Coty Selby, Tetyana Bandura, Jorge Delgado, Elidia Delgado, Judith Lobello, Shannon Schmidt, Norma Carrillo

Oakton Community College: Guadalupe S. Medina, Erik Martinez, Samuel Sosa

Lake County Community College: Maria Laya

Morton Community College: Alexis Sara-bia, Gabriela Sanchez, Gerald Mejia

Kennedy-King College: Alfonso CervantesTruman College: Kenderick Pozos, Vanessa

ColinHarold Washington College: Terica Gul-

ley, Candida Bandera, Marcos Gabriel, Anissa Evaristo, Asia Sims

Wright College: Bryan Alvarez, Jenniffer Banderas, Mario Carrillo, Arturo Gonzalez, Anais Guarderas, Yessica Jimenez, Ballardo Nunez, Kayla Padilla, Alejandra Sandoval, Grey Abanto, Helen Canola, Romanni John-son, Christian Pilamunga, Natalia Polinska, Nancy Quiroz, Daniel Rogoz, Javier Rosario, Stephanie Santana, Luigui Sobenes, Erick Vera, David Fernandez, Jocelyn Flores, Clau-dia Jimenez, Salvador Moreno, Karen Nava, Lizeth Ocampo, Wblises Rivera, Keisamar Santiago, Jack Cozzi, Kimberly Leon, Eliar-quiris Rodriguez, Piotr Rafacz, Samuel Arrieta, Brenda Bustos, Adrianna Czech, Diego Perez, Steven Ramos, Jonathan Eustaquio, Alejandro Lopez, Gabriel Adame, Harith Hussien, Rosa

Camargo, Luis Avils, Remus Orozco, Ahrell Cua, Brandon DelRios, Meliris Torres, Kiel-vin Bariso, Nathaniel Lopez, Eric Perez, Lu-cero Rivera, Aaron Barnett, Mariceli Cadena, Christopher Davis, Ivelisse Espin, Eduardo Hernandez, Milagros Salgado, Ashley Egan, Marquise Howard, Christopher Lewis, Alon-dra Sanchez, Marilu Atempa, Lissette Espi-noza, Mario Gonzalez, Emmanuel Lagunas, Vasylyna Levko, Lovely Pontiveros, Dianiris Rivera, Gloria Sanchez, Elizabeth Villegas, Cesar Arce, Raul Ramirez, Jose Salazar, Kayla Tomich, Francisco Holguin, Yajaira Aguirre, Christian Diaz, Ariana Gomez, Karla Salgado

Cosmetology/ Barber School: Maria Luna, Katherine Marquina, Gabriela Pineda, Ceci-lia Leon, Weronika Kwiatkowska, Jacqueline

Cockriel, Pedro AngonLe Cordon Bleu: Emmanuell Sobier, Edu-

ardo Carbajal, Juan Alvarez, Steven CornelioEverest College: Yesenia Arroyo,Devry University: Franklin RodriguezUniversal Technical Institute: Kenneth

SantiagoLincoln Tech: Enrique MartinezTribeca Flashpoint Academy: Nathaniel

BurgosYear Up: Magaly GaleanaARMY: Ashley Aquino, Valerie Padilla,

Ja’Quita RobinsonMARINES: Omar Coctecon, Diego Lagu-

nas, Eduardo Matias, Austin SmithNAVY: Justice Castillo, Janalizze Guba •

By Victoria Boccia

More to come for Mr. Henry

Best wishes and much love and admiration for our four retirees from the rest of the Steinmetz staff. We will miss you. – Sharon Schmidt


14 Star SeniorsMany graduates planning for college or military service

He’s proud of his work helping Steinmetz restart the swim program.

He plans to rest and substitute teach in the fall. Please read reporter Victoria Boccia’s story about Mr. Henry on this page.

JROTC instructor SFC Billy Hill is leaving Steinmetz after his four years here. Prior to this assignment he worked in the Army. He will be moving with his family to Georgia.

Please read Tavonna Howard and Valerie Padilla’s stories about SFC Hill on Page 9.

If you know Mr. Henry, you might know that this is his final year, and he’s retiring from being a full-time teacher. But the journey for him doesn’t end just there. There’s still more for him to come that not only he will benefit from, but others will too.

Mr. Henry liked to teach students who were in the lower classes because he felt he could influence them the most on their life. His strong point was to have a good rapport (a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communi-cate well). As cliché as it sounds, he wanted to make the world a better place through his teaching.

Mr. Henry’s favorite part of teaching is see-ing students trying hard and getting engaged into the material, and being well in depth with the content. He said that if he would teach another class, it would probably be health because biology is much related to health.

Even in this school he says his students are great. If the education system was different, he might not have retired.

“If teaching was more about students, then maybe I wouldn’t have retired so soon,” he said.

He says school should be about students learning, but instead school is basically about testing, paperwork, and grading, which is a part of teaching. He said another frustrating part is how experimental programs (such as AVID) don’t last long. They’re good programs, and helpful, but they get canceled so quickly.

Mr. Henry said teaching was his way of making the world a better place. The book “To Sir, With Love” by E. R. Braithwaite influenced him to be a teacher.

