*AJ Cowan: Athlete, Scholar, World Traveler*

Some words from his mom

Please introduce your senior: I would like to introduce my son Anthony Washing Cowan, Jr known to everyone as AJ. He will be graduating with the Waynesville senior class of 2018. He is a very out spoken person and he likes to speak his mind. AJ does like to have fun, but his style of fun is like no other.

What are some of your favorite memories of AJ growing up?

• One of my favorite memories was when he was born. I just signed in to Ft. Riley, KS when he decided that he wanted to surprise us with his arrival. He wasn’t due until August but decided to come early.
• When he was young, AJ loved riding horses while we were in Germany.
• Other memories that I love was watching him at his first little league basketball game, going to karate class, and playing little league football.
• One Christmas we bought him a toy Cadillac escalade. When my husband was washing his car AJ wanted to wash his Cadillac as well. So we got a little bucket for him along with a rag so he could wash his car. He took the water hose and proceeded to wash his car.  Another memory was when his dad was cutting the yard. AJ got on his riding lawn mower with his dad straw hat and proceeded to mow the lawn.
• AJ also did great in Gymnastics I didn’t realize how good he was until we enrolled him in class. If they had a good coach here in the area I believe that he could have focused on that as well as his track.

What are some fun things you did this past summer with AJ: This summer we went to Dallas, TX to my friend's son's wedding. I have not seen her in over 25 years. She was my maid of honor in my wedding back in 1998. We also spent a week in Glenside, PA visiting his grandmother for a week. While there AJ went to Nike Camp in Pennington, NJ where he met the Clark sisters from the 2000 Olympics. After his return we spent a day at Dorney Park in Allentown, PA. Once we returned home for about a week we headed up to Kansas City, MO for my father's side family reunion.

What are some interest you share with AJ: Some of the interests that I share with my senior is getting an education in order to be a successful person in my life. The both of us ran track in high school doing the hurdles. We both love just spending time to ourselves at times and being with friends. We are go getters and will not let anyone stand in our way in order to meet our goals. We love to have a good time doing things like going to the zoo, amusement and water parks, and just enjoying life.

What are you looking forward to most about AJ's Senior year: The thing I am looking forward to most for his upcoming year is for him to graduate. Other things that I look forward to is him making it to State this year in track. I would like for him to get a scholarship in track and continue his education with Mississippi State, his dream college.