When high school students study advanced placement courses, the requisite and thoroughly challenging AP exam follows. With scores ranging from 1-5, a score of 3 enables students to earn college credits prior to high school graduation.
A score of 4 is met with a “wow” from classmates. A 5 elicits a “double wow” response.
After taking three years of Spanish at Uniontown Area High School, Austin Wivell scored a 5 on his Italian AP exam. And it actually had little to do with having had some type of pasta every day, he laughed. From 2012-13, between his sophomore and junior years at Uniontown, he attended Milan's Liceo Artistico Statale Brera (Brera Artistic High School), in Milan, Italy, sponsored by the Uniontown Rotary program.
With no Italian language background when he embarked for Italy in 2012, he returned 10 months later speaking the language fluently, having been thrust feet first into the cultural experience.
Schooled in at best some basic Italian prior to his arrival in Milan, Wivell said he enjoys Italian culture and history and wanted to spend time in Europe, and “the first week I was there my host family said we were going hiking on the weekend. Six kilometers later, we stopped for lunch — spaghetti. I was exhausted. Then I had to make the return hike back home. It was a good experience with my (first) host family as a way to bond with them.”
Spending the year with three host families, Wivell chose to attend an art school “to experience something I would not normally do here,” he said, adding that Italian, English, chemistry, math and psychology classes were also included in his curriculum. “I liked drawing, and there was a noticeable improvement in my drawing skills; and I spent three hours a day sculpting or painting, which was always interesting, enlightening and fun.”
During his nearly one-year long sojourn, he visited Rome, Venice and Florence. Exposed to Italian culture, history and heritage in Italy's different regions, he returned with a unique perspective on the country's cultural differences.
“Going to school and making new friends, exploring the different cities and being a part of family gatherings provided many excellent memories,” he said.
Wivell's career at Uniontown has left those indelible memories.
As a four-year starter and an all-county soccer player four years running for the Red Raiders, Austin “was noticeable the entire game and rarely came off the field,” Uniontown boys soccer coach Eric Dolfi said. “He played great midfield for us, and his offensive presence was evident everywhere on the field. He is a scorer and was instrumental in 90 percent of our goals, either scoring or assisting.”
However, Dolfi continued, as center midfielder Wivell was capable of playing on either end of the field and was as instrumental defensively as he was offensively.
“His running ability and endurance are only two of his strengths,” Dolfi continued. “He can run all over the field. He is quick and has excellent physical skills. He was a man among boys out there, well-mannered, great to be around, and he will be able to play at the next level. He has a positive attitude and does what we ask, every time. He is a once-in-a-lifetime-player for a coach.”
During the fall sports seasons, Wivell, a placekicker for the football team, was, according to maxpreps.com, a perfect 6-for-6 in converting points-after-touchdowns. As a member of the swimming team, he is a standout performer in the 100 butterfly; and qualified for the WPIALs last year throwing the javelin for the track team.
But Wivell has more feathers in his cap than just playing varsity sports.
Through his involvement with the Fayette County 4-H program, he is a member of the swine club and beef club.
In showing his farm animals at the 2014 Fayette County Fair, his pig won its class and his steer came in sixth. Wivell also claimed a champion pig at the 2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show.
“Through 4-H it is an honor to produce and show a winning animal,” he said, adding that he lives on a 125-acre farm, where he and his family raise pigs, steers, horses and lambs. Specifically referring to his prize-winning pig, he explained that they show in different weight classes, with his weighing around 240 pounds. “Judges look for the structural correctness of an animal, plus the proper ratio regarding the amount of meat and fat on the animal.”
Still in touch with each of his three host families, Wivell added that each family had a child his age whom he never met … only because each child visited the United States as an exchange student at precisely the same time he was in Italy.
While Wivell was unable to pinpoint a specific pasta dish which was his favorite, he quickly added that he enjoyed their homemade gelato.
Les Harvath is a contributing editor for Trib Total Media.
