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Are you looking to get involved in the Myers Park community through competition, community service, leadership, and more? Consider joining DECA! DECA has over 200 members, and it allows marketing students to apply the skills they learn to develop their education outside the academic sphere. Members of the club participate in the annual district competition in November and can compete in the state conference in February, where there is the opportunity to qualify to attend the International conference. Myers Park senior Christopher Mallis, who has served as one of six North Carolina DECA State Officers and is the Metrolina Region Vice President, detailed his DECA experience, saying, “I chose to get involved in DECA to help prepare myself for college and my future endeavors. DECA is much more than just a business and marketing club, which is why I believe anybody and everyone should join and see all the benefits that come with it.”

Mallis has been involved in DECA since his freshman year, and he served as a chapter officer for Myers Park’s branch of DECA during his junior year. He was also elected and has served as one of six North Carolina DECA State Officers for North Carolina DECA. His leadership in this position marks an astonishing 40 years since another student from Myers Park has been a DECA State Officer. Mallis’ work with DECA encompasses involvement within the immediate Mecklenburg county and beyond, as he notes that he has “visited other CMS schools to help promote DECA, and has traveled to states around the country including Georgia and Utah to attend leadership development conferences where I had the opportunity to network with other DECA members, some of which I have become friends with.”

During the  2022-2023 school year, Myers Park’s chapter of DECA has prioritized increasing their scores at the district and state-level competitions. This year’s DECA state conference involved nearly 100 competing students from Myers Park and 4,000 students from all areas of North Carolina. These students traveled to Greensboro to network, visit college and career booths, and compete in qualifying for the International Career Development Conference. Higher scores at the state conference give students a better chance of winning a medal or trophy, and each student’s goal is to place in the top 5 at the state competition because this guarantees them a spot at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC). The ICDC will take place on April 5th in Orlando, Florida this year and offer qualifying students the opportunity to compete and develop their leadership skills further. Additionally, students attending the ICDC  visit Universal Orlando and DisneyWorld while in Orlando.

Participation in DECA is available to any students who are taking or have successfully completed a marketing class at Myers Park. Mallis details the benefits of joining DECA noting, “Even if you are not interested in pursuing a career in business or marketing, the club provides great lifelong learning opportunities that will set yourself apart from others in college applications, job interviews, internships, and more.” 

As a senior closing out his four-year career in DECA, Mallis expressed his gratitude towards the club, stating, “I can confidently say that DECA has improved my life and many others for the better. DECA is by far the best club to join because it combines the aspects of many clubs into one. You can participate in competition, community service, leadership, and educational opportunities all in one club.” Mallis also notes that he has been able to develop various critical skills during his time in DECA, such as public speaking, team collaboration, critical thinking, productivity, and responsibility. If you’re looking to join a fun, skill-building, and involved club in the Myers Park community, be sure to check out DECA!

 Building Bridges is a tutoring and mentoring club based out of Myers Park that partners with Hidden Valley Elementary. This club began as a peace project through youth peace action. Youth Peace Action holds an online peace platform to deliver virtual and live peace education, training, and mentoring to schools and teachers that put kids at the center of peacebuilding. The two programs are the Leading Peace Project Teams experience available to interact with other clubs for 500 dollars per youth-led project. My Peacebuilder Foundations online certification, accompanied by a teacher toolkit, is distributed to schools at no cost. The leaders worked closely with an advisor to come up with a peace project, and the leaders decided on tutoring and mentoring kids at schools with high levels of low-income students. The club leadership, which includes my brother Sam, decided to work with Hidden Valley Elementary because of the connection with the school: our father works there as a teacher. The leaders worked for months planning this club, and finally, their interest meeting was held at the end of the 2021 school year. Their official first meeting was at the beginning of the next school year. The club’s advisor is Ms. Fiore, the co-presidents are Sam Carpenter and Paige Bundon, the co-vice presidents are Lila Slayden and JN Arendale, I am the social media manager for the club, and the club coordinator is Caroline Hulbert. The drive to Hidden Valley is about a 30 min drive, so all the leaders have groups and provide them with rides to the school and back to Myers Park. The club meets every other Thursday after school from 3:00 to 4:15. 

