Schaad, Andrew Michael

by jessica kapels

The seniors of Lakeview High School are finishing their final semester before they go their separate ways and begin the rest of their lives. Drew Schaad is one of the many seniors who is preparing to to start the rest of his life.

“It is a little nerve racking, but I am excited to move on to college and begin my career,” said Schaad. He has always been part of the Lakeview District starting Kindergarten at Shell Creek Elementary. His parents are Kelly, who is a teacher at Lakeview, and Bob, who works at BDs. He also has a younger brother named Cody, a sophomore, and younger twin sisters in seventh grade named Carly and Emily.

Schaad’s high school experience has been quite busy. He is involved in FBLA and is an officer in FFA. Both groups are good at getting students involved and teaching them valuable lessons. Schaad also participates in track and has been a state qualifier in wrestling and cross country. As his final wrestling career is in progress, he has been doing well and set himself a goal of qualifying for state once again.
“Though I will miss the teachers and classmates that I have gotten to know, I will be ready to continue my education and start my career,” said Schaad. “I do not fret over this being my last year in high school, I try to see it as a new opportunity ahead of me.” Schaad is planning to work towards his career as a veterinarian and will enter the pre-vet program at UNL next fall. From there, he will enter a 2-2 program for vet school in which he will do the first two years at UNL and the last two at Iowa State. After getting a degree in Vet Med. and his license, Schaad plans to open his own clinic.

Cooper, Carley Raeann

by sierra heesacker

For Carley Cooper, along with many other seniors, this is their last semester at Lakeview High School. All of their years or preparing, is coming to an end, where they will be sent on their separate paths. In just three short months, they will be walking down the aisle to accept their diplomas.

“It’s bittersweet, I’m excited to finally begin ‘adulting,’ yet it scares me. I’m most excited for the freedom,” replied Cooper when asked how she feels about only having less than a year left at Lakeview. For her it will be a big change, for she has attended the Lakeview district through all her years of schooling. For grade school she attended Shell Creek, and then she transitioned to Lakeview for her high school years.

Cooper was raised by her mother Ramona, as her father passed away when she was just seven years old. Cooper also grew up with her two brothers, Preston and Travis, along with her one sister, Lindsay. At Lakeview she was a part of FBLA, cheerleading, and soccer, until she got a full time job which limits her participation now. She hopes to finish her last year of high school by making memories with her friends and family.
“Having to apply for scholarships and to colleges, it takes up a lot of your time and adds so much pressure,” adds Cooper when responding to what the hardest transition to senior year is. With her scholarships, Cooper plans on starting out her college experience by attending Central Community College for her first two years. There she plans to get her generals. Then Cooper plans on transferring to the University of Nebraska Kearney, where she could possibly pursue a medical career.

Tworek, Rebecca

Kaitlyn Kleinheksel

"Scary!" is how one Lakeview’s senior, Rebecca Tworek thinks of finishing her senior year. She said, “It is exciting but sad. High school has been pretty fun, as much as I hate waking up early, I am going to miss it. Although, it is exciting to be going out into the real world and starting a life.”

Tworek has not went to Lakeview throughout the years. She has also attended St. Isidore’s elementary, Lost Creek elementary, and also Columbus Middle and High School. She transferred into the district her sophomore year of high school. Tworek states “It wasn’t really hard to transition into the year. It was just normal but when second semester got here it was getting hard to accept the fact that I am almost done with it all.” She has been involved in FBLA for 2 years, FFA for 1 year, and St. Isidore’s youth mission for 4 years.

Tworek is the daughter of Krystal and Ken. She has two younger siblings, Faith and Matthew. Tworek plans on going to Central Community College while she figures out exactly what she wants to do for a career. One thing Tworek mentions she is looking forward to is graduation!

Lueders, Ryanne Madison

For some seniors leaving high school is exciting and for others it’s terrifying. But senior Ryanne Lueders says, “It still hasn’t hit me that I am a senior, honestly. It’s crazy to think I won’t be coming back next year.” Lueders is the daughter of Josh and Melanie and has one younger brother,Colter.

Lueders first joined the Lakeview district in first grade where she attended Shell Creek until her transfer to Pierce in fourth grade. She attended Pierce until the middle of seventh grade but then made her way back to Lakeview her sophomore year.

Each senior has his and hers struggles, but Lueders told us that her hardest transition into senior year was, “Having to balance sports, scholarships, and my college classes while still enjoying my last year with my classmates.” She is involved in basketball, soccer FBLA, FFA, FCA, and NHS. Lueders says, “I’m excited to see all the amazing things out class will do in the future with how intelligent and competitive we are.”
After high school Lueders plans to attend Northeast Community College to play soccer, then transfer to Wayne State to get her undergrad in pre-chiropractic. After that she hopes to go to either Northwestern Health Sciences University, or Palmer College of Chiropractic to receive her doctorate of chiropractic. The future for Ryanne is looking big and bright and we wish her luck on her journey to the future.

Raitt, Dallas John Charles

by alexis beiermann

     If you were to ask how many of the seniors wanted to be done already with high school, you would get a vast majority would say they can’t wait. Senior, Dallas Raitt would say otherwise. “High school has gone by super fast and as a kid I wanted to be done with school but now it’s sad because it’s my last year and the friends I have made I may never see again,” Raitt said. 

