Aspiring Dreams
“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” - Colin Powell.
Katrina Abramson, Katie, is a Junior at Thomas Edison Jr. Sr. High School. She is very involved and devoted to her school, church, job, and community. Katie has played volleyball for three years. She has been a back spot in cheerleading for three years, and she was the stat-girl for wrestling for one year. Along with that, she has also done track and basketball for one year each.
Katie is extremely involved in her church’s youth group. She has even traveled to Alabama to help build a house with said group! Along with that, Katie works at Bellaboo’s. She has a general position, which means she interacts with children.
When Katie graduates from high school mid-semester of her senior year, she plans to go straight into college. As of this moment, Katie is taking advanced classes and maintains a 3.67 gpa. All of her hard work is inspired by her career goals. Katie is determined to become an ultrasound technician and an EEG technician.
She commented, “I am fascinated by the human brain. I want to start with ultrasound so that I can form my foundation to become an eeg technician.”
Katie has been doing hard work since day one, and it is paying off.
Teacher to Hero
Real heroes do not wear capes; they teach. It takes a lot of skill, patience, and time to be a teacher. Bill Ness is a phenomenal teacher at Thomas Edison Jr. Sr. High School; he is extraordinary at Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, Integrated Chemistry and Physics, Science and Research, and Advanced Topics in Science, which happen to be all the classes he teaches.
Mr. Ness is newer at Edison, but that does not stop him from making it a better place. He is always working to help his students learn and perceive ideas in new ways. He is the High School Student Council Advisor, and not only the HSSCA, he is also in the Lake Station City Schools Safe Schools Committee.
“Mr. Ness is one of the most open minded teachers we have. He is always helping his students and trying to bring life into his classroom. Plus, he always pushes his students to find different outcomes to each project he introduces,” said Katelyn Davis, a student in his class.
Another student, Gwendolyn Caston, stated, “Mr. Ness is very inspirational. He allows us to express ourselves, and he encourages us to think outside of the box. Mr. Ness expects us to challenge our knowledge, and because of that, he is one of my favorite teachers.”
Mr. Ness is a great teacher who is always working for his students; he helps them color outside of the lines and dream bigger.
Retro vs. New School
As they stepped onto the court, the crowd roared with excitement. The two teams lined up at the opposing end lines. The referee blew the whistle, and the teams hustled to net where they said good luck to each other. It was new school challenging old school, or, the teacher verse student volleyball game.
This game is one of the Lake Station Lady Eagles Volleyball Team’s most famous fundraisers. They hold the game every year. This game consists of the players hosting the teachers where each team has a coach, there are fake referees, and there is a lot of skill involved.
The weeks before the game, the teachers use the junior high gym and practice bumping, setting, spiking, and serving. They break into two teams, Junior Varsity and Varsity; then, they meet up with the volleyball teams and contest them. This year, the teachers took a huge victory, winning against both the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. Regardless of the outcome, both teams had a fantastic time and the fundraiser proved to be a success.
Giving Back
To keep the the city sanitized, Lake Station holds citywide clean ups. October 14th at seven in the morning until nine in the morning, two wrestlers from the Lake Station Men’s Wrestling Team took to the streets. The men were led by Dan Mora - the Head Wrestling Coach, Alan Stiles, and Larry Biggs. The men spent those hours stuffing garbage bags and helping to clean up the town.
Because it was a city wide clean up, the guys got to choose where they would like to clean. They decided to tidy up Old Hobart Road; they cleaned under the viaduct by collecting trash and old, worn out tires. They also cleaned along the roadway. During this, two officers blocked off the road in order to assist and keep the men safe. Also, all of trash was loaded into two trucks and dumped at a dump site. These men put in a lot of hard work, and it shows.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to be both an amazing citizen and athlete, but these men prove that it is possible with a little determination.