OPS NEWS 11-15:OPS Sports Template 11/13/14 10:54 AM … Issue 10 Vol 92.pdfCadet Sarah Haygood...

The Old Post SentinelIssue 10 Volume 92 Vincennes Lincoln High School’s student newspaper...since 1924 November 15, 2014

By MEGAN JONESOPS staff writer

Lincoln High School hadtheir Annual Veteran's Dayceremony on Nov. 11 tohonor our veterans, hosted bythe Vincennes Lincoln JuniorReserve Officer TrainingCorps.

Junior Michael Brankle in-troduced the program withthe national anthem. The na-tional anthem was sung bysenior Alexa Lane.

Battalion Executive Offi-cer, Cadet Major CourtneyGroves then spoke on the rea-son why Americans celebrateVeterans Day and how it gotits name.

Junior Cadet Captain SamiHatfield recognized familymembers of JROTC membersand three LHS faculty mem-bers who are veterans alongwith veterans from our com-munity.

Harold Hill served in theArmy during the Korean War.He is Cadet Anna Crosby's

uncle. Paul Black served inthe Air Force during the Viet-nam War from 1962 to 1968.He is Cadet John Stiles'grandpa.

James Graham served inthe Marines in combat duringthe Vietnam War from 1968to 1971. He is Cadet HollyGraham's grandpa. RoyceMercer served in combat inthe Army during the VietnamWar. He is Cadet CrystalKline's grandpa.

Jerry Groves served in theArmy from 1989 to 2010. Healso served time in Iraq from2003 to 2004 and served inBosnia in 2002 for eightmonths. Groves is the fatherof Cadet Courtney Groves.

LHS faculty and staff mem-bers that were recognizedwere Kim Breitweiser, whoserved in the Army; DavidHinkle, who served in a sub-marine in the Navy; and Mar-tin L. Qualkenbush, whoserved in the Army from1973 to 1997.

The ceremony then recog-

nized the members of ourarmed forces that could notmake it to the ceremony andback with their families witha POW/MIA reading that me-morialized an empty tablesetting for one missing in ac-tion.

Cadet Sarah Haygoodplayed taps on the trumpet.

The guest speaker was our

own LHS Army JROTC in-structor, Colonel Lee Baker.

Baker explained what a vet-eran is and how many veter-ans there are in the UnitedStates, Indiana, and KnoxCounty.

Baker shared a encounterhe had with Pat Tillman 2002who "walked away fromfame and fortune" in the NFLto serve. In 2004, Tillmanwas killed while conductingSpecial Operations mission inAfghanistan.

Baker shared that memorybecause he was shocked andtouched by Tillman and howhe gave up so much for hiscountry and for our freedom.

Baker ended by thankingthe audience for giving him achance to share his memory.

Lincoln, JROTC honor war veterans StuCo creatingArmy carepackagesBY NIC DELLIONOPS staff writer

Lincoln High School’s stu-dent council is creating carepackages to support ourtroops.

The student councilwanted to partake in a serv-ice outside of the Lincolnpopulation.

“Madalynn Ellis broughtthe idea to the student coun-cil. She had done a projectsimilar to this at a pastschool. We thought it wouldbe a great opportunity tosupport our troops,” saidCarly Tibbs, one of the stu-dent council advisers.

They will be collecting avariety of small items to sendsuch as gloves, handwarm-ers, chapstick, hard candies,and hot chocolate packets.Once they have collectedeverything, the packages willbe assembled and then sentoff.

Student council will besending the packages to de-ployed troops that have localconnections. They are cur-rently finalizing which or-ganization to work with.

“We would like to get thesesent off by the middle of De-cember so that the troops canreceive them by Christmas,”Tibbs said.

Senior Alexa Lane sings the National Anthem duringthe Nov. 11 Veteran’s Day Ceremony, hosted by theJROTC. Photo by Amy Shoemaker.

DAR collects books for LincolnBy KAITLIN HOLTOPS staff writer

The Francis Vigo Chapterof the Daughters of the Amer-ican Revolution (DAR) hasbeen working on a literacyproject and recently held abook drive for the LincolnHigh School library.

