By Maiya Tomlin
Before the OnLion released their infamous Valentine’s Day survey in January, the staff huddled together to decide whether to make certain questions required or optional for surveyors to answer.
After much contemplation, we decided it was a necessity to toggle “required” for the question asking who everyone’s senior crush was. Indeed, we need to hear the voice of the people, or rather, the voices of the underclassmen.
Ultimately, five seniors, three boys, two girls, were the top responses on the survey. Continue reading to learn more about who they are…
Jackson Schmidt
One of my good friends, Grace Schmidt, is a junior who also happens to be Jackson Schmidt’s younger sister. We were on the phone discussing our American Studies short story book when I opened the tab of the Valentine’s Day survey.
I quickly told Grace to run downstairs and put Jackson on the phone. I had a few questions for this year’s top-voted senior crush, who could be considered a celebrity in high school.
I asked Jackson how he felt about receiving this title, to which he responded, “How to say this… well, I would say I feel honored.” I then asked him if he was surprised. “I wasn’t really thinking about it in the first place, but I’m flattered,” he told me.
Mrs. Schmidt, in the background of the call, hyped up Jackson by pretending to be her son, exclaiming: “Look at my muscles, how could I be surprised!”
Jackson quickly told me, “Do NOT put that in the article.”
“Oh, she’s definitely going to put it in,” Grace replied in the background. She knows me so well!
I asked Jackson if he remembered who his senior crush was when he was an underclassman. “Bradley Williams,” he told me, “from when I was a freshman,” he added.
Also, in Valentine’s Day spirit, I asked Jackson if he could hypothetically go on a date with any celebrity, and who would it be? “Natalie Portman,” he told me. Grace applauded that response.
Jackson recently committed to Johns Hopkins University to play football, and we are excited to cheer him on next year! We’ll have to see whether the students at Johns Hopkins find him equally alluring.
Anna Mefford
Our next senior crush is Anna Mefford, whom some underclassmen may recognize as an Ultra.
When I asked how Anna felt about being chosen as one of the senior crushes this year, she told me, “To be honest, my initial reaction was that I was like, why did my friends just troll me? I thought I was getting clowned.”
Anna recalled her senior crush when she was an underclassman and told me, “It was always Corey Nelson.” She also added Hayden Bernard.
In Anna’s free time, she plays soccer and enjoys running. “And I also really like watching Scandal. That show’s so good,” she added.
Anna currently loves listening to Olivia Dean, and she’s been listening to “The Tortured Poets Department every single day. Every. Single. Day,” she told me.
Mr. Newman, present for the interview, asked, “If somebody had a crush on you, would they need to like that music to get a date with you?” Anna said it may be a problem if her boyfriend listened to Olivia Dean and Taylor Swift.
If Anna could go on a date with one famous person, she’d go with a pick from down under, Robert Irwin from Dancing With the Stars.
Finally, I asked if Anna had any last words for the readers. “I feel seen,” she told me. “Whether it’s a troll or a joke, in my head I’m going to say it’s real.”
Tristan Sindoni
The next senior crush was Tristan Sindoni. One can typically find Tristan in Ms. Howard’s room during lunch, so I knew it would be the perfect place to conduct my interview.
I first asked Tristan how he felt about being voted senior crush, to which he told me, “I feel good about it.”
Tristan attempted to recall his senior crush from when he was an underclassman, and after a few moments of pondering, he told me, “I’ll just say Celia. You know Celia? Morton?” Celia Morton graduated from Lovett in 2024.
In Tristan’s free time, he will usually hang out with his friends, and on weekdays, “I’ll just go to the gym and then get back, do schoolwork, and go to bed. That’s pretty much it,” he told me. A simple guy.
However, Tristan recently saw Timothee Chalamet’s new movie, Marty Surpreme. “It was pretty good,” he told me.
When I asked Tristan if he had any other current watches (movies or tv shows), he did not give me a definitive answer, but he did make it clear that he does not like Stranger Things. “I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s good,” he told me. It felt almost as if Tristan had been meaning to get this off his chest for a bit now; however, perhaps he should have kept this opinion to himself, he’s got a big Stranger Things fan writing this article about him.
Luckily, not all of his taste in media is questionable. He also told me that his favorite band is Deftones, and his favorite song is “Cherry Waves.” I’d consider this a redemption.
I had to ask Tristan the pressing question: Does he have plans this Valentine’s Day? To which he quickly replied, “Yeah, no.”
Finally, if Tristan could go on a date with one famous person, “I’d say Jennifer Lawrence cause she’s really attractive,” he told me.
Ridley Sands
Our next senior crush is Ridley Sands, who just recently committed to the University of North Carolina!
She agreed with Anna’s reaction to the voting results and thought her friends were pranking her when she saw my email asking to interview her.
Ridley’s senior crush when she was an underclassman was “Luke Wallace,” she told me without a second’s hesitation.
In her free time, she loves reading. Currently, she’s reading The Count of Monte Cristo, a classic novel of revenge and redemption, which also happens to be around 1,200 pages. Mr. Newman, who was in the room as I spoke to Ridley, replied “Fantastic” to Ridley’s current read and asked, “The full version?” To which Ridley replied, “I bought it because the cover looked really pretty, and then I felt like I had to read it.”
Mr. Newman followed up, alluding to the plot of the story. “How would you feel if somebody was imprisoned and then out of your life for years, and then broke out to try to find you?” Ridley replied, “Well, if they were innocent, then I would very much appreciate it.” Then followed up: “Okay. No, if he broke out of prison for me, I would fold.” I guess all of you readers now know the very simple, very achievable way to this crush’s heart.
If Ridley isn’t reading, she loves to walk the Westminster Trail near her house or baking, specifically baking pop-overs. But right now, Ridley is watching Outlander. “Ooh. Romantic, right?” Mr. Newman asked, “Yes, like old-timey Scotland,” Ridley confirmed.
Finally, as for Ridley’s music taste, she loves the band Rainbow Kitten Surprise (which I heavily second).
Ford Tedder
Our last senior crush was Ford Tedder.
I asked Ford how he felt about being voted senior crush and whether he was expecting it. I have to admit, I may have trapped Ford slightly with the latter part of that question, but I had to keep the readers entertained. After a moment of Ford’s hesitation, I added, “It’s okay to say yes.”
“I think it’s kind of funny. I was partially expecting it,” he said We can always appreciate some self-confidence. “I think it’s more funny than anything. I’m honored,” he continued.
In whatever free time Ford has with the swim season currently taking up most of his schedule, he will most likely just be “going to the gym,” he told me. As of right now, he’s been “not really getting home until 7:00, 7:30 at night,” he told me. However, over the summer, Ford likes to spend his time at pools, specifically Ansley Golf Club.
When I asked Ford who his favorite musician is, he replied, “The Red Hot Chili Peppers.” His favorite song is “Dani California.” Additionally, Ford told me he likes the movie Zoolander.
Finally, Ford told me that if he could go on a date with one famous person, it would easily be “Sabrina Carpenter.”
