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165 E. Bagley Road * Berea, Ohio 44017 MAY 2014 Issue

King and Queen CrownedBerea-Midpark’s first king and queen announced at prom on May 3

Dailey participates in many extracirricular activities such as RYP (Realize Your Potential), AVID, and he is also a student ambassador. Dailey enjoys hanging out with his friends outside of school. This former Brave plans to go to An-drews University to study Physical Therapy in Sports Medicine. Along with the other prom court electees, Dailey said that it is a true honor to be nominated and elected the first prom king.

Christopher enjoys hang-ing out with her friends, going to competitive dance class, and baking outside of school. This former Meteor plans to attend the Uni-versity of Toledo to study pharmacy and toxicology. Christopher agreed with many seniors by saying leaving all her friends behind is the hardest part about leaving high school. Christopher was excited to be crowned the first prom queen.

Seniors D’Shane Dailey and Conner Christopher, Berea-Midpark’s first prom king and queenPhoto courtesy of Ms. Hahn

As Saturday, May 3 approached, all seniors were anxious to find out who would be voted Berea-Midpark High School’s first prom king and queen. This year has produced many firsts as two rival schools combined, and the eight seniors elected to prom court were happy to be a part of ending this amazing year. Being elected to prom court is an honor, but being crowned king and queen is a pretty big deal. For seniors D’Shane Dailey and Conner Christopher, prom

night was even more special as they celebrated their achivement of being Berea-Midpark High School’s first prom king and queen.

D’Shane Dailey Conner Christopher

Edrick Brooks Brooks participated in the first Titans football team this season. This former Meteor enjoys hanging out with his friends on his free time. Brooks is apart of the Polaris Dental Assisting program and enjoys airbrushing and using his imagination to create won-derful projects. With a wonde-ful smile he should become a great dental assistant.

Victoria CharvatCharvat participates in competitive and foot-ball cheerleading. When she is not working at North Park Retirement home, she enjoys hanging out with family and friends. Charvat is a former Meteor who plans to major in education at the University of Akron. “Make your senior year the best you can,” Charvat said.

Jimmy Arnold Arnold enjoys hanging out with his friends and raising some extra cash through work. Arnold is a former Brave who is going into the United States Marines to serve the country he loves. Arnold also enjoys many science classes such as astronomy and zoology as well as playing basketball.

Eric HaleyAfter graduation this former Meteor plans to attend Tri-C to pursue a degree in psychol-ogy. Haley acts as president of the BMHS Anime club and enjoys video games, writing and biking. He will miss his BMHS family and favorite teacher, Mr. Bosko. His words to future seniors: “Fight Se-nioritis!”

Chris Perez Perez participates in Envior-nmental Club and is a former Brave basketball player. He enjoys making music, skat-ing, and hanging out with his friends and playing basketball outside of school. Perez plans to attend Tri-C for two years then transfer to become a nurse.

Sydney CaraballoCaraballo enjoys being out-doors and going to the lake with her boyfriend. She is a former Brave who plans to go to Cleveland State Uni-versity to study nursing and pediatrics. “Make your senior year be the best year of high school,” Caraballo said.

Samantha Haley Haley has been part of the Girl Scouts since fourth grade. She enjoys baking and hanging out with friends in her free time. As a former Meteor, Haley plans to attend Kent State University and study nursing. “Don’t slack off your senior year but also have the best year you can have,” Haley said.McKenna Massaro Massaro is a teacher aid and helps many teachers throughout the year. She also manages a job outside of school while still being com-mitted to her school work. Massaro likes to hangout with her family and friends outside of school. This former Brave plans to attend Kent State University and study psychol-ogy.

Kevin Neumann Neumann is a member of the BMHS marching band. On his rare days off, he enjoys hiking, mountain biking, and hanging out with friends. Neumann also enjoys playing the guitar. A former Meteor, Neumann plans to attend the University of Akron and major in music edu-cation.

Haley Klier Klier is an active senior in National Honor Society, Student Ambassador Club, and the swimming team. Klier enjoys hanging out with friends and sleeping outside of school. This former Meteor and now proud Titan plans to attend Ohio University to major in Business Administrations.

Courting History: The 2014 Prom Court

2014 Edrick Brooks with Victoria Charvat Jimmy Arnold with Sydney Caraballo

Kevin Neumann with Haley Klier Chris Perez with McKenna Massaro

Eric Haley with Samantha Haley

Prom Court

By Tommy ReckartStaff Writer

Titan Times May 2014 2

Saving Space in Your New SpaceBy Alexis HelbertStaff Writer

Walking into an empty dorm room for the

first time, you will think to yourself, “My whole life is ahead of me.”

Then you’ll think, “How am I going to fit my whole life in here?”

It may be difficult, but it is possible to not only store your life in your college dorm but be organized as well.

Let’s tackle the hardest thing first, the clothes.

Many take pride in their ever-expanding wardrobe, possibly the result of a shopping addiction.

Storing all these pieces can be a struggle.

If you have a dresser, one great organizational device is a honeycombed shaped drawer organizer. By rolling your clothes or folding them up, lots of clothes can fit in your

Honeycomb drawer organizerPhoto courtesy of Dormco

Chair pocket from Aussie PouchPhoto courtesy of Amazon.com.

extra inches under the bed and give you the ability to charge a phone or laptop while in bed.

