April 12, 2024 ~ In this edition of #OPSMyFuture, we caught up with Marco Romero, a senior at Olathe West High School. Romero has been the No. 1 ranked amateur boxer in his weight class for the past five years, having won 17 national championships. He has one more amateur fight next month, and although his priority right now is to graduate high school, he will soon look to launch a career in professional boxing.

“I try to represent Olathe and Olathe West at the highest levels of boxing,” Romero said. “Being from Olathe, it’s given me a lot of motivation to be successful in my sport and hopefully give back to my community.”

Born and raised in Olathe, Romero attended Countryside Elementary and Pioneer Trail Middle School. He attended Olathe East High School for two years before following his younger brother to Olathe West for his junior year. Romero is an Owl Link Leader at Olathe West. Owl Link Leaders is a student-centered leadership and mentor program that provides structure for freshmen to receive support and guidance from upperclassmen.

“I have great relationships here at West. They welcomed me right away,” Romero said. “Even though boxing takes up a lot of my time, education is always a priority for me. I try my best to get involved and do whatever I can to be a leader for other kids out there.”

Romero has a busy schedule, training three hours a day for six days a week at Turner Boxing Academy in Kansas City, Kansas. Through his gym, he travels to tournaments around the country with a team of five or six boxers. Balancing school and boxing isn’t new to Romero, but the workload only grows as he gets older. He wants to focus on making it as a pro boxer but is still leaving the door open for more education. Romero’s uncles work in construction, and he wants to go into the HVAC field and maybe even start his own business someday.

“I’ve balanced school and boxing my whole life,” Romero said. “I know in the pros there is a lot more training, but I think anything is possible with dedication.”

In amateur boxing, competition picks up as kids get older, with the tougher and bigger events getting more common around 12 to 14 years old. Romero, who started boxing at age 7, has been in 133 amateur fights in his career, with just five total losses — he hasn’t lost since 2019. He’s won 17 national championships in various tournaments, including four USA Boxing titles, the biggest amateur event in the country. This past December, Romero, fighting in the 165-pound division, won the USA Boxing Olympic Trials in Louisiana. However, he won’t be able to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics due to age and class qualifications.

“Unfortunately, I’m a little too young and my weight class won’t be a contest weight class at the Olympics,” Romero said. “If the opportunity comes to compete for the 2028 Olympics, it would definitely be something I'd look forward to, but right now I’m just focused on starting my pro career.”

Romero is set to compete in his final amateur tournament at the Detroit Golden Gloves event next month. From there, he plans to begin his pro career through talks with promoters, with his goal to bring a world championship to Kansas.

“A lot of athletes chase for the money, but for me, my biggest motivation is to bring back something for my community and the kids that are behind me,” Romero said. “No matter where you’re from, you can make it to wherever you want to be.”

March 22, 2024 ~ Senior Bethel Yigezu found her dream career path due to her experience at Olathe South High School.

Yigezu is a proud member of the BioMedical Engineering Academy, serving on the leadership team. She is currently ranked 15th out of 445 seniors in her graduating class and holds a 4.47 weighted GPA. Yigezu enjoys honors courses and excels in AP English, AP Chemistry, AP US History, AP Statistics and AP Bio.

Through this work, she is the co-founder and current president of the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) club at Olathe South. HOSA is a member-led organization made up of students from across Kansas who are interested in pursuing a career in health care. Yigezu is also a member of the Black Student Union. At the Celebration of Black Excellence event in February, she received the Academic Achievement Award for having the highest GPA among Black students in her graduating class. Needless to say, she works hard to reach her goals.

“I love to work hard for things. I think what makes me stand out is not necessarily my intelligence, but rather my ability and willingness to try new things,” Yigezu said. “A lot of students are really smart, but they’re frightened that they’re incapable of reaching their potential, and in reality, they are capable.”

For the first three years in the BioMedical Engineering Academy, students learn presentation skills and soft skills, build resumes and do in-person projects. During their senior year, they get the opportunity to do an internship in the area. Last semester, she was a part of the med-surg nursing unit at Olathe Health and got to sit in on a couple surgeries. This semester, she interned with University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center and got to shadow internal medicine and the urology clinic.

Through the academy, Yigezu was able to discover a six-year medical program at University of Missouri – Kansas City that she hopes to join. Because she is hoping to stay local, she applied to UMKC and is waiting to hear back, though she was accepted into the honors program at KU as a backup.

“It’s through this academy that I even heard about the UMKC program, so it’s really exciting to be a part of,” Yigezu said. “I love my teachers here. They have been super nice and helpful.”