During an interview with my brother, Sam, the co-president of the club, we discussed the importance of their mission. I asked him, “What made you choose a tutoring and mentoring club?” He answered, “We were conflicted between our peace project for new gen, but an issue that we wanted to address was… education; we worked with our advisor and came up with a plan.” When asked about the progress of the children’s academics after tutoring, Sam shares,  “There was a 78% increase in growth in math and 7% higher in math than all the other students, but it’s not just about statistics. The kids have improved in their social and emotional well-being. We have had multiple principals and administrators come up to us and tell us that this is their favorite part of the day. I think we both prioritize mentoring and academic tutoring,which is what I think makes the club so effective.” 

However, like any club, Building Bridges faced some roadblocks. Sam says of the experience,  “At first, communication with the school was difficult because the school was so busy and just planning it was a very hard process, and not only this but making the assignments and really getting into the groove of making good worksheets.” Sam adds that these assignments are based on “the lesson plans from the CMS curriculum. We will sometimes do a bunch of worksheets that have engaging activities like solving this equation to get to the end of the maze, just stuff that makes them intrigued, and sometimes we will do things like math bingo to kind of spice things up and keep the kids engaged.” Lastly, I asked him, “How did you find out about Youth Peace Action?” He answered, “I think I heard it on the morning announcements and felt like it was perfect for me. I just joined, and all of the sudden, I found myself with a group of seven other Myers Park students making a peace project.” The club building bridges has been a success, to say the least, with both Myers Park and Hidden Valley students benefiting.

How do you catch a fish? With debate! Myers Park is home to one of the country’s best Speech and Debate Teams, holding multiple titles, including state and national victories. Club members compete against other school teams in tournaments to win sweepstakes and individual awards. The tournaments consist of 4 rounds, with breaks in between, then, should you get selected to advance, a 5th final round. At the end of the final round, results are posted and awards are handed out to the winners. The team is divided into four parts,  three types of debate: Congressional, Public Forum(PF), and Lincoln-Douglas(LD), and speech, which has multiple subcategories.

Congressional Debate is described by Varsity Co-captain Caroline Lam as “a mock legislative chamber where 13-20 people debate on the passage of bills by alternating between affirmative and negation speakers with questioning in between. Then, you vote on whether or not you should pass the bill.” The bills are usually very similar to what the US Congress debates, including foreign humanitarian aid and environmental sustainability. When asked why Congress is important, Lam responded, “I think that Congress is important because it teaches you to be self-reliant but also helps you learn how to collaborate with people you’ve never met before. It also teaches you to research faster because generally, a tournament has 9-15 bills that you have to be prepared to speak on and learn about in the 1-2 weeks that you get to prepare. This teaches you to be independent, resourceful, and creative.”.  

The next debate style, Public Forum, is described by club president Griffin Bohmfalk as “a 2v2 event based on policy”. Topics of debate last for month-long periods and include medicare for all, no nuclear first use, and civil wars in West Asia. These topics are debated in  “a very evidence-based way. It’s a good mix of performance persuasion abilities and technical debate ability” according to Bohmfalk. He states that to write a good case, “You have to be prepared and unbiased because you must see many points of view for a topic. It starts with a good claim, but it comes down to evidence. Then you get to the impact, Why does it matter, otherwise why are you making this whole platform for something that doesn’t matter.” A key part of public forum is finding the right partner. Megan McCranie, a public forum member, states that “you just need to find somebody who has a good work ethic and is motivated.” Public Forum members become informed world citizens, learning about new topics every month and preparing a case for it. “It’s cool to learn something about the world. 95% of the time you use that knowledge again,” says Bohmfalk.

