At Larned High School there are many freshmen that look up to someone, such as seniors, teachers, other students, or famous people. We asked a few of them who their idols were and why they idolized them, and the answers were eye opening. Slade Sundahl, Troy Hemken, Allyson Morrison, and Aiden O’Crotty are all freshmen for the 2023-2024 school year, and they shared their idols with me.
Slade Sundahl is a freshman on the football team this year, and Slade’s idol is Luke Fischer; Luke is a senior this year, and he is a Football Team Captain, state champion wrestler, and a first year varsity starter for the track team! Slade told us, “I admire his humbleness, and I would like to be just like him.” Slade also mentioned that part of the reason that Luke is his idol is that, “I respect what he does, both on the playing field and in class. He is really nice and very humble, so everyone respects him.” It is great to see that a young freshman is not intimidated by such an accomplished upperclassman but that he is instead motivated to be just like him!
Troy Hemken is a freshman this year, and his idol is Tristan Tompson. Tristan is a sophomore at LHS this year. He plays the saxophone, has been a part of the KMEA Honor Band for three years, and he received an excellent rating on a saxophone solo at state his freshman year. When asked about his idol, Troy told us, “He is a really good saxophone player, and he is very strong in his faith.” Troy also mentioned that he would like to be just as good at saxophone as Tristan. It is awesome to see instrumentalists supporting each other in their development as musicians.
Allyson is a freshman at LHS. She plays volleyball, and she is involved in debate. Allyson’s idol is Annie Cox; Annie is a senior, and she is involved in volleyball, cheer, and track. Allyson says that Annie is her idol because “She is really good at sports, she’s cheerful, and she is always there for you when you need to talk.” Alyson wishes that she could be just as nice as Annie. It is great to hear that senior students are supporting the freshmen in all of their activities.
Aiden O’Crotty is a freshman this year, and his idol is the singer NF. Aiden told us that “NF has been through a lot and no matter who you are you can always relate to one of his songs, and he doesn’t make music for the money, he does it to relate to people.” Aiden mentioned, “I’ve known about his music since about fifth grade, and he doesn’t ever seem to let anything stop him; he faced a lot of challenges in his life, but he never let that stop him.”
