FUTURE ON FILM

As the old saying goes “life is like a movie.” However, for Carter Conrad, movies are his life.

“I watch an obscene amount of movies. I watch [around] seven a week, I’m always thinking about it, and I feel like I spend all my free time working on outside projects,” Conrad said. “I’m constantly watching films and reading reviews of them, and as dumb as it sounds, studying them, because I want to see what other filmmakers do. I want to learn from them for my career one day.”

Though his passion for movies has been constant all his life, according to Conrad, he has only recently developed his passion into future career prospects. However, looking back, he believes there were clues guiding him here his whole life.

“I started getting into film because I used to watch movies with my dad. Then at some point, I realized that it was less of a hobby and more of a passion,” Conrad said. “When I was younger, we were always making and editing videos, and I love to film more than most people. I used to think going to the theater was like a big adventure. I used to love doing that all the time, and I still do.”

Even now, Conrad says that movies are practically “built into [his] brain.”

“Every situation I find myself in, in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about how a camera would see it, or how it would shoot it if it was a movie,” Conrad said. “So I don’t know if [thinking about movies is] something I really choose [to do]. It’s just something that kind of happens to me, and I just listen to what my brain is saying.”

In the future, Conrad plans on studying Media Arts Production at Emerson College.

“I’m going to film school, and  I’m pretty dead set on that [film] is what I want to do for the rest of my life. So my dream would become a director one day and then direct my own feature length films. We’ll see how long it takes to get there, but that’s my goal. I would love to pursue a career in filmmaking for the rest of my life,” Conrad said.

Film is more than just entertainment, Conrad says; it teaches people about life itself.

“Film allows you to have a better perspective on the world and understand other people’s lives better, because it gets you out of your own shoes for a bit. It has taught me everyone’s lives are just as complicated as your own, and you should always take the time to understand what’s going on in someone else’s life before jumping to conclusions,” Conrad said. “Film is just so exciting; every time I watch a film, I get to see the world from a perspective I haven’t seen before.

AIMING FOR A BULLSEYE

Camping out in her tree stand from sunrise to sunset, Kaelyn Cardwell says that she has hunted ever since she could remember.

“Hunting has always been huge in my family, and something I’ve always done, so I grew up with the love for it,” Cardwell said. “When I got to school, nobody really related to me, and especially being a girl, it wasn’t normal to hunt. I really would love to create and be a symbol for young girls in the future, and inspire them to get out there and go try it and be different.”

Cardwell engages in bird hunting, deer hunting, and fishing, which keeps her occupied year round. According to Cardwell, hunting provides her with a time that is “very relaxing.”

“It’s almost emotional because you can just relax and appreciate everything you have. It’s very relaxing and like a de-stressor. [It gives you] a time alone that you get to spend with God. You get time to take a deep breath and count your blessings and just appreciate everything in life [up in the tree stand]. But then when the time comes and you have an opportunity to harvest. It’s very exciting, because a ton of time and effort goes into preparation, so it’s rewarding,” Cardwell said.

Hunting, according to Cardwell, requires an immense amount of preparation, especially when  it comes to bow hunting.

“You have to obviously pick out a bow and spend a lot of time working with your bow, which means, like setting it perfect for you and adjusting it perfect for your wingspan and your eye to mouth ratio and more,” Cardwell said. “You have to practice a ton because bow hunting is very precise. You have to go in the middle of August to qualify, which means you have to go shoot six arrows at 20 yards with only you’re only able to miss one, and if you pass that, you’re allowed to bow hunt. And then setting up tree stands [takes a lot of time] because you have to [pick out] a tree, set up trail cams, and things like that.”

Cardwell says that she would not have been able to engage in this long and intricate process without her dad, a hunter of around 30 years.

“Since I was a very little girl, I would go with my dad when he would go bird hunting, and I would go walk around and help carry the birds,” Cardwell said. “Eventually, when I got into middle school, I started sitting in tree stands with him and watching him hunt. Then, right around high school, I started hunting alone.”

Now, Cardwell says that she has “dressed more deer than [she] can count.” Cardwell recently got her first harvest as she shot a doe at 300 yards with a Bergara in Tennessee. Alongside this process, she says that having her family by her side when hunting helped Cardwell grow her passion for an activity not commonly pursued by people around her in Lake Zurich. Cardwell’s love for hunting led her to choose a career oriented towards fostering young girls to explore the outdoors. She will be studying Marketing at Iowa State University to create a business of her own.

“I will hunt for the rest of my life, and it’s truly one of my biggest passions. I hold [hunting] special in my heart because it’s something my dad and I do, and I love it. [In the future,] I want to own my hunting brand and [sell] camo [goods],” Cardwell said. “I want to inspire young girls to hunt and [teach them] that it’s okay to have different hobbies than other people your age.”

ALL ABOUT THE BUZZ

While many people would be running the other way at the sight and sound of bees, Dennis Szczech would do very much the opposite. In fact, the thrill and adrenaline of beekeeping is part of what attracts him to the practice.

Szczech’s fascination with bees might be in his blood, considering beekeeping has been a family business stretching far back across his ancestors.

