The photos, which are taken at no cost to the student, are the only senior photos accepted for the 2013 yearbook. Photos can be purchased from Western. Because of publication deadlines, these photos need to be taken before school starts.

Wentz enlisted in the army in order to lead soldiers on the battlefield.

At the age of 17, Wentz put his lifelong dream into action and dedicated his life to the armed forces. Even as a young boy, Wentz felt his calling.

“In the sixth grade I knew that I wanted to pursue the military,” Wentz said. “At first I was afraid of what could happen to me if I did pursue it, but as I thought about it more I realized that if I don’t, who will?”

In order to enlist as a minor, Wentz’s parents had to sign their consent.

“They were both very supportive even though they were both a bit iffy about it,” Wentz said. “They both know that the military is where I’m supposed to be.”

Wentz will attend boot camp in Ft. Benning, Georgia in August and Reserve Officer Training Corporation (ROTC)at Texas Tech in the fall.

“Originally I was going to go into the Marines, but that changed the summer before my sophomore year,” Wentz said. “I felt a conviction and realized that I was choosing the Marines based on what I wanted and not what God wanted. I was humbled by that and prayed a lot about it.”

Although Wentz said he was always certain about the military, he was not always sure of what career to pursue within it. Wentz spent a lot of time praying and seeking council on his decision to join the ROTC program.

“Several people helped guide me through the process of my decision,” Wentz said. “One in particular was General Hoover, who mentored me in choosing between going to West Point, which is where I originally wanted to go, or the ROTC program. He helped me see that ROTC is where I needed to be. He was a huge blessing to me.”

Not only did General Hoover help Wentz in making a decision for his future, but he also taught him the type of leader he should be while living out that decision.

“He talked to me about leading soldiers in a moral and Christian manner,” Wentz said. “He really taught me the way to lead in general.”

Wentz said he wants to be successful in rank and to set a standard for those around him.

“I hope to set an example in my walk in Christ and my walk as a battlefield officer,” Wentz said. “I want to be courageous, but not arrogant. I want to be the type of officer who, when asking someone else to do something, is willing to do it themselves.”

Wentz said that the military is not for everyone and advises others to think through their decisions.

“To those contemplating the military, I would say pray about it,” Wentz said. “Seek council and instruction, and look for advice. Find peace with what you decide to do or not do.”

Despite the lack of peace in a career of war, Wentz has found a feeling of contentment in his decision.

“I am fit to do this,” Wentz said. “I know this is what God is calling me to do.”

Senior Brett Howard joined the debate team his junior year of high school and found his own personal “hero” in his coach, speech teacher Stefanie Suto.

 ”She created a place where people who normally never would have talked to each other came together and worked as a family,” Howard said.

 Without debate in his life, Howard said he believes his life would be very different.

 ”The team is how I coped with everything in my life,” Howard said. “Without them and without Ms. Suto pushing me to be the best I could be, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

 Howard said that Suto mentored him through all the hardships in his life.

 ”Two years ago I was going through a really hard time and she was able to help me through it,” Howard said. “She was always there to talk to and get me through anything that was happening at the time.”

 According to Howard, Suto provided the motivation he needed to be successful in his endeavors.

 ”She is the one person in high school who really pushed me to work,” Howard said. “It’s because of her that I’m a two-time state qualifier.”

 When advising others to join the team, Howard says that it will be one of the best decisions they will ever make.

“Ms. Suto is an amazing coach,” Howard said. “She knows what everyone’s strengths are and will push each person in their individual events so that you will be successful.”

Howard said that the debate team was where he found a home during high school.

 ”When I worked on debate with my friends, I felt like I had a real family,” Howard said. “She was kind of like a mother. The team called her “Mama Hawk,” who always looks after her chickadees.”

Monday and Tuesday, students and faculty participated in a program known as “Every 15 Minutes,” which then extends into their slogan, “Every 15 minutes, someone dies as the result of an alcohol-related collision.” The program seeks to educate students on the dangers of distracted driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

The events began Monday morning with a mock accident, and afterwards, every fifteen minutes, a student was pulled from class, painted in makeup and dressed in a black “Every 15 Minutes” shirt. These students represented the living dead and were not allowed to speak to anybody for the rest of the day. All student and teacher participants attended a retreat that evening and were not reunited with their families until the memorial assembly the next day.

“It was just very emotional for me and my family, because it was very real life,” Rice said. “You wouldn’t think it would feel so real, because it’s just acting, but it really struck a chord. My parents didn’t really want me to do it, just because of the way it would look to others. But I felt it would impact other people, and that’s what I want.”

Rice played the drunk driver in the accident, in a wrecked car from a real drunk driving accident. Behrens was her passenger.

