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The official student news site of Westview High School

The Nexus

The official student news site of Westview High School

The Nexus

The official student news site of Westview High School

The Nexus

Amy Wang

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief

Amy (11) is in her third year as a part of The Nexus. In her free time, you can find her crying over fanfiction or translating Chinese webnovels.

All content by Amy Wang
Stopping to smell the roses

Stopping to smell the roses

Swasti Singhai, Amy Wang, and Caitlynn Hauw June 2, 2023

Chen savors life after college apps In late January, Mia Chen (12) found herself on a road trip in the Joshua Tree desert with a few of her closest friends, sitting in the hot tub of an AirBnB they’d...

Letter to Freshman Self: Amy

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 2, 2023

Dear freshman-year Amy, As I remember you, the world still feels too big to step into with both feet. You’re worried about a lot of things—probably your GPA, which classes to take, whether or not...

Lily Bryan (12) and Lucy Sullivan (12) discuss the details of the senior picnic, May 31. The picnic will be held May 7, in the amphitheater. Photo by Amy Wang.

Bryan, Sullivan plan final event, reflect on friendship, co-presidency

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 2, 2023

When it comes to event planning by class presidents Lucy Sullivan (12) and Lily Bryan (12), there’s a special kind of chemistry that only exists because they’ve worked with—and cared for—each other...

Full-filled: The last Nexus press!!!

Full-filled: The last Nexus press!!!

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 1, 2023

For the poor mortals who have not been so lucky as to be able to be members of The Nexus, press nights are something that only exist in concept, or worse, not at all. For the lucky denizens of this paper,...

Full-filled: College cafeterias!

Full-filled: College cafeterias!

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief May 5, 2023

For me, like many of my fellow seniors, these past few weeks have been a bit of a flurry. College admissions results, and the impending decision deadline, mean that it’s now or never to decide where...

Full-filled: Cookies in a canyon??

Full-filled: Cookies in a canyon??

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief April 7, 2023

Close your eyes. Imagine yourself deep in the gulch of a canyon, the light filtering through trees that form a long tunnel as far as you can see. Feel the wind running cold fingers down your shoulders,...

A Future in Flux

A Future in Flux

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief March 17, 2023

The AP Government study guide was a pain. Will* knew that from first glance nearly three weeks earlier when it was assigned.  “I viewed it as time-consuming,” Will said. “And time-consuming...

Full-filled: Salt and Straw with Sara

Full-filled: Salt and Straw with Sara

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief March 17, 2023

Those who know and love me know that I love Salt and Straw. Having been introduced to the charms of the ice cream chain earlier in the year by a friend, by now, I’ve gone at least once or twice every...

Full-filled: Waffles, digital

Full-filled: Waffles, digital

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief February 10, 2023

There’s a lot of things you can do online these days, but eating with a friend is not one of them. That is, unless you coordinate with said friend, purchase matching pastry products beforehand, and sit...

Art by Phoebe Vo.

We can fight senioritis together!

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief January 27, 2023

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been told that to be a senior is to exist at the pinnacle of high school achievement and responsibility. To some degree, I’ve found this to be true. We’re...

Full-filled: Thursday Market

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief January 26, 2023

In the spirit of being a senior freshly into the much-vaunted last term before graduation, recently I have taken to eating and sleeping and doing as I have never done before. Having submitted my last college...

Full-filled: Christmas cookies

Full-filled: Christmas cookies

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief December 16, 2022

Now that we’re well into December, my body seems to have almost subconsciously gotten permission to want to celebrate. It feels like someone’s injected a craving for peppermint into my veins. And not...

Fan represents Golf at CIFs

Fan represents Golf at CIFs

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief November 18, 2022

Leanne Fan (9) squinted in concentration at the 18-hole course at Vista Country Club, Oct. 31.  For the past few weeks she’d been whizzing across the country, from Minnesota, where she won the...

Liu competes against ping pong world champion

Liu competes against ping pong world champion

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief November 18, 2022

In spite of the 15-hour jet lag, in spite of the ball shooting across the table at light speed, in spite of the fact that her opponent was Sun Yingsha, the current #1 ranked player in women’s table...