The chapter does an annualproject to promote literacy.English teacher Haley Lan-caster is the Literacy Com-mittee chair for the chapterand was aware that the libraryhad difficulty finding funds to

buy new books.The drive gained 52 books

for the library, surpassing thegoal of 50 books.

The DAR members wantedto see how successful thebook drive would be. Be-cause of the level of successthey had , they hope to do thesame kind of drive for othercounty school libraries in thefuture.

"Some women gave books,others gave gift cards to buythe newest adult literaturebooks that students wouldwant to read," said Lancaster.

"I was really pleased with theresponse of the women in ourchapter."

The new books have beenreally popular with Lincoln'sbook club, according toschool librarian Jamie Wa-gler. 25 books from the drivehave already been checkedout.

"It makes it easier to pro-vide quality books for the stu-dents," Wagler said. "It waslike unwrapping Christmasgifts." Some titles donated in-clude “Catching Fire,” “SoulSurfer,” and “I am Malala.”

PLTW light show coming in DecemberBy KARA HEDRICKOPS staff writer

Project Lead The Way isworking on a light show onthe Lincoln High Schoolcampus that will run Dec. 19through Christmas. This isthe third year for the holidaydisplay.

This year’s light show willhave a significant increase inlights and channels that areused to run it. “We hope to beover 10,000 lights,” saidteacher Kim Breitweiser.

The project is done to teachstudents project planning and

management of time and re-sources. “It also helps themunderstand applications ofdigital electronics. Plus, Ilove Christmas!” added Bre-itweiser.

Donations to this project in-clude Gemtron, who gave agenerous amount of money tohelp make the display largerthis year. Peabody Energy,Vincennes University Collegeof Technology, and membersfrom the Vincennes commu-nity also helped to make theproject possible. “LHS folksdonated in the past years too,”Breitweiser adds.

Students have been placinglights in the landscaping andon the building itself,rewiring them to create differ-ent patterns and effects.

To view the light show, justpull up to the curb of Lincolnand turn the radio to the fre-quency 87.7 FM, “And enjoythe show,” says Breitweiser.Students program the show sothe music and lights are timedtogether.

“There’s gonna be a littleover 15,000 lights and it’sgoing to be really cool,” jun-ior Brett Qualls said about thelight show.

Lincoln earns an ‘A’ fromthe Department of EducationBy KEVIN PRATTOPS ad sales

This year Lincoln HighSchool was recognized bythe state Department of Edu-cation with an A rating.

In the past, Lincoln strug-gled with its curriculum.When Principal SteveCombs started in the princi-pal position in 2011, Lincolnhad a D rating.

Combs gave the credit tothe faculty for this improve-ment. "It’s not what I'vedone, but what we've alldone, beginning with theteachers, the curriculum de-partment, the administrationworking together to pull inthe same direction to im-prove our school."

Combs says that althoughhe is not a fan of schools re-ceiving grades, he is "veryproud of what we were ableto accomplish."

Barry Stone was appointedas curriculum director twoyears ago. Stone also hascurriculum coaches that areat the elementary schools,middle school, and the highschool. They work withteachers and staff throughoutthe Vincennes CommunitySchool Corporation tostrengthen curriculum andidentify students who mayneed extra help on state as-

sessments.Students have been using

programs such as Study Is-land and an Acuity assess-ments to help boost theirscores on the state’s End ofCourse Assessment. Whenasked how Study Island willhelp them pass the ECA,sophomore Easton Browersaid, "It will help me get pre-pared for the ECA." Sopho-more Jaelyn Barton said that"It's good practice, I guess."

Study Island is focused onthe English 10 and the Alge-bra 1 classes, because thattest is factored into theschool’s letter grade rating.

English teacher KaceyStrange said that she likesStudy Island because it"breaks lessons down bystandards the students needto pass." Each lessons thekids take on Study Islandcovers a standard that thestudents need to pass on theECA.

Strange was asked if shethought there was somethingelse that the students coulddo besides Study Island, andshe said that the students are"playing around with acu-ity," but "I believe Study Is-land is a good basis for thestudents."

