Emily Goben
News/Opinion Editor
Senior Hugh Wade will embark on a two-year church service mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in August of 2022.
“Basically what I’d be doing is teaching people about God, teaching people about my religion, trying to convert people, but also trying to serve the people that I’m with and community service,” Wade explained.
Wade added: “I decided that it is something I want to do because I think it’s important that I get outside my comfort zone by doing something that pushes me in a lot of ways, and I feel very strongly about my religious beliefs and want to share those with other people and feel like religion has the potential to change peoples lives for the better.”
Upon returning from his mission in August of 2024, Wade plans to attend Brigham Young University – Idaho and majoring in education. He hopes to pursue English so that he can “teach students about life, about how to live a good life, how to be a good person.”
In high school, Wade has been involved in track and cross country all four years of high school.
“Cross country and track gave me so many friends and so many opportunities for personal growth and taught me self discipline,” Wade said.
Wade is also a member of NHS, Tri-M, marching band and concert band. He has also won his fair share of awards throughout his high school career, including being crowned one of the first Webster Royals, being awarded the Orange Award for running a 5k in under 18 minutes, winning the Legacy Award for cross country, and being selected as the March athlete of the month.
Wade said many people have influenced his time in high school – his parents, his church leaders and his teachers.
Wade said his cross country and track coach and AP psychology teacher Jon Petter “has always been an amazing mentor, teacher and coach and has always pushed me to work harder.”
Wade said the most influential person, however, has been his brother, Alex Wade.
“I think back to before COVID, and it’s interesting because we were just kind of in each other’s lives at that point, before COVID, but we weren’t really, we didn’t really – we didn’t have a bad relationship, but we just kind of existed in the same house. We cared for each other, but once COVID started we spent a lot more time and got to know each other a lot better. I would say he’s my best friend now,” Wade said.
“He’s a really funny guy. I enjoy being around him. I think my brother’s been a really good backbone for me; you know having someone to talk to and him having me to talk to and being able to be that for him,” Wade said.
Wade said that throughout high school but especially during COVID, he has gotten a better sense of his purpose in life.
“It’s important for us to realize that eventually we die, but at the same time, if we all really internalize that, I think we’d all be doing a lot more with our life,” Wade said.
“Believing that this life is it, is I think very important, but that doesn’t mean that we should be, all of a sudden thinking that life is meaningless because it ends. Life is meaningful because it exists at all. It’s meaningful because it exists. Part of who I am is kind of based upon these ideas of meaningfulness in life that I hope to convey to others, that I want to teach others, and that’s why I want to be a teacher – to convey that life does have meaning, and even if you don’t believe that there’s an afterlife, life still has meaning because it didn’t have to exist at all,” Wade concluded.
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Emily Goben – News/Opinion EditorThis will be Emily Goben’s first year on ECHO staff, but she made several contributions while taking journalism class her sophomore year. |