Art by Phoebe Vo.

Getting over FOMO: a foray into my week without any social media

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief November 18, 2022

Not to alarm anyone, but I have a problem. It’s a small one, really, only a little bigger than my hand. It has a glossy, black screen, and every time it lights up with a new notification, I feel...

Full-filled: Snacks After School

Full-filled: Snacks After School

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief November 18, 2022

Forget shrieking laughter as I tumbled down a hill in a hot fit of Tag. Forget the soft backsplash of sunlight rippling in the deep end of the pool as my dad taught me how to swim, though those moments...

Student endorsement: Heather Plotzke for PUSD Board of Education Area C Board Member

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief November 2, 2022

As a current senior, I already know that the results of the Poway Unified School District Board of Education election will mostly impact the students who come after me. I will, after all, have long graduated...

Full-filled: Homeroom Donuts

Full-filled: Homeroom Donuts

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief October 14, 2022

Homerooms, as a general rule, are usually a bit staid. The routine goes like this: Newscast, a bevy of announcements, and maybe one or two reminders from clubs. At its best, it's a time for students to...

Brady splashes out of Senior Assassin

Brady splashes out of Senior Assassin

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief October 14, 2022

Looking back at it all, David Horne (12) has only one real way of describing how he got out of this year’s Senior Assassin game.  “I was gullible,” he said. “My biggest advice to future...

Full-filled: Senior Assassin

Full-filled: Senior Assassin

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief September 16, 2022

If this year has taught me nothing else, it’s taught me that I like the thrill of the chase. Getting a target, finding out where they’re going, following them there and trying to pick them out of a...

Art by Ella Jiang.

Late start times are a blessing

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief August 26, 2022

The first full day of this school year was different from the last for a few reasons. One, I was a senior. Two, the sun had risen high enough to send gentle sheets of light pouring through my bedroom...

Full-filled: Senior Sunrise

Full-filled: Senior Sunrise

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief August 26, 2022

I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting much out of Senior Sunrise. The concept was cute, but the weather forecast for 6 a.m. that day was not. And what’s a senior sunrise without a sunrise? Encouraged...

Class presidents for upcoming year announced

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 2, 2022

In the last few days, the waves of colorful campaign posters that papered the campus have receded. As the school year winds to a close, the ASB class president elections have concluded.  Announced...

Nayak places first at ISEF

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 2, 2022

Ayush Nayak (11) has always loved the stars. As a young child, he often spent nights in the fields behind his neighborhood, stargazing through a cheap telescope he’d purchased at a yard sale. “As...

Bella Santos (11) presented a public comment at the endorsement ceremony.

Santos urges action against climate change

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief May 6, 2022

Hours before Earth Day, student-led activism group Youth v. Oil succeeded in passing their anti-fracking resolution at the San Diego Environment Committee. As a part of the ceremony, Bella Santos (11)...

Kaitlyn Arciaga (9) runs the 800 meter during a dual track meet, March 31. After starting competitive track this year, she currently ranks 3rd nationally.

[Photo] Arciaga places third nationally in first year of track

Kadence Ly, Web Editor April 8, 2022

Kaitlyn Arciaga (9) runs the 800 meter during a dual track meet, March 31. After starting competitive track this year, she currently ranks 3rd nationally.

Hudson Kim (9) and Alex Battikha (9) prepare their robot for an FTC competition, March 26. The inventive design won the team first place.

[Photo] FTC Team The Clueless places first at regionals

Sophia Fang, Staff Writer April 8, 2022

Hudson Kim (9) and Alex Battikha (9) prepare their robot for an FTC competition, March 26. The inventive design won the team first place.

The air in the theater after school rings with vocal warmups. Dozens of students are gathered on stage, holding planks and jumping jacks as they sing scales. In doing so, they’re warming up their bodies and voices for an afternoon of rehearsing acts from the musical “Mamma Mia!”

Theater rehearses Mamma Mia! production

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief March 18, 2022

The air in the theater after school rings with vocal warmups. Dozens of students are gathered on stage, holding planks and jumping jacks as they sing scales. In doing so, they’re warming up their bodies...

