Blazing a scholarly trail all his own

By MICHAEl MAlASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

Evan Thole arrives at Wantagh High School every day eager to learn — and said he wouldn’t have it any other way. The senior has declined to take lunch periods or study halls, and has a burning desire to gain even more knowledge, making him a viable candidate for the United States Presidential Scholars Program.

Thole, a lifelong Wantagh resident, started out at Mandalay Elementary School, before attending Wantagh Middle School and eventually the high school.

But Thole never saw himself as just another grade in a book. And while his grades are high, he has always been determined to get more out of school than that.

“To me, you get only so much time in high school,” Thole said. “And I wouldn’t really be happy with myself if I didn’t really take advantage of it, and took four study halls instead of classes. There’s only so much time in the day.”

He’s passed on the lunch periods, too, to take as many classes as possible. His academContinued on page 4