Tyler Luonuansuu is a pretty interesting guy. Not only is this JFK senior a competitor in state on national high school speech competitions, he's also written two novels. Beyond that, he's full of personality, telling hilarious stories, acting out said hilarious stories, and participating in discussions. He has his little quirks, such as his tendency to talk with his hands, or that he is quite an excitable person.
Tyler is an outstanding student of speech, having taken first place in the OHSSL State Final for Student Congress. But, that isn't his only major victory. This year alone he's taken prizes for student Congress in the Solon Tournament and the Boardman High School Tournament, third and first respectively.
This hasn't been his first successful year, either. Last year he took second place in a tournament called Springfield Novice, again for Student Congress. But, he states that he hates politics. When asked why he hates them, even if he has a flair for them, he responds that his hate is a passionate one, and it fuels his talent, and "we're good at what we're passionate for."
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Tyler “Lu” Luonuansuu right after winning the State Final for Student Congress.
But to talk about his accomplishments would only be shedding light on half the man. He has any number of stories to tell, and he repeats them with the flair and power that make him a success in his speech.
A story that caused the room to burst with laughter during his visit is the saga of Bob Saget. No, not the celebrity, but a fake name given to a child that gave Tyler a bit of a hard time during his camp counselor stint. It involves underwear, screaming, and childhood trauma supposedly caused by Sesame Street.
One day Tyler was in charge of getting the kids up to go eat breakfast, but Bob Saget had other plans. He wanted to sleep, and he wouldn't let anyone tell him otherwise. So, Tyler gives him two choices: Either get up, or wait until the count of ten.
Needless to say, Bob is unmoved by this. Tyler begins to count backwards from ten, much to Bob's dismay. Bob begins to freak out as if, in Tyler's word, "he had some horrible childhood trauma caused by Sesame Street," related to numbers being counted backwards. Bob gets progressively worse, until Tyler finally hits one. Then things go crazy. Bob has retrieved underwear from his suitcase and is now running around the cabin with it on his head, which Tyler re-enacted during his time at the Tribune.
Tyler Luonuansuu is a man that cannot be painted with a single color. His friends describe him as weird, while he describes himself as unique. But, I can assure you, he is a talented young man with a sense of humor.