“Leo Gray-ay! Leo Gray-ay!”
A sea of green and gold rises to its feet, sending thunderous echoes through the gym with their claps and stomps. The Panther Pit erupts in support of senior Leo Gray as he steps onto the court, playing his first-ever high school sport as a member of the boys volleyball team.
Before this spring, Gray had already been incredibly involved in the Pinewood community, serving as this year’s Associated Student Body President and performing regularly with the PPA, appearing in productions such as last year’s “Argonautika” and this year’s “Alice By Heart.” To close out high school, Gray, after a long-standing interest in athletics, was finally able to add playing a sport to his diverse list of Pinewood experiences.
“I’ve wanted to play volleyball since I was a freshman because I remember freshman year I would practice a little bit with the girls team and I was like, ‘This is fun’,” Gray said. “It was super fun to try out this new thing.”
Gray, as ASB President, has always brought his contagious energy by cheering in the Panther Pit during games. After years of being the one to rally the student section, Gray was finally able to feel what it’s like to be supported himself.
“Being on ASB has given me the opportunity to cheer on a lot of other people, and so it’s been nice reversing those roles,” Gray said.
Throughout his PPA career, Gray has received his fair share of standing ovations and applause on the stage, but he had never known what it felt like to receive that type of support on the gym floor. Gray compared the dynamic between him and the audience in the theater versus on the volleyball court.
“In theater, people aren’t really like cheering for you since they’re kind of just clapping, so it’s cool to have that kind of interaction with the Panther Pit while you’re out there,” Gray said. “It’s nice to have the kind of live support.”
As Gray has continued to stay involved at Pinewood, he reflects on how the community has shaped his high school experience and made him the person he is today.
“Pinewood has let me experience so many different things,” Gray said. “Being involved in other activities has definitely given me many communities across campus, and it’s nice to be meeting new people.”
As high school comes to a close, Gray feels immense gratitude for the support he has received throughout all of his high school endeavors.
“I’m just grateful for the people that are willing to go out to the games and support you in theater, wherever you’re just showing yourself off on campus,” Gray said.
Heading off to college, Gray, having explored many different interests at Pinewood, hopes to continue to find new things to do in the future.
“I expect that I’m gonna join a bunch of other things in college that I’m not necessarily doing in high school,” Gray said. “Just staying excited to try new things.”
