Westmont
Culture
This Issue
Keep Your Friends Close And Your Enemies Closer
By Hailey Kearns
Freshman year, I applied for a transfer to Prospect and was rejected; in hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.
Most people who know me know one important thing about me: my closest friends all go to Prospect. In fact, my entire friend group goes to Prospect–except for me. Although they may go to Westmont’s rival school, I could never see them as my enemies. If anything, I have actually become closer to them this past year (shoutout to Camille Basa, Katia Sandoz, Grisell Salinas, and Jaeya Raras). I love that I have grown even closer to them despite us never being physically close. As much as I love the growth in my friendships with them, I sometimes feel slightly sad when I think about how life would be even better if I were able to go to the same school as them.
That thought was one of my driving factors for wanting to transfer. In December of 2021, I somehow convinced my mom and dad that I would be so much happier at Prospect, and they agreed to fill out a transfer application. After waiting only a few months, we received a letter back. My mom handed me the letter one day after school. I stared at it for a few minutes. After realizing that I needed to open it, I quietly walked to my room and shut the door. Sitting down in my chair at my desk, I stared at it a little longer, hesitating to open it. Eventually, with courage, I carefully opened the letter. I scanned it to find any promising words. There were none. Hot tears filled my eyes immediately. My head started spinning. It felt like my one way ticket to happiness was gone. I immediately called my best friend, Camille, and asked her to meet me at Moreland Middle School since, at the time, she lived across the street from it. She knew I had unfortunate news. I walked silently over to the school to meet her. Without saying a word, she already knew exactly what was wrong and gave me a hug.
A trip and fall into the rabbit hole is all that it takes to reach Wonderland: a sparkling presentation by this year’s musical theatre class following Alice and her quintessential misadventures in Wonderland. In order to watch this one-act musical before the last issue of the year debuts, I was lucky enough to join a very large class of Capri students on their annual field trip to Westmont’s theatre. The lobby and house were practically buzzing with anticipation as I took my unofficial seat and waited for the lights to dim. Jeff Bengford, as always before student shows, appeared in the front and informed the rambunctious children about proper theatre etiquette and whatever-else-have-you—but then, told everyone to count backwards from 30.
“Can you do that?” Bengford challenged. He was met with an uproar only the youth could provide for a high school performance, and the quickening chant “30, 29, 28, 27…” rang out before he could even exit the theatre. But like magic, when the kids reached 0, the lights dimmed and after a brief introduction by student director Zahra Kizarly, we met Alice sitting next to her mother….or sister. I wasn’t able to puzzle this one out, but it was some worldly and weary older figure to Alice, the character written with a noticeable lack of whimsy.
One of my first impressions of the show was Jayan Trujillo’s voice ringing through in harmony during the first song. Though Jayan has participated in many of the school musicals in his high school career, such as Footloose and 9-5, I have never had the opportunity to hear his talented voice. Bravo!!
1676—King Philip’s War ends
1827—William Blake, British writer and artist, died at age 69
1877—The Phonograph was invented by Thomas Alva Edison
1964—James Bond creator Ian Fleming dies
1908—Ford Motor Company builds its first Model T car
2014—Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall dies
The College Board was founded in 1899.
Roughly 62% of high school students go on to pursue higher education.
The youngest person to ever receive a PHD, Karl Witte, received his degree at age 13.
Schools in Australia have “summer break” from mid-December to late January.
The SAT was first administered in 1926.
Dear my supplemental photographic memory,
You are my emergency floatation device; my fruit-flavored ring candy. You hold the highlights (and lowlights) of all my 17 full rotations around the sun. How could I persist with you absent? With a simple tap of the glass of my cellular device, I can forever immortalize my favorite moments. And you, you take all these snapshots and store them in your arms with care, regularly polishing each one. When I forget, you catch me as I fall and feed me the memory. All my first times, all my last moments, you protect.
I scroll through my near endless collection you oversee so dearly, and thanks to you, I recall everything. I recall the less-fond lower-secondary school hours and the very-much-more-fond secondary school experiences. I recall the springs of tests; the summers of exploration. I recall the trips of the Daily Explorer; the competitions of robotics. But I recall an extremely reduced amount without you.
Each folder, tucked in the crevices, neatly organized, hosts my plethora of souvenirs of life. I fear the destruction of you, thus, I protect you with my life. Would I catch a grenade for you? Lamentably, I am not named after a candy bar, so I’m proven incapable of such actions. Will l take you to my grave? Indubitably.
My cheerest, fondest, flashiest regards,
As summer approaches, incoming Seniors should start thinking about where they want to go for their Senior Trip. Because I have spent way too much time thinking about where I want to go for my Senior Trip, I have accumulated a long list of places to potentially travel to—an entire list, including pros and cons for each location. Since I don’t feel like inputting all my options here, I am going to list the five (in my opinion) best places to go for a Senior Trip down below.
Scattered around Downtown San Jose, breathtaking works of art plaster maintenance doors. In modest white ink in the corner, the name of the artist and their high school of origin are credited. Over 372 works of art are currently displayed, each the work of an aspiring artist right here in the Bay Area—and one of the newest doors will boast the work of a Westmont photographer: Ben Kiznyte.
Recently, Westmont’s Got Art boasted a roomful of the work of some of Westmont’s most talented artists—including photographer Ben Kiznyte. Ben has just started photography this year, but has developed a plethora of photographic skills. As a result of encouragement from Rachael Bradley, the photography teacher, Ben decided to apply for the highly prestigious opportunity to display high school art on doors downtown. Ben was one of approximately 20 winners, and on May 15, 2025, participated in a ceremony to unveil the new art.
“At first, I looked into what other people did with similar prompts,” said Ben when I asked him about the inspiration behind this piece. “I came across a photo with a birdcage—it didn’t have the hands that I put in mine.”
This specific piece took one evening of work. Ben’s sister and future Westmont Warrior Agniete Kiznyte served as the hand model—but the real time commitment came with editing. “It took about four hours to edit,” Ben told me nonchalantly. For me personally, I did not know how much work went into photography—my interview with Ben was very enlightening. Make sure to pay Ben’s door a visit, where it’s tucked right next to The Studio Climbing and The Ritz (Downtown San Jose).
Issue 9 Promotional Video:
*Filmed and edited by Lucas Macian