Screen-time restrictions promote teenage responsibility, productivity

Screen-time restrictions promote teenage responsibility, productivity

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief March 18, 2022

For the longest time, I resented my dad because of the way he wielded his control over my access to technology. The wifi router? Timed so I couldn’t go online after 11 p.m. Instagram? Shackled by...

Long steps up from witness to attorney in Mock Trial

Long steps up from witness to attorney in Mock Trial

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief February 18, 2022

During his first mock trial scrimmages, Felix Long (12) ran on empty.  “I just couldn’t eat beforehand,” Long said. “Especially when we were online, even though we could turn our cameras...

District shifts curriculum away from OMM, TKM

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief February 18, 2022

For decades, PUSD freshmen in ninth-grade English classes were asked to read To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. However, from this term onwards, those two novels will no longer be required reading...

Sam Bozoukov does schoolwork at the hospital, while receiving chemotherapy. Since his diagnosis, he has balanced personal and professional responsibilities so that he is adequately prepared for his daughter's birth.

Through life experiences and literature, Bozoukov learns to love the uncertainties of of tomorrow

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief December 17, 2021

Sam Bozoukov has put down roots all over the map. From San Diego to Los Angeles to South Korea, he has covered miles and miles of experience, learning and growing with each new location. And yet, home...

Tran explores industrial-organizational psychology

Tran explores industrial-organizational psychology

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief December 17, 2021

With wide eyes, Amy Tran sat at her desk staring up at Freud's five psychosexual stages of development written on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. She took dutiful notes as social science...

Oydna joins military, pursues experience

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief December 17, 2021

Ben Oydna has spent almost a decade as a Marine. Having known since junior year of high school that he was interested in joining the military, his life experiences are deeply intertwined with his service....

Torres works as doctor in New York City

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief December 17, 2021

On weekday mornings, Christian Torres wakes up to a full agenda. The streets of New York City are busy, but not more so than Torres himself—by the time he makes it to Bellevue hospital, he already...

Westview club members connect over traditions, establish lasting friendships

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief October 29, 2021

Caesar salad and handmade Fettucine and breadsticks, as far as the eye can see. Every Friday before a race, Jacob Huynh (12) finds himself with the rest of the cross country team, slurping down bowls of...

Rustling with Maturity: Leaving Childhood Behind

Rustling with Maturity: Leaving Childhood Behind

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief October 29, 2021

The last time Ally Diep (12) went trick-or-treating, she channeled one of her favorite Winnie-the-Pooh characters, Eeyore. As a part of her matching costume with her friends, she wore a blue tutu to...

Carson Parel (11) preps his horn to play during a practice run of GOLD's show, Sept. 28. GOLD will compete at the Rancho Bernardo Field Tournament Saturday.

GOLD prepares for upcoming tournament season

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief October 8, 2021

GOLD gathered on the rain-slick football field, Sept. 27. For four hours, they drilled movements and played parts of their show in preparation for the first tournament of the year, at Rancho Bernardo,...

Opinion: Readjusting to in-person school takes time

Opinion: Readjusting to in-person school takes time

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief September 17, 2021

After a year away from campus, I thought it would be a relief to return to at least a semblance of normalcy. And it has been a relief: a relief to see old friends, and a relief to make new ones. A...

Opinion: Students abuse free lunch policy, create large amounts of waste

Opinion: Students abuse free lunch policy, create large amounts of waste

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief September 17, 2021

Westview has always been a scenic campus, but recently there have been some new attractions. Pass by a cafeteria window during the lunch period, and it’s easy to see piles of discarded food portions,...

Reopening allows students to adjust

Reopening allows students to adjust

YJ Si and Amy Wang August 27, 2021

After a year and a half away from campus, students finally returned to full-time school on campus Aug. 18. In the first two days, Link Crew leaders in light lime shirts led both freshmen and sophomores...

