Rock Talk
Rock Talk is the official podcast of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri — where we explore the voices, values, and vibrant life of our Jesuit, college-prep community. Hosted by the Admissions and Marketing team, each episode features conversations with students, faculty, alumni, and special guests as we share stories of academic excellence, faith formation, brotherhood, and service. Whether you're a prospective family, a proud alumnus, or simply curious about what makes Rockhurst unique — this is your inside look at life at The Rock.
Rock Talk
Two Seniors: Our Last First Semester Reflections
The mics are hot and the pace is real: We sit down with our SGA president and senior class president to unpack a semester that never touched the brakes. From a raucous district championship turnout to a weekly video series that became appointment viewing, they share how school spirit turned into a campus movement—and why that energy matters when you’re trying to lead, learn, and lift others.
We get into the record-breaking Harvest Food Drive that pushed past 50,000 pounds for local food banks, the friendly rivalry that fueled it, and the teamwork that made it happen. The conversation moves from pep rallies to production as the guys detail how the morning announcement videos evolved from simple updates to a creative engine, culminating in a new student-led podcast and internships with our marketing team. It’s a candid look at student agency, media skills, and the power of inviting more voices to the table.
Then we pivot to formation. Senior service takes center stage with concrete plans at L’Arche Heartland and Operation Breakthrough, shaped by years of listening to returning classmates describe life-changing placements. We also talk finals without the fluff: how to study smarter, why the Student Success Center’s peer tutoring works, and where AI can help diagnose weak spots without replacing human guidance. The holidays are around the corner, and the gratitude is palpable—teachers who show up, classmates who buy in, and a community that says yes when it counts.
If you care about student leadership, Jesuit education, and real-world learning in Kansas City, you’ll find practical ideas and honest reflection here. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a finals boost, and leave a quick review to help more families discover Rock Talk.
Welcome to Rock Talk, the official podcast of Rockers High School, Kansas City, Missouri, where we explore the voices, values, and vibrant life of our Jesuit college prep community. Hosted by the admissions and marketing team, each episode features conversations with students, faculty, alumni, and special guests as we share stories of academic excellence, faith formation, brotherhood, and service. Whether you're a prospective family, a proud alumnus, or simply curious about what makes Rock Rush unique, this is your inside look at life at the Rock. Well, guys, we're excited to be back in the normal rhythm of things after a brief break. Both Steve and I are super excited because over the next couple of weeks, we are going to have some very special episodes with our current students as kind of treats for the holiday season. And we figured to kick things off, we had to bring back our most listened to guests so far on this podcast, our brave leaders of the SGA, our current SGA president and our current senior class president, back to kind of take us through this first semester and kind of some things they're excited about. So, boys, why don't we start out by having you once again introduce yourself to our listeners?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, thank you for having me. My name is Brendan Orpals. I'm the SGA student body president, among other things, and I'm very excited to be back on the air.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, Brendan, me too. I'm Jack McShane. I'm the president of the senior class and really excited to get back here.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, guys, we are thankful to have you back, as Beth said. And I know the listeners are because you guys were the reigning undisputed heavyweight most listened to episode that we have so far at over 250 downloads. So glad to have you back. And this is exciting because, you know, we were thinking, Beth and I, we're sitting here and we're going through a busy admission season. And so this is refreshing for us to take a break from processing paperwork, but also just having a thought about this is you guys' first last semester. Or last semester. Is that a semester? Yeah, there you go. Yeah. Time flies. Wanted to check in with you boys and see how how you've been doing, man. How's the semester been?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. No, it's been, I will, I will say the one way to describe the semester is it it's been so fun that after we get over this crazy fun thing, I'm like, okay, finally we'll get a break. There is no break. We just jump straight into the next thing. It's been really fun. I think from pep rallies to football games to the morning videos on Wednesdays to harvest food drive, the record-breaking harvest food drive. I was crazy. No, it's been it's been fun. I bet Jack can even agree with me on that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it's definitely been uh all gas, no breaks. You know, we've been having things pop up every week, different problems we need to solve. So the break will be a nice uh breath of fresh air, just kind of decompressed from all that. But yeah, I'm really proud and happy with how everything's gone this semester. I feel like we've done a lot of great things, and so we're excited to get back next semester and continue doing that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So speaking of harvest food drive and your record breaking, can you share with our listeners what how much you guys raised for local food banks during pretty crucial time for food banks in our area? Can you let us know that big, big record-breaking number?
