“I say that some of your greatest friends are people that you struggle with at practice. I feel like some of us have tighter bonds just because we got through a hard practice or something like that. I also feel like learning to talk to people who may not know as much as you and getting into something and kind of like helping them as they grow as well. Like when I came in, I had some amazing people who kind of helped mentor me and to be able to do that kind of like my junior and senior year was kind of a fun full circle moment.”
The official tells everyone to take their mark as, RBHS senior Patrick Wehner, readies himself on the block. He is prepared to win the race. He dives in as soon as he hears the buzzer, soaring down the pool in a flash.
- Q: What kind of clubs and sports were you involved in during your time at Rock Bridge?
A: “I was involved in swimming and diving as my sport, of course. Club wise would be Key Club, Drama Club—which is now called Troop 644—and then Bruin Cup.”
- Q: Out of all of those, which one was your favorite?
A: “I don’t know if I can [pick] a favorite because each one is different in its own way. Bruin Cup, it’s all about sports. Drama Club, it’s acting. And then Key Club, it’s just all about service and helping our community.”
- Q: Were you on the swim team for all four years?
A: “Yeah, I was there from my freshman to my senior year.”
- Q: What’s your favorite memory from swim practice?
A: “My favorite memory [from practice was from] my sophomore year. Might have been my junior year. We had a Squid Game practice. Trey Clervi, Micah Ragsdell and Ryan Coughenour dressed up as the head game master. And then we started playing like genuine [mock] squid games on a Saturday practice, and they turned off all the lights […]. They stood there with the masks on, they came down, and we started playing ‘Red Light, Green Light,’ and we did nothing that practice besides just play games that involved Squid Games. I don’t know how they convinced [Coach] Taylor to let them do it.”
- Q: Can you describe your favorite memory on the swim team?
A: “Mine probably would be […] my sophomore year. Someone on the team got this big watermelon. With whatever supplies we [could] find in the hotel, we cut it open. That year, we had a huge watermelon. It was probably like a foot. And we spent probably [the] better [part] of two hours carving it out on our carpet and having people come in and […] giving them watermelon to take back to their rooms because we have so much of it. [The] room [smelled] like watermelon, [and] thank gosh it wasn’t our room, but then afterwards we carved it out pretty well. Our coach came in, and we gave him some. And then after that, we finished carving it out fully and made a mask out of it. Hayden Barnes wore it for finals the next day. It was awesome.”
- Q: Do you plan on swimming in college?
A: “I plan on swimming recreationally in a sense, like doing a club, just because I didn’t get any D1 offers […].”
- Q: What do you plan to do after your time at RBHS?
A: “Over the summer I’m going to have a job, but after that I want to go to college. The goal right now is to get a degree in biomedical engineering, and then I want to get my masters in mechanical, and try and start working in the prosthetics field.”
- Q: Where are you planning on going to college?
A: “Right now I haven’t technically fully committed just because of some issues with my FAFSA, but it’s going to either be the University of Pittsburgh or Ohio State.”
- Q: When did you realize that you wanted to major in mechanical engineering?
A: “Honestly, I’ve always wanted to do some form of engineering. For the longest time, it was aerospace. But that’s a really hard field. And it’s not necessarily something that I have as strong as a passion for anymore. I’ve kind of grown up in a health care family. [… My] parents’ […] jobs are in healthcare so I’ve kind of always learned about it. I kind of grew a passion for it because of them. I didn’t think I could be a surgeon because I don’t really do well with that kind of stuff. But I wanted to be able to work in [the medical] field. So I thought trying to work on prosthetics could be really cool because I can combine engineering with my passion for [the medical field].”
- Q: Which year was the most difficult for you academically?
A: “Probably last year, my junior year. I’ve always kind of taken AP and honors courses, but that’s really when I had the most. […] Being involved in extracurriculars and trying to balance everything was just interesting, but it was also a great learning opportunity.”
- Q: What’s your ideal day? What are you doing?
A: “Mine would probably be like summer, not in Columbia, Mo.. Actually, probably somewhere like Colorado […] and going out and backpacking with friends. I really like camping a lot.”
- Q: If you could say one thing to incoming freshmen next year that you’ve learned from your time at Rock Bridge, what would it be?
A: “I would say, the only thing that comes to mind is actually listen to the advice people are giving you. I feel like sometimes we think that [they’re] just some adult saying something corny, but actually listen to the advice because at times it can be really good. Learn to set routines early on, especially if you want to take harder classes or you want to go to MACC and do stuff like that. Just learning how to study and what works for you can be very helpful, especially when you’re doing [taking] six AP classes or something like that. Learn if you’re a flashcard person or if you’re a Quizlet test kind of person. Figuring that out early on definitely helps.”
- Q: What’s the main thing you’re going to miss from Rock Bridge?
A: “Honestly, I think the main thing I’m going to miss is swimming. Because I think that schooling wise, I’m really looking forward to actually moving on to major focused classes.”
