‘Raging Waters’ of Brent Nolan
Unlike Brent’s first interview experience as a child, I was not handed a sheet of paper with guns, knives and machetes scribbled all over it. Compared to the unseemly fiasco Brent’s parents went through in a dean’s office with their young ninja turtle fanatic (hence: knives, machetes) my interview experience was much more conventional. I received insight into the “softer side” of Mr. Brent William Nolan.
After reassuring Mr. Bruce Nolan, Brent’s father, that I was not a telemarketer, I got all the juicy details. Just as my inquisition about “funny stories” reached Mr. Nolan’s ear, he began chuckling.
Before moving to Cary, NC the Nolan family resided in Pasadena, CA. At the age of four or five, Brent, along with his mother and father, went for an interview with the head master of a prestigious private school in their area. Upon entering the head master’s office, she gave Brent (who was a HUGE ninja turtle fan at the time) a piece of paper and pencil for him to draw with while she interviewed his parents [mother, Patti and father,Bruce]. At the end of the interview the head master asked Brent for the paper to see what he had drawn. In her hand was a sheet of paper with a four-year old’s drawing of guns, knives and machetes all over it. Brent’s father laughed, “ Here we are trying to get Brent into a prestigious private school and he looks like the next mass murderer!”. Regardless, Brent was accepted and hopefully has grown out of his Raphael stage.
After revising my interviews with Brent’s father, roommate and girlfriend I found the common consensus of Brent’s ‘top personality’ traits to be his “sense of humor”, “caring”, “athletic” and Stephanie, Brent’s five year on/off girlfriend, threw in “stubborn” as well.
Brent has an excellent relationship with his parents, especially his dad. Stephanie mentioned that Brent and his father are a lot alike. She refers to them both as being “consistent and stable.”
Lucky for Brent, he didn’t seem to be in the ‘dog-house’ at the time of my interview with Stephanie (Stephanie Smith, Duke student). Stephanie described Brent as both highly motivated and engaging. She says, “He truly cares about everyone……he is the person I want to call at the end of the day.” However, she assures us not to be fooled, because he can “schmooze with the best of them”. If Stephanie had to guess, within the next 10 years Brent will be in the advertising/sales or sports marketing industry.
Griffin Coxe, roommate and best friend of Brent, seemed to agree. Brent had mentioned his extreme love for basketball, however I did not quite grasp the extent of the word “extreme” until his father told me that the only motivation Brent had for learning how to read was to be able to read the sports page.
Griffin says Brent would make an excellent sports analyst for ESPN. Yet, not only does Brent know sports, he also knows how to be a good friend. Griffin said after meeting their first year here at ECU that Brent grew into his best friend. He said he is a “shoulder to cry on” type of guy. However, his roommate also referred to him as a “big time pack rat”. Griffin went on to further depicte the scene in their hallway. I was instantly able to picture the box of Brent’s un-worn tennis shoes overflowing , causing a barrier in their walk-way.
As we learned in Brent’s 30 seconds “About Me” introduction, he enjoys cooking and this is true. He was not just trying to win the ladies over. Griffin stated that Brent really gets into it and will marinade things for days before cooking them.
Regardless of the fact that Stephanie considers Brent to be a very “consistent and stable” person doesn’t mean Brent William Nolan doesn’t know how to take risks. His father recalled a story from when Brent was younger and they were still living in California. He embraces this story almost as Brent’s turning point in life, his first “break threw”. I believe each parent has a memory in which their child experiences his or her first encounter outside their comfort zone, this happened to be his of Brent.
There was a water park in their area called “Raging Waters”. It was full of pools and tons of different water slides. Well, Bruce convinced Brent he was ready to go down the big water slide. So off they go, climbing to the top, and when you get up the ladder you have to wait on the landing where you get your inter-tube, before spiraling down. Once they reached the landing Brent began crying and did not want to go down. His father kept reassuring him it was fine, that he would absolutely love it and this slide was so much fun! He told Brent, “You can do it!”
However,Brent was not convinced, still crying and at this point Bruce recalls, “He had snot all over his face!” Finally, they reached an agreement that Mr. Nolan would go down first then wait at the bottom to catch Brent. So off Mr. Nolan goes, but at the bottom the lifeguard whistles to Bruce that he needs to get out of the pool, that she would take care of Brent. Not convinced, Bruce kept repeating “no, my son, he will be right down.” Next thing they knew, Brent comes flying around the corner on the slide with a smile from “ear to ear”, Bruce said. Finally, someone at the top had pushed him or something and he couldn’t have been happier. His father couldn’t get him away from that slide for the rest of the day! So, Bruce says, from now on whenever Brent is hesitant to try something his dad will say, “Remember ‘Raging Waters’. “ Then he will give in, saying okay.
Brent Nolan has definitely grown up over the years. From a boy hesistant to go down a water slide into a mature young man with a good head on his shoulders. Everyone considers him to be a genuine good guy, with a bright future ahead.
However, regardless of what others say Brent is slightly uneasy about what his future holds for him. He is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2009, not too far away. But with Brent’s motivation, intelligence, and incredible “schmoozing” skills he should have no trouble becoming successful at anything he puts his mind too.
Filed under: Classmate Profiles, Spring 2008