SPEAKER_02:Yes. So I'll start off with last year. This is I think the sixth year Harvest Food Drive. So it's a pretty relatively new thing, but we compete against all the other uh 23 other Jesuit schools in the country to bring in the most pounds of cans. And last year was a record-breaking year of 41,000 pounds, with the senior class getting 21,000 pounds. And so that was the record for that, for a class total and a school total. And we just demolished that this year. We had, I think, 23,000, 24,000 as a senior class, and then as a school, we hit 49,000, but cans kept coming in, so we hit 50.
SPEAKER_03:We hit 50,000 pounds of cans, which is crazy. Yeah, all of uh last year after the that record breaking number, the senior class in the grade above us, they were talking a lot of trash saying, you know, we were never gonna touch it. And even in the summer, as we were leading up into the fall, uh, couple guys were saying, Yeah, you guys aren't touching 41. And then after we uh broke the record, of course, I had to let them know that we chatted.
SPEAKER_00:I I did see a very grace, gracious message though, from our former student body president Luke Keithler on the Instagram. So he may have been sending you messages behind the scenes, but it seemed like he was a gracious loser and and super excited for you guys breaking that record.
SPEAKER_03:It's all in good spirit. Yeah, they they know what it's all about. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01:That's cool, man. And I uh well one, because you know, going on the tours and talking to different folks for a while, I'm glad because you know, for a while I would be like, yeah, they they just got just under 50,000. So it's I'll I'll adjust now anytime that comes up that we're we're over 50. So what other highlights, guys? I mean, you guys are both, I see you running around all the time doing something. You got your hand in a lot of stuff, Brendan. Jack, I know you're super busy. What other highlights you know have you been, you know, excited or do you have uh for this first semester?
SPEAKER_03:I think one of the biggest highlights that was one of our goals coming into this year was school spirit.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_03:You know, I think we I think the Platte County game district championship was a great example of that. We had a lot of guys show out, even though it's an hour away. And I was really happy to see that, being a Yellow leader, yeah, seeing that I kind of draw people to come to games because they know that it's gonna be a good, uh, good experience, good environment. That made me really happy. And then also I think me and Brendan both agree, the morning videos has been probably the biggest highlight we've had this year. The Friday morning announcement videos, that's been my favorite thing that I've done at Rockers so far. I used to always say with student government, but that's taken the prize. Me and uh Michael Lassolo have been hosting those, and as a result of that, I know I'm happy to say that we were invited to do an internship with the marketing team. Yeah, for sure. So uh we're excited about it. We're gonna be getting the first ever student-led Rockers podcast. So that's probably been hearing that news was probably the highlight of my semester so far.
SPEAKER_00:We're super pumped too to just see what both you and Michael bring to the table. Your morning videos are classic for sure. And so that's for our our current listeners that will launch in January, and we're super pumped about it. And so you'll have to follow our student-led podcast.
SPEAKER_02:For sure. Just touching back on those morning videos. When we first came up with the idea of those, we thought we were just gonna have like two different hosts every week, you know, just telling the news. What it turned into was something way more than what we could have ever expected. Because originally it was like, hey, we we start with two guests or hosts, and then when we got to Jack and Michael like a quick, we can't just we can't just take two new guests. We had to get two new, we just had to keep going within the and from there though, I mean, just the chemistry and just the what we came up with from that. I mean, it's just I will say the highlight of my week is Wednesday after schools. The funniest things aren't even on camera. We're releasing a blooper reel after this final video for the semester, and I'm just so excited to just watch that.
SPEAKER_01:Are you guys doing them next semester? Or is it okay? Oh, yeah, we're back.
SPEAKER_03:We'll have uh we'll have a group of juniors take over while we're gone on senior service, but then we're getting right back into it. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Cool.
