The Norse Star has been around for about 100 years, with the first issue published in 1929. Since then, numerous faces have come and gone in room 1020. Many memories have been made, stories told, and lives changed forever. Previous Norse Star members shared their experiences and memories below.
Paul Christopher
1. What are you doing now?
Currently I’m the long term sub for Ms. Lynch, teaching her classes. I’m a licensed English teacher and I’ve worked all over the world as an educator, theatre professional, and author.
2. How has the Norse Star impacted your life?
Norse Star gave me a lot of opportunities to learn about collaboration, working against a very strict deadline, and the importance of editing/proofreading. It’s one thing to work on an assignment that maybe only your teacher (and maybe one or two other people) is going to see, but when you’re putting together something that LOTS of people could see, it’s an entirely different matter. There’s lots of responsibility involved, and you want everyone to see your best work.
3. What was your favorite memory from the Norse Star?
Probably just working in the computer lab on Features articles with the other members of the staff. I had a lot of fun putting together music and movie reviews, hanging out with my friends, who were all on staff as well.
4. What was your favorite part/what did you enjoy the most?
Like I said, I loved writing reviews – I was given a lot of freedom in what I chose, so I usually chose the stuff I was listening to anyway. I was able to write what I thought about it.
Kai Hedstrom
What are you doing now?
I am a Social Studies teacher here at SHS now! I currently teach Ancient World History to sophomores. Total full circle moment for me. I would not necessarily have predicted this for myself back when I was walking the halls of SHS as a student, but I love how it has all worked out. It’s been fun to come back to work in a community that means so much to me and has shaped me into who I am today.
How has the Norse Star impacted your life?
Norse Star has impacted my life in a number of ways. It taught me the value of working hard with others towards a common goal, the importance of meeting deadlines, and it also heightened my writing abilities and overall communication skills. And while I did not end up pursuing being a journalist in my professional life, the skills a journalist needs- curiosity, persistence, handling constructive criticism, revising your work, the ability to stay calm under pressure are really vital skills I need as an educator. Those are all things I still utilize in both my personal and professional life as an adult.
3. What was your favorite memory from the Norse Star?
Oh man, great question! There are SO many that stand out. It is tough to choose just one!
1.Page Nights dinners were always iconic. People’s parents would always bring in delicious food and we’d have time to eat and connect with each other while also juggling the stress of a time-sensitive publication.
2. The variety of and depth of topics we got to write about. We really got a lot of freedom to create and write the stories that we wanted. That was a really empowering feeling when oftentimes in school it doesn’t always feel like you have a ton of autonomy as a teenager.
3.Surviving the red revising pen of our advisor at the time, Mr. Ben Tripp. He could be pretty blunt with his feedback on our writing, but that also forced us all to become much better writers and I owe a debt of gratitude to the man we all affectionately called “BT”.
4. Just simply getting to be a part of Norse Star. It was a dream of mine from my time in Middle School. I would voraciously read it even as far back as 8th Grade. I thought it was such a fun concept, so getting to see out that dream and work on it was really special.
5. Collation and Distribution Day Always was a palpable energy in the school the days issues came out. Was fun to watch students rush to grab copies and feel like you’d help contribute to making your peers’ day more enjoyable.
-Honorable mention: Trying to format pages correctly on In- Design. was ALWAYS an uphill task.
4. What was your favorite part/what did you enjoy most about the Norse Star?
I think what I enjoyed the most was the unique community that Norse Star fostered. We were a collection of students from basically all the corners of the SHS community in terms of involvement. We were a group of 18 students that might not typically have naturally all hung out together if not for Norse Star. It created a really fun mix of personalities and background experience everyone brought to the table. We had varsity athletes, students really involved in the music program, students heavily involved in academic teams, theater department students, student government, etc all coming together for a common purpose. You really forge some close friendships with how much time you spend together outside of the school day with page nights and going out into the field to report on stories together. One of my favorite community building things I’d do was come up with fun nicknames for my fellow Norse Star members that would actually stick. It was fun to refer to “Quimbo Slice, or “RorDawg” or “AG” and have everyone in the room instantly know who it was.
Travis Ryan
What are you doing now?
I am currently studying mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. I am also a member of the Stoughton Wellness Coalition, and have a pet dog!
How has the Norse Star impacted your life?
The Norse Star has impacted my life by giving me new interpersonal skills such as asking meaningful questions and recognizing the different voices in our society.
What was your favorite memory from the Norse Star?
My favorite memory would have to be attending the International Festival in March 2025 alongside members Marah Kostlevy, Lisa Wang, Lyra Romashchenko and Kahlan Barman.
What was your favorite part/what did you enjoy most about the Norse Star?
The most enjoyable part of being a Norse Starian to me was just the vibes we upheld in the classroom; I loved the hard-working yet goofy atmosphere we had, and getting to be so close to other talented and unique writers and people!