"We will work hard tomaintain and improve ourprogress,” she added.

Lincoln High School librar-ian Jamie Wagler standswith the 52 books that weredonated during a bookdrive for Lincoln from theFrancis Vigo Chapter of theDaughters of the AmericanRevolution. The DAR do-nated books to Lincoln as apart of this year’s literacyproject. Some of the booksdonated to Lincoln include“Catching Fire,” “SoulSurfer,” and “I am Malala.”Contributed photo.

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OpinionsOPS 2

Question of the Week: What spirit days do you want to see?

“I would like to see a‘Sunday best’ spiritday.”

--Parker Newmansenior

“Cross-gender day! Be-cause it was fun to seeeveryone dress up andhave fun.”

--Zachariah Kirkjunior

“Opposite gender day,because it’s fun to seethe guys dress as girls.”

--Lexi Thomassophomore

“I would like to have ourfavorite sports teamday.”

--Kaylee Langefreshman

Hilarious Holidays with Yours Truly: No. 9 Movie Review:

‘Interstellar’

‘Educated in a small town’ but will that hurt your college

admission chances?By CLAIRE DILLONOPS opinions editor

When choosing where tolive after college, most youngadults do not think about howthat choice will affect theirfuture child’s college applica-tion process. But should thatbe something to take intoconsideration? I think yes.

During my fall break, mymom and I passed the time byvisiting colleges on the EastCoast. We visited College ofWilliam and Mary, Universityof North Carolina, and Uni-versity of Virginia. Through-out the tours I attended, I feltincreasingly out of the loop.It was almost like everyoneknew a secret, but did notthink to share it with us. Isoon realized that it was not

that no one wanted to share,but that it was assumedeveryone already knew.

This “big secret” was that Ididn’t have the same involve-ments as my East Coast coun-terparts.

My mom and I became in-creasingly aware of how“small town” we were assoon as students began askingabout tests, curriculum plans,and awards that we had neverheard of, like the Westing-house Award, that were thenorm for larger schools.

Other parents and studentsaround us knew exactly whatwas being discussed and whatthat meant in terms of theirchances of being accepted.These academic options werenothing new to students com-ing from larger high schools

with extremely competitivelearning environments.

Not being exposed to thesethings, I felt I was at an ex-treme disadvantage.

While I have enjoyed grow-ing up in a small town, I sud-denly felt cheated. When Iwas little, my mom moved usto Vincennes to raise me nearfamily. This was a decisionshe had never thought twiceabout until now.

We both felt as thoughbeing from a small town withlittle opportunities, compara-tively speaking, was nowgoing to be a detriment in get-ting accepted to bigger, out-of-state college.

The application process forcollege is becoming increas-ingly competitive, and poten-tial students are becoming

more ambitious and well-rounded in their high schoolcareers. These qualities areforcing students to amp upwhat they do in and out ofschool.

Between community serv-ice opportunities, curriculumopportunities, and social op-portunities, kids from smalltowns are losing their edge.

It’s not Lincoln’s fault, butdue to our size, we are af-forded fewer opportunities onalmost every front. It is thenorm with small schools.

With college admittancebecoming more difficult toachieve, I believe the limita-tions of coming from a smalltown are a severe handicap.

ALEX KITCHINOPS staff writer

“Interstellar” is a sciencefiction movie recently re-leased in theaters. The film isdirected by ChristopherNolan and stars Matthew Mc-Conaughey, Anne Hathaway,Mackenzie Foy, and EllenBurstyn.

“Interstellar” takes audi-ences on a fantastic visual ad-venture. The beginningsetting is Earth, presumablymany years in the future,struggling to survive due tooverpopulation, drought, andfamine. Cooper, played byMcConaughey, is a formerengineer recruited by NASAto lead a crew into a mysteri-ous wormhole in an attemptto find a planet able to sustainhuman life. Cooper has tochoose between potentiallysaving the human race andseeing his daughter again.Cooper decides to enter spaceto discover a life sustainingplanet. Cooper's daughterMurph, played by Foy, growsto resent her father because ofhis decision. The film thenfast-forwards into the futurewith Murph, now played byBurstyn, all grown up andworking for the very organi-zation that sent her father intospace. Murph continues toresearch for NASA in hopes

of solving the equation thatwould save humanity.

