His time off was structured in six-month sessions. Four months were spent traveling abroad to Europe, Asia, Central America and South America. A month was spent in the United States and another was spent with his parents. Whether it was scuba diving in tropical waters or taking on yoga-training sessions, Jamison’s trips varied from solo adventures to joint trips with his roommates or parents. Along the way, Jamison fully embraced the natural high of spontaneous travel decisions.

“The only times I prepared (for travel) were from January 2024 to July 2024, but (the itinerary) got messed up,” he said. “I learned to go with the flow and be truly free enough to allow things to happen. It was a new sense of adventure for me.”

From his two-year travel saga, Jamison was on his way to master the art of carry-on packing. He has brought back souvenirs that reflect a deep interest in international history, such as Nepal’s Tibetan singing bowls and Bhutan’s prayer flags. Jamison’s commitment to learning about other countries extends to involving himself with the people, becoming some of his most memorable times. For example, in festivals with locals, Jamison celebrated Mongolia’s independence from China, Russia and Mongol leader Genghis Khan.

“It was so much fun and a wonderful blend of past
culture and modern age,” he said.

Coming into the school year, Jamison knows his passions for culture and travel will be brought to his classroom.

“These trips mean freedom and knowledge,” he said. “I find a lot of pride that 99% of my students feel confident that I’ve been in a space that they are familiar with. I hope our common knowledge of culture allows for their sense of belonging.”

Starting in January 2025 and finishing in fall 2025, phase two — which is to convert the culinary classrooms in the K-building into two Science Labs — will start after the full completion of phase one and finish in fall 2025. This construction plan that began in the fall of 2022 included a major modernization of the administration office, cafeteria and exterior and interior dining halls. The A-building will house administration facilities, a nurse’s office, a multi-purpose room for teacher meetings and additional eating areas. The B-building will feature a Design Studio and classrooms and a kitchen for Culinary Arts.

With the new administration office’s “court- yard-like entrance”, Senior Construction Manager Mohammed Sedqi explains that its location was most suitable for parents’ and visitors’ way finding and staffs’ supervision.

“The best architecture is when you don’t need a sign saying ‘admin is there’. You want to just arrive at the parking lot and clearly know where it is,” he said. “The entrance is facing the parking lot, so it’s this new face to the school entrance that helps promote the sense of place at the school.”

The renovation work includes adding 8,000 square feet to the existing 12,000 square feet of building. During the process, the crew tackled challenges with remodeling an existing building, such as the absence of utilities lines
underground and older, incorrect spokes. Sedqi also said that potential setbacks in regulatory food space checkpoints will not be a major problem, ensuring a timely debut.

PAUSD Facilities & Construction Director Eric Holm describes that many tasks, including installations of electrical wiring, landscaping and planters, were allocated to start between the end of school and start of summer school to
prevent disruption during the school year. The construction team planned to repave the streets and repaint the main exit when summer school ended on July 19.

“We try to have the least amount of disturbance to students, so we use the summer to work outside of the fences of the building construction site,” he said. “So to connect the entire power of the buildings, we had to shut down the entire campus for three days.”

Sedqi expresses a similar sentiment.

“Because of the first winter storm that hit us hard, we had a challenging period with a mud pit in construction for months,” he said. “Otherwise, summer is when we make a lot of progress without things that hit a delay like interrupting school activity.”

Holm explains that unexpected changes and additions from the original plan range from environmental concern to improved technology.

“An example is that the contractor’s access to get things would end up damaging the trees because the building was too close, so we’ve made some modifications there,” he said. “We’ve also changed as a district. Gunn is one of our test cases for a new security system and camera system inside, so that all the doors are Access Reader on this building, and you won’t need any keys to get into the building.”

For future projects, Gunn may consider cross-laminated timber, a material built from sustainably harvested big wood lumber, as used in rebuilding Herbert Hoover Elementary School in March of 2024.

“The cool thing about mass timber, which is cross laminated timber, is it being the new zero carbon footprint technology,” Sedqi said. “It’s a really good direction, and if that is successful, that might be a prototype for future projects.”

For Sedqi, whose role in construction stemmed from a childhood of building Legos, he finds it rewarding to be able to connect with students and teachers, like food services and CTE Instructional Lead and culinary science teacher Cindy Peters, to execute campus facilities or that elevate each part of the community.

“I’m proud of the culinary classroom and kitchen because I have had a lot of meetings with Cindy. If you’ve been to her class, she’s been there for roughly 20 to 30 years and it’s outdated. So I like when she’s on site and says, ‘I’m happy about this. I want to teach here.’” he said. “It’s for her and for all the students. You’re gonna get some place that is
like cooking in a place that looks like a five star restaurant. It feels really good.”

