Kelvin Rios

• Grade:  12

• School Activities: NHS, NEHS, Mu Alpha Theta, and AP Ambassadors

• Job: Seasonal life guard 

How would other people describe you as a person?

I’m not sure although I am curious.

What do you do outside of school for fun? Why?

Outside of school I enjoy watching and participating in motorsport events. I love both Sim racing, Go-Kart racing, and sometimes compete on a small local level. I also play the piano and love watching films, and although I don’t go very often anymore, I still enjoy working out.

What career do you want to pursue? Why?

My absolute dream job is to become a professional driver. More specifically a race car driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Obviously that’s virtually impossible, so as of now I’m pursuing a career in business and hopefully maybe get into the motorsport business, which to me is also incredibly exciting and can lead me to funding my own small scale racing career.

What is something you know a weird amount about?

The Velvet Underground, they are by far my favorite band so naturally I learned everything about them. Although their time was short lived, they have a long and amazing story throughout the later 1900s.

What’s on your phone background? Tell us why you chose that.

These are all  just different variations of the same picture, it’s Batman sitting in a café reading a newspaper. I chose it because I grew up a big superhero nerd and Batman was always my favorite so I just thought these were cool.

Tell us the story about what you are most proud of yourself for.

When I started my freshman year, I promised myself and my mother I’d be valedictorian. It felt really amazing when I was finally able to tell her I was, and although I’m not anymore I still feel extremely proud of it. I spent lots of time working toward that goal and I felt very accomplished. 

Who is someone you are thankful for and why?

Like many others, I’ll always be thankful for my awesome mother. I watched her make endless sacrifices as she took on the role of both mom and dad, and did everything in her power to push my siblings forward to ensure our overall happiness and health. She made sure to instill good morals and a good attitude toward our lives and pushed us to be great, and it’s something I’ll always be grateful for.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

That getting lazy in school was not worth it and to definitely avoid some classes that made/make me want to die. 

What do you hope to be remembered for?

Just being good. 

What’s on your bucket list?

I have many things, mostly involving places to go, but now that I’m 18 I can finally go skydiving which I’ll be doing very soon. I also want to have a wingsuit pilot license at some point in my life.

Favorites

• Food: Italian Sandwiches 
• Restaurant: JINYA
• Music: Rock
• TV Show: Friends 
• Movie: “2001: A Space Odyssey”
• Book: “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Class: European History
• Teacher:  Karen Solberg