When Wyatt Gessner took up the mantle as this year’s editor-in-chief, it was a risk. He had just finished his first year writing for the Eagle’s Eye and though his writing skills and friendly face were obvious, no one really knew what to expect from him. Watching him evolve has been one of the greatest joys of this year’s Eagle’s Eye class. He’s successfully made his mark on the class with his friendship, leadership, and kind attitude. Wyatt is always willing to give you a ride, hang out, or support you in whatever way you need, but he will make you find his car in the senior lot without assistance and will walk in the opposite direction of it just to throw you off your rhythm, laughing when you end up on the other end of the lot together, completely lost.
In addition to his time spent as a writer, Wyatt is known for his second life as an athlete, to the point where some (Aaron Ryzoff) have remarked that “he’s a lot smarter than I thought he was when I first met him, because looking at him, I knew he swam so I thought ‘typical athlete.’ But he’s so smart.”
Wyatt’s sports prowess translates in his articles about his undying love for March Madness, which he has called his favorite holiday, as well as in coverage of other notable basketball figures like Jim Valvano, NC State basketball coach in the 1980s. Wyatt passionately shares his love for basketball through stories told with wide eyes, barely able to contain his excitement for the most obscure details of a basketball season from forty years ago.
At Enloe, Wyatt has been on the swim team for the whole of his high school career and he has recently been involved with the newly formed men’s volleyball team, but his volleyball career has more humble beginnings.
Wyatt started playing volleyball with friends mostly from his IB Philosophy class during the summer after his junior year. “Wyatt was always on my team because I sucked the most so he had to even the playing field,” said Navina Abbi, before reassuring that “We got better! We did!”
Soon, Wyatt graduated to the big leagues: Enloe’s infamous “Volleybros,” an annual tournament at Enloe that takes place before the Coming Home basketball game.
“For Volleybros this year he was on the volleyball team with me. That was so funny because for the longest time we were just sitting on the bench watching soccer kids playing, but [Wyatt] just bantering [with me] about the game was so much fun,” reflected Aaron Ryzoff.
As the men’s volleyball team started up this year, Wyatt was more than ready to participate. With both swim and volleyball, “He loves his teammates so much,” Navina said. “It’s really cute actually.”
Listening to Wyatt’s friends share their stories and reflect on their time with him, it’s hard not to smile. Many of them could not put their finger on a specific favorite memory, so instead asking them to choose one they thought encapsulated him as a friend yielded stories of times he had taken care of the people he cared about, made them laugh, and been a dependable friend.
“I appreciate Wyatt a lot for all the times sophomore and junior year when none of us could drive, and he was always always willing to drive all the way from Raleigh to Morrisville to pick us up,” Olivia Majernik said. Although she conceded, “There were two times we were in downtown Raleigh and he kept turning onto one way roads. Like, multiple times.”
Other friends of Wyatt’s had more anecdotes about his capers during time spent together: “One time we were having fun and watching a horror movie and then he just sat down and was like ‘I feel like I’m transcending to a new plane of existence,’ and then he just laid there and didn’t get up for another hour,” Josh Ashik said. Apparently, Wyatt never again acknowledged this moment.
Anika Mahadeshwar’s story had a sweeter touch: “This year at homecoming it was kind of disastrous towards the end, and it was kind of chaotic where we were sitting. One of his first instincts was to basically do damage control. He immediately could read mine and Chloe [Chu]’s minds and was like ‘Do you guys want to go on a walk?’ He acted really fast and it meant a lot to me in the moment because he knew us well enough to realize that one: we probably could not handle being there, and two: that he wanted us to not feel bad about that. He immediately offered a ride home, offered to go get food and we talked for hours after that. That moment really encapsulated how caring he is as a person.”
Wyatt Gessner is our beloved editor-in-chief, but he’s more than just that. He’s a friend to everyone he meets, and he’s someone we know we can continue to count on, even as he soars on to college at Davidson these next four years to study English and data science. When asked what closing messages they had for Wyatt, both Navina and Aaron said simply, “I love him.” Thank you for being our fearless leader, Wyatt Gessner. Thank you for standing up in front of the class every day and shaping this Eagle’s Eye class. We <3 you!
