Interviewed by Derek Swartzlander
Icon: You graduated from Bluffton in 2019. What have you been doing since then?
Since graduating from BHS in 2019 I have been attending Goshen College in Indiana. I still spend my breaks back home in Bluffton and I work at Suter’s Produce while I’m in town. You can also see me running a lot! At Goshen I am studying Film Production and Communications and I am also running Cross-Country and Track. It keeps me very busy but it has been a really good experience.

What are your goals after you graduate?
After I graduate I would love to spend some time doing service somewhere, probably in South America since I have been learning to speak Spanish for a while. After that I’d like to get a job as a filmmaker.

I feel especially drawn to documentary filmmaking because I believe that documentaries are a really powerful way of communicating and arguing for new ideas. I think that they have the power to help people in all sorts of situations whether it be advocating for others or providing a resource that people can use to make their own lives better.

Some of the documentaries that have inspired me are 13th, The Game Changers, and The Social Dilemma. I also am drawn to this field because it offers the ability to travel the world in talk with experts in all sorts of fields.

I also intend to continue running after I graduate. I think I might try moving up from track races to some longer road races. I’d love to race the Boston Marathon and try out some other races too. I also can see myself becoming a track coach because I have discovered that I really like this whole running thing and would like to stay involved in the community.

Was there a teacher at Bluffton who really inspired you?
During my time at Bluffton I had a lot of teachers that inspired me and supported me. One teacher that stands out to me is Miss Erford, who taught me English during my sophomore and junior years.

I remember that she pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed in school which really helped me in the long run. Whenever I had assignments in her class I felt like I needed to turn in my absolute best work because she would call me on it if it wasn’t.

The feedback was always constructive though, so my analytical skills and writing skills made great leaps during that time. Miss Erford is also a big supporter of the running programs at BHS so I felt an extra connection because of that.

I remember the day after the regional track meet when I showed up to the school for commencement she came up to me and gave me a congratulatory hug and it was a great moment because I knew she was genuinely excited for me both for graduation and for qualifying for the state meet.

Do you have a favorite race or running experience? 
Running has been full of great experiences. I love my teammates, both the ones from high school and my new teammates at Goshen and I have loved the time I get to spend with them everyday.

If I had to pick just one experience though I would say that the regional track meet in 2019 was my favorite. The whole atmosphere was amazing and I felt like so much hard work had paid off during that race. It was probably the most excited I’ve been about anything before, especially with graduation also happening that weekend it made the whole experience very surreal to me.

It’s clear that you’re interested in movies. Tell us about the worst movie you’ve ever watched. 
Oh man, this is a hard question because I know how much goes into the production of a movie and I try to look for the things that each one does well. That being said, it is very frustrating when bad stories get turned into movies so I would have to say that some of the worst movies I’ve seen are the Christmas-Romance specials on TV.

I always end up seeing a couple of them during the holidays and it’s pretty funny to watch them, but my opinion of them from an artistic standpoint is pretty low.

What advice do you have for today’s high schoolers?
I would tell today’s high schoolers to take advantage of dual-enrollment classes that can get you college credit. The college credits that I brought with me from Bluffton University and the University of Findlay have helped me out a bunch! I am able to double major with a minor in 4 years, but if I didn’t already have any credits I would have needed a fifth year to complete this course of study.

I also would encourage everyone to explore their interests. Take classes because they sound interesting, maybe you’ll discover a field that you’d like to make your career in.

I took Adventures in Technology and discovered that I really liked producing videos and I took photography and became much better at understanding and operating cameras.

Now I am studying film production and I get to do that sort of thing all the time. The classes I took in high school opened the door for me to explore my interests and helped me decide on what I wanted to do with my career.

Thanks for talking with us. We’ll look for you at the track and hopefully the movie theaters.