GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Lake Central Takes the Stage and Plans Festive Fundraiser

What’s recently happened?

A unique concept for a play recently took place as the annual fall play hosted by Lake Central’s Theatre Company at the school’s state-of-the-art theatre called “Trap” where over 500 people attended from October 16-18. What was different about the play was the secret plot leading up to opening night. No one was supposed to know the actual story; it was a mystery.

The play was set within a play where everyone in a fake audience on stage fainted except one person. As time goes on, the pieces are put together with real-time frights in the crowd by cast members. 

“My favorite part of being a part of the play was getting to work with such cool people. We would stay after school for so long working on such a big project that it was a really neat experience. It was a lot different from some of the past shows just because of the way the show interacted with the viewers,” senior Ivan Carey said. 

However, there were certain issues the cast faced since the production was unlike any they had worked on in the past. 

“The biggest challenge regarding the play was definitely keeping the secret. There were so many days that I wanted to tell everybody, but I couldn’t. It was definitely worth it by not telling. Everyone did so well. I liked the uniqueness of the play because it was unexpected for the ending. So many great reactions in the crowd. This was different than any production I had ever worked on due to the secret ending,” freshman Sophia Bennett said. 

What’s coming up?

In just a few short weeks, Lake Central Student Council will be having its annual Angel Tree Fundraiser involving multiple events throughout the month of December. There have been meetings in November leading up to this exciting time where club officers discussed what the main event is: Target Run.

Each year, nearly 20 volunteers are chosen to go to Target during the school day and pick out toys for each age group given by the Salvation Army with the money raised from chocolate sales club members sold all semester. Within the next couple of days, the club officers will go to the Salvation Army in Munster to deliver the toys to the organization. 

“I personally enjoy buying for each age group. I tend to like buying board games and books. I also really like buying things like winter clothes and pajamas. I think it’s a little nostalgic for me cause I always like the books and board games that I used to play with and read as a kid. It’s also nice to see festive clothing and things for the holidays,” said senior Tia Abughofah, student council social media officer.  

In addition to the Target Run on December 9 and the Salvation Army drop off on December 11, members can pick up Angel Tree tags for specific kids and buy a toy on their own during this time of giving. 

Staff Spotlight:

Recently, the Chicago Marathon took place in October. One of Lake Central’s own staff members and Head of the Guidance Department, Ashley Kline, participated in the race. She even ran a new personal record of 4 hours and 55 minutes. Even more impressively, this was her fourth Chicago Marathon and her sixth marathon total. She has also done the Indy Monumental marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. 

“There’s something so magical about the Chicago Marathon. The energy and the people cheering you on is amazing. There are literally a million people calling your name. There are strangers that are just cheering you on. If you want to restore your faith in humanity, go spectate a marathon because it’ll change your life,” Kline said. 

Kline first started her running journey during the COVID pandemic in 2020. She started walking and running up hills, and eventually trained at Fleet Feet Sports in Schereville. 

“I learned so much about running itself and the science behind running at different paces. I met an amazing group of people there. They have training plans and programs for 5k to marathons and any type of runner. They have a training plan for everybody, and they’re very welcoming and knowledgeable. I met amazing people there, including some of my lifelong friends. I was just kind of hooked from the start and had no real intention of running a marathon. When I started with Fleet Feet, I was training for a half-marathon. Things changed, and then I signed up for my first marathon in 2022,” Kline said. 

There were struggles Kline faced throughout the journey with this running experience, but the atmosphere of the race really got her through the challenging times.

“The second part of the marathon is my favorite. There’s something about the second half for me that I just love. Pilsen is my favorite neighborhood, which is around mile 17 or 18. Right after that is Chinatown, which is also amazing. That’s around like mile 19 or 20 and at that time, your miles are getting high. You’re well into it. I always look forward to those neighborhoods. I know that I’m going to need that extra boost of energy during those later miles,” Ms. Kline said. 

Kline shares the added benefits of running a marathon in addition to staying physically healthy. 

“You learn so much about yourself and how much you can push your body and mind. It builds self-confidence. I just think it’s best to try and run if you can run for one minute or one mile. Just go try, because it’s just worth it,” Kline said.

Student Spotlight:

Senior Cahmari Stevenson not only goes to school and has a part-time job, but also builds computers in her spare time. She completed her first personal computer (PC), and is now working on her second project.

A PC is the computer monitor people normally see next to computers in an office or school setting, but Stevenson takes it a step further by decorating her PC to appear neon and colorful to her own taste.

“I’ve always loved games. I love the way they work. I saw people on TikTok had PCs, and I was confused about what that was, to be honest. I realized you could play games on it. I started looking it up and I learned how expensive they are, so I didn’t get it in 2020, obviously,” Stevenson said. 

She rediscovered her interest in PCs later when someone close to her mentioned the topic, and she decided to get a job to save money and buy parts. She began saving the previous August to November and then got started building. 

“I honestly learned by figuring it out on my own. I personally watched YouTube. I studied a lot. It can get really hard or frustrating when you know you don’t want to mess something up. Messing something up can mean $100 down the drain for me, and that means having to work more to replace it. The biggest part about putting it together for me would probably be the wiring. There are so many videos online, but not every video pertains to you because my computer is different from other computers. My biggest struggle then was problem-solving,” Stevenson said. 

She still encouraged others to get into PC building and gave useful tips when it comes to getting started. 

“I would just say my biggest advice is not to get discouraged. You might think, ‘Am I doing this right?’ Because technically, you don’t know if you’re doing it right until you boot it up. That’s the hard part, actually. If something goes wrong, you can’t just check what it is. You have to go through each part. It’s all a part of the process, so don’t get discouraged,” Stevenson said.

While she did face challenges during the building process as a young teenager, Stevenson ultimately realized the hard work was worth the wait. 

“The feeling I got when I built my computer was like, ‘Wow, I really did that.’ It made me think that I guess I am better than I thought. When you do something like that, you should be proud of yourself,” Stevenson said.