The October Student of the Month is a busy man who is very creative.

Senior Juan Cardozo loves to work out at the gym and draw in his spare time.

Juan is a part of the Mirror, which takes up a good bit of his time as he makes sure stories get written, photos get taken, and things get done.

“I am a pretty busy person. I’m a content editor for the newspaper,” Juan said.

Juan’s favorite school activity is art.

“Art allows me to catch up on my work or just decompress with my friends,” Cardozo said. “I’m only in Art 2, but I’ve been drawing my whole life.”

Juan also runs middle distance and long (800m and 1 mile) for the track team.

“I’ve done track since my freshman year,” he said. “I also ran cross country my first two years of high school.”

Juan has been in all honors since sixth grade and is in the top 10 percent of his class.

“Mr. Parrish has taught me the most,” Juan said. “I’ve only been in his class a few months, but I can already tell I will learn a lot.”

Juan’s most challenging task is managing his time.

“Finding the time to fit in work, volunteer work, school work, meetings, etc.,” Juan said. 

His time at KHS is an achievement itself to him.

“Going through school for this long, getting officer positions in clubs, making countless friends and memories through the years is really something,” Juan said.

Staying in shape and being healthy is essential for Juan.

“I go to the Kilgore College fitness center in my free time if I don’t have work for school and it’s my day off, 99% of the time you will find me at the gym,” Juan said.

Choosing the college he wants is very important to get the career he wants to pursue. Juan plans to go to UT Tyler.

“I plan to be an Ultrasound tech,” Juan said. “Helping people know if they are ok really just sounds good to me.”

Juan’s best friend is Leslie Smith.

“She’s brutally honest and tells me the absolute truth,” Juan said. “I mean the truth hurts sometimes but you can’t grow without it. She doesn’t fail at making me smile.”

A fear for Juan is losing friends after high school.

“I fear losing all the friends I’ve made on the way as we all find out our own path in life,” he said. “These old friendships either won’t stay as strong or may disappear.”

If he could talk to someone dead or alive, it would be the man who is famous for the theory of general relativity.

“I would talk to Einstein,” Juan said. “I’d ask him what he thought about the modern world.”

Juan’s biggest inspiration is his mom.

“Without her I really don’t think I would have made it this far,” Juan said. “She’s the one that made me push myself this hard.”