Alexandr Sachivichik, a graduating senior in Dimond’s class of 2012, or “Alex” as his friends call him, is one of the hardest working students at his school. Alex had quite a journey that took him to where he is today. Born in Kazakhstan, he moved around quite a bit as a child before finally ending up in Anchorage. First, he moved to Holland as a young child, and then later to England where he lived with his family until he was 12 years old. And that’s when he moved to Alaska. Going to Mears Middle School and then Dimond, Alex had a chance to meet people that would stick with him all the way up until his graduation. Now, at age 18, Alex is faced with the biggest day of his life – a day he is already prepared for. He will be finishing his high school career with a cumalative “3.72 grade point average… or something like that,” Sachivichik says. That GPA would place him among the tops of his class and on the honor roll. After high school he is planning on moving to Pennsylvania where his parents now live, and study mechanical engineering at Penn State, one of the nation’s most prestigious schools. Throughout high school, Alex participated in cross country running, track and field, varsity football and hockey outside of school for a private club. He has plenty of school spirit, as well. During his senior year, it was easy to spot Alex in the hallways wearing neon spandex or full outright costumes in celebration of school spirit weeks. “It was something I like doing. Between that and prank wars were my favorite things to do during my senior year.” Sachivichik says. ‘Prank Wars’, of course, refers to the game that Alex and his friends Jake Elliott, Logan Rooney, Artem Finko, and Jordan Hall began to play. The point of the game is to prank another of the five. Anyone could recruit anyone else to assist in the pranking of a singled out individual. Pranks range from filling up the bed of a truck with a mountain of snow, spraying a pillow with a horrible smelling scent, or taking a friend’s door off its hinges so that when they open the door the whole thing falls out. When asked to describe Alex, Jake Elliot, a senior, only had nice things to say. “He’s been one of my best friends since middle school. He’s an honest guy, someone you can trust. Someone that you can rely on.” There aren’t a lot of compliments that rank over one like that. Alex also joined the AP Spanish class on a trip to Costa Rica in the summer of 2011. “That was a lot of fun,” Alex says. Throughout his high school career, he says the hardest class he took was Calculus BC with Ms. Sears. The easiest? “Economics with Ms. Hammerstrom. We had to make a video for extra credit in the class and it was a lot of fun. The whole class was fun.” he says. Alex says in all his years here, teachers Mr. Hall, Ms Sears, and Ms. Childress are his all time favorites. “I like all the different people at school. I like meeting them. I also like all the drama that happens in high school. Not being involved in it, you know, but just watching it happen. It’s entertaining,” The tall senior says. “It’s crazy how much you grow during high school. Physically, but not just that. Mentally. And academically. It’s amazing.” he finishes. And this time next year he’ll be finishing his freshman year in college, a whole different animal to deal with. And so from all his friends and teachers at Dimond, we wish you good luck.