SPEAKER_00:And I know, Brendan, I always joke with your parents that the only place you can go from here is to being president of the United States. Because for those who don't know Brendan, he is when Mr. Redmond says he's involved in everything, he's involved in everything, whether that's SGA student like school spirit related, but also producing videos not just for SGA, but also for the emissions and marketing team. So, Brendan, are you going to start drinking Mountain Dew like Mr. Winkler? Or how are you gonna continue to run at this speed next semester?
SPEAKER_02:You know, that's a great question because I'm finishing filming my final Rockhurst film after school today for my murder mystery film we're making. And I I don't know. I'm just at rest is important. I'm gonna have to learn to sleep a little more. I can't just stay up and do work. I will be drinking lots of Dr. Pepper. Let's just say that.
SPEAKER_00:That's that's that's my preferred caffeine as well.
SPEAKER_02:I agree. Yeah, I am trying to yeah, I know. I'm trying to stop it, but it's it's just you know, it's so good. But no, I don't know. I I've got a lot of good plans, but honestly, next semester is the big semester for we come in hot with the Shawnee Mission East game, which will be held at the municipal auditorium.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that's exciting. I did not know that. That's great.
SPEAKER_02:It's gonna be announced on our morning podcast or morning news tomorrow morning officially, but it will be at municipal auditorium and then the chick flag contest, and then mission week being the week right after. So once we kind of get through that big push, literally the first two weeks the seniors are back from senior service, my job is gonna be trying to pass the torch on.
SPEAKER_00:So that's also a great note that you guys are getting ready to head into what I think is kind of the quintessential capstone of the Rockers experience, which is senior service. So why don't you guys tell us a little bit about what you guys are gonna be doing for senior service, what you're pumped about, et cetera?
SPEAKER_03:Uh so I'm going to a place called Large Heartland, and it is a place kind of a center for adults with disabilities. Okay. And so kind of my responsibilities are gonna be really just hanging out and being a friend. We're gonna go in the morning shift and we kind of go to the houses where the residents stay, and we kind of get them ready for the day, and then we go and we just kind of spend time with them. They explain it to whether that's playing Mario Kart or just eating lunch with them, which I'm really excited about because I think that's gonna be pretty fun. I feel like I'm pretty drawn to that, just being a hanging out, being a friend to some people. Yeah. But yeah, I think, like you said, it being the kind of big rockers capstone, that's really what's got me excited about it because I know so many guys that have had amazing experiences doing senior service. Whether that be doing something big like going on the Guatemala trip or something small, like staying here in Kansas City. So I'm really excited to kind of have my own experience of that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I'm going to Operation Breakthrough downtown, and I'm so excited. I'll be in the mornings being in the classroom with toddlers or kids aged two to five.
SPEAKER_00:No fun at all.
SPEAKER_02:No fun. Yeah, exactly. It'll be really I'm I'm so excited. It'll be just an opportunity to get to, you know, just be in the classroom and get to be with kids who just bring so much energy and joy. And then in the afternoon, I'll be doing projects for Operation Breakthrough themselves. So that'll be a really fun chance to get to be in a community that's such a strong community. Like that's a community that shows up for each other, funds like so many different opportunities for people, and just brings a bunch of like energy to the youth in that area. So I'm excited to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_00:That's great. So one of my favorite part of senior service projects, besides going on the trips, which I've gone to Guatemala, it's awesome, is hearing the presentations that you guys do when you get back. So when you guys were sitting the last, you know, three years in those presentations, did listening to those upper classmen talking about their own experiences, did that kind of inspire you and your choice uh of agency to work with?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, a little bit. I remember I've been in presentations of I missed one year, my freshman year, I was sick, I remember, but I went heard a presentation of a boy who went to Holy Cross and then one of someone that went on the Guatemala trip. And I just think hearing them actually feel passionate about helping people made me feel like, okay, I want to do something where I get to interact with people. And so that kind of influenced my decision to go to Larsh. Because I was gonna be able to have that face-to-face contact with the people that I was helping.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, cool. So guys, I hate to be Debbie Downer, but finals are coming up. I told these boys out here, folks, that I have very little sympathy for folks who take finals because for about ten years maybe not ten, finals were always on my birthday. My birthday's next Tuesday, and even when I I thought I was gonna catch a break in college and it didn't happen. But I'm not gonna I'm not gonna poo-poo on your parade. What are you guys excited? You not excited? How are you feeling about your?
