Inspired by the hit EDM artist of summers past, the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) channeled Charli XCX in their Homecoming hallway decorations, selecting XCX’s hit song 360 for the theme in their quest to win first place for the second year in a row. Practically picturing their artistic visions with lime green-tinted glasses, artists alike met in Mr. Jesús Ramirez’s room on Tuesday, Sept. 2, gathering scraps of green and black construction paper, markers, and paints as they prepared to execute their ideas for this year’s hallway decorations.

While deciding on the possible artist to bring NAHS to victory in the hallway decorations contest, officers proposed multiple candidates, including Gorillaz, Sabrina Carpenter, Laufey, and Taylor Swift. Due to the high popularity of these artists, though, NAHS decided on a slightly different approach, seizing the opportunity to choose XCX — a unique and well-known singer-songwriter they believed would stand out from other clubs.

“When we were having our officer meeting a couple weeks ago, we wanted to do an artist that was unique but also well-known,” Vice President Swasthiya Mahesh ‘27 said. “That’s why we chose Charli XCX and her album brat, because that album was very iconic of hers. I want to incorporate a lot of her 2000s elements because I feel like brat has lots of early 2000s throwbacks. We’re trying to include flip phones, those alien glasses she wears, vinyl records and especially neon green in a collage style to really capture her aesthetic.”

Inspired by the fast-paced work ethic of the club activity, new NAHS artists joined in on the hard-working atmosphere, driving the project further into fruition.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I joined this club at first,” Aiya Ahmed ‘29 said. “It was really cool to see that [the members] had this very deep work process, and I was very into it. Myself as an artist, I also go into these deep work processes with blaring music in the background and getting in the zone. It’s really fun to see everyone just doing it together and having all kinds of conversations.”

Gathered in the classroom, this event was an opportunity for new members to get a taste of NAHS’ typical activities. Across from the construction paper cutting station, for example, were the painters, concentrated and hard at work to paint a realistic picture of XCX, the star of the theme.

“I’m painting a large, semi-realistic portrait of Charli XCX with some friends, and we’re going to cut her out and paste her on a large banner with her song titles to the side of her,” Sahana Suryanarayan ‘26 said. “[Homecoming hallway decorating] is another high-stakes event where we have to win. [Mr. Ramirez] has already given us a pep talk about how we’re going to win.”

The genuine conversations, artistic dedication, and creative development during the lime green project have left many freshmen wanting to continue exploring the creative opportunities NAHS offers to its young artists.

“I’m definitely excited to keep working on projects like these and continue working with NAHS because everybody’s really laid back but also working together,” Aniya Moin ‘29 said. “It’s like a nice little community of people. Even though some of us are working independently, we’re all also working to make one big thing.”

Impressed by the Warriors’ reputed pursuit of high standards, Ms. Dever always knew Westwood was the best school for her to bestow her extensive knowledge of biology upon, adding more depth than typical, repetitive PowerPoint lectures.

“I grew up here, so I’ve known about Westwood for a long time,” Ms. Dever said. “I went to Rouse High School in Leander, Texas, and we would have competitions against Westwood and anything that had to do with math. For example, we would get second [at competitions] because Westwood already won first. My first ever impression [of Westwood] was really a long time ago, and I always knew that the kids were smart. I want to be around students who want to learn and not just write down fluff.”

Hoping to introduce a personal spin on a traditional lesson, Ms. Dever plans to introduce her uniquely large family of seven generations, the Hoelscher-Buxkemper family from Olfen, Texas, to her AP Biology students when learning about pedigrees and heredity during Unit 5 of the course, sharing her love for her family, the science behind heredity, and her identity.

“We have the biggest family reunions in Texas, and I’m going to try to use that during our pedigree unit to see if [students] can figure out my family,” Ms. Dever said. “[My family] left Germany in 1846 to escape the Prussian War, only to be dragged into the Civil War of America. When they first moved to the States, they started little towns, and [my family] just got bigger and bigger. When my family gets together, we rent out coliseums and people have to wear dots representing what branch they are from the tree. We [also] have this big book [of family history] that everyone gets, and we have our own website.”

