Cenizo Journal Summer 2014 | Page 17

However, thinking positively, he plays electric guitar at home, taught by an out-of-town friend by means of video. Shadix likes all sports but really loves baseball. He is a good pitcher, but not the best, he is careful to add. He always has fun playing baseball, and has an excellent coach (Rick McIvor). He also praises Sara Pittman, his social studies teacher. An optimist, he feels that the worst of the school cuts are now over, and that things will improve. 2014 is the first year Shadix, now in Junior High, entered the Texas History Fair. He named his project “Keeping West Texas Skies Dark: It’s Our Responsibility.” He had brought his exhibit (which he had some help with) to show me – a very professional four foot high, three panel cardboard con- struction. Through captions and pho- tographs, the need for reducing light pollution was spelled out – not just for the star gazers and researchers, but for reasons of economics, wastage and lifestyle. Shadix prepared, by himself, a small diorama which was activated by vertical flashlights showing the differ- ence between shielded and unshielded light. He went with the other Gifted and Talented students in his group to the Texas History Fair in Austin, and enjoyed staying in the Embassy Inn. None in the group advanced to the National History Day level, but Shadix collected a $75 prize. He’s going to wait and see what next year’s topic is before deciding whether to compete. Asked about his future career, he said he had no fixed plans but “would go with the flow.” TAYLOR LUTTRELL-WILLIAMS The young man who greeted me with a ready handshake in the lobby of Big Bend High School in Terlingua wore a bluegrass music t-shirt and red hair knotted in a pony tail. I was there to interview him as a winner in the History Fair, one of three local students who had been successful in the nation- wide competition It was the first time that I had interviewed this age group for Voices of the Big Bend. We headed for the principal’s office and sat undis- turbed across from each other at a con- ference table. Taylor (“Tay” to family and friends) was born in Bamberg, Germany on 31 March, 1999 where his father, Mark Williams, was serving in the U.S. Army as a sergeant. The family moved short- ly after to Alexandria Bay, NY, where Taylor attended lst grade. From second through fifth grades Taylor, who has a half-sister, a sister and a brother, all older, attended Harmony Science Academy in El Paso, where his father, having left the army, was undergoing training with the U.S. Border Patrol. At Harmony Science Academy, a charter school with a Turkish founder, Taylor’s preferred subjects were Geography, History and Spanish Language. He liked studying and was happy in a classroom, where some of the teachers were Turkish. He devel- oped new interests and a taste for Mediterranean food. He filled the walls of his room at home with maps. With training completed, Mark Williams was assigned to Big Bend National Park in 201l. Taylor attended San Vicente School (sixth through eighth grade). Later, when his mother Glenda Lutrell took a job as Activities Coordinator at Lajitas Resort, he switched to Terlingua School. Taylor loved the Terlingua music scene and learned to play fiddle, banjo and man- dolin. He also learned hiking, rafting on the Rio Grande and became involved with the Terlingua Ghostown communal garden. His number one interest is music, particularly blue grass music, melodies from Appalachia of Scots/Irish origin (later influenced by African music). He has been playing since age eight. His other interest, “really bizarre” in his own words, is in dairy products, partic- ularly cheese. He described with enthu- siasm artisanal cheeses like the American Touvelle, and the Italian semi soft, fruity Taleggio. He learned how to make cheese from Marathon’s cheese-maker Sally Roberts and he demonstrates his cheese-making skill at Terlingua’s Farmer’s Market. As a straight A student, Taylor took to the History Fair naturally and has competed for four years, advancing from regional to state-wide but no fur- ther. His topics have ranged from, “A Cross Loss,” about our 2002 border closing, to the schism in the Church in 1040, to this year’s subject: “Got Milk?” about raw (i.e. untreated) milk.” Asked about the future, Taylor said he hopes to go to Reed College in Oregon; asked about future History Fairs, he said:” I will, I will get to National.” I could have easily spent another hour with Taylor Luttrell- Williams, but he had to jump in a van to go Lubbock for an academic compe- tition. Cenizo Third Quarter 2014 17