verbatimBrownell-Talbot College Preparatory School 400 North Happy Hollow Boulevard Omaha, NE 68132

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 2vol. V, issue 1

2Mancuso’s Vision

score.” Brownell’s school spirit has increased since the night game. On Sept. 21, Brownell hosted its first spaghetti feed. Mancuso presented the Booster Club with the idea, and they took it and ran with it. It appeared to be a way to build commu-nity. “I want our community to stay together, to hang out for a bit, not just splinter off and celebrate or participate in another school’s community,” said Mancuso. The Raiders, in whatever sport, should know that the school is behind them, and that’s what this year is all about. “I want to see all our sports have great achievements, and I want to see our school get excited about them.” stated Mancu-so. -Article by Mercedes Kent

The football team started its year out strong as it hosted its first night game since the school’s founding. Head Coach Mike Mancuso said that the primary reason for the night game was the extreme heat concern. He also pointed out that the players felt like a real varsity team under the lights. The Raiders played the Humbolt-Table Rock-Steinauer Titans and ended up with a 39-28 victory. Mancuso attributes their success to their well-executed offense. With a 33-point first half, the lack of scor-ing in the second seemed out of place. When asked about it Mancuso said, “ The second half we didn’t score as much, but a big part of that was me. I took the ball out of the air because we had a good lead, and it started raining, and my play calling was geared toward securing the win, not continuing to

3

ThefirstnightgameinBrownell-TalbothistoryoccurredAug.24at7p.m.,andthefootballteamdidnotleavevictoryoutoftheirgraspwithafinalscoreof39-28.“Ifeltexcitedandemotionallychargedforthegame.Iwasespeciallyexcitedbecauseitwasthefirsthomenightgameintheschool’shistory,andIwantedtomakeitawin,”saidteamcaptain,juniorWillHaskell. TheenergyofthestudentbodyhelpedtheboystakeawinfromHumbolt-TableRock-Steinhauer.TheheatofAugustmadethegame,usuallyatfourintheafternoon,getpushedbacktoseven,andtheschoolrentedtenportablelights.CaptainandjuniorquarterbackTylerEhresmanstatedhe“feltliketheteamplayedbetterbecauseofthelights.Itwasamuchcooleratmo-sphereplayingathomeunderthelights,anditgavetheteamthatextramotivationtocomeoutontop.” “Havingmorenightgameswouldbeanamazingideabecauseitissuchabetterexperi-ence,andIthinkitdefinitelyimprovesourplaying,”saidsophomoreJonathanVrana.

A New Tradition

“I felt excited and emotion-ally charged for the game. I was especially excited because it was the first night game in the school’s his-tory.” -WillHaskell,‘14

“I felt that the team played better because of the lights.” -TylerEhres-man,‘14

4

Homecoming

Homecoming 2012 Court: Aisha Yapp, Lorenzo Rivera, Linda Liu, J. B. Davis, Alison Brockman, AlejandroAnderson

Linda Liu and Alejandro Anderson reign as Queen and King. photos by Marjorie Waterman

5 Homecoming.Thetermbringsaboutdifferentemotionsfordifferent

people;excitement,anxiety,uneasiness,evenannoyance:thestresstopro-

curetheperfectdress,ortimetoruntothefloriststopickupyourcorsage,

ortryingtoscroungeupmoneytopayforyourdateatsomeoverlyexpensive

restaurant.

Wehaveallbeenguiltyofthesefrettingthoughts,becauseamidstthe

enormousexpectationsyoucarrywithschoolworkandextracurriculars,who

hastimetoorganizetheperfectdance?

Evenso,the2015sophomorescameincrediblyclose.Theycaptured

theessenceofthemasquerade,dressingtheentrywaywithdeepshadesof

purple.Ourgymwasnolongeraplaceforrecreation,butforsophistication.

WithexpertDJskillsbyourownAustinTaylor,peoplewereabletoshedthe

everydayworriesthatschoolinevitablybringsandenjoyanightstressfree.