“It all started when I was in [Texas State University],” Ms. Dever said. “I took microbiology. I actually should have taken the other [lower-level biology class] first, but somehow I was allowed to take micro[biology] first. I loved knowing that there were all these tiny little worlds happening. When I was completing my microbiology for a portion of my degree, I became a teacher for the labs and I really liked it. Then, a scholarship grant came up for grabs in the Physics department, and they were letting in one biology student. [The grant] was to become a teacher, and my college [tuition] would be paid for if I promised to teach. I applied, and I got the scholarship and grant, so my college was free. [After that, I] just kept teaching.”

Inspired by the teaching methods of her passionate college professors and mentors, Ms. Dever wants her own students to feel the same way after learning from a lecture: prepared and excited to learn more. 

“I took seven classes with [Dr. Manish Kumar],” Ms. Dever said. “He was my mentor and I taught his labs. He was just so no-nonsense. He was from India, and he would tell us at the beginning of the year, ‘I’m like broccoli, and you guys are like burgers, and it’s delicious but I’m broccoli. I’m not the burger you want, but I’m good for you.’ That was just his mindset.”

Determined to make an impact on the scientific knowledge of her students, Ms. Dever plans to feed her students that same intellectual “broccoli” mindset. Although Ms. Dever acknowledges the shift in mindset will feel academically shocking at first, she is certain that it will be helpful once her students graduate and step into their first college science lecture. Understanding that no high grades come for free, she reveled in the challenge of the work from her science classes, acing all of them.

“Having a science teaching background, I know what’s expected and I want my kids to go into college being like ‘I’ve already got this down — Ms. Dever taught me how to be ready for this,’” Ms. Dever said. “They will be scientifically literate and the leaders in their group. Especially if a kid has really high aspirations for pre-med, I really don’t want kids to go to college and be shocked at the workload that’s expected of them for science classes.”

In her college days, Ms. Dever not only taught and directed labs, but also engaged in extensive scientific research that eventually allowed her research team to test their experiments in space. When working with Dr. Robert McLean, a biofilm researcher, her curiosity grew from the possible effects space could have on bacteria. Whether it’s teaching or research, Ms. Dever is dedicated to having an astronomical impact on the scientific world around her.

When Ms. Dever’s not teaching hydrogen bonding or grading papers on protein formation, she retreats to the kitchen, grabs her Martha Stewart cookbook, and transforms from a high school biology teacher into a prolific baker.

“I’ve been baking since I was a kid,” Ms. Dever said. “I love to bake any dessert. I actually bought a Martha Stewart cookbook, and I’m working through Martha Stewart’s recipes for her desserts. I’m huge on scones, bread, cookies, brownies, cakes. I don’t like to decorate at all. For any recipe that does not require decorating, I’m good to go.”

Having gone through the most challenging science classes available, Ms. Dever understands the packed workload clouding the minds of high school students. She has deep faith in her students’ success.

“I really just want to inspire [students] that they can do it and to just push themselves,” Ms. Dever said. “As long as you’re willing to try, you will succeed. Nothing in life is do or fail, and so if you’re willing to put in the effort to get to the big show, the big game, or whatever it is, you will succeed when you get there, and I want to inspire my kids to feel like they can achieve anything.”

Inspired by cultural values, artistic process, and resource preservation, the Hispanic Student Association (HSA) pursued an innovative art project that would highlight the strength and resilience of the Hispanic community. Six months prior, the HSA had a vision to create an impactful mural representing Hispanic culture by collecting and gluing bottle caps to a cardboard canvas. Following the completion of the mural, the association held an inauguration ceremony on Friday, May 16 to celebrate the impact of the mural on the student body and reap their hard-earned work.

In a display of leadership and cultural connection, HSA President Maria Rincon ‘27 pitched the mural. The members of the association, invigorated with the new project, reunited every week in HSA Sponsor and Art teacher Ms. Madeline Picket’s room, dedicating every possible moment to contribute to the creation of the mural, often resulting in hot glue burns. In a world riddled with discrimination, setbacks, and hardships that target the Hispanic community, the mural was not only made to be a symbol of diversity and culture, but also of hope and perseverance in the current political climate.

