Crier class of 2019 share their favorite memories

 

This year’s seniors have contributed to the Conant Crier for years, but it is time to bid farewell to the graduating staff. Many of these senior members have played a key role in keeping the Conant Crier running, and some have participated in the Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association and the Kettle Moraine Press Association competitions, as well as the IHSA state journalism series, with outstanding success, receiving awards for their work. Continue reading to learn the graduating staff’s favorite memories of the Conant Crier.

Michelle Zhang, co-Editor-in-Chief

Favorite Crier Memory: There are a lot of good memories, but one of my favorites has to be filming the soup taste testing video. We could not stop laughing while video taping, and we probably had a good 10 to 15 minute laugh session before we were actually able to focus.

Favorite Font and Why: I do appreciate the classic Times New Roman, but I don’t mind the font that I’m typing in right now. Generally, I’m pretty impartial when it comes to fonts.

Favorite Class: Physics is probably my favorite class. In general, I find the subject interesting, but the teachers are the ones who really make the class amazing.

What is your Patronus: According to Pottermore, my patronus is a Rottweiler, but if I could choose, I would pick the dragon, which is my Chinese Zodiac.

Plans for Next Year: Along with many of my fellow classmates, I am heading off to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign next year. I will be entering their College of Engineering to pursue a major in Computer Engineering.

Sarah Ahmad, co-Editor-in-Chief

Favorite Crier Memory: Although there were many memorable moments at Crier, one of my favorite memories was teaching resident Crier novice Connor key skills such as not tracking mud into the Business Incubator Room as well as replying to emails.

Favorite Font and Why: Times New Roman. Years of MLA format have made me a conformist.

Favorite Class: AP United States History with Mr. Wolf. Going to his class in the morning woke me right up every day, and I hope to be as excited about something one day as Mr. Wolf is excited about John C. Calhoun.

What is your Patronus: Garden snake

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending New York University and double majoring in public policy and international relations. I hope to learn a couple languages (French and Persian) to use in a potential international policy career.

Futo Wada, Multimedia Editor

Favorite Crier Memory: When a friend told me her mom really enjoyed my review of “Crazy Rich Asians.” Because we can’t see people physically reading the Crier anymore due to our digital format, it’s difficult to grasp that our articles get read by real human beings. When I personally hear that someone was reading our stories and feeling things because of them, it makes the work we do here so real and impactful.

Favorite Font and Why: Futura makes my designer heart sing. Looks great bolded, looks great italicized, looks great on its own. It’s simple, clean, and gives me nothing to worry about, which is exactly how I wish everything worked.

Favorite Class: 3D Art with Garrity. What’s more fun than getting clay on every single piece of clothing you own?

What is your Patronus: Snail, probably because I don’t remember my official Patronus, but if I were to compare myself to an animal it would be a snail.  

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending the University of Southern California to get away from the horrid Chicago winters, and studying animation at their School of Cinematic Arts.

Margaret Zhang, Graphic Artist

Favorite Crier Memory: I think that my favorite memory is every time I was asked to do a graphic. It was nice to do something I love while helping out. I also got to explore and experiment with art styles, and learn more about myself as an artist while working on graphics.

Favorite Font and Why: I mostly use whatever font fits the occasion; if I had to choose one I use more than others, then I’d have to say Times New Roman. It’s a classic, and makes everything I write look more professional.

Favorite Class: My favorite class is my Digital Media/Video class. I wish I had more time to work on projects, but I’ve learned a lot and enjoyed myself while doing so.

What is your Patronus: Black mamba. Yes, that’s the extremely venomous snake, and oddly enough, I was sorted into the Slytherin house at Hogwarts and the Horned Serpent house of Ilvermorny, AND my Chinese Zodiac is the Snake.

Plans for Next Year: I’ll be heading off to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and hopefully figuring out where to go from there!

Jaylen Patel, Writer and Podcaster

Favorite Crier Memory: Going down to sectionals and state, more specifically participating in an event that was completely different and unique from everything else I did in high school.

Favorite Font and Why: Palace Script because of its simple elegance, and it is the font I used on my poster to ask my date to prom.

Favorite Class: Math and Social Sciences. I’ve always considered myself a history geek and I enjoy learning about the social interactions between individuals. Additionally, I’m not afraid to sit down and indulge in some math or physics problems.

What is your Patronus: Falcon

Plans for Next Year: This fall, I will be attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for Actuarial Science with hopes of double majoring in Computer Science. At UIUC, I also hope to continue podcasting, writing, and photographing with my newfound appreciation for journalism.

Kevin Lipinski, Writer and Podcaster

Favorite Crier Memory: Someone in the hallway asking me if I was the one who wrote the Frank Ocean Blonde review. Yes, yes I was.

Favorite Font and Why: Franklin Gothic Medium, the font on the album cover of “In Rainbows”

Favorite Class: It’d be one of either AP Physics 1 and 2 with Mr. Torpe or photography with Mr. Schroeck. Physics was equally challenging and rewarding, and I was lucky enough to meet a great group of friends from it. Photography was in all likelihood the most fun I’ve ever had in a class.

What is your Patronus: If there was a reptilian analog, it’d likely be that.

Plans for Next Year: I’ll be attending Purdue University with the intent to study civil engineering.

