Issue 4: November 28, 2 - Lake Stevens School District #4

features11
Check out more photos on Facebook at “Lshs Valhalla” November 28, 2012
Visit locksoflove.org for more information about donating hair
by Caitlyn Chandler
Opinion Editor
Face in the crowd: Delvene Ali
Junior Delvene Ali adapts to moving around the West Coast
by Kacie Masten
Sports Editor
Alexis Buehler
Locks of Love is an organization
that began in 1997 and
gives wigs and hairpieces to
children in the United States and Canada who suffer
from long-term medical hair loss. They collect donated
hair and create unique hairpieces for financially
disadvantaged children who can’t afford to buy wigs
for themselves.
Most of the wigs created by Locks of Love are given
to children with Alopecia, a disease that causes complete
hair loss. LSHS senior Alexis Buehler recently
donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love because
of her personal connection to someone with Alopecia.
Outstanding students
by Brittan Lamberty
Staff Reporter
Students of the month
must go above and beyond
and show their hard work
and dedication to their teachers. To some, being student
of the month was a goal to be accomplished. For
others the award was a complete surprise to them.
“My German teacher nominated me; I work hard
in that class so I think that’s why she did so. Hard
work definitely pays off!” junior Emily Schollenberger
said.
Moreover, having a positive attitude and being
nice to others is one of the many attributes that students
perform to receive student of the month.
“Try your best in school and be nice to other people.
You don’t have to have all A’s just to be student
of the month. If your teachers recognize that you are
really trying your best then you could be nominated
as well,” sophomore Kaitlyn Kurisu said.
Being student of the month does take a lot of effort
and devotion. However, anyone can do it if they
try hard to succeed and work to their fullest potential.
.
..
October students of the month
Sophomores Kaitlyn Kurisu and Jaylen Pegues
Juniors Emily Schollenberger and Rylan Huot
Seniors Tanya Richmond and Kyle Zellers
Many students at LSHS experience
moving to a new house
or neighborhood. However, most
students will never experience moving like junior
Delvene Ali. Within the past 16 years, Ali has moved
six times. These haven’t been to different neighborhoods
either. Overall, Ali has moved to four different
cities, three separate counties, and two states.
Ali’s family is accustomed to moving; her parents
immigrated to the United States in 1993. Both of her
parents were born and raised in Iraq. They were
married in the early 1990’s, and soon after, Saddam
Hussein began to bomb the country. Hoping to seek
safety, Ali’s parents fled to Turkey. Luckily, after living
in Turkey for almost a year, their names came up
for a lottery, allowing them to move to the United
States. In 1993, Ali’s parents moved to the United
States, and settled in Bremerton. A few years later,
Ali was born.
Ali lived there until she was two. Soon after,
Ali’s parents felt uncomfortable in the community
because, being from the Middle East, they felt detached
from their culture. Soon, they moved to Everett.
However, this wasn’t a perfect match, so Ali’s
family moved to Lake Stevens until Ali was in third
“One of my cousin’s friends has Alopecia, so her
hair falls out constantly. She gets her wigs from a wig
shop,” Buehler said.
Donating to Locks of Love is no easy task as it takes
a lot of time and hard work to maintain hair that long.
Additionally, hair must be free of bleach.
“It took me about three years to grow my hair out
that long. It was just past the middle of my back when
I cut it,” Buehler said.
The hairpieces provided by Locks of Love help to
restore self-esteem and confidence to the children
who need them. The hair that Buehler donated will do
just that for a child in need somewhere.
Paving a path to the big city stadium
by Sarah Gluck
Staff Reporter
Senior Andrew Elgaen has
been playing football ever since
he can remember, and he doesn’t
want it to end. With the close of the football season,
Elgaen has been preparing his best for the future.
Both Elgaen and fellow senior football
player Conner Coleman were contacted by
University of Portland coaches to take a
day trip down to watch a game. The boys
not only watched the game, but enjoyed
excellent passes to view the game from the
sidelines. Coleman and Elgaen toured the
campus and were able to go in and walk
around the locker room.
While Elgaen loved the Portland
coaches, the campus, the college
atmosphere, in all honesty one
of his favorite parts of the University
is the mascot.
“They’re the Vikings, always
have to stay true to the
Vikings,” Elgaen said with a
beaming smile on his face.
It doesn’t all come so
easy though. Elgaen explained
that being studious
is essential for athletes.
“School comes first. You
have to have an education
if you want to go anywhere
Photo by Chloe Rowland
Senior Alexis Beuhler holds the braid that was cut off and donated to Locks
of Love. The minimum length of hair that is required to donate is ten inches.
in today’s world.” Elgaen said.
As much as Elgaen receives pressure at home,
he says the pressure to obtain good grades and play
his hardest on the field has only helped him in a
positive way. But trying his best exceeds most
people’s efforts. Not only has Elgaen played
his hardest, but he sure has shown it. This
season he stood on the field every game
with two broken fingers and a partially
torn ACL.
“I plan on getting surgery after the
season unless I wrestle. It’s my senior
year, and I’m going to play my heart
out,” Elgaen said.
Elgaen says the key to success is
to just focus.
“Mentally preparing and
zoning everything out is
what I do to get it done. I
deal with school, and then
I deal with sports.” Elgaen
said.
Other athletes just like
Elgaen are hopeful to further
their athletic careers.
Students will be hearing
about their scholarships
over the next few months.
Elgaen hopes to hear from
UP and suit up next fall.
Photo by Chloe Rowland
Photo courtesy of Alexis Beuhler
grade. Then her family decided to try living in Everett
again.
However, the story isn’t over. After living in Everett,
Ali’s brothers wanted to move to California,
where more people from the Middle East live. Ali’s
parents agreed, and the family moved to San Diego.
After a year, though, the Ali family grew to dislike
the community in San Diego.
“[San Diego] was really bad and the schools were
terrible, and we didn’t like it over there so we came
back [to Lake Stevens],” Ali said.
As of late September, Ali lives in Lake Stevens, but
the move comes with its own challenges.
“It’s different because a new place has different
people and some places are hard to make friends
and some places are good, but it’s just really hard
around different people every few years,” Ali said.
Even though moving has been difficult for Ali, and
at times she would rather be in Everett where she
stayed the longest, she knows that her parents had
the best of intentions in mind and that they wanted
their children to be first priority.
“They always wanted me to get the best education
I can and try my hardest even though they knew
it was difficult,” Ali said.