Practice never comes easy: the performance, the competition is always the exciting part of an activity. But junior Micah Kwok proves to be capable of both—understanding the value of sore muscles and tired lungs. While the Chanteurs lifestyle can be hectic, Micah’s attitude reflects the group’s values as a dedicated and persevering performing arts group.

While being a second-year member of Chanteurs doesn’t bring any surprises about the consuming workload, the time commitment never gets any easier. On top of the hour spent daily during fifth period, Micah attends lunch sectionals twice a week—coming close to six hours a week spent on learning and perfecting the music for the various spring competitions. Yet the choreography rehearsals are much worse: three hours on Tuesday and eight hours on Saturday equate to eleven hours a week of dance, outside of school. This year’s Chanteurs is not about slacking off. Because of rehearsals, Micah often finds himself waking at 7:00 a.m. on Saturdays and sore on Sundays. And that’s not even including the rehearsals on the days off.

Micah is currently Dance Captain, Section Leader, and Sound Crew President of Chanteurs. As Dance Captain, Micah is in charge of making sure that the boys don’t have two left feet. As Section Leader, Micah guides the basses through the tricky notes of a four-part tune. And as Sound Crew President, he is held accountable by Choir Director Mr. Rollie Maxson for the sound quality at shows and competitions. The many leadership positions come with loads of responsibility, yet Micah does not shirk from the expectations upon him. "The responsibility is pretty tough," Micah admitted, "but I try my best to encourage others and try to make group progress in achieving our goals." Ultimately, "of course I find Chanteurs worth it!" is the dedicated member’s sentiments. Micah learns to balance the obligations with the encouragements and enjoys his jobs so much that he has high aspirations for his next year in Chanteurs.

But as for this year, the workload has already paid off. First place trophies at their first competitions of the season—and perhaps many more to follow.

The girls of Pep Flags strutted onto the USA regional competition floor calm, cool, and collected with a smile as big as Alaska taped right across their faces. While twirling with excellence, it’s no wonder why the amazing girls of Pep Flag made it to the national level on Jan. 24.

Their uneasy journey began just one day before the competition when one girl dropped out on short notice. Instead of the expected hopeless feeling striking through the team, the girls raised their heads up high and made the best of the situation. With less than a day to change their routine due to the loss of one member, they had many stressful moments before their accounted performance.

As they entered Orange Lutheran High School with a freshly-made routine embedded in their minds, the girls prepared for whatever result they received, in both a mental and physical way. The girls of Pep Flags who took part in the competition cheerfully presented themselves to the audience and their judges while walking onto the stage to get ready for their performance. While twirling their flags to a collaborative mix of music, which includes a variety of techo genre of music, including the song "Fallin’ for You" by singer Colbie Caillat, the girls bounced with energy and enthusiasm as if their lives depended on it.

Captain senior Anna Yu said that she "expected to qualify for Nationals because the team works very hard and adjusts well to last-minute changes." In the end, Pep Flags placed fifth with a score of 75 out of 100, which qualified them for Nationals. As of now, the team is definitely competing at the national level in the Anaheim Convention Center on Mar. 26.

Before each and every competition, the girls gather at Anna’s abode bright and early in the morning to prep themselves up for a busy day ahead of them. They have somewhat of a team bonding where they help each other with their hair and makeup. Occasionally, the girls would also have sleepovers to make sure they can become as close as possible, like a team family.

Twirling flags is an understatement because the girls went through much intense training before they could compete at the regional competition. They had to run a mile each day, do 100 crunches, 30 push-ups, and hold out their flags for seven minutes. While many students at AHS are given the chance to catch up on their sleep, these girls are busy practicing for perfection.