Most people know Jonathan Colby is there before they see him. Usually some sound precedes him-raucous rap lyrics bouncing through the halls, or friendly greetings to other students. Sometimes, though, it's just a sense, like a huge ball of energy has entered the room, looking for a place to unleash itself.
Colby, actually, would be one of the first to tell you all about his excesses of energy. "I know I've got a lot of it!" he crows, as an expression of glee crosses his face. "Ain't it great?" Such a philosophy could be what gave him the drive to be this year's cosalutatorian, with a GPA of 4.095.
But Colby is quick to point out that he has gotten into much more than just grades during his tenure at Grady. "Grades for me were never the main objective. For me, my other activities were just as, if not more, important," he said.
Take, for instance, soccer. A starter on the varsity squad for four years, Colby, bedecked in his bright orange warm- up suit, has always been one of Grady's most visible and enthusiastic soccer players. This year, as co-captain, he led the team to a 9-4 record. The highlight of his season came in the last game, a 3-1 loss to Lovett, when he scored Grady's only goal. "That was a great feeling," he said. "Even though we lost, we played a great game. You have to remember that Lovett is one of the best teams in the state, and to score in your last highschool game, especially a game like that, is just great."
Lest soccer overshadow other aspects of Colby's life, however, many believe that his addition to the football team this year as kicker may have been a large contributing factor to the team's success. "Colby did all our kicking this year. That included punts, kickoffs, field goals, and extra points," Coach Homer Hill said. "In previous years we just had other guys on the team do the kicking. This year we had a more specialized guy, and it paid off."
Colby notes, however, that school and sports are far from the outside limits of his life. He further distinguished himself at Grady both on the stage (his pimpwalk in this fall's "Night of January 16th" became something of a legend) and in Mock Trial, where he has played key roles as a witness for each of the past three years.
With such an arsenal of grades, activities, and talents, Colby easily gained admission to his top choice, the University of California at Berkeley. (Interesting sidenote: last year's salutatorian, Meredith Walters, is also attending Berkley.) "Berkley was my top choice, far and away," he said. "I went there and was really blown away by it all. Everyone had a really laid back manner about them, and the view was just incredible-- you see sloping hills coming right down to the Golden Gate Bridge."
One of the real incentives, however, was the excellence of Berkeley's a e r o s p a c e program. "I've been fascinated with aerospace and anything to do with aeronautics since before I entered high school," Colby said. In keeping with his interests, he has been avidly pursuing a pilot's license, and though he is still in ground training, he maintains that flying a plane is much easier than driving a car.
Most around Grady agree that Colby will probably be very successful in
attaining his goals. "I like Colby a lot. We're a good match-he's crazy
and I'm weird," Mr. Boon Boonyapat, physics teacher and soccer coach,
said. "But Colby is so intelligent. He's so smart and so crazy that
he's dangerous."
For right now, though, Colby is content with his present situation. "I think there are two basic things to remember in life," he said. "First is to have common sense-most people forget how important that is."
"Second," he said with a smile, "is to always have fun no matter what you do. I'm an expert on that. Everyone knowsI like to have fun." Everyone, someone in the room added, including Vice Principal Roosevelt Foreman, who discovered the now-notorious gala raging during school hours at Colby's house the day before the winter break.
At this Colby laughed and pounded the table. "Print that," he said, "because it just goes to show that you can have fun and succeed while doing it. I'm living testimony to that."