SPEAKER_02:You can help us. No, yeah, no, finals are I've only got three, three or four finals this year because of my other classes are more project-based. So that is a big help this year. But no, I'm I'm not too worried, which I say now, I'm not gonna work. But I'm I'm feeling good. It's my last, hopefully, time I'll have to take a final other than an AP final at Rockers. But no, I'm feeling pretty good. I feel like the last few years we've been set up to the point where it's like you're constantly in review with your classes that I I'm feel pretty set up for what's coming next. Cool.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, yeah, senior year definitely is probably the lightest workload in terms of finals. That being said, in terms of number of finals, that being said, the finals that you do take are probably some of the harder ones. Yep, exactly. That's so that's kind of an increased study load, but not for as many. So it's kind of a bittersweet feeling, like Brendan said. You know, we probably won't, depending on our grades, have to take many next semester. Okay. So that makes it, I'm a pretty sentimental person, so I'm like, oh, these could be my last finals. So I'm thinking about it like that. I was too, yeah. And I'm like, oh, this is like one of the last like big things, like a good high school experience. But it's also I'm also not gonna miss them. Like no, exactly. I'm gonna be glad that they're gone.
SPEAKER_02:It's just like that. I was thinking this about yesterday. I'm like, oh, you know, last them over, take a winner final. I'm like, well, I don't really care.
SPEAKER_00:One thing I will say that I've loved that we've done this year at Rockers, which is new with finals, is um for all three of the freshman cure cycles. So whether they're in small group, they're freshman presentations with Mr. Darby or in the Camino class, we're doing different kinds of finals test taking tips. So, and their small groups are really working on setting up study guides with the upperclassmen that are coming in to visit and helping them do that, which I think is great. And seminar, sorry, it's seminar, freshman seminar with Coach Darby. He's kind of talking through finals expectations, some just general notes about finals in general. Because for many of these boys, this is the first time they're ever taking a final exam. And then Mr. Baker and I are doing all about studying, right? So getting the right environment, getting the right ways and methods of studying for different types of content, and then having them kind of practice those. So I I think we're setting up our freshmen for success here with the with a team of our counselors, with our upperclassmen that have volunteered their time. What advice do you have to freshmen going into their first final season season?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, it's funny that you mentioned those seminars because I'm the one who's emceeing those with Ms. Dorty and uh Mr. Darby. So I'll do my last one tomorrow morning. But the thing that we tell the freshmen every uh freshmen every year is that, you know, you are gonna go in thinking you have time. You're gonna go in thinking you know everything, you don't. The thing you don't want to do is go in unprepared. And so the thing that we gotta give them advice for every single year is okay, go through your notes. Make sure you're giving yourself the proper time to study and not cramming because people think like you can't, it's like in any other test. It's not any other test. This is stuff that's not from the last month, it's stuff from the last four. So the big thing that we always tell freshmen is you gotta start preparing early and you can't just try and memorize it all. You gotta just find ways to give yourself time to learn each little concept up up until the final so then you can just review the night before and you'll be okay the next day.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:What about you, Jeff?
SPEAKER_03:I would say don't be afraid to ask questions, whether that's a teacher or a classmate or someone who's taken the class before. That's honestly been the biggest help is guys who have already taken the class. I say, hey, like what helped you kind of study for it? And they said, Oh, go through these notes, these notes, or he posts these videos, watch these videos. So that's always a help, just not being afraid to reach out for help. And then also I would say if you're gonna try to cram, it's probably not gonna work very well. Nope. I think the biggest thing the night before is just try to get good rest, maybe review a little bit, try to get as much as you as much done as you can kind of in the days leading up, days, weeks leading up. So exactly.
