Name: Jeremy Lehner

Age: 24

Self definition:

A human primate from a long line of mammalian ancestry … and then some

Where were you at 9 a.m. last Sunday morning?

Twigg’s Coffee Shop

What person has influenced you more than any other and how?

My parents, because they raised me, thus many of their views and values have been imprinted upon me. I am grateful that those views and values are ones I respect and can do business with. My parents are very open, honest, loving, accepting, tolerant, supportive people who truly enjoy being alive. I hope the same is true for me.

When don’t you feel equal?

When I’m talking to people I find extraordinarily beautiful or when I’m talking to people I don’t know very well who I perceive as “normal”

Where were you last Wednesday at noon?

Work, which is teaching preschool; it was lunch time, so I’m sure I was opening those infernal Go-GURTs and picking up those even more infernal juice-box plastic straw wrappers off the ground.

When was the last time you felt proud?

When I hiked 18 miles to Lake Solitude and back this summer in the Grand Tetons; the whole mountain was covered in thick snow for the last couple miles, which my friend and I had not expected. It was the toughest hike I’d ever done.

If there was a defining moment in your life, what was it?

There are a few moments in my life that I recognize as drastically altering its path. The first is when I discovered partying at 16. The second is when I came out at 18. The third is when I got a boyfriend shortly after and fell in love. The fourth is the period of pain and loss I experienced when that relationship ended at 21. The fifth is when I decided to put down the bottle and its friends at 22. Really though, I think the whole journey is important because every little step gets you somewhere.

Where were you at 10 p.m. last Friday night?

On the 5 South

What is your most immediate goal?

To finish earning my B.S. and then Ph.D. in chemistry, and to obtain fluency in Japanese and Chinese

When do you feel total joy?

When I am dancing to wonderful music; when the right song comes on I am overcome with a rush of powerful, pleasant energy. In that moment I am so present, it’s just my body and the music; there is no school, no work, no social obligations, no boys – all of that disappears for a brief, but oh-so-valuable moment. I also feel intense joy when I am with people who make me laugh so hard that I can’t breathe and tears pour from my eyes. This happens most often when I’m with my older brother or with certain friends. Nothing feels better to me than laughing like that … arguably.