Prima Changwatchai, Assistant Editor
Class of 2025
I love writing, photography, and design, so I’m thrilled to be on Student Press! When I’m not doing journalism work, I’m still typing up stories and taking photographs, only I’m also doing the daily New York Times puzzles, making little doodles in my math notebook, reading anything from poetry to fantasy fiction, learning new songs on the piano, and overthinking everything.
![Westwood students experienced the impacts of class cuts resulting from Round Rock ISD (RRISD)s budget deficit. The recently approved general fund budget could have played a role in returning some of the cut classes. We all hope that [the general fund budget] will bring additional funding and cost savings, potentially help with course and extracurricular operations, and provide deserving teachers with an increase in salary as well as provide better education opportunities for students, Marlene Luo 25 said.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ww-pic-1200x959.jpg)
![Collaborating, the Westwood Girls 1st team assesses their results from their current hole. Each Westwood team consisted of three or four players, who provided each other with support and encouragement throughout the tournament. Playing with my teammates [was the highlight], Nancy Lu 27 said.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-02-05_JVGolf_ChangwatchaiP_27-1200x800.jpg)
![Helping out two club members, Anatomy & Dissection Club Vice President Nicole Wang 24 points out parts of the turtles digestive system. Some of the club members were confused about the digestive systems location due to differences between mammalian and reptilian anatomy. At this time in high school, the most experience you get is probably organs or smaller specimens such as mice [and] frogs, Wang said. The turtle is a fascinating, almost difficult dissection due to the sheer size and more complex structure overall. You have all the organs and it is a big specimen.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-26_TurtleDissection_ChangwatchaiP_11-1200x800.jpg)
![Posing with a cookie and flyer, Sophie Liu 25 makes up half of Journey for Tomorrow, a HOSA project that aims to raise funds for Sanfilippo syndrome research. To encourage donations to their cause, Liu and her HOSA partner, Jenny Yun 25, created flyers, fundraisers, and social media accounts. [Funds are] going towards genetic research for gene therapy and enzyme replacement therapy so that there can be a cure for Sanfilippo, Liu said.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-14-11.27.03-PM.png)
![With the 2024 presidential election set for under a year from now, students have begun to consider the candidates. However, many have expressed dissatisfaction with all of the presidential options. I think [all the candidates] are untrustworthy, an anonymous student said. They dont address many real issues and difficulties America is currently facing. I think we need to elect a president who really cares about the people [who] support him and the republic.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/presidential-candidates.png)
![Students wait for their buses after school. Although 62.5% of students who responded to a survey about the impact of the national bus driver shortage reported that their buses were usually late, several students had positive experiences with their bus drivers. My bus driver is always on time and really cares about us, Advait Omshankar 27 said. She has fought for 3 different buses just because it was hot on [each] one.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PXL_20231010_212926612-1200x904.jpg)
![Working together, Rahul Suresh 25 and Preethi Ram 25 pick through the organs of their turtle specimen. Club members learned about anatomy through instructional slides, but were also given the opportunity to explore the specimens to see turtles internal structures for themselves. I joined [Anatomy & Dissection Club] because it seemed like a pretty interesting and fun club, and I wanted to get more substantial experience with dissections, Suresh said.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023-02-17_TurtleDissection_ChangwatchaiP_11-900x600.jpg)
![Using scissors, Anatomy & Dissection Club President Einez Wu 23 cuts open her groups perch as the other club officers offer input. Although the club officers researched perches before the dissection in order to create informational slides, the hands-on experience taught them new facts. The most interesting thing I learned [from the dissection] was probably the placement of the brain in the fish, which resides further along the spine compared to mammals and reptiles, Wu said.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_9948-900x600.jpg)