Photos Provided By: Kassia Wisneski, Kaitlyn Yoder, Ariana Jones, Ariana Carmody
By: Myriam-Fernanda Alcala Delgado, VeThalia Warren, Rediet Ayanaw, and Stephanie Pickens, Review Staff
Kassia Wisneski (Story by: Myriam Alcala)
Dedicated, passionate, a true role model –these are only some of the words friends used to describe Kassia Wisneski.
Wisneski is not only an active member in the Rangeview community as she is involved in Student Leadership, Varsity Poms, and National Honor Society; but, she is also active throughout the community.
Wisneski spoke on her passion in dance, she is one of the Varsity Poms captains and also has danced all her life at the Miller’s Dance Studio: “I think my greatest achievement was auditioning and earning the lead role in the ballet Sleeping Beauty as Aurora.”
Many would emphasize Wisneski’s work ethic and dedication in all the things she does, “It’s amazing being able to […] see all my hard work pay off,” she explained. “I always put 110% effort into everything I do.”
Along with dance, leadership, and NHS, Wisneski also interns through Pickens at two different elementary schools in hopes of receiving working experience in her field of interest: education.
“Next year I’m going to CSU where I will be majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. By the end of my sophomore year I hope to get into the education program since I want to be an elementary school teacher,” said Wisneski.
At Rangeview, friends, teachers, and community members spoke highly of Wisneski. She was described to be a true role model and leader in regards to school but also personality. Many say that she has definitely left a positive impact.
Junior Angelica Reyes explained: “Kassia is probably one of the sweetest people ever, she is honestly so kind and has helped me grow as a person.”
Wisneski hopes to inspire other students to always follow their passion, she ends by saying this: “You can do anything you want as long as you put the effort.”
Kaitlyn Yoder (Story by: VeThalia Warren)
Kaitlyn Yoder has been recognized as an outstanding senior for the year from being the cheer captain of the varsity Rangeview cheer team, to getting involved in the theater program, to participating in an executive internship at the Medical Center of Aurora . Yoder has contributed to Rangeview and its community countless of times within the fours years she has spent attending Rangeview High School.
Junior Breanna Wilson stated,” She’s an amazing person. She goes above and beyond to make sure those around her are good that’s more than we can say about a lot of people nowadays.”
Yoder has been cheering for thirteen years and has been cheering at Rangeview for three years, making varsity every year.
“She’s a teammate that is very bold and brace for what she does, what she has done to contribute to the team is definitely being a captain and always keeps the team in check,” said sophomore Jalyn Williams.
Yoder is involved in Link Crew and volunteers whenever she gets the opportunity.
She has been in theater for three years. Yoder says that she does theater because of how much she loves being on stage in front of a crowd. Yoder states, “the adrenaline is everything!”
Yoder has had an internship this year at the Medical Center of Aurora in the emergency room in the morning. During her internship, she sees and assesses cases as they come in and comfort the patients in any way possible.
She was recently certified to perform phlebotomy- according to Merriam-Webster dictionary is the process of making an incision in a vein with a needle– at the hospital.
“Kaitlyn is a very forward and driven individual. She has an exceptionally hard shell but under is an immensely loving and caring person. As, an athlete, Kaitlyn was the best cheerleader on the team. She has the most tumbling and stunting skills as well as the longest cheer background amongst everyone.” exclaimed junior Brooklyn Hopkins.
Many would say Yoder was a very inspirational role model at Rangeview HS and is going to leave an huge impact when she graduates.
Brooklyn Hopkins additionally states, “As captain, Kaitlyn led the team and always sought out progression. As a teammate and even more so as my best friend, I admire the work ethic and passion that Yoder puts into everything she does.”
“Phlebotomy.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phlebotomy
Ariana Jones (Story by: Rediet Ayanaw)
“Growing up, my dad was an alcoholic and both of my parents do drugs,” said senior Ariana Jones. “I was always trying to not end up like them.”
Growing up, Jones had a tough life. Her inner positivity and her passion to be better than what she was surrounded by helped her the most.
Born in Texas, Jones moved to Colorado in the seventh grade to live with her grandmother due to her unstable home in Texas. She describes her grandmother as being her supporter and cheerleader.
Jones loves to play the cello and is incredibly talented in the musical world. Her favorite movie of all time is Kill Bill .Watching crime shows and crime podcasts such as My Favorite Murder is something she loves to do. She is always learning new ways to do her hair. The drive to be the best in everything is definitely seen through her stunning performance in the debate club.
