Many students find themselves searching for their passions in high school, but this is unlike senior Lara Butlevics, who has always had a talent for video editing. 

With older brothers who took the class prior to her, and a strong interest in editing and filming, Lara was ultimately destined to join FX, mainly because it brings her back to a certain memory where that passion for editing really started to flourish. 

“Back in sixth grade I did a project [where] I made an eighteen-minute video on inventions that were originally mistakes,” Lara said. “I started editing on iMovie and it was really fun.” 

Along with the amount of stories being produced and the pressure of everyone watching your every move, if there’s anything that Lara has learned about being on a school announcement show it’s that it does not come without its challenges. One of the biggest hurdles being the deadlines.

“FX has taught me more about time management,” Lara said. “I think it’s a really underlooked thing [because] time passes so quickly in [FX]. We get [around] two weeks to do a story [and have] to focus on getting everything together.”

Aside from the stress, being on FX has not only given Lara a space for creative freedom but has also allowed her to be more interactive with the school community. Because of this ,Lara has not only been able to create friendships but also unforgettable memories inside of this class that have shaped her experience in the class as a whole. 

“[FX] is so interactive,” Lara said. “You’re in your seat for maybe five to ten minutes in the beginning of class, talking about the show. After that you’re running around, doing a story [and] producing the show.”

Despite every aspect that Lara loves about FX, if she had to choose one of her favorite moments from the class it would be the amusement she gets from having fun with her classmates on camera. A memorable experience that she will definitely miss when she leaves high school. 

“I loved when we had shows and people couldn’t talk and [instead] we’d just have laugh attacks on air,” Lara said. “No one gets it when you’re watching [because]  you wonder “What are they laughing about?” But when you’re on air and you see people behind the camera laughing, it’s just so [funny].”

Along with FX, Lara also plays goalie for her soccer team and is currently playing for the school’s soccer team this year. Although Lara is unsure if she wants to continue playing soccer in college, she is content with where she is in the sport. 

What she does know about her future is that she hopes to pursue a double major and attend a college outside of the state of Michigan. 

“I’m thinking about double majoring in business and environmental policy and I might minor in film,” Lara said.“I always knew I wanted to do something with the environment, but [I] didn’t really know exactly what, [so] I really started getting interested in the environment and how to make the world a cleaner place.”

But with all the chaos that comes with entering senior year from  participating in extracurriculars to applying to colleges, it becomes difficult to find the balance between school and extracurriculars. 

Throughout this, Lara has realized that she wants to live it up for as long as she can, because even though leaving high school means many things, Lara  is grateful that she has been given the opportunity to be a part of so many experiences during the end of her high school career. 

Although she is excited for what is yet to come, nothing beats that feeling of enthusiasm and fright about what senior year will have to offer and if she could only remember one thing from the entirety of her last four years, it would be the lessons that she has learned from each year of high school. 

“I had a different experience every year,” Lara said. “When you’re growing up, each year just feels the same, it’s just different teachers [and]  different classes. It was definitely a new experience each year, and I really did enjoy it. I mean, looking back, some days were really hard but overall really fun.”