Over-the-door shoe rack Photo coutesy of Bed Bath and Beyond

Bedside caddy and organizerPhoto courtesy of Dormco

“Little black dress” jewelry organizer Photo courtesy of The Container Store

drawers practically creating more space out of thin air.

Chances are you won’t need shorts and swimsuits in the middle of winter, so make sure to switch out clothes seasonally.

By rotating what is in your dorm, you have more clothes for the current sea-son available to wear. The out of season clothes can be kept in Space Bags.

These bags help because they compact your clothes and help to store more in small spaces, like under a bed.

Speaking of beds, add-ing a bed riser makes tons more space under the bed for storage. One great option comes from Bed Bath and Beyond with an outlet included. They give

Bed riser with outlets Photo courtesy of Bed Bath and Beyond

Berea-Midpark High School Senior Mehlaina Richardson said that she could not leave her shoe obsession behind. And who could blame her?

Hanging shoe racks can stores up to 50 pairs of shoes and let you continue your shoe obsession guilt-free.

Jewelry can be a bulky thing to store. Hanging jewelry organizers are great for this. These are flat so they don’t take up any space.

One side has Velcro hangers to hold necklaces and bracelets while the other side has clear com-

partments to hold rings and earrings. This makes it so you can see everything in-stead of searching through a messy box.

Your bed is no longer just for sleeping. It be-comes your kitchen, living room and office. A bed-side caddy can keep study necessities in reach without taking up any more space.

One feature all rooms have is a desk chair. By thinking outside of the box,

the chair can serve more than one purpose.

A chair pocket can be slipped on the back and your chair can provide stor-age now too.

The desk can become a black hole of unorganized clutter. Because of all the papers, books and sylla-bus that courses give you, things can get out of hand.

There are magazine racks available that can be used as storage to help organize papers by class on a wall.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Being On Your OwnBy: Marino TenagliaAssistant Editor

With the school year quickly coming to its

end, many seniors prepare to get ready for college.

Some seniors attend-ing local colleges such as Baldwin Wallace and Tri-C, will just live at home.

Other seniors attend-ing college next fall will be moving away, living on their own in a dorm.

Most students aren’t necessarily on their own in their dorm room since most require a roommate.

“Make sure you and your roommate have stuff in common that you both enjoy and you both know what you are going to bring so you don’t end up with two of the same thing or none of something,” said BMHS Senior and future Tiffin Dragon, Joe Sefik.

Life with another person in the same room can be difficult to adjust to. But it is important to find a good balance.

“Right now I’m either going to get my own dorm room or get a room with Joe Sefik. And if we do room together I think it’ll be vital to conserve space

so we’ll have to bunk our stuff, so we’ll have more room,” said Eddie Harper, another future Dragon.

When living in your own space without parents tell-ing you what you can and can’t do, there are endless possibilities in your dorm room.

University of Akron

freshman Kyle Kronen says he plans to bring a huge TV, a Playstation 4, and a lot of food and snacks when he returns next year.

College students always worry about the essentials like a mini fridge and a laundry basket, but when you’re on your own, there are other things you can add to your room to make it extraordinary.

“Next year I’m going to bring things like black lights, posters, and a good stereo system for my dorm. It will be like a party in my room,” Ohio University freshman Kyle Gibbons said.

Having a place to your-self is a big responsibility. This is just another step towards what it will be like to living on your own.

“I’m excited to see if I can live on my own. Dorm life is truly prepping you to be an adult. You learn to be

a lot more independent and it’ll be awesome getting some real life experience,” Harper said.

The size of dorms plays a big part in where a stu-dent wants to room. An-other factor is how new the dorms are.

“The dorms here are pretty roomy and are a nice place to live, but it gets cold during the winter,” Kronen said.

Sefik said the dorms at Tiffin are some of the big-gest dorms that he’s seen on college visits and they are all newer with air con-ditioners.

Living on your own is an experience that can help you become an independent adult.

When you get the chance to be on your own, deco-rate and arrange that dorm space to be somewhere that is a lot of fun to live.

A typical college dorm room

Photo courtesy of Google

“Kvissle” magazine rackPhoto courtesy of Ikea

Titan Times May 2014 3

More than 29,000 exchange students come every year to the USA. These students spend a semester to year in an American high school. The exchange students live with a host family and learn the language and culture.

As of 2014, Ohio is ranked as eighth in the country who house the most foreign exchange students.Berea-Midpark is one of only 79 high schools across the USA to be named a Top AFS School, hosting students from six countries.

Exchanging for a ChangeMariella LeonStaff Writer

Melanie Dohrn: Thailand

Q: What American things are weird for you?A: Peanut butter and jelly.

Q: What was the dumbest question you were asked so far? A: Do you have stars in Thailand?

Q: Is school harder here?A: Not at all, in Thailand it’s a lot harder.

Q: If you could have cho-sen which state to come to, where would you have picked and why?A: Florida because weather, Disneyworld, the beach!

Q: What do you miss the most about Thailand?A: Family and food

Q: What has been the best experience so far?A: Musical “South Pacific”

Elina Virolainen: Finland

Q: What was your reaction when you learned you were coming to Ohio?A: I was happy because I like to have four seasons.

Q: What were your expec-tations about American schools?A: I thought it’s gonna be easy and everybody has a locker.

Q: What American thing is weird for you?A: Most of the people don’t have passports.

