Congratulations to Jarrod Boon for being chosen as this week’s Clarke Central High School Gladiator Student-Athlete of the Week. Jarrod is a senior pitcher on the Clarke Central Varsity Baseball team.

“Jarrod deserves the honor of being known as a student-athlete; he works as hard in the classroom as he does on the field!” -Drew Wheeler, Economics teacher

“Jarrod is a cool guy. He has a good sense of himself and seems really confident.” -Erica Cascio, French and Spanish Instructor

“I knew Jarrod Boon was the recipient of an old soul when he began sending me very nice emails informing me about impending absences or progress on assignments. My suspicion of his advanced maturity was confined, however, when I saw him micro-laugh after one of my better dad jokes. That told me he has wisdom; but he also didn’t want to laugh out loud because the other students would be crestfallen cause they would know they didn’t get the joke. It was courteous of him to refrain from what youngsters call “flexing”, and we all know old souls don’t flex because they are afraid someone is recording them and it could go viral. Another great thing about Jarrod was the giant squeeze pouch of Jif peanut butter he kept in his bookbag. And by great I mean viscously grotesque. Most students his age are too squeamish and lack the gastrointestinal pizzaz required to handle what essentially looked like peanut butter toothpaste. Not Jarrod Boon. When so many hide their eyes or look away from things visually unsavory, young Boon zooms in with hungry Hubblescoping eyes and bears witness. But the main reason Boon is a cut above is that he loves Georgia Football. He’s one of the elite fans Kirby Smart often references in his post game speeches. Yeah I could say Jarrod was kind to all his peers and classmates, acknowledging them or engaging in conversations that other students often avoid. That was cool. And sure he worked hard at becoming a better writer and being more vulnerable in his pieces, which isn’t something many athletic teenage boys see as having value. But he leaned-in with an open mind. But it was his basic kindness that I will remember most. No, I can’t lie. I’ll always be haunted by that the peanut butter. “ -Brian Ash, Literature/Composition teacher