Robert Ryan is a senior who loves getting involved. He is the Senior Class president, a captain of both cross country and track, and a National Honor Society officer. He is also involved in Future Business Leaders of America and Pi Sigma Pi. I had a conversation with Robert via email about his high school experience.

After graduation, Robert is planning to attend the University of Alabama. When I asked him what he would miss about West he said, “I will miss everything about West; I will miss the faculty and my classmates the most. Few things will beat a Friday night football game, though.” I then asked Robert who his favorite teachers at West are. Although he says all the teachers at school are amazing, he said his two favorite teachers are Mr. Cupp and Mr. Willis. He stated that he believes Mr. Cupp “has done such a great job teaching the history curriculum”. Regarding Mr. Willis, Robert said, “I love his style of teaching; he has a college-style way of teaching and lets students work and ask questions whenever.” Robert also said that his favorite memory at West was when the girls’ basketball team went to state. He enjoyed watching their journey.

With the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, I asked Robert how he thought the virus would affect his senior year. He told me, “COVID-19 will take away many social events from my senior year, especially in the first semester”. He also told me that he hopes to attend several social events during the second semester, especially prom. However, he told me that he is looking forward to continuing learning and hopefully returning to some kind of normalcy. Robert has just finished his cross-country season and is looking forward to his last time running in track alongside his teammates.

Things may look different this year, but with the right attitude the year can be great. Robert Ryan, I hope you have a great senior year.