Not only did he teach for high school students, but he taught for the middle years because he believed he would have been able to influence them the most. All students need a good influence, and he managed to influence all he could.•

Continued from Page 1

Retiring after decades of service

By Brandon Smith

Shout out to Ms. Bates, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Javier, Ms. Schmidt, Mr. Saunders and

all my underclassman friends.•

By Carissa Knox

Shout outs to Richie and Mr. Wash-ington for making my junior and senior year the funniest of times. I

appreciate the genuine concern that you guys carry. It’s a good trait, keep it up. •

“A lot stuff ... let’s see.... I don’t know actually. I guess I’ma miss ditching classes, and having fun with my friends.”

Marcos Gabriel

“I will miss my close friends and teachers that helped me out through this journey.”

Judy Lobello

“I will miss Mr. Greco, Ms. Bates and Mr. Majors, and mak-ing new friends.”

Katherine Ramirez

“I will miss the wonder-ful teachers I met and my close friends.”

Jacob Aguilar

“I will miss Ms. Russo, Mr. Cave, Mr. Gonzalez, and Mr. Javier. I will also miss being in the drum line.”

Marquez Honras

Marquez, you were pretty cool in the beginning of the school year. It was fun having you in Mr. Javier’s class. Good luck in college. – Lisette Pravinchandra

Ayyy yoooo! I like your hair! Nicest person I’ve ever met! I miss when you, Angel and I played Black Ops 2 together! Those were the days. Good luck in col-lege. You’ll do great.

– Luis Fernandez

“I will miss some people but not everyone because I didn’t get a chance to meet people because I transferred in last year. I will miss the teachers, mostly the security guards and Ms. Jabour I will miss her the most.”

Jacqueline Cockreil

“I will miss teachers Ms. Dunne and Ms. Ser-ritella because they helped me a lot through-out my four years of high school.”

Stephanie Nevarez

“I am going to miss the way my friends and I used to joke and spend the day at school. I’ll miss the teachers that believed in me and friends that changed my days! Go Streaks! Class of 2014, good luck!”

Evelin Stoyanova

Shout out to Evelyn. I will miss you. Hope you have fun in col-lege. Come back and visit us so we can see your beautiful face again. Nayeli Martinez

Shout out to Evelyn for helping us on the recycling club. Hope you come visit us. We will miss you. Good luck in college.

“I will miss my freshman year because I had fun moments and it was cracking. I will miss teach-ers such as Ms. Jabour, Ms. Dunne, Ms. Rezny, Sgt. Hill and Ms. Kern. I will definitely miss my squad – they know who they are. I will also miss senior year drama.”

Terica Gulley

“I’m not going to miss a thing.” Kiana Lloyd

“I will miss all of my friends, such as Manny, but he will probably be here another year so I’ll visit him. I’ll miss Pedro and the rest of my friends. I will miss Ms. Jabour, but I will hit her up on Facebook.”

Salvador Moreno

“I will miss getting out of school early. I will miss teachers such as Ms. Jabour, Ms. Seritalla, and Ms. Walker. I will miss the juices in the lunch room, the cookies also. I will miss all of my friends.” Manny Roman


15Star Seniors

By Daisy Najera

Hey mama! (Ms. Laura). I want to thank you for everything you do for me. I am so thankful for

meeting you this year. Thanks for being my mentor and giving me advice at the best of your ability.

I really appreciate everything you have help me with this year. I really learned to love you because of how much you care about me. I just simply wanted to say thank you once again. •

By Ahmad Hamdan

What will you miss from Stein-metz?

Charles Ivy: I will miss Steinmetz as a whole, my hommies and all my football coaches.

How was your freshman year?“My freshman year was a little bit

crazy because I had to adapt from 8th grade.

How did you change?I have changed a lot mentally because

I got mature.What do you want to do in the fu-

ture?I want to finish school and get my

education. I want to play college football since I got scouted to Iowa Central, and hopefully one day I get drafted to the NFL. •


To Marquez...

To Evelin ...

To Richie and Mr. Washington

“I will miss the fact of being in high school. I will also miss Ms. Jabour and Ms. S. I will miss my friends such as Jacqueline, Jaime, Leche, Vicky, etc.”

Itati Ayala

To Ms. LauraFootball hopes

To teachers and friends

Retiring after decades of service


Star Seniors16

By Anthony Kowalczyk

Shout out to Coaches Mac, Ochoa, Sgt Frank, and the entire football

team. For four years I have had the honor to be apart of one of the greatest team in Steinmetz history. All my development and progress that will translate into college is credited to all of you. Thank you guys for making me the great athlete I am today. I will continue my football career in college and I wish you guys the best for the future.

Shout out to Mr. Bagdones for all he has done for me. You are a true coaching legend for Steinmetz, which makes it a even a greater honor to be apart of your best track team in history (for now). You are my coach, workout partner, and a great mentor for me to succeed. My record is dedicated to you because I would have never broke it if I didn’t listen to your advice. Thank you sir, and best wishes for the throw-ers after me.

Shout out to all of my teachers over the last four years. Thank you all for preparing me for the next step. Special thanks to Ms. Eichstaedt, Ms. Stuber, Ms. Schmidt, Ms .Zaluba, Mr. Lichaj, Mr.Mink, Mr Kalog-eras, Ms. Mark, Ms. Grant,

Ms. Slanec, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Washington, and finally my counselor Ms. Ocampo. These people went out their way to see me succeed and I am very grateful for them.

My final shout out goes out to all of my friends here at Steinmetz.The last four years seemed to fly by quickly and it’s very unsettling to know that

this might be the last year we will see each other for a very long time. Thank you all for the support and memories.

