By: Kelsey Blum –
Everyday 2,059 students pass through the doors of Southeast High School on their way to classes, practices, rehearsals, and performances. These doors and hallways have witnessed much over the years – including the children and grandchildren of former students. Many Lincoln families have been sending their children to the home of the Knights for generation after generation. One of these students is sophomore Finley Peterson, whose mom was a Knight back in the day.
Peterson and her family are very active in the Southeast community. Her brother Foster, was the Step Chain captain his senior year.
As a sophomore, Peterson has already accomplished many of the goals she set for herself and credits LSE with helping her. Peterson was on the cheer team her freshman year and dance team this year. She has also been a member of Student Council for the past two years and she has become involved in the Unified Basketball Team.
Unified Basketball hasn’t been around at Southeast for very long but it is very important to the school and community. Petersen also participates in Unified Bowling,where two people pair up, and help each other learn to bowl so that they can compete against other teams.
Petersen is continually looking for ways to improve her leadership and better herself. There are many memories made at Southeast everyday. High school is one of the main ways someone can learn about themselves, and find out who they truly are.
“I could make a difference anywhere whether it be dance team captain, student council or both,” Peterson said. “I take a lot from Southeast. I learn something new everyday, and it’s crazy how many people you meet. I learned a lot about myself at Southeast, and one of the most memorable moments was when I had Mr. Smith my freshman year. My main goal in highschool was trying to figure out my own values, and sort of take away that I became my own person.”
There are a lot of traditions at Southeast that have been around for generations, such as Pep Rallies, the Honors Convocation, academic excellence, and stellar athletic teams. Recently, Southeast has added some traditions to carry on for the next generations. Now you can find students and teachers running around with a broom between their legs during the annual Quidditch Tournament. You can’t miss “The Tarp”, which covers up the student section at home football games. The new Academic Wall of Honor and the Service Award will both be accolades that future students will strive for.
“I feel there is a lot of traditions academically, and some smaller ones as well. There is Honors Convocation, Pep Rallies, and Knight Pride Awards. There are also events that I have gotten to experience behind the scenes through student council. A tradition would be freshman day, [the] quidditch tournament, and homecoming,” Peterson said.
Southeast alumni and current history teacher Chris Salem was very involved during his years at LSE and cherishes the friendship and experiences he created in these halls.
“I graduated in 2001 with my twin brother. I grew up in the neighborhood my whole life, and Southeast was very close to my home. I was a part of three state champion tennis teams. One in 1997, 1999, and 2001. I still have a lot of very close friends, and friendships that were started here at Southeast,” Salem said.
Pep rallies are a huge part of Southeast every year. A lot of the students look forward to them because they are crowd favorites and students are a huge part of them.
“Pep rallies look very similar, there is definitely a sense of nostalgia. The athletic consciousness feels very similar: school pride, and support of the community. Southeast is very important to this part of town,” said Salem. “[I came back to Southeast when the] head coaching job opened up after Coach Tidball stopped coaching. I had been a previous JV tennis coach at Southwest for 8 years. I was very excited when I got that opportunity to come back and take over the program that I was a part of.”
Many things about Southeast have changed over the years. Southeast has tremendously grown since they started in 1892. Southeast didn’t start renovations until 1955 after Pound Middle School opened.
“Southeast looks different, and I was pre-expansion of the school in 2007-2008. The lockers in D hall used to be orange, and now they are yellow. The commons used to be a parking lot as well, and the main student entrance is very different. It used to be a road that connected the student [parking] lot with the staff. Both of my parents, and brothers are all alums of Southeast,” said Salem.
Southeast has changed over time, and it is a good change. The community of Southeast continues to grow every year as the school adjusts. Sophomore Walter Turner’s family started their own LSE Family Tradition when his older brother, Victor, came to the school.
“And after that my brother [Abram] and I followed after him. I [participate] in cross country, swimming, track, choir, speech, and theater,” Turner said. “I have a lot of friends here, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s nice [going to the same school] at times because I can get a ride here and home.”
Going to the same school as a sibling can benefit you both positively and negatively. They can benefit you positively because they can give you rides places, and even tips on what to do. They can benefit you negatively because they may not want anything to do with you or will ignore you.
“It does, it helps sometimes depending on whether the teacher and coach liked them [brothers]. If they didn’t, it can negatively affect my reputation. The only tradition I know of is senior skip day,” said Turner.
Alumni and family traditions are still a huge part of Southeast today. Many people come here today because their parents came or their siblings came, and they loved it.
