JUSTIN HUSS | Senior As the final whistle blew and I realized it will be the last time I'll get to wear that blue and gold on a Friday night, tears filled my eyes. I thought about all my memories from playing football, from the first time having to have my mom help me put on my pads to the last time I'll take them off in that Trojan uniform. Thank you to everyone who made this journey in my football career the way it was. I wouldn't want to change one second of it. First off, I'd like to thank my parents for everything they did for me. From encouraging me to do my best, to taking me to all my midget practices, and for always supporting me unconditionally every Friday night and making sure you'd always be there for me. As the final whistle blew and I realized it will be the last time I'll get to wear that blue and gold on a Friday night, tears filled my eyes. Secondly, thank you to all my coaches along the way. Thanks to all my midget and middle school coaches for teaching me the game of football, but more importantly, thank you to my high school coaches: Coach Sweeney, Webby, Ox, Ronnie, GT, Haase, Po, Demo, Little Po, and Davie. Thank you for not only teaching me the game of football, but for all the life lessons along the way. I could never do what I did without you guys. I could never thank you guys enough for what you have done for me and this team. I'd like to thank the entire community for the support we got every Friday night. Thank you to the band, cheerleaders, first responders, friends, family, fans, and the Trojan Empire for everything you did for us. We would never be able to do what we did on Friday nights without your support every Friday night. Brothers for life, love you guys. Thank you to all my teammates throughout the years and for all the memories, good laughs, and good times we've all had together. Lastly, thank you to this senior class for making football some of the best times I'll ever have in my life. I'll never forget all the memories we've made together. I would never change one thing about our journey together throughout the years. Brothers for life, love you guys. That's a wrap. Always remember... Charlie Mike. #21... signing off. JUSTIN HUSS | Senior
ALEXIS VARGULISH | Sophomore Browns Equine Hospital was kind enough to welcome Mrs.Rippole’s first and second period Equine Science class to their facility. It was a wonderful experience, not only for the students but for the teacher. It was truly a one of a kind time with free lunch, a tour and seeing first hand the preparation of a surgery. We even got the chance to see them “drop” the horse before allowing it to be elevated onto the surgery table. The staff was incredibly kind and went out of their way to show us things they may not have seen if it wasn’t for them including standing surgeries, touching bones of the leg, and even looking at X-rays. The standing surgery they got to see was on a draft breed of tall stature. They were fixing a common breathing issue in the draft breed. We also got to see a draft horse with a healing wound on its neck from a similar surgery. The X-rays they viewed were from a horse who had a break in its leg. They also got another hands on experience by holding the bones of a horse and even seeing a leg diagram from a real horse leg. The students got to see nearly all of the horses at the facility and even see horses with multiple injuries. Brown’s also gave us some possible career options and ideas to be thinking about after high school such as working at Brown’s in the small animal facility, as an equine veterinarian, or even working with exotic animals, such as birds. Along with this, Brown’s allowed us to be hands on with the procedures and even go inside the surgery room when the sterilization was happening. The surgery sadly ran over our time, however they were meant to be removing a hernia from a foal. The sterilization process included wiping the horse down, make sure it was breathing properly, and injecting the IV. We even got the chance to see them “drop” the horse before allowing it to be elevated onto the surgery table. What they do to “drop” or put the horse under by using anesthesia. They lean against it with about four or more people and allow the horse to be inside a cushioned room for maximum safety and comfort. Then, once they lean against the animal, it will within a few minutes start to go down and the surgery staff will guide it to the cushioned ground. During the sterilization and surgery they also have to make sure the horse is asleep. Horses have a high risk of waking up on the operation table. One of the working students there explained that this has happened to her before. It is extremely dangerous and not ideal. However, with the proper team of people working on the horse all should go well. Brown’s had a very thorough team of people working on the horse getting surgery. The woman operating the anesthesia was extremely experienced in her field, moving all the buttons to the correct spots in seconds. “My brain was exploding” -Mrs. Rippole This field trip was fun and a once in a lifetime experience. Some of the students went away from Brown’s thinking about going back there for their career in the future. Some just had a great time there. ALEXIS VARGULISH | Sophomore
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