A special thank you to Jai-me, Javier, Kaylon, Vicky, Ka-mil, Fredy, Christian, Charles, and Angel. You all are like fam-ily to me, which makes it very difficult that we will all be go-ing our separate next fall. I wish

the best for all of you. I also want to give a little

shout out to my one true love. I love you Rachel and I know that even when I go to college you will still be my number one and only girl I want in my life.

Thank you Steinmetz and Mr. Ngo for making my high school experience into count-less of amazing memories. •

By Lovely Pontiveros

Before I leave Steinmetz, I would like to say thank you to Ms. Ser-ritella for everything you have

taught and done for us. You are one of the best and the most amazing teachers I’ve ever known. Why? Well, for the two years that I’ve had you as my English teacher, I’ve witnessed your passion for your work. The first time I encountered you during my junior year, I told my-self, “Man, this teacher is awesome!”

I personally do not like English, but the way you teach us makes me feel more focused and engaged. I really do appreciate your effort to make the class more interesting and exciting. I love how you always walk around the class to ask if your students need help, unlike other teachers that stay seated during class. At some points, you inspire me to be an English teacher, but I don’t have a loud and clear voice like you have, but

who knows? Maybe I will.I will surely miss you. I am grateful

that you became one of my English teachers. Once again, Thank you for being a second mom, friend, mentor, an advisor and for all the help, whether school related or personal. Ti amo, Ms. Serritella! •

By Adriane’ Tate

I want to send a senior shout out to my best friends Chakiya and Christina. I want to let you guys know even though it has only been about two

years I feel like I’ve known you girls forever and I love you guys.

We never faced hard times towards each other. They say friends go through ups and downs, but we are still at the top. I will never regret moving here because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have met two terrific and loyal friends like you two. The best Capricorns I know and the last I plan to make my sisters.

Chakiya, I’ll be waking up to you in college, and Chris, I’ll see you on weekends. Shout out to my pretties.•

By Yajaira Aguirre

Wow, I can’t believe its time to graduate already. Time flew by so fast.

Shout out to all my friends. You’re too many to mention, but it has been fun with all of you. I have so many good and bad memories here at Steinmetz. I’m thankful for the people who put up with me.

I still remember the first day of freshman year; it has been a roller coaster ride ever since then. I also want to give a shout out to all my teachers who have pushed me to do my best. I won’t forget the people I have met and the memories.

I have to say senior year has been one of my best years. We made it Class of 2014.•

We made it, Class of 2014!

Thanks to coaches, friends and Rachel Loyal friends, Capricorns

By Mariceli Cadena

When I started freshman year, I did not know what to expect when I went in my classes. I would get lost during the

first week of school, but once I memorized my classes I had no problems. One event I remember during freshman year would be performing in the winter concert.

I would like to say thank you to Mr. Lichaj, Ms. Egan, Ms. Walsh, and Ms. Ocampo for my college recommendation letters.

I would also like to say thank you to Ms. Mark for writing a recommendation for me. In your class I really enjoyed all the artists you showed each day. You made me realize that art is not only on paper. I wanted to take risks to make my piece better and better each week. I took the time to look at the detail of my piece but I also had fun doing my art pieces.

Mr. Hasken, you made band exciting and I notice I improved a lot in your class. Ms. Schmidt, even though I was not in your class I enjoyed writing for the Steinmetz Star last year.

I won’t forget all the good times I had with my friends.

My last shout out goes out to Ms. McBrien/Daughenbaugh who pushed the class to be college ready. During the two years you helped me get ready for college and I couldn’t ask for a better program director than you. So thank you for being my OneGoal program director.•

Thanks to Ms. Serritella I won’t forget all the good times

Dear Yajaira Aguirre, Thanks for being a great person. You always make me feel I’m myself. I love you with all my heart. Thanks for everything. Hope you do good in the future. Love, Fabiola Mendoza


Star Seniors 17

By Silvia Rodriguez

To the Class of 2014 At first it was not easy to come to Steinmetz, I

didn’t like it at first because it was known as a “BAD SCHOOL” but anyways had no other choose. The only thing I like was being in Honors classes. I guess that’s what made me feel “Cool”.

In my freshman year I met Sergeant Yangas, at first he pushed me to be involved more in JROTC, in which now I am proud of myself in accomplishing this hard work, which I thank him. Then in my sophomore and junior years, a really tuff Sergeant was on my way, but at the end I considered him more than a Sergeant, because he taught me a lot of things besides even though he gave me a hard time , he also gives me memories to take and hold on to. I really appreciate for all the things he had helped me. I will always remember you and hope 2014 is not the last year to say goodbye. Sergeant Ruiz what can I say about you, you are a gentleman; I know that with you I can trust you, “Why?” Since day one, you showed me that you were honest, and a faithful man. Thank

By Patricia Isabela

Shout out to Alison for being the best lab partner.

Shout out to Jackie for looking amazing for spirit week.

Shout out to Sammie for being my homecom-ing game buddy and for being by my side in the Urban Alliance program.

Shout out to the people that put a smile on my face during Urban Alliance workshops.

Shout out to the whole senior class for making

these past four years a roller coaster to remember and thank you to all the teachers that made the senior lock in awesome.

Thank you to Ms. S and Ms. Russo for being so involved in the school; we all appreciate you.•

By Zaina Alquero

Ijust want to give a big shout out to Michelle Garcia, Michael Ama-

ya, Anthony Lagunas, Lu-igi Del Col, and Lester Ar-gueta for being such great friends for the past three years (Lester four years, ha ha). It’s been a blast ever since we all started talking and having classes together!

