The Reporter • May 201210 (academics)

To save a lifeSenior Chris Hines said his goal is to help

people.When his sister flipped her car eight times

and went to the hospital, Hines visited her and said he felt a sense of “helplessness.”That feeling made him want to help

people.Hines plans to double major in pre-med

and youth ministry at Mid-America Naza-rene University. Students like Hines say school and real-world experiences help them achieve their goals.Hines said College Biology helps him the

most with his future career choice because it involves everything he needs to get into pre-med. “Knowing how your body works means

knowing how to detect the problems you are having,” he said. “It gives you the knowledge you need about your own body.”Hines said he wanted to be a youth pastor

after Rachael-Beth Peck, his youth pastor, said he inspired someone.“Rachel-Beth had a girl who was staying

with her for a little bit and the little girl asked Rachel-Beth who I was,” he said. “She told her I walked two miles to church.”The girl did not feel well, but still walked

to church.“She said, ‘Well, Chris can walk two miles

to church so I can walk to youth group,’” Hines said. “Seeing that I influenced one person just by walking means I can influence many more people with what I know.”He said another defining moment in his

career choice was when he was planning a lesson to teach for Sunday night youth group at a Robotics competition. Someone approached Hines and asked him what he was doing.“I went to the gospel and they got saved,”

he said.Hines said he was “ecstatic.”“It makes me know what I’m teaching is af-

fecting people,” he said. “It makes me want

to teach more.” Hines said his teachers do a great job, but

would like to work in groups more.“It seems like I’m independent and on my

own,” he said. “We don’t do group work like we used to in middle school and elementary school.”Hines said the teacher who inspires him

most is Accounting teacher, Monty Chayer.“He’s always been there to go to with any

problem even if he’s having trouble himself,” he said. “No matter what, he will put all his personal stuff aside to help you if he can.”Hines said Chayer is professional. “Teachers need patience,” he said. “He

stood up for a student when they were being bullied.”Hines said people were bothering an-

other student, and Chayer “put it to a stop immediately.”

To start freshHeather Tracy, sophomore, said she wants

to study at KU to become a social worker. Tracy said she can relate to children more be-cause of the harsh circumstances in her life.“I feel like I could use what happened to me

to help other kids,” she said.Tracy was adopted and raised in foster care

when she was 2 1/2. When she was 2 years old, Tracy’s biological mother burned her on her arms and legs. Since the family has a lot of kids in their house, Tracy said she gained experience communicating with them. “I would always open it up and tell them

they can talk with me,” she said. “I share my story with them so that they know I somewhat understand what they’re going through.”Tracy recalled one of those crucial connec-

tions. A girl’s mother had murdered her little sister and was adopted by Tracy’s family. Tracy said the girl did not know how to react and Tracy helped her with her problems and understand her situation. They talked about the problems she faced.“From then on I was like, yeah, I’d be pretty

good at this.”Tracy said Sociology class will help her be-

come a social worker.“It relates to things you need to know and

what you need to be prepared for when you get to college,” she said.

To find a career, not just a jobChoir director Sandy Buntin said she almost

chose a completely different career because of the economic boom in the 1980s.“After a summer in a temp agency and

working as a secretary I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” she said. “I just really wanted to stay directing music.”Buntin said she had a great experience

working with the production of Fiddler on the Roof and the play’s soloists at McPher-son College.“The kids were positive and responsive to

me,” she said.

In her first years teaching, Buntin helped students into All-State Choir, and one of her previous students became a choir direc-tor. Buntin said it felt good “as a teacher to feel she has made a positive influence on a student.”Buntin said she tries to remain positive and

encouraging because students want to be en-couraged and do their best.“Sometimes you have to remember: kids

really want to learn something and do their best even on gloomy days,” she said. “I try then to stay positive.”

Inspiration, experience guide career choicesHines, Tracy, Buntin share their reasons for picking their careerslane harris reporter

Chris Hines, senior, said biology is important because he plans to double major in pre-med and youth ministry. “Knowing how your body works means knowing how to detect the prob-lems you are having,” he said.

Photo by Hali Wimbush

The high school offers a variety of class-es, from art to band to theater. Next year, they will offer more.

One new class is Guitar, taught by Nick Proctor, band director and Music Motiva-tion teacher. Guitar 1, taught during first semester, will be geared toward beginners.

However, Guitar 2, which takes place during second semester, will be for more advanced musicians, Proctor said.

“I’m very excited that Paola is offering new music courses next year,” he said.

He will also teach Jazz band. Jazz band has been offered at the middle school for sev-eral years. Proctor said he was excited for the chance to teach it at the high school.

“Jazz is absolutely my favorite kind of music,” he said, “I love listening to it, playing it, and teaching it.”

Proctor said Jazz Band is also very flex-ible. Students can have the chance to play at concerts and festivals, including Roots Fest in Paola.

Forensics, taught by Duane Lintz, lan-guage arts teacher, will also be introduced to students. It has been offered as a class be-fore, but has not been available since spring of 2003. Lintz taught the class last time as well.

“They assigned it to me, so I teach it,” he said, “I don’t care either way.”

Twenty-first Century Journalism, taught by BriAnne Chayer, newspaper advisor, will be available. It is an introductory class for students interested in journalism. She, as well as students on newspaper and year-book, decided it would be good to have a class dedicated to teaching journalistic skills to new staff members without the pressure of

deadlines right from the start.“We tend to get caught up in deadlines,”

Chayer said. Kate Sample, freshman, though not tak-

ing any of the new classes next year, has her own opinion. She said she believes Twenty-first century journalism is a good class to take if that is a field you are interested in. Howev-er, she said Guitar is a “schedule stuffer.”

“I learned how to play guitar over the summer, not in a class,” she said.

Proctor, Lintz and Chayer said they ex-pect students to be dedicated, hard-working, and want to succeed.

shelby mcdaniel reporter

New classes offer students different opportunities Forensics, guitar, jazz band, intro to jour-nalism are options