If I continue any more, Iwould be spoiling the entiremovie for anyone that wantsto see it, and it is to good forthat! McConaughey deliversa strong performance asCooper and both Foy andBurstyn do a fantastic job inthe film. This movie is one ofthe best movies I have everseen, and I strongly suggesteveryone go out and see it. Ifyou are a fan of science fic-tion and space travel, you willagree with me when I say “In-terstellar” deserves a five outof five stars.

Old Post SentinelSTAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:ZACH HORRALL

NEWS EDITOR:ZACH HORRALL

OPINIONS EDITOR:CLAIRE DILLON

SPORTS EDITOR:BRAYDEN LITTLE

FEATURES EDITOR:AUBREY HUDSON

ONLINE CONTENT EDITOR:ANAIIS ACUÑAAD SALES:KEVIN PRATT

CARTOONIST:KAELA SPEIGNER

STAFF WRITERS:ALEX KITCHIN, JACOBBENSON, NIC DELLION,

KAITLIN HOLT, REIDMCCLURE, KARA HEDRICK,KAELA SPEIGNER, WESTONFRISZ, JADE MONTGOMERY,

MEGAN JONES, AND BRAEDENFIELD

ADVISER:MRS. HALEY S. LANCASTER

OUR POLICY: Persons wishing to commenton the news or opinions reportedin the Old Post Sentinel are en-couraged to write letters to theeditor. Letters should be brief(250 words maximum) and mustbe signed by the author. Letterswill be edited for space, gram-mar, and libelous material. Per-sons or businesses interested inadvertising in the Old Post Sen-tinel are encouraged to contactthe editor as well. Letters andadvertising inquiries may bemailed to Old Post Sentinel, c/oLincoln High School, 1545 S.Hart St. Rd., Vincennes, IN47591. Email may be sent to:lancasterh@vcsc.k12.in.us

LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL MISSAION STATEMENT & POLICY:Vincennes Lincoln High Schoolis committed to educating allstudents for success in a dy-namic society. Students en-rolled, or intending to enroll, atLincoln High School are not de-nied enrollment in any class be-cause of sex, race, color,religion, national origin, or dis-ability.

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Sports OPS 3

Annual fall sports banquet held at Lincoln; athletes recognized for effortsBRAYDEN LITTLEOPS sports editor

On the evening of Nov. 10the participants of each fallsport met for the annual fallsports banquet. Each sportgave multiple awards recog-nizing the individuals accom-plishments.

The boys’ cross-countryteam recognized Brayden Lit-tle as the American Legionaward winner. Hayden Con-nor was recognized as themost valuable underclassmanand the most improved run-ner from last year.

The girls’ cross-countryteam recognized Erin Parkeras the American Legionaward winner. The mostvaluable underclassman wasKaylee Lange. Paige Joneswas given the most improvedaward.

In girls’ golf, Ali Skinneraccepted the McDonald’saward. Ellie McClung wasrecognized for the loweststroke average award. Thebest individual GPA awardwas given to Susan Skinner.The freshman of the yearaward was Jessica Pfoff.Lexi Thomas and SydneyLeonard both were recog-

nized as the most improvedfrom last year.

The varsity volleyballteam’s co-captain, JensenBallinger, received the Mc-Donald’s award, along withthe most valuable player andthe leader in assists.

Kyndra Smith was recog-nized as the most valuabledefensive player and also re-ceived the highest servingpercentage award.

The player with the highestattack percentage was PaigeLett. Kristina Altstadt wasrecognized as the team’s Ul-timate Alice.

In junior varsity volleyball,the highest attack percentageaward was given to ChasityTrueblood. Lauren McCrarywas recognized with thehighest serving percentageaward.

For football BrandtNowaskie received the Amer-ican Legion award.