While construction is continual with interior design efforts such as installing flooring, ceiling lights and kitchen equipment; painting the walls; and putting in attack panels, Assistant Principal of Facilities Dr. Mycal Hixon points out that the administration is focused on finding ways to better students’
environments and fulfill their needs.

“It allows us to continue to support students in the best, most efficient and safest way possible,” he said. “It finally allows for a cafeteria dining space during rainy day weather and is air conditioned for students to have lunch. That definitely means a lot for Gunn, while meeting all the measures and safety disciplines as best as administration
can.”

The first two alarms were set off by some kind of smoke — potentially from foods like popcorn that have activated the sensors in the past — while the cause of the third alarm remains unknown. According to Assistant Principal of Safety Dr. Mycal Hixon, the new fire panel — which was installed over the summer to provide a safety upgrade to the previous out-of-date system — is being investigated as the potential cause.

“We’re trying to work with the fire department to see if this is either a faulty alarm, a box that’s going off or if there was an actual pull,” he said. “Unlike the other days, we weren’t able to identify smoke (on Thursday), so we’re really trying to figure it out.”

These interruptions, even with the adjusted bell schedule accommodations on Thursday, impacted both student agenda and instruction time. According to history teacher Laurel Howard, she’s had to adapt to the incident in order to ensure her periods learn the same amount of content at the same time.

“(The fire alarms are) impacting my class periods in different ways,” she said. “If I’m trying to keep my classes on track with each other and one has a 20-minute evacuation, then I have to make adjustments so (the delayed class) doesn’t fall too far behind.”

Although a definitive reason for the three alarms this week is still under investigation, administration is considering whether they may be due to a potential smoking problem on campus. Hixon explained that possible administration responses may include increased student resources, increased campus security and utilizing camera footage.

“We want to make sure that we can accurately identify what the problem is so we can accurately work together collaboratively to come up with solutions,” he said. “If it’s going off because somebody’s intentionally smoking in the bathroom, that’s one thing. If there’s somebody actually doing something, we want to find what support we can provide them to help them understand that (it) is not okay.”

For English teacher Diane Ichikawa, the ambiguity of the faulty fire alarms’ has added to the confusion that undermines the trustworthiness of the campus’s safety systems.

“Because we get so many (fire alarms) that end up being either false or people perceive them to be false, they don’t take an actual emergency (seriously),” she said. “It’s kind of a ‘boy-cried-wolf’ situation.”

In response to the lack of information available, Hixon highlighted the administration’s efforts to rectify these issues.

“We will work with the company that installed the fire alarms to ensure we are trained on everything it does and why,” he wrote in an email. “We will also be more alert to our surroundings, making sure that if we see something, we say something so that we can safely get things taken care of. We will also be getting an updated security camera system.”

However, despite the disturbances these fire alarms have caused, Science Instructional Lead Dr. Heather Mellows emphasized the importance of taking evacuation seriously.

“(Evacuating) is still important because we don’t know which alarms are real,” Mellows said. “And as a science teacher, I know that sometimes the fire alarm is because of what happens in my room, and I need it to be real when that happens.”

Currently, the evacuation drill scheduled for Thursday, August 29 will continue as planned.

“I am sure students have done a great job, but just in case, there are still a few things that we need to work on and (the drill) gives us that opportunity to do it,” Hixon said.

—Written by Kaylee Cheng, Anne Dong, Sylvie Nguyen and Ya-An Xue. Additional reporting by Gwen Domine.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Photo courtesy of Angelina Jiang

Junior Angelina Jiang is declared the winner by the referee in the California Interscholastic Federation tournament at Bakersfield.

This year, Louisiana joined the 45 states that certify girls wrestling at the high school level. Of these states, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania hosted their first state-sanctioned girls wrestling tournaments.

In the broader scope of women’s wrestling, the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced plans to add the sport as the 91st NCAA championship sport in winter 2026, with the vote set for next January. These recent developments mark the progress of girls wrestling as the fastest-growing high school sport in the country, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Despite the uptick, wrestling remains a coeducational sport at Gunn due to a matter of numbers, according to head coach Jorge Barajas.

“Financially, we would have to figure out the number to grant another coach for a girls team and recruit more female wrestlers,” he said. “But (a girls wrestling team is) definitely the goal.”

Aspects of the coed practices, in which both genders drill against each other and compete with their respective gender brackets, have been ideal for junior Angelina Jiang.

