MODESTO -- Nicholas' hard work and perseverance have helped him accomplish great things. The 17-year-old maintains a 4.2 GPA at Downey High School and his work ethic has earned him lifetime membership in the California Scholarship Federation.
Nicholas also is heavily involved in sports. For all four years at Downey, he has played for the Knights football team. He's played many positions, most recently linebacker during his senior year. He was also a member of the Football Leadership Senate, helping to make important decisions regarding the football team. In addition to football, he was on the track team his sophomore and junior years.
Though busy, Nicholas isn't too busy to find time to give back. He has been a teacher's aide in the classrooms at El Vista Elementary and La Loma Junior High. He enjoys helping middle school students understand topics, saying, "I like it when I'm tutoring a student and you can see it when it just clicks and they get it from there."
To top it all off, Nicholas never has missed a day of school. He has received awards from every school he attended for this achievement. Even more impressive is that his perfect attendance makes two full generations of this achievement, because his mother and her five siblings also never missed a day of school.
All that time in school hasn't kept Nicholas from missing plenty of fun, though. Even with his busy schedule, he manages to go mountain biking and dirt biking with his friends on weekends. Whether he's biking with his friends at Dry Creek or spending the day biking in the mountains with his father, he enjoys every minute of it. Nicholas has been mountain biking for the past four years.
This exceptional teen plans to use his skills to become an engineer of motors. He said he "would love to help design motors for cars, motorcycles and stuff like that." He even tinkers around with the motors in his dirt bikes when he has time.
• • •
PARENTS: Christopher and Jeanne White
HOBBIES: Mountain biking, dirt biking and video games
BIGGEST INFLUENCES: My uncle Jeron and the rest of my family.
LAST BOOK I READ FOR PLEASURE: "World War Z"
FAVORITE TV SHOW: "Breaking In"
FAVORITE MOVIE: "Black Hawk Down"
FAVORITE MUSIC OR BAND: Anything I can have fun with. I listen to pretty much everything.
BIGGEST FEAR: I'm really not a fan of heights.
WHAT I WOULD TELL THE PRESIDENT: Worry about the everyday people. Help them as they need it, but don't necessarily hold their hands.
ADVICE FOR KIDS: Have fun, work hard in school and be safe.
ADVICE FOR ADULTS: Don't stop having fun just because you're grown up. Still do what you enjoy.
WHERE I'LL BE IN 10 YEARS: I'll have a good job I enjoy and maybe thinking of starting a family, but not necessarily. I'll just be enjoying life.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
Order reprints
