Junior Tyler Gentry was elected as the 2013-2014 school year Student Association president for Harding on April 11, 2013. His term will begin May 11, when the current president, junior Will Waldron, hands the keys of the SA office over to him at graduation. Gentry is an exercise science major from Mansfield, Texas, and moved to Searcy, Ark., in the middle of his freshman year of high school. Gentry said he has exciting plans for the SA and looks forward to working with Dr. McLarty and his administration, being a liaison for the student body.
What is your favorite quote?
Gentry: “WouldI rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”- Michael Scott (The Office)
What is the most played song on your iPod?
Gentry: “Goodnight Moon” by Go Radio
If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?
Gentry: “Definitely the Bible characters to ask them questions about experiences they had, but also I would love to meet President Abraham Lincoln. It is so interesting to see how he held our country together in hard times. I have found that it is easy to start something, but to hold something together, that is an accomplishment.”
Which celebrity do people say you look like?
Gentry: “There are four. Recently, JT, but that’s just because of my posters, but usually it’s Adam Levine, Jude Law or Phillip Phillips.”
What is your most embarrassing story?
Gentry: “It would have to be when I got called out for the raffle at the basketball game that CBS came to. I walked in the Rhodes at half time because I had gone to my brother’s basketball tournament that morning. There was nowhere to sit, so I was standing near the entrance. They began calling numbers to come shoot. I really don’t like those kind of contests. I was looking at my number, hoping it wouldn’t be me. As they were announcing the number, I read it off of my ticket stub. I thought, ‘oh, great’, but I didn’t want my chance to go to waste either. I went out there and air-balled from half court in front of the packed stadium.”
What do you miss most about being a kid?
Gentry: “I miss exploring the outdoors and playing with airsoft guns with my best friends in the neighborhood and of course the sport aspect of growing up. We were so creative as kids. I really miss just getting to go outside and explore and not having a care in the world, just being a kid.”
What is the neatest experience you have had while you have been a student at Harding?
Gentry: “Going overseas. I have been to Australia twice with Global Outreach missions, I went to HUF this past summer and this coming summer I am taking a trip with Global Outreach missions to St. Lucia. It is so cool to see other cultures, to help out other people. I think that is the neatest experience to be able to take what we learn here at Harding and share it with others.”
Free plane ticket with your name on it, where are you going?
Gentry: “I am going to Europe to watch a soccer game in Scotland. Well, actually, I may should change my ticket to Rio to watch USA in the World Cup.”
What is your first thought when your alarm goes off in the morning?
Gentry: “My first thought is to hit the snooze, but I always wake up in a good mood, excited about the day. There is something I always look forward to. You have to have something to keep you going.”
What is your favorite football team?
Gentry: “I am a Longhorn fan. It’s just my Texas roots. College football just has so much more tradition and passion than NFL.”