Best Projects of the Summer

Best Projects of the Summer

YJ Si, Sara Brownlee, Michelle Jin, and Amy Wang August 27, 2021

Album: Call Me If You Get Lost “Call Me If You Get Lost” is by far one of Tyler, the Creator's best albums to date. I was skeptical about how this would measure up to his last album, “Igor,”...

Despite loss to Mt. Carmel, seniors celebrate season

Despite loss to Mt. Carmel, seniors celebrate season

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 14, 2021

Before the May 23 track meet against Mt. Carmel, coach Eric Dorris gave a small speech about the seniors who would be leaving the team. “This team has been a very resilient one,” he said. “They...

Robotics wins Chairman's Award at regionals

Robotics wins Chairman’s Award at regionals

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 14, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oETkVVzSUo When the 80 or so team members of Westview’s FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) team Option 16 heard the news of their regional Chairman’s Award win on May...

Vermani wins third-in-category, scholarship at International Science and Engineering Fair

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief June 14, 2021

Over the course of his journey from regional science fairs to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Aakarsh Vermani (11) has had to grapple with the inexperience that comes with being...

Students commit to college for sports

Baseball & Softball Gerrit Erickson - California State University, Chico Gerrit Erickson (12) will extend his baseball career at California State University, Chico this fall where he will be a...

Justin Tong (11) lands a jump in the boys 110-meter hurdles. He finished first at the meet overall. Photo by Amy Wang.

Track team falls to Del Norte

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief May 10, 2021

[metaslider id=8509] For shot put and discus thrower Kaiwei Shi (10), the force he puts into every throw is all the product of training and practice. In the May 1 track meet against Del Norte, giving...

Awareness for Change club organizes Anti-AAPI hate protest, encourages community solidarity

Awareness for Change club organizes Anti-AAPI hate protest, encourages community solidarity

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief May 10, 2021

Nearly two dozen students had gathered to stand up against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate at the Oak Tree Plaza intersection on April 17. The sidewalk was peppered with brightly colored...

Hou attends protest, advocates for AAPI voice

Hou attends protest, advocates for AAPI voice

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief April 8, 2021

On most Sunday afternoons, Joanna Hou (12) spends her time at home, relaxing or doing work for school and extracurriculars. On March 21, however, she was at an intersection across from Torrey Pines...

Seven Wolverines garner awards at science fair

Seven Wolverines garner awards at science fair

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief April 8, 2021

In the past year, Aakarsh Vermani (11) has learned a lot of material that he’s never had a chance to touch on in class. As a part of his project for the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering...

Ice skaters adjust to new practice routines, reevaluate long-term goals

Ice skaters adjust to new practice routines, reevaluate long-term goals

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief March 11, 2021

Before school on most weekdays, Angela Yu (11) spends around an hour or two on ice, alongside her sister Emily (9). Angela is a synchronized skater, while Emily is a figure skater and the siblings...

Opinion: Ode to the joys of KhanAcademy

Opinion: Ode to the joys of KhanAcademy

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief February 11, 2021

It is with great honor that I must announce that I, like 2.7 million other high school students, have subscribed to the cult of KhanAcademy. Initially, I began using the platform’s official SAT prep...

Students weigh options after SAT Subject Test elimination

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief February 11, 2021

For many high-schoolers, SAT prep is simply a fact of life, yet another course to endure between junior and senior year. This all changed, however, on Jan. 19, when news broke that College Board would...

Filasky utilizes home tools, makes Ceramics more accessible for students

Filasky utilizes home tools, makes Ceramics more accessible for students

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief January 21, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSHZxdR4kkM&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=HayleyFilasky For students of art teacher Hayley Filasky, class usually consists of a short check-in on Zoom, and then...

Student-athletes participate in Let Them Play rally, call for sports reopening

Student-athletes participate in Let Them Play rally, call for sports reopening

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief January 21, 2021

On Jan. 15, student-athletes and parents rallied together to show state officials just how passionate they were about returning to their sports. Hoisting black and gold signs and cheering as passing...

The Nexus staff's 21 book recommendations for 2021

The Nexus staff’s 21 book recommendations for 2021

Art by Grace Tseng Whether to escape, better understand or cope with our chaotic reality, books are especially necessary in 2021. For our first issue of the year, The...

