Senior Spotlights

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Grayson Ragsdale

What colleges are you applying to? Duke, Dartmouth, Davidson, Princeton, Vanderbilt, UGA, Berry and Washington and Lee

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? I’ve been here since kindergarten, and Andrew Sabonis-Chafee was in fourth grade. I didn’t say a single word to him, but I told my mom I thought he was cute!

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Second grade. Mrs. Walden’s class. Whenever she was teaching us something, she liked for us to save our questions until the end. During that lesson, I really had to go to the bathroom. REALLY badly. I raised my hand, but because it was in the middle of the lesson. I wasn’t called on. I kept my hand raised and started waving it around a little bit. Then I started panicking. Fast forward a few minutes, I wasn’t called on, and I wasn’t about to just leave the classroom (because I would have to “flip my card”), so I just went in my seat. I sat in the back of the classroom near the in-class sink so no one could see me, and no one knew. I felt so guilty that I got up slowly and got some paper towels from the sink behind me and brought them back to my seat to soak the wetness out of my chair. I did this four to five times with no one noticing. After the lesson I went to the bathroom and partially rinsed my skirt out with water. Luckily, it was the last lesson of the day, so we all just went home. I’ve been at Wesleyan for 13 years, and this story has never gotten out, but it’s senior year. It was time.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? No question about it. I find it hard to believe that I will find a place again in my life filled with the same amount of love, Christian spirit and sense of community. I love Wesleyan.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Water Polo. Freshman year I told myself I would do it senior year, but you can’t run cross country and play water polo.

What are three things you cannot live without? My sister Holland, my mom and her dry sense of humor, books and music are tied for third.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was two, I wore my scrubs and lab coat to every doctor visit, and my pediatrician told me I could inherit his practice when he retired. I wanted to be a pediatrician more than anything when I was a kid. Now, I want to be an anesthesiologist.

Mary Claire Harpole

What colleges are you applying to? University of Georgia, University of Alabama, Auburn University and Ole Miss.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Peter Hess.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Walking into the wrong class room, which was full of seniors, on the first day of freshman year as a new student. I sat in my seat for about five minutes until one senior told me I was probably in the wrong class.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? My friends.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I made time to audition for a play.

What are three things you cannot live without? Sour patch watermelons, my friends and perfume.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was a kid my dream was to be a model, now my dream job would be to work as an editor for a major fashion magazine.

Darby Carroll

What colleges are you applying to? BYU Idaho/ Provo.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Sid Brendel.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? It was on honors day sophomore year, and everyone was walking to Yancey. I was talking to Lauren Bell, and I literally tripped and ate it! I scraped my knee, my elbow and my chin… some upperclassman guys behind me who saw it happened helped me up, laughed and walked away.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? Being involved in theatre productions.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I did chapel band.

What are three things you cannot live without? Ice, french fries and music.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? I wanted to be an actress, and now, I think I’m going to go into the medical field to be a dermatologist or nurse.

Marvin Andre Guillén-Meza

What colleges are you applying to? Kennesaw State, Georgia Tech, Berry and SCAD.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Sarah Kate Brown.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? It was during P.E. in eighth grade. The entire class had the option of doing different activities, and I choose soccer. Someone kicked the ball, and I ran after it, not really paying attention to my surroundings. Once I did look up, however, I noticed that Tommy Wagner was in front of me. I was moving too fast to stop myself in time, so I put my arms out in front of me and tried to warn him. Unfortunately, it was too late as I slammed into him, and he went flying backwards. When he got back up, he was pretty angry with me, and some of the guys that saw the whole event had to hold him back. I felt horrible about the whole thing (even though my entire English class applauded me because of it). It wasn’t until a couple days later that he was chill with it. Now, I look back and laugh. I can still remember it all vividly.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? The marching band. It is my second family and the bonds/friendships I made there shaped me into the person I’ve become today. Although rehearsal got tiring at times, Friday night games and competitions always made it worth it. Mr. Foster and his staff have done an excellent job creating an environment where anyone and everyone fits in while constantly teaching life lessons that’ll forever stick with you.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? If I could go back and change one single thing, I’d take art instead of band. Now don’t get me wrong, I love band, and I’ll never forget the fun times I’ve had in it, but as a kid, I’ve always loved art. I’m a creative guy, and I wished I had used that creativity more, especially now that I have an idea of what I want to do after college. Although I am taking art now, it’s just not the same.

