This week The Ravine highlights Aidan Palchick as the Wolf of the Week. Palchick, a junior, is involved in activities both in and out of school. Recently, he co-founded the Kilbourne Chess Club with Juniors Joel Nkrumah and Luka Young. In Palchick’s words, the club “introduces new players to chess as well as giving experienced players a challenge.” The club meets every Tuesday before school in Mr. Isenhour’s room. There is no doubt that through founding the club he has introduced new people to the game of chess.

Palchick’s passion for tennis started when he was young, playing with his family. This quickly developed to lessons, leagues, and lots of time spent on the courts.

“Another part of tennis I enjoy is seeing my teammates develop as players and as people” said Palchick.

Palchick also is a player for the varsity tennis team and has been playing for the school since his freshman year. As the junior season approaches, Palchick says that “I am excited for another season to continue playing a sport I enjoy with my teammates.” I asked Palchick if he had any goals for this season and he stated that “I want to make it to districts and maybe states. Also I want to improve upon my skills.” Palchick spends the off season playing indoor tennis at the Racquet Club to try and get ahead of his competition. “I think that playing in the off-season against a variety of people helps me get ahead of my peers” said Palchick.

Also relating to sports, Palchick is also part of the Student Athletic Leadership Board. This program takes high school athletes and focuses on developing their leadership skills. “I think that through working with other high school athletes that are like-minded I have improved both as a leader and an athlete,” said Palchick.

Another way Palchick is involved with the school is being a participant of Ski Club. He has been skiing since age 6 and continues to enjoy skiing with classmates every winter.

Science Olympiad is another program that Palchick spends time with. Science Olympiad has each school form a team and travel for competitions. They have a variety of different events, testing each schools ability to perform complex science related tasks or projects. “Science Olympiad has helped me improve with not only my science and math skills but also with team work and communication,” said Palchick. He also added that he has “met a lot of cool people through the competitions that I wouldn’t have otherwise met.”

Our Wolf of the Week, Aidan Palchick, shows his competence both in the classroom and out on the courts through his commitment to helping Kilbourne become a better place. Aidan leaves readers with: “I think that both the teachers and students at Kilbourne create an environment that helps people become improve themselves and help others.”