From The Blue Jay, Vol. 87, No. 5

By Patrick Fine, Editor in Chief

Blue Jay of the Month: senior Peyton Markey

Senior Peyton Markey is having a quite busy senior year. He is a wrestler, active in Campus Ministry, president of the Outdoors Club, a member of the Sodality of Bl. Miguel Pro, and a runner with the flag squad. When asked about balancing his busy schedule, Markey replied that it was “tough, but well worth it.”

Out of all his activities, however, Markey said he has a particular affinity for wrestling.

“It has its ups and downs, and I know it is easy to complain, he said, but “it has allowed me to turn strangers into friends and friends into family. Almost everything I have now that I can look at can be attributed to either wrestling or God.”

When asked for his predictions for the upcoming state tournament, Peyton responded that it “will be tough this year.”

“But if the team believes that we can win, then no one can stop us.”

Markey also leads one of the more obscure clubs on campus, the Outdoors Club. He said that he enjoys nature’s beauty and the limitless possibilities for outdoor activities.

Academically, Peyton takes a unique approach. His favorite class was a senior year elective, The Theology of C.S. Lewis. The class was co-taught by Campus Minister Jeremy Reuther and Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, S.J. The class “was centered around faith and helped me with some of my struggles. I learned a new word almost every day in a number of different languages. I know they say not to pick a class based on the teacher, but the experience of having those two teach me was priceless and something I will never forget.”

One of his crowning academic achievements was “passing physics both quarters,” Markey said jokingly.

Markey lit up describing what he called his most memorable Jesuit experience so far. The scene: “Jesuit vs. Holy Cross. Tad Gormley. Atmosphere is tense but excited. Jesuit’s side is packed. The team is about to finish their pregame chant, so I begin to run on the field with the white “J,” the lead flag. As I pass, each section erupts with cheers and pure Blue Jay spirit.”

Peyton Markey is surely a student filled with “pure Blue Jay spirit.” Whether on the field, in the classroom, or in the woods, Markey continues to put forth plenty of effort and work for the betterment of himself and others.