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Andrew Wagoner Does it All

Nya Brown, Reporter

December 4, 2023

Guitarist, swimmer, photographer, chef, snowboarder, BMX rider, pool player, and honors student. Andrew does it all!

Andrew (Andy) Wagoner is a freshman here at Sahuaro who has some very diverse interests that you wouldn’t expect from just looking at him.

Andy joined the swim team this year, competing in the 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter breaststroke, and 200-meter freestyle. He states, “At the beginning of the season it sucked because I was untrained and uncoordinated as hell and didn’t know anything, but as the season went on, it was really fun and I got so much better.” His coach says he improved in every meet he had. Andy’s biggest accomplishment throughout the season was shaving off 7 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle, leaving him with a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds. Andy plans on joining Club Swim when it starts up, though he doesn’t know where yet.

Along with being on the swim team, Andy is also in our intermediate guitar class. He’s been playing guitar for about 4 years now, starting in 6th grade at Gridley with guitar teacher Mr. Nickles. When he first began playing guitar, he wasn’t the proudest of himself. “I was pretty horrible, but I picked up on chords pretty easily. I think I’m a lot better now but there’s definitely room for improvement.” He intends on auditioning for advanced guitar next year. Currently, he has 1 acoustic guitar, 1 electric guitar, and is getting another electric one for his birthday (Which is today!). Andy intends on playing guitar all 4 years in order to get an arts seal on his diploma. Andy has performed in some very exciting places, most notably Club Congress. Something especially exciting for Andy is, he’s in a band! His friend Dawson Rankin is on lead guitar and founded the band, Andy is on rhythm guitar, Guy Breeden is on drums, and advanced guitarist Isabella Machalik is on the bass. They’re currently unnamed but have some ideas in the works. Andy’s most proud of learning Van Halen’s Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love on guitar.

In between doing laps in a pool and jamming with his band, Andy is very passionate about photography. He’s been interested in photography for pretty much his whole life, but he’s been actively taking pictures for about a year now. For a camera, he uses either his phone or his 2004 Sony Cybershot. He focuses more on photographs of cars and nature.

Not one to sit around, Andy also really enjoys cooking. He’s been at it for about 8 years now. His favorite food to cook is homemade ‘Chick-fil-A‘ chicken nuggets. He also makes a really good homemade brownie. When it comes to favorite storebought treats though, he really enjoys a Hostess cupcake. He’s planning on joining the culinary class in the coming years.

Andrew is also a huge fan of BMX. He’s been riding for about 4 years and thinks he’s “sort of” good. He has a Kink BMX bike and rides almost every day. He typically rides around the YMCA or downtown.

While not something he can pursue too often in sunny Tucson, Andy is also a great snowboarder. He snowboards at the ski resort, Whitefish Montana. While he’s out snowboarding, he also indulges in his photography hobby.

As if all these interests aren’t enough to keep Andy busy, he is adding pool shark to his repertoire. He’s been playing for less than a year but has improved greatly. He plays at Bowlero about twice a week, sometimes with friends.

Andy is currently taking honors biology with Ms. Mooney. He is an ‘A, B, and C’s’ student and says he’s thinking about taking more honors courses, but it depends on the class. He says that his extracurriculars and hobbies don’t affect his grades, and that swim actually helped him stay motivated to get higher grades to stay on the team.

Despite going to the same middle school as Andy, I never really got to know him until this year. He is extremely interesting, very helpful, and the funniest person I know. It’s an honor to call him a friend. Happy birthday Andy!

About the Contributor

Nya Brown, Editor

Nya Brown, a sophomore, is excited to begin her 2nd year of The Paper Cut. Her favorite kinds of articles to do are on guitar concerts, Spirit Week slideshows, Cougar Tales, and any other event she attends. Nya is currently involved in cheerleading, Advanced Guitar, Book Club, Culinary Club, and her job as a party host; she is looking to expand her extracurriculars with things such as the JTED cosmetology program, Black Student Union, Student Council, Link Crew, and the National Honors Society. In her (little) free time, Nya likes to sing, go on walks, and organize. Nya is originally from Florida but moved to Arizona (where she'll stay until she goes off to college) when she was 10. She also used to live in Maryland for a year. As an adult, she hopes to move to Massachusetts and start a life there. After graduating high school, Nya plans to attend an academically rigorous school on the Northeast Coast. As for her future, she plans on getting her Master's in Public Health and working towards becoming an epidemiologist.