Norris serves his country while finishing high school
Photo by Kent Kechter
Luin escorts his date, Makayla Rogers, to the Prom in his service uniform.Senior Luin Norris arguably has already started life after high school. This intrinsically motivated senior signed up for the National Guard last year and in the summer went through half of his basic training (10 weeks of boot camp) and will finish the other half this summer.
“I left after state track and got back one day before football practices started,” Norris said. “I was in good shape for football and I got to go to the new swimming pool one time before it closed, but it wasn’t too bad because I didn’t have time to really think about it.”
Norris said part of his obligations of being in the National Guard is that he has to go one weekend a month to serve so he’s missed some football games and wrestling tournaments to fulfill his military commitment.
“It’s been interesting because I have to stay on top of my grades but I still have to do everything for the military, but it’s been worth it because it gets me prepared for the future,” he said.
Principal Dave Morrow said most people don’t realize how busy Norris has been this entire year juggling both responsibilities as a high school student and simultaneously being in the Guard.
“He takes his oath to the Guard and his duties seriously, which speaks to his character as a young man. He already understands the meaning of the word ‘commitment.’ His duties have made him miss some weekend activities like wrestling tournaments and other social events, but he has managed those responsibilities very well,” Morrow said. “Generally speaking, Luin Norris is one of the most remarkable young men I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. He is very goal-driven and has in his mind what he plans to do with his life. Luin is quite simply a very fine young man. He will succeed in life, and I wish him all the best life has to offer.”
Norris said he has always been interested in the military and being a police officer since he was little. “Once I got old enough to make the decision, I asked my mom what she thought and she was okay with it so I went ahead and signed up.”
Norris said he will be the first one of his family to go to a university and because he’s in the national guard, he will have the opportunity to still go to K-State and major in criminology and fulfill his military commitments simultaneously. Norris also plans to enroll in the ROTC program so when he graduates he’ll be an officer in active duty.
"Luin is one of those kids that simply makes the day go faster,” Steve Jenkins, history teacher, said. “Additionally, his commitment to our country's defense is immeasurable and it will be a badge of honor that he will carry with him forever."
Norris is the youngest in his family with three older brothers and one sister. Two of his brothers didn’t graduate from high school, he said his sister got held back and his oldest brother went to vo-tech, but according to Norris hasn’t used his degree and life has been hard for all of his siblings.
“Being the youngest and watching all of my brothers struggle and seeing what my sister went through, I don’t want that for me,” Norris said. “I want to succeed and kind of turn the family name around.”
Rodney Yates, head football coach, said he is proud of Norris.
“Luin Norris is a young man that I am glad to have the pleasure of knowing,” Yates said. “His charismatic attitude and welcoming humor are just a few of the traits that make him approachable and easy-to-like. His optimism on a daily basis brightens any room that he occupies. Luin has been a pleasure coaching the last three years and I look forward to continuing that relationship down the road. This young man is destined for greatness. The career path that he has chosen aligns well with the values that he has and demonstrates on a daily basis inside the classroom and during competition. Our country is safer for having men like Luin Norris protect it. The moral compass in which he lives his life is far from the struggles he encountered growing up. This compass will guide him down a path that few will ever have the opportunity to experience. I'm proud of you, Luin! He will always be a valued member of my family and I wish you all the best discovering your inner-self. Next play!”
Norris has a musical side to him. He said he has played the violin since he was in fifth grade until his sophomore year.
“There was one other person who was playing the violin and when he graduated I didn’t want to be the only one playing, so I didn’t sign back up for band but enrolled in vocal,” he said.
This year in vocal during the talent and lip sync competition, second hour went head to head against fourth hour vocal class. Norris said he wanted to be Janet Jackson in the competition.
“I never danced my part as [Joseph Gordon Levitt’s impersonation of Janet Jackson] in class,” he said. “We would practice the words, but I told Mrs. Morrow she didn’t need to worry that we were going to win it. When the curtains opened, I forgot everything around me and I did my best to reenact what was on those videos and apparently I did pretty good because we won.”
Another highlight from high school he said was when he got a personal record in the discus by five feet at one of the first track meets this year.
“It’s like that drive that wished football would’ve been better and wrestling would’ve been better has fueled me to have one of my seasons end on a positive note,” Norris said.
Norris also performed in drama the last two years. “I think I’m pretty funny sometimes and thought it’d be fun to do drama and I liked it so I did it again and turns out I am halfway decent.”
Ultimately Norris said his senior year has gone by fast.
“It went by really fast because I was kind of going by one sport at a time,” he said. “First it was football, then wrestling and now it’s track and that’s almost over.”