Union County High School senior Davey West has gotten a jump start on his dreams of becoming a teacher and a youth minister.

At the age of 18, he already has preached twice at his church — New Life Baptist — and delivered a sermon at another church in the county.

Though he has completed all his chemistry courses — including advanced placement chemistry — he continues to volunteer in the classes and is involved in a long list of extracurricular activities. He recently had the lead in the school play, “James and the Giant Peach.”

He currently is ranked third in his class.

When asked what he likes to do in his spare time, West laughs.

“I count my extracurricular activities my spare time,” he said. “But I definitely love to read. And nowadays, having time to spend with friends is important. It’s getting to the point where we are about to go our separate directions toward college.”

West is one of three children of Tammy and Gene West. He has an older brother, Jake, 21 and a younger brother, Ryan, 12.

He credits his teachers and his church with being good influences in his life. A speaker he heard during a 2004 youth trip was a turning point in his life— he felt God calling him to be a minister and teacher.

“My faith is so important me and since I love teaching so much it makes sense that that is something I’d like to teach about,” he said.

West is the vice president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and speaks there. He is a member of First Priority and speaks there, also. He was a member of the Youth Leadership Union class, participated in Boys State and teaches a drama Sunday School class for first- through sixth-graders at his church.

West also is a member of the National Honor Society, the International Thespian Society, the Spanish Honor Society. Gifted and Talented Music, Gifted and Talented Drama, the marching band (where he was drum captain for three years) and he is a member of the indoor percussion theater.

He hopes to attend either the University of South Carolina or Charleston Southern University. He is the grandson of Wade and Sadie Wilson, Maurice and Mary Hyder and the late Grady Samuel and Nellie Lee West.

West said he has always felt a connection with his teachers. He considers chemistry teacher Eric Childers one of his main mentors.

“Everything he does honors God,” West said. “That is the way I want to live my life.”

West tutors chemistry and advanced placement chemistry students after school and serves as a teaching assistant during the fourth block class.

“If they are all doing problems and two hands go up, he goes to talk to one and I go to the other,” he said. “Also, when he’s working on something and knows he has a lab coming up, he will give me a list and say, ‘I need this mixed up’ or I need this and this.’”

Childers said West is an unusually talented and considerate young man.

“He is probably one of the most intelligent students I have ever taught, one of the nicest young men I have ever had the privilege of knowing and one of the finest individuals I have had the opportunity to teach,” he said. “You don’t see his caliber of young man anywhere very often.”

West also tutors in calculus and even taught U.S. History a couple of days. His teacher, Jeannie Malone, had lost her voice. West had been in the same class earlier that day and went back to another class to convey the lesson.

The other students respect him.

“I feel like sometimes because I am a student I know what needs to be said to get somebody’s attention,” he said. “I know how to spin something, or what’s important. I really like teaching and helping someone understand something. I think that is why I got a leadership position in the band so early because when it came to music I understood it really well and I like being able to sit down with others and help them understand it.”

West was baptized when he was 13. Soon after, his mother rededicated her life to Christ and both of his parents were baptized. West also watched as his mother returned to school and earned her nursing degree. He found himself pitching in and taking on more household chores while she studied.

“Obviously I am lucky and I am blessed with a lot of good influences around me,” he said. “But you really have to find out who you are and drown out the noise. High school is drama, drama, drama. It’s really about getting focused on what you want. Reading my Bible really helped me. A lot of people don’t realize how relevant stories in the Bible are and how important the verses can be to you. A verse I key on is Romans 12:2 because it talks about how we have to change our minds and not be like everybody else. You get away from the wordly things and focus on other stuff. Being around good influences at church, school and home really made a difference to me. I have goals and that I know I am working on. I wouldn’t go out and do something to jeopardize that. I also have great friends who are headed in the right direction, too.”