You walk into school on a cold morning, look up to walk through the door, and there stands a tall blonde sincerely holding the door for you with a big smile on his face to brighten your day…meet Thorne Pruden. For 8 fun years, Thorne has made the senior class a much more exciting group. His bubbly personality allows him to make friends with any person he comes in contact with. Nathan Varnell said, “Thorne was one of the first people I met here, and to this day he has not changed a bit. He still keeps his optimistic attitude, and he is always in the mood to laugh.” Known as a classic gentleman, Thorne is a young man who is not afraid to hold doors for anyone or give up his seat for a girl. He knows that chivalry is not dead, and everyone who knows Thorne knows that he was raised right–never using anything less than his best manners.

He succeeds in everything he does due to his skilled determination. Through sporting clay shooting, football, basketball, golf, and even track & field sports, Thorne has willpower and courage to see everything he does to the end. In fact, Thorne has brought home many outstanding shooting awards over the last few years for the RMA shooting team. There is a good chance you will catch Thorne either at Rose Hill Plantation improving his shooting game, on the football field sprinting from one end to the other, or throwing heavy discs outside to work on his discus record. Speaking of his discus record, Thorne impressively won the state championship title for the 1A/2A division last year. He won by throwing an outstanding 135 ft, but he actually held an individual record of 141 ft for the season! Overall, Thorne uses his strong work ethic to try time and time again until he masters any activity he participates in – whether he is just going to the gym to lift weights or if he is running from one end zone to the other.

Thorne’s perseverance does not end here! He balances athletics and hobbies with his schoolwork. This year, he takes a wide variety of classes, including Honors Precalculus, AP Biology, Honors English, AP Psychology, AP Stats, and American Culture.  He was nominated and attended the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington DC in 8th grade. He has been a part of the Honor Roll from 9th – 11th grade and received the Excellence in Art I Award in 10th grade. Thorne excels in the classroom no matter the subject.

Thorne is the kind of guy that is always there for anyone who needs it. Spencer Gardner said, “Thorne is one of those people you can go to and just talk to. He always gives great advice and helps people if they need something. He can often get on my nerves, but he’s one of those friends you’d always need when there’s really no one else.”

To learn more about Thorne, take a look at the short interview below.

1. What clubs or programs are you involved in at school? Pretty much nothing
2. What has been your favorite class so far? AP US History
3. What colleges are you applying to, and what is your first choice?  Naval Academy, Campbell, Clemson, University of South Carolina, FU, and NC State. The Naval Academy is my first choice.
4. What’s your favorite hunting season and why?  Probably duck season so I can watch Tanner Jernigan’s “Update from the swamp this morning” videos
5. What is one thing you cannot live without? Finger Painting
6. Who is your celebrity crush? Chris Pratt
7. What has been your favorite RMA sport to participate in? 8-man football
8. What is your current favorite song?  “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – Dean Martin
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Jordan Belfort
10. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?  Halifax
11. If you could donate one million dollars to any cause, what would it be? My bank account
12. What is your all-time favorite RMA memory? Spending lunch in Mr. Tucker’s office for having too many tardies
13. What’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had? I was chased by Abraham Lincoln in the Biltmore.