Navigating Two Worlds: Hwaejin Chung
By Ronan Lauber '21
It is another typical Saturday night for Saint Thomas Academy junior Hwaejin Chung and his parents. The last golden rays of the sun stream in through the giant windows in his family’s living room as the sun sets behind the mountains in the distance. The sweet, smoky aroma of Korean barbecue fills the air as dusk settles and Hwaejin and his parents sit down to enjoy his favorite homemade meal. In Korean, the conversation starts with Hwaejin’s parents asking him how his day went, followed by the continual question of how his studies are progressing, making sure he is keeping up with his school work and on track to attend a respectable college. Although Hwaejin enjoys communicating with his parents and answering their questions, this typical exchange for the Chung family is anything but typical. Hwaejin is not eating any of the Korean barbecue his parents prepared. He will not relax on the coach and watch a movie with them later that night or walk around the neighborhood with them the next morning. In fact, Hwaejin is actually only present on a grainy Facetime video, as he is halfway around the world in Minnesota.
Boys in Blue? No. Boys in Suits.
By Jordan Young '21
Honorable Chair and fellow delegates: let me tell you a story of excellence. A boy in a spiffy, baby blue suit walks up to the podium for his opening speech. After delivering a gripping piece about the awful Cambodian genocide, he takes his seat. Notes upon notes from other delegates come streaming in, all applauding his speech and asking to work with him.
Chlorine is My Perfume
By Mitchell MacDonald '20
It’s 5:30 am. The Saint Thomas Academy parking lot appears empty, except for a few cars scattered around the dimly lit pavement. As you walk in the empty school, you hear loud music and the clanging of metal coming from the basement. As you get closer to the source of the commotion, you begin to recognize the thuds of large weights being dropped and the bumping of fast-paced techno. What kind of crazy people would be doing such an activity before the sun rises? It is none other than the Academy’s Swim and Dive team doing a routine lift to get in shape.
Making History: The 2020 History Day State Competition
By Jack Sexton '21
This past weekend, nineteen Saint Thomas Academy projects competed in the first-ever virtual State History Day, a showcase for budding high school historians centered around the theme of “Breaking Barriers.” Of the nineteen projects STA contributed to the competition, eight were named finalists. In the final round, these distinguished projects were broken up into two sections, individual and group, which were then broken down into four project categories: documentary, website, exhibit, and live performance.
The Slap-tastic Economics Team
By: Nicholas Tucci '20
When I walked into my first day of economics class my senior year, I was woken up from my groggy sleepwalk by the blaring sound of DotA, a loud and energetic techno song by Basshunter. To say the least, I was shocked. Accompanying the sweet symphony my ears had just witnessed was the sight of a short man frantically drawing crazy lines and graphs as well as scribbling notes I did not understand on his whiteboard.