Every student attending Floyd Central High School has unique abilities and experiences unlike any other person. With each student having atypical lives, hundreds of stories and books could be written. However, one junior attending FC has stood out amongst his peers.
Theseus Zander, a junior attending FC, participates in several different school organizations. From being the vice president of the Creative Writing Club to being a part of the National Art Society, his talents and adoration for creativity are clear.
“[Art] has affected my life in a lot of different ways. The first way would be giving me an outlet to just express my emotions and just how life goes and also, it’s given me a sense of community. I’ve found a lot of people at FC and just a lot of people in general that also love creativity, writing, and just enjoying creating and it’s really nice,” Zander stated.
Community proves to be important to a lot of people. One part of high school is making new friends to live through new experiences with.
Samarah Burden is a junior who began attending FC during her sophomore year. Yet, despite being brand new to the school, she quickly found herself besides Zander during FLEX.
Burden said, “We [Zander] had a FLEX together in Ms. Strandmark’s room and Ms. Strandmark put us together for a little project.”
However, Zander’s friendships do not stop at his own grade level.
AJ Wilhoite is a senior at FC who befriended Zander through the summer PE program offered at the school.
“We originally met when I did a news package for Radio and TV last year over the Creative Writing Club and then we became friends at summer school PE,” Wilhoite said. “I’d say he [Zander] is funny and just overall a nice person to be around.”
Between friends and school work, finding time to stay organized is a hassle for many students. Zander referred to some of his more difficult classes being anatomy and AP calculus. Often, it takes decent time management skills to maintain high grades.
Zander said, “I try my hardest to do all of my classwork in school and do all of my other stuff at home and I try to have like as little overlap in my home life and school life as possible. Usually, I try to get all of my studying done in other classes that don’t have as heavy of a course load.”
Other than his high grades, Zander has left lasting impressions on people who have met him.
Wilhoite stated, “He has affected me, affected me positively and like, making me laugh in multiple ways and just made me happier in general.”
His humor has charmed his friends and allowed for them to become more comfortable with him throughout their friendship.
Burden said, “Whenever we hang out, he makes me feel more comfortable, even if he’s just like, sometimes he’ll just say something and it’s something that I’ve thought before but I’ve never said out loud and I’m just like, I can’t believe somebody else has the same thoughts as me.”
Through meeting friends and leading clubs, Zander has become a leading example of every FC student having their own interesting lives that leave countless effects on the people around them. As students leave and come to FC, each one will learn to navigate the halls and friendships, learning life lessons they will carry with them.
“Don’t care that much about what other people think. You’re in high school, it doesn’t really matter that much.” Zander said.