Ryan Wyly moseys down the hall to his next class with his favorite A&W shirt on and an ice-cold root beer in his hand, sipping it along the way. During his trek, the senior stops to comfort someone lonely or a girl not having a good day.

“He is the sweetest person you could ever meet,” senior Veronica Paz said. “If you’re sad, he’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

It’s not just a kind heart that defines Ryan; it’s his love for the soft drink he gets the name Root Beer from.

“He’s always drinking root beer,” senior James Days said. “I don’t think he could live a day without it.”

Showing pride in his soda and in his talent for drinking root beer, Ryan never strayed from what he has loved since the fourth grade. Root beer is his life.

“I can drink root beer faster than anyone at this school,” Wyly said.

Even though he drinks root beer all the time, it’s not how he gets his name.

“The name Root Beer is perfect to the T,” Paz said. “Every other word out of his mouth is root beer. He is the Root Beer King.”

Ryan’s fourth grade year was when he became hooked on root beer. He was told that root beer would help him relax.

“Ryan is really nice.” Days said. “He doesn’t like violence, loves to help people, and if someone is crying, he’ll try his best to comfort them.”

Even though Ryan loves root beer, his passion for the drink won’t stop him from doing what’s right.

“If you’re hungry or thirsty and low on money, Ryan will give you his last dollar that he would have gone and spent on a root beer,” Paz said.