I hope we all still keep in touch after we gradu-ate. Wherever we may go, I will always be here for you guys and hope we will still hang out even though we will be going to differ-ent colleges.

Congrats to you guys and to every senior that will be graduating class of 2014! •

By Gerald Mejia

Shout out to my one and only and Division 449

To my one and only — thank you for great years of high school you blessed me with. You have been through it all with me that all I would like to say is thank you! You have been the best girlfriend and my best friend. I wish you the best in college as well as I hope that we may attend the same college.

I want to say I love you and you mean the world to me, shorty! Thank you for an amazing two years and six months. I love you. Your Pichon

As for DIV 449 — thank you all as well for making my years in high school a hell of a time. From drama to having each other’s back to basketball. Classes with all of you were (mostly) never bor-ing. I can honestly say I will miss you all. As to my best guy friend, Brian, I wish you best of luck in college, my bro. Hope our friendship doesn’t break off with the years! •

you for all the advice, and all the help. I also want to say thank you to Ms. Rivera, she is one of

the best Spanish teacher there is. One thing I enjoyed was being able to know her more and share good memories. Also for all the advice and help.

I will never forget Sammy, every morning seeing him in the hallways and yelling to one another, just to say Hi. I re-

member the first day we met each other it was really friendly while I was on my Freshman Orientation. He had me laugh-ing. Thank you for making my days, and worrying about me during these four years!

I want to thank for all the teachers that I had, I know it’s not easy to be a teacher, and I appreciate you for your service. I want to thank all my friends from Division 449, I know at first

we had a rough year but at the end everybody gets along which was a great idea to do. We manage to deal with one another.

Special thanks to Gerald Mejia, Destiny Miranda, and Guadalupe Medina, for being in my life and supporting me in the good moments and bad moments. I love you guys and god bless you all. I hope we see each other in the summer! •

Thanks to friends and teachers

To my one and only... It has been a blast being together

To great friends and teachers — thanks for being thereLoyal friends, Capricorns

I won’t forget all the good times

I would like to send a shout out to all of the seniors in my Civics classes.

Thank you for your contributions to the discussions, class participation, and interest in the material. You helped make this a great year for Civics! — Mr. Jason Mink

Congratulation to the class of 2014. You all have been a joy to share time with.

I will miss this class more than any I have seen graduate. You have all been so sweet. Go out there and make us proud. Come visit and tell me all your accomplishments. — Ms. Laura

To Jack Cozzi, Lucero Rivera, Ivelisse Espin, Kyle Tazelaar, Alison Cappy, Sheilee Galloza, Yessica Jimeniz, and Piotr Rafacz:

Thank you for all your hard work in Web Design this year!

— Maribeth Ward

To Ceramics II: You’re ready, go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make great art.

I will really miss you! — Ms. S

Staff shout outs to the Class of 2014

“I will miss enthusiastic teachers, specifically Mr Spencer. He recently left the school but he will never be forgotten. He is the funniest teacher I know. He made learning fun for me. I was actually able to learn without cutting corners to finish things. Also, I will miss the lunchroom cookies from freshman year and the security guards. They are always around to cheer you up when you need it. I will miss being on sports (until I was injured). That is it; I’m just ready to go and leave this school.

Carissa Knox

“My first years were awesome, I’ll miss that. I’ll also miss Ms. Schmidt.”

Patrycja Jarzabek“I will miss Ms. Bates, the green shirts, the gym and weight room, cook-ies, football, my football coaches, and my under-classmen friends.”

Brandon Smith

“I will miss seeing my friends, having Ms. Schmidt’s 8th period class, Mr. Mink’s 3rd period class, and sleeping in class. I’m going to miss Ms. Jabour and Danielle. When it comes to school the only thing I’m really going miss is not getting in trouble for my uniform.”

Asia Sims

“I will miss football and being with friends, getting to know teachers counselors and my peers.”

Jaime Suarez

By Asia Sims

Shout out to all the seniors I’m cool with — Brandon for being lame, Christina for fashion (she is a big bug) and Chakiya for her silliness. Last but not least, Adriane for being so skinny but thick. I love and will miss

you all. •

“I will miss friends.”Luis Avila

“I will miss nothing, because I hate school Period!”

Wblises Rivera

“The things that I am going to miss are the cookies from freshman year, the cake and the ever-fresh juices. I’m going to miss the the fun times I had, even these ugly children (even though I don’t like 99.2% of them).”

Natesha Hill

Thanks, Nathaniel. Thanks for help-ing save the planet. I will miss you-ish. JK, I will. Charles

Thank you Nathaniel for helping us with recycling. You’re the best. I will kind of miss you since you would make fun of me because of the hawk. Elsie Ocegueda

Shout out to Nathaniel for being awe-some at helping us recycle. Hope you have fun with the rest of your jour-ney. Nayeli Martinez


Star Seniors18


To my older sister, Itsel. Thanks for all the help and for looking after me in my first year of high school. And good luck in college. Hope you do great.

– Steven Garcia

Thank you for looking out for me

By Kayla Matias

Dear Kamil, Thank you for getting me through my high school years. You lift

me up when I’ve fallen and have always been there for me. No one has ever treated me like a princess, but you do.

We’ve had rough times, but I

don’t know any relationship that is completely perfect. When we met freshman year you were my best friend and by sophomore year we were dating.