Through her internship, Yigezu became interested in general surgery as a career path not only because of the work, but because the surgeon she shadowed showed compassion when it was needed most. Because of this experience in the BioMedical Engineering Academy, someday she hopes she can provide that high level of care and compassion for those in need in the medical field.

“When I shadowed the surgery experience, it was really touching for me because I got to see a general surgeon stand up for a lot of patients,” Yigezu said. “She didn’t have any breaks. She didn’t have to work the whole time, but it was obvious she just cared a lot about them and so she continued to do what’s best for her patients. I want to do that.”

March 1, 2024 ~ In this edition of #OPSMyFuture, we caught up with Ceci Sellers, who is in seventh grade at Frontier Trail Middle School. Last summer, Ceci signed a professional contract with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. You may recognize her as Young Elsa from the districtwide production of Disney’s “Frozen,” The Broadway Musical.  

“I started singing early on in elementary school, and I started wanting to do theater when I was maybe 8 or 9,” Ceci said. “I just like being on stage, and you make a lot of good friendships from it too because you get to know the people you’re performing with really well.” 

Ceci found a passion for singing in first grade with the help of her music teacher at Tomahawk Elementary School. That same teacher, Sarah Gesling, is now the choir director at Frontier Trail. 

“She put on these little shows that I really enjoyed doing,” Ceci said. “Even though I was really young, I kind of started to think this is what I want to do. It kind of helped me decide what my passion was.” 

Last summer, Ceci signed a professional contract with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, one of the nation’s premier regional opera companies. They rehearse in downtown Kansas City and get to perform their shows at the highly renowned Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Ceci’s personal voice teacher also performs at Kauffman, and it was she who encouraged Ceci to audition for them. In the fall, Lyric Opera of Kansas City put on a production of “The Sound of Music.” Ceci went to audition for one of the Von Trapp kids and ended up with the role of Marta.  

“My voice teacher told me that even if you don’t get in, it’s still fun to try,” Ceci said. “I got called back and eventually got cast, and it was just so much fun.” 

After middle school, Ceci plans to attend Olathe East High School, where her mom is a teacher. She plans on being involved in choir and theater. Outside of that, she enjoys running cross-country, which she started this year, and hopes to continue with it in high school.  

Feb. 16, 2024 ~ In this edition of #OPSMyFuture, we sat down with Ainsley Spence, an eighth grader at Chisholm Trail Middle School. Spence was accepted into the Future Educators Academy at Olathe East High School. At Chisholm Trail, she found a passion for teaching through her United Connections class. The class is designed for general education students to coincide with students with special needs in an open learning environment and lend a helping hand.  

“We spend our time being a friend for them,” Spence said. “We’re growing our relationships with them, helping them out with things and letting them be around all kids. It’s just a good experience for everyone.” 

Lindsay Sutter and Jamie Totte-Boyd teach the class. Every day has a different agenda. On Mondays, students learn about life skills. Tuesday are experimental days where students can do some hands-on work. On Thursdays, students practice their speech through different activities. Fridays are for physical education and other activities.  

“These friends always find a way to make me laugh if I’m having a bad day,” Spence said. “Every time they smile, it makes me smile.” 

At Chisholm Trail, Spence is a part of the jazz band and a member of the Science Olympiad. She enjoys school, with jazz band and her United Connections class being her favorite parts of the day. Outside of school, she is an active member of her church’s youth group and enjoys playing basketball in her free time.  

Next year, Spence will attend Olathe East High School and be a part of the Future Educators Academy. She is excited about getting involved in the program right away.  

“I’ve done some work with FEA in the past,” Spence said. “I know they’re very good about getting the younger classes involved and making sure everyone’s working together on the same page.” 

When it comes to finding her passion for teaching, Spence credits her time spent in school and the time she spent with special education students at Chisholm Trail. She wants to teach social studies or maybe at the elementary school level first when she becomes an educator.  

“I really like helping people and seeing growth is really cool to me,” Spence said. “To be able to say, ‘You were there and then got here,’ I just really like helping people on that journey.” 

#OPSForwardTogether 

Jan. 31, 2024 ~ Madison Troup, senior at Olathe East High School, is a leader for the Olathe East Debate and Forensics team, a program that sent 17 students to the National Speech and Debate Tournament last year. Troup found community and support through the program, helping her come out of her shell and become a voice to advocate for what is right.;

“I was really, really shy my freshman year. With COVID, it was online, and I didn’t really have a lot of friends,” Troup said. “I remember finding speech and debate, and we had in-person practices every week. I had a space where I had a community, and I was able to build and foster relationships there.”

