Kendra is in her second year on staff. She is Online Manager of the TCT website, and has won a MIPA honorable mention award for an informative story. This past year she was Copy Editor, worked on various stories, and stayed after school for many hours to help create the print edition of The Central Trend. Kendra spends her time outside of school babysitting, petsitting, and spending time with her friends. She also often hangs out with the kids in her neighborhood. She also enjoys creative writing and taking photos with her Canon DSLR camera. She is a huge fan of many young adult novels, movies, and shows, including Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. Kendra's love of writing has blossomed due to inspiration from her favorite writers, which include Cassandra Clare, Jennifer Niven, and J.K. Rowling.
Favorite thing about being on staff: Working with amazing people every day
Favorite type of story to write: Profile
Hobbies/Interests: Writing and Photography
Favorite book and why: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. It's a beautifully written story about two teens battling mental health issues, and feels a lot more realistic than most teen books.
If it is Friday night, you will most likely find Kendra: On the couch, with her friends, having a movie night!
I told myself I wouldn’t write a cliche end of the year column. I felt that my other columns from earlier in the year summarized senior year pretty well, and I didn’t think I needed to add to it. But...
After seven years of teaching and nine years of coaching, civics teacher Jeremy Stacy has decided to take a leave of absence to explore a new career.
“Two of my good friends had been in the roofing...
Fourteen. It’s a mind boggling number, but that’s how many days are left in my high school career. My senioritis has reached its maximum potential, thus rendering all homework assignments and projects...
If you know me, you probably know that I go to the movies a lot. So on the last Saturday of spring break, when the neighbor girls suggested we all go see Zootopia together, I was excited. I was ready to...
A million emotions flashed through my mind as I moved my cursor over the little grey box. I had chosen the date and time, typed out my name and student ID, and even listed my birthday. There was nothing...
Four miles.
That’s how far many of the people in Rwanda, Africa, have to walk every single day just to find and bring back clean water to their villages. It’s a struggle that the majority of people...
Everyone has one,
A room, a workplace,
maybe a family cottage.
A place where they can be the most productive,
and draw the most of their inspiration,
and be their happiest selves.
This place...
Her energetic voice echoes down the hall in between classes as she stands outside her classroom, calling to all of her students, some new, some current, and some old. The bell rings, and English teacher...
He lies on the floor at the foot of my bed, seemingly asleep. I move slowly and quietly so as not to wake him as I cross the room. But as soon as my hand reaches the doorknob, he jumps to his feet, the...
Kelsey Hayes is an eighteen year old girl from Oregon who has just graduated high school. Her life is very average, very boring, very normal. Like most teens, she’s hoping to spend her summer working...
At first, it was a fantasy. A freedom, if you will. A perfect dream full of sparkles conjured up in the back of the mind of my eight year old self. An imagination filled, entirely perfected idea of what...
By the end of next summer, the media center will be entirely different. With plans for major renovations already in the works, including new furniture and stations to charge eAchieve devices, media material...
Quentin “Q” Jacobsen, a high school senior who is just about to graduate, has spent his life pining for his next door neighbor and childhood friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo, who grew apart from...
Diverse.
That's the one word I would use to describe this year's Random Acts of Talent show. Sure, there's been a large variety in the past, but this year they really stepped it up a notch. For one,...
“You can expect the unexpected,” Robbin DeMeester said.
Those are the words that FHC’s theater director would use describe the upcoming Random Acts of Talent Show. From magic, to hula hoops,...
At first glance, I look very much like a normal teenage girl. Blue eyes and brown hair. Combat boots, a sweatshirt, and jeans. Very simple and average.
Besides having an endless love for books, Marvel...
Hard work, dedication, and persistence. Those are the three traits that would best describe the main character in the comedic drama Joy. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and Bradley Cooper,...
Senior Connor Kelly has finally made a decision and committed to the college of his choice. After many years of dedication, hard work, and contemplating what school would give him the best opportunity...
I think that when most people stop to think about what the holiday season means to them, they reflect on fun times spent with their family and friends. They might remember their first Christmas spent with...
Warm and cozy. That was the way the atmosphere felt when I walked into Jam’n Bean Coffee Company for the first time. Many bakery items were on display, and multiple kinds of coffee sat behind me on a...
The sidewalk was deserted when my friend and I pulled up outside the Nonna Cafe on our bikes. The place seemed quiet, and almost looked like it had closed for the day. The front window was dark, and the...