ThefirstdanceofHomecomingQueenandKingLindaLiuand

AlejandroAndersonwasatouchingspectacle,squeezedbetweensongssuch

as“Low,”“Yeah!,”andKreayshawn’sinfamous“GucciGucci.”Theglow

sticksthrownintotheaudienceduring“Lights”byEllieGouldingwasthe

icingonthecake.

So,althoughthenightcanbeoneofmeticulousplanning,itmostoften

comestofruition.Andeventhoughthedancemaynothavestruckyourfancy,

I’msureyoufeltwhatIfeltasIwalkedintothegymthatnight;asenseof

friendshipandprideinbeingaRaider.

Masquerade Ball

ArticlebyGraceBydalek

6

Witheachelectionyearcomestheinevitablecommentaryaboutthelegalvoters’politicalintelligence.LatenighttalkshowhostJimmyKimmelrecentlymadefunofrandompeopleonthestreetwhowereaskedwhohadwonthedebate,thedaybeforeithappened.Responsessuggestedthattheintervieweeshadnoideawhattheyweretalkingabout.Itmakesoneponderiftheyounger,non-votingpopulationpaysmoreattentionthanthosewhoactuallyhavethelegalrightto. WhenaskedinBrownell-Talbot’ssocialstudiesclasseswhatthemajordecidingfactorinthePresidentialelectionwouldbeanoverwhelmingnumberofstudentssaid“gayrights.”Aftergayrightswastheeconomicsituationandwhatthecandidates’planswereforsolvingit. Eachstudenthadhis/herownexplanationabouttheirresponses.JuniorMiaHopkinsexplained,“Socialissuessuchasabortionandgaymarriage…Icouldn’tfindmyselfvotingforsomeonewhodoesn’trespectallpeople.” Ontheotherendofthespectrum,sophomoreRobGoetschkesquipped,“Definitelywhichonelikestosleepinhammocksmore…oralsowhichonefixesourdeficitwithouttaxingthemiddleclass/lowerclassmore.” ClearlyBrownell’sstudentbodyhasthoughtabouttheissuesfacingus.Whenaskedhowhegotinterestedinpolitics,sophomoreCaravaggioCanigliaadmittedthatextemporane-ousspeakingthroughCompetitiveSpeechinspiredhim.Eventhoughhebecameinterestedinpoliticsthroughacademics,Canigliaadmitsthatheenjoyspoliticsalot,andthathisbiggestconcernintheupcomingelectionisfutureU.S./Chinarelations.

Talking Politics by Lauren Zimmerman

VS

FashionistaSenior Bea Duncan is not afraid to express herself through her style. Whether she’s in uniform or out on the town, she brings her personal style to every out-fit. Duncan gives us an insight into her extravaganza of fashion secrets.

How would you describe your style in three words?

Eclectic, Nostalgic, DarkWhere do you like to shop?

American ApparelWhat’s your favorite clothing item to wear in the fall?

My dad’s leather jacket circa 1986Who inspires your fashion choices?

Parisian womenArticle by Wellesley Michael

8 Here we go! Fall 2012

As I walked into the Head of School’s office the other day, a smiling face still unfamiliar to many Brownell-Talbot stu-dents greeted me. Dr. Sylvia Rodriguez Vargas warmly welcomed me in for an informal interview to help students get a little better acquainted with our new headmaster. We are all familiar with her impressive credentials, but Dr. Vargas proved to be far more than a series of sparkling achievements. Extremely easy-going and remarkably easy to talk to, Dr. Vargas displayed her passion for Brownell students and BT education with every word. She describes herself as a “school person,” and it very clearly rings true. When asked about any surprises after assuming her role on-campus, Dr. Vargas said that she was impressed with the sense of community at Brownell and “having families really know one another and connect with the faculty” is a prime example of what she loves about being here at Brownell. One of her favorite mo-ments as a new faculty member was the first home game of the season under the lights. Seeing the families, friends, neighbors, students, faculty, and alumni all gather in one place to cheer on the Raiders really impressed upon her the extended community here at Brownell. Dr. Vargas stressed her commitment to keeping with the school’s mission – Learn passionately, think critically, act respon-sibly, and lead with integrity- when asked about what she would like to possibly change as Head of School. This first semester, she wants to keep her “learning lenses on” and find out what people value in the traditions and curriculum of Brownell. By the end of first semester, she hopes to better understand the “key pieces… keeping with the tradition of excellence” and will be “able to move forward with strength, grace, creativity, and innovation.”