Troup became the first person in school history to qualify for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) in Minnesota last year, a competition that brings together the nation’s best and brightest students in speech and debate. She also won a state title in Dramatic Interpretation and was the highest finisher from Olathe in the 2023 National Speech and Debate Tournament, finishing as a semifinalist in poetry spoken word. While there were a lot of nerves on stage in the final round of the 2023 state tournament, Troup realized her competition was there to share a common goal.

“Once it was cut down to six people, I went first, and I was just so nervous,” Troup said. “But the moment I got up there, I took a breath. I looked around and saw people part of my community, and I’m like, ‘You know what? This is just so fun and so beautiful.’ Being able to see that there were other Black women there for me, all ready to listen and hear each other, was just so powerful.”

For Troup’s semifinalist-level poem, she wrote about the treatment and perceptions of Black women in society and how they find ways to create sisterhood. She delivered the poem live several times to the panel of judges.

“It speaks about the importance of finding ourselves and moving beyond the perceptions of us so that we can finally have the ability to understand who we are and embrace it,” Troup said. “There will always be stereotypes, but it’s a question of, ‘How can we find beauty in ourselves and appreciate who we are?’”

Troup credited the coaches and mentors at Olathe East for her success. Olathe East has five coaches in the program — Stacy Goddard, Keith Larkin, Erin Powell, Lauren Carter and Rule 10 coach Kevin Krouse.

 “I have a huge appreciation for all the coaches I’ve worked with,” Troup said. “They’re people that I can go to when school is hard, whenever I have issues at home, or when I have questions. They’re doing it out of the kindness of their heart because they care and want to see our program succeed.”

In school, Troup is the Student Council president for the class of 2024. She is also in the Civic Leadership Academy and the co-founder of the Feminist Club at Olathe East. Outside of school, she volunteers in different buildings and currently has an internship for the City of Olathe attorney and prosecutor’s office. Troup wants to use her powerful voice someday in the courtroom as a lawyer.

“My dream profession is to be a criminal defense attorney, and I just hope I can change things to make the world a better place,” Troup said. “Based on the program and experiences I’ve had at Olathe East, I think I have enough materials I need to be able to make it happen.”

Troup plans to continue with debate at the college level. She has multiple scholarships offers for debate from schools including the University of Kansas, Wake Forest University and the University of Kentucky. However, she is keeping her options open until the right fit comes along. One thing she knows for sure is that she couldn’t have done it without the support of her team.

“All these people and all our coaches are just so important in shaping changemakers,” Troup said. “I just don’t feel like I have to contain myself or monitor myself anymore, because I know what I’m talking about. I’m educated because of debate.” 

After qualifying for the NIETOC again this year along with another state and national tournament appearance, Troup can make a name for herself again.

Jan. 19, 2024 ~ Andrew Ratzlaff, senior at Olathe Northwest High School, has had a passion for art his whole life, and thanks to the e-Communication Academy at Olathe Northwest, that passion grew into graphic design. Back in December, Ratzlaff won first place in the Digital Illustration and Painting category at the Annual High School Visual Arts Competition put on by the Tim Murphy Art Gallery!

The Annual High School Visual Arts Competition is one of the largest high school art competitions in the Kansas City metro region. Student artists across the region showcase their work in watercolor, pastel, oil, acrylics, drawing, 3D, photography, and digital illustration and painting. Ratzlaff submitted his art piece at the last minute and ended up getting his name called at the December reception with a first-place prize of $150.

“I was leaning over to tell my dad that I didn’t think I was going to win,” Ratzlaff said. “I got to the point of saying, ‘yeah, I don’t think I’m about to,’ then they called my name, and my dad still won’t let it go. I honestly didn’t expect to win because there were some really amazing pieces there.”

The first-place winning piece, titled “Dave,” is a depiction of Dave Bayley, lead singer and guitarist of Glass Animals. Ratzlaff had just seen Glass Animals in concert before starting the project and was “obsessed” with their music for a while. To create the piece, Ratzlaff used Adobe Illustrator.

“This is a vector piece, so it’s made out of a bunch of small, colored shapes,” Ratzlaff said. “If you look really closely at it, they’re all organic shapes.”

Ratzlaff’s passion for art started in art class at Fairview Elementary School, and since middle school he’s been in an art class every year that he’s been able to choose. There was always a strong interest in drawing and hands-on art, and when it came time to pick a high school to attend, he knew Olathe Northwest was the perfect fit for him.