“For me, (the routine is) mostly drill with the guys during practice and then go out and compete with girls,” she said. “It’s honestly a lot easier to compete with girls after drilling with these heavier, stronger guys. It just toughens you up.”

Wrestler sophomore Aurora Woodley embraces the opportunity to grapple with her teammates’ different styles.

“Being coed is being able to wrestle with a bunch of different people, which is more important than just wrestling with people who are stronger than you,” she said.

This season, the number of female wrestlers on the team has doubled. Alongside the returning members — senior Isabella Lee, Jiang and Woodley — the team welcomed five freshman girls: Mei Elgierari, Thea Kissiov, Avni Lochan, Zara Vivekanand and Mina Van Roy.

While these girls are the minority in the male- dominated team, this imbalance is the very thing that creates camaraderie, according to Elgierari.

“During the SCVAL (Santa Clara Valley Athletic League) sectionals tournament, (the girls) each went to one another’s matches when we could, and although some of us didn’t qualify, we still stayed together and supported one another,” she said. “It really helped, especially for those who weren’t done and were really nervous.”

Emerging players may shy away from the sport because they don’t know what the wrestling experience is like for girls.

“Wrestling is super intense, but people don’t understand that it’s not something that you should fear while being a female because the team is supportive of you,” Woodley said.

At the collegiate level, women’s wrestling is still something of a niche sport, as only four NCAA Division I institutions have varsity women’s wrestling teams: South Carolina’s Presbyterian College, Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University, and Missouri’s University of Iowa and Lindenwood University.

“Right now, there are only four colleges that have DI women’s wrestling, and a lot of colleges only have clubs or they don’t have women’s wrestling at all,” Jiang said. “So it’s really hard to get a scholarship. I know a lot of really good wrestlers, some who got into Stanford, (and) couldn’t wrestle anymore because there wasn’t a women’s wrestling team up until now.”

This limited opportunity does not deter Jiang from further pursuing the sport. Rather, fellow female wrestlers — such as 18-year-old Audrey Jimenez, who became the first girl to win an Arizona state high school wrestling title while competing against boys on Feb. 18 — have become role models for Jiang.

“There have been a couple of times where I’ve considered challenging one of the boys for a varsity spot for duels, because at duels, in all technicalities, a girl (is allowed to) challenge and wrestle guys, like in a lot of other states like Arizona,” Jiang said. “It’s not allowed the other way, just because of physiological differences. It brings up the whole thing of women in men’s sports and how women can bring themselves up to the challenge if they want to.”

Barajas recalls how 2014 Gunn alumna female world-level wrestler Cadence Lee, known for pinning down boys during her high school wrestling career, paved the way for girls in the absence of sanctioned girls’ wrestling. Because of women like Lee, along with women’s wrestling advocate Lori Ayres, who co- founded the organization D1 Women’s Wrestling and helped start the Stanford University women’s wrestling club, Barajas’ wrestling perspective has experienced a full-circle moment.

“I’m able to see where (wrestling) was to where it is now,” he said. “I think (local female forefront wrestlers) help our community of wrestlers. We have a good support system for girls’ wrestling just down the road at Stanford, where Lori Ayres is that voice (saying) that girls wrestling is something that needs to be going.”

For Barajas, coaching Jiang and Lee at the Feb. 22-24 California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championships came against an important cultural backdrop: larger girls wrestling tournaments in the future. Girls state tournaments are now held at the same level as the boys’ and have full brackets. According to Barajas, brackets were around 20 girls, but now they reach 32-40 girls.

“If (this growth) continues, I could see the girls, within next year, at a 64-person bracket as well,” he said. “It’s just that fast-growing.”

Woodley has found that wrestling entails more than mere physical prowess, requiring intellectual and mental strength.

“I think it’s so important that wrestling teaches women how to deal with pain and loss and how to fight for yourself in the real world,” she said. “I’ve learned to just have the fearlessness to stand up for myself.”

Growing up with parents who pursued side projects — her mother painted, and her father established a school for aspiring race drivers — and friends who were musicians, writers and artists made starting her own business feel like a natural next step and way to remain close to home.

“Being around other creative people who were all making their own path paved the groundwork (for my business),” Skogen said. “It felt totally normal.”

The name “JetKat Photo” pays homage to Skogen’s childhood living in a sailboat with her father and traveling on the JetKat Express passenger ship while studying in Cuba. The name also connects to the skies: Her father held a pilot’s license, and her mother, a flight attendant, lived in different states.