What are three things you cannot live without? YouTube, memes and the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? As a kid I always wanted to be a video game designer, but now I have an urge to pursue animating. I’ve contemplated becoming a freelance digital artist and/or YouTuber.

Zach Hanger

What colleges are you applying to? VT, Wake Forest, Miami and TCU.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Natalie Hamlin.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Getting a 46 on the Honors Algebra 2 final and getting four dress code detentions in two weeks.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? I’ll miss cross country camp and summer basketball.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? AP Spanish with Mrs. Liverance.

What are three things you cannot live without? “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, Bon Iver and driving.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? It was to be basketball player but now probably a lawyer.

Sarah Kate Brown

What colleges are you applying to? UGA, Auburn, College of Charleston and Florida State University.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Carson Hoover.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? When I was a sophomore, I slipped on a water puddle in the lunchroom and fell on my back knocking the air out of me. All the while, spilling tomato soup all over myself and my white Wesleyan shirt. The worst part was that I created this giant scene directly in front of the junior boys table.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? MY FRIENDS! I have the best friends in the world.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Volleyball…If you haven’t noticed I’m pretty tall.

What are three things you cannot live without? My besties, Iced Carmel Macchiatos and my electric heating blanket because I get cold a lot.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian who could talk to animals and at the same time be a Cheetah Girl. Now that I’ve matured, I think I want to do something in business marketing, which seems a lot less fun.

Evan Smart

What colleges are you applying to? Clemson, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Princeton.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Kat Hughes in seventh grade.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? My most embarrassing moment happened in junior year after the college fair.  I was parked along the curb of Jeb Brown’s house for a fantasy football draft. Unfortunately, I backed up too far and hit Jeb’s mailbox. The hit was so hard that the wooden post holding the mailbox was split in half.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? I will miss my friends and all my teachers.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Academic Bowl.

What are three things you cannot live without? Books, Amazon and “Game of Thrones.”

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? My dream job as a kid was to be a General in the Air Force, while my dream job now is to be an industrial engineer in the business world.

Stephanie Bono

What colleges are you applying to? UGA, University of South Carolina, Samford, Mercer, and Auburn.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Austin Luke.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Freshmen year, Mr. Hart asked my class to film a presidential video and it had to seem realistic. I thought it would be a great idea of film mine in Powell. When I checked backstage to make sure no one was there, I heard a crowd of people walk in. I freaked out and climbed up the stairs to where the lights were controlled from. My first thought was that they will leave soon, but, no I was wrong. Little did I know that it was the girls’ soccer banquet, so I remained hidden for over two and half hours. I was too scared to move because I didn’t want anyone to realize I was there, so I had to stay there until the banquet was over.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? The community, mission trips and Friday night lights!

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I had applied to peer leadership and done a school play.

What are three things you cannot live without? Strawberries, friends and Spotify.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was little I wanted to be a model, but now I want to be a pediatrician and a missionary.

Abby Yang

What colleges are you applying to? Stanford, Emory, University of Southern California, Brown University and UGA.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Henry Pilgrim.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? It was raining one day in seventh grade, and I was late for school. When I got there, I ran with all my bags to homeroom and completely wiped out right in front of the door in the hallway.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? Mrs. Godard

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I had learned how to sing so I could be in a musical.

What are three things you cannot live without? Books, good snacks and green tea.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? I wanted to be an ice cream driver as a kid, so I could eat free ice cream. Now, I want to be an author or a lawyer or both.

