The Hutchinson Tigers mascot offers “high-fives” to students and teachers lining School Board during the homecoming parade Friday afternoon.
Hutchinson High School homecoming King Joel Wang and Queen Emma Staples flex their “Hutch Tiger” support after being introduced at halftime of Friday night’s football game.
West Elementary School students jump with excitement for the start of the homecoming parade Friday afternoon on School Board.
Hutchinson High School Girls volleyball throws candy at parade goers.
Students from Tiger elementary greeted Hutchinson High School students from various teams and student organizations during the homecoming parade.
Emma Staples gets crowed Homecoming Queen during the coronation.
Jacqueline Gonzalez was thrilled to be crowed Homecoming Princess.
Junior Queen Amazing Grace Niyokindi and Junior Commodore Owen Erlandson wave to the crowd of students on Roberts Road during the parade.
West Elementary students eagerly cheer on high school students during the homecoming parade.
Joel Wang is crowed Homecoming Court King.
Young Tigers from West Elementary School cheer on Hutchinson High School students during Friday's homecoming parade.
Hutchinson High School Band, lead the parade down Roberts Street.
Hutchinson High School Students from Future Farmers of America toss out candy to the crowd.
Children scream as the Hutchinson High School students rejoice.
Students from West Elementary show their claws to a passing float.
Hutchinson High School boys' soccer team walks the parade route.
School spirit was on display during Homecoming Week at Hutchinson schools.
Unfortunately, the homecoming football game didn’t have the result Tigers fans hoped for, but it was an otherwise celebratory atmosphere throughout a week of athletic competition and activities designed to inspire school spirit.
The week culminated Friday with a parade, coronation and, of course, the football game, which ended in a loss for the Tigers. Final score was 11-0.
The homecoming parade featured floats put together by the various high school teams, the Hutchinson High School marching band, and other school activity groups.
Coronation included the crowning of Queen Emma Staples and King Joel Wang, along with the finals of student bean bag and dodgeball tournaments.
Speech team member Joel Wang leads team members in a discussion about heatwave deaths in California.
Hutchinson High School discussion group team members Elaine Wang, Owen Koenen, Tryceton Erickson, Joel Wang and Taylor Boehm meet in coach Quinlan Robuck’s classroom after school.
Joel Wang did not need one more job, but when approached about being a student representative to the Hutchinson School Board, the high school senior could not say “no.”
“The reason I joined the school board was to close the gap on the disconnect between students and administrators,” Wang said. “I was asked by the school administration if I wanted the role and I said yes because I like working with the community.”
Wang leads a busy life outside of the student representative role he took up in April. He participates in student council, speech and theater — where he has the lead role in the fall play.
“We (students) don’t really know what’s going on,” he said. “I’ve heard students complain about certain things, like policies or things we’re doing, but those complaints didn’t go anywhere. Because who were we supposed to tell?”
Wang thought about information he wanted to share and the changes he hoped to present, but he has struggled to find a way to repair the disconnect he noticed.
“I went into the (school board) role with a perspective that didn’t match what I thought the role was supposed to be,” he said. “So when I go to a school board meeting all I do is list off events, which is tough. It’s great the School Board members want to learn about what’s going on at the high school, but all of this information is on the school calendar.”
Wang said he wants the role to grow into something more.
“I did bring up the issue during the School Board meeting in May,” he said. “I said I think it’s best if we use the student role as a way for the School Board to ask certain questions (about the students).”
Wang said he felt like the communication got cut off at him because questions about the students weren’t being asked.
“There’s no point in me just relaying calendar information,” he said. “I think it’s better if there was a way for me to talk to the kids at the school and find out what they’re thinking and how they feel. I think the student representative role could be a little more interactive rather than reactive.”
Even though he believed these things Wang understands there is more at play.
“I think the main idea here is just my perspective going in and what the role actually is,” Want said. “And the board members are all relatively new. Ms. (JoEllen) Kimball, who didn’t get reelected (to the school board), was the one who asked a lot of questions. When the new members came in, I think they didn’t really know what to do with the role. I understand they’re busy people, but I want them to understand there is a wish for the student representative to have a bigger role.”
Wang has mostly had to figure out the role on his own.
“There wasn’t a packet or video that explains what the student representative role is,” he said. “I think the idea of it is supposed to be student driven, but it’s hard when there’s no person advising it.”
And while there is struggle, Wang said he found positives in the role.