Graham Purcell receivedthe American Legion awardfor boys’ soccer along withthe all-academic conferenceteam award.

David Atkinson and Con-nor Mercer both received theBig 8 All-Conference andAll-Area award, Easton

Brower also received the All-Area award. The rookie ofthe year award was given toEli Williams. The team’smost valuable player wasAtkinson.

Grant Hunt accepted theGolden Boot award for mostgoals in the season. Browerreceived the Golden Bootaward for the most assists inthe season. Kenny Deetz was

the top team player.Girls’ soccer recognized

Sophia Lane through the Mc-Donald’s award. JeneeGoodwin was the most valu-able player. Defensive playerof the year was Karlye Von-derwell.

Becca Rutherford was theteam’s offensive player of theyear and also received themental attitude award. Most

improved player from lastyear was Katie McCoy.Lindsey Hendricks was therookie of the year.

For boys’ tennis MitchellCooper received the McDon-ald’s award.

In cheerleading, JosieKroeger was recognized bythe American Legion Award.

From left in front row, Jensen Ballinger, Josie Kroeger, Erin Parker, Ali Skinner,Sophia Lane; back row Mitchell Cooper, Brandt Nowaskie, Brayden Little, and Gra-ham Purcell hold their McDonald’s and American Legion awards at the fall sportsbanquet Nov. 10. Contributed photo.

Juniors victorious in Powder Puff

The class of 2016 was once again the winners inPower Puff football, winning over the sophomores onthe Nov. 2 game. Photo by Rene LaMontagna.

Boys’ basketball season ready to begin, carry over football successBy WESTON FRISZOPS staff writer

Now that the girls’ team hasbegun play and the boys’ arein practice, basketball seasonis officially upon us. After a15-8 season last year theboys’ team is ready to getthings started at their firstgame on Nov. 26 at homeagainst Northview.

With six seniors and threejuniors, it is still not evidentwho the starting five will beas there are eight to nine play-ers who could start, depend-ing on how practice goes and

who the opponent is, accord-ing to coach Jeff Hein.

The captains of this year’steam will be seniors BrandtNowaskie and ConnerBarmes. When asked what heexpected from this years sen-iors, Hein responded simplywith "Leadership.

Barmes and Nowaskieneed to provide positive lead-ership and play every playlike it's their last."

"It all starts with them pro-viding the leadership and theothers willingness to followtheir lead,” he added. Theseniors have put a lot of hard

work in the game since theywere young and this will betheir last "go-around".

Barmes said, "We'd like to

carry the success from thefootball field over to the bas-ketball court."

Their goals are to improve

each and every day and beplaying their best at the endof the season.

Athlete of the week: Zaidee RadaBy ANAIIS ACUNAOPS online content editor

Newcomer Zaidee Radahas been chosen to be thisweek’s Athlete of the Week.Rada is a junior and hasdanced for 12 years. She isthe daughter of Kara Acinoand Dave Rada. She is alsothe youngest of her siblings,Zoey and Zachary.

Rada had participated innumerous classes andrecitals at Tabor DanceAcademy in Scottsbluff,Neb. She attended NebraskaState competitions of danceand cheer, and three previ-ous dance studios with a fewdance talent shows. She iscurrently attending classes atNo Limits Dance and Cheer,2134 Washington Ave., andis a member of the LincolnHigh School Dance Team.

She is trained in elite andadvanced ballet, jazz and hiphop. Rada has received aninvitation to participate onthe All-American DanceTeam and has earned medalsof “Superior” at UniversalDance Association camps.

When Rada is not dancingshe participates in showchoir, musicals, student sen-ate, and National Honor So-ciety. For Rada, dance is ayear-round activity with herparticipating in both schooland studio dance.

Rada recalls one of hermost memorable moments in

her dance career as meetingher new teammates in Indi-ana at Lincoln and No Lim-its. She also enjoyedexperiencing new types ofdances that were popular anddifferent from what she wasused to. Rada explained thatdancing with her old studiofor the last time was defi-nitely one of her most bitter-sweet dance moments.

