The Kindred Seeker

By: Abby Wood

Evan Walker squats down slowly, homing in on the exact location, the bee flutters its wings a little bit before suckling down the honey comb, he pauses, waiting one, two, three, zooms in, and click!

“It looked like it was standing for a second there, just waiting for me to take it,” he says gleefully.
“I would wait in the grass for however long, wait for a bee, position myself to where I thought the bee was heading, but not too close to scare it off,” he adds.

Inspired by the bright Wednesday afternoon sun, he couldn’t resist taking out the camera.

“What I love most is being able to connect to something small on a larger scale,” he says metaphorically before looking above to the blue skies, dreaming of becoming an ambassador to an African nation one day.

“I want to make a connection to a set of African cultures, and to better that link between Americans and them,” he says.

Looking at his image of the bee, he smiles like a little kid that got his piece of candy from the bank teller.

Single Working Mom

Evan Walker was born Mar. 1st, 1990, in Atlanta, Georgia and raised only by his mom.

A once working secretary, but now a current project administrator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mom helps put son through college.

“When I go home to mom, it smells like chicken and green beans when I walk through the front door,” Evan says empathetically.

An advocator of real-world lessons, and expressively blunt with her beliefs, Evan’s mom is very good about letting Evan know things about how life works.

“She has dealt with irresponsible people before, and continues to do so today, and I learn a lot from her,” Evan says.

“I do miss her, sometimes I feel like I have to go down there to see her, but I’m moving and growing from my childhood,” Evan says.

The Lifters

However, with growing came hardships to overcome for Evan.

Elementary and middle school were the first of many battles to be fought.

“I had close friends, but I had bullies too. This one time, I had two or three guys bully me for saying something I shouldn’t have said after gym class,” Evan reflected.

“It was unavoidable, but by the time eighth grade was over, any negative experience had stopped from that point,” Evan said.

When high school rolled around, friends like Chima and Melanie Kohut popped into life like butterflies.

Chima, a start off middle school friend, and now a Georgia Tech student with a father from Nigeria, constantly reaches out to the connection between he and Evan.

Melanie Kohut, the first girlfriend after saying yes to a poem he wrote, remained until senior year after graduation, when the connection timed out.

Then, High Point University became the new land to sow the seeds of friendship in.

Friends like Michelle, Elliot, Ryan, Mary and Alex sprouted up like flowers out of the ground.
“I look for two qualities in friends – honesty and sensitivity, and my friends have those qualities,” Evan says truthfully.

And even though it was difficult to find the bearings, writing remains a constant after high school.

Writing

Writing, and events like open mic night, the literary magazine, and writing poems for people, immersed into Evan as a second nature waiting to be unleashed to the world.

“My writing gene comes from my mom,” Evan says.

For Evan, writing is treated as if it were his friend – with honesty and sensitivity.

“I want to write about all of my epiphanies – things like travel, drop- out rates, women, a lot of the things that need to be said that have not been said,” Evan says.

“James Baldwin said he wanted to be an honest man and a good writer; I want to show that I’m honest, and good for something,” he adds.

Little by little, like a tiny drip-drip do these goals emit out of the faucet.

Fatherly Advice

Though visits from his father were not very frequent while growing up in Georgia, now father and son can get together at either the nearby condo or house only ten minutes from High Point University.

Evan’s father is the chief executive officer of public relations at B and C Associates, and serves as a board member on the board of trustees for the school.

“In the past couple of years I’ve gotten closer to him,” Evan says.

But since mom and dad are worlds apart, one phone call about staying with dad for Thanksgiving can change everything.

“My mom and I fight because it’s been hard being apart, but we are going through family troubles, and getting better,” Evan says.

Although now closer in proximity with dad, the weight of years lost still remains.

“His cell phone rings off the hook,” Evan says, “and I can’t see him much because he’s out on business.”

Even times of talking about what’s going on in Evan’s life can turn into a life lesson from dad.

“If you keep spending all this money then eventually you’re not going to have anymore,” his father would say after Evan admits to buying something at the mall.

One time last year while in an apparel store, father and son had a brief flicker of a light go off in the head.

“We saw a sale sign outside of Jos. A. Bank one time, so we decided to go in,” Evan said.

“When we got in there, we looked around, saw a few things, but noticed that nothing was on sale.

