What’s recently happened?
Chesterton High School (CHS) kicked off the month with Homecoming festivities.
To begin the first full week of September, the CHS Gold Standard Club released the Spirit Week themes for each day. Monday was “Rhyme Without a Reason,” where two students could have unrelated outfit themes that rhymed. Tuesday allowed students to get creative with how they carried school supplies with the theme of “Anything but a Backpack.” Wednesday was “Barbenheimer,” which focused on students wearing outfits that represented the recent films “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer." On Friday, each grade level wore their respective class color.
CHS celebrated the end of the school week with a pep rally session, which included a dodgeball game between a select group of students against a group of teachers. In the end, Economics Teacher Luke Starkey stood victorious after being the last person in the game, thus making the teachers the winners.
The Friday of Homecoming week continued to bring more excitement with a parade observing different clubs, extracurriculars, and Chesterton organizations, in addition to an evening football game. The Chesterton Trojans played the La Porte High School Slicers, with the end score being 28-7.
“Senior Garrett Lewis had a 55 yard touchdown in the second quarter, and Junior Brady McCormack had a good game with 110 passing yards and 47 rushing yards,” Senior Brody Mehling said.
Mehling was fixated not only on the intense football game but also on the results of the Homecoming Court. Originally, he was not going to enter into the running, but after gaining encouragement, he decided he would. To his surprise, Mehling was crowned Homecoming King alongside Homecoming Queen Maggie Ray.
“Being Homecoming King was awesome. They walked me and my parents across the field, and it was crazy. When they announced my name for running, the whole crowd cheered. When they announced my name for Homecoming King, they were louder than the first time,” Mehling said.
Saturday evening, students gathered at CHS for the Homecoming Dance. The dance’s theme was “Paris,” and turnout was tremendous.
CHS’s 2023 Homecoming was certainly one of great community support and enthusiasm.
What’s coming up?
CHS will be inviting regional businesses to the school on October 5 for the Career Pathways Fair.
“Students can learn about different career opportunities and different paths they can take. Not everyone is going to college, so there are other career opportunities for them, but other careers featured require degrees, so it’s just about learning what’s out there,” Counselor Intern Lauren Pelletier said.
The Career Pathways Fair invites freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors alike to learn about life after school. Students can learn about possibilities with different programs related to apprenticeships, trades, and the military. If signed up, students will be able to talk and learn about these opportunities with visitors during their student resource time period in the gym.
Staff Spotlight
Luke Starkey has taught economics at CHS for eight years.
Starkey earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Indiana University, in addition to his master’s degree from the University of Delaware. Starkey taught at Merrillville High School for seven years and Chesterton Middle School for two years before coming to the high school.
“I’m spoiled. I teach all seniors; half of the classes I teach are regular level economics and the other half are Advanced Placement (AP) microeconomics level,” Starkey said.
Starkey is also qualified to teach any type of government, economics, psychology, sociology, or history class, although his great affinity for economics is quite apparent.
“I’m not being hyperbolic when I say you could literally take anything that happens and show how it is an economic decision because it all comes down to cost-benefit. It is stuff that shows up in life. Econ is not money, it’s not the stock market; it’s decision-making and how to be better at making decisions. Economics is everywhere,” Starkey said.
Besides teaching, Starkey is also the sponsor for the Class of 2027 and is an assistant for the CHS Gold Standard Club, which works to organize different events for the student body.
“The people that I interact with are awesome. That’s from top to bottom – from superintendent to all the administration to the students. It makes my job easy,” Starkey said.
Outside of school, Starkey is an avid runner. He began running about 15 years ago when he became motivated to lead a healthier lifestyle. As someone who is competitive, Starkey wanted to beat his brother in races and decided to start his training. Running had led him to explore beautiful locations, including Lake Tahoe, the Chicago lakefront, a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and the San Francisco Marathon.
“I did the San Francisco Marathon. I got to run over the Golden Gate Bridge while the sun was rising over the San Francisco Bay,” Starkey said.
Most days before or after school, Starkey runs to train for races such as 5ks or ultramarathons. One day, he hopes to participate in the Big Sur Marathon and to take a cross-country road trip. Besides running, he also enjoys playing with his dog, Jordan, and spending time with his wife.
In class, Starkey is known to have “hot takes” or unpopular opinions.
“If I could get rid of any movie from people’s memory, it would be ‘Star Wars.’ Not because I dislike the movies, but because I don’t like them that much and I’m jealous of everybody that loves them. I detest pickles. If I could erase any food from the face of the Earth, it would be pickles. I abhor them,” Starkey said.
Starkey has an admirable passion for economics and is constantly inspired to spread economic knowledge to his students.
“Nothing is free; everything comes with a cost. Hashtag econ is life,” Starkey said.
Student Spotlight
Senior Maggie Ray is a diligent and involved student at CHS.
Ray is greatly involved with CHS extracurriculars. Not only is she a member of the National Honor Society, she is also the Student Government secretary and the president of the Gold Standard Organization.
“These clubs all help better the student body and make our school better for everyone. These clubs require you to reach out to your community and find things that need improvement. I chose to be involved in these organizations because I wanted to help better my school. I wanted my student body to be happy and enjoy their years at school. They have taught me so many things and made me who I am today,” Ray said.
In her free time, Ray enjoys shopping, watching movies, napping, and spending time with her friends and boyfriend.
Ray’s top achievements have been being the captain of the CHS Girls Volleyball team, winning Homecoming Queen, and earning a place on the school’s Honor Roll each year. Her favorite memory she has made in high school has been going to sporting events with her friends. Although Ray is unsure of which college to attend, she plans to study psychology and to work as a therapist.
Likewise, Ray interns for Marc Urban, the CHS Boys Basketball coach. She helps to run the Chesterton basketball website as well as ensuring its organization. Through her internship, Ray has learned how to run an efficient program.
Ray encourages incoming freshmen to put forth their best efforts and to extend goodwill towards others.
“Try your hardest all the time, be kind to everyone, and nothing is that serious. Put yourself first!” Ray said.