While many know senior Caleb Lawson as the quiet football player, a lot more lies beneath the surface. 

Caleb comes from a tight-knit family. Originally from Tuscaloosa, his mom, dad, and two little brothers moved to Madison when he was in the third grade.

“I went to three different elementary schools while I was up here, and by the time I got to Discovery, I really knew no one because I had been to so many different schools in a short amount of time,” Caleb said. “I didn’t really have time to make friends, and I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t do much at the time, so that was when I felt the most alone.”

That is when he became more involved in extracurriculars. He joined football, wrestling, and technical theatre. “Being able to do all sorts of different things – an athlete, a techie, being in difficult classes, going to church – being around all different types of people have opened me up to the world and just come out of my shell, not be as shy and awkward as I used to be.”

Things haven’t been easy for Caleb, especially being a new student and specifically his experience as an underclassman on the football team. “I remember what it was like to be a freshman and not really having a role on the team and being new to the school, so I want all the young guys, all the guys that feel like their role is unimportant, I want them to know that it is important. I just want them to know that they have someone to lean on and someone to talk to because I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t have anybody, to feel unimportant, and I just don’t want anyone to feel that way ever,” Caleb said.

While many see Caleb as an athlete, he wants to be an electrical engineer like his father. Caleb explained, “My goal is to go Ivy League. Like Harvard or Yale, and hopefully play college football, too.”

Academics are important to Caleb, as he has taken multiple Advanced Placement classes. With the busy schedule of an AP student and an athlete, one may assume that he has a busy schedule and can lead to becoming lackadaisical, especially as more and more students catch “senioritis.”

Caleb explained, “I know that if I put in the work in the weight room and the classroom, good things will come to me.”

Overcoming his early awkwardness and shyness, Caleb Lawson now stands out as a student leader. “My life motto has always been to lead by example. Whether that be in faith, academics, athletically, just try to be as good as I can in everything I do.”