Freshman Wyld Wittkopf has shown extraordinary skills in mathematics during his academic career. He said that he’s been in accelerated math classes for most of his academic life. 

“It started in 7th grade. I was in Advanced Math in 6th grade and then I jumped up to Algebra in 7th grade,” Wittkopf said.

Wittkopf’s Pre-Calculus teacher, Daniel Winkler, feels that Wittkopf fits into his class flawlessly, even though his Pre-Calculus classroom is mainly upperclassmen. Winkler said that Wittkopf has proven himself in class as well.

“He definitely belongs there. He’s shown good mastery of the material all year long, so he’s doing an excellent job,” Winkler said.

Wittkopf was anxious about entering this advanced class. Thankfully, he has not had issues with people in the classroom. 

“Whenever I go to a new classroom I’m always really nervous. I don’t know everybody and I have this preconception that everybody is going to stare at me because I’m not a person that’s typically there,” Wittkopf said.

Wittkopf has had slight difficulty in his work, though. He stated that he hasn’t felt stressed due to his classes until this year. 

“It wasn’t until this year, because now I have a lot more homework, so I have less free time. That’s a little bit stressful, but I can keep up with it,” Wittkopf said.

Wittkopf’s advancement is in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to how the schedule was organized during his last few middle school years, he was able to take Geometry in his first semester of 8th grade and Algebra II the next. 

Wyld’s father and middle school math teacher, Waylon Wittkopf, said he was always more than happy to help his son with his homework. He had hoped his son would be good in the math field, as well. Waylon said that Wyld has never been afraid to ask for help, but in most cases, he has been able to figure it out in his own way, mostly by studying the material.

In regards to his school-life balance, Wyld has a good routine. 

“Mostly I’ll go to swim practice, and when I get home I work on my homework. I always make time for self-help, to make sure I don’t stress myself out too much. Sometimes I’ll go a bit far,” Wyld said.

When Wittkopf isn’t at school or studying, he often finds himself reading or playing some video games in his free time, so he doesn’t overwhelm his entire life with schoolwork.

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Brady Hanson

Freshman Wyld Wittkopf is studying in a private study room. Wittkopf is the youngest student in his Pre-Calculus class.