Back in Texas, Jones felt like she did not fit into her school.
“Growing up, I went to a very homogenous school — a very affluent white and Latino population,” said Jones. “I was one of four black people in my grade, and one of ten black people in my school. I wanted to look like those around me — straight hair, lighter, the way they dress. I was just very envious — I always wanted to look like somebody I wasn’t.”
This mindset is very common amongst those who are constantly surrounded by people who don’t look like them or aren’t treated the same way.
“When I moved to Colorado, I was still struggling with the whole envy thing. The summer before junior year was the first time I realized that I am not other people. There is no reason in being envious because at the end of the day, you got what you got, and if want you something, you got to work for it.”
This is when she also began transitioning to her natural curls. “I’m happy I got to the point where I am happy to be me,” she added.
When asked to give advice to incoming freshmen, Jones says, “it’s this weird gap of soon becoming an adult, but not quite there since you’re still a kid.” She discusses that expanding your horizon and being more open to trying new things in school will help you the most. “It’s like going to McDonald’s and asking for every single sauce- you’re the chicken nugget and you have to find which sauce you like the best.”
Jones is a very hard worker in school. Sometimes, it got to the point where she felt like it was overwhelming and she didn’t properly care for herself. Her winning the Daniels Scholarship of 2019 is just one of her many big achievements.
“I think that it is definitely a weight off my shoulders,” Jones says. “It’s crazy because I wasn’t even going to do it. I was in the hospital during that time and too overwhelmed to make it to the deadline. But Mr. Hirsch called and told me to just do it — probably wouldn’t have done it without that motivation.”
Her dedication to make the environment around her can be seen in other aspects of her life such as her extreme passion for global health.
“Ariana is someone who makes everyone around here, smarter,” says Rangeview counselor Mr. Hirsch. He further explains how Ariana is genuinely interested in helping people, has a thirst for knowledge and overall an amazing well-rounded person with an incredible heart that will go far in her field. “A natural philosopher. Someone who is going to change the world for the better- no doubt.”
Jones explains that she can literally feel the emotions when coming to anything related to global heal due to her heavy passion, strong ability to be a fighter and help others fight off global medical issues.
“The most important thing about life is passion,” says Jones. Passion and self-care is something she thinks is valuable to have a happy life. “If you don’t have passion, you don’t have the ability to achieve anything — if you want something, you have to be passionate about it.”
Ariana Jones plans to attend DU next fall and staying local and close to the community. Helping with college counseling at high schools is one of her. Global health is also going to be a constant move in her life.
Ariana Carmody: (Story by: Stephanie Pickens)
Ariana Carmody plans to major in environmental engineering in college this upcoming fall. She applied to many colleges-one of which was the prestigious University of Southern California– where she was accepted.
“I couldn’t believe it; it was surreal,” says Carmody. “I got out [of the car] and did a cartwheel. I was in a state of disbelief, shock, and bliss.”
Despite getting admitted into USC, Carmody is still unsure of where she wants to go. Applying for college and getting accepted is one thing, however, being able to actually get in is another. “I plan on going there or CU Boulder. Without scholarships, it [USC] adds up to be 80,000 a year and that’s too much.”
Aida Wates, Carmody’s niece, is a junior and has a very close relationship with her. She spends a lot of her time hanging out with her aunt and learning from her. “She truly deserves to go there [USC] because of the hard work she has put in throughout high school,” said Wates. “I’ve never seen her give up; I’ve only seen her try to do better when something becomes very challenging to her. She always knows how to bring positivity into the worst situations to try to make it feel better.” Carmody also helped her with procrastination as she learned from it with her own consequences.
Carmody has been involved in many clubs and after-school activities: engineering clubs such as StellarXplorers and CyberPatriots, instrumental clubs like winter percussion and marching band, and academic with NHS, LINK, and Interact. She played soccer all four years and also became the treasurer of the Black African American Student Alliance (BAASA). Although she has worked up her extracurricular activity participation, Carmody didn’t start getting herself out there until junior year. “It’s never too late to be involved,” Carmody says.
As college is always a big step into adulthood and post-graduation plans, Carmody also expressed the nervousness of going to college: “I’m really scared because meeting new people can be a challenge and I’m gonna be away from my family. I’m worried about failing since it’s such a big jump from high school content to college especially as an engineering major.”
The year is coming to a close and seniors will have to say goodbye; Carmody says she will miss her friends and teachers but also the diversity Rangeview provides.