The third and final category is Lincoln-Douglas, which is a 1v1 philosophical debate inspired by Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas’s famous debates in the 1858 Illinois senate race. Varsity co-captain Gil Altman explains, “Lincoln-Douglas differs from other forms of debate because other forms often evaluate specific policies and whether or not they should be implemented, but Lincoln-Douglas is not that. It’s more of a question evaluating morality, justice, and ethics.” Examples of topics include whether voting in the US should be mandatory and whether civil disobedience is justifiable. Altman states, “In the real world, it takes arguments more tailored to subjectivity to win over people’s opinions. This is why LD is helpful. It deals with ethical, moral, no right answer questions. In reality, that’s what a lot of significant questions in the modern world are.”

Last but not least is Speech, which includes two subcategories; interpretations and public address. Interpretations are where students like Hadley Lord interpret a piece of literature as a speech.  This can be performed as duo, dramatic, or humorous. Public address is student-made, where they perform original speeches. This includes Impromptu, Extemporaneous, Original Oratory, Informative, Declamation, and many more. Lord highlights multiple benefits from speech including how “It helps with public speaking abilities in general, events like impromptu where you don’t have much time to prepare your speech help you think quicker and on your feet, which is a very useful life skill.” When Lord was asked what she would tell someone interested in speech, she said, “I would tell them there’s something for everyone.”

Recently, Myers Park hosted the 50th Laird Lewis Tournament, which is an inter-school tournament for all speech and debate events, named after the former Myers Park principal.  The tournament was coordinated by Laird Lewis student chair, Megan McCranie, the parent board, and faculty club director Roselyn Coyne. When asked what went into running the tournament, McCranie responded, “The big thing is getting food donations without having to buy it. Making sure that we have enough places for people to plug stuff in, making sure the rooms are set up, directions, the food stays good, that everyone has an active role in everyone judging their competitors in the rounds, and that everything starts on time.” The tournament is crucial for the club as its biggest fundraiser. Club members and parents came out to support the club by volunteering their time. When asked how she made the tournament run successfully, McCranie replied “We started planning this tournament 3-4 months in advance, so we had lots of time to thoroughly plan what people are going to do, what kind of stuff we want to have, and having the necessary amount of people to help you out.” 

The Myers Park Speech and Debate team has done very well this year, as well as hosted their tournament successfully, thanks to McCranie and Coyne. The club is always open to new members, even if you know little about the club, Bohmfalk recalls “I was like ‘I do not want to go to this interest meeting’ but I went there and fell in love.” Myers Park has been selected to host the State Speech and Debate Championship this March, where members will be competing, and they expect to win big!

Wisteria Magazine is a non-profit organization that publishes print magazines focusing on social justice. With many of its contributors and founders based in Charlotte, NC, Wisteria Magazine has a substantial local following! Katarina Sparling, a senior here at Myers Park, is the chief creative officer of the organization. 

Wisteria’s mission is evident in its origin. Katarina says it was founded by Morgan Lee around the summer of 2020, during the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, “because there was a lot of demand to get involved in social justice work, but safely, because it was in the middle of the pandemic… doing a magazine online and through social media was a really accessible way for people to get involved.” Katarina was one of the first members of the Wisteria Magazine team, joining the founding team alongside Morgan and others that summer. She started out with the social media team which she eventually took over and ran for over a year, before assuming her current role of chief creative officer. Katarina sums up Wisteria Magazine’s goal as to bring “awareness to these underrepresented issues and underrepresented stories through art and writing.” 

Initially, Wisteria Magazine focused heavily on current events and operated as a news source. Katarina says, however, that “realistically we could never be the first people to get that information, we’d never be the first to post it, and we’d never have the same depth of explanation that, like, CNN could have.” Plus, when schools went back in session, members found they did not have enough time to commit to Wisteria Magazine as it was set up then since it demanded essentially being online all the time. 

