Helping Others, One Liter at a Time
Fulfilling his New Year’s resolution to better himself, Tylen Banks (12) donates blood! Unfazed by the pain of the needle, Banks isn’t one to get nervous easily.
“I will definitely be donating again at the next blood drive in April,” Banks (12) said.
Banks is unsure how the blood will help but hopes to save a life.
Kaymin Hardnett (11) donates blood during the winter blood drive!
“I donated blood because I wanted to be generous and help those in need,” Hardnett (11) said.
Although this was his first time donating, Hardnett was fearless throughout the entire process and passed the time by thinking about his college plans.
“Let Us Lead by Serving Others”
Hoping to gain real-life experience, Dominic Young (11) participated in the 75th Annual Senior Beta Convention and achieved 4th place in Marketing & Communications.
“My experience was great. We interacted with a lot of schools across the state and got to see shows and dances at the convention,” Young (11) said.
Placing top 5 in his division allows Young to participate at the National Beta Convention in Savannah, Georgia, this June.
“I’m looking forward to Nationals. It’ll be a cool environment to be surrounded by students from other states,” Young (11) said.
Supporting her friends, Amanda Le (12) (not pictured) achieves 1st place in 12th grade Language Arts.
“I’ve always done well in English tests, and I thought I had a fighting chance for state,” Le (12) said.
Joining Beta allowed Le to enjoy a community of like-minded individuals and a chance for her to leave her comfort zone.
“Convention was phenomenal; it was like a melting pot of all the schools filled with people I would otherwise never get a chance to meet,” Le (12) said.
Going for the gold, Alex Knight (10) participates in three competitions at the Senior Beta Convention. He placed first in French for 10th grade, 4th in Marketing and Communications, and participated in Quiz Bowl.
“After finding out I placed in the top five for French, I was surprised. I didn’t find out I won first place for French until receiving the award, which I even more surprised,” Knight (10) said.
Knight attended the convention because he thought it would be interesting and a new thing to do.
“Beta provides me with a community of like-minded individuals that I can relate with,” Knight (10) said.
Pursuing her winning streak, Claire Conner (12) participates in the hand-made jewelry competition, achieving her fourth 1st place!
“I wanted to make sure that I ended my beta years with a bang and so was really going for the win,” Conner (12) said.
While this years’ convention was one of Conner’s favorites, she received special news that her experience was even sweeter.
“I was also recognized as a premiere dance performer and have been invited to perform for the opening ceremony at nationals with a bunch of other people from around the country,” Conner (12) said.
Going for the Gold!
On Saturday, January 20, JROTC participated in a Drill competition in Alexandria, competing against the Marines and Navy. Putting in countless hours of practice, the Broncos almost received a “clean sweep” by obtaining first in the following armed categories: regulation and inspection, army, and best overall. Additionally, the battalion placed 2nd in exhibition and regulation (armed), and state runner-up for army (unarmed).
Competing against top-competitor schools like Walker and Mandeville required extra and extended practices, every day after school, sometimes until 5pm.
Soon-to-be graduates, LTC Nasia Selders (12) and Jeffrey Lee (12) express their sentiment towards competing in one of the last competitions of their high school career.
“It’s bittersweet, just because we did it and made it through, and we get to look forward to nationals. But at the same time, it’s like we got to make the best of everything that we’re about to do,” Selders (12) said.
Lee shares Selder’s feelings and has big hopes for the future of the Bronco Battalion.
“From now moving forward, I’m going to focus on training my subordinates to be leaders and live up to the Zachary hype,” Lee (12) said.
For Selders, JROTC introduced her to something new.
“[JROTC] made my time here better; I found my place. I’m just grateful to have a place in it; it brought me out my shell a lot,” Selders (12) said.
On the other hand, JROTC seemingly saved Lee.
“I didn’t really have a purpose coming here. The program taught me to get my life straight and how to be a better person than who I was before,” Lee (12) said.
BMX & Bullying
On Thursday, January 25, The No Hate Tour visited our very own Zachary High to perform an intricate BMX routine and to advocate anti-bullying. Louisiana is one of many stops the biking crew made, as a part of their U.S. tour. Their goal is to deliver impactful bullying prevention tools to students across the nation. They performed various tricks up and down the ramps, even successfully rotating over Mr. McHugh’s head! Rallying students across the gym, students were encouraged to shout out the BMX crew by using the #NoHateTour tag on social media to win $500 dollars!
Ellia Kimich (10) was one of many who thoroughly enjoyed the biker’s stunt routines, although she had a few critiques.
“I thought the assembly would be more about bullying prevention. Although it was mentioned, there was a bigger focus on the professionals’ doing tricks,” Kimich (10) said.
