One senior at Bellefonte Area High School is well-known for his funny costumes in school and his large, outgoing personality: Hayden Friel. Hayden is notorious for putting smiles on everyone’s faces and brightening the days of those around him.
Hayden has an extreme love for history, which makes total sense, since most students at BAHS have seen him making his way throughout the school in his infamous George Washington costume.
One teacher in particular shares this love of history. Government teacher Mr. Ed Fitzgerald has had the opportunity to have Hayden in class for the past year, and notices more about him than just his love of history.
“Hayden always brought energy and a lot of passion to the classroom, he also had great empathy to his peers,” Fitz said.
Hayden’s laid back and always-relaxed personality always allowed him to see the bright part of things in his day-to-day life. Most of his teachers would agree that he is almost always in a pleasant mood, which allowed him to get along with almost anyone.
“I’ll miss Hayden’s personality. He was always willing to sit back and have fun, but when he needed to be serious and have a good, focused conversation, I could always count on him to do that,” English teacher Mrs. Jessica Lloyd said.
Hayden plans to attend Lock Haven University to pursue a bachelors in Psychology and then later in life, to try to become an occupational therapist. He will forever be grateful for everyone that allowed him to enjoy his time at Bellefonte Area High School.
His final advice to everyone: “find yourself. You are the only person you have to live with, so find out who you are.”
