Senior Brennen Parke is wrapping up his academic career at Malvern, but his widespread participation in the school’s activities has left a permanent mark on the community and his peers.

Next fall, senior Brennen Parke will be heading off the James Madison University in Virginia. With only two weeks left in his high school career, he reflected on his past four years.

Parke first came to Malvern in 2013 as a freshman. He came from Pierce Middle School in West Chester, but decided to continue his education at Malvern because of the great opportunities it offered him.

During his time at Malvern he has participated in many clubs and sports such as soccer, crew, weightlifting, and track. He is currently on the weightlifting team, and weightlifting is one of his strongest passions.

In the classroom. Parke said that his favorite teacher over his time at Malvern is history teacher Mr. Tom McGuire, who he has had as a history teacher from sophomore to senior year.

“Mr. McGuire is a great guy and teacher and I fortunate enough to go on my Christian service trip to Fiji with him as a chaperone,” Parke said.

Mr. McGuire had some words of praise for Parke as well.

“Brennan’s a delightful young man. He works very, very hard. His sincerity in trying to do the best he can is really commendable. He’s got a great sense of humor,” he said.

Outside of school, Parke has many hobbies and passions that many of his classmates do not know of.

He loves to go for runs, lift at the gym, and play basketball when he has free time.

“When I get home from school and I will go for a run first, then go to the gym. Then I’ll come home, do some homework, and watch TV,” Parke said.

He recently finished the TV series “Californication”, and is currently watching “Shameless”. He also enjoys “Game of Thrones”.

On the weekends, Parke likes to hang out with friends and support his sisters at their soccer games.

Parke used to work at the bowling and entertainment center, Round One, in Exton, but recently left his job because he didn’t like it anymore. However, he plans to get a job at West Chester Country Club this summer, possibly as a caddie.

But before the summer comes and Parke packs up for college, he reflected on some of the most memorable moments he had at Malvern.

Of the many great experiences Parke has had, he said that his Christian Service trip to Fiji definitely takes the top spot.

“When we went to the highlands in Fiji and built a greenhouse. It was awesome because the views were insane and the women from the local village made delicious food. The entire experience was something I had never encountered before,” he said.

Parke also said MECO and his Malvern soccer career were amazing experiences he will not forget about. In fact, he met many of his best friends through freshman soccer.

Senior Jadon Diehl, one of Parke’s good friends, fits into this category.

“I first met Brennen playing soccer freshman year and we had great times freshman and sophomore year playing and being apart of the team,” Diehl said.

However, high school was not always easy for Parke, and he experienced some difficulties along the way.

“For a while I really couldn’t find what I was interested in doing, so I would just try a lot of different sports and clubs,” he said.

Parke said it was a struggle because it was really hard for him to find a sport or club that he was really passionate and cared about.

However, Parke has recently realized his passion for physical activity as evidenced by his affinity for running, lifting, and playing pick-up games with friends.

In his next four years at James Madison, Parke plans to do ROTC and study business, although he is going in with and undeclared major.

He is looking forward to college and his next chapter in life, but is really grateful for his opportunity to come to Malvern and be a part of the school’s caring community.