We had agreed to meet at 7:00 a.m. because it was the only hour all three of us could make the interview work. I arrived a few minutes early, but Mae Dapkus and Olivia Self were already in the parking lot, already catching up with familiar faces, already making use of a morning most people would have spent half asleep. Between AP classes, ACTs, varsity sports, volunteer work, and the fact that teenagers do need sleep, finding an hour to sit down and talk felt like a small mir

The following article is one I am deeply proud of…not because it was published, not because of any acclaim or local fame, but because it showcases a special person and grew out of a classroom project. Sure, it’s really cool that it was published by Over the Mountain Journal. And it’s really cool that it got the back cover. And it’s really cool that people said they enjoyed reading it. But, you know what’s really really really cool? People learned Karen’s story, the character