“I like that JetKat had ‘jet’ in it to symbolize my traveling back and forth to be with my parents, family ties and the love that I have for traveling,” she said. “Lots of friends call me Kat, so the ‘Kat’ part was unique to me.”

By providing photography services for school programs, local businesses, town magazines and neighborhood families, JetKat Photo has become more than a source of income for Skogen. With her passion for capturing who people are and their works, she finds fulfillment in illuminating the stories and contributions of community members.

“If I’m not photographing a person specifically, I’m photographing their architecture, kids, art, product or restaurant,” she said. “With the work that I do, there’s always somebody who benefits and whose work is celebrated and elevated. It’s rewarding in ways I couldn’t have foreseen.”

At the heart of her business is Skogen’s profound passion for capturing the unscripted and spontaneous moments of children immersed outdoors, where all of  her photos emanate a playful, earthy and dynamic feel. Today, Skogen’s portraiture program is most involved at the elementary-school level and specializes in candid portraits for nature-based school programs and homeschool groups.

“My favorite thing to photograph is the authentic essence of outdoor education programs and kids playing in nature and looking for bugs,” she said.

Skogen proudly donates 25% of her gross sales to local nonprofits focused on education or racial and social justice. She also champions another cause: being a model of women’s entrepreneurship. “I think that representation matters and when women see women doing things, there is a ripple effect,” she said.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Chloe Wu

On Feb. 27, during an extended lunch in the library, Gunn administrators hosted a Listening Session to allow students to voice their perspectives on Gunn’s wellness initiatives and student mental health in the aftermath of Feb. 20’s student death. 

Tables seating six to seven students were organized in the library, each focused on one of three topics: SELF and Other Offerings, Student Supports (the Wellness Center, counseling and staff), and Mental Health and Stress. Students sat at tables of their choice with one to two adult mental health professionals —  including the district’s head of mental health services Dawn Yoshinaga, student services district officials, school and district psychologists, school counselors, Wellness staff, the crisis response team, and staff members with expertise — along with admin and counselors, who helped facilitate. 

The event had originally been planned for Feb. 23, the same day as the student walkout. In an effort to safeguard at-risk students and offer them with a safe space, Stratton convened with six student leaders — ASB President senior Nathan Levy; SEC Special Events Commissioner senior Ruth Jaquette; School Board Representative senior Chris Lee (who is also a managing editor for The Oracle); SEC Wellness Commissioner senior Daniel van Schewick; Reach Out, Care, Know Club co-president junior Beverly Lamis; and ROCK board member junior Grace Missett — about arranging a Town Hall. 

She mentioned that the group of students persuaded the administration team to postpone the event to allow students more time to process. They also advocated for a Listening Session rather than a Town Hall for more voices to be heard and for students to talk in smaller groups — reducing the risk of a student’s breaking down in front of the entire group. 

Prior to table-group discussions during the Listening Session, Principal Dr. Wendy Stratton addressed misconceptions and concerns regarding the student death and subsequent events. SELF Coordinator Kathryn Catalano, Assistant Principal Courtney Carlomagno, and Stratton then explained the event’s guidelines.

“I’ve learned from this experience so far that when you don’t necessarily communicate what you’re doing, people will think you are doing nothing,” Stratton said to the group. “That could not be further from the truth.” 

Board President Jesse Ladomirak and Board member Jennifer DiBrienza also went over Board policy regarding memorializations. According to them, the priority is protecting the most vulnerable, at-risk students — who might potentially be harmed by a public memorial — even if it may not align with other students’ wishes.

During discussions, facilitators prompted students with initial conversation-starters regarding the table’s topic, including questions such as, “What opportunities and challenges do you see in the school’s delivery of the SELF program?” To ensure all participants could voice their concerns and experiences, each table provided a bubble wand to help facilitate turn-taking, while the professionals recorded notes to be used for reference in future meetings.

Senior Henry Peng, who attended the event, appreciated that he was given an opportunity to speak with administrators, who have a direct impact on how the school operates and decide on the changes made. 

“I expected a presentation — I didn’t expect a group chat,” Peng said. “(But) I think it’s better than a presentation, (because) rather than just people sitting there listening to a lecture, it’s pretty nice that students get to be involved with how the school is viewing stuff. I really like how the school is prioritizing students’ views right now.” 

Sophomore Alisa Sonehara — a board member on Solis, a local student-led nonprofit promoting youth mental-health awareness — echoed Peng’s sentiments. However, she had hoped for more nuanced discussion on a variety of issues, feeling she was constrained to the three initial questions.  

