Tell us about yourself! Who is Sebastian? How would you describe yourself?

I am a human. My friends say I’m really funny. I am always excited. And, I work really hard.

Starting school in a pandemic can't be easy. Can you tell us about school?

I started at Achievement First this year, I’m in fifth grade at AF Iluminar Middle. We started off hybrid. At first I felt a little shy, and I didn’t really want to talk to anybody. Now, I have good friends and I feel like I fit in a lot. I really like the school.

What do you like most about your school?

My favorite subject is math. It helps you become more intelligent, and you’ll need it in the future. I also like learning science. We do a lot of different things at school – in the morning we meet with our goal teams and we can have a lot of fun, then we do science and math. Next we have a break where we can go outside and then we do ELA. Right now, we’re reading Wonder.

That’s a really well-known book! What do you think about it?

It’s really good. It’s about this kid who goes to this middle school. He’s different from everyone else. At first, there were a lot of guys who support him, but there were others who were bullying him. He’s the one who has the most intelligence. Now, more people are supporting him. It makes me think of the advice I would give to other kids who might go through something like bullying. I would probably say to try to work hard, get to your goals, achieve them, and never let anyone’s words hurt you.

That’s great advice. When you’re not reading or solving math problems, what do you like to do? What do you do outside of school?

I play tag a lot with my friends who live right by me. Or, I play with my dog. I also like to play baseball – usually I play third, but a little while ago I pitched. My dad was a pitcher when he was younger. He broke his arm once and kept pitching. That made me really want to pitch.

Now, we know why you weren't that troubled by starting school in a pandemic! You sound like you like a challenge! What’s next for you? Do you know what you’d like to do when you grow up?

I’ve thought of it a few times. My parents want me to become an engineer for airplanes, and I think I want to be in the military so I could help people and stop people who are trying to hurt others.

We know you’ll excel in whatever you choose to do! Thanks for sharing your story with us!