You're a senior at BHS, which means that graduation is less than two months away. Does that seem realistic? Are you ready to move on?

I do think it seems realistic that I will be graduating this May. After all, 13 years of education in one place is bound to end eventually and I feel like I've waited my fair share of time. Still, it is a little surprising that all I have worked for these past years will be coming to a close within a few short weeks. As for my next step, I have mixed feelings for what lies ahead. Sure, I'll make a great deal of new friends and experience a tremendous amount of new opportunities in my future endeavors, but I will definitely miss all those I have grown up with throughout my time in school, church, sports teams, etc. While taking my next step will contribute to shying away from the routine opportunities to see family, neighbors, and friends, I am sure I will still have plenty of time to visit. All around, I am excited to see what the future has in store and to witness how my life unveils throughout the next few years.

Looking back, have the last 18 or so years gone quickly? What will you miss about your childhood in the Bluffton schools, after-school activities, church?

It does seem a little weird that it is 2010 right now. It seems like just the other day when I was in elementary school with my friends thinking 2010 was sooo far away. Now that it is here, it does not seem like it took all that long! Funny how that works. One thing I will miss about Bluffton aside from all of my friends and family will be the familiarity. I've been trekking into town for almost 18 years now and it just seems like something that I always do. Now as I move on to college, the routine of sporting events, band concerts, and just school in general will begin to dwindle. I will also miss being able to walk up town and recognize all those I have grown up with in the community over the years. And yes, I will especially miss Rockport United Methodist Church. Though the church may be small, it allowed me to become close to everyone in the church. I'll definitely be making visits back home.

Can you tell me any interesting stories about high school or will those have to wait until after you get your diploma? Favorite teachers, courses?

Ha...unfortunately many may have to wait until I walk across the stage with that diploma in my hand. However, there are many that are safe to say including when my friend Cosmo (myself in a pigtailed wig) put on a magic show for my Latin class. All it took was a simple question, asking if I could teach the class. Mrs. Bassett actually let me teach three or four classes that year including the stated magic show, which took the whole period and put all the students on the edge of their seats, staring at me half in amazement and half in bewilderment. All, to this day, have no idea how I did some of the things I did. I guess another interesting thing I did in high school was being the voice of the high school over the announcements. Every morning, I would greet the school with a soothing Goooooood Morning over the school's PA system. I would then proceed to wish them a happy holiday (there was a holiday for each day), wish a happy birthday to those students along with notable worldwide birthdays, and would always close with a random fact. Sometimes I played music over the speakers (especially before big games) and even had an intermission song one time. So many other stories could be told right now but for the sake of my diploma and your time, I'll move on. My favorite high school teacher was a tossup between Mr. Bruskotter and Mr. Simon although I enjoyed most all of them (as long as I was on their good side). My favorite course may have been Health with Mr. Simon although Personal Physical Fitness was a memorable class as well. However, both these fall flat in comparison to my all-time favorite class in high school. Through my post-secondary enrollment at Bluffton University, I had the opportunity to take a Downhill Skiing course in which we made trips to Mad River mountain to "learn about our course" and "experience the subject" firsthand. How many other high schoolers do you know that get the chance to tell their friends they took a high school class about skiing?

What's your favorite cafeteria food? Least favorite?

This is a very tough question for me because for the past three years, I have volunteered my services at the Bluffton Middle School Cafeteria during my study halls every day. I may be biased in saying this, but I honestly enjoy the savory taste of nearly anything the Lunch Ladies dish out. If I were to pick just one favorite, I may have to go with the BBQ Smokies/Mac&Cheese combination dinner although I do really enjoy the honey mustard chicken, beef and noodles, and spaghetti. Basically if they put it out, I would have no problem putting it down. However, my least favorite meal is either on Hot Dog day or Breakfast for Lunch day. As for the hot dogs, it's just a little basic and it's something I think they serve on quite a hefty basis, but likely for cost-efficient reasons. Also, when it's Breakfast for Lunch, aside from it not being one of my favorite meals, it makes all of the lunch tables that I have to wash at the end of the day very sticky and hard to clean up. Plus, the smell seems to stick with you for the rest of the day.

Do you have a vanity plate on your car? What does it say? What are you driving?

Yes I do! My vanity plate simply says JOEL G. On a side note, my sister's currently says KRYSTI G and my brother's reads KURT. However, I think mine is the best out of my siblings'. Krysti (Schey) was just married and her last name technically doesn't start with G anymore so hers is outdated and Kurt's is just generic because it doesn't have a last initial at the end clarifying which Kurt is driving. Back to my vehicle, I drive a red 2000 Chevy Blazer and people call it various nicknames such as The Beast, The Joelg, or even the Big Red Machine on special occasions. On another tangent, you may see different antenna balls on my car including a baseball player, a flaming eyeball which flaps brilliantly in the breeze, or even Dora the Explorer.

Who did you first dance with back at those middle school dances? Or didn't you dance?

Back in middle school, I never really "took" anyone to a dance, but I always went with my friends. There isn't really any one person that comes to mind; I always just danced with my group of pals. Some of my favorite dance moves include the Shaker (patented by the owner of Skip's Nursery himself, Tom Cherry) and the Scratch and Sniff.

I know you play baseball...how long have you been playing? What's it like to have your dad as your coach, at least during the summer league? Any other sports?

