On a still day, perfect for flying, 17-year-old Anna Lewis (12) took the yoke of a Cessna 172 from the hands of her cousin, a flight instructor. On that day, Lewis fell in love with the freedom of flying.
”We got up there, and he let me fly, and it was really fun,” Lewis said.
That short flight sparked something in her. Lewis returned home longing for the feeling of flying again.
“I knew then that’s what I wanted to do,” Lewis said.
Shortly after her trip to Pittsburgh, Lewis heard about Western Air Flight Academy, a flight school in Broomfield. She took off for the first time on the 9th of March, 2025.
“I did my first landing. We were coming in, and t was a night flight, so it was dark,” Lewis said. “My instructor let me do the landing all by myself. And that was just kind of crazy.”
The only thing that could silence her excitement was her struggle with motion sickness.
“As a little kid, I didn’t really get sick on planes. I got a little car sick, but I did not think small planes were gonna be a problem,” Lewis said.
During one of her flight lessons, Lewis was learning in air turns when she started to feel her stomach drop.
“I was kind of nervous for it, and it was the flight lesson where we were starting steep turns. As soon as we started steep turns, I started feeling nauseous,” Lewis said.
Anna persevered and finished the lesson, proving to herself just how real her passion was as she navigated the sky, learning how to not let her motion sickness take away from her love of aviation.
“I researched it, and I talked to other people about how they had overcome motion sickness, and they said that you pretty much just adjust over time. It was uncomfortable at first, and I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to do it,” Lewis said. “I had to keep doing it anyway.”
Throughout Anna’s journey learning how to fly, she always had dedication. She practices once or twice a week and continues to work through any setbacks thrown in her direction.
“I had to trust that process and force myself to be uncomfortable and have some grit,” Lewis said.
Today, Lewis flies confidently, still working through setbacks as she takes on solo flights and works to receive her pilot’s license. With all her hours in flying and hard work, she is currently working on flying herself and is one step closer to her dream.
“I really wanted to become a pilot,” Lewis said. “I can’t see a future where I’m not.”
Clear for takeoff
Flight student flies through turbulence, to take on new heights.
Anna Lewis (12) poses with her Cessna 172. She has been flying for several years as a way to reach her dreams.
December 17, 2025
About the Contributors
Abbey Elalouf, Editor In Chief
After leaving her soccer cleats to rest junior year, Abbey Elalouf (12) found herself with a new dream—starting a girls flag football team.
“It was hard. We had a bunch of other girls who were interested in playing, but they told us that it wouldn’t ever happen,” Elalouf said.
However, she wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer. After many meetings and constant rejection, it happened, just in time for her senior season. Her dream had become a reality.
“Once everything got rolling, we were able to pick a coach and get straight into practice, and everything’s been going really well,” she said.
The flag football community is something Elalouf thought she could never find, and now that she has, she’s so glad she has fought for something she really wanted.
“I’m so happy I will finally have the true, fun high school sports experience I always hoped for,” she said.
Paige Duff, Photo Editor
Paige Duff (10) stepped into the world of journalism after deciding to try something new and signing up for the class in 8th grade. “Honestly, in eighth grade, I saw the newspaper, journalism sign-up. I was like, you know what? I have nothing else to do,” she said.
A passionate middle school language arts teacher also inspired her. “She always pushed me to write more. I did take her advice on that, and I’m glad I did,” Duff said. “She made me really want to tell stories about people and things going on.”
When she’s not at school, taking photos, or writing for the Mix, Duff enjoys many hobbies. “I love playing guitar, I love baking, cooking, track,” she said.
For Duff, journalism has shown her the world around her and its meaning. “It made me more aware of how I can tell other people stories,” Duff said.
Salma Schalhamer, Social Coordinator
Salma Schalhamer (11), the social coordinator for journalism, is passionate about her role and position in the program.
“My favorite memory was deadline nights,” she said. “They’re pretty fun. I would say you get a lot closer with everybody on deadline nights because you’re just working on different stuff.”
While growing a close bond with her journalism community, Schalhamer has had the opportunity to meet new people outside the class.
“My favorite event was one of the stories I did, which was Blanca. I had to take pictures of her for all the dress-like looks, and she dressed up as The Lorax.” Schalhamer said.
Since she knew Blanca’s host sister, they were able to become close friends and have more in-depth conversations.
“I knew her host sister, so we kind of talked about that, and what life was like in Spain, so it was really cool to see how different it is. And she had to study a lot because it’s different,” Schalhamer said.
Journalism has become one of Salma’s favorite things about school. “It’s really fun,” she said.
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