“I still enjoy what I do,” Wang said. “The whole thing is being involved in the community. So I go around to ask what’s going on in the school this month. It’s fun learning about the new things going on at the school and attending the events I learn about.
“I learned how to connect and reach out to people,” he continued. “As a normal student you don’t interact much with staff and administration. I’ve talked with people I have never met before and it’s nice to see how passionate they are. Just being able to make these connections and talk to people is probably one of the greatest things I learned from being a student representative.”
He plans to take what he’s learning as student representative into his future.
“I love talking with people and the community aspect of everything,” he said. “I plan to go to college for business and I think working with the School Board has helped me realize that is what I want to do.”
Life can change in a moment.
Everything changed for Scott Schindler after a near-fatal automobile accident Sept. 26, 2018.
“It was my mother’s birthday,” Schindler recalled. “I don't remember anything after I got hit. I have no hate for the guy, I even prayed for him, but I wonder why he was in such a hurry since he was a retiree.”
The crash happened on County Road 7 and 85th Street near Stewart, leaving Schindler paralyzed throughout most of his body.
“I don’t remember very much about the accident itself,” Schindler said. “I remember it being a beautiful day, and then the next thing I know my son, Shaun, is telling me, ‘Dad, you’ve been in a terrible accident, but you’re strong and you can make it.’”
He’s amazed by the support from family, friends and the communities of which he’s a part.
“I had an old Army buddy call me,” he said. “We lost contact 20 years ago, but one day I get a call from Tennessee. Now we talk once or twice a month. He’s come up and visited a few times, even attended my grandson’s football game.”
In the five years since the accident, Schindler has done his best to remain positive and keep himself as healthy as possible.
“The chronic pain is horrible,” he said. “I do my best to ignore it, but sometimes my body feels like it’s on fire. Sometimes I let the pain get the best of me and I get mad or sad, but I’ve come to realize that only makes it worse.”
He counts it all as a learning experience.
“I never thought much about people in wheelchairs,” he said. “It wasn’t until I was in one that I really did think about them. I was naive about them. I really didn’t understand the constant pain they were in.”
Schindler remodeled his home to be more accessible and enjoyable.
“I like to look out the window and watch the world, especially in the winter,” he said. “I ended up having the contractor rip out the old storm windows and put in these nice wide view ones.”
And that is what most of Schindler’s days consist of when he isn’t going to appointments or doing physical therapy.
“I watch a lot of movies and a lot of YouTube,” he said. “I would like to read, but I’d have to bother someone to turn the pages for me, and that really isn’t feasible. But I also get to learn so much. I watch a lot of historical videos, and it’s amazing the stuff you learn.”
Between watching movies and YouTube, going to appointments and physical therapy Schindler said, “time has flown by.” And he has seen some physical improvement.
“I have managed to get some feeling back into my biceps and triceps,” he said. “I can shrug my shoulders, wiggle my thumbs a bit and feel my abdomen, but most of my movement and feeling is still gone.”
The former athlete admits it’s difficult to deal with the limitations at times.
“You don’t always realize what you have until it’s gone,” Schindler said. “I used to go work out five to six times a week. I coached football and got to see and teach my kids the sport I loved.”
While Schindler can no longer participate in those activities it hasn’t stopped those involved with them from reaching out.
“My old football coach reached out to check on me after the accident,” he said. “And the program I volunteered at asked me if I wanted to try coaching again. While I would love to do it, I never know what days I will be able to due to the pain.”
But the community support left Schindler full of love. When he goes out for “strolls” in his Hutchinson neighborhood, people wave and stop to chat. People have brought him water when he’s shopping.
“It’s just amazing what people have done and continue to do for me,” he said.
“Dad constantly has people messaging him,” Shaun Schindler said. “He wakes up to 30 text messages every day.”
One of the things Schindler has found helpful is creating routines, many of them simple things that he counts on, like clockwork. He watches “Wheel of Fortune” and “The Price is Right” every weekday. It helps him keep track of time, he said.
“Before I started watching the shows I found myself not knowing what day or season it was,” Schindler said.
One of the biggest life lessons that Schindler has learned from his journey is that “you can’t take life for granted.”
“Living life like it’s your last may sound overused, but the things you take for granted, like scratching your own ears, can disappear in a flash,” Schindler said. “Between the community and my faith, I have kept going, and I want people to know how thankful I am for them.”