“I feel like the mural represents a spark of hope,” Rincon said. “Right now I may sound like I’m not scared, but I am. Even though I have the luck of being accepted and not suffering any legal issues, I know not all of the people in my community are, so I want this mural to inspire [members of the Hispanic community] to not be afraid of showing their culture because I feel like we all are [afraid]. There shouldn’t be a reason why a person should hide their birth country or their culture because that’s part of who they are. This mural, to me, aspires to remind them of who they are and why they came here.”

“I feel like art portrays how people feel rather than what they do and allows a way for people to escape their reality without needing to move,” Rincon said. “People can be restricted by what their political, legal, or financial situation is, and the mural is a way for our community to express themselves and spread their culture without needing to do anything.”

To begin the ambitious project, multiple concepts were sketched by Rincon. Her artistic passion allowed her to create the final thumbnail sketch: depicting a dancing lady with various Hispanic countries on her skirt, adding splashes of color to spread the message of cultural diversity to the student body.

“First I sketched out the [design] on a large cardboard paper, and then we painted it all with the members,” Rincon said. “After that we went through the long process of sticking lids on the mirror. I plan to put [the mural] somewhere around the school because I want it to be a symbol for Hispanic students and even non-Hispanic students who walk by to think about how many hands helped make the mural and to serve as a reminder that everyone should be treated as equals and have the same opportunities.”

Not only did the production of a mural on such a large scale require constant determination and perseverance to complete it, but also fostered and created deep and meaningful connections between the members of HSA, giving emotional purpose to the mural.

“I feel like this is my community, and there are so many people here from every [Hispanic] country,” Ana Loaiza ‘27 said. “This makes me [proud] to be a part of Latin America while working on the mural. This mural means a lot to me because there are so many dedicated people that come after school to work on this, and you can find friends and good people through this club.”

In order to properly assemble the mural in their image, HSA recycled hundreds of plastic bottle caps of different colors to glue onto the mural, matching the cap color to the paint on the cardboard. The members each took home Kleenex boxes to fill with lids from plastic water bottles, shampoo pump bottles, or glass jars. The students then came back to school, and after sorting the lids by color, they began the assembly process. Students outside of HSA were also given the opportunity to contribute by recycling their plastic lids in “Drop Your Lid” boxes that were placed around the school by HSA, allowing other students and teachers to be included in the initiative.

“I would say the hardest parts of [assembling] the mural is that it’s time-consuming and worrying about the amount of lids we had, but the overall process was fun,” Vice President Darioly Rosario ‘27 said. “I feel like the fact that we’re all together making [the mural] is not just a bunch of kids coming together, but a bunch of countries coming together to make a cultural impact in our school.”

Many teachers were influenced by the intensive project as they gazed upon the mural. The effective teamwork, labor, and passion that went into the culmination of the mural allowed for teachers to be inspired as well.

“This is at the heart of why I went into education,” Picket said. “I wanted to be able to create spaces for kids to be creative, celebrate being who they are, and build community.”

Amidst the harsh academic climate and stress that Westwood students go through, the HSA members are given a place of tranquility when working on the mural after school. As they talked about their day, made jokes, and played music, the members were reminded that all their hard work will be worth it in the end.

After the officers gave their speeches in the inauguration ceremony and commemorated the completion of the mural, the members celebrated their achievement by dancing to Spanish songs and eating food brought by volunteers. Through their determination, they highlighted the importance of cultural diversity, recycling, and representation, giving a voice to the Hispanic community at Westwood.

“Nothing is impossible, and I want people to be inspired to be themselves,” Rincon said. “We have multiple members that don’t fully speak English, and because of that, they might feel like they’re not as important as a person who speaks English, which is completely wrong. They have the same amount of potential that a bilingual person has and with this mural, we want to remind them that they are important, included, and represented.”