Austin Luke

What colleges are you applying to? UGA, Auburn, GCSU and Samford.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Maddie Lloyd in eighth grade.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Wiping out during cross country freshman year when I was trying to be funny and jump over a football dummy.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? I will miss the many amazing memories and friends that I have made.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Tried harder.

What are three things you cannot live without? Sitcoms, music and my dogs.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? My dream job as a kid was to be a pro basketball/soccer player. Now, I have no clue what my dream job is.

Drake Bursa

What colleges are you applying to? Auburn.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Madison McKemie.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? When I came in second in Fortnite solo game in front of my whole mission trip team. I really let them down and didn’t live up to my full potential.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? My brothers from my YoungLife campaigners group (aka the Party Cage).

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Started a men’s volleyball team. We would have won state four years in a row.

What are three things you cannot live without? Baseball, football and my Younglife group.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was little all I wanted to be was a paleontologist. Now I want to be a park ranger because I love the country and having my space to do whatever I want.

Meredith Lynch

What colleges are you applying to? Auburn, Clemson, UGA, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Davis Moreland.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? It was eighth grade field day and I was the last person in line for the sack race. My turn came, and I was hauling it. I thought it would be a good idea to dive across the finish line with no regard for my personal safety. Not a good idea. Turns out I ended up breaking my collar bone in front of the entire middle school, but hey I won.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? The teachers.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Omicron Service Society.

What are three things you cannot live without? My overalls, nasa.gov and Vaseline.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was younger I wanted to be an astronomer at NASA, but now I want to be an environmental scientist for NASA.

Tatiana Hamade

What colleges are you applying to? Auburn, UGA, Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Stewart Stamper.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? In eighth grade, I was changing in my car at the forum before a football game. It was so hot in the car that I had my door cracked open. I was with Megan Gallagher and she thought it would be funny to push me out when I was just wearing underwear. When I fell out it was just my luck that senior Wesleyan boys were walking past, and they proceeded to smile and wave at me. I, as a mortified eighth grader, dove right back in my car.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? The community. I am going to miss everyone.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I ran cross country as a freshman.

What are three things you cannot live without? My brother, Spotify and flowers.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? I totally wanted to be a rock star princess. But now I want to work for a magazine in an exciting city.

Warner Peaks

What colleges are you applying to? Bates College, Kansas, Oberlin College, UNC Charlotte, Vassar College, Emory University and George Mason.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Ashley Pierce.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? On my first day of school, I went to the wrong classroom three times in a row because I didn’t bring my schedule that day.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? My daily trips to the Spirit Shop.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Water polo.

What are three things you cannot live without? American Deli wings and fries, shea moisture and Chinese food.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? I wanted to play professional basketball, and that dream is still true today.

Sumeet Singh

What colleges are you applying to? I’m going to Emory University.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Michelle Tan in eighth grade.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? When I joined Wesleyan in seventh grade, I had to have my new-student lunch with Mr. Young. Prior to the meeting, I was really nervous because I had the impression that the headmaster was a strict, old dictator. During the lunch, everything was going smoothly. Mr. Young asked me some questions about myself, and I answered. Really light. But then he asked me, “Sumeet, where do you want to go to college?” I panicked and said, “John Hopkins University.” Mr. Young immediately corrected me saying, “It’s Johns Hopkins with an S, Sumeet.” So I went home, climbed onto my bed and cried my eyes out the whole night because I thought I failed the most important person at Wesleyan.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? I’ll definitely miss marching band the most because of all the relationships I’ve formed with everybody, especially my woodwinds.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I co-started some type of business with Jaucqir Lafond. We could’ve made millions together. We could’ve been Los Pollos Hermanos.

What are three things you cannot live without? Spotify, basketball and Thai food.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a doctor. Now, I still want to be a doctor.

Carson Pavelec

What colleges are you applying to? Notre Dame, UNC, UVA, Villanova, UGA and Georgia Tech.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Cassie Henning in fourth grade.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? During the fifth grade honors assembly, they called my name and then Lauren’s name, my twin sister. Lauren reached the stage before I did, so I quickly jumped in front of her on stage because I thought I needed to keep the order. The entire audience thought that I shoved Lauren out of the way to get my award.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? How willing the teachers are to get to know you.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Gone to more sporting events.

