Sophomore Wyatt Franzen is an anomaly. Armed with two iPhones and a semi-ironic distrust of Red Dye 40, he seemingly appears at the call of his name.

My first encounter with Wyatt consisted of him earnestly offering me $20 to sit in the front of our mutual friend’s car. I laughed and told him he could sit there for free. Little did I know, this meant I had to squeeze between three other people in the back of a Prius. We drove to McDonald’s and Wyatt strolled in like he owned the place.

And he practically does, at 16 years old, Wyatt has already logged nearly a year of service as a Manager at the East End Mcdonald’s location.

When he’s not running the fast-food restaurant like a well-oiled machine, Wyatt spends as much time as he can outside, with just about anyone he can find.

He’s so well connected, in fact, that he was elected for student council without any campaigning.

“I signed up when I got the email, but I didn’t really know that I was actually on [the ballot]. I just told my friends to vote for me and it worked,” Wyatt said.

When she saw his name on the ballot, sophomore Aurora Doll, who also happens to work with Wyatt at McDonald’s, was sure to choose him.
“He’s a good manager, so I figured he would be a good student council member,” said Doll.

As a sophomore, Wyatt wasn’t able to purchase a ticket to prom without an upperclassmen date, but he didn’t let that stop him. You might’ve seen him and junior Majesta Fleck strolling across the stage at Grand March with slippers on their feet. It is clear that Wyatt will let nothing stand in the way of a good time.

“It was a fun experience, I’m looking forward to going again next year,” said Wyatt.

My conversation with Wyatt would not have been complete without a question about his infamous iPhone 7. The answer was surprisingly simple; after being banned from Snapchat, he has to use his previous phone to keep up correspondence on the app.

“So if anyone sees me walking around with two phones, that’s why,” Wyatt said.

When it comes to Wyatt Franzen, it’s not a matter of if you get to know him, but when.