We both knew it without someone even telling us; we then just looked at each other and smiled,” Evan reflected.

They decided to walk out and not spend so much money on a pair of pants.

“I learned the value of a dollar from him, because he would save every little penny when he grew up,” Evan said.

This year on Father’s Day, a different experience with dad happened.

“I hadn’t even given him his present yet, and he flipped out over me not cleaning out the frig before leaving. The ride to the train station was horrific, but I gave the present to him anyway right before I got out of the car,” Evan said.

“I didn’t let his temper appease me, because I know how he can get sometimes,” Evan said.

A project to put together a slideshow of father and his glory days was in order over fall break.

“Boxes worth of documents, history with him and friends while at the White House, and all that goes with it was what I was given,” Evan said.

This is to be a personal project of father to have in his house to show to the guests he will have.

A once special assistant during the Nixon administration, and shortly thereafter taking a permanent leave of absence, the dream of going on to be an ambassador was a futile attempt for Evan’s dad.

However, one man’s loss is another man’s treasure.

Dreams and Aspirations

A mission trip to a Spanish-speaking country is one possible aspiration.

Teresa Parker, Evan’s Spanish professor says, “Evan is very dedicated, and very determined to learn Spanish. He comes to me for extra material to help him study.”

Even as a beginner linguist that faces obstacles with conversing, Parker feels that Evan has learned a lot in the course.

“I’ve recommended him to go do a Study Abroad program, somewhere he wants to go and learn the language. Like Costa Rica or Spain,” she says.

“Even though he struggles, he shows a lot of interest in learning the language because he wants to do well,” she adds.

“He’s a very caring student, he always asks how I’m doing, and how my daughter is doing,” she says.

Aside from living in tents, with little water or food, joining the Peace Core was a prospect too.

“I’d like to visit villages, and maybe help out with children for a little while, but not permanently so that I would have to live there,” he says.

No particular country is set in stone yet, but is in the process of elimination.

Africa, a beautiful yet fraught with problems female, in Evan’s view, is the target location to zoom in on the problems and create a friendly liaison.

“I want to be an ambassador for my country, and be able to go to more than just one country in Africa,” he says.

“I want to step out and look at what the real issues are in those third-world countries, and tackle them in different ways,” he adds.

The Ambassador

“My most important value is the ability to respect other people,” Evan says.

Where to start would be working as someone in the internal business of the White House, the Senate, or Congress.

In order to better the link between the United States and Africa, writing and mediating are the first ideas that come to Evan’s mind.

“I want to write for an African newspaper, with a focus on women and how they are mistreated,” he says.

“I would like the words I write to influence people of minorities to further themselves in this generation,” Evan says which includes the number of misshapen atrocities that African women face.

An inspiration that struck home was an interview by Nuruddin Farah, the first Somali writer to write in English.

In an interview about his first novel “From Crooked Rib,” Farah said his mother wrote poems for his brothers and sisters even though she wasn’t allowed to.

Somali women, Farah reflected in his book, were underpaid and overworked, and had limitations on their freedom.

A current source of motivation and resourcefulness, Evan plans to buy more of his books to reflect ideas on his beliefs of equality for women.

Other issues like genocide, civil unrest, hunger and starvation, the little children with swollen bellies on the infomercials all pertain to a range of topics.

“We are a colorblind generation because of the media, publicity, immigration, and government. There is still a barrier within each of us, and its difficult when we all have different problems to deal with,” Evan recites from his values.

“I know that Africa doesn’t trust America, but there is a necessity to improve on relationships, and I feel I can help that,” he adds.

“I want to see the respect that I give to people to return back to me. I know it hasn’t been good, but I believe it can be improved,” he says.

Countries like South America, Nigeria, or Zimbabwe, are the narrowed focus points.

Back to square one

Though prospect of undertaking a responsibility such as an ambassador is undeniably massive, one thing still remains - the goal of reconnecting with dad.

“My relationship with my dad is strained, but we are improving,” Evan reminds himself.

Connections can be difficult to withstand with some people, but not everyone, he keeps in mind, thinking about Chima, and those others who have kept in touch.

"But if I had the right job, and the right relationships and connections, that would be great for me," he says.

Like the bee for example, “you have to time it, and wait for the right moment to take the shot, otherwise you lose it,” Evan says.