Senior Spotlight: Emma Hayman, Jordan Snyder, Marla Adam & Drew Lantinga

Emma Hayman

Emma Hayman wants to preserve life – animal and human.

An accomplished equestrian, Emma pursued an internship at Southside Veterinary Clinic, where she witnessed a surgery on the first day.

“[Dr. Luoma] told me that most people get super nauseous when seeing the blood during the surgeries,” Emma said. “Blood isn't everyone’s best friend, but I loved watching the surgery and it was a success.”

Emma planned to attend Kellogg Community College before transferring to Michigan State University for her veterinarian degree. A trip to the bathroom during St. Philip’s most recent Career Day changed that.

Passing the gym, Emma stopped to speak with the Marine recruiter. Their conversation sparked Emma’s interest. After more investigation, Emma did an about-face on her college path.

“I decided to go into the military,” Emma said. “I definitely know I want to be a vet and I can still be a vet once I’m done.”

Jordan Snyder

Jordan Snyder’s future begins on the ground floor. Literally.

“It started when I was a little kid,” Jordan said. “I liked rocks. I collected them. My interest in geology has grown since then.”

Jordan recalls bringing rocks home from family vacations, including an assortment of gems from Mammoth Cave National Park. An honor roll student, Jordan has taken plenty of science classes at St. Philip, but nothing specific to geology…yet.

That will change when he begins his studies at Western Michigan University this fall. He picked WMU because, “It’s close enough to home.”

During his time at St. Philip, Jordan ran track and played football. He enjoyed volunteering with his class in the community, especially last May Day at the Alano Club.

“After we were done [working], some of the people talked to us about what they have gone through,” Jordan said. “It was really interesting to hear their stories.”

Marla Adam

Marla Adam wants to enter the family business.

“My dad’s a doctor and my mom’s a pharmacist,” Marla said. “They always talked about it, so I was always interested in it.”

It was Marla’s Math and Science Center classes that sealed the deal.

“I’ve been able to take AP chemistry and anatomy classes and it made me realize I’m actually interested in being a doctor,” Marla said.

How interesting were these classes? Marla delayed her internship to take more.

“I was going to intern with my dad, but I would have to drop two of my classes second semester, which would have been my anatomy class and my bio-ethics class,” Marla said. “We are still doing [the internship], but we pushed it to summer.”

Marla is St. Philip’s National Honor Society president and will graduate in the top ten of her class. She plans to attend the University of Michigan.

Drew Lantinga

Drew Lantinga has played nearly every sport St. Philip High School has to offer – basketball, baseball, golf, cross-country, football, track and field.

When it comes to his future, however, Drew has a one-track mind.

“I applied to one college,” Drew said.

That one college was Western Michigan University. A National Honor Society member and Math and Science Center student, Drew received acceptance into WMU’s Honors College as well as the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“So I didn’t really need to apply anywhere else.”

Drew is still exploring what type of engineering he wants to do. Currently, he is building a robot he designed for his MSC class, but his interests didn’t start with robotics.

“I liked looking at buildings,” Drew said. “I wondered how they were made, which is civil engineering. Then, I was looking into mechanical engineering, how cars were made.”

This fall his engineering adventure continues.