By: Grace Bogenschneider

Here’s the scoop on Lauren Dowdy, the salutatorian of the 2020 graduating class. She has been ranked second of her class since her freshman year. When asked if she was surprised at being so highly ranked, she responded, “… it wasn’t a surprise to me, just a motivating factor to keep my grades up.” While maintaining such high grades, Lauren also participated in extracurricular activities. She found a way to balance both her education and extracurriculars by, “making lists of everything I have to do. I also try and space out my work to make sure I get it all done by the deadline.” 

While I am sure that more than one teacher positively influenced Lauren, when asked who was the most influential she indicated Mrs. Bast, “… she has compassion for her students and always makes sure they are learning the material.” Looking toward the future, Lauren says that, “I will definitely miss playing tennis and going to sports games, especially playoffs[, but] I am really looking forward to being in a new city and meeting new people!” 

Lauren’s future plans begin next fall as she attends the McComb School of Business at the University of Texas. While there, she plans on studying international business with marketing as a backup major or as a possible minor. Here at PHS, Lauren was drawn into the world of business after participating in the Global Marketing event with BPA. “… through BPA gave me an interest in business, specifically marketing. I want to travel in the future so international business is perfect for me.”

Lauren, you have been a glowing example for all students here at Pleasanton High School. We hope you continue to be successful at whatever you strive for and keep in mind that the sky’s the limit! Pride! Pride!

By: Grace Bogenschneider

    Being stuck at home hasn’t stopped the flow of creativity within the numerous students in the art classes here at PHS, given it has been a bit of struggle at times. The art teachers at the high school have been working hard to make fun and creative art projects to assign to their students. They have been keeping in mind that every student has different supplies on hand and have been making the projects both simple enough to create with limited supplies and also a joy to make. Students have begun to embrace the circumstances and have been hard at work creating these works of art. When asked how he felt about the switch to online classes Richie Chavez, a senior in AP Art, said, “ Art class online has been pretty easy … only have one art piece a week [so I] can work more hours on it than when [we were] in school.”. Jasmine Lopez, a senior in Sculpture, voiced, “… online classes are a very odd experience. For sculpture, it’s a lot of improvising…”  Even with the challenges of being at home, these upcoming artists have found a way to make creative masterpieces.