Now we are graduating from high school and I am very lucky that we have each other to share this special moment. I love you! •

From the summer after freshman year to senior year.

By Kayla Matias

Dear Brenda, Let me start off by saying thank you for being

the bestest friend a girl can have. When we met freshman year, third period in Mr.

Everages’ class I had a feeling we would be friends till

the end. From freshman year till now we’ve changed a lot! But we changed for the better. I can’t imagine how my life would be without meeting you. I would probably be very lonely throughout the years.

Even though I’m leaving for school, I know we will still stay in contact and you’ll come visit me! Love you Bren! •

You lift me up

Thanks for being the best friend a girl could have

I will miss you allThanks for your work recycling

“I will miss my friends Carissa, Keegna, Tesha, Tenca, Quita Dejesus and Ms. Dunne, Ms. Renzy, Mr. Roldon, Ms. Wil-liams, Ms. Rahman. I will miss you guys so much; you taught me a lot and helped me pursue my dream the four years I’ve been here. Thank you!”

Tavonna Howard

“I’m going to miss Mr. Greco calling me Mar-gita!”

Daisy Najera

“I will miss all my teachers that made an impact on my future.”

Vicky Rivera

“I won’t miss anything at Steinmetz.”

Edward Smith

“I will miss being com-fortable and familiar with everything here and I will miss Mrs. Schmidt a lot.”

Hailey O’Brien

“I will miss Ms. Dominguez who taught me some English when I came to high school for the first time. I will also miss Mr. Greco who is a fun and great teacher, es-pecially when we talk about soccer.”

Erick Panfilo

By Zaina President

To my friends Serlecia and Moriah— our friendship still remains the same. Thanks to everybody, who have been there at the

worst time and the greatest.•

By Jaquory Smith

Shout out to this bug who I have known since sophomore year. Everything about Christina I like — she’s funny, cute, fun

size and lights my world up every time I see her. That’s my chubby cheeks and my sophomore crush and she will always have a special place in my heart. •


Star Seniors 19


By Brenda Sedano

Who would have ever known a single conversation about a boy could have lead to a strong friendship

that has lasted all four years and will con-tinue on?

I met Kayla Matias freshmen year in my algebra class and became friends fast. Kayla and I were so inseparable people didn’t know which one was which. People would call me

Kayla and her Brenda all the time. Through-out our four years of high school we have been on the cheerleading team and in every single class.

I don’t know what I am going to do next year without her when were both in col-lege because I’m not going to have a locker buddy,walking buddy, or someone to just sing with in class. If there is one memorable thing I will always carry with me from high school it would be our friendship.

Love you Tig Ol •

Our friendship is my best school memory

By Dzenana Skenderovic

Looking back four years ago, I can’t be-lieve how far we have all come.

I met my best friend in the fall of our sophomore year and ever since then we never left each other’s side. I just want to thank her for always being there for me and being the best friend that any one can have. I love you, Bebe.

I also want to thank all my teachers; your hard work is very much appreciated.

Thanks to my brother who is always push-ing me to do my best and always supports all of my decisions. One day I’ll make you as proud of me as I am of you.

Finally, the Fab 5. I love you girls and will miss you! •

By Vicky Rivera

Iwould like to tell my poopies that I will miss them dearly and that I love them so much. They are my best friends and for anything they have done for me, I love you guys and I will miss you. •

I will miss you all

Thanks to friends, teachers and brother

I will miss all my poopies! Great friendsShout out to crush

“I will miss all my teachers, and some students that I met this year at Steinmetz.”

Ahrell Cua

“I will miss Ms. Dunne, Ms. Schimidt, Ms. Scolire, Mr. Kotchera, Mr. Gonzalez. I’ll miss going to lunch and be-ing with my friends Janelle and Marco.”

Zuleyma Martinez

“Nothing, I will be glad to get out of here!”

Christina Davenport

“I’m going to miss the JROTC program with Sgt. Hill and Col. Bynes. I will also miss the AVID program with Ms. Gleason. I will miss my friends, especially all the seniors and Vicky.”

Jacob Kuswik

By Ahmad Hamdan


Mohammad Judea: I will miss all of my teachers and especially my friends.

What did you like?Mohammad: What I like about

Steinmetz is that the teachers and students are really respectful.

How did you change from fresh-man year to senior year?”

Mohammad: I got taller. I was shy and now I’m not shy. I also be-came more mature.

What will you do in the future?Mohammad: I want to go to col-

lege and finish my education, but for now after I graduate from high school I want to take a break from school. •

“Lo que mas voy a extrañar son mis amigos pero en especial a una persona, porque es es-pecial para mi. También voy a extrañar a mi maestro de Italiano Mr. Greco.”

Daniel Jimenez

“Lo único que voy a ex-trañar son mis maestros, pero más a mi maestro de Italiano Mr.Greco porque siempre a sido mi maestro preferido.”

Betsy Bello


Star Seniors20

By Rachel Lara

To all my friends and my love I want to say that this has been the best year for me. I have got

closer with most of you, and I’m glad I did. Without you guys I wouldn’t be happy. You guys are the one who put a smile in my face.

To my boyfriend Kowalczyk: I love

you, and I know I can trust you with everything. You mean everything to me. Now that our four years of high school are ending doesn’t mean we forget about each other. Nothing will change between any of us.

To everyone in the Class of 2014, even if you’re not in the picture, this shout out is to you too.