 
“The car actually smelled like alcohol,” Rice said. “A person actually died in my seat. It was awful. There were probably like, fifty beer cans in the back seat.”

Behrens said waiting for students to come to watch the accident was awful, because things became serious.

 
“In there, it was like it was real,” Behrens said. “You just got this feeling. I tried not to think about it, but it was hard to ignore. I’m never putting myself in a situation like that again. I just wanted to get out of there. I would never ever want to feel that for real. I couldn’t handle it.”

After Behrens and Rice were extricated from their car, Behrens was taken in an ambulance to the hospital, and Rice was arrested.

“I had to do a sobriety test, do a pat down, do fingerprints, I had to be in a cell and then my officer had to read me all my rights,” Rice said. “I can’t imagine it ever happening to me, so that was hard to believe, but everything in the car was really serious, just seeing what happened to Parker. I want kids to take away how serious drunk driving is. I couldn’t stand to lose a friend to something like that, knowing I could have prevented it.”

Rice had to film scenes at the police station before the actual accident for the memorial service video. Senior Ben Wentz, the driver of the other vehicle, also had to film scenes at the hospital showing the death of a victim of a drunk driving accident.

“My part was kind of hard, because my eyes were closed the whole time,” Wentz said. “They did a fake ER scene. My parents knew what was happening, and they came in after I died. My mom held my hand, and her tears seemed pretty real. I had to keep my eyes closed the whole time because they were filming. That was the hardest part.”

Junior Pedro Garcia and seniors Clay Halencak and Janie Johnson were other victims of the crash. They all survived, but were taken to the hospital.

Johnson said it was the most difficult leaving her home and telling her father goodbye.

“My mom was out of town, so when I said goodbye to my dad, I was just thinking how terrible that situation would be,” Johnson said. “It was really emotional leaving my house when my dad asked if I was going to come home that night, and I had to tell him no. He was like ‘So what am I supposed to do?’ It was really sad.”

Senior Parker Houlette also played a victim of the accident, one who died on scene. His parents were called there to identify his body, and he was then transported in a body bag to a funeral home.

“I could hear my parents walking up, and then they lifted the sheet and I couldn’t open my eyes,” Houlette said. “I could tell my mom was crying. It was really uncomfortable, because I was through the windshield. But I could hear all the noises, and I kind of got nervous. It was an experience. I wouldn’t do it again to my mom, that’s for sure. However, in her words, if it helps one person, then it’s worth it.”

After graduation, Havlik will attend the Regional Fire Academy through Amarillo College to become a firefighter.

“My father inspired me to become a firefighter,” Havlik said. “Last Christmas, I went on a call with him and just watched them fight a fire. I remember thinking how cool it was, and I decided that that was what I want to do.”

Havlik’s father, Dana, has been a firefighter for 23 years and now works at Station 7 in Amarillo.

“I think my dad is proud for his son to be following in his footsteps,” Havlik said.

Firefighters often live at the fire station, which creates a strong sense of family.

“You live and fight together,” Havlik said. “You’re like brothers.”

Aside from the inspiration his father instilled in him, Havlik said that being a firefighter is a gratifying job.

“The thought of saving someone’s life has always sounded really rewarding to me,” Havlik said.

Havlik said a new firefighter needs a good sense of humor when joining a station.

 “As a rookie, there is a lot of hazing I will have to deal with,” Havlik said. “But I’m prepared and am very excited for it.”

Havlik said he believes a firefighter must also be noble and courageous.

“Having to rush into an emergency while others are running away is a scary and intimidating position to be in,” Havlik said. “I believe I am brave enough to do that.”

After he graduates from the Regional Fire Academy, Havlik said he hopes to move to the Dallas area to work.

“I think there will be a lot of action and adventure in the Dallas area,” Havlik said.

Havlik said that one of his many goals he hopes to achieve is to become a captain.

“I’d like to be the boss and keep everyone in line as a captain,” Havlik said.

Havlik has mentally and physically prepared himself and said he believes he is ready for the challenges that he will face.

“I gotta do what I gotta do to follow my dream,” Havlik said. “I’m just living out my passion of firefighting.”

Schuman is interning at the Randall County Sheriffs’ Department through the “Pursuing Real Opportunities” (PRO) program and participates in the Randall County Student Academy. Schuman’s internship has allowed her to experience many career options law enforcement, child protective services and the judicial system.

“I started out in the jail, and I couldn’t really do much there because I wasn’t 18 and there’s not much a citizen can do hand on there,” Schuman said. “They’re liable if anything was to happen to me. Next I moved to forensics, and I got to do lots of hands on stuff. And now, for the end of the year, I’m where they do all the paperwork.”