I have been playing the game of baseball for 13 years now, starting at age 5 with T-Ball. My age group saw many successes in our cohesive years together including an exhilarating State Tournament appearance last summer. This spring, our goal was to win the NWC, a feat never before accomplished in 63 years of Bluffton High School baseball history. Last year left a sour taste in our mouth (when we finished as runner-up) and winning this year was awesome. Now every time any of my teammates and coaches look up at that beautiful new banner in the gym, we will be joyous in knowing that we were the ones that first put it on the wall. Our team also enjoyed Bluffton's first Sectional Championship this year (according to the memory of the Athletic Director) and we're still marching forward in the tournament. I also played on the USSSA Fall League team in Ottawa. My dad helped a little bit in the summer leagues for a few years, but most of his helping has been between the games working on restoring the high school field. I also ran cross country for 6 years starting my seventh grade year on the junior high team as well as basketball which I played from BFR to my freshman year.

As the youngest in the family, have you enjoyed being an "only child" for the last three or so years? Does that mean that your parents drag you along on every family vacation?

It was definitely a different experience watching my siblings disappear from the house. The main thing was that I didn't have the opportunity to hang out with someone every day; a duty my brother and sister fulfilled when they were in the house. With them gone, I had to resort to becoming even more ornery than I was before (I think my parents can attest to that). My parents did have to drag me on vacations, but I wasn't too extremely upset about it. Ha.

What is the most interesting trip you've taken? Traveling with family?

This is a very difficult question. I have traveled to all 50 states and 6 other countries and have definitely had interesting experiences each time we venture. Just last summer, we went to Mars (Pennsylvania that is). My mom does a great job at planning our vacations so that we always hit a good amount of historical landmarks as well as some interesting places that nobody would ever think to go to. One example of this would be when we went to Foamhenge. It was a scale model of Stonehenge in the middle of nowhere, except it was made out of foam.

Where are you going to college? How did you make your choice? Any ideas of what you'd like to do after graduation?

I have decided to follow in my brother's footsteps and attend Cedarville University starting this fall. To make my choice, I started out with about four to five different colleges. I chose all Christian colleges so that no matter where I decided on, I would be making a decision to further my relationship in Christ. As time progressed and I visited campuses, it became clear at which ones I felt most comfortable. Ultimately, I just felt the most comfortable at Cedarville. A lot of people say to me something along the lines of, "Cedarville is really strict aren't they?" While it may be more strict than most other universities, I agree with the reasoning behind them and I would actually prefer a school that enforces some of these policies so the students don't do things they shouldn't be doing. After graduation, I plan to find a job that will support my future family.

Are you still an active Boy Scout? Are you an Eagle? Is that something you'd like to continue in the future...perhaps as a leader some day? What have you learned from your years in Scouting?

I am still a Boy Scout, but with my 18th birthday coming up on May 27, I do not have much time left as an active member. I did manage to complete all of the requirements to achieve the top rank of Eagle Scout. Most of the work I do in the troop today involves helping the younger scouts work their way up the ranks. In the future, what I learned in my scouting experience will always be continued and as for the possibility of being a leader someday, that is something that only time will tell. Furthermore, the major thing I learned from my 13 years in Boy Scouts is service to others. With constant community outreach, the importance of community service has been deeply instilled into my life.

Have you done any mission trips with your church? Planning any this summer?

I have not personally gone on any mission trips through my church. Most of my outreach has been within the church, for instance when I led a 350+ man-hour service project to remodel the dated innards of the church. This summer I am hoping to be able to go on a mission trip to Iowa to help with flood relief. Though people may not realize it, the 2008 flooding of the area was known to be United States' second largest natural disaster, second only to Katrina. Though the devastation is still tremendous throughout the area, most people I talk to have no idea of what these people went through or even that they're still in a dire situation. Our church has gone to Iowa twice before, so I'm hoping that this time I can finally tag along to help aid with the rebuilding stage of this calamity.

Do you have an after-school and/or summer job? I noticed that you've worked for Jerry Suter at Suter's Produce. What is your best memory of working there? What have you learned from Jerry?

I have been working with the Bluffton News for the past several years writing cross country and baseball articles. I have also worked at Skip's Nursery for the past three Christmas seasons where I was the Employee of the Year in 2008 and the Salesman of the Year in 2009. One summer I worked at the Bluffton University Dining Service and, as you said, I did work at Suter's last summer. My best memory is probably when we had a formal day of picking corn. With guys dressed in shirts and ties and gals laden in dresses, it made for a unique day of work on the farm. One thing I have learned from Jerry is that with a good boss, any job has the opportunity to be enjoyable.

Try to imagine 10 years in the future...where do you imagine you will be and what might you be doing?

It's awesome (not the" sweet" awesome, the "breathtaking" awesome) to think what my life might be like ten years from now. Hopefully I will be living comfortably with a job doing "something" close to what I studied after my years of earning a degree in "something" throughout college. Furthermore, I hope to be living somewhere close to home. I am leaning towards a career in business, however. This interest came about around seventh grade when I founded the Stand Removal Company. Along with the help of my three hired associates, we collected money for taking away people's music stands after band class and taking up people's lunch trays at mealtime. I found it fun to create graphs and charts of our business' growth and enjoyed keeping track of the revenue. Let's just say that with his cut of the profits, one of my employees had enough to buy his first Xbox. Perhaps with this interest, I may one day get plugged into a job in this field.