Wisteria went on a brief hiatus and came back rebranded. “So we rebranded it to be a little more focused on our mission, which is storytelling and art and sharing the stories of marginalized communities through art in the print magazine, and a little less on the idea of trying to communicate current events through Instagram. And when we made that change, Marmalade was kind of at the center of it,” Katarina says. Marmalade is a mini-magazine, the first one that Wisteria Magazine released post-rebranding. With the tagline, “made from bitter orange, yet makes a sweet spread”, the magazine takes its theme seriously. Inspired by many Wisteria members leaving for college, the magazine is centered around “this idea of leaving behind youth, and the transition from summer to fall”, as Katarina puts it. Its also “a lot more focused on short form poetry and art. Our past issues had been more focused on articles and longer form interviews, which has its own value, it was just not what we wanted to be doing anymore to that extent.” Not to mention, Marmalade is a lot physically smaller than the previously released issues, being roughly half the size of those. This smaller package continues to move Wisteria’s image away from that of a news source and more toward its mission of personalized art and storytelling. Dive into artistic nostalgia with your own copy of Marmalade, which can be purchased for $10.00 on the Wisteria Magazine website, www.wisteriamagazine.org.

Wisteria Magazine is currently producing a new issue called the Love Zine, which they’re aiming to release around early-mid February. They’re also planning on dropping shirts to go along with it, a fundraising technique that they used prior to releasing Marmalade. They sell around 25 shirts, which are thrifted and dyed with non-toxic, solarfast dye from a small business to keep the practice as sustainable as possible. 

If you’re looking for an outlet to learn about social justice issues, look no further than Wisteria Magazine—and support a few creative Myers Park students in the process!

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by PLAYING loud for all to hear! This year, the Marching Mustangs have not only shown school spirit but Christmas spirit as well. For the 2022 competition season, the Myers Park marching band performed a holiday music medley called ‘Tis the Season. Beloved Christmas songs such as Carol of the Bells, Skating by Vince Guaraldi, and many more are in the show. 

There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into perfecting this performance. Mr. Blount, Myers Park’s band director, stated, “The preparation for the season starts in the winter of the previous school year. That is when we start designing what the show is going to be. By the spring, we know who is going to march and we start spring training. This is where we will bring students in once or twice a week to learn basic marching skills. This includes figuring out the perfect technique for moving or spinning a flag. However, a month before school starts,

the season really cranks up when we start ‘band camp’.” 

During “band camp,” the marching band goes over marching fundamentals and begins to set their show. The band works tirelessly over 13-hour days for five days a week over two weeks. Kip Sullivan, the band’s mellophone section leader, added, “The show we learn for the competition is very complicated. There are 70 “dots,” aka separate places on the field that we have to memorize. We have to be at these dots at certain times while doing music and choreography. We spend a lot of time learning this very complicated show.”

All the hard work put in by the band paid off in terms of tall trophies! For the 2022 season, the Marching Mustangs brought home two Grand Champ titles from East Lincoln High School and North Davidson High School. “I have been marching since 2019,” said Sullivan. “We had not won a Grand Champ since 2018, which I was not a part of. It had been three years and we showed up to the first competition with our band full of rookie marchers. We had no idea what to expect. After our great performance, we stood for awards and we heard our names be called for Grand Champions. It was the best moment because it had been four years of cumulative effort for this moment.”

The marching band had a lot of great memories this season. “Our first competition this year was great!” explains second-year baritone Charlie Aliotta. “All of our work had paid off! It was a culmination of all our hard work. Winning Grand Champ was a surreal feeling that we had done it!” Beatrice Polk, the drum major, recalled, “The atmosphere after we won Grand Champion at our last competition was super exciting! Everyone was on the field, yelling and screaming. It was a big emotional moment and a great way to wrap up the season.”

Nine drummers drumming! The addition of the third-quarter drumline performance has enhanced the atmosphere of the football games. Drumline section leader, James Dunlevey, says, “Lots of schools perform in front of the student section during the third quarter but before this year this is something Myers Park has never done. I had the idea and in the first game, I asked the cheer coach if we could play a few songs. It was madly popular from there. It can be very intimidating to have the WHOLE student section screaming at you but I love the energy and seeing all the videos on social media the next day.” 

Mr. Blount explains, “I started to see a connection established between the marching band and the student body. That had never been strong before and that was something that made this season unique and fun.” The Marching Mustangs use music to enhance school, and sometimes Christmas spirit, creating a welcoming environment for all students. 

Davis Cooke, a senior here at Myers Park, is a member of the varsity cheerleading team as well as DREAM Team. Adding to his impressive resume of involvement within the Myers Park community, Davis also began his own mental health program facilitated through his church. 