Vanderby teaches to students on Zoom and in the classroom in front of her whiteboard simultaneously, Dec. 11. Her current configuration means that students in the video classroom see the same things her in-person students do in real time. Photo taken by Amy Wang.

Students return to campus following Westview soft reopening

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief December 17, 2020

As Poway Unified School District continues to roll out its reopening plan, some teachers have begun hosting classes on campus again. In some cases, such as that of math teacher Stephanie Vanderby and...

Kelly ('20) applies experience as alum to tutoring current students

Kelly (’20) applies experience as alum to tutoring current students

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief November 19, 2020

Mt. Carmel alumna Tessa Tricario ('20) has long had a passion for tutoring. Since her freshman year of high school, she’s been involved in various levels of teaching fellow students, both as a way to...

Timeline: Presidential candidate Twitter responses to events of 2020

Timeline: Presidential candidate Twitter responses to events of 2020

This year, as unprecedented events unfolded one after the other, the two presidential candidates have taken to Twitter to express their views and, in turn, their political opinions and plans for the future. 2020 January...

Soe points out different notes on the treble cleff over zoom. Due to difficulties with online teaching, she has found tools like whiteboards helpful in communicating clearly with her students.

Soe volunteers as piano tutor, finds fulfillment in teaching

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief October 22, 2020

On any Monday, Thursday, or Friday after school, you can find Tiffany Soe (11) warming up her piano students by playing small games. “Sometimes I play with my kids,” Soe said. “I feel like...

Isabelle and Sofia Rodrigues put together packages to ship out. Their business takes up a specific room in their house, and the girls work together to ship out their merchandise.

Rodrigues sisters start hoodie business, raise funds for ACLU

Amy Wang and Grace Tseng October 22, 2020

The idea first came to Isabelle (9) and Sophia Rodrigues (12) in June. At the time, the murder of George Floyd led to global protests against police brutality, and the Rodrigues sisters were trying...

Opinion: Practice self-care to combat compassion fatigue

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief October 1, 2020

2020 has been a year of overload. In the U.S., the feeding frenzy that comes with every presidential election has already begun, a pandemic has locked us all indoors, and in California we are in the midst...

Ingram, Day adjust curricula, strategies for student connection in virtual learning

Ingram, Day adjust curricula, strategies for student connection in virtual learning

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief September 17, 2020

One of the biggest differences between this year and last year for biology teacher My-Nga Ingram is the feeling of anxiety that comes with turning on her camera before every class. “I am always anxious...

Robotics develops new programs in response to virtual environment

Robotics develops new programs in response to virtual environment

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief September 17, 2020

As a 4.5 class and also a highly competitive school club, Westview’s FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team, Option 16, has long held the goal of encouraging interest in STEM fields. For just such...

Key Club, Speech and Debate work around virtual environment

Key Club, Speech and Debate work around virtual environment

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief September 2, 2020

Westview clubs have long been an important part of the student experience, but like many other facets of school life, they have had to contend with an online start to the year. From keeping members updated...

Instagram Activism: more than just for show

Amy Wang and Grace Tseng July 20, 2020

For any user of the ubiquitous social media app Instagram, it’s easy to see that a change has washed over it in the past few months. Whereas before, my feed was filled with carefully curated pictures...

Carelessness, not COVID-19, the real cause of catastrophe

Carelessness, not COVID-19, the real cause of catastrophe

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief May 29, 2020

Six months ago, when someone said ‘apocalypse’, the scene that came to mind was one out of an old end-of-the-world film. The sky a pale grey, mushroom clouds and nuclear winters in the backdrop...

As students stay home, online summer camps scramble to meet need

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief May 29, 2020

The current pandemic has had a significant impact on education at every level. Classes have been moved online, standardized test scores have been waived as a requirement, and now, more than ever, educational...

China, US bungle COVID-19 response

Amy Wang, Editor-in-Chief May 1, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most wide-spread transmissions of any singular virus in history. After the first case outside of China was discovered on Jan. 13 in Thailand, the virus has only spread,...

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