“I wish we could cover more in depth of other parts because I feel like at one point, everyone at the table was kind of just repeating themselves, but overall, it was pretty good,” she said. 

Processing grief and shock as a community is the pathway to recovery and achieving some form of inner peace, according to event facilitator counselor Cora Ross. She echoed that open conversation and communication is one of the most effective ways the administration can aid students through difficult times.   

“The way in which I understand or know to process myself, or to encourage others to process that seems as effective as possible, is to talk,” Ross said. “It is to come together as a community, to grieve and to communicate our needs. Just to get that little knot that sits in the top of our throats, often just pars(ing) through it with somebody else (or) sharing what you’re going through can often be an enormous relief.”

Events such as this one also make way for a more student-centric educational approach, according to Stratton. She noted that students also helped shape the Schoology post she sent out on Feb. 29 about student wellness.

“I see now the paradigm shift where experts dictate ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ versus centering students at the center of discourse is much richer,” she said. “We’re showing that we don’t necessarily have all the answers right now, but we’re listening and trying.” 

According to Stratton, administrators’ next course of action, after recording around 34 pages of notes, will be to hold a series of meetings — each on a single theme and its corresponding student feedback — with five to six student leaders. Thus far, Stratton and Catalano regrouped with the student-leaders on March 1 to debrief facilitators’ notes, using a “four-step thinking process” to address the facts and consider policy changes. According to Levy and van Schewick, student suggestions included requiring freshmen to visit the Wellness therapists for earlier exposure to resources, creating a publicized list of teacher response protocols during difficult times, and implementing Wellness team visits to Advanced Placement and SELF classes.

“I’m really excited to know that there’s a structure like this that I can now tap into to get information on whatever is occurring and moving forward for the students,” Stratton said.

Assistant Principal Courtney Carlomagno, counselors Myesha Dickson and Lorenzo Gomez, English teacher Danielle Whichard, and Gunn’s Safety and Family Specialist Joey Ordonez (non-chaperoning) organized the trip, which consisted of a UCSC tour and a presentation on UC college admissions.

This year marked the resumption of the programs’ college visits after a temporary hiatus due to the pandemic. Students had previously explored the University of San Francisco and San Francisco State University in the fall.

Taught by Whichard, the AVID elective course closes the achievement gap and prepares students for college. Run by Dickson and Gomez, the College Pathways Program is geared towards supporting first-generation students who will be the first in their families to attend college. 20 students from AVID and 30 students from the College Pathways Program participated in the college visit, which aligned with both programs’ purposes: to initiate the college research process early and equip students with information to plan their futures.

Sophomore Keefe Aidan Punzalan, who attended the trip, joined AVID to better prepare himself for and understand what to expect in college and beyond. Gunn’s college visits have served as stepping stones for his academic journey.

“Visits like this make me less scared of what to expect in universities and provide the necessary perspective to understand campus life and attending classes,” Aidan Punzalan said. “I managed to strike up conversations with a few of the college students. They gave me all kinds of input on what elements they do and do not enjoy (in college).”

Led by a UCSC guide, students learned about the school’s expectations, culture, housing situations and student life. A presentation by a UCSC admissions representative also provided students with a glimpse into UC college admissions, according to Carlomagno.

“(The admissions presenter) shared a lot of great insight with our students about what exactly they’re looking for, and how it’s not always about grades, but about other things that students are involved in, such as programs like AVID,” Whichard said.

The tour and presentation were followed by lunch in the cafeteria and UCSC student-led visits to the Art Building, libraries and museum. UCSC dining hall staff even brought out their ice cream machine for the visiting students, according to Aiden Punzalan.

Coordinators typically solidify fall college visit plans before summer break. In December, prior to winter break, the team decides on spring college visit timings and then reaches out to the colleges. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this process.

“We could have started last year, but it was hard to get back into the routine of planning trips,” Whichard said. “The way college campuses run their tours has gotten more strict, and we ran into an issue last year where we weren’t finding availability for a big group.”

Aiming to expose students to a wide variety of universities, the team plans to schedule one last trip to a community college before the end of this school year, according to Carlomagno.

“We chose UCSC, a University of California school because we’d done a California State University and a private school in the fall,” she said. “We try to offer all the different types of schools, so students have a good idea of the difference in colleges, and can make their own informed decision based on their experience when they do apply.”

Gomez hopes that visits like these can assure students that college is an achievable goal.

“Being able to provide information to these students in these programs on Gunn campus, and then actually visiting a college campus puts everything that we preach (into perspective) and paints a picture of the reality of how higher education looks like,” he said. “We hope that you pursue it.”