Schuman said she plans on going to West Texas A&M University for one to two years then Texas A&M University to study sociology. It is not necessary to have a degree to become a police officer, but income is higher for officers with degrees.

“My mom always tells me that police officers don’t make that much money, but it’s my passion,” Schuman said. “I have lots of family in law enforcement. I have lots of influences that guide me towards that path.”

Schuman said she is encouraged by how others see officers and by the crimes she’s become aware of to pursue this career.

“Sometime I’d like to be in the FBI, something really cool like that, go undercover and all that stuff, but you really have to start small,” Schuman said. “I want to start my career. I think about getting married, but I dream that someday I’ll retire and just live with my family.”

During the interactive workshop in the morning, Cook taught many deaf individuals and ASL students the fundamentals of ASL storytelling, which include facial expression, body language, classifiers, gestures and sign production.

Through the planning of ASL teachers Chelsea Phemister and Traci Prather, the performance that night brought in more than twice the number of deaf individuals as last year, and $2000 dollars for the ASL Honor Society. To applaud using sign language, participants must shake raise their hands and shake them. As Cook signed and the interpreter translated to the audience, the entire auditorium was filled with laughing and shaking hands from the deaf and hearing.

The two worlds were connected through laughter.

Tasneem Alvi, a junior member of chorale, took her first step toward that dream when she learned a chorus number and dance from a current cast member of the Broadway show “The Lion King” while in New York for the choir’s spring break trip. A select number of students were chosen to be in the all-star team at the end of the workshop.

“The whole time I was watching it, I wanted to be up there and do it with them,” Alvi said. “To actually do the dance with the teacher and have her be so impressed with me was really cool.”

The dance and song included traditional African tribal text and movements which proved difficult for many students. Of the 50 students in the room, Alvi was the first to be placed in the all-star team.

“I didn’t think it was that hard,” Alvi said. “I picked up on it pretty fast.”

One of Alvi’s favorite parts of the experience was gaining a better understanding of the feel of the musical through learning the number and dance.

“I did dance before, but I wasn’t ever the skinniest dancer,” Alvi said. “It was really nice that she picked me, because I’m not a skinny person. It gave me confidence that I can be on Broadway in the future.”

Master of ceremonies and choir director Brandon Farren coordinated auditions early in the week and the five finalists were announced Thursday, March 8.

 ”I think it was the strongest field of finalists we’ve ever put on the stage,” Farren said.

The band Formal Straight Jacket with juniors Alegria Castro, Phillip Tijerina, Cory Sampson, Pedro Garcia and Talyn Duncan took top honors. Sophomore Sarah Williams placed second, the duo of seniors Diego Dominguez and Brandon Tidwell placed third, Hunter Kershen placed fourth, and J³+2 placed fifth with seniors Jenci Jones and Janae Robinson, and juniors Jessica Crump, Rachel Smith and Abigail Walsh. The prizes included an Xbox 360, a flat screen television, iPod speakers, and gift cards to Wal-Mart.

“It was a lot of fun but it was nerve wracking getting ready,” junior Alegria Castro said. “My favorite part was just being able to sing in front of my peers with my friends for fun.”

A student jazz band opened the show while students were being seated. After the finalists performed, sophomore singer Riley Kelly, accompanied by sophomore Kori Adair on the piano, entertained the crowd by performing “Turning Tables.”

 According to Education Foundation spokesperson Delores Fincher, the competition raised more than $1400 for the foundation, which provides supplies and equipment for teachers across the district.

 The team took second place overall among large schools (4A and 5A), 30 points behind meet champion Lubbock High. Spelling & vocabulary and journalism each won first place team. Number sense and ready writing took second place team.

The following students, in alphabetical order, placed first through sixth in their respective events as individual contestants.

Jayden Beatty- 3^rd, editorial writing

David Bishop- 3^rd, literary criticism

Katie Brigance- 5^th, literary criticism

Cortlyn Dees- 2^nd, news writing and editorial writing

Codi Demere- 5^th, news writing and 4^th, editorial writing

Mackenzie Farmer- 2^nd, headline writing and 5^th, feature writing

Trevor Ferril- 1^st place, number sense and headline writing, 2^nd, spelling and vocabulary

Lauren Hahn- 4^th, feature writing

Kyleigh Head- 4^th, headline writing

Bryan Herrington- 6^th, ready writing

Morgan Hicks- 3^rd, news writing and feature writing

Kyler Johnston- 1^st, calculator applications and 2^nd, number sense

Conner Parker- 4^th, mathematics and 5^th, calculator applications

Chandler Shaw- 1^st, news writing and feature writing

Matthew Snell- 6^th, calculator applications

Jackie Walsh- 2^nd, ready writing

Chance Walton- 1^st, editorial writing and 3^rd, headline writing