Mia Morneault

Wearing a Spider-Man suit, sophomore Ben Akers poses on top of a rock. “I’m just I’m truly fascinated by his story because, like, he’s just this teenager dude, and then he gets bitten by a spider and then a ton of bad stuff happens to him, but he just keeps trucking along and keeps being a good person,” Akers said. “I have a Spider-Man suit and it was kind of a joke at first, but now it’s not really a joke. I just am Spider-Man.”

Spider-Ben, Spider-Ben, does mostly whatever a spider can!

As a Thespians officer, musical theater student, and varsity choir member, as well as being involved in several different clubs, sophomore Ben Akers does not let a busy schedule keep him from taking on advanced core classes and a part-time job. Similar to Peter Parker himself, Akers has many different masks that follow him to his several programs. His many responsibilities stemming from the organizations he is a part of sometimes make it difficult to juggle academics alongside extracurriculars, especially when prior commitments keep him from participating in certain activities.

“I don’t have a schedule per se,” Akers said. “Most of the time, people say ‘Hey, there’s a gig [or production]. Can you come do it?’ And if I can’t do it, I’ll be like, ‘Sorry, I got to do this.’”

Akers takes inspiration from his favorite celebrity, The Daily Bugle’s very own photographer, Peter Parker.

“I’m truly fascinated by his story because he’s just this teenage dude, and then he gets bitten by a spider and a ton of bad stuff happens to him, but he just keeps trucking along and keeps being a good person,” Akers said. “I have a Spider-Man suit and it was kind of a joke at first, but now it’s not really a joke. I just am Spider-Man.”

But personality is not where the similarities stop. Akers is a gymnast and a novice contortionist. His ability to flip, jump, fall and crawl makes him more comparable to the superhero he admires. Akers claims that one of his special abilities is to be able to fit into small spaces such as a duffel bag and a vacuum-sealed trash bag.

“I’m sort of lucky with my genetics,” Akers said. “I just kind of always have energy, which is good a lot of the time.”

Akers is constantly finding new ways to not only improve his theater life but also his personal life. He hopes that by his senior year, He will be a PNG Officer and the Thespians Troupe Vice President. Akers has a simple philosophy to how his brain works, and what motivates him to wake up in the morning.

“I figure as long as I’m doing things, I’m still alive,” Akers said. “And as soon as I stop doing things, then I’m pretty much dead, and I really don’t want to be dead yet. This [theater department] is what I spend most of my time on. This is what I have a lot of fun with and there are multiple facets to it.”

When he is not performing, Akers is working on schoolwork, as he takes all the AP and advanced classes available to him. With a weighted GPA of 5.18, he is in the top 5% of the class of 2026. Akers plans to go to college for Biochemical Engineering or acting. 

One thing Akers keeps a little less public but is still very passionate about is that he is a fan of video games, more specifically Nintendo.

“I’d say I’m a medium-sized gamer,” Akers said. “Like I game pretty often, but I don’t put thousands of hours into games. My most played game on my Switch right now is Splatoon 3. And I think that’s at like 600-something hours. It’s such a fun and colorful game, I love colors. They’re so cool.”

Akers said he wants to make the world a better place by just being himself, and wouldn’t want it any other way.

“For anyone who’s having a tough time with the social structures of being in high school, there is no big secret to getting it.” Akers says. “So just do whatever you feel like and you’ll be chillin’, all right?”