“In Poland, my grandpa, great grandpa, great great grandpa, etc., [were all a part of] a lineage of beekeepers,” Szczech said. “[But] when my parents immigrated here, my dad didn’t really start it, and I wanted to continue my heritage. That was a factor that inspired me to get my bees.”

Though Szczech was mainly inspired by his grandparents on his dad’s side, he also has an uncle on his mom’s side who is a beekeeper. Having learned from both him and various books since freshman year, Szczech and his dad take on the task of beekeeping at home.

“My responsibilities vary depending on the season. In the winter, I’m not going out in the field as often since the bees are hibernating. During the summer, I’ll check on the hives weekly. I’ll inspect the hive and make sure everything works smoothly. I check for diseases or mites and how much the hive has progressed in the following week [and] how far along the honey is,” Szczech said.

Szczech’s inspections are not just to ensure the bees’ safety and health, but also because he “enjoys watching the progress” first hand.

“It’s rewarding, right?” Szczech said. “It’s really cool to just pick up the frames and see all the hard work that you put into it and that nature put into it, and you get to reap those benefits.”

The fruits of his labor are healthy, happy bees, and his favorite part of beekeeping: extracting honey. Though Szczech says “the process is tedious,” he does not deny that it is also satisfying.

“I usually [extract honey] twice during the summer. Usually, I’ll start with the honey supers [at the top of the hive] and take out each frame. I brush off all of the bees before I bring the frames home [and] spin them in my honey extractor, which allows all of the honey to shoot out of the cells and collect at the bottom of the extractor to be drained,” Szczech said.

With several colonies in his backyard at a time, Szczech collects a lot of honey. While he does not sell it, Szczech says he often gives it out to friends and family, as well as keeping it at home to eat.

But getting to this point of success has not been easy. According to Szczech, it takes “a lot of courage to handle tens of thousands of bees and get stung,” and “a lot of things could have gone wrong” at first. However, when he opened his hives for the first time and saw how much the colony grew, Szczech felt nothing but excitement.

“There are many lessons that I’ve learned since I started beekeeping: the biggest one is the success of continuous and persistent action,” Szczech said. “Beekeeping is a lot of work. Simply getting into the beekeeping suit and getting the smoker ready already takes a good 10-15 minutes. At the hives, everything I do has to be careful and calculated [because] I wouldn’t want to disturb the bees. There is a sort of steadfastness that I must maintain to keep my hives well and healthy.”

TYING UP LOOSE ENDS

Handicrafts are historically a “grandma” activity. They can be a cozy, comforting, and gratifying pursuit often done on a rainy days indoor. Be that as it may, Kendall Flournoy believes that “grandmas are onto something.”

“I’m definitely the type of person to pick up random projects,” Flournoy said. “So when I had a lot of time during COVID, crochet was just one of [the projects]. It was easy to run to the store, and once you get your crochet needles, all you need is yarn. I was just like, ‘I could do that.’”

And so she did. Flournoy has been crocheting for the last six years, beginning with small projects she made for her family and close friends.

“I started with hand crochet. I started with [chunky yarn] and made blankets for my entire family. Every birthday, for Christmas, they would get a blanket. From there, I started on smaller projects; my sister wanted me to crochet her a swimsuit cover up, so I did that,” Flournoy said.

However, Flournoy began looking to expand her horizons, hoping to work on more challenging pieces; she found this challenge in a purse that she made. Compared to the easy hats and blankets she became familiar with over time, making a purse involved different elements, like a handle and many granny squares. Flournoy says this piece became one of her favorites of all time.

Though challenging, Flournoy finds that is exactly what she loves about crochet: the feeling of doing low stake, yet useful and constructive work.

“I feel like it’s very relaxing and meditative, you know. [It’s] just a mindless thing that you can do, and you’re still being productive, in some sense. When I do my homework, there’s a pressure to do well, but [crochet is] another way to be productive without [those] stakes,” Flournoy said. “I can turn my mind off for a minute, because yes, it’s kind of mindless, but at the end of the day, you’re following a pattern. So you need to be a little bit mindful of what you’re doing. It’s a nice balance between the sides of my brain.”

While Flournoy has dabbled in other art forms such as pottery and painting, she finds herself drifting back to crochet each time, citing its practicality. With pottery, “you could get a cup, but with crochet, you can use it [or] wear it.”

The journey to the crafted end product can be tedious, often taking several hours or even days of hard work to accomplish, but Flournoy says that it is rewarding to have something you “spend so much time on,” especially when it is a project dedicated for someone else.

“I love gift giving. It’s definitely one of my love languages,” Flournoy said. “It’s more meaningful to have something handmade so just seeing [my work] in their room, or when they’re wearing it, it definitely warms my heart.”

LEADING LZ WITH A TWIRL

Who would have known a childhood dream of becoming a king holding a staff would be fulfilled at the front of the band, pulling off jaw-dropping tricks with his baton? Tyler Ulbert did not—at least, not until he discovered one special position.

“I started freshman year when I wanted to become drum major of the band,” Ulbert said. “I stared at myself in the window and used a bo staff in the backyard or a water bottle—just anything I could kind of spin to start getting practice.”

