Josh Varner: A Triple Threat

After a long day of working in the sound booth for stagecraft, Joshua Varner, better known as Josh, gets dressed in his white tee shirt and heads to band practice, after which he will go home and study for his AP classes. This is just a small slice of Josh’s day-to-day routine.

Josh is a senior here at Santa Fe. He plays center snare, which is a leadership role on the drumline. He is also a teacher assistant for Director Robinson, on the Santa Fe archery team and a stagecraft manager.

He has an incredible academic record, scoring two 5s and two 4s on various AP tests, and has a superscore of 31 on both of his ACTs.

Outside of school, Josh plays Dungeons and Dragons and is an Eagle Scout of Troop 79. His eagle scout project was to build benches and a fire pit for his church.

Despite all the time he puts into school and extracurricular activities, he still makes time to appreciate his teachers. Every year, for teacher appreciation week, he bakes snickerdoodles for all of his teachers.

Sarah Neely, Orchestra Director, has been Josh’s music teacher since he was in sixth grade. She says he has always been a great student who follows instructions well and does what needs to be done. She says Josh always chips in when others need help. When asked one word to describe Josh, she chose leader.

“He always leads by example, by doing the right thing,” Neely said.

Ms. Neely says Josh has a positive impact on those around him and just by being around him the mood is improved. Ms. Neely also said the world could use more Josh Varners.

“If everyone was even 10 percent more Josh Varner-ish, the world would be a better place,” Neely said.

Josh Varner has been in stagecraft since his sophomore year, and this year he even took two periods of stagecraft where he works behind the scenes to make the props and sound for plays look great. Despite being very into drama, he has only acted once, in his eighth-grade play, ever since then he has been perfectly content with working behind the curtains.

“I’m no actor, I will admit that, but everything else, the lights, the sound, I love all that,” Varner said.

From section leader to stage manager to eagle scout, Josh’s life just screams leader. Josh plans to go to Abilene Christain University and is thinking about Sports Broadcast and/or technical Theater. He should have no problem doing great with all of his leadership qualities and his hard-working attitude. Neely has full confidence he will do amazing in future endeavors.

“Whatever he chooses to do, he will excel at,” Neely said.