Michael Welker welds on a switchgear deck on Monday Oct. 9, 2017 at Young's Welding and Machine Repair in Auxvasse, MO. Welker has been working at Young's for eight months, when the switchgear deck was started. 

Shawnee Mission Northwest sophomore Alex Dang rehearses on Feb. 28 in the Northwest auditorium. He began playing the violin in his 4th grade year. "The atmosphere of playing in a complete orchestra feels unbeleivable," Dang said.

A Shawnee Mission West student mourns the death of fellow classmate Ashton Brunmeier at a vigil held on Dec. 7 in the SM West Auditorium. When Brunmeier lost his two year battle with cancer, “#ATB” [Ashton Todd Brunmeier] began trending on social media and spread nationwide.

Graduated member of MizzouThon leadership Shelby McGhee (right) and current member of leadership Lauren Livesay (left) celebrate the life of Tommy Veltrop at the Main Event in the MU Recreation Center on March 12. Veltrop passed away the previous year and became one of MizzouThon’s Miracles in the Sky. A memorial ceremony was held in his honor at the Main Event.

Dan Dujakovich puts on his final touches for his transformation into  Molly Alice Minx on Oct. 13, 2016 in Memorial Union. The lights had just dimmed as the annual Black and Gold Drag Show was about to start.

MU freshman C.J. Roberts goes to dunk the ball in the Mizzou Madness men's basketball scrimmage after the Homecoming football game on Saturday Oct. 21, 2017 at Mizzou Arena. The Black team won against the Gold team in the scrimmage, 32-19.

Kansas City Art Institute freshman Bailey Kopp holds her chinchilla, Kirby, in her room. Kopp is surrounded by her band posters, camera, Mac, art supplies and chinchilla. “Those are all the things that kind of saved my life,” Kopp said. “High school was a pretty bad time for me and moving on to my school has improved my outlook on life so much. I am much happier around other people like me: weirdos and art freaks and mis ts. Art itself, photography mostly, relaxes my soul and gives me purpose. The music is always there for me to turn up when I need to tune everything else out. Kirby is my best friend. He keeps me company when no one else will and his cute little face makes me happy no matter how rough things might be.” 

Standing outside the huddle, tight end Connor Johnson holds his head in frustration after the last football game of the season on Nov. 8at Lawrence Free State. The Cougars lost 14-40. “Even though we didn’t have the best record, we always had a positive attitude and we were focused on getting better,” Johnson said.

Senior Joel Droge attempts to break through a tackle during a rugby game on Aug. 27. This was Droge’s first full year on the team. “I was walking home from track practice and the rugby team was warming up for their game,” Droge said. “When I walked past, Coach Pat asked me what I was doing for the next two hours. I said nothing. He threw me a jersey and told me to get in the car. It’s great to actually be on the team and contribute this year.”

Junior Mallory Wilhite chalks her hands in preparation for the bars on Oct. 10 in the Northwest Gym. The chalk is used to absorb sweat and improve grip strength during gymnastics events. “Bars is one of my weaker events but also one of my favorites,” Wilhite said. “It’s a love-hate relationship. It’s fun as long as you don’t peel off, which I have done many times.”

MizzouThon Leadership member Ellen Hinze hugs a fellow member after having her hair shaven off at the MizzouThon Main Event on March 14 in the MizzouRec. MizzouTHon is the University of Missouri’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon. People were able to sign up to have their heads shaven at the event and the hair was donated to make wigs for cancer patients.

Wyatt Richerson is a dirt biker and has made lifelong friends through motocross. "I have met some of the most amazing people while racing," Richerson said. "I met [pro rider] Josh Miller when I started racing, and he is one of my best friends in the world."

Arms in the air, senior Logan Miller cheers as the Cougars make a layup during the game on Feb. 21 at Shawnee Mission West. Spirit Club designated the game as an “orang-out,” so students wore orange to support the team. “I think it’s important to cheer because the players feed off the energy,” Miller said.

With the ball sitting inside the net, Goalie Steven Skells bends down after the boys’ varsity soccer team lost on Nov. 11 at CBAC. The Cougars lost 2-5 in the regional game against Olathe East following triple overtime. “Our entire season lead up to this one game,” Skells said. “We played Olathe East in a tense match that ended in penalty kicks.” It was Skells’ last game of his high school career.