Brantley Anderson has been attending Carmel Christian all four years of high school. Like a handful of the other seniors graduating this year, Anderson is part of a smaller group of students known as the “Alpha and Omega.” This group consists of students who have attended Carmel from kindergarten through their senior year. When asked if Anderson enjoyed spending his entire life at Carmel, he states that “sometimes I wish I had done half public school and half private school, but I’m also glad I’ve been at Carmel for so long because I have a lot of deep connections with people I truly care about.” 

Anderson’s many years at Carmel have resulted in a plethora of wonderful memories and experiences.

His favorite aspect of the CCS environment is how close he has been able to get with his teachers. Anderson states “Mr. McMillion, Mr. Mogusu, Dr. Gilson and Mr. Gesin always are there to talk with me, and I feel like I have deep relationships with them that I couldn’t find in teachers at any other school.” Dr. Nathan Gilson specifically has been an incredible influence on Anderson’s CCS experience, with him recalling Gilson’s American History class as one of his favorite parts of high school. Anderson adored this class because of its ability to challenge his beliefs and find reasoning and logic to reinforce them.

Aside from school, Anderson spends most of his time in the gym. Weightlifting has been a passion of Anderson’s since his freshman year. He began his weightlifting journey because of the father of his close friend, Luke Floyd, influence. Kevin Floyd was a massive role model in Anderson’s life, and he expresses that “I always looked up to him because he was so devoted to the gym and was a genuinely good person. He brought me into the gym and I loved it immediately, and I just wanted to keep doing it.” 

Throughout his weightlifting journey, Anderson has reached a number of milestones that he is most proud of including benching 305 pounds, squatting 440 pounds and losing over 60 pounds in 3 months. Reaching these milestones was a struggle, with him receiving injuries multiple times. Anderson recalls “I’ve injured my shoulder, my back and my hip. I couldn’t bench for a few months when I hurt my shoulder, and this was a really difficult experience physically and mentally.” However, he says that these hardships make the progress even more rewarding.

After high school, Anderson is excited for his future college experiences. He has been accepted into High Point University and plans to attend there in the fall with a major in Exercise Science.

Anderson chose High Point because he says he fell in love with the campus, the people, the leaders and the general environment of this college, and he can completely see himself living there. He decided to major in Exercise Science because of his passion for the gym and his love for helping people overcome their physical challenges. Anderson is extremely excited to begin his college career, and he explains that he is not nervous about leaving high school at all. He states “I’ll miss my friends, my friend, Sam Holding, and I are both going to High Point, so it won’t be too bad.” Anderson is excited about moving to a new area, meeting new people and having new experiences.