What’s recently happened?
As the school year for Merrillville High School (MHS) students swiftly comes to a close, students can’t help but to form their final memories. MHS held its first prom since the COVID-19 pandemic on May 6 which caused many students' level of excitement to fill the halls throughout the week.
The theme for prom of 2022 was roaring '20s, which prompted students to pull out their glitz, glam, and feathers for this highly-anticipated event. Prom was able to be attended by the Junior and Senior classes with sophomores being able to attend as guests. Several students were nominated by MHS staff to be a part of the junior and senior prom court.
Seniors Merci Tan and Kenneth Gresham took the title of class of ‘22 prom king and queen. Juniors David Maldonado and Emilee Thomas became the prom king and queen of class of ‘23. Students had a memorable time they will never forget especially for some having this as their first and last prom before soon crossing the stage. This is an event that the students will likely remember for years to come.
Another event that has recently taken place at MHS is the boys’ track and field winning their fourth consecutive Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) sectional, third Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) win, and having new athletes added to MHS history. The DAC track meet allowed many athletes to show their hard work having several MHS athletes place including Seniors Caleb Cater, Jakar Ward, Aaron Thompson, and others.
The MHS boys’ track team did not stop there, but continued to strive and claim the victory at IHSAA sectional. Freshman Jaylen Rasmey, Senior Kenneth Grant, and Senior Allen Akins all took the champion title for each of their individual events. The boys’ track team will now be advancing to the IHSAA Regional at Valparaiso High School.
What’s coming up?
The Baccalaureate ceremony for the class of ‘22 will be held May 22 at 3 p.m. during which time a nondenominational religious service will take place. There will be a featured speaker of the night which will be a selected MHS staff member. Seniors and their families are welcome to attend, and seniors are allowed to wear their graduation gown in the building.
The highly anticipated graduation ceremony for the class of ‘22 will be held Sunday, June 5 in the gymnasium. Graduation will be split into two time slots based on the alphabetical order of each person’s last name. Last names that start with A-K will begin their ceremony at 1 p.m. while L-Z will be starting at 5 p.m.
Each graduate will be given four tickets for friends and family to attend, but anyone including small children will need a ticket in order to gain entry. Family and friends that are not able to attend the ceremony in person will be able to watch it on a livestream, and the link will be posted on the official MHS website that day.
Staff spotlight
A beloved staff member that has taken on many roles at MHS is Bo Patton. Patton who is an MHS alumni himself returned back to his roots to help to inspire and mentor the next generation. He currently teaches many business classes, including Digital Literacy, is the head coach of the boys’ basketball team, and has held the title of a club sponsor during his time at MHS. Patton manages to create safe environments and help form healthy work habits and goals for each of his students to achieve.
Patton during his time at MHS was highly involved in many clubs and sports which is how his love for basketball grew deeper. He continued his educational career at Robert Morris University in Illinois pursuing a degree in business. Patton experimented with a variety of jobs related to his field, but ultimately loved teaching, which led to him obtaining his teaching license.
Patton strives to push the students around him to become their absolute best in both their academic and athletic journey. He is also a firm believer in helping out the community and giving back to where an individual came from, leading him to often do community service with his team. Patton tries to give every student who walks through his door an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
He is currently in his fifth year of teaching, and still tries to be a better version of himself than he was the day before. Patton has also been an active member bringing basketball training camps to the future generations of athletes. He has truly created a warm and welcoming atmosphere while being an MHS pirate leaving an impact on and off of the court.
Student spotlight
Kanye Wright shows what it means to not give up even when things are not in your favor. Wright, a senior at MHS, experienced a torn ACL early on in the football season causing him to experience one of the most heart wrenching feelings an athlete could be faced with. His injury caused him to be out for the rest of his football season, and caused him to be faced with a hard reality.
“When I found out I tore my ACL, the motivation left my body,” Wright said. “It felt like I wasn’t worthy enough anymore and became mad at myself.”
Wright’s world became totally flipped and he felt guilty for feeling like he was unable to finish his last season how he wanted to, but he took on the emotions headstrong day by day. He also expresses feeling upset for not being able to be there for his teammates how he originally planned. There were no clear answers for him during the time if he would ever be able to play sports again.
“To be honest I was 110% sure what could happen to me,” Wright said. “Everyone’s ACL injuries are different, some (athletes) can come back still good, or even better or some are just not the same anymore.”
Wright, while having to deal with these feelings during this time, also ended up having surgery on his ACL. The surgery was successful, but it would be several months until he was cleared to participate in sports again.
Wright through his patience and reliance was cleared to be able to participate in his track season for the 21-22 school year. He still wants to always push himself to be a better athlete.
“I feel like the job is not finished yet,” Wright said. “I still need a lot of things to feel complete, but I’m very thankful to be able to be back getting medals working hard for varsity spots.”
Wright hopes to help other athletes that might be going through similar situations.
“Main advice is don’t stop running,” Wright said. “Keep going no matter what, and keep God in your life. Always let your emotions out, and don’t hold back at it and feel way better than ever before.”