Dallas is the son of Monique and Jeff, and the brother to Syanna and Miranda. He is involved is involved in FBLA and has been for the last three years. He has wrestled for 12 years and played soccer for two. Raitt came to Lakeview in eighth grade, before that he attended Richland District. #1 in Schuyler, Nebraska."The hardest transition to senior year is the actual thought of high school being over,” admits Dallas. He thinks teachers expect more out of him because it is time to buckle down and get more serious. All in all, being a senior has more responsibilities.

  Raitt knows how he wants to proceed in life after high school. He plans on going to Central Community College to get his generals done. After those courses, he wants to go to University of Nebraska Kearney to major in business. 

Johnston, Gauge Nickalus

by alexis beiermann

     Gauge Johnston has been attending the Lakeview District since fifth grade. He transferred to Platte Center coming from West Park. Gauge is the son of Jesse and Karlene Johnston. He is younger brother of Blade and older brother of Taley. Johnston has been a three-year member FBLA. In his high school years, Gauge participated on the Columbus bowling team starting one year on junior varsity and two years on varsity. He played football for two years as well.

“Stressful and relieving at the same time. I’m not ready to move on in life. It’s stressful on my part because 12 years of school has flew by too fast. It feels like my high school career was gone in the blink of an eye,” Johnston admits of his final months as a Lakeview Viking. Although Gauge is a little anxious about moving forward with his life, he is still relieved for it to all be over.

“I am really pumped for graduation. This will be a great change for me.” Gauge is looking forward to graduation so he can experience new surroundings around him and make new friends. He plans to get his associate’s degree in Early Childhood Development at Midland University and join the Marine Corps. “Joining the marine corps is a family tradition,” he says. “Every graduate joins the Marines right after high school so I almost feel obligated to keep this tradition going.” It is pretty cool to pursue something as interesting as the Marine Corps, and it makes it even better it being a family tradition.

Casanova, Emily Nathalia

by taylor brewer

photo by dylan arends

The start of a new year means that Lakeview High School gains a new set of seniors. One of those seniors in her last year of high school is Emily Casanova.

“I’m in Band, One Act, Mock Trial, Speech, Jazz Band, and YFC,” says Casanova. “All of these activities help me lead in different ways.” Activities make a student involved in their school, and it is highly honorable to be in many activities like Casanova. Getting involved is a great way to stay busy and looks good for future things, such as college.

People tend to treat seniors differently when they actually become seniors. The teachers usually treat them as they would any other student. Underclassmen seem to look up to seniors and run away. “People don’t even know I’m a senior,” Casanova states. “But if they do know, they kind of just stay away and avoid me.” Emily lives with her parents Jaime and Guadalupe and is the youngest of her siblings, who also graduated from Lakeview: Jamie, Jeremiah, Annabel, and Joseph.

“The hardest transition from being a junior to a senior is how much everything costs,” adds Casanova. “The college classes, senior pictures, and the looming threat of college haunt me everyday.” Casanova plans to go to college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and wants to major in Broadcasting or AV Tech. She hopes to produce or direct an awesome movie that makes a mark on the world. Good luck during senior year, Emily!

Soltero, Reyes Abraham

by alexis beiermann

Meet another one of Lakeview's finest seniors: Reyes Soltero. He has spent his high school years attending Lakeview High School.

“I try my hardest in every sport, whether it be being on the bench, or out there doing the things I love,” says Soltero. He participates in football, wrestling, track, and baseball. With one year left at Lakeview, he said, “It feels amazing. I want to get the heck out of here already.”

“It's (being a senior) not any much different. It just feels the same pretty much. I’m being treated like everyone else, so there really is no seniority.” Soltero says the underclassmen were, “pretty scared. They’re just intimidated by me a little bit because since I’m a senior now, they don’t want to make me mad or do something they shouldn’t be doing, like losing focus, like in football."

Transitioning to his senior year, he said he is, “Probably becoming more responsible with all my homework and sports. Homework is very important, and the lazy person I was, I fell behind. So do your homework and try hard in sports.” Attending Lakeview High School, every student tries hard in everything they do, and it’s just a bonus with them working hard in athletics. It really is great to see everyone working hard and pushing themselves to their full potential.

As for plans after high school are to go into the Air Force. He is unsure on where he wants to settle down, but he is for sure enlisting after high school. He says he doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into, but it has always interested him.

Sigala, Hailey Anne

by kathleen howland

The thought of leaving high school can sometimes be a scary thought, but senior Hailey Sigala says, "I’m ready to leave high school and enter the real world.”  Sigala knows she has great memories to look back on, but also knows the change will be hard.

Sigala’s family members include Gabby who is a freshman at Lakeview, Ellena a fourth grader, at Shell Creek, her mom Amber, and her dad Asher. “My role model is going to be leaving, and I won’t have anyone to look up to,” says her little sister Gabby, when she thinks about her sister leaving.

Only transferring to Lakeview as a sophomore,Sigala quickly became active as a Viking. She participates in cheerleading, soccer, FFA, and FBLA.

“Probably realizing that I have less than a year left to really make it count.” Sigala plans to attend community college in Omaha and receive her business associates degree. She has no specific career path in mind.