Imagine lying on the soft sand on the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, the sun beaming down and the cool breeze making you comfortable and satisfied.

Although Kole Schmitt didn’t exactly lie on the beach while he was in Mexico, the city of Veracruz is his favorite place to vacation. Schmitt took a trip to Veracruz in July 2017 to visit an old friend, Bonlli de Santos. Santos, hailing from Veracruz, was an exchange student at AHS during the 2015-16 school year. Schmitt and Santos became close friends throughout the year, and he made the decision to fly to her hometown and see her again. Schmitt stayed with the Santos family in their home during his visit. “We basically just toured Mexico the whole time. It was fun to get away for a few days,” Schmitt said. He stayed in Mexico for six days and his favorite part was seeing the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

Allowing him to take this trip were his parents, Carey and Jared. Schmitt also has three siblings: Macey, Addison and Keston. Schmitt says he looks up to his mom because she taught him good morals. When he isn’t occupying his time in Mexico, Schmitt is “spending time with great friends” or working hard in the AHS journalism department.

After high school, Schmitt plans to attend Iowa State University to major in computer science and minor in Spanish, even though he wanted to be a pharmacist when he was younger. His favorite school memory is breaking his collarbone at a home track meet during his sophomore year. Schmitt said he was tripped and fell at the beginning of the 800m race, causing his collarbone to shatter. “I finished the race in third place though,” Schmitt said.

Another important memory for Schmitt was being there to watch the Trojans beat the Creston Panthers in the Homecoming game his senior year (2017). The game was on a humid, 90 degree Friday night, resurfacing memories of the warm temperatures and coastlines of Mexico in Schmitt’s mind.