Davis has been a member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church for from a young age, but he says “my true involvement started at about 6th grade when I joined youth group; through youth group I have been able to connect with the leaders of the church finding mentors that have helped guide me through the roll coaster that is being a teenager.”

When asked what inspired him to start this mental health organization, Davis said, “when I came home from partial wilderness therapy, I wanted to create an organization committed to fostering the mental growth of teens.” 

Davis recalls his time at Wilderness Therapy saying that, “going to Partial wilderness therapy showed me just how much teens are struggling today. The skills and tools I gained from the program changed my life, and I wanted to provide the same opportunity to better yourself mentally to everyone. If I could find the light within myself… maybe I could help somebody else do that too.” This demonstrates the immense selflessness Davis has, and the servant leadership he embodies. 

“I strayed away from the idea of starting a club [at Myers Park] because I knew that it could become “clicky,” overshadowed by friend groups, hard to control, but most importantly teens would not feel 100% comfortable.” Davis said when asked about using his church as the means for starting this organization.

Davis also states that “although it is a place of worship, religion is not a theme in the mental health advocacy group.”

His church’s large volume of youth participation and connections within the Charlotte community allow for meaningful conversations and an ideal place for mental check-ins. The group is very laid back and lacks pressure to conform to schedules. 

Davis said, “we have Chipotle catered, dedicate time for everyone to hang out and talk, and don’t follow a strict schedule so that everything feels easygoing.” 

Even if you are not a member of Myers Park Presbyterian, Davis encourages anyone to attend these check-ins. “I wanted anyone and everyone to feel welcome to join! Friends are encouraged to come, but nobody is at any means required to come to every check-in.” 

When asked about the changes Davis has seen since starting this organization, “after the first mental health check-in I was astounded to hear from others just how impactful the check-in was on their lives. This positive impact in the teens’ lives has only grown since that very first check-in.” 

Not only has this organization had a positive impact on others, but also on Davis himself. “Everyone becomes apart of each others support systems,” Davis says, “when you walk away from the mental health check-in, you are not just walking away with the new skills and tools to help better handle your mental health struggles, you are also walking away with a massive new support system, and that on its own is something truly beautiful.” 

Looking towards the future for his organization, “I hope to see more teens come and participate in the mental health check-ins. We have accomplished so much and I am excited to see what more we can do,” Davis says.  

The organization has already received national recognition, and Davis “never in a million years expected to have a CNN article dedicated to the mental health advocacy group!”

 His main goal is to simply “try to help other teens find the best version of themselves and hope to continue to achieve that with this organization.” Davis continues to be a leader within the Myers Park and Charlotte community, and his impact is reaching teens all over the country. 

In 1962, John F. Kennedy was President, John Glen became the first astronaut to orbit the earth, and Myers Park High School was still located at 2400 Colony Road. There were no chromebooks, no Canvas, but kids were still going to learn at Myers Park High School like we  are today. Dona Leonard was one of these students, and today Dona sat down for an interview with Hoofprint staff. 

Dona graduated from Myers Park High School as a part of the 1962 class. This class was  significantly  smaller than MP’s upcoming class, the class of 2023. According to US News, Myers Park’s 2022-2023 class has 835 students, while Dona spoke on the class size of the 1962 class saying,

“It was about 525.”

MP has shown significant growth over the years and is showing no signs of slowing down. 

One topic around campus is Myers Parks’ parking situation. Dona spoke about getting to school and the parking, saying, “I was fortunate enough to be in a carpool to get to school, I had some friends I was riding with to get to school, we had to have parking passes to be able to park there on campus.” The way Dona got to school is similar to the way students get to school today, as parking passes are still required to park on campus. During the 2022 MP Football season, the Mustangs drew support from students and from community members, however this is not a new thing. When asked about activities outside of school Dona immediately said, “We would have football games, and those were really well attended, and the band would play.” Over the years some aspects of Myers Park might have changed, but Myers Park still maintains some of its core foundations. 