“I immediately knew I wanted to come here, but I didn’t know for what yet,” Ratzlaff said. “I’d always done artwork by hand, so this school allowed me to learn how to do digital art, which I never touched. I just wanted to learn more even if it didn’t become a career.”

After graduation, Ratzlaff plans to continue pursuing a field in art or graphic design. He is currently committed to the University of Kansas, where he is also considering joining their Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. Ratzlaff hopes someday his artwork can land him a job with a big corporation like the Navy or Red Bull, the latter of which sponsors and does a lot of marketing and design campaigns for sports like Formula 1 Racing and Grand Prix motorcycle racing, two of his favorite sports to watch.

“In this program, we’re learning not just the standards of e-Comm, but also what college students are doing so that we’ll always have a step ahead,” Ratzlaff said. “Maybe this is something I can do.”

#OPSForwardTogether

Jan. 2, 2024 ~ Skyler Pierce is a four-time first team All-State member, three-time Sunflower League Player of the Year, three-time All-Olathe Player of the Year and the 810 Sports 2023 Kansas Female Athlete of the Year for the Olathe Northwest High School volleyball team. Pierce is graduating from Olathe Northwest a semester early and making her way to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she has a full-ride volleyball scholarship.

At Olathe Northwest, Pierce set the all-time school record for career kills. This season, she starred at her position, outside hitter, averaging 4.6 kills per set with a .402 hitting percentage to go along with 230 digs, 67 aces and 43 blocks in her senior season, where she led the Ravens to a third-place finish at the Kansas 6A state tournament. She was ranked as the nation’s No. 4 overall prospect and top player at her position nationally by PrepDig.com.

“This school year has been really good. It’s been fast and has kind of flown by, especially after volleyball ended,” Pierce said. “Obviously, we didn’t hit the goals that we wanted to, but there was a lot of success throughout the season.”

Pierce has been fortunate to have her game recognized on a national level as well. She was selected as an alternate for the U.S. girls’ under-19 team that won a gold medal at the 2023 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) U19 World Championships in Croatia. Not too long after, Pierce officially made the junior national volleyball roster for the first time, playing in the FIVB under-21 World Championship in Mexico.

 “Being in that surrounding and going to play for something bigger than yourself with Team USA was so much fun,” Pierce said. “We were playing with 16 and 17-year-old girls against U21 girls from other countries who have been in pro leagues before. It was a really great experience.”

On Nov. 15 at a special assembly at Olathe Northwest, Pierce was announced as the winner of the 2023 Evelyn Gates Award, given annually to the top high school volleyball player in the Kansas City metro. She was presented with a traveling trophy to put on display at the school as well as a $500 stipend for Olathe Northwest’s athletic department.

“It was very honorable to win that award,” Pierce said. “It’s more than just, ‘She’s good at volleyball,’ because it’s more about who the person is not just on the court but off the court. I try to exceed my expectations and make sure I hold myself to a higher standard than even other people might hold for myself.”

At Olathe Northwest, Pierce is a member of the Black Student Union and The National Honor Society (NHS). She is also in the e-Communication 21st Century Academy. Pierce has been doing graphic design within the program and plans to study graphic design when she gets to college.

“E-Comm has really been a great program for me. It’s made me open myself up to getting interviewed or just being more talkative because I’m more of a quiet person,” Pierce said. “Getting into graphic design was a different way of showing my art and being able to do it on the tech was cool to me.”

Outside of school, Pierce is a naturally humble person and gives back to her community through volunteering. She has volunteered with Special Olympics, Youth Volunteer Corps of KC and is a volunteer coach for Dynasty Volleyball, her club team.

“I’ve been doing it for three years now, and it’s a lot of fun because I get to give back to Dynasty, the club I played for,” Pierce said. “Just working with the younger girls, it's so much fun to see them grow from the beginning of the season.”

Pierce is graduating a semester early so that she can get a head start on her next chapter — the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she will be playing volleyball on a full-ride scholarship. Pierce said she took summer classes to get all her credits done in time and, according to future teammates she talked to, the decision will be worth it.

“I knew I wanted to make connections with the girls before the season started,” Pierce said. “I talked to some girls when I visited, and they said going early was the best decision they ever made. They got all the nerves out, got to build connections with all the girls and going into the season the chemistry was already there.”

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have one of the most renowned college volleyball programs in the country, with more wins than any other program and five national championships. On Aug. 30, Pierce attended the Nebraska versus Omaha outdoor volleyball game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, a historic event in which 92,003 people set a record for the largest crowd to watch a women’s sporting event in the United States.