New York City Rockette,Tiffany Tabor Mackrill isRada’s most admired athlete.She was one of her formerdance teachers. Mackrilltaught Rada for eight yearsand formed her into the thewell-skilled performer she istoday.

“I would really enjoydancing for a college andbeing on their dance team.Probably returning back toUniversity of Lincoln at Ne-braska to be a Scarlet ontheir college dance team.”

She wants to study journal-ism broadcasting in Ne-braska or Indiana, and shewants to join a sorority.

“Performing is my fa-vorite and I feel this [major]would give me a great op-portunity to do that,” sheadded.

With all of the years shehas been dancing, Rada wasmore than happy to sharethat dance has taught her tobecome more outgoing infront of large crowds of peo-ple. She states dance asbeing “a little different thanother sports because youhave people in front of youthat you have to please.”

“Never be afraid to try todance with old kids andchallenge your ability,” en-courages Rada. “Dancers areway more fun to watch whenthey’re smiling and they’reactually enjoying it them-selves.”

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FeaturesOPS 4

Artist of the Week:Aubrey Hudson

By REID McCLUREOPS staff writer

Senior choir memberAubrey Hudson has been se-lected by the music depart-ment for this week's artist ofthe week. She is the daughterof Doug and Lori Hudson,and Terry and Keith Webb.She has a brother, ElliottHudson, and three stepsistersnamed Sarah Hayden, LaurelWebb, and Briana Webb.

Hudson was involved withAccents Choir and is cur-rently a member of LincolnSingers. She has performedin three spring musicals,which include "Carousel" asLouise, "Sound of Music" asLouisa, and "Back to the80's" as Tiffany.

Outside of Lincoln, Hudsonwas involved with StateHonor Choir, church praiseband, and many musicals inelementary and middleschools.

Hudson joined choir whenshe was in third grade and en-joyed every moment of it."It's something I have alwaysenjoyed" she said.

Her mentors are GretchenBruner and Lisa Miller. Theyboth gave her vocal lessonsand helped her grow as a vo-calist. Hudson also looks upto Mark Snyder, Lincoln’schoir director.

Outside of vocal music,Hudson is student councilpresident, Interact secretary,Tri-M Music Honor Society

treasurer, and the dance teamcaptain. She also serves asfeatures editor for the OldPost Sentinel.

Hudson won the Choral Ex-cellence Award her sopho-more year.

Hudson’s favorite band isFleetwood Mac. "The lyricsin their songs are powerful,yet so relatable. Their songsrange from upbeat feel goodsongs to powerful and emo-tional ballads,” she said.

Hudson plans to study pub-lic relations and marketing incollege. She wants to con-tinue music as a hobby.

"Don't give up if you don'tget the first solo or lead roleyou audition for,” Hudson ad-vises young artists. “Keeppracticing and improving allthe time, then try again!"

Senior Spotlight: Emily DaubBy KAELA SPEIGNEROPS staff writer

Meet Emily Daub! One ofLincoln's Honor Roll stu-dents, Emily is in NationalArt Honor Society and hastaken many art classesthroughout her high schoolcareer to take part in theNAHS. This year she is tak-ing a ceramics class.

She was born in Washing-ton, Ind. to her parents, Char-lotte and Delbert Daub. Hersix siblings are Mandy, Kat-rina, Kaela, Alan, Simon, andMatt.

Daub likes to draw and playvideo games in her sparetime. Her favorite movie se-ries is "The Lord of theRings" trilogy and her fa-vorite book is “A ChildCalled It,” by Dave Pezler.Her favorite quote is, "Don'tjudge a book by its cover,"which goes with her hobby ofreading.

Daub works at Wendy's andhas been employed theresince March 2014. She plans

to go to Vincennes Universityto major in graphic design.

Daub’s most memorablemoment in high school waswhen she attended Lincoln'sprom her sophomore and jun-ior year and then going to ballher junior year. She enjoysthe friendliness of the stu-

dents and teachers at Lincolnespecially her favorite class,psychology with Seth Skel-ton.

She advises underclassmen,"Don't take on too many ac-tivities and soak in your lasthigh school years."

