IvanHello, I’m Ivan Caballero and I am a junior at John F. Kennedy High School. I was born in Santa Clara, California. I was raised here in Sacramento. I also lived in San Antonio, Texas from 2008 through 2009. It was a very interesting experience. Eventually, I came back to Sacramento in 2010.

Growing up, I had an admiration of movies. I would go to my local BlockBuster and rent about ten movies at a time. Every time I would watch a movie, I would always wonder how they film, perform, and act all the scenes out. My imagination would go wild. I would always think that I would have a great idea for a film in my head. That’s when I realized that I may want to be a director.

When I was five years old, my mother bought me a Flip camcorder, which at the time meant so much to me. After that, I got a better camera and began getting more equipment so that I could do short films with a few of my friends. My first short-film was awful , but it got better as time went on. I’m still learning but I have become so much better than I was when I began.

I also love to read. My friends and family don’t realize that I read a lot. I mostly read online or through my phone. Reading a book is almost the same as watching a movie. It can be just as immersive. Just like a movie, a book can make you feel, think, and relate a certain way to a story. The only difference about a movie and a book is that in a book you can imagine how the story looks on your own. That’s the glory of reading. It could take you to a whole other world in the matter of seconds.

I am also very interested in science related subjects, such as astronomy. It fascinates me. I love to learn about new things. There is a saying from Neil Degrasse Tyson- “For me, I am driven by two main philosophies. Know more about today than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You would be surprised how far that gets you.” I personally have taken that as advice for how I live my life.

I am the first in the family to have ever wanted a job that involves the media. I think being a youth reporter is a great start for the present and the future of my life. I am happy to be where I am and to have received this job. I’m excited to see where this is going to go!