Evan Fagan

High Honors Student and Top Athlete Evan Fagan Discusses His Experience With School and Athletics

Evan Fagan is pictured here at an Indoor Track League Meet.*

The stereotype of smarts and athletics not being compatible reign false in the case of Evan Fagan. Fagan has been one of the top runners on his Cross Country and Long Distance Track teams since he was a Freshman. That’s not all Evan has to offer, however, he is also a High Honors student. “I take a lot of AP classes like AP U.S. History, AP Physics, AP English, and also AP Calculus.” says Evan, “I also [take] a couple honors classes [such as] Honors Spanish and two honors [Virtual High School] courses being Honors Modern Middle East and Honors Psychology of Crime. […] I’ve [been taking] all honors courses since Freshman year.” 

Evan has been running since fifth grade and has received various awards. When asked about his athletic awards Evan pauses to think about what he has won. When he can’t list them off the top of his head he walks over to his awards table to look. He glances at the various polished trophies and medals in the corner of his room. “I’ve gotten All-Star for Cross Country Freshman year and All-Conference for Cross Country last year and this year. Then I got All-Star for Indoor Track last year and this year.” He clearly is only listing a few compared to the table he is looking at which is almost overflowing with various awards. 

Evan Fagan is pictured here 

at a Cross Country League Meet.*

Evan also touched upon how he manages his time as a top notch athlete and student. “I mean, you just have to know what kind of workload you can handle. […] It’s all about finding the time and making sure you don’t get distracted.” He also provided some advice for prospective student-athletes. “If you're already in a sport then obviously go for that team but if you're not, run.” He laughs and continues, “I mean for sure do something that you’re interested in doing. If you do it, even if you’re not great to begin with, you don’t give up. You just [have to] keep doing it and hang onto it and you’ll improve. Sure enough, you’ll have a great time, and that’s all that matters.”

Fagan attributes a lot of his success to those who have supported him along the way. “Mostly it’s my coaches.” says Evan, “They’re the ones that I can say I have gotten leadership skills from more or less. […] My [high school] coach always gives us these very profound life speeches that inspire more than just me. They really inspire me specifically to be more of a leader on the team and just look at life differently and be thankful for everything I have.”

When asked about how running has shaped his life, he takes a while to answer. He pauses and looks up as if he is looking for the perfect words to piece together his answer. “Well,” he begins, “it’s definitely helped me deal with adversary, not to sound very cliche. [O]bviously, when you’re in fifth  grade…How many fifth graders actually want to go out and run three miles every day? […] It was terribly hard, but I pushed through it and I liked it a lot. It’s definitely taught me never to give up I would say.” This theme of never giving up seems to be prominent in Evan’s life. Whether it comes to academics or running he is never satisfied. He is always pushing himself to do better. This, along with many other characteristics, is why he is the athletic and academic star he is today. 

Evan Fagan is pictured here 
at an Indoor Track League Meet.*

His motivation doesn’t stop there, however. Evan has set out to achieve some impressive goals in the future. He plans to study International Relations in college in order to explore his love for world history. He is eager to work on something that has so much to do with the world. He is currently looking to attend a college that will help him land internships and pursue various opportunities that will help him further his future career.

Lastly, I ask him to look back on his high school career and if there is anything he would have done differently. His answer is a simple, firm, and confident, “Nope.”

Evan Fagan is definitely a student that should be on any college’s watch list. His confidence and “never give up” attitude has done nothing but benefit him for the past 3 years and there is no doubt that it will continue to do so. His hard work in school and on the track has proven him to be a highly desirable choice for any college or university. Keep an eye out for Evan Fagan. He definitely has a successful career ahead of him.

*All images above were provided by Evan Fagan and not taken by me.