Hugs and kisses. •

By Mili Salgado

I’m grateful for fi-nally graduatof high school. But I’m most

grateful for the people I’ve met throughout these four years. These people stayed true by my side no matter what. I can go on and on about them. Even if we only known each other for four years it’s feels like we’ve been knowing each other our whole lives. These people mean the world to me. And they are: Daniel Delgado, Les-ter Argueta, Estefany Rodriguez, Bibiana Delgado, Alondra Sanchez, Ashley Egan, Roger Garcia and Les-ter Argueta.

I can write on and on about how amazing each person is but that wouldn’t be enough to show how much I love you guys. Soon we will all be doing our own things and living our own lives but I know we would always keep in touch. Thank you guys for being the most


Thanks for making me happy

amazing friends I had ever had. And now for the teachers. I only had a few fa-

vorites. Ms. Mottram was my most favorite teacher of all. Besides having awesome tattoos, she didn’t let quitting become an = option for me. She taught me that no matter how hard the situation is it’s better to face it then hide from it. Whenever I didn’t under-stand anything in her class, she would sit by me and explain it until I finally understood it. I had her in my Honors English II in sophomore year and Law class in junior year. And honestly I was excited to have her again. She made the class fun and exciting

to go to. Sure I probably didn’t show that I loved her class but I really did enjoy having her as my teacher. It’s sad that once I leave I won’t see her again, but I know if I ever come back to visit she’ll be the first person I’ll go see.

And if you’re reading this, Ms. Mottram, thank you for helping me back up whenever I came to the point of giving up. You have showed me that I have to handle problems not hide from them. I’m truly thankful for having you for a teacher.

Love, Mili •

Grateful for friends and Ms. Mottram

By Emely Valdez

Austin Smith transferred to Stein-metz as a senior after attending Christian elementary school and

doing home schooling for most of his high school. He transferred because the Marines wouldn’t accept his credits; he needed a regular high school diploma. Austin said the best thing about being here was meeting Keisamar. •

Wonderful opportunity at Steinmetz Respectful students and staff


21Star Arts & Entertainment

Fashionable staff member’s good taste appreciated by all

Final field trip was just one more treat from Ms. Russo

I learned that the people of Steinmetz are amazing...

By Christina Davenport

Karena Childs, teacher aid, is a won-derful woman. She brings noth-ing but smiles and fashion into

Steinmetz.She has a good taste of style. She

motivates me to come to school looking fabulous. I was honored to a do fashion feature on a teacher for the first time. I took her picture every day for a week in April, but wish we had a shot of her every day this year. When she walks through the school, she styles up the hallways with her fashion.

I always use her fashion tips, and also look forward to seeing her in the hallways.I will miss seeing her when I leave for college. •

By Judy Lobello

Robin Russo took her Shakespeare stud-ies class to their final field trip of the year on May 20 to Navy Pier to see a

production of Henry the 5th. “It was good,” senior Gardenia Ceron

said. The play featured a lot of action. One cool aspect was that the actors performed the fighting scenes in slow motion.

If you want to see a play full of action, suspense, and treachery you should go see this play.

The Chicago Shakespeare teacher’s guide explanation of the story is helpful to read be-fore going to the theater.

“Henry the 5th tells the story about the new king of England who lays claim on the French throne,” the guide states. “Underesti-

mating its opponent, the French court delays its preparation.

“But when Henry’s army besieges the town of Harfleur, the French mobilize troops far outnumbering the English. The French prin-cess Catherine takes English lessons in prepa-ration for a new political alignment.

“On the battlefield the English troops are exhausted by disease, the French are more ar-rogant and certain than ever of their strength in the military.

“While keeping his fears private Henry’s rousing words come out before the battle of Agincourt, which lead his men to victory. Henry then claims the hand of the French princess in marriage.”

Source: http://www.chicagoshakes.com/res/teacherhandbooks/TH_HENV_13-14.pdf •


By Mateusz Gasienica

Telltale’s The Walking Dead (not to be mistaken with the awful The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct) is not a game

based on the show or the comic books. It is its own separate story that takes place in the same world, shattered by the zombie apocalypse.

TWD is an episodic adventure game. It means that it is divided into parts (episodes), with every episode having its own part of the story. The game comes out in parts which unfortunately mean that you have to wait 2-3 months between each episode (so far it ends on Season 2 Episode 3).

The story is the main focus of the game. The studio responsible for the game, Telltale, has almost 10 years of experience in telling great stories (ironically enough) and it also shows in the game. The script is superior; characters have their own goals, backstories and even the motives that make them do ter-rible things. It makes them more believable and memorable. At this point I can’t even find one character that would feel unnecessary for the story. They’re all like carefully placed puzzles that make the story, you get a rid of one and it would just fall apart, especially if you get rid of Clementine, but I’ll talk about her in a moment.

In the first season of the game you play Lee Everett, a history teacher who is on his way to prison for killing a senator who slept with his wife. He spends a while talking to the police officer and then BAM, zombie apocalypse. Lee wakes up few days later in the crashed car and in the middle of the forest. He makes his way to the first house he sees while he’s get-ting chased by zombies and here Lee meets Clementine.

Let me stop here for a second and tell you that Clementine is the best kid character in the video game history. She is so complex for a 8 year old girl and yet she is innocent enough

to still be believable. She is the piece of the puzzle that goes in the middle; her presence is like glue that holds everything together.

Anyway, Lee takes Clementine with him and decides to take care of her until they find her parents. This is the kind of redemption that Lee goes through to repay his sins, and in the end this is what makes the choices you make in the game difficult, especially the one you make during the ending sequence.

