2018-2019 Avatar: Sydney Wheeler

Hi everyone! My name is Sydney Wheeler, and I am a rising senior from Allen County. I grew up in Bowling Green, but at the beginning of my freshman year my family moved to a 150-acre farm just across the Warren County/Allen County Border. I continued to attend Greenwood High School in Bowling Green, and I consider BG to be my home, although I’ve embraced Allen County and Scottsville in the three years I’ve lived there.

I first heard about the Gatton Academy when it opened in 2008 because it was so close and connected to lots of the activities that I participated in through the Center for Gifted Studies at WKU. It always seemed like something that I might be interested, and by the time I hit middle school I knew that I wanted to apply. Before coming to Gatton, I was heavily involved in dance as a member of the pre-professional Southern Kentucky Dance Ensemble. When I wasn’t at the dance studio, I was attending Greenwood’s sporting events, helping with student council, or helping my mom with her vegetable delivery business.

It’s crazy to think that just about a year ago I was moving into Gatton as a junior. The past year has been filled with new challenges, new friendships, and tons of new experiences. It brought my first venture out of the country when I went to England through the Harlaxton study abroad program this summer and my first classes in computer science. However, my favorite “first” here at Gatton has been the opportunity to do faculty-mentored research. Last September I started working in the Gustav Fechner Vision and Haptics Lab in the Department of Psychological Sciences. I’m very interested in Neuroscience, so our lab, which focuses on human perception, is a great fit. I continued my research this summer through a Gatton sponsored Research Internship Grant, which was an amazing way to dive into my research full time.

My free time at Gatton is mostly filled by club meetings or studying with friends on third-floor commons. I participate in a tutoring group at the local Boys & Girls Club, Student Y, Science Dance, and Cryptocurrency Club. If I’m not studying or at a club meeting, you can probably find a few friends and me at the Fresh Food Company, the main dining hall on campus.

My junior year was filled with new experiences and nerves, but returning for senior year feels a lot like coming home. I am still filled with excitement for the year to come, but it is an excitement that comes with being sure of the good (and, sometimes, stressful) times ahead, rather than the excitement of the unknown. I am fully looking forward to spending my senior year surrounded by my amazing classmates, our supportive staff, and the extended Gatton Family.