“It was insane to see,” Pierce said. “Being a part of a program that’s taking those steps forward and helping women’s sports in the long run is something I’m really excited to be a part of.”

Pierce knows it won’t be an easy road, but she is excited for the opportunity to make a name for herself at Nebraska and maybe eventually, an even bigger stage.

“I hope to get some playing time and become that athlete I know I can be at the college level, and I hope to have the opportunity to go play pro here in Kansas City, with us getting a pro team in 2025,” Pierce said. “And then the big goal is the Team USA national team, which is a long time coming. It would be a very cool experience to be able to wear the USA flag on my chest again.”

Nov. 17, 2023 ~ Hannah Ehrlich, sixth grader at Frontier Trail Middle School, won the American Kidney Fund’s (AKF) 28th annual national Calendar Kids Art Contest and was honored at the AKF’s national gala, The Hope Affair, in Washington, D.C. in October. 

“It was super fun,” Ehrlich said. “I kind of wish it lasted longer because we didn’t have a lot of time to look around, but my favorite part was the gala and getting to see everybody.”

Ehrlich lives with stage 3 chronic kidney disease and was one of 13 pediatric kidney patient finalists competing to have their artwork featured on the calendar’s cover. According to her, she applied to the contest because she wanted to share her colorful design with other kids and families in the kidney community. Members of the public were able to give their input and voted on their favorite artwork on the AKF website. Ehrlich’s piece, “Kidney Disease Awareness,” features a kidney filled with different patterns and colors, surrounded by hashtags related to kidney disease and green kidney disease awareness ribbons.

"Hannah's drawing is not only beautiful, incorporating intricate patterns in the design, but it also shares an important message about spreading awareness of her disease," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF president and CEO. "We congratulate her on being selected this year's cover artist and are grateful for all the unique, creative submissions from this year's contestants.”

According to Ehrlich, living with stage 3 chronic kidney disease at her age certainly isn’t easy, but the support she receives from her friends and family is abundant. Even though she may get sick more often, have to go to more appointments than other kids and get lab work done more than other kids, she says she’s really a normal kid.

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell (my friends) about what I have to go through, because there’s a lot for them to know,” Ehrlich said. “But they’re super supporting and always listen.”

One key person in her support system is her father, Todd Ehrlich, a pediatric nurse at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He goes to all of Hannah’s appointments and always encourages her to make healthy choices. Hannah brings some of her artwork to all her appointments, and it’s there when the doctor discovered it and informed them about the art contest. Hannah loves art, but when she gets older, she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and help children in the medical field, perhaps even go into nephrology.

“I want to help other kids who can relate to me since I can relate to them,” Ehrlich said. “I think it would be cool to have somebody as your nephrologist who can relate to what you’re going through.”

The 2024 calendar featuring Ehrlich’s cover art is available on the AKF website.

Sept. 25, 2023 ~ This summer, Olathe Northwest High School senior Brandon Santiago-Ramos attended “Caminos al Futuro,” a fully funded nationwide summer program for pre-college students who have a high level of academic achievement and a demonstrated commitment to service and leadership within the Hispanic/Latino community.

Located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Caminos al Futuro is an immersive learning experience where scholars examine the social, economic and political transformations affecting the Hispanic/Latino community in a college-like environment. Participants get to see policymaking in action with visits to Congress, government agencies and leaders in non-profits as well as lectures from university professors and national Hispanic/Latino leaders.

Santiago-Ramos said that days were like what he imagined college was like, where students wake up, eat breakfast, go to class and then spend their evenings playing soccer, listening to music and exploring the city. He was able to see the White House, tour the Pentagon and even catch a show at the Kennedy Center.

“It was a very fun experience,” Santiago-Ramos said. “I loved being able to connect with a group of Latino kids from around the nation and be able to bounce ideas off each other.”

Each student was allowed to bring one adult member or mentor with them for the final presentation and closing ceremony of the program. Santiago-Ramos invited Elizabeth Janzen, his Spanish teacher and Hispanic Leadership Club sponsor at Olathe Northwest.

“It was a wonderful experience because I was one of the only mentors there because the rest were parents,” Janzen said. “It was a privilege that Brandon invited me and to be able to see him present his community project with self-confidence in both Spanish and English. It was very impressive.”

Time in the classroom was spent with university professors and Hispanic/Latino leaders, identifying issues related to Hispanics/Latinos in their home communities and developing Community Action Projects to address them. Students were encouraged to leverage their own cultural competence and think about how to uniquely address the needs of their community.