Dr. Vargas wants to ensure that every student feels that they can get to know her. She has spent time with the freshmen, seniors, and even the recently graduated Class of 2012, and she hopes that any student who wants will stop by to have a conversation with her so that they can learn a little more about each other. In just my half-hour sit-down, I learned that when she was little she wanted to be a dancer and later was the editor of her school paper in high school. She has a passion for travel and advocates, “being open to positive risks and trying new things.”

Article By Emily Bergquist

A New Addition to The B-T Family:

the Induction of Dr. Rodriguez Vargas as Head of School

Here we go! Fall 2012 9

Robotics

FormoststudentsatBrownell-Talbot,“VEX,”soundslikeamade-upword.Forafewstudentsineachgrade,however,VEXiswhattheyliveandbreathe.VEXRoboticsisacompanythatmanufacturesallofthepiecesthattheB-TRoboticsteamuses.PairedwithVEXisthelocallyrunCREATEFoundationwhichsponsorsthetournaments. TheVEXroboticstour-namentsbeganin2007withthe“BridgeBattle”game.Immediatelygatheringattention,thefirstyearwasverysuccessful.However,asmoreschoolsandstatesjoinineachyear,VEXgrowsbiggerandbigger.

Eachyearthegamesbecomemorechallengingandforcestudentstothinkofnewrobotdesigns.Therehavebeenawideva-rietyofgameobjects,fromringstobarrelstosacks.Thestudentshavetoworkaroundobstaclesinordertohaveasuccessfulrobot,whichistrulyrewarding. Forthe2012-2013season,thegameiscalled“SackAttack!”Atroughisplacedinthecenterofthegamefield,andgreenandgoldsacksaredistributedacrossthefield,withgoldsacksbeingbonuspoints.Theobjectiveofthegameistoscoresacksintothetroughthatmatchesthecolorofyouralliancetogainthemostpoints. FortheB-TRoboticsteam,theseasonofficiallybeginswiththefirsttournamentinNovember.Withaseasonlastinguntilwellintothespring,theB-TRoboticsteamhasalongwaytogo!

ArticleByAllyWashka

Article By Emily Bergquist

10 What we have been up to...

duke tipEmily Bergquist:

Article on the facing page

11

Imagine being in class from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.. Now, imagine being in

the same class for those ten and a half hours, with the same teacher,

the same students, and the same material. Now, imagine that on repeat,

six days a week, for a month.

Sounds crazy, right? Well… it is. Crazy in the best possible

way. I’ve been a Duke TiP participant for the past three years, and it

has honestly been one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve ever

encountered. I’ve taken classes on International Relations, Political

and Pop Countercultures, and the Evolution of Empires. Concentrating a

couple hundred bright, inquisitive and creative adolescents in to one

very small college campus allows for incredible opportunities to make

lasting friendships and learn more than possible in a typical classroom

setting.

Now, while Duke likes to call us “gifted children,” we students

refer to TiP as what everyone knows it really is: nerd camp. And we

nerds refer to ourselves as “tipsters.” However, we like to alter the

stereotype of a nerd. A typical tipster prefers ultimate Frisbee over

quiet reading, Never Have I Ever over Dungeons and Dragons, and Ke$ha

over Mozart. What makes TiP so unique is that a conversation over the

lyrics to “Call Me Maybe” can quickly turn into one about how all popu-

lar culture is cyclical and slowly becoming obsolete, which can turn

into a conversation about Karl Marx’s historical materialism, which can

come full circle to a conversation about the latest Nicki Minaj song

(yes, this was an actual conversation we had in class one day).

