Ezra Linnan

Limitless Potential

Bringing big opportunity to a small community.

Ezra Linnan’s graduating class consists of just 34 students. While attending a small rural high school has its advantages—everyone knows everyone, and the environment is extremely inclusive—it also comes with challenges in the form of fewer resources and opportunities. For Ezra, one of just 3,376 students to ever earn a perfect score of 36 on the ACT, this was a problem that needed solving. Finding his school’s current system “outdated and not in favor for the students who wish to achieve more,” Ezra set out his freshman year to change things. He worked with the teachers and counselors to introduce new AP courses and to change the scheduling pathway to allow advanced students to take more courses throughout their high school careers. “I advocated for accelerated academics and with it, more opportunities for brilliant students to shine and excel.”

Outside the classroom, Ezra uses his talents to participate in and captain multiple school sports teams including the band. He looks for additional athletic and musical opportunities outside of school to challenge himself even more. He spent two weeks of summer 2023 attending the prestigious Percussion, Steel Pan & World Music session at Birch Creek Music Performance Center with 20 other musicians from around the country. With no cello teachers or students in his county and no orchestras within 100 miles, he self-taught himself cello, an extremely difficult task that has paid off for his community as he now volunteers to play for different churches and organizations in town. Athletically, Ezra has earned medals in triathlons, is training for a marathon, and is making a name for himself in the challenging sport of underwater hockey. He took first place in the national tournament in 2023 and has secured a spot on the United States U24 Men’s Underwater Hockey team and will compete in the world championship tournament in Malaysia in 2024.

While his talents will take him new places, Ezra is extremely proud of the volunteer work he’s doing at home. This includes mentoring younger students, raising awareness for safety and responsibility, and organizing fundraisers for various causes. His crowning volunteer achievement is his Eagle Scout project: planning and building a 110-foot wooden boardwalk for the local nature preserve. Ezra worked to raise more than $10,000 while organizing the construction and implementation of the entire project. While the experience was a tremendous learning opportunity, the greatest reward is the impact on the community. “I learned that over 20,000 people have walked across my boardwalk since its establishment. I never imagined that as many people would be impacted by a rather simple project, but sometimes, it is the simple things that make the biggest difference.”