“The program does a really good job giving you different Latino experiences, not just in politics but with Latinos in every workspace,” Santiago-Ramos said. “I feel like it really showed the students that Latinos are everywhere, and you can accomplish anything.”

Each participant created a project that each could implement in their own city and Hispanic/Latino community. Santiago-Ramos created a project based on one of his passions — soccer.

“My project is a soccer tournament where anybody can come play, and hopefully it’s going to be sponsored by our community,” Santiago-Ramos said. “My goal is for all Olathe businesses – Latino or not – to come in along with high schools and college admissions officers to give information to Latino families and show them there are opportunities out there.”

Along with soccer, Santiago-Ramos participates in the 21st Century Engineering Academy, Hispanic Leadership Club and Teen Council. Janzen had just met Santiago-Ramos last year, but she said his passion for his community is obvious.

“I knew he would be a great candidate for Caminos al Futuro. He has always been passionate about what he does, prepared in class, asking questions and trying to do things better, not just for himself but for the community too,” Janzen said. “One of the goals is that through this experience, he can generate support from the community to implement his soccer project, so more students and their families can be informed and take advantage of the variety of opportunities that Olathe Public Schools have like the 21st Century programs, Olathe Advanced Technical Center, etc. All of us have a part in helping our students be successful to achieve their dreams.” 

After high school, Santiago-Ramos hopes to attend the University of Michigan, where he plans to major in engineering. For now, he is just grateful to have had the opportunity to work with great mentors and to have the chance to make an impact in the community. However, “Caminos al Futuro” encouraged him to seek out different possibilities in majors and schools. GW is a very viable option for Santiago-Ramos because of his sister, Brenda, who is set to graduate from there this year.

“I know that there’s more out there for me and others in our community,” Santiago-Ramos said. “¡Sí se puede!”

#OPSMyFuture

Sept. 22, 2023 ~ If you walk into Caroline Ivison’s third grade classroom at Indian Creek Elementary School, you may spot a bright young student, filled with energy, dressed in a full suit and perhaps speaking in front of the class. That student is Sekou Traore, who hopes to become president of the United States one day.

Traore loves being at school and loves being a leader in the classroom. When asked why he looks to become president when he grows up, his answer was simple and selfless.

“I want to make it equal for everybody,” Traore said. “And I want to make good laws for the people.”

According to Principal Dr. Julie Sluyter, Traore stands out as a leader in the classroom not just with his ability as a student but with his attitude as well.

“Sekou is a great student,” Dr. Sluyter said. “He has lots of personality and is a great leader in his classroom.”

Traore looks up to his mom and dad as his role models. Even when he’s out of school, he loves to learn. Traore said his favorite things about school are talking to the class and doing homework. His favorite subject is reading. When asked what he loves to do when he’s not doing school-related things, his answer was quick.

“Go to the pirate ship park (also known as Frontier Park),” Traore said with a smile.

While there is still a lot of grade school left for him, Traore said he wants to go to college in the future. After that, he is hoping to find a path to Washington, D.C. If his classmates see him in the White House decades from now, he promised one thing. 

“I would look really, really cool,” Traore said.

#OPSMyFuture

Sept. 8, 2023 ~ Over the summer, eighth grade student Jackson Parker of Santa Fe Trail Middle School participated in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he became an All-American for the second time. In the 13-year-old age group, Parker became the national champion in the Boys High Jump (5’7”) and placed third in the Boys 100 M Hurdles (14.40). He also picked up a 13th place finish in the Boys 200 M Hurdles (28.67).

“The entire experience was really fun. So many events happening and so many good athletes,” Parker said. “Coming into the track meet I had the number one jump, so I was expecting to be top eight, but I didn’t think I was going to win it because there were just so many good athletes out there.”

Student-athletes who place in the top eight and get to stand on the podium receive All-American status. Parker achieved that status for the first time when he participated in the 2022 USA Track and Field (USATF) National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, California, where he placed fourth in high jump.

“I was really excited,” Parker said. “I hadn’t been on the podium before.”

Parker runs for an AAU team called the KC Novas, running in events outside of the district, participating in regional meets, and from there national meets. At Santa Fe Trail, he is finishing up his third year in track. Parker also plays football in the fall and basketball in the winter, both for the school.

“I’ve enjoyed Santa Fe Trail,” Parker said. “We have a lot of good coaches out here and we just have a lot of pride with our school.”

Parker credits Olathe Public Schools for providing him with the things he needs to achieve his goals.

“I think what I like the most about the district is all the opportunities we have here,” Parker said. “I’ve had a lot of good teachers help me academically and I’ve had a lot of opportunities with school sports, and it’s just helped the big picture for me of becoming a Division I athlete.”