What are three things you cannot live without? Klondike Bars, a good book and Lauren.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was a kid, I wanted to be the President or a magician. Now, my dream job is to be a management consultant.

Megan Gallagher

What colleges are you applying to? United States Naval Academy, University of Richmond, Dartmouth, Georgetown and Georgia Tech.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Jack Lambert.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Oh my gosh, there are so many… But probably freshman year when I was called up on stage for the Tacky Christmas Sweater Contest. It was on the stage in Powell Theater, and as an ironic joke, I wore an Hanukkah sweater that said “Light It Up.” It was a thousand percent a joke, but clearly, no one understood that. At the end of the day, Tucker Cannon and a bunch of his friends came up and asked me if I was actually Jewish. I was so flustered. I didn’t even answer his question. I just mumbled gibberish under my breath and ran away. Good times.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? The people.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Taken History of WWII with Mr. Cleveland.

What are three things you cannot live without? My dog, Mexican food and music.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? My dream job as a kid was to be the next Disney Channel star who also was a professional basketball player. Those big dreams were crushed when I realized that, not only could I not sing, I was also terrible at basketball. Now I want to serve in the Navy, and then when I’m done, I want to open up a really cute bakery.

Anna Kate Johnson

What colleges are you applying to? I am going to the University of Alabama next year.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Billy Stepp.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Every single time my stomach growls in class when I am hungry.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? I love the community that Wesleyan brings and all the friends and teachers that I have met while going to school here. I am going to miss cheering on the Wolves, especially the football games. I love watching all my friends play! Also, I love SAGE Dining and am going to miss getting “free” home cooked meals for lunch every day. Finally, I am going to miss being able to go to school with my brother and driving him to school every day.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I did football cheerleading.

What are three things you cannot live without? Pasta, music and shampoo.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? For all my life, I have wanted to be famous in some way. When I was little, I especially wanted to be famous by being a sports sideline reporter for college football games and be on TV interviewing the coaches as they are going in for halftime and also after the games. In the future, I do not know what I want to do yet, but I do know that at some point in my life I want to run my own cute boutique.

Natalie Hamlin

What colleges are you applying to? Auburn, Furman, UGA, Belmont and maybe somewhere in the west.. who knows.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Carson Hoover.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? I have too many to pick from, but I’d have to say the time at field day when we were playing the relay race where you put on an outfit, run around a cone, come back, take it off and pass it on. After finishing the race, I realized I had taken my outfit off as well.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? The relationships I have with teachers; they have been such a blessing.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? I wish I had played volleyball all four years.

What are three things you cannot live without? My mom, coconut oil and the outdoors.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was a kid, I always dreamed of being an animal trainer. Now, I want to be a designer and create beautiful things that help people.

Alva Jones

What colleges are you applying to? Auburn, Baylor, Clemson, UGA and Virginia Tech.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Gracie Mitchell.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? Freshman year, I accidentally came to school in my chapel uniform even though it was a spirit wear day.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? Free period billiard games.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? Played baseball.

What are three things you cannot live without? Showers, cars and sushi.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? As a kid my dream job was to be a race car driver. Now, my dream job is to be an engineer.

Meagan Lynch

What colleges are you applying to? Howard, Georgia Southern, Wofford and Ohio State.

Who was your first Wesleyan crush? Jaylen Clarke.

What was your most embarrassing Wesleyan moment? I honestly wish I had a funny embarrassing story, but I don’t.

What will you miss most about Wesleyan? Homecoming week.

What is one thing you wished you had done in high school? A play/musical.

What are three things you cannot live without? Food, track and my phone.

What was your dream job when you were a little kid versus what is your dream job now? When I was a little kid, I wanted to be an OBGYN (before I knew what it was). Now, I want to be a lawyer.

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