M y name is Wyatt Cooper, I am the son of Joe Don and Amber Cooper. My grandparents are Kimberly and Mark Myers, as well as Betty and the late Jackie Cooper. As a young child, I was always very accident-prone. Even though I had to have quite a few surgeries because of my own choices, I always seemed to do the same thing as soon as I was able. My biggest passions are helping people and cars. My favorite past-time started when I was young. Seeing cars or even hearing them filled me with wonder and fascination. Today, I am an avid car enthusiast and love working on cars as well as just being around them. Seeing how hundreds of thousands of small parts can come together to perform many complicated tasks gives me a lot of enjoyment. In the fall I will be attending the University of Oklahoma to major in Health and Exercise Science. After I get my bachelor’s degree, I will be attending Baylor University to further my education. I will get a doctorate in prosthetics and orthotics to become a licensed prosthetist. I am interested in prosthetics because it combines my love for mechanical work with my want to help as many people as possible. 2023 ACADEMIC ALL-STARS WYATT COOPER H i, my name is Jaiden Hardy, and my parents are Clayton Hardy and Kimberly Whitaker. With his 13 brothers and sisters, my dad and late uncle were born and adopted in California and raised throughout Utah and Nevada. His parents owned several horse ranches, and they had several booming businesses! My mom was born in Florida and lived there until she moved to Oklahoma in High School. Her dad was a carnival worker and saved enough money to buy one ride at a time until he had a whole carnival, Sam’s Amusements, the carnival we get every year. He eventually sold it and retired back in Florida. We are still friends with the owners, and they even let us in for free which is cool! It is a joy to see the carnival, owners, and workers every year in my hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma, in which I have lived pretty much my whole life. Although there are few places to eat here besides the infamous McDonald’s and run-down Sonic, it sure is a pretty cool town to call my own. One thing that I hold near and dear to my heart is the relationships I have built with my teachers over the years. They have encouraged me to strive for the successes I have today. I am top of my class as Valedictorian, Oklahoma and National Honor Society member, Class President for three consecutive years, Academic All-Star, Beta Club Vice President, Upward Bound member, selected as student of the month, chosen to partner a Special Olympics participant, a tutor in English, essay writing, and science courses, and many more honorary titles and achievements I am extremely proud of. I will close this chapter knowing I have done my best, shown my best, and been my best. I encourage every single reader to do the same. Be kind, understanding, courageous, and change the world your own way! JAIDEN HARDY