Next year, he plans to attend Olathe North High School, where he wants to run track, play football and start putting his dream of becoming a Division I athlete into action.

#OPSMyFuture

Aug. 21, 2023 ~ This year Brittney Wright, a junior at Olathe North High School, became a published author for her book of poems titled “Words I Thought.” Wright shares her voice through poems that dive into topics on mental health, and she hopes that everyone who reads it can feel like their voice is in it too.

“It’s about mental health, growing up and figuring out who you are in the world and finding your place,” Wright said. “It kind of started because I was just writing, and then I was showing people and they’re like, ‘these are really good’.”

Wright was at Olathe East High School before transferring to Olathe North, and she said it was a teacher at East who helped her realize she can really make this happen.

“My teacher, she was my freshman honors English teacher, and she was like some of you are better than my seniors, you can be published,” Wright said. “And she looked directly at me.”

Wright had already laid a foundation for a book with the number of poems she’d written. It was just a matter of putting them in a certain order and making it flow. She had done research and read other stories about different topics on mental health. Through her research, she discovered that it is common to have multiple mental health experiences and that everyone’s experience is different, so she didn’t want to focus on just one topic.

“I worked on writing about depression and anxiety...But then I worked a lot on writing about OCD, eating disorders, body image and other topics,” Wright said. “I wanted to make everyone feel like they had a voice in it.”

Once she had pieced her writing together, Wright reached out to five to 10 publishing companies before landing on Dorrance Publishing Company, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They did all the page design and worked with her based on what she envisioned. For two to four months, they went through the proofing and editing process and in February, Wright submitted her book. In March, right before her birthday, she received the first copy of her published book.

At the end of last school year, Wright had the opportunity to visit Pioneer Trail Middle School to read age-appropriate snippets of her book to students. She said it was an amazing experience, and the kids were happy to get a visit from a published author within their own district.

“The kids loved it, and their faces were just so shocked,” Wright said. “They were surprised at how young I was, and some of them still come up to me and are like, ‘Oh, you came to my school, right?’”

Wright said the support from her schools and the opportunities Olathe Public Schools provided really helped her achieve this goal.

“They would always say you can do whatever you want to do, and there are a lot of things you can do,” Wright said. “My English teachers, for instance, they would step out and talk to you and really work with you outside of class if you wanted.”

After high school, Wright plans to attend college and wants to major in biology and then attend veterinary school. She says she still wants to write on the side, and maybe publish a few more books. In fact, she is currently working on her second book, “What am I Supposed to Say Now?” which has already been signed with a publisher.

“Words I Thought” has not yet been released to the public but will soon. Wright is in the process of setting up a book signing for it at Barnes and Noble. She hopes those who read it can gain something from it.

“I want others to realize that it’s okay to feel this way,” Wright said. “Everyone goes through something, so I hope they gain knowledge.”

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Aug. 19, 2022 ~ Last spring, Olathe West High School Architecture teacher Kevin Hulsen approached senior Daylin Kennedy and recent West grad Lavinia Gowing about interning at local firm Webster Architects. This summer, Kennedy and Gowing immersed themselves in the world of architecture, gaining invaluable real-world experience.

“We’ve been able to sort and study old home plans, go out to active job sites, and even redesign old spec houses,” Kennedy said. “I love being able to be creative and work through problem solving in order to do things like fitting a spec house on a new lot.”

For Gowing, this internship was the cherry on the top of her high school education where teachers and counselors pointed her in the right direction. 

“For the longest time, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Junior year had already hit, and I felt lost,” Gowing said. “During my senior year, I explored different classes that I thought I would like and ended up taking Architecture Design 1 and 2 and loved it. Architecture was a happy marriage where I could put my creative brain to work while also utilizing the logical thinking that I thrive on and crave.”

Kennedy, on the other hand, always knew that he wanted to be an architect, citing a project in the sixth grade where he was challenged to draw his dream house. He has been hooked ever since.

“I like the idea of designing something that you can leave in the physical world,” Kennedy said. “I love outputting creative energy into something that is tangible.”

Both Kennedy and Gowing moved to the Olathe area in the last few years and were excited to see the expansive list of classes they could enroll in.

“If I never took architecture or engineering, I wouldn’t have had the chance to have this internship and explore deeply into a career I could be passionate about,” Kennedy said. “I would tell other students to seize the opportunities because, from my experience, Olathe has more opportunities for their students than most districts to explore future careers.”

