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Take a cursory glance at Olga Deckman, and it will be difficult to look past her physical disability. But take a few minutes to get to know her and you will discover that this senior is much more than meets the eye.
Deckman suffers from a birth defect called Chernobyl that makes it difficult to do even the simplest tasks that others may take for granted.
“Chernobyl can make my day seem very long,” Deckman said. “Getting ready for school, changing and even writing are very physically draining for me and every so often emotionally draining.”
Though this defect may be devastating to the average person, Deckman does not often let Chernobyl get her down. In fact, she almost relishes having the deformity.
“I see having Chernobyl as an opportunity to experience life in a different perspective and not like the average Johnson County kid,” she said. “I see my disability as an opportunity to help other people and encourage them to persevere.”
Even with her birth defect, Deckman enjoys the opportunity to participate in activities like a normal teenager.
“I love to write and sing,” she said. “I have been in the BVN choir for three years and writing just brings joy to me. I love writing so much that I just wanted to give newspaper a shot so I’m not doing choir this year.”
Writing and singing aside, Deckman’s favorite hobby may be art.
“I love art because it doesn’t have any limits,” she said. “There are no boundaries, and nobody can see my disability through my art. They just see that I’m a creative person.”
If art is Olga’s favorite hobby than Christianity is her inspiration.
“God is my inspiration because I have a unique story, but I wouldn’t have had it if God didn’t give it to me.”

Jessi Glueck is more than just the new co-editor-in-chief of The North Star. Even with newspaper being a big responsibility, she opens up about her life while not printing the presses.

Over the summer, Glueck went to debate camp for three weeks at Georgetown University.  She said that the campus was beautiful and overall she had a great experience.

“I like that it wasn’t about competition, it was about intellectual exercise. It wasn’t like actual debate season,” Glueck said.

While taking a more academic approach, she improved on how to question other people and how to help support events. At the debate camp, however, she liked the other debaters and the atmosphere of the camp. She has started to wonder about debating in college, but she isn’t sure if she wants to go a competitive route. Ultimately, she just wants to study the truth.

On the topic of college, Glueck wants to major in English Literature and to be a professor. She loves to read books, and said her passion for it started when she picked up a copy of “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens and was utterly fascinated. Her favorite kinds of books are from the 19th century because of elegance and formality in language that isn’t found in present day literature.

Currently, Glueck’s biggest responsibility is being one of the editors-in-chief on the 2011-2012 The North Star. What drew her into doing journalism was being able to write, edit and teach people how to do things. Her favorite aspect about being on the newspaper staff is getting to tell people’s life stories and all the interesting things they have done. Her favorite kind of writing are opinion pieces, but she also loves to do features that have lots of in-depth understanding. She described herself as perceptive, because an important part of writing is intuition and being able to tell how people are feeling and thinking. She hopes that she has acquired that skill and that she can understand other people by their feelings and actions.

Out of the academic realm, Glueck likes to be social. When she hangs out with friends, she likes to go shopping with them and see movies, especially at Town Center.

“I also like to go for walks with my friends and just talk,” she said.

Glueck also pointed out that her love for talking is a quality that most people wouldn’t know about her, because of how into academics she is. In her spare time she also loves to read books for fun and work out. Even having one of the biggest jobs on the newspaper staff, she still finds time to have fun and be like any other teenager.

To some, being a cross-country runner, a tennis player, the online newspaper editor, and an active FBLA member may seem like a nightmare. But for senior Michael Hoffman, high school is nothing but a “cakewalk.”

“I have high expectations for myself, my brother set the bar pretty high. It’s not that I am competing against my brother, and my parents don’t pressure me either. My brother’s high achievements have just motivated me more,” said Hoffman.

He sarcastically admits that his main reason for getting involved in cross-country freshmen year was because he had nothing to do.“I became good friends with the cross-country team, and I am now participating in my 3rd year of cross-country,” said Hoffman.

He humbly says, “The 3 words I would use to describe myself would be smart, friendly, and smiley.” With a bright out look on life and constant drive to seek new opportunities, he is more than prepared for the “real” world. Hoffman doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up, but without any hesitation, “I want to do some thing I truly love,” said Hoffman.

