Evie Murphy-Wilson carries with her an air of grace. Maybe it’s her inquisitive eyes, her confident smile; or maybe it’s her hair, impeccably bunned and braided in a fashion that’s more 1715 than 2015. Whatever it is, Evie dances through the halls of South High like a ballerina. Which isn’t surprising, because in addition to her three year career as a competitive ballroom dancer, she’s recently picked up ballet!

Outside of dance, Evie excels at school, has been playing piano for eleven years, and is a member of the MacPhail Teen Advisory Council, where she organizes events and advises music instructors looking for teenage opinions. Though it’s hard for her to balance her busy schedule, she places a lot of importance on community. “I don’t have any siblings,” she said, “so I have to look for community elsewhere.” Although she can always rely on her dog Norbert, her cat Gina, and her bird Dr. Seuss for companionship, she stresses the importance of her extracurriculars in forming meaningful connections. “It’s amazing to be around people who you don’t need to feel self-conscious about, people who you don’t need to prove anything to. You can just be yourself...you get to be an individual without people looking you up and down.”

The Southerner, she believes, is a place where she gets to be herself. But as an editor, she’s interested in curating a space where her peers can express themselves genuinely. Conversations she had with a very thoughtful exchange student she hosted over last school year led her to an important realization: “Teenagers have a lot of interesting thoughts.” When Evie dances, everyone dances with her. So put on your ballet slippers, and prepare for the performance of a lifetime!