Q: What do you miss the most from you country?A: Food, family and friends.

Q: What has been the best experience so far?A: Penguins in a zoo.

Q: Why did you choose America for study abroad? A: Because Australia was too expensive so America was the cheapest English speaking country.

Q: If you could have cho-sen which state or city to come to, where would you have picked and why?A: North Carolina because nature is so pretty there.

Q: What is the is the dumb-est question someone has asked you?A: Finland is next to Italy, right?

Jingxi Wang: ChinaQ: What were your ex-pectations about American schools?A: Not so many people, not so many exchange students, a modern school with good academy activities.

Q: What American thing is weird for you?A: The relationship be-tween students, students and teachers, family mem-bers. People are loud.

Q: The dumbest question you heard so far?A: Are you an exchange student? Are you from Thailand?

Q: Is school harder here?A: The classes are easier here, but the after school activities (clubs, sports) make life harder.

Q: What do you miss the most from you country?A: My family, my family food (homemade food), my friends, my city.

Q: What has been the best experience so far?A: Marching band and concert band, went to Ohio State, Browns game and states NYC/DC trip, track.

Q: Do you want comeback for college?A: Yes, I’m working on it.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Lifelong Success Starts at Polaris

Q: Why did you want to be an exchange student?A: To experience the culture, to know a country through having an a family and going a local school.

Q: Why did you choose America for study abroad?A: I have learned English for years. The language is not a problem and America is more contacting.

Q: If you could have cho-sen which state or city to come to, where would you have picked and why ?A: California: weather is better, there are a lot of universities New York City: big city, culture and environment is awesome Boston: Big City

Q: What was your reaction when you learned you were coming to Ohio?A: Ohio sounds okay and it has Lake Erie… The weather should be good, not bad.

Q: What is you favorite thing so far?A: Marching band, learning flute. Going to concerts.

Marissa LoydStaff Writer

Polaris Career Center has over 30 programs,

enough programs to offer a wide range of choices to fit everyone’s interests.

With options starting for students still in high school, Polaris has some-thing to offer you.

Sophomores in high school can plan a visit to check out the programs and register online.

For those students who are truly serious about entering a particular career field, they can apply and within a few weeks will be notified that they are accepted.

Polaris provides real world career education in a high level learning envi-ronment.

Polaris students can be-gin earning college credit before ever stepping one foot on a college campus, saving time and money.

“My program at Polaris is setting me up for the real world by receiving my OPOTA (Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy) certification and helping me get jobs in the law en-forcement field,” Strongs-ville Senior Katia Asmar said.

The criminal justice program at Polaris Career Center offers the most certifications out of any program in the building.

In this program, stu-dents receive First Aid and CPR certificates, OPOTA, 911- telecommunication training, pepper spray, asp baton, and more.

Polaris instructors go above and beyond for their students; by the end of the two years in the program they can have you a job lined up.

“What I like most about Polaris are the instructors,” Asmar said.

The medical field at Po-laris Career Center is the next biggest thing.

In this area, there is a large variety of medical field options from which to choose.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Q: Why you want to be an exchange student?A: Learn better English.

Q: What are you favorite thing so far?A: Snowdays.

Q: Why did you want to be an exchange student?A: I wanted to be in other kind high school that’s dif-ferent than my country.

Q: Why did you choose America for study abroad?A: Their interesting holi-days like Halloween or Thanksgiving.

Q: What was your reaction when you learned you were coming to Ohio? A: Excited because they have a lot of snow.

Q: What were your expec-tations about American schools?A: Do project more then paper work.

Q: What are your favorite things so far?A: Sports teams.

Titan Times May 2014 4

Titans Boys Track and Field Make a Run on Successful SeasonBy Chad EllisStaff Writer

Your Berea-Midpark Titans Boys Track & Field Team has had a very speedy and successful season, only losing one of their meets.

As the season approach-es the end, this is where the meets really start to count.

The team has big expec-tations as they approach the end of the season.

Senior Justin Carroll is one of the big reasons why the team is doing so well.

Carroll competes in events from the 400m dash to the 1600m run. He com-petes in the 4x800m, 800m and 4x400m and scores the team a lot of points running all these events.

“My main goal for this season is to run 1:54-1:55 in the open 800 to make it down to the state meet, and also help my 4x800m team

and 4x400m team make it down to the state meet,” said Carroll.

Carroll’s greatest accom-plishment thus far is break-ing the 50 second barrier in his split in the 4x400m relay and also splitting a 1:56 in the 4x800m relay.

Which part of the team is better? Distance? Sprints? Field?

Looking at results it seems like the three areas score close to the same amount of points, creating a solid team, helping the team to their victories.

Senior Alec Lunney runs the 800m and the 1600m.

Lunney said, “We are somewhat balanced, but our sprints are probably the best because of their tal-ent.”

Junior Eric Peterson runs the 1600m and the 3200m.

“I think that the dis-tance team is a little better

because they have more depth,” Peterson said.

The running is not the only thing that contributes to the dominating boys track team.

The field events are very powerful, with the pole vault, long jump, high jump and the throws placing very high at all meets and scor-ing very well.

Junior Matt Owens says that he loves his track team and how balanced they are in all events.

Owens is a very talented pole-vaulter for the Titans.

He made it to the Ohio Indoor State meet this past winter and one of his main goals for this spring is to make it to the Outdoor State meet.