Because of Gowing’s time with both Hulsen’s classes and Webster Architects, she is now enrolled in the Master of Architecture program at the University of Kansas.

“With Olathe Public Schools, I was able to look outside of my core classes to find what I want to do,” Gowing said. “I am now in this program, and I know my classes and internship have given me a leg up because I had this hands-on experience that others are not able to have.”

(Photo: Olathe West graduate Lavinia Gowing and Olathe West senior Daylin Kennedy stand in front of a Webster Architects' design.)

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July 26, 2022 ~ Recent Olathe North High School graduate Oswaldo “Ozzy” Polanco walked into the Olathe Lowrider Leadership Bike Club as a freshman just wanting to build a bike and four years later, he won major awards in a national competition.

“The first time I came in, I immediately felt like home,” Polanco said. “They are the ones who nicknamed me Ozzy. And it just stuck for good. That club is not just to make bikes – it’s a family.”

Polanco first heard about the club after his neighbor brought home a lowrider bike that he had built at the Olathe Leadership Lowrider Bike Club, which offers students an opportunity to build a custom bike and a place to belong.

“That’s family right there. Erik (Erazo, executive director of diversity and engagement) and the cops and mentors that help out with the club are responsible for helping me realize my talent,” he said. “A deeper understanding of lowrider culture isn’t the only thing that I got out of the club.” 

Polanco definitely has talent. He placed second in “Semi-Custom Lowrider Bike” and won a special award — Best Graphics — at the 2022 Albuquerque Lowrider Super Show.

“When they asked if I wanted to go, I thought what a great honor,” he said. “Being able to bring back awards and show my parents that I won this after all my hard work. I am so grateful.” 

Polanco loves to make his parents proud. He started attending the Olathe Advanced Technical Center to be a part of the Auto Collison program. Through his classes and hard work, he will attend Johnson County Community College on a full-ride scholarship due to being named a CTE scholar.

“My parents came here to the U.S. to do something for us and I am going to make the most out of it for them,” Polanco said. “I am blessed that I’m able to get this full-ride and take that burden off my parents. My mindset was to not go to college but now I can because of my mentors who told me I could.”

Polanco can’t wait to start school in the fall. In the meantime, he has started his own business, called Ozzy KC Customs, to be able to put the skills he learned to good use. 

“I didn’t know I had the talent to paint or to weld or to be creative, but it truly just takes one person to make people feel good and make them feel like they can do it,” he said. “I now am going to school full time, and I can still make money doing something I truly enjoy because of this club. The fact that I wasn’t a straight-A student, but I am still managing to make my family and myself proud – that’s priceless.”

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July 11, 2022 ~ California Trail Middle School incoming eighth grader Mahi Kohli won first place at the MATHCOUNTS state championship, sealing her spot at the national championship in early May. But her interest in math doesn’t stop at competing – she wants to share her love for math with others.

In April, Kohli organized her very own event called STEMing with the Stars, a competition for elementary-aged girls with the goal of encouraging female students to learn more about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

“When I was a kid and I first started participating in these competitions, there was always only a handful of girls there,” Kohli said. “It was disappointing because I knew there were so many girls in my class who really loved math. Even now, when I partner with other girls in math class, I see their potential to be successful in STEM – but for some reason or another, they don’t want to pursue it.”

Kohli believes early interest may be the key to seeing more young women in STEM fields.

“Even if one girl changes her mindset or her perspective, I would call that a win,” Kohli said. “With over 40 girls participating in this year’s STEMing with the Stars, it’s quite possible.”

To host the competition, Kohli presented to leaders at Garmin to secure the resources needed. She also enlisted the help of Olathe Public Schools math coordinator Spencer Brown and the local Girls Scouts of America to make her vision a reality. Kohli hopes she can pass on her love for math that was instilled in her by her teachers.

“Have you ever noticed the way shells curve in the Golden Ratio? Or recognized the Fibonacci sequence in flowers?” Kohli said. “I’ve just always been really amazed and fascinated with how math is everywhere – especially in nature. Once I started learning more about mathematics from my teachers, I got really interested in it and was ready to compete.”

Kohli was thrilled that she was one of 224 mathletes from the nation to compete at the national championship in May. Although she is proud of all she has accomplished so far, she is ready to compete again next year at California Trail Middle School.

“I love competing and I love being a part of CTMS,” she said. “Everyone, including all of the adults, are super supportive of you, no matter what you want to do. When I told my teachers about the event I was putting on, they were so proud of me and kept encouraging me to keep at it. I feel very thankful that they continue to teach and encourage us to do what we love.”

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