STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: A.J. WESSEL ’20

Senior A.J. Wessel jumped in with both feet from the moment he joined the Long Blue Line. He has been active in community service in Over-TheRhine, led as a Bomber Pilot, and served as a student development chairman, a member of student council, a member of the Career ConneXions steering team and a member of the admissions core team (even starring in an admissions video). A.J. has been a basketball manager, a basketball statistician, a student leadership team member, a participant in the Canned Food Drive, a participant in Phonathon and the Grand Raffle Phonathon. He served others as a peer tutor and a eucharistic minister. A.J. was also a football manger and this year received the prestigious Tim Banker Award. The award is given to a player or manager based on consideration of the quality of Courage and Leadership displayed in the areas of football, scholarship, school activities and spiritual values.

Why did you choose to attend St. X? Is there any family history or other members of the Long Blue Line? I chose to attend St. X because of its academically challenging curriculum and because of the sense of community that I felt during the Open House and during my X-perience day. I wanted to be able to attend a high school that would not only prepare me for my future inside of the classroom, but also my future outside of the classroom. The interaction that I witnessed between the individual student and the school faculty and staff was tremendous. This interaction provided the verification that at St. Xavier High School, each individual student matters. I matter. My classmates matter. Our future matters. I am the first person in my direct family to be a member of the Long Blue Line, so this experience has not only been special for me, for my entire family.

How are you different as a senior than you were entering as a freshman? The difference between me as a freshman to where I am now is extensive. As I entered the halls during my first couple of days at orientation, I questioned how I would be able to plant my feet and foster relationships in a school this big. Through my four years, I quickly found ways to plant myself through the various opportunities that St. X has to offer. A school that once seemed large, was now my home. As time rolled by, I found myself involved in many extracurriculars, clubs, and leadership teams. From the beginning of freshman year to senior year, I went from not involved to involved. Through all of these leadership teams, extracurriculars, and clubs, my teachers, administrators, and peers have helped develop me into the young man that I am today. These endless opportunities over my four years are the reasons that I have developed by always being Open to Growth.

What words of wisdom do you have for future members of the Long Blue Line? For future members of the Long Blue Line, I hope that they all engage themselves in a lifestyle that constantly challenges them to be their best all of the time. Being at our best everyday, all day, is nearly impossible, in fact it is impossible, but if we strive to be at our best all of the time, then we will be able to help those around us strive for the same goal of being their best selves. As Men and Women for Others, we truly cannot help others effectively if we have not engaged ourselves in a lifestyle that puts us at our best. St. Xavier High School offers a multitude of opportunities to find who you want to be, so why not make use of those opportunities? I challenge future members of the Long Blue Line to branch outwards and get involved to open their minds to new pathways that might help them in their search towards what allows them to succeed at the peak of their abilities.

What are your plans for the future? After graduation, I hope to major in Sports Studies while obtaining all of the necessary prerequisites for medical school. In the future, I hope to become a surgeon. I feel as if this path suits me best because through my time at St. X, my love for continually helping others has been confirmed.

Explain the St. Xavier Advantage and what it means to you? The St. Xavier Advantage is hard to put into words. The community is tremendous, the faculty and staff care for the individual student, the opportunities are endless, and the education is rigorous. The overall embodiment of St. Xavier High School and all that it encapsulates is an advantage to itself. St. Xavier High School is able to bring in students as freshmen and within an extremely short four year span, the once freshmen are formed into young men with the drive and the skills needed to succeed. I personally am eternally grateful for the St. Xavier Advantage. I have learned many valuable life lessons that have resulted from experiences inside and outside of the classroom. At St. X, the opportunities offered do not end once we graduate. Our first four years are strictly a mere glimpse of the opportunities that will come from being a member of the Long Blue Line. The St. Xavier Advantage exists during the entire duration of our lives, and for that, I will never be able to repay the debt that I owe to St. Xavier High School.

Anything else you would like to add? St. Xavier High School is a great place, it is my second home. Each student is only given four years inside the halls of 600 West North Bend Road, so to all of the current and future members of the Long Blue Line, make the most of your time at St. X. Represent the X proudly!