Bright From The Start

By Anushri Thakkar

Ranked first in his class with a 4.33 GPA and an ACT score of 33, senior Mark Messler still manages to maintain a life outside of school. As the youngest of five, Messler strives for success and looks to his older siblings for guidance.

As a varsity golfer, swimmer, Catholic Youth Council basketball player and an academic scholar, Messler balances many aspects of his life.

“I guess it’s a good thing that I can juggle,” he said. 

Although he enjoys swimming and basketball, swimming became too stressful when homework piled up. His favorite of the three sports without a doubt is golf.

“I definitely see golf as a more relaxing sport. I do my best when I’m relaxed and having fun. I’ve been golfing since I was 12 years old,” Messler said.

After graduating high school, Messler will continue to play intramural golf in college, but does not wish to play at the varsity level.

Messler wants to major in either biochemistry or biomedical engineering, with the hopes of becoming a top physician one day. However, if a medical career does not interest him later, he may opt for a career in biotechnology or pharmacology.

With scholarship offers from more than nine universities, including Auburn, Arizona State, University of Central Florida, Baylor, Oklahoma University, University of Missouri-Columbia and several others, Messler has yet to decide where he will attend next fall. He is still waiting on acceptance letters from Vanderbilt University and Duke University.

Vanderbilt and Mizzou are his top choices as of right now.

“Both of these schools attracted my interest because they have great opportunities for undergraduate research and they have excellent medical schools on campus,” Messler said. “Mizzou feels like home to me after spending four weeks there between (the) Missouri Scholars Academy and Mizzou’s Mini Medical School.”

Messler will be touring Vanderbilt in February to see what it has to offer as a top-ranked university.

Until then, Messler wishes to enjoy the time he has left at home.

“I enjoy spending time in the outdoors and playing sports in my free time. The rest of my time is spent hanging out with my friends and my wonderful girlfriend,” Messler said.

He enjoys several outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, floating, rock climbing and rappelling- a techniquie that involves descending from a high cliff by ropes. Messler also loves to travel and jumps at any opportunity to see the sights of the world.

But after a long day when he just wants to relax, he’ll sit down and play his favorite videogame, Call of Duty: Black Ops.

While Messler is easy-going, hard-working and ambitious, he credits his successes to his parents.

“They always set good examples for me, and I can’t think of a single time when they let me down," he said. "They always give their full support in the things I do without pressuring me in any one direction too much. In addition to my parents, I look up to my older siblings. Since they are much older than me, I can look off of their successes and mistakes to help guide me through my life.”

Messler considers himself a motivated person; he claims that without motivation he would have given up a long time ago. He likes to hear the success stories of others because they encourage him to keep striving toward his goals, believing that no one should waste their talent. Everyone does something well, it simply has to be discovered.

“I was always considered a bright kid, but I would not be where I am today without putting in the work. What inspires me more than anything is knowing that God gave me the talent to succeed, and I feel that I would be wasting it if I didn’t try my best,” he said.