Senior Profiles

Running. Focusing on breathing. Maintaining a good pace. This is an everyday reality for senior Cayla Adamson and it is one of her favorite things about being at Winnetonka. Whether it is morning practices or after school practices, track or cross country meets, Adamson is running all the time with a team she loves. “It sounds totally cliche, but [the team] has shown me the community y...

He dashes up and down the football game crowds. He leads the fans into a rollercoaster formation. He screams school spirit wherever he goes. is is a job only senior Jake Allen can take. Allen believes having school spirit is essential to having a good time in high school. “I have school spirit because I think that it’s good to be involved,” Allen said. “If you really like something, yo...

From the click of a camera to directing films, senior Westly Bertha has been involved with N2 broadcast [created from the Sports Broadcasting and Sports Marketing classes in the North Kansas City School District] since junior year; creating quality entertainment for the North Kansas City School District. “I’ve learned how to speak in front of a microphone, and how to change my voice for...

With over 300 community service hours and involvement in 17 clubs and activities, senior Emma Evans is a familiar face to many. While Evans is involved in many activities, Key Club is where her true interest lies. Evans is currently the president of Key Club, a service organization dedicated to helping the community. “I’ve always just loved doing service,” Evans said. “Starting in Ke...

Acting. Altering costumes. Applying makeup. Directing. These are just a few of the things that senior Maddie Fields does in theater. For four years, Field’s devotion to theater has overflowed into each rehearsal and production. “Theater is literally my life,” Fields said. “Ever since my freshman year, I’ve been getting leads and understudies and I’m dedicated." As a result of...

The classy attire of basketball shorts and T-shirts were thrown aside for a business suit as senior Benjamin Giebler competes in Tonka’s FBLA [Future Business Leaders of America] program. “Since being involved in FBLA, I placed eighth at districts for accounting,” Giebler said. “I also placed first at districts for entrepreneurship with my team (Nathan Huffman and Phuong Luu). We al...

"In the end everything fell into place,” senior DJ Harral said. Ever since Harral transferred to Winnetonka during his junior year, he has excelled in athletics. His only regret is not getting to be a Griffin for four years. “It’s [Winnetonka] one of those schools you want to attend all four years. It’s a great place to be, you meet people,” Harral said. Harral feels the stu...

For most people, fall means hot chocolate, warm apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes. But for senior Rebecca Hensley, fall means sweat, cleats and the crack of a softball against a bat. “[Softball] is my little paradise,” Hensley said. Hensley has been a part of the Tonka softball team for four years, but she’s been playing since she was three. She has given up everything from time...

The drawing shows hair swirling down into a sink drain, sketched just like any other art project. But something is different. Upon closer inspection, the paper appears to be coarse and woven; it is made from the very hair it depicts. “This year I’m making art out of things that people hoard,” AP Studio Art senior McKayla Jameson said. “My favorite project would have to be making han...

At only three years old, senior Josh Jenkins jumped onto the stage after his sister’s dance recital and started dancing himself. Little did he know that his passion for dancing would lead him down his future path. Jenkins has been dancing for 15 years and will continue dancing into college, with a full scholarship to Oklahoma City University to pursue his passion for dance. “In Octob...

Winnetonka students would not have such a wide understanding of Islamic culture without the help of senior Ruweida Kulane. Kulane helped unify the diversity of Winnetonka by collaborating with teachers and other students to start Muslim Student Association (MSA) club. “I helped organize it [MSA] and I sent out invitations to students who we knew were Muslims,” Kulane said. “We just...

A girl in a sea of boys. Senior Charity Smith is the only female in her engineering class. Smith attended an engineering camp the summer before her freshman year which sparked her interest in engineering “I really liked the environment, the people and the stuff we did in class,” Smith said. Smith's engineering classes have provided her with experience she believes she could not have g...