BMHS Girls Track Team Looking to Finish Season StrongBy Alec LunneyStaff Writer

The Berea-Midpark girls track team is a power house in

the making. As the regular season starts to wind down, and the ladies are looking to the post season.

The team looks to have a strong finish to the regu-lar season and continue to improve.

Senior Miranda DiBiasio is one of the leaders for the distance squad running at BMHS, leading by ex-ample.

“I hope to make a trip down to Columbus for the state meet, and hopefully run what I am capable of against the best competition in the state,” DiBiasio said.

DiBiasio said that she hopes to help out the younger girls in getting bet-ter on and off the track.

“It is a really fun group of girls and we like to have a lot of fun and get down to business on the track,” DiBiasio said.

DiBiasio said that the team has improved in many aspects including sprints, hurdles, jumps, throwing,

and vaults.“We are not really weak

in any part of the team; we just need to keep mov-ing forward and improve,” DiBiasio said.

On the opposite end of the school, Freshman Lauren Peterson, distance runner, shares similar goals with DiBiasio as the Ti-

Titan’s Track and Field

Up-Coming Events:Districts ~ May 21, May 23 ~ AmherstRegionals ~ May 28, May 30 ~ Am-herstStates ~ June 6, June 7 ~ Columbus

He is hoping to surpass his PR of 14’6” to help the Titans clinch future wins at conference, regionals and states.

As your Titans are head towards the end of the year, they hope to see you down in Columbus, Ohio at Jesse Owens Stadium for the OHSAA Track and Field Championships.

Matt Owens vaults for the TitansPhoto courtesy of Chad Ellis

Marcus Ruiz preparing for the starters gunPhoto courtesy of Chad Ellis

BMHS girls cross country/ track runners gearing upPhoto courtesy of BMHS website

Pole vault pit Photo courtesy of Google

tans wrap up the rest of the season.

“I hope to keep improv-ing my foot speed, and hope that it will make me better off for cross country season next year,” Peterson said.

Peterson said that she hopes to remain injury free for the rest of the season and continue to drop her times as much as possible.

“In the mean time, I hope I can help out the team as much as possible and con-tinue to score as much as I can,” Peterson said.

Junior Julia Higgins, hurdles and sprints, plans to do just that, and continue to drop her times from last year to help the team.

“I hope to continue to shatter my personal bests

from last year and continue to astound myself,” Hig-gins said.

Her current PR in the 400m is :60.

Higgins said that with the post season coming up, it will put her talents to the test to see what she can pull off in terms of perfor-mance.

Junior pole vaulter Shelby Marken’s talents will be put to the test as she looks to hopefully make it to the big show [state meet] in Columbus this June.

“I just missed making it to states last year which makes me even hungrier to make it to Columbus,” Marken said.

Her best vault has hit 11’.

Marken said that she hopes to be on the podium at the state meet before she leaves for college.

“We have some big meets coming up in the coming weeks so I will have to bring my A game,” Marken said.

There is no doubt that the girls track team is a work in progress as there is potential in every aspect of the team including throws and jumps.

Look out for and sup-

port your Titans track team as they head into the most exciting part of the season as the Lady Titans go up against the best teams in the state.

Titan Times May 2014 5

A Summer Well Spent!How BMHS students are raising money this summer

By Brandi Avery Staff Writer

The school year is winding down here at Berea-Midpark

High School and students are looking forward to the summer and sleeping in rather than the six am alarm clock.

Most BMHS students are anxiously awaiting the days of relaxation and free time.

But not all students will have this luxury.

A majority of BMHS students switch gears from school and head right into a

summer job. Even though their days

are free from school, they are committing their time to save up for a car, vaca-tion, or college.

“I work at Lumpy’s Shake Shop as a summer job,” BMHS Junior Lucy Buckholz said.

Lumpy’s Shake Shop is only open during the summer time, so Buckholz deals with a lot of business, especially since Lumpy’s is the only shake shop in Brook Park.

“My favorite part of the job is taking home ice

cream after work, but the hardest part is the longer, busy shifts since that is not what I am used to,” Buck-holz said.

Even though it could be hard at times, Buckholz believes it is worth it be-cause she has gained better relationships with some of her coworkers as she tries to save up her money.

“I am saving up for college and a trip to Ger-many,” Buckholz said.

According to Buckholz, she wouldn’t want to try and raise the money any other way. She enjoys working at Lumpy’s, es-pecially because it doesn’t take up too much of her time.

Like Buckholz, BMHS Junior Brianna Rodriguez holds a summer job as well.

While Buckholz is serving up ice cream and shakes, Rodriguez is on watch as a lifeguard.

“For the past couple of summers I have worked as a lifeguard at Wallace Lake,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez has been sav-ing up for a car and college, and since this takes up a large part of her summer, she does enjoy lifeguard-ing’s perks.

“My favorite part of work is sitting in the sun, riding in the paddleboats, and getting free ice-cream,” Rodriguez said.

The free ice cream seems to be the favorite part of everyone’s jobs this sum-mer, but that is not the case for BMHS Junior Tommy Reckart.

Reckart worked at Dairy Queen throughout the school year but is cutting his hours to pursue a new job umpiring for travel baseball games.

“Working at Dairy Queen didn’t take up too much of my time, but it would be too stressful to work all of those hours as well as the hours given from umpiring,” Reckart

said. Reckart used to umpire

for rec baseball leagues, but found he could get more hours through the travel league since he is saving up for college.