ASK BIG A: Advice for every Alice

Senior Spotlight: Joe Bobe

By BRAEDEN FIELDOPS staff writer

"If you have a dream, workto achieve it while you canbecause anything is possi-ble," is Joe Bobe’s advice forunderclassmen in this week'ssenior spotlight.Joe Bobe was born in

Evansville, Ind. and is theson of Brett and LynneBobe. Bobe has two siblings,Cody and Allie. Bobe alsohas three dogs named Jessie,Daisy and Archie, and onecat named Ms. Booty.Bobe's hobbies and ex-

tracurricular activities in-clude lifting weights, hiking,biking, kayaking, fishing,football, and baseball. Bobehas received many awards

over his high school careerincluding All-Area, All-Con-ference, and All-State forbaseball. He has also re-ceived All-Area three timesand All-Conference once forfootball.Bobe plans to attend col-

lege after high school, but heis still unsure on where. Hismost memorable moment issimilar to many other foot-ball players this year. "Beat-ing Jasper in football duringmy senior year,” he said.

His favorite quote is a mo-tivational quote by EricThomas: “When you want tosucceed as bad as you wantto breathe, then you'll besuccessful." Bobe has livedby that very quote his wholelife.

“How do I ask someone fora letter of recommenda-tion?”

--Desperately seeking astrong recommendation

Letters of recommendationare often required for col-leges, scholarships, aca-demic programs, and jobapplications. Many studentsthink that simply asking ateacher on the way out ofclass or via email for a letterof recommendation is ac-ceptable. The truth is, ac-cording to Kristina Ellis’book “Confessions of aScholarship Winner: The Se-crets That Helped Me Win$500,000 in Free Money forCollege- How You CanToo!,” if you want someoneto put time and effort into arecommendation on your be-half, it is polite to make aformal request.

The first step to getting astrong letter of recommenda-tion is knowing the right per-son to ask. If the programspecifically asks for ateacher, be sure to ask ateacher who knows you wellas a student and likes you.Many times, it is better toask a teacher of a core sub-ject, rather than an elective,if the application is relatedto academics. A good rec-ommendation may comefrom a teacher of a class you

excel in, but a better recom-mendation could be from ateacher of a class you strug-gled with but put in extra ef-fort to do well. Other goodrecommenders besidesteachers could be coaches,instructors, counselors,church pastors, or employ-ers.

The second step to askingfor a letter of recommenda-tion is to be sure you get thetiming right. You want toask your recommender fourto six weeks before the letteris due. This gives themplenty of time to write a wellthought out and personalrecommendation. Youshould also ask a time whenthe person is not busy.Schedule a time to ask themif necessary. When askingfor a letter, give a brief ex-planation of what the recom-mendation is for and whatthe readers will be lookingfor in an applicant. Also, besure to tell the person whyyou have selected them towrite your letter and whattheir recommendation wouldmean to you.

Next, you must provideyour recommender with thenecessary information. Ellissuggests creating a folder in-cluding a cover letter, yourresume, way to save or sendthe letter. Your cover lettershould include informationabout the application, the

format and deadline for sub-mitting the letter, and a briefdescription of what is beingsought in an applicant. Yourresume should list your con-tact information, extracurric-ular activities, honors andawards, and any volunteerwork. If the letter needs tobe mailed, provide a pre-stamped and addressed en-velope. If the letter shouldbe submitted online, includethe website or email addressto submit the letter. Someonline college applications,such as The Common Appli-cation, require you to invitea teacher via email to submita letter. Make it as easy aspossible for your recom-mender.

If the application also re-quires an essay, Ellis sug-gests including the essay inthe folder for your recom-mender to further communi-cate your focus.

Once the recommender hasagreed, follow up with therecommender a few weeksbefore the deadline with afriendly reminder if theyhave not yet submitted yourletter. You might even checkwith the program to be surethey have received the letter.Lastly, don’t forget to ex-press your gratitude sendyour recommender a thankyou note!

Best of luck,Big A

Read this week’s Around theVCSC feature on Vigo Elementary

School’s new guest science teachers online!

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