{"id":219496,"date":"2026-06-15T11:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T11:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/219496\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T11:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T11:25:09","slug":"emmaus-high-school-senior-overcomes-brain-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/219496\/","title":{"rendered":"Emmaus High School senior overcomes brain surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Student-led publications are the proving ground for the next generation of communication professionals, and The Stinger\u2019s social media<\/a> editor has already shown she can execute a digital marketing strategy, a skill set she\u2019ll continue to hone in Villanova business courses.<\/p>\n

In addition to marketing work for the school newspaper and yearbook, Paige Shickel\u2019s senior year included varsity lacrosse, volunteering, academic honors and time off for brain surgery.<\/p>\n

Shelby Ramirez, one of The Stinger\u2019s faculty advisers, said Shickel carried out her editorial duties \u201cwith class, poise and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond taking the publication\u2019s social media \u201cto the next level,\u201d Ramirez said Shickel\u2019s perseverance through personal struggles inspired the rest of the staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough all her work inside the classroom, extracurriculars, and the [lacrosse] field, she remained a pleasant, kind and caring individual \u2014 most importantly,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cShe took a major life challenge, faced it, and came out even stronger. Her incredible story and incredible self will be missed next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shickel underwent brain surgery to have a cerebral cavernous malformation \u2014 a cluster of irregularly formed blood vessels that can lead to headaches, stroke or other issues \u2014 removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out that I had it in January right when I expected my senior year to start getting a little easier,\u201d Shickel said via text. \u201cI was out of school for about a month and put into the Home bound program until I recovered.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Her surgery happened March 24 at Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia. Shickel returned to school in late April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think because I knew about my brain surgery and few people other than my close friends and teachers knew made it easier for me to continue playing lacrosse and go to school until the surgery date arrived,\u201d Shickel wrote. \u201cI still tried out for my team, turned in assignments and participated in whatever I could until March 24. I ended up telling my team about my condition four days before my surgery. From there, everyone started to reach out and show support. My recovery consisted of rest and OT sessions but I am just grateful for the nurses and surgeons at CHOP and everyone who helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sydney Schaadt, The Stinger\u2019s podcast editor, said the time Shickel had to work remotely did not in any way affect her ability to contribute to group projects at school, including an investigative project about sports betting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe \u2014\u2013 she\u2019s a loud leader and a quiet leader,\u201d Schaadt said. \u201cShe\u2019ll really talk to anyone and be out there and bring humor to a lot of situations, but she\u2019s also very quiet when it comes to doing things to help us all. She\u2019ll help everyone in the room, and she may not take the credit for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shickel\u2019s resume also includes National Honor Society and World Language Honor Society membership, plus work for the Student Athlete Leadership Team, the Hornet Ambassador program, Key Club, Habitat for Humanity and peer tutoring. She played varsity lacrosse and also volunteered as a lacrosse coach.<\/p>\n

Her interests also include fashion. After learning that other nearby school districts have fashion clubs, Shickel decided to start one this year.<\/p>\n

Emmaus High School had a club called Buzz Magazine, but getting students interested in producing a magazine when the school\u2019s newspaper and yearbook programs were already going strong was challenging, Shickel said.<\/p>\n

When she decided to convert Buzz Magazine into the Fashion Club, she used the Instagram handle @emmaushsfashionclub<\/a> to spotlight fashion and to allow students to vote on their favorite looks.<\/p>\n

At Villanova, Shickel said, she is going in as a business major and plans to take advantage of elective courses that could strengthen her marketing skills and her knowledge of economics.<\/p>\n

The university will likely offer opportunities to gain summer internships, network and figure out what kind of marketing she\u2019d like to pursue, Shickel said, adding that she\u2019s not sure yet if fashion marketing will stay on her list of career possibilities or not.<\/p>\n

Shickel did marketing work for The Stinger and the school\u2019s yearbook club. The role of social media editor meant she could focus on promotion and \u201chave more freedom as an editor,\u201d Shickel said.<\/p>\n

Shickel\u2019s fellow student newspaper editors and advisers say she\u2019s been the driving force behind expanding the publication\u2019s online presence, helping to launch podcasts and expand social media engagement. The video podcast she helped Schaadt launch can be viewed on the @WhatstheBuzzEmmaus YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The friendship between Shickel and Schaadt is an example of how The Stinger has brought together high flyers. Schaadt is the senior class president and was chosen as the Pennsylvania representative for the FBI Academy last year. She is headed to Georgetown University in the fall, where she plans to study government.<\/p>\n

For all the seriousness of Shickel and Schaadt\u2019s academic plans, their social media work doesn\u2019t shy away from fun. Schaadt said Shickel\u2019s short videos have helped the podcast gain viewers and her Instagram posts have made The Stinger more a part of its audience\u2019s daily life.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did one with the Hacky Sack Club, and it was just kind of random and in the hallway one day, but it was really funny, and I think that\u2019s one of our most-viewed posts,\u201d Schaadt said.<\/p>\n

Matt Shaw, co-adviser to The Stinger, said Shickel has \u201creally grabbed onto this idea of using our social media to drive people to our content.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial media was always kind of like a secondary consideration before,\u201d Shaw said, \u201cand Paige really thought of it as almost another arm of the paper to get our journalism out there and bring people to what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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