Name:John Allen Riggins (’14)
Hometown:Little Rock, Arkansas (only ’14 Little Rock-er at Wake)
Major:Political Science with South Asian Studies and International Development and Policy minors.
HC:What are you involved in on campus?
JAR:CHARGE, Lilting Banshees and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity are my biggest time commitments.
HC:What’s your favorite part about being a Lilting Banshee?
JAR:Being able to know what goes on back stage because even though we’ve heard the jokes a thousand times, we still laugh when the audience does. Having someone laugh at a joke you know you wrote cannot be topped.
HC:What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
JAR:I just finished training for a marathon, I’m learning to play the banjo and I’m a pretty good rock climber. Every year I have a project of doing something to better myself. That’s how I started training for a marathon and took up playing the banjo, among other things. I choose a task and then work at it all year.
HC:Why did you create a yearly task for yourself?
JAR:I do it purely for entertainment – keeps me from getting bored.
HC:Where and when was your marathon?
JAR:It was on March 6 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
HC:So why the banjo for this year?
JAR:I bought my banjo the week after I ran the marathon at a pawn shop and started learning. Hopefully I’ll be able to perform for people at this same time next year. It’ll certainly be a challenge since I’m teaching myself, but I grew up listening to bluegrass and folk music so I thought it would be cool to play a different instrument than your typical guitar.
HC:What’s your favorite study place on campus?
JAR:I don’t study, but if I had to pick one . . . [long pause] . . . I’d have to say the balcony of Benson.
HC:If you could be any mascot in the world, who would you be and why?
JAR:The Lilting Banshee because it’s such a strange concept. The words are oxymoronic.
HC:What features of a girl do you find the most attractive?
JAR:I really like a girl with beautiful eyes.
HC:What’s your favorite cereal?
JAR:No doubt in my mind Honey Bunches of Oats because it’s tasty and healthy. I petitioned the Pit to get it. They say they listen to you, but they don’t.
HC:Boxers or briefs?
JAR:Depends on the situation. Athletic gear: briefs. Lounging around: boxers.
HC:Favorite boxer print?
JAR:I just have plaid – they suck.
HC:I know what to get you for Christmas . . .
JAR:Please do – or for my birthday.
HC:What’s the best pickup line you’ve ever used on a girl?
JAR:Pickup lines are for desperate people.
HC:Or one you would want to use just to try it out?
JAR:I don’t even know where to start. I used to like, “If I said I liked your body, would you hold it against me,” but I can never use that again. Thank you, Britney.
HC:Most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done in public?
JAR:I was the lead in a play back when I did serious acting in a local theatre – “Bridge to Terabithia.” I was Jessie, the lead. The roof leaked so there was water on the floor. As I said a line, I teetered over the edge of the stage (like ten feet), fell and blacked out. The show was cancelled right in the middle because it obviously couldn’t continue with an unconscious lead.
HC:What’s your morning ritual?
JAR:“Hop out of bed, put my swag on, take a look in the mirror say what’s up,” (from “Turn My Swag On”). But seriously, like anyone else, I take a shower, go outside in my boxers to see how cold it is and then put on clothes depending on how cold I was.
HC:I hear you like older women. Why?
JAR:Oh God, I can’t believe you’re doing this to me – I thought you loved me . . . Why do I like older women? (blushes and looks around) It does seem like they are a lot more fun to hang out with sometimes because they don’t care what people think about them since they’ve been at Wake longer. They are more settled and don’t care as much, definitely more laid back and know the college scene.
HC:Have you dated an older woman?
JAR:I dated a girl that was six months older than me once, and for the first three months of our relationship she drove me everywhere until I could finally drive . . . and then we broke up.
*Photography by Kelly Russo