Isaac Goffin, Sports Editor

Favorite Crier Memory: Being named to the IJEA All-State Journalism Team and winning the State Championship in sports writing, as well as placing sixth in news writing, all on the same day.

Favorite Font and Why: Arial. That’s the font I use when I write my articles, which has led me to receive many awards.

Favorite Class: World History with Mr. Moravek. Not only was that class fun, but it made me such a better writer and critical thinker.

What is your Patronus: Dragonfly

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending the University of Iowa next year as a journalism and mass communication major, likely double majoring in sport studies with a minor in political science. I plan to work for The Daily Iowan next year and continue my success with journalism.

Hannah Blesson, News Editor

Favorite Crier Memory: Connor and Michelle having a conversation in Chinese for more than four minutes.

Favorite Font and Why: Times New Roman. It’s clean, it’s simple, it’s to the point and I try to live life that way (most of the time)

Favorite Class: AP Calculus BC with Mr. Franco. It was a class that I relaxed in and I enjoyed the math problems because they made me think and work through them. I also thought Franco’s dry dad humor was funny.

What is your Patronus: Lion

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending University of Illinois at Chicago as a biological sciences major and I hope to go to medical school and do something in pediatrics.

Devanshi Thakkar, Social Media Editor

Favorite Crier Memory: When Mr. G posts a post on Schoology asking how many people will be at the meeting, so he knows how many pizzas to order.

Favorite Font and Why: Times New Roman. Everything just looks really satisfying in that font.

Favorite Class: American Studies with Mr. Wolf and Mrs. Albamonte, the only class that managed to wake me up and keep me up 1st and 2nd period.

What is your Patronus: The Stag

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending University of Illinois at Chicago to study business, and then I hope to attend law school.

Iqra Iqbal, Lifestyle Editor

Favorite Crier Memory: The pure joy on everyone’s face when Mr. Gwizdala says the three magic words, “I ordered pizza.”

Favorite Font and Why: Calibri. I appreciate its simple yet professional look. But I have to say, Curlz MT and Comic Sans will always have a special place in my heart.

Favorite Class: AP Macroeconomics/Government with Mr. Stewart. He did a great job of getting everyone engaged with the class and sparked an interest in a subject that I have otherwise had an aversion to. Also, who wouldn’t want to listen to “Hamilton” in class?

What is your Patronus: According to Pottermore, I’m a Manx Cat.

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending the University of Illinois at Chicago as a psychology major, with a potential double major in economics. I hope to become a youth clinical psychologist in the future.

Rhea Joshi, Features Editor

Most Memorable Crier Experience: Writing the obituary of Graham Fath, as I stepped out of my comfort zone and learned a different aspect of journalism that isn’t necessarily “typical.” The piece allowed me to bring Graham’s friends and family together by appreciating the individual Graham was. The whole interviewing process for this article showed me how important journalism is in bringing communities together. 

Favorite Font and Why: Times New Roman. Clean, classic, crisp, what else can you ask for?

Favorite Class: American Studies with Mrs. Albamonte and Mr. Wolf stemmed my appreciation for the liberal arts. I’ve always been more of a math/science person, but with the endless reminders of 5/11 and 7/11 with Seegers buying us chicken fingers, I was convinced that social studies/English is up my alley. But really, both Albamonte’s and Wolf’s teaching styles allowed me to problem solve and analyze the bigger picture and its connections (rather than the traditional memorizing). They allowed me to do what I do best: overanalyze everything.

What is your Patronus: Swallow

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for Chemical Engineering and I may minor in Philosophy and/or Economics. Not 100% sure which industry (pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or skincare), but I hope to continue academia through a research-based career.

Radhika Krishnamurthy , Opinions Editor

Favorite Crier Memory: There are too many, but one of my favorites was when I was sitting in the College of DuPage theater beside Iqra and asked her, “By the way, do you have those videos I asked you for?” I can’t even explain why this is so funny—you’d have to ask Iqra. I also enjoyed working with Connor on his loot box article… for five months. It carried us through the holidays! 🙂

Favorite Font and Why: Either EB Garamond or Times New Roman—they are just so satisfying to look at!

Favorite Class: AP Spanish with Mr. Malloy—Mr. Malloy is extremely funny and charismatic, and he has definitely inspired me to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country in the future! I also really love learning other languages and learning about different cultures, which I hope to continue to do in college.

What is your Patronus: Probably a turtle.

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University to major in Business Economics and Public Policy. After that, I’ll either get my MBA or go to law school, with the hope of shaping our nation’s economic and public policy initiatives in the future. I basically want to be RBG. I plan to write fiction on the side.

Arisha Rizvi, Entertainment Editor

Favorite Crier Memory: Going to Crier holiday parties every year! Especially the white elephant game, where I was more than happy to open my gift, Hannah’s aloe-infused fuzzy socks!

Favorite Font and Why: Oswald because I like how it’s bold and looks uniform and neat, but fun at the same time!

Favorite Class: AP United States History with Mr. Wolf because previous to that class, I always hated history but Mr. Wolf made it interesting with his energetic teaching!

What is your Patronus: Russian blue cat

Plans for Next Year: I will be attending Harper College for two years, and plan to transfer to University of Illinois at Chicago to study either neuroscience or health management.