Transforming Into Manhood: An Interview with Niko Walker

1. What are you up to now?

 Right now, I'm just working and living a little. I did a 2013 Transgender calendar for Children's Hospital Los Angeles (Teen/adolescent Health Center) called Angels of Change to raise money for transgender youth health care.

2. How has you life changed since the beginning of the transition? 

My life got significantly better after transitioning. I finally got to be completely myself and keep all my amazing family and friends around to support me the entire way.

3. Physically/emotionally, how is the transition coming along?

I'm 2 years and 2 months on hormones so I'm basically at a point physically where my body has taken the testosterone in and made some masculine changes to my body that are significant enough to see, but I'll still have to take hormone injections for the rest of my life to maintain that masculine structure. I'm pre-op (chest surgery), but I plan to change that by this summer. 

4. What are your plans for the future?

I'm not really sure what's in the future for me. There's so many things to do and so many things I want to do. It's becoming an issue because I'm extremely indecisive! But I think for sure I'm going to go back to school this fall if some other opportunity doesn't arise beforehand.

5. Does life truly get better?

Life does get better. It takes time and you have to keep going even when you feel like you can't. At the end of the day you have to remember you have to do what you have to do to make yourself happy and even if other people can't accept that, it's not about them, it's about you! You just always have to be real with yourself.

6. Do you have any advice for closeted high school students?

 You're not alone. We've all been there, we've all struggled through this somehow, so believe me, you'll get through this. High school isn't forever and you'll most likely never see 80% of these people after you graduate.

Swimmers Dive into League: Girls and boys varsity hope to make it far into league this year

    Brightly shining, the sun sparkles off the shimmering pool water as lanes of swimmers take lap after lap. The cool water sprays off of the swimmers’ arms as they maintain a steady speed from one side of the pool to the other. Head swim coach, Nester Dordoni, calls out words of encouragement through his megaphone as he paces up and down the side of the pool. He settles down in a chair by the pool, monitoring the swimmers through his shades, warmly smiling.

    Dordoni’s goal for this year’s season is to have the boys win league like they did last year, and for the girls to earn 2nd place in league as opposed to their 4th place win last season. The biggest competition for the teams is Santa Monica High School and Beverly High. However, after the boys defeat to Beverly Hills on April 18, winning league will not be an option. Although, the girls’ victory over Beverly at the same meet has increased their chance of reaching Dordoni’s goal.

  Senior Ruth Basurto, named Most Valuable Player (MVP) at Ocean League for water polo, says the swim season has been “going really good...everyone’s strong, really hard working.” Senior Bryan Kocker agrees and hopes to make it to CIF for relay league finals. Senior Alessandro Furlan wishes to improve his time this season but also aims for another goal, “as long as I don’t get last place, I’ll be happy,” Furlan said as he laughs.

   Lastly, Dordoni adds, “I think the whole team is stars...they practice for two and a half hours everyday. They are all stars.” League Prelims will be held at Beverly Hills High School on Wed, May 1.

From Past Me: Seniors receive letters that they wrote to themselves as freshman

As seniors rip open the envelope from inside their mailbox, recognizing the handwriting on the address, they eagerly await the letter inside, knowing that it’ll tell them a little bit about their past self. In fact, it’s their past self that has written to them.

    Every year, English 9 teacher, Susan Schueler, has her freshman classes write a letter to themselves that she will later mail out to them when they are seniors. This year’s seniors recently received theirs in the mail. “You’re going to be you for the rest of your life. I think the most important thing I can teach [students] is to learn about themselves,” Schueler said.

    She encourages her freshman to write about their social life: who they have a crush on, who has a crush on them, their friends, their family, and any embarrassing moments they’ve had. “I tell them to make [the letter] as gossipy as possible. The more personal, the more interesting it will be to read three years down the road,” Schueler said. Laughing, senior Morgan McGlothan said, “I wrote about boys. So many boys! I was so immature. I was reading it like, ‘Who is this person?!’”      

    Every year, students also have the opportunity to decorate the envelope and/or put in a present as a surprise for their senior self. McGlothan gave herself $5, a pack of gum, and trading cards from her freshman year in AVPA film. Senior Ellis Kennedy slipped cinnamon sticks and red glitter into her envelope. Sometimes students can even put notes to each other in their friends’ letters. After writing the letter, students address the envelope to their current address and put a stamp on it, provided by Schueler. Given the digital generation, Schueler has had to help some students address the envelope. After the envelopes are ready to go, Schueler rubber bands the letters from all her classes in one year together and stores them in her back closet where they will stay confidential and unopened. Not until three years later will the letters be opened and read by the authors themselves. McGlothan advises freshman writing their letters to, “Write what you feel. Don’t censor yourself.” And lastly, “Brace yourselves.”

Carrying on Years of Impact: Diane Kaiser and Joanna Maxwell finish up their last year as influential teachers in Resource Education

Handmade art pieces dance across the room, the walls covered in hard work and ambition. Room 23 has been occupied by Diane Kaiser, Resource teacher and her aid, Joanna Maxwell, for over the past 25 years. Together, they have shaped character, transformed behavior, developed potential, and influenced futures for their many English students who secure a wide range of differing abilities. This year, Kaiser and Maxwell will finish an important career as they move forward into retirement, waving goodbye to the world of difference they have created for hundreds of students.

“I call them my ‘doublemint twins,’” Jonellia Guinn, Principal’s Secretary and co-worker of Kaiser and Maxwell, said. “I will miss their presence on campus. They are room 23.”

Over the years, Kaiser and Maxwell have worked with students with differing needs and abilities. While some students may excel in certain areas, they turn to Kaiser and Maxwell’s aid for assistance in other areas where they struggle due to disorders in language, memory, emotion and/or reading.  And since their students process information in a variety of ways, Kaiser and Maxwell’s teaching methods have always changed. “We find other ways to reach them,” Maxwell said. They google pictures in the middle of a lesson to illustrate a concept or try talking at a different pace to help specific students understand.  “Ms. Kaiser is the best English teacher I’ve ever had,” Senior Caelyn Griffith said.

Kaiser also loves to take her students on trips. “It’s not all about the state tests” for Kaiser’s students. It is also about community culture, especially through visits to places such as the Kirk Douglas Theater and the Museum of Tolerance. “This is the way students learn best,” Kaiser said. Designed as a literature-based course, Kaiser’s class also reads as many classics as possible.

Kaiser has worked in education for 40 years and Maxwell for 38, allowing them to experience generations of change. Kaiser and Maxwell see the most change within the students. “Every generation has its ‘thing’,” Kaiser said. In fact, in the ‘70s, on one Halloween, the gothic punk rock trend left Kaiser perplexed on who was in costume and who was dressed in normal attire.  However, the amount of tolerance from the student body has not changed over the years.  Bullying has always existed, but with the platform technology creates, bullying has “now been exposed. It’s more vocalized,” Kaiser said. To encourage tolerance, Kaiser and Maxwell’s students have created and posted anti-bullying posters in the hallways.

Going onwards, Kaiser would like to visit all of the National Parks and Maxwell would like to travel to her mother’s birthplace, Riga Latvia. As for Culver, Kaiser hopes that her replacement will be the advocate that she was for the students and will take them on many trips. “I hope the kids are happy,” Maxwell said.