written by Jaylan Hayes
Going away to college typically involves one big move for incoming freshman. But senior Sawyer Whatley has had to move five times since starting at AU.
"I spent one semester with a guy previously on the team and then I was gone. I lived in an apartment downtown by myself which was awesome. Then I went and moved in with a guy that used to live with my brother. Finally, I have been living in a house for the last two years, but they want to tear it down. So now we're moving to another apartment," said Whatley.
Luckily, he's gotten really good at packing everything up and he'll only be staying at his new place for the rest of the semester.
Whatley will be graduating in May with a Bachelor of Arts in history. While his original plan was having a degree in education, he was told he would graduate in 2026 with that pathway, and he was determined to finish school in four years.
He still plans to teach history in high school. Coming from a family of educators he always knew that would be the path for him.
"My whole family are teachers. It's a bunch of educators, and I feel like that's one of the reasons I was put here on this earth to educate other people because my family does it. And I never felt any other calling. I've always wanted to teach," said Whatley.
Whatley loves his family. They're some of his favorite people in the world. His brother is his best friend, and he's always been close to his parents.
"It was great growing up with my brother. I could go on and on about him. He's honestly the best guy I know. My family is just made up of good people," said Whatley.
He recently got to meet his niece for the first time, and it has become one of his happiest memories. While he's sad his brother lives so far away, he enjoys any and all time he can get with him.
While Whatley played a couple different sports in high school, he's happy to only be participating in track at AU. It's a sport that has taught him a lot and he genuinely loves it.
Some life lessons were learned when he joined the track team, specifically that not everyone comes from a loud family.
"It can be a lot for people you know, like, especially when I got to my first ever practice. I'm being myself and being loud, you know, because, I am loud," said Whatley.
Whatley realized not everyone is like that and it can take time for others to warm up and be themselves. He now knows it's also ok if not everyone likes you.
"I know I'm a good person that's how I was raised to be humble, but also be confident," said Whatley.
Whatley isn't the biggest fan of relaxing and he always likes to be doing something. Usually, another type of sport such as golf, darts, or bowling. He loves cooking and learning to make new dishes. Hanging out with his friends is always a fun time for him.
He also enjoys meeting new people and getting to know them. He could talk for hours with someone whether he just met them or has known them for years.
A hot take that Whatley has is that phones shouldn't have evolved into the smartphones they are today. He believes they are the reason most people don't know how to have a face to face conversation.
"I think we should have just always kept it simple text and phone calls. Honestly, that's all you need. Just think about it. The lack of communication nowadays is crazy," he said.
When Whatley graduated high school there was a note under his seat from his younger self.
"It said something like I'm going to be running track at the University of Georgia. I just remember thinking well I'll be going to college for track just not that one," said Whatley.
His younger self may have had different plans for his future, but Whatley knows he ended up exactly where he needed to be. Everything that has happened has taught him life lessons and he's been able to grew as an athlete and a person because of it.
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