As many of my Facebook friends can attest to, not only do tip-

sters like to take a lot of pictures, we like to take a lot of pictures

of us doing the strangest things. Some of the most popular TiP tradi-

tions include a Lip Sync competition, wearing star stickers on your

eye every day (I got a killer star-shaped tan line), dressing in togas

for a day, doing the Time Warp on the Marketplace steps, and competing

in an all-camp dorm vs. dorm field day called Quadfest. Oh, and I can’t

forget to mention the holy grail of TiP traditions: carrying around a

plaster covered piñata lovingly referred to as the Llama.

Perhaps the most accurate way to sum up Duke TiP is with a song

that every tipster on campus knows by the end of term: “Home” by Ed-

ward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. TiP was my home for three summers

in a row. It was bittersweet to say my final goodbye this year, but I

wouldn’t trade my time at TiP for the world.

12

The Climb of a Lifetime

You hear rustling nylon, and jolt up. Your eyes aren’t heavy, your brain is already alive and ready; it’s finally time. After days upon days of talking about it, thinking about, living and breathing for it, it finally has come time to experience it. You throw on your hiking boots—well not exactly, you carefully lace them up; it’s a big day, and you don’t want them to be too loose. Then, faster than ever before, everyone else is as ready as you are. You stand in a tiny circle, shoulder to shoulder to keep in the warmth. It’s 3 a.m. and at 11,000 feet that’s pretty dang cold. All of a sudden the dark silence is broken by the all-too-familiar sound of ten diabetics simultaneously checking their blood sugar.

Article by Christina Fossum

13

Every mountain you climb is amazing in its own way, the excitement of the beginning, the exhaustion, the determina-tion that keeps you going all the way to the top. And on the way down, that feeling, that self-satisfaction of knowing you have just added one more peak to your list, thus enhancing the ever important “street cred.” This one was different. Even though being able to say you hiked Mt. Whitney affords you some pretty serious bragging rights, which is always nice, “it’s the journey, not the destina-tion” that really applies here. Looking back, the best moments weren’t standing on top of the world, but the friendships I made getting there. When you check your blood and EVERYONE turns to look, sometimes you even wish you could go back to the way things used to be, when you could down an entire bag of sugar risk-free. But getting together with other diabetics and taking on one of the toughest hikes in North America made it all feel ok. For the first time in a long time, I was truly proud of who I was and everything I had gone through. All the work it takes getting to the top has a way of melting away when you finally reach the summit, especially when you stand up there with the most amazing, inspirational people you have ever met.

14

Afteradifficultweekofmasterclasses,includingTheaterBusiness,MoneyManagement,NailThatAudition,TraditionalandContemporaryClasseswithDeidreandTyler,andSceneStudywithCraig,theatmosphereamongstthestudentswasopenandready.Webeganrehearsalsstartingat5:30inthemorningandendingat7p.morlater,preppingfordifficultvocalandphysicalnum-bers,including“WhateverLolaWants-DamnYankees,”“Footloose,”“Fosse,”“FallingSlowly-Once,”and“ComeTogether,aBeatlesMedley.”FellowstudentWellesleyMichaeldescribestheBeatlesMedleyperfectly: “MyfavoriteBroadwayDreamsnumberwasamedleyofTheBeatleshits‘ComeTogether’and‘AllYouNeedisLove.’Wewerestartingfromscratch.Allwehadwasthesheetmusic,butwiththehelpofTitusBurgessourmusicstartedtohaveharmoniesandsoloists.Everydaythenumberprogressedmoreandmore.DeidreGoodwinchoreographedallofthedancingandmarchinginthenumber,butittooktimeforeverythingtolookperfect.CraigD’Amicomentallypushedusuntilwewereintherightmindsettosingforeveryonefightinginwarsallovertheworld.TheBeatlesMedleyensemblehadtostayattheHollandCenteruntileightthenightbeforeourfinalshowcasetomakesureeverythingwasperfect,anditwasfarfromperfect.Bythetimewehadallmarchedoffstage,andGracesangherfinalnote,everyonewasintears.That’showweknewwewerereadyforshowtime.”

