STORY:Garrett Corsair  PHOTO:Matthew Gaulin

Age: 13
Grade: 8
School: East Ridge Middle

My goal and dream is to attend college and major in computer engineering. I’ve always been very interested in technology. With a computer engineering degree, you can do everything from building computers, programming software or making new games and apps.

My role model in life is my mom, Jenne Marino. She has always been there for me and helped shape me into the person I am today. None of my achievements in life would have been possible without her love and support.

I respect all my teachers, but my favorite is Mrs. Zamora, who was my math and history teacher in fifth grade. She helped me discover I have a gift in math and even allowed me to assist in teaching the class.

Out of all subjects, math is my favorite. I particularly enjoy algebra because you can only arrive at one correct answer and I’m a very black-and-white person. English is much more challenging for me because it’s more subjective than math. You could write an essay that one person thinks is terrific and another person thinks is average.

One of the most exciting times I ever had was attending a five-day summer camp at NASA. We were able to design, fly and land a space shuttle. We also participated in lots of motion-based space simulations, hands-on activities and team-building activities. We also experienced what zero gravity felt like.

If I could trade places with someone for a day, I would trade places with the president. I’d love to find out all the responsibilities the president has and how the president handles criticism. I have no problem when presidents receive criticism after making a tough decision that is not widely appreciated, but I don’t believe in harassing the president because that is way out of line.

Outside of school, one of my favorite activities is traveling. I’ve been to 23 states and several countries, such as Jamaica and Haiti. We also take a lot of road trips.

My favorite athlete is Argentinean soccer player Lionel Messi. He overcame a growth-hormone deficiency as a kid and has developed into one of the best soccer players in the world. I always admire when someone like him shows perseverance through adversity.

The best advice I can offer anyone is to never give up. Always try to succeed no matter how difficult something may seem.

Fun Facts

• Straight A student throughout his life.
• Joey is involved in the National Junior Honor Society, president of a robotics team and captain of his soccer team.