SAN ANTONIO – Our Great Graduate segment is meant to highlight graduating seniors from across our community. We introduce you to local students who, in some cases, have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and are set to thrive as future leaders.
In today’s Great Graduate segment, we want to introduce you to Hudson Baese, of Comal ISD, who is not only a leader in the community but is getting ready to serve our country.
“I guess in the in the broader scheme of things, America,” Hud Baese said.
Meet Hud, a senior at Canyon High School and a future member of the Air Force, who is a leader in the classroom, track and field, and on the saxophone.
“I get to school, I practice my saxophone for about an hour, and then, you know, I have chemistry class and that warms up my brain. And then I get to calculus, and I’m, I’m started. And the rest of the day, I just kind of go,” Hud said.
If you can’t tell, Hud is modest, to say the least, but he is a hard worker who has earned the admiration of his peers and his teachers.
“Respect his work ethic and his intelligence, but also how humble is and how grounded he is. I just you know, at the moment I met him. I first met the shotput and discus thrower after football season. You know, I kind of made her the unofficial captain of the throwers, the guy that, you know, if I need something done, he’s the one I call,” Hud’s teacher and coach Bryce MacDougall said.
Hud had considered several career paths and a number of military branches, so why the Air Force?
“My mom said, well, what about the Air Force? I said that’s a great idea. And I started my application that same day. And there’s a lot of older folks in my church that have served in the military. There’s a three-star general from the Air Force. He helped me out a lot, and he inspired me to pursue this plan,” Baese said.
“I didn’t expect it, but I shouldn’t have expected anything else. Just knowing his demeanor, his personality, that he wants to serve people. Obviously, he wants to serve people in the greatest way he can, but also expanding on his intelligence, and you know, how much he can help the world in not only in the Air Force but, you know, as a pilot,” MacDougall said.
And Hud is ready to get going.
“I have about three weeks after graduation until I start basic training for the Academy,” Baese said.
Hud has an impressive list of accomplishments:
- Ranked 5 out of 607 students
- GPA of 113.28
- Summa Cum Laude
- College Board AP Scholar
- College Board National Rural & Small Town Scholar
- Canyon High School Marching Band Drum Major
- Canyon High School Track & Field Team
- Canyon High School Lacrosse Team
- Canyon High School National Honor Society
- Youth Leadership New Braunfels Class of 2020
- St. Paul Lutheran Church Youth Group and Participant in Mission New Braunfels
- Owns a lawn care service