Education will always be the main purpose of schools, and Dona spoke about her classes saying, 

“I would have just general classes, English, history, math, biology, PE, and chorus.” Those classes are still offered at Myers Park, but the differences in which they are taught are jurassic. Today schools utilize technology and online resources to deliver information to students. However learning was not always like this, Donna said,

“It was all hand done brain work, there were no computers, we were not allowed to use calculators. It was all face to face with a teacher.” Dona also added on the topic of her education saying, 

“To me it was a very limiting [learning] experience.” She added, “At the time that I was going to school the thing most girls were told was that all they could do would be to become a teacher or a nurse.” In 2022, Myers Park offers a wide variety of learning opportunities and experiences available to all students. Myers Park has an auto program, a large CTE program, and a performing arts program. Today these programs give Myers Park a great reputation as one of the best high schools in North Carolina. This reputation is not new to MP, Dona said, 

“Myers Park at that time was almost the equivalent of getting a college education.” She added, “at that time if you told people you were a Myers Park graduate, it was like they knew that school had a wonderful reputation.” The education at Myers Park has grown and prospered over the years while maintaining a strong reputation as a good school. 

Although 60 years may seem like a long time, Myers Park still maintains some of its core values, while  also growing and strengthening in many different aspects. Myers Park still maintains a strong reputation and receives support from the community. Also, Myers Park has alumni like Dona Leonard that are scattered throughout our community. One can only imagine what Myers Park High School will look like 60 years from now.

Are you struggling with your schedule? Not sure how to start the college process? Simply in need of some emotional support? The counseling team here at Myers Park has got your back! The Myers Park Student Services team is an essential part of the school environment. They are constantly working hard while keeping the students’ best interests in mind. Their mission, as stated on their website, is to “collaborate with students and outside resources including teachers, administrators, and parents to assist students in reaching their full potential to function in a global society.” The counselors strive to encourage the talents and diversity of all students, helping them find steady ground at school. 

The counselors have a large assortment of jobs and responsibilities. They tailor the courses and schedules to best fit each student, provide assistance to mental health and disability concerns, educate students and families about the inner workings of Myers Park, and much more. 

It is highly recommended that every student meets with their designated counselor consistently throughout their four years of high school to establish a solid relationship. The better a counselor knows a student, the better they can assist them on specific needs including class changes or college recommendation letters. Though Myers Park has a very large student body and certain counselors have come and gone over the years, students should never feel that they’re left high and dry and should always check in with their current counselor or another counselor. Students can find via the last name who their counselor is along with other information and commonly answered questions on the Student Services Website: https://sites.google.com/cms.k12.nc.us/navigation or through the Myers Park High School website under “Parents and Students” i.e. “Student Support”.

A few of the counselors sat down for an interview to explain their role in the school and give advice to the student body. All of them said their primary purpose at Myers Park is to be an advocate for the students and to work with them and for them. They advise students to not wait till their junior or senior to reach out! 

Mrs. Sherill has been a school counselor for 20 years and at Myers Park for 15 years. “I’ve always enjoyed the school and activities environment so I knew I wanted to be in a high school,” she noted. When asked what her favorite part about her job is, Sherrill replied, “I love the college application process! I’ve enjoyed doing Spring College Night and book clubs with families. I love to help students make their own decisions, what’s right for them, not what their friends are doing or what their family wants them to do.” She is also a great resource for student-athletes with the recruitment/decision process, carrying a lot of personal experience.

Mr. Hunt is a new counselor at Myers Park this year and is very enthusiastic about being a personal aid for students. “I want students to know that they have a lot of options and a lot more to offer than they might understand or might think,” said Hunt. He wants students to know that he is always there if students just need to have some downtime and talk to someone. When asked what his biggest piece of advice is for Myers Park students, Hunt answered, “Reach out! Communicate with someone whether you’re having a great day or a not-so-great day, you may have more people in your corner than you realize. Build that relationship with your counselor. Having that support system around you is super important in these four years here.” 

All in all, the Myers Park counselors are a great resource for everyone. No student is navigating high school alone, just say the word and the counselors are there to help!