SPEAKER_00:So what I'm gonna do a plug for our student success center because we have a great resource, free resource on Rocker's campus that I know students use a lot during finals, which is our student success center run by Mrs. Dorty. It's on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays right after school. No appointment needed, boys, so show up.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And there's peer tutors, there's faculty from every department, so you can get those questions answered. The other thing that Mr. Baker and I talked about, because you know we're both tech tech folk, and we were saying one of the the great positive uses of AI that we wish we had had when we were in school is the ability to upload your tests and quizzes from the previous year. And AI will identify where you're struggling and give you directions on what you're doing wrong. And so utilizing that as a study technique to kind of narrow down what you have to study as opposed to trying to study everything when you don't really need to, and then having some guidance there. I still think the human beings in our student success center are way better, but it is a great positive use of technology to kind of prep for finals. So that that's my big takeaway. So for that stats final, you may want to throw that through AI and see what it tells you.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, definitely. It helps me with A Bush. Help me study for A Bush, yes.
SPEAKER_01:So, gang, here's the cool part about this time of year. Uh it's holiday season. And when we get through our finals, whether we are sprinting through gracefully or struggling through, we get to go into holida holiday season. So is there anything that you're looking forward to? I know we've already had Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving's my favorite holiday, but it's Christmas season and looking forward, anything you guys are looking, you know, excited about?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I for me, I I love Christmas because it's a time when there's no other distractions going on and you can just focus about being together as a family. Because for me, Thanksgiving this year was just finishing college applications. So I wasn't really enjoying my Thanksgiving break very much. But for me in general, Christmas is always that time where you know you can just be together with your family. All of my family comes in for Christmas, so I get to have that time with them and then you know, going and or ice skating, which I did the first time last year, just doing fun things with them every year, trying something new is just it's really that time to just realize what's important, and that's just what's so awesome to me about Christmas.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, the biggest thing I'm looking forward to being the youngest is having my siblings back in the house coming back from college. It's been pretty quiet without them.
SPEAKER_01:So I mean it's just you then.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so I'm still pretty loud, but uh but no, it'll be nice having them back. My sister's uh way out in New York, so I really haven't seen her. Yeah, I really haven't seen her since the uh summer. So it'll be nice to have her back and then just kind of the stress-free break of everything. You know, like we've been saying, it's been all gas, no breaks, so finally rest a little bit, kind of just kind of enjoy sleep, enjoy not having to do a million different things every week.
SPEAKER_01:So cash it in, man. Yep, enjoy every bit about it.
SPEAKER_00:So I just heard the bell. So I think a great wrap-up question would be with that mindfulness, and we're in a very thankful season. Uh, what are you most thankful for from Rock Arts this year?
SPEAKER_02:I'm most thankful for all the people that have come together to help me. Because being a senior, you're gonna ask for rec letters, you're gonna ask for people to help you out in pep rallies and all that other kind of stuff. And the community, and also my friends and the guys around me, the people that have come together to help me through anything. Hey, I need a guy for this pep rally video, I need a guy for this thing, or hey, can you please write this rec letter for me? Or hey, I'm worried about my college application, can you take a look at this? The amount of people who've come together. For me is just you can't find that anywhere else. And I'm so thankful because every time I'm like, I have such a supportive community around me that would drop what they're doing on a Sunday night, email something for me, or help me out, or hey, I'll take care of this. You don't have to worry. So I'm most grateful for all those people who have made my life so much better this year and have just given me so much because of it. So I'm very thankful for all of them.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I'm just thankful for everybody from administration, faculty, teachers, students, I would say especially our senior class for just buying into everything we've done this year. It's been a really, really fun year, and I think a lot of that's because people are actively, you know, trying to make it a great year, you know, kind of buying into things. The morning announcements, we've gotten so many different guys to help out with that, and that's been a great success. Like Brendan said, pep rally videos, I think, are the best they've ever been. And that's really in strong part to guys who weren't really getting involved in years past, kind of realizing, you know what, this is something that I want to be a part of, this community. So they've really kind of taken that next step up and kind of being involved in Rockers.
SPEAKER_01:Cool, cool, cool. Well, guys, we are thankful for you being here. And you know, this is a good thing. This is always cool highlight of our week, of our day, anytime we get to shoot these. And it means something special this time because of just the season we've been in pressing to the break as well. So we wish you the best, man. You you guys are a joy to be around. You uh bring so much energy and life to the school. Um, it's definitely felt for sure. So wish you the best on your finals, wish you a blessed holiday, a Christmas holiday. And guys, this is Beth and Steve signing off. Another episode of Rock Talk, and we'll talk soon.