The story-changing feature that allows you to play the game multiple times and see different outcomes is making decisions. Dur-ing the entire game you’ll have to make the decisions that would be difficult to make in any circumstances. For example, in Episode 2 you get few food items and you have to decide how to distribute them between 10 people. It doesn’t matter what you do, some people will be mad at you and some will still support you even if they don’t get any food.

This sort of social awareness where choices you make affect how people interact with you is the best idea the developer could come up with. Unlike “Heavy Rain”, the choices in here matter not because they change the story, but because they affect the way you remember the characters. If you‘re talking to them like you’re the center of the world they will hate you, and if you’re trying your best to make everyone your friend, some people will still hate you, just like in real world.

Those “small choices” are not the only ones you’ll make. Since it’s a middle of the zombie apocalypse you’ll have to make some serious and brutal decisions, like deciding to cut the arm of the infected person and see if it helps or leaving it be. Just remember that every choice has its own consequences.

The graphic is pretty good, I mean it’s not “The Last of Us” by any means, but the art style is unique and despite the blocky char-acters it fits the mood. Unfortunately the game has minor problems with frame rate on consoles. It slows down if there are more

Star Arts & Entertainment22

‘The Walking Dead’ game by Telltale is amazing

Score: 9/10Pros:+Amazing story+Decisions that have an impact on characters+Believable characters+Ending of the Season 1+Clementine Cons:-Minor problems with the console versions-Season 2 is inferior to the previous game

Flappy Bird is coming backBy Mateusz Gasienica

Did you enjoy watching everyone around you waste their time by playing Flappy Bird? Me neither,

but Dong Nguyen just announced that his most popular game will return to the App Store in August.

The game will undergo some changes, but the biggest change is that the new ver-sion will have multiplayer option.

Dong said that unlike the previous version the new Flappy Bird will be “less addictive” whatever that means. Hooray, I guess? •

10 zombies on screen and the transitions be-tween screens take few seconds. I didn’t see any problems on PC though.

I have to give them credit for improving the engine in Season 2. It still has some issues, but they’re nearly unnoticeable now.

Some people might also complain about gameplay, or rather lack of gameplay. You just move through linear locations and talk to peo-ple, occasionally fighting with zombies, and pressing buttons at the right time to survive, but in my opinion it’s ok.

It doesn’t have that much depth, but it works better than making it a First Person Shooter. It’s definitely better than “Heavy Rain” with its dumb commands, although “Press X to Jason”, was hilarious.

The story in the Season 2 so far is also lacking. It’s still more original than the generic zombie stories, but it’s not nearly as good as Season 1. I have a feeling that after the great Episode 1 of Season 2 the story stopped being about the main character and is more about

the characters no one cares about. I hope the last episodes will fix this problem.

Telltale’s The Walking Dead is a great game. If you’re a fan of anything zombie related or if you just like games with good stories you should definitely check it out, especially since it came out for every mobile/stationary device. You can buy the entire Season 1 for about $10. Believe me when I tell you that the game is definitely worth it.•


Star Sports 23

By Karla Solis

This track season has come to a close after five long months of

hard work from our girls. It was a cold season with tem-peratures rarely going above fifty degrees. There was even snow on the ground during our spring break workouts, which were outdoor workouts by the way.

Although five seniors are leaving the team, it is going to be a strong team next year because the returning athletes are a very strong group.

Our girls track team is amazing and we left it all out on the track this season. There was an awesome group of new-comers this season. The team showed a lot of heart out there on the track and on the field.

The incredible Coach Abel Pereyra taught us all how to push ourselves further than what we thought we were capable of. You learn a lot about yourself as a track athlete.

The team banquet on May 28 and was a great way to close out the year. Many academic awards were presented to our athletes.

It was a sweet evening and I will

miss my track girls, but don’t worry because this is not the last you see of me.

Here are this year’s individual award winners as presented by Coach P.:

Most Valuable Athletes Cintia Garcia and Diana HerreraSprinter of the YearBrenda Lopez

Distance Runner of the YearBrenda EscalanteMost Improved AthleteArely MoralesBest New AthleteMaria FigueroaExtraordinary Leadership AwardKarla SolisTeam Spirit AwardVivian Palma•

By Brandon Smith and Brian Geans

Three-sport athlete and senior Javier Del-gado joined the Streaks baseball team this year.

“I wish I could have played every year but I couldn’t due to my commitment to Stein-metz football team,” Javier said.

Coach Roldan is very proud of the seniors, mentioning “Big Angel” – a very dedicated player, Salvador Moreno – an excellent catcher, baseball newcomer Javier Delgado – “he did a great job,” returning player Zach Lugo – “good player, good attitude,” AJ Sauceda – most valuable, and Colin Quaglia – best hitter.

Highlights of the season include playing at UIC’s field at night under the lights for two games where the Streaks beat Forman and lost to Chicago Academy.

The team went 15-14 for the season, reaching the final four of the CPS consola-tion tournament, and round two of the state tournament.

“Our hitting improved,” Coach Angel DeJesus said. “We had lots of hitting.”

He pointed to underclassmen Jose Perez and Elias Nievas as players to watch in the future. •

Adriana Hernandez, Yesenia Arroyo, Helen Canola, Karla Solis, Frevelyn Nava

By Carmelita Mendez

The soccer team won conference and made it to quarterfinals of the city championships this year. The team’s

final record was 10 wins, 1 tie, and 2 losses.The players proved that commitment, hard work and dedication go a long way. They achieved so much this year, but it didn’t happen overnight. These girls began an unbreakable bond their freshman year.