“I will work anywhere from two to four games a week and a shift usu-ally lasts up to a couple of hours,” Reckart said. “So it isn’t too much time to be committed over summer es-pecially since all the money is going towards college.”

A summer can create an increase in students’ bank accounts, as a majority of BMHS students devote some of their time to a summer job. They can en-joy working and saving up money for the future.

BMHS Junior Brianna Rodriguez and her co-lifeguards competing in the annual “life-guarding games”

Photo courtesy of Allison, their supervisor

Tommy Reckart plans on following in his brother’s footseps as umpiring baseball games over the summer. Photo courtesy of Kellie Martin

Last Summer Hoorah!By Carrie MuellerStaff writer

The summer after senior year is an

important summer because it’s the last one you will spend still attached to the

high school you’ve been a part of for the past four years.

During that final sum-mer recent graduates are very excited for graduation parties and vacations being spent with friends or fam-ily.

Others will be working hard to start making money to get a good start finan-cially.

These final memories will be all that is left once the summer is over, as these former Titans will be going off to college, the military or starting jobs and a fresh start.

“This summer will be

different because I will be attending a lot of grad parties with people I have known since fourth grade and also having my own,” Senior Marissa Loyd said.

Planning the perfect graduation party is a prior-ity for many.

“My parents and I have been planning a date for my graduation party for the past three months. Just like my brothers, I will have a big party at my house with all of my family and friends,” Senior Andy Beight said.

Graduation parties are one of the main events the 2014 seniors look forward to.

Seniors are not only excited to have their own but are excited to gather with their classmates to celebrate for the last time before heading on to what is next.

“This summer I want to

enjoy the nice weather and go on adventures we’ve never been on before,” Se-nior Marino Tenaglia said.

Some of these adven-tures include vacations.

“I am going to Florida, Lequador and New York. I look forward to going to concerts and raves with my friends,” Senior Chris Perez said.

Many seniors plan on leaving home to go off to college while others will be commuting to a local school. For them, this sum-mer is an important one.

Other than having fun on vacations and at parties, this is a good time to get organized and ready for whatever comes next.

“I still need a lot of things for my dorm next year but I’ve made lists of the things my older sister needed to help me stay organized and not forget anything important while

going off to college,” North Olmsted Senior Olivia Merdita said.

Working either full time or part time during the summer will also help many prepare for the real world.

Summer is the perfect time to make money for bills, books and life. There will be plenty of things to pay for.

Or this can be a nice chance to have extra cash to have fun with your friends.

“In the summer I work full time. I work around 46 hours a week to help pay

for my car, phone, insur-ance and any other things I like to have,” Loyd said.

Others plan to save for the unexpected.

“Start saving money ear-ly because you don’t realize how expensive college is until you actually get there. If you start saving earlier the more extra money you can have to do fun things!” MHS graduate Maria Lee said.

In the end, this is the summer all seniors will want to make the most of.

Make sure to get out there and enjoy yourself!

Picture of a sunset Photo couresy of colorfully.eu

Titan Times May 2014 2

By Kayleigh BerendtLayout Editor

The Final Performance of the Inaugural Berea-Midpark Orchestra

On May 20, the Berea-Midpark Orchestra will per-

form their spring concert, the final concert of the year.

Throughout the year the orchestra has well adapted to the merge; rehearsing, performing, and learning under orchestra teacher, Mrs. Wesoloski and Mrs. Patriok.

With these two, all of the students have been pre-paring for this concert for months.

“I prepare for a concert by practicing at home. I practice, on average, six hours a day,” Senior Nate Gardener said.

From the basses to the violins, everyone puts in a lot of effort to ensure that things go as smoothly as possible.

“I make sure that my

music has all the correct bow and tempo markings. Sometimes I have my pri-vate tutor help me with the tougher spots [in the mu-sic],” Senior Emma Skerl said.

But it’s not just the students who have to be prepared.

“The vast majority of preparation that I do for a concert is the daily rehears-als. Each day we make the music better somehow,” Mrs. Wesoloski said.

It’s clear that everyone involved wants to contrib-ute as much as they can to better the orchestra.

“[Preparation for a con-cert] is a lot of score study, listening to recordings and working on the scores before you go into the daily rehearsals,” Mrs. Patriok said.

This year has certainly been different for the orchestra though, coming together from two different

musical experiences.“I’ve started to liken it to

a tsunami hitting this fall. It was definitely a learn-ing experience,” Wesoloski said.

Mrs. Patriok, who was originally a band teacher at Midpark, came to Berea-Midpark to help Mrs. We-soloski with the orchestra.

“[Mrs. Wesoloski] has been teaching me a lot about the strings, so that’s been nice to have some-body to watch and learn from,” Patriok said.

Switching from band to orchestra was a major obstacle for Mrs. Patriok, but she has handled it very nicely.

“It’s been invigorating to go into something new. It was scary at first because I hadn’t touched a string instrument since college, so I had to pick up the violin over the summer,” Patriok said.

The students have been

quite affected by the merg-ing of the schools as well.

“The merge has given us a bigger orchestra which has given us the ability to do more things like having a chamber orchestra,” Skerl said.

The chamber orches-tra is a smaller group of strong players who meet after school to rehearse and perform at special events in the district.

“The chamber orchestra is sounding very nice,” Gardner said.

