College: Vanderbilt University

Major: Neuroscience

Where does personality come from? What makes you who you are? AP Psychology will tell you it’s some combination of innate characteristics, parenting styles, behavior that has been punished or reinforced, etc. Thinking about it technically, sure, but I am going to look at it differently. 

Nothing I’ve done individually while at KHS has truly shaped who I am. Rather, it is the activities and groups I’ve been a part of. The 100+ people I’ve worked with on The Kirkwood Call, my dozens of basketball and baseball teammates and all of my coaches. Peers and teachers, too, of course, but almost all of my close friends have been involved in journalism, basketball or baseball. That’s not a coincidence. 

Without TKC, I would probably just share a couple classes with Megan and Kate. But after over a year of working together closely as editors-in-chief, they are some of my closest friends. We’ve had so many laughs and made lasting memories. As for my basketball and baseball teammates, we’ve bonded through the teams we’ve been on together, and I’m grateful for the years of experiences with them. The time spent with my teammates and TKC peers means more to me than any assignment, project or course grade. So thank you all. 

Of course, I sincerely appreciate the education I have received, too. I’ve grown significantly as a student, collaborator and person as a result of all the classes I’ve taken and the teachers I’ve had the privilege of learning from here. As one of my favorite basketball coaches often told us, “they call it ‘student-athlete’ for a reason — you’re a student first, then an athlete.” I absolutely agree. 

The incredible education KHS offers is something everyone gets to enjoy and take advantage of, and recently I’ve thought about how I’m fortunate to have also had four years of basketball and baseball and three and a half years of TKC. The experiences and the people involved have done so much to shape my personality, making me who I am. 

As for one final message from me, take a look at those italicized words again.