The Star interviewed captain Lupe Me-dina on how the team came closer through-out the years and improved more each year.

“I played three years with the team,” said Lupe, who received a full scholarship to play soccer at Oakton Community Col-lege. “It’s been good, although sophomore year was bad. Junior year we became close and the reason why we began to win most of the games.”

The seniors will leave with a wonderful experience and memories. Senior Tetyana Banduras, who had shout outs for her team-mates:

“Shout out to Lupe – the big butty, Melissa – Granny, Alejandra – RoboCop, Liz, Dalila, Gabby – Spring Breakers, Aida – Torta, Gabi – Pollito, Yadira – Crippled.”

“Shout out for sticking throughout the season and dedicating time and actually winning something,” Tetyana said. “Shout out to my spring breakers — get ready for

summer.” Coach Mark Lichaj said he is really

proud of the girls and wishes the best to all of them as they continue on their journey.

“We won the first division north confer-ence and will move into the premier divi-sion next year for the first time in Steinmetz history,” he said. “We also made it to the quarterfinals of the Chicago city playoffs, which was also the first time in Steinmetz history.” •

All-Academic team winners: Gabriela Sanchez, Alejandra Sanchez, Guadelupe Medina, Yadir Abarca. Coach Lichaj chose Melissa Valdespino (not pictured) for a leadership award, Guada-lupe – MVP, Yadira – Defensive MVP, Alejandra – Most improved.

By Danielle Stencel

This season was better than before for the girls soft-ball team. Their record

was 9-7. The captains this year were Taylor Silvestri, and Ashley Aquino.

The season ended with nine

players. Coach Russo said she was so thankful for all of them. She said Janalizze Guba em-braced her position as catcher, and especially junior Haley Sil-vestri who was new to the team and Steinmetz this year.

“Haley brought depth, and a new-found motivation for the team,” Ms. Russo said. •

Cross country practice begins June 10. See Mr. Pereyra ASAP in

Room 322 for more information.

Athletes learn to push themselves Streaks softball has winning season

Soccer wins conference

“We became close, which is why we began to win most of the games.”

Streaks advance in city and state tournaments

Seniors Colin Quaglia (left), Javier Delgado, Salvador Moreno, AJ Sauceda (above), Angel Torres (right), and Zach Lugo helped make it a great sea-son. Freshman Jose Perez (below) is one of the strong under-classmen.


Star Sports24

By Rad Stasik

I would like to send in a shout out to a worthy senior and my cousin, Kamil Stasik! He is an IB senior who will be

attending UIC. Kamil is an athlete and participated in sports including football, cross country, and track and field. In fact, Kamil introduced me into sports.

Also worth noting, he was one of the top scorers for science in the 2013 ACT.

He is also an artist and he had a piece on display at the National Museum of Mexican Art during the Day of the Dead 2013 exhibi-tion.

He is very intelligent, but can also be a goof. I want to wish him the best at UIC. Thanks, cuz! •

By Anthony Guerrero

One of the best things about high school is being able to set new goals in life and to

make new friends. One of my big-gest goals of high school was losing a lot of weight.

When I was a freshman at 5’1, I weighed 197 pounds and was close to getting diabetes. One day out of school I saw the boys track and field team practicing and I thought to myself “I want to run like them someday.”

That day I went home and told myself I can make my dreams come true all I needed was a push and that push came when I saw the track team practice. So I ran and ran and ran.

It took me one year to lose 60 pounds. I now currently weigh 130 pounds. To anybody who reads this I leave you off with these thoughts. In life you will come to a point where you want to give up, where you will accept what people think about you because you believe it’s true. I say it’s all lies you can become anything you want in life by work-ing hard and dreaming big. If your dreams don’t scare you then you’re not dreaming big enough.

To all my friends that I have met in the last four years I want to say thank you and hope you all do great in life and never give up because I’ll be cheering on for you. •

Anthony Kowalczyk made Steinmetz track and field history at the outdoor city championship

He broke the shot put record by throwing 51.06, a record previously held by Steve Till-man who threw 51.4 in 1991.

Anthony took 1st in the city in shot put and 1st in discuss, throwing 131.7, 4 feet away from the school record.

Alexis Sarabia faced fierce competition in the 800, finishing 6th place in the city. He came very close to breaking the 800 meter record by running a 1:59.96, but Josh Thomp-son still holds the record from 2001.

Alexis was part of the last year’s record-breaking 4 x 800 meter relay team. Alexis, Eric Lora, Eliexer Sarabia, and Josue Torres finished 6th in the state regional sectional in 2013 with a record time of 8:25:62, beating a 21-year-old record by almost 7 seconds.•

Anthony Kowalczyk breaks school record

Great athlete, scholar, cousin

Shout out to the team

By Christophe Bedu

Shout-out to my track team! Most of you should know this by now, but I consider you my broth-ers.

On most days the only thing I have to look forward to is working out with you guys. Next year is going to take some getting used to without my track team to do stupid things with.•

Charles Ivy, Brandon Smith sign college football letters of intent

Charles Ivy (above with team, coaches and Principal Ngo) will play for Iowa Central Community College. Brandon Smith (right) will play at North Park.

The weight is over

may-june 2014 steinmetz star

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