Picture this: you’re laying in bed in your penthouse in New York City. The usual sounds of the city that never sleeps are a comforting noise as you lay dreaming. The sudden sound of sirens wakes you...
This past August, the parents of one of my close friends were extremely kind and offered to take seven of their daughter’s friends to Chicago for Wizard World Comic Con, as well as let us all spend two...
Imagine this: It’s the first snowfall of the year. School is cancelled, and your parents decide to take the day off, too. Your little brother is bouncing up and down with joy, and your mom announces...
In eighth grade, I stumbled upon what I can now call one of my favorite series of all time. I was walking with one of my friends to class when she mentioned that she was reading the final book in a series...
I have a strong hatred for princess books.
I do. I dislike how perfect and happily ever after they are. I despise the cheesy lines and glittery dresses and the oh-so-handsome prince. I gag at the sugary...
If you have lunch with me, you've probably seen or heard me do it. My sudden stop as I enter the lunchroom. My rush to my table to set my food down once I've spotted them. My calm walk up to them and respectful...
Purple sticky notes.
Filling more than half of the 378 pages, scribbled on in black ink, all the way from cover to cover. These are my notes, my bookmarks of inspiration that I found in this book.
Subconsciously...
I leaned over the table, admiring the necklaces, bracelets, and rings. My friend next to me gasped and grabbed my hand, then pointed to the Hogwarts crest necklace to my left. My other friends across the...
Come April, sophomore Felicity Buchmaier is headed to Adelaide, Australia, for the opportunity of a lifetime. She will be journeying back to her home country during spring break to compete in the 2016...
Of all the books I've read in English class in these past four years, To Kill A Mockingbird has always been at the top of my favorites list. I fell in love with the story and Scout's need for adventure....
The streamers were hung. The cake was on the table. And the Buffalo Wild Wings had been catered in. All that was left to be brought in was our seniors.
I think on that day we all were feeling rather...
Two new banners will be raised to the rafters in the new gym tomorrow: one to honor the winner of the newly-named Ranger Challenge and another with the words to the Ranger fight song.
Both banners are...
There's something so fascinating and surreal to me about losing yourself in the crisp white pages of a book. It's an escape, really. You're not really just reading the words. You're absorbed in them. You're...
Senior Avery Ferin has always loved poetry, even from a young age. With her favorite book being Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, she read many different books of poetry all through elementary...
Imagine having spent your entire life in jail because no one knows what's wrong with you. Doctors are afraid of you, children see you as a nightmare, and your parents have disowned you. You've never felt...
Three sets of eyes watch me, two blue, one brown, waiting for my approval. All three are hopeful, looking up at me, pleading. They stand as one, expecting a yes but prepared to stand together against a...
A young teenage couple walks through a Disney store in Chicago, shopping as if everything is normal. As they make their way down the aisle, another girl comes around the corner and hugs the...
What are you looking forward to the most about your new job?
Getting to know a new batch of kids, interacting with new colleagues, and getting acclimated to a new building atmosphere. I've worked at...
I was laying on a banana yellow raft, floating in the middle of Duck Lake at a cottage in Muskegon that my family had rented for a week. It was a bright, sunny afternoon. The water was calm. There was...
With the coming of summer, many sports seasons are coming to a close. For some, it was merely just another season, with ordinary games and just a few wins. But for the varsity girls soccer team, it was...
Junior Riley Schelhaas pulled on her brown toe socks with fur glued on the top. She tightened a tan cloak around her throat, then she reached for her bag before heading out to the car. Though she was wearing...
Health teacher Pat Hartsoe stands before her class, hoping to make an impact upon her students as she tries to discuss with them the choices they should make when it comes to healthy eating. To her, people...
Teacher Joseph Smith stands in front of a whiteboard in room 225, the computer lab that stands next to his classroom. The students watch as he carefully explains the assignment they are to complete within...
I have a friend with social anxiety.
He’s been my friend since first grade.
He’s always loved playing videogames.
He’s one of the most important people in my life and always has been.
He’s...
The quotes on the wall. The tearable puns. The grams. As far as ordinary goes, BOOST club is anything but. The members of the club work hard each meeting to “boost the self-esteem, confidence, feelings...
“I had strings but now I’m free. There are no strings on me.” was the line from the teaser trailer that sent chills down fans’ spines. James Spader’s eerie voice, followed by Captain America’s...
In this day and age, the world is full of technology. We spend the majority of our days with a pocket-sized computer at our fingertips. News updates come in every second, and people can send messages to...