There’s no denying that all of the players are confi-dent in their ability to have a good performance.

“I think this concert will be great. We’ve got a lot of music and our soloists are doing a great job,” Gardner said.

Even the teachers agree.“I’m looking forward

to [the concert]. We’ve got the Vivaldi Spring that we’re doing and the Drag-onetti Bass Concierto, nice full orchestra stuff. We’re

featuring three solo trum-pets on Bugler’s Holiday,” Wesoloski said.

The concert is the last showing for this inaugural year and the send off for seniors.

“I always like the spring concert. It’s a nice chance to recognize the seniors,” Wesoloski said.

Come to the spring or-chestra concert on May 20 to hear these dedicated and talented students perform.

Robots Invade BMHSBy Samantha JunkeStaff Writer

Each year high school sports teams are recognized for their

hard work and dedication. But there are other groups that work just as hard but often do not get the recog-nition they deserve.

One of these teams would be the Berea-Mid-park Robotics team, The Titanium Allies.

The robotics team works very hard each year to produce a robot for annual competition.

“We compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robot-ics League. Each year the teams, all the thousands of us across the country, watch the kickoff,” Team Member Kyle Deacey said.

During the kickoff, robotics teams all around learn information about the upcoming competition.

“The competitions are always different, and are always task oriented rather than BattleBots. We are

then given six weeks and a rulebook to build our robots by,” Deacey said.

The annual competition takes place at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleve-land.

“Every year we go to a competition called the Buckeye Regional down at the Wolstein Center. We spend 6 weeks in the begin-ning of the year building a completely new robot that is especially designed for this year’s competition,” Team Mentor Sean Weems said.

FIRST holds these re-gional competitions all over the nation so teams from all over show up to compete.

“At the competition, about 50-55 teams com-pete and they come from all over. We’ve seen teams from Canada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Califor-nia,” Weems said.

Unfortunately this years Buckeye Regional did not go so well for the Titanium Allies.

“This years competition was pretty hectic. Apart from the actual competition

challenge, we hit several obstacles that were of large proportions. Namely the weight limit,” Team Mem-ber Roy Klein said.

After the merger of Berea and Midpark High School, the equipment used to weigh the previous robots was no longer avail-able for the robotics team.

“Our prototype robot worked great and we were all excited to get going. But when we took it to inspec-tion we found out that the scale back at our shop was, in fact, broken. We were a whole 20 pounds over-weight,” Deacey said.

The robotics team had to find a quick solution to the weight issue.

“We took [the robot] to

the pit and basically at-tacked it with a sawzall. By the end we had a robot that could only move our game piece around the field, but not score it,” Deacey said.

The Titanium Allies learned from their mistake.

“We ended up placing poorly in the tournament but we learned so much about what to do in the future,” Weems said.

The robotics team did not let the loss destroy their spirits.

“We finished dead last. But I’m not ashamed. We could’ve given up at any point, but we stuck through it,” Deacey said.

Besides competing in the Buckeye Regional, The Titanium Allies do other

activities in the school district.

“In the off season, we work on side robot projects, community outreach pro-grams spreading the word about robotics, and brain-storming how to improve the team for next year,” Team Member Matt Qurino said.

To some the robotics team is not only a learning experience, but an oppor-tunity to feel at home and make long lasting friends.

“The robotics team is like a family. We’re all re-ally close friends and we’re always there for each other. It’s kind of a place where the people viewed as nerds or geeks can feel safe and feel like they fit in,” Deac-ey said.

2014 Buckeye Regional at the Wolstein Center Photo courtesy of Matt Qurino

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Titan Times May 2014 7

Learning Outside the BoxElective Courses at BMHS

By Samantha Steinemtz Editor

Students are given the chance to choose classes outside of the

core curriculum to earn credits.

There are plenty of fun electives to take to make all three years at Berea-Midpark High School enjoyable.

Drama and Performance is a fun elective that will take care of an English credit.

“Drama and Perfor-mance combines theatrical literature with the practical aspects of play produc-tion,” according to the BMHS Student Schedule Planner.

“Play scripts will be studied from both a litera-ture and dramatic structure viewpoint, along with the basics of acting, scenery design and construction, stage lighting, costum-ing and makeup, and play direction. Students will be required to perform short scenes in class.”

Psychology and Sociol-ogy are two classes that can cover history credits.

There are plenty of ways to earn credit and have fun

enjoying a laid back and easier year.

To graduate, students are required to have four English credits, three science credits, four math credits, three social studies credits, a half a credit for gym, health, and computer, and six elective credits.

But this does not neces-sarily mean four years of college prep English or sitting in Biology, then Chemistry, then Physics.

One program that has gained a lot of attention is the C.L.O.S.E. course.

“This course is de-signed for students who have a desire to be out-doors and teach 3rd and 5th grade students of the

Berea City School District about our natural world and the impact humans have upon it,” according to the BMHS Student Schedule Planner.

Junior Elizabeth Bonsey finished her social studies credits by taking AP Psy-chology this year.

“It’s a great class to take and it’s so fun and interesting,” Bonsey said.

A student can also earn English credit by taking Journalism or Publications a class focused mainly on writing.

“Both classes are really enjoyable and fun, you learn a lot about the writing process and styles,” said Sophomore Alexis Helbert who is taking both Publica-

tions and Journalism this semester.

