Alan Crawford is what some would call an extraordinary senior. 

With a large array of activities, a strong faith, and a knack for building model rockets, Alan certainly has a bold resume. 

“I am currently starting center for the football team,” Crawford said. “I am also a programmer for the robotics team that has been pretty successful here the past few years.”

Crawford has come a long way in his football career and is very proud of his spot on the Panther Varsity football team. 

“So I play center, and basically I’m in the middle of the offensive line,” Crawford said. “So my job there is to protect the quarterbacks… basically all I’m thinking about is finding anyone who could be dangerous to the quarterback and knocking them around so they stay away.”

But Alan isn’t just a regular starter on the football team; he excels extremely well in the school setting as well.

“I got a 35 overall score on the ACT, and I just retook it, so we’ll see how that goes,” Crawford said. “And as far as rank goes, I’m fourth [in my class].” 

The ACT is something that Crawford didn’t fear; he got in lots of preparation beforehand each time. 

“For that first attempt, I had actually been studying some,” Crawford said. “Mostly in my AP English class. Mrs. McArthur did a lot of ACT prep, and I think that actually did help.” 

One of Alan’s favorite extracurricular activities is the Robotics Club. 

“I’ve been doing robotics since middle school,” Crawford said. “We have won state four times and qualified for the world competition each of those times. However, the first two times we didn’t get to go because of COVID. The other two times we got to go to Houston and compete with about 150 other teams.” 

When he’s not programming on his team’s robot, he can most likely be found building a new model rocket to add to his collection. 

“I’ve always been interested in rocketry, especially in middle school,” Crawford said. “I got into looking at actual aerospace, so companies like SpaceX or NASA… and I looked at the rockets they were doing. I learned about model rockets from a book my mom got me, and I started building small rockets until they just got bigger and bigger.”  

While Alan participates in many activities, the one thing that is always occurring is his strong sense of faith.

“I do a lot of activities outside of school with my church,” Crawford said. “Every Wednesday we’ll do an activity with our age group. So I get to hang out with a bunch of guys that go to my church and are my age, and we do a large variety of activities.” 

 Faith is something Alan prioritizes, and is even going to pursue after high school. 

“I think my plan right now is to go on a mission with my church for the first two years,” Crawford said. “Then I will probably go to BYU in Provo [Utah] to do something in computer science.” 

While Alan has made his mark on Powell High School in many ways, he wants to leave one piece of advice. 

When asked what he would tell his younger self, Alan’s dry sense of humor shines through. 

“Don’t be so lazy,” Crawford said.