Stillwater Christian School senior Levi Fladager was known as the varsity basketball team’s “hype man.” 

Fladager, who played center, recalled watching a former teammate rally the team from the bench during one game. With Stillwater trailing by 15 points at halftime, Fladager watched him shouting encouragement, energizing his fellow players.  

“I followed suit after that,” Fladager said.  

Nearing the end of his senior year of basketball season, Fladager said his team slipped into a slump.  

“We were still winning, but we weren’t playing our best,” he said.  

That’s when he took it on himself to revive the wavering morale by offering loud encouragement during games and quiet one-on-one support afterward.

“It’s very easy for anyone, including myself, to just deflate and coast through a game or practice, especially when you’re tired,” Fladager said. “There are those times when I need to step in, even though I am exhausted too.”  

His ability to amp others up earned him a varsity captain position his senior year, and that same spark carried beyond the court and into the many leadership positions he took on throughout high school. 

When no one else stepped up, Fladager took over the school’s Cougar Den Peer Tutoring. The program pairs older students with younger ones and works with teachers to identify which classes need extra help.  

“I wanted the relationships between the high school and elementary to continue to be fostered,” he said. 

After watching Fladager’s energy during sporting events, a classmate convinced him to apply for House Captain. In the role, Fladager led group discussions, planned a service project and organized various school events.  

The position helped him more easily communicate with others and get used to being comfortable in uncomfortable situations.  

Despite his unyielding spirit during sports games, Fladager felt like he didn’t really come out of his shell until his junior year, when he gave religious testimony for the first time in front of members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  

The vulnerability he felt opening up to others became a defining moment that left him more empathetic, more willing to seek help and more open to sharing his faith.  

Although Fladager has grown accustomed to taking on multiple leadership roles, he said he still wouldn’t necessarily describe himself as a leader.  

“I think that I’m someone that is able to relate with others really well and connect with others, and that’s how I influence them,” he said.    

After graduating from the school he has attended since fourth grade, Fladager will pursue a pre-med major at Covenant College in Georgia. He wants to attend medical school, which comes as no surprise given his favorite high school classes were related to biology.  

Fladager said he aims to become a missionary surgeon, traveling to developing nations to provide medical care and spread the gospel.  

Stillwater Christian School holds its graduation on Saturday, May 30 at 4 p.m. at the school, 255 FFA Drive. Nineteen students are set to graduate.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 406-758-4407 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.