Robert Wormley, senior, steps toward his Web Programming class in Ernie Pyle hall July 12, 2016.

He prints photographs of rivers, teachers and beams of light on glossy, vibrantly-colored paper. He mountain bikes the terrains of dense forests. He blares the horn of his trumpet in the marching band. Robert Wormley is also openly gay.

Having moved 13 times, Wormley, senior at Floyd Central High School, said he grew up as a self-monikered redneck opposed to LGBTQ rights.

“I feel like it was a struggle finding who I was ” Wormley said. “It’s hard to talk about [coming out] because I still remember it, but I try really hard to not think about it.”

He said his tipping point between hatred and acceptance was when he surrounded himself with diverse, accepting people by joining the trumpet section of the band.

“I …
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