However, getting started with a real baton was not easy. Baton twirling involves a lot of cardio and spinning, as well as broken nails and bruised shins. Ulbert says that if anyone saw him “in the start, they wouldn’t have thought it was as amazing” as it is now. Even so, Ulbert was committed, “wanting to keep going until [he] got better.”

Now, Ulbert’s passion has expand baton twirling’s role in the LZHS marching band, giving him the chance to choreograph and perform routines.

“I made [baton twirling] a bigger thing for the position that it currently was; they always did it, I just think I was the first to ever perform at halftime with it,” Ulbert said. “So I asked again for a second year and it was a big hit. That’s exciting because they’ve always twirled pre-game to the fight song, but halftime was a fun experience to have that feature and with the band behind it. It’s different when there’s the band behind you, versus just the speakers in the performing arts center.”

While performing in the PAC may not be the most exhilarating location, he did perform at Top Bear this year, where he placed runner-up. Ulbert displayed many eye-catching skills.

“I think that everyone else’s favorite trick is usually the one where I throw it at the ground and it comes back to me. But [personally], I really like the one [where I’m] passing it back and forth between my legs. That’s my favorite. It’s fairly simple once you understand the mechanics of it, but it looks super cool,” Ulbert said.

As Ulbert goes on to Ohio State university, he intends to continue in college marching band. However, he hopes his performances “can be something he is remembered for” after he leaves.

“It’s something that I can be remembered for by [as] my unique [skill],” Ulbert said. “Sometimes it’s a little lonely that there’s no one else really to talk to about it. [But] that’s my thing.”

So while Ulbert admits it is “a little lonely” doing a sport not many others participate in, and overcoming the physical struggles to get to this level of mastery, baton twirling has ultimately changed him for the better.

“It’s brought me more confidence overall, not just as a performer, but as a person,” Ulbert said. “If you are willing to do a crazy baton act with the whole senior class sitting there right in front of you, you’re gonna be willing to stand up and do an English presentation. I just jumped over a baton in front of the entire student body at the assembly, what’s an English class?”

SPEEDING INTO SERVICE

Whether he is driving to car shows over the weekend, watching Formula 1 races, or mechanicing cars in his spare time, Mahi Chandrakumar has got his head in the clouds about cars.

“I feel like it’s an escape from reality. If I’m feeling stressed or nervous, I’ll go get the convertible, drop the top or even just roll with the windows down at night, [and] I feel like I’m [taken] to this alternate universe,” Chandrakumar said. “It just lets my mind roam free and just focus on the car and nothing else is going on in my life.”

But even when Chandrakumar is not outside going on a late night drive, he says that “having a passion hones you back into staying locked in” when things are not going his way.

“The reason I’m into cars nowadays is it keeps me motivated throughout my journey, not just academically, but in life,” Chandrakumar said. “A lot of these high end car owners tend to be doing well in life, whether they be doctors, lawyers, or business owners. Most of them have really fun stories that aren’t just necessarily like ‘my dad had money so he bought me this car.’ Those stories of hard work and going for it regardless of your situation pays off with that car.”

In fact, one of Chandrakumar’s favorite memories was the first time he sat in a Bugatti, one worth upwards of four million dollars. Just the moment of “being inside of [that] car is something that [helped him] envision a future of success.”

However, his current motivations are far from the ones that initially drew Chandrakumar to cars, which began as quite the unconventional route.

“My parents tell this story to me all the time. Ever since I was a kid, I could not eat at all as a kid. [One of these days,] my mom was feeding me as we passed this dealership, I ate, and it was the MotorWorks in South Barrington. And so that kind of caught my dad’s eye,” Chandrakumar said. “[After that], he would take me to the dealership and give me food while I’m there, so I wouldn’t throw it all up. I would be staring at all the cars in the showroom.”

Ever since then, Chandrakumar has been developing his passion into something greater. This goes hand in hand with one of his other values.

“I’m very service driven. I feel I need to help people on the front lines. I talked about this in one of my MD interviews [about how] working on cars and working on people are kind of similar. I feel like that discipline kind of takes me away from my passion, but also keeps me close enough so that I have a balance,” Chandrakumar said.

Going to St. Louis University next year to study Medical Sciences in the BS/MD program will take up a lot of his time. Even so, right now, Chandrakumar has already been making plans to fulfill his drive for service. Last year, Chandrakumar and two other students began a charity, which he says “encompasses [their] passion for automobiles and cars with [their] passion of philanthropy and giving back to the community.”

“We wanted to share that with others, and so we started Cars for Cause. We had our first event last year in April, and we made about $3,000 in donations towards Larry’s Children’s Hospital. This year we’re switching it up for the Wounded Warriors project on May 4,” Chandrakumar said.

As Chandrakumar continues to take his love for cars and make real, tangible impact on his community, he confirms that cars are “definitely more than a passion” for him.

“I could be interested in theater or art [or anything else] you’d be talking to me about. So I wouldn’t say that I’m not interested in everything else,” Chandrakumar said. “It’s just that with cars, I think I found my niche.”