Humans of OL

“What initially attracted me to it wasn’t the blood-pressure itself. I was just researching, and I stumbled across this idea of a machine called a PPG, or a photoplethysmogram. I saw that it was able to detect heart rate, and scientists are trying to develop a model that measures blood-pressure with this machine. I saw an opportunity to go for something that hasn’t been created yet. I wanted to c...

“I came to Old Donation Center, where I was recognized that I was good at math and skipped the second grade. About halfway through fifth grade [the school] moved me into a different math class. It was a one-on-one session with a volunteer that came to school occasionally to teach me various concepts from Algebra, Geometry, all the way to even Calculus. At the end of fifth grade, I took the Algebra...

“I wanted to go to the University of Chicago for the academics and their business reputation. I was looking at a few other schools, but my brother goes there, so it will be easier having someone there. UChicago was in my top three, I was so grateful when I got in. I worked hard to get into a school like that, and football was a big part in helping me get in. I’m looking forward to meeting my t...

“I started cheerleading when I was two because my mom coached, and in the next year, she opened her own gym called “Fame.” I’ve been cheerleading at Fame ever since. Through my years at Fame, I’ve been on every level, 1-5, and every division, Tiny-International. I’ve medaled at The Cheerleading Worlds twice, placed top three at the biggest competitions in the country, and received countless...

Senior Taylor Dinh recently created a video game for her senior project. Taylor also designed the whole video game from scratch. “I’m planning on going into cybersecurity, but if that doesn’t work out then maybe game design. Since I also designed the art for the game, I could also go into graphic design if all else fails. Drawing is sort of like a stress reliever, which is one reason why I l...

"I hope to be the reason why someone is glad they woke up that morning. I hope to give people a reason to live, a reason to smile. I want to change someone’s life for the best. This is why I do all these “kindness” things. This is also the reason why I want to encourage others to perform acts of kindness, so we can make the world a better place together," said Ryan Smith.

“I started swimming at Princess Anne Recreation center and eventually joined their swim team in third grade. I joined Tide Swimming in fourth and fifth grade, but at that time, was more into soccer. So, after fifth grade, I stopped swimming and decided to try other sports. After getting two concussions in eighth grade, I was told I wasn’t allowed to play contact sports. I tried running cross c...

“My friend that I marched with this past season at drum core, she did [Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade] in 2017 and she told me that I should audition for it. So then I just did. I made it, and they sent me a letter and gave me all the information that I needed to fill out, and I did. Then six months later, I was in New Jersey rehearsing for the Macy’s Parade. We stayed in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, ...

“I fall in love with every (foster) baby that we have. How do you not love them like your own children? We’ve been fostering for two years now. Some of the babies take extra work because some of them have mental issues. Fostering children has definitely taught me patience. Dealing with screaming children is always difficult. You just need to appreciate the good times when she’s cute and push...

“I like dressing up as Jack Sparrow because it surprises people. It's also really fun to do, and it doesn't take as much time as you'd think. I am very creative, so I look forward to Spirit Week. I seem to always find a way to dress up as Jack Sparrow. I’m sad that this is my last year doing it because I’m a senior, but I don’t know if anyone else will be bold enough to carry on the traditio...

"There are many ways [being a drum major] has affected my life. I think if you take a step back and just look at music as a whole and band as a whole, music and band itself has affected my life so much. Yes, being drum major is one yea, but those first three years of being in band has affected me personally in a way that's like whoa - there's things I found out about myself I didn't know. But in that...

Featured here is junior Logan Griffith, who ranked first in the nation for two consecutive years in weightlifting for his division. He is also a U.S. record holder with 16 records and competes in the annual CrossFit games.

"Ocean Lakes. I remember the first time I heard of this school, way back in middle school. The teachers had been telling us about other programs available for our college, and at first, I wrote off this school because it was 30+ minutes away and had an intense math and science program. Eventually, I decided to apply, but my home school, Tallwood, was still my number one, and I wanted to do the Global...

"Where is my umbrella? The haters are raining down on me," said freshman Elisha Rivera.

“My whole family has been very musical since I was born. My dad plays the drums and first began teaching me to play when I was in diapers. I played drums for five years, but eventually they weren’t my thing anymore. I started playing the piano for about three years and still play a little. I played saxophone through middle school, but I currently am playing the guitar, and have been...

"I like boy scouts, the outdoors are really interesting to me that is why I also work at LL Bean. I go camping at least once a month and am almost an Eagle scout. I play football for OL and start at right guard. I enjoy playing football because I like to be competitive; I am having my best season yet. I am in the Math and Science academy and I am in four AP classes. I go to ATC everyday where I learn...

“I’m on three cheerleading teams. Two of the teams here at Ocean Lakes and one at Fame. The one at Fame is large co-ed team, and sometimes I cry at practice and get hurt a lot. I have to drive practically five hours to get to practice everyday. Saturdays are my only day off. I recently started [attending] Fellowship for Christian Athletes; everyone comes and meets after school and does worship, ...

"I was interested in making more money than a minimum wage job can offer," said senior Nathan Luksik, who is a binary stock trader. "I look at a certain stock and pretty much guess as to whether or not it will be at a certain value at a certain time. I really just call or quit, and if it's above where I say it will be, then I get the money back, and I get some money; however, if it's below the value...

“I’m heading to get some field trip forms signed so that we can go to Kellam tomorrow for our Kellam Student Exchange .so they came here last Friday and shadowed our students and had a good ol’ time and saw our spirit assembly and all kinds of different events. And so tomorrow we will be going there and doing the exact same thing and having a grand ol’ time and go and explore their school and...

  “I’m an oil painter. My style can best be described as a surrealist, expressionist mixture. I love to use colors that are exaggerated and not necessarily accurate. I prefer to paint portraits because we, as people, tend to pick up on subtle gestures and emotions and I love to pull at these. I’ve been interested in art since I could hold a pencil. I became serious about it my sophomore...