Second year photographer, Ali Fallucca, AlFal, or as she has so recently been dubbed ‘Sprout,’ is drawn to photography because she sees it as an immediate outlet for her creativity. When pulling together a finished product, Ali gets her creative juices flowing, channelling her skills in graphic design and computer technology. Expressing herself in a song title, this photographer hones in on her Nickelodeon obsession claiming Big Time Rush’s “If I Ruled The World” is her new anthem for Senior year (watch out freshmen).  AlFal is ready for senior year, confident that she can accomplish whatever she puts her mind to. With a brother-in law working in television and sister living in L.A., Ali adores catching a flight and popping over for a visit to spend some quality time with family. With these kinds of connections, it’s no wonder Ali dreams about life on the big screen; she says if her life was a movie, Amanda Bynes would play the starring role.  Go figure, someone just as cute, quirky, unique, and talented as Ali herself.

A motivated student, Danny’s main concerns and efforts go into making good grades in school. “My proudest moment was probably getting an A in a difficult CA class last year,” he explained. It’s important to him that he continues his success by achieving an A in AP European History this year, which Danny claims is his hardest class.

Besides his position as a staff writer for the BVN Newspaper, Danny is also active in Future Business Leaders of America, Recreational Basketball, and BBYO, a youth organization for Jewish teens. In the future, he aspires to get a merit-based scholarship, attend law school at Northwestern University, and become a lawyer.

As one of his life’s main aspirations, Danny described his goal to pursue a career in writing. “I joined Newspaper because I want to get experience working for a newspaper,” he explained. One day, he hopes to work at a professional newspaper.

Working hard in school and growing in his writing abilities every day, there seems to be a bright future ahead for Danny.

   Christin Smith, a photographer of 3 years for the newspaper, has had  good experiences at north and says “…the most memorable have been the football games.” Christin also hopes for a great senior year and for “everyone to get along as a class to get along.”

Smith is a hard working student and after high school she sees herself going to college, first JUCO, then she “for sure” wants to go to KU and after college Christin wants to begin a career as an event planner  “no particular event just any, I’m not sure yet.”
She has no real passions however does enjoy photography and has “…a great sense of humor I think and I laugh a lot.”

“The coolest thing in writing is the chase. There is an adventure in every story. I have always thought of [writing stories] like hunting elk; if you catch the big one its going to be a good addition, it’s going to be huge.” senior Reid Eggleston said.

Eggleston, born and bred in Lawrence, Kansas, has always felt a deep connection with the vast plains of the mid-west state. Not because it’s glorified like any other place, but for it’s simplicity, including the deep roots and stability it has brought to his life.
“I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, but Kansas,” Eggleston said. “Sure, it is nice to visit diverse areas and sites, though it wouldn’t be the same. Kansas just feels like home, a place to grow up.”
As a young child Eggleston’s creativity started to flourish with his first interest, sports. His love for college football and basketball fostered his growth into the individual he is today. It would, however, become his first building blocks for his skills in writing.
“As a hobby my friends and I would make up imaginary sports teams, and sometimes I would  pretend as if I were interviewing the teams. Who knew it would eventually come in handy now,” Eggleston said.
Nowadays 17-year-old Eggleston interests have expanded. With becoming the News Editor for the North Star 2011-2012, he hopes to add a new dimension. Besides contributing to newspaper class, working hard in academics or reviewing sports, Eggleston likes to spend his time on the cross country team.
“At first I joined because I was told [cross country] was a great way to get a homecoming date,” Eggleston said. “However, soon after starting I ended up enjoying the sport. I’ve made close friends with many of the other runners and have had many good experiences. And yes, I did get that homecoming date.”
At the cusp of ending his high school career, Eggleston appears very optimistic about his future and where he may end up.
“I could see myself becoming a doctor, although I am not sure what kind of doctor. But that’s ok, Eggleston said. “It is important to see your options, see what you’re passionate about and try to incorporate it into your future job.”

What are your philosophies?
–Keeping old friends and making new ones.
–Life’s a process, not a product.
–Being an example of my faith.
–Trying to be nice to my sister.