The science department offers astronomy and zoology among other electives for students who are not interested in the traditional science courses but still need the credit.

Sophomore Arianna Reuda took Guitar earlier this year and said it was her favorite class.

“It was more relaxed than a regular course and in 18 weeks taught me great strategies,” Reuda said.

Sophomore Celina Sarko took photography as an art elective this year.

“It’s a fun class and it’s

Third period Airbrush II class in progress of drawing out designs

Photo courtesy of Samantha Steinmetz

Photography projects on display in the main hallwayPhoto courtsey of Sammantha Steinmetz

great if you like taking pictures,” Sarko said.

Both of these sophomores took a fun elective that earned them credit and they got to have fun trying something new.

High school is supposed to be fun and enjoyable

One way to find that enjoyment is to take back control of how you spend your day.

So look into the variety of courses available to sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Why not take some fun classes? It is a great way to enjoy high school and earn credit.

Much Love for the Titans Tennis TeamBy Brandi Avery Staff Writer

The first Berea-Mid-park High School tennis team has been

rallying their way to vic-tory over the other South-western Conference teams.

With a team that is twen-ty-two strong, they have been indestructible these past couple of weeks.

“Our season started the

first week of March. We are 6-1 in the season and took second in the SWC Cham-pionship,” said BMHS tennis coach Carson Rue-bensaal.

“We have some tough matches ahead of us but they will only make us

stronger mentally and physically for sectionals,” Ruebensaal said.

The boys are really excited over their accom-

plishments and have been prepping for sectionals which happened on Tues-day, May 13.

The team as a whole has grown stronger and stronger through every match and they will be devastated when they have to say goodbye to their ten seniors.

“The seniors definitely met my expectations this year. They have set the bar for upcoming varsity and junior-varsity squads,” Ruebensaal said.

Their winning series isn’t the only memorable moments these guys have had.

Senior Austin Luu will remember the team bond-ing they had at Chipotle, while Senior Dylan Nguyen will remember serving a

ball right into the face of the opponent.

Even though the tennis team consists of the major-ity of former Midpark stu-dents, they have combined effectively and brought our school pride.

“They win and lose together out there and that

The winning supplies the Titan Boys’ Tennis Team have been utilizingPhoto courtesy of Google Images

Tennis fun under the sun!Photo courtesy of Google Images

is the best way to bridge any gap if there was one,” Ruebensaal said

While the season is com-ing to a close, the boys are still representing our school with a winning first season, and they expect to do the same next year.

Titan Times May 2014 8

Saving Space: Continued from Page 2

Adjustable shelving unit Photo courtesy of Dormco

Over-the-door vanity station Photo courtesy of Urban Outfitters

Need a night to hang out and play some NBA 2K14? You need your game con-sole set up.

An adjustable shelving unit can hold your TV and help organize games and game systems for a perfect night in.

A community bathroom can get annoying to say the least. Instead of getting ready in the cramped space with 30 other people, hav-ing a mirror on the back of

a door can fix this problem.Options are available at

places like Urban Outfitters that have room to store hair and face products.

Some even have hooks for towels, keys or jackets or anything you need to grab quick before running out the door and heading to class.

Q: Why did you want to be an exchange student?A: Because I want to have new experiences and learn about other cultures.

Q: Why did you choose America for study abroad?A: Because I wanted to learn English and I hear a lot about America.

Q: What was your reaction when you learned you were coming to Ohio? A: When I knew I was coming to Cleveland I was happy because I know Cleveland from a TV show.

Q: What were your expec-tations about American schools?A: More like in the mov-ies, popular people…

Q: What are your favorite things so far?A: You can practice sports in the school.

Q: What American things are weird for you?A: We have the same sub-ject’s every day and that’s weird for me.

Q: What was the dumb-est question someone has asked you?A: What part of Mexico is Spain?

Q: Is school harder here?A: It’s kind the same because I don’t have AP classes so I don’t know how hard they are.

Q: If you could have cho-sen which state or city to come to, where would you have picked and why?A: Florida because all the beaches and the weather or New York… I love New York!

Q: What was the best expe-rience so far? A: I have a lot but the best one was the trip to New York.

Q: Would you recommend study abroad?A: Yes, it’s difficult be-cause you are alone but you grow up a lot.

Exchanging for a ChangeContinued from Page 3

Aniceto Martinez: SpainThis field offers all types

of jobs, including sports medicine, STNA and medi-cal assisting.

Senior Kaitlin Vecchio is training to be an STNA, or a State Tested Nursing Assistant.

“The best thing my program offers is the STNA certification which I received my senior year that lets us start working in the field immediately,” Vecchio said.

Another great opportu-nity Polaris Career Center offers is the chance to compete in Skills USA.

This is a competition for students to represent their program and show what it is all about in front of judges.

Competitions start with regionals. The top three winners move to the state level and those who take first in their state move on to compete nationally.

Skills USA is a volun-tary activity many students take offers you real life skills and is definitely a smart choice.

Success Starts at PolarisContinued from Page 3

You can fit your entire life in your room now.

Everything is organized! So go study, party and live

your college experience to the fullest.

Photos courtesy of Polaris.edu

Photo courtesy of fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net

Titan Times May 2014 9

Prom 2014 - A Night To RememberLayout Editor

With all the fun and excitement with prom past, we’d like to take some time to relive

some of the best memories of the 2014 Berea-Midpark prom, the first of many.