Itallstartswithadream:anemptyauditorium,costumes,fromcorsetswornintheoriginalFosse,tofatigueswornbyourAmericansoldiersincombat,hanginguntouchedinthedressingrooms.Itstartswithambition:asinglespotlightonagirlwithafacetoremember.Itstartswithmusic,neatlysetagainstthepiano.Itstartswithasinglechord,asinglestep,asinglecue.Atleast,thisishowitstartedforWellesleyMichaelandmeonJuly26,2012. Alongwithhavingthestate-of-the-artHollandCenterofPerformingArtsforourfacility,wewereblessedenoughtoworkunderthedirectionofmanyseasonedandimpassionedprofessionalsduringourweekatBroadwayDreams.TylerHanes,whohasgracedthestageintenBroadwaymu-sicalsincludingHairspraywithMatthewMorrisonandSweet CharitywithChristinaApplegate,aswellasdancingalongsideKristinChenowethonher2012nationaltour,tookaplaceamonghisstu-dentsthissummer,andprovideduswithinvaluabletraining.CraigD’Amico(Fiddler On the Roof),DeidreGoodwin(Chicago),TitusBurgess(The Little Mermaid),MattLenz(Direction: Catch Me if You Can),QuentinEarlDarrington(The Color Purple, Memphis),NicholasRodriguez(Tarzan),Jar-rodEmick(1990TonyWinnerforDamn Yankees)andSarahDarling(Beauty and the Beast)wereonlysomeofthestellarinstructorstoexpandourknowledge.

Broadway DreamsArticle by Wellesley Michael and Grace Bydalek

15

TheNSLCortheNationalStudentLeadershipConferenceisanationalsummerprogramin

whichstudentsfromalloverthecountrycometolearnaboutoccupationfieldsandmeetpeoplethat

specializeinitspecifically.Themaingoaloftheprogramsistohelpstudentsexperiencethefield’s

mainhighlightsandtomeetnewpeople.Therearevariousvigorousprograms.Thetopicfieldsthat

theycoverarebusiness,culinaryarts,education,engineering,forensicscience,law,entertainment

management,healthandmanyothers.TheprogramthatItookpartinwasmedicineandhealthcare

whicharebasedonsettingupafutureforadoctorsorpeoplethatworkinhealthcare.

InthemedicineandhealthcareprogramIwasexposedtothingsthatIwouldnotbeexposed

tountilmedicalschool.Iwasabletodoclinicalrounds,meetpeoplethatworkedinmedicalpositions

andlearntechniquesthatwillprovehelpfulinthefuture.

Theclinicalroundsconsistedofseeingandpracticingthingsthatarespecialtiesofthevarious

doctorroutes.Iwouldtakebloodpressureofpeopleandgettheirpulse,seeultrasounds,dealwithtest

outbreaks,seefiles,practicegastroenterologyskillswithutensils,andotherpractices.Thebiggesthigh-

lightforeveryonewasprobablywhentheydidtheirownsuturesfortheveryfirsttime;everyonewould

takepicturesofthesuturesproudly.

Theprogramalsobroughtinpeoplethatwereacupuncturists,healthentrepreneurs,sur-

geons,andeventhepresidentofBlueCross-BlueShield.

Outsideoflearningtheprogram,wealsometnewpeopleandexploredChicago.Everyonewas

groupedupintovariousteams.Theteamsweremadesothatwecouldtalktothemandbewiththem

mostofthetimewithintheprogram.Inthemorningsomegroupswouldgooutearlytogetsomefood

fromPanera,Starbucks,orEinsteinsortheywouldleaveintheafternoontogoshoppingorwalking.In

thefirstday,thegroupstooktheropescourseandwouldgettoknoweachotherverywell.Someother

daystheprogramtookeveryonetoplacesinChicagolikeGino’spizzeria,NavyPier,andtheshopping

centers.

Theprogramisdefinitelyalotoffunandworthgoingifyouwanttolearninthesummer.

Theprogramsare10days;locationsanddatesvarybasedeachyear.Tolearnmorevisithttp://www.

nslcleaders.org

NationalStudentLeadershipConference

ArticlebyCamiloZapata