Billy's Bio     see his journal

Hey Everybody!

My name is Billy Fowkes, and I am a lower (sophomore) in the midst of my second year at PA.  I am from Woburn, MA, a city about fifteen miles north of Boston, and although I live only twenty minutes away from Andover, I am a boarding student here at PA.  This year I am living in Stearns house, a dorm of upperclassmen boys located in Abbot Cluster.  Although Abbot is the furthest cluster from the main campus, it only takes a few minutes to walk to Commons in the morning from the dorm, while it also offers a good amount of separation from the busiest areas on campus.  So far my Andover experience has been even better than I had originally expected; with one year under my belt, Andover is not only a school to me, but it is also a home away from home.  Thanks to the great kids, caring house counselors, and thoughtful teachers, Andover has provided me with a place where I know that I fit in, as does everybody else.

This year, at least for fall term, I am carrying a fairly heavy course load, as I am enrolled in six courses: Perspectives on the Hebrew Bible, Algebra II, European History, Spanish, English, and Chemistry.  I do not have a favorite subject in particular, but as to what I am most interested in I would have to say all sciences and writing.  In fact, throughout my time here I have written several articles for The Phillipian (the school newspaper) and am now a regular writer for Backtracks, Andover’s public interest magazine, in which I write mainly movie reviews.  I am also a member of about 30 clubs on campus as a result of having a serious case of ‘Sign up Fever’ during the Club rally.  From Debate Club to Ping Pong Club, anybody can find a good number of things that they are interested in, and if not, they can just create their own club!

In terms of athletics, this fall I am playing Instructional Squash, while in winter I play JV hockey and in spring baseball.  Last fall I had the opportunity to try football which was a lot of fun, but I eventually came to the conclusion that 5’11’’ and 140 pounds is not the best build for an offensive lineman.  Athletically, Andover offers a wide range of opportunities for people of all levels, with instructional, junior varsity, and varsity teams in many different sports.

I hope that this gives you a fairly good view of who I am, and I also hope that I will be able to keep you interested with my experiences throughout the coming year by recording them in an entertaining fashion.  Although Andover is a very much an academic place, it is also a place of great excitement, and I hope to bring that excitement to you over the course of the next eight months.  Good luck!

-Billy  

see his journal