Cristina Ortiz and Alyssa Bishop sporting some of the best hair at promPhoto courtesy of Alyssa Bishop and Cristina Ortiz

Nick Bradach, Tiffani Panko, Juan Hoffman, Davesha Perkins enjoying the luxury of their party bus

Photo coustesy of Kally Williamson

Scottlyn Morgan and Kevin Neumann matching their fabulous outfitsPhoto courtesy of Scottlyn Morgan

Mark Spies and Miranda Carr also show off how well they look together

Photo courtesy of Miranda Carr

Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” - a definite favorite at prom

Photo courtesy of Google Images

La Villa Party Center - the locationPhoto courtesy of La Villa Party Center

Chicken: It’s what’s for dinnerPhoto courtesy of Kally Williamson

Kally Williamson

Titan Times May 2014 10

Seniors

in the Spotlight

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will be attend-ing Cleveland State and I will be studying nursing.

What activities are you planning on being involved in at college?A: I am not sure yet.

What is your favor-ite memory of high school?A: My favorite high school memory would have to be just being with friends.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teach-er would probably be Miss Morey. She is such a caring and kind-hearted indi-vidual.

What are you most excited about after graduation?A: I am most excited about moving on to something different and starting to move towards my career.

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will be attend-ing Bowling Green State Universtiy and will be studying Ar-chitecture and Envi-romental Design.

What activities are you planning on being involved in at college?A: I am plainning on becoming involved in student govenment.

What is your favor-ite memory of high school?A: My favorite high school memory is a tie between Camp Mi-Bro-Be and Prom.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teach-er is Mr. Abraham even though he tells me I don’t like him all the time and that I stabbed him in the back.

What are you most excited about after graduation?A: I am most excited for the freedom and being able to go be out in the real world.

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will be attend-ing North Carolina Universtiy after fin-ishing my last year at Tri-C. I am going to become a veterinar-ian and marine biolo-gist.

What activities are you planning on being involved in at college?A: Anything that I will enjoy.

What is your favor-ite memory of high school?A: My favorite memory is the foot-ball games at Finney Stadium with all my friends.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: Mr. Abraham, Mr. Pisen and Miss Fa-bergass are my favor-ite teachers.

What are you most excited about after graduation?A: What isn’t there to be excited about? High school is over!

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will attend Kent State University and I am studying middle childhood education.

What activities are you planning on being involved in at college?A: I am not really sure a this time.

What is your favor-ite memory of high school?A: My favorite mem-ory from high school is going to pep rallies from Midpark.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teach-er is Mr. Barther.

What are you most excited about after graduation?A: I am most excited to move into my dorm and to meet my room-mate.

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I am attending Ohio University and studying Business Administration in the honors tutorial col-lege.

What activities are you planning on being involved in at college?A: I plan on being in leadership orga-nizations and maybe student government.

What is your favor-ite memory of high school?A: My favorite mem-ory was being a camp counsler for camp Mi-Bro-Be my junoir and senior years.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teach-ers are Mr. Kosar and Mr. Piesen be-cause they’ve always pushed me to do my best.

What are you most excited about after graduation?A: I am excited to move out and become an adult.

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Titan Times May 2014 11

Seniors in the

Spotlight

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will be attending Ohio State University and studying internation-al relations.

What activities are you planning on being in-volved in at college?A: I plan on playing on several intermural sports teams.

What is your favorite memory of high school?A: My favorite high school memory was winning the conference championship in soccer this year.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teacher is Mr. Pisen.

What are you most ex-cited about after gradua-tion?A: After graduation I am excited to be done with public school.

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will be attending University of Akron, and I plan on studying Bio-medical Engineering.

What activities are you planning on being in-volved in at college?A: I plan on joining the Biomed Engineering Club at U.A.

What is your favorite memory of high school?A: My favorite memory of high school was the first week at BMHS on Titan’s Day.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: I had many favorite teachers but one that stood out to me was my chemistry teacher, Mrs.Bryan.

What are you most ex-cited about after gradua-tion?A: I am most excited about finally starting col-lege and getting on with my life.

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will be attending trade school in downtown Cleveland to become an electrician.

What activities are you planning on being in-volved in at college?A: I plan on being in-volved in any activities of the electrical kind.

What is your favorite memory of high school?A: My favorite memory was having fun in class.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teacher is Mr. Misenhelder because he just gets it.

What are you most ex-cited about after gradua-tion?A: I am most excited about making money and driving a Range Rover after high school.

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I will be attending Tri-C and plan to major in court reporting.

What activities are you planning on being in-volved in at college?A: I would like to be part of any athletic activities that Tri-C has to offer.

What is your favorite memory of high school?A: My favorite memory is Prom. It was an amazing experience I will never forget.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teacher is Mr. Flemming because he is funny and an easy person to get along with.

What are you most ex-cited about after gradua-tion?A: After I graduate I’m excited to start my life and to see what is out there in the world for me.

What college will you be attending next year and what do you plan on studying? A: I plan on attending Kent State and I will be studying business.

What activities are you planning on being in-volved in at college?A: I plan on being a part of the ultimate frisbee team.

What is your favorite memory of high school?A: My favorite memory of high school was Prom.

Who is your favorite teacher?A: My favorite teacher is Mr. Pisen for sure.

What are you most ex-cited about after gradua-tion?A: I am most excited about going to college after graduating.

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