Wyatt Coker is not your average high schooler. Invested in drama club, newspaper, National Honors Society, Bridges to a Brighter Future, Youth Leadership Greenville, and other organizations, he is always leading others. Now a senior at Travelers Rest High School, Coker can successfully say he has left a mark on his school and community.

The summer of his freshman year was a game-changer; according to Coker, he was shy and cautious his entire life. He attended Bridges to a Brighter Future, a college access summer program at Furman, the summer of 2015 and the people at the program helped him realize his potential. In the years to come, Coker would not only attend Bridges to a Brighter Future, but he would in fact become a leader.

Coker fell in love with acting his freshman year when he joined the drama club. Since the discovery, he has acted in many plays, including playing Sebastian in Cinderella, Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and many more roles. Acting has helped him meet new faces and open up to strangers; this transformation is visible to anyone who has known him during his TRHS time. 

Wyatt is headed for North Greenville University this upcoming fall semester, and is thankful for all the people who have helped him come this far. His dad, Ryan Coker, has helped push and inspire Wyatt to do whatever he wants to do in life. One of his other favorite mentors is Timothy Brown, the theatre teacher at TRHS. Other mentors include Gustavo Martinez, his 1st year mentor at Bridges; Ann Looper, his former English teacher; Rachael Weisinger, his newspaper adviser; and John King, his social studies teacher.

Coker’s advice to his freshman self is, “Open up. Don’t let people discourage you from being who you are, you are who you want to be.”