Whiz Kid: Nick Rodriguez

This week's Whiz Kid is Nick Rodriguez of Lithia, an incoming senior at Newsome High School.

Accomplishment: Rodriguez has been busy this summer. He recently graduated from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Rising Stars Leadership Academy and attended Rotary District 6890 Seminar for Tomorrow's Leaders.

Details: In 2010, the Community Outreach Division of the sheriff's office, in conjunction with members of the HCSO Training Division, the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County School District, developed a leadership program to reward high-achieving students who are juniors advancing to seniors in high school. The program, called the “Sheriff’s Rising Stars Leadership Academy,” is a weeklong challenging leadership course. At the end of the program, each student received a $500 scholarship and a new laptop computer.

"The program allowed us to see the various units and divisions of the sheriff's office such as the canine unit, the marine unit, SWAT team, bomb squad, aviation unit, etc...," said Rodriguez. "Some of the most exciting things we got to do were drive police cars on their closed training course with the sirens on and everything; witness a mock SWAT scenario; and go out on a police boat on the Tampa Bay.

"We also heard from speakers such as the assistant chief of police, a retired major, a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush, and several others, all of which instilled leadership values in us and gave us insight as to what it's like to be a leader," said Rodriguez. "We also did many team-building activities and exercises with all the participants in the program.  

On the heels of the Rising Stars program, Rodriguez then attended Rotary District 6890's Seminar for Tomorrow's Leaders.

The program focuses on building leadership skills in rising seniors. It includes speakers, team-building exercises and rap sessions.

"I was there with 160 other students. We participated in meet-and-greet activities, heard from speakers who told us about adversity they overcame, did rap sessions in which we talked about what we think about the future," Rodriguez said. "I made 160 new friends and really learned a lot about myself and the mission of the Rotary Club."

Rodriguez was sponsored by the FishHawk/Riverview Rotary Club.

Rodriguez, who plans to be a teacher, is a member of the Senior Council at Newsome High, president of the Future Business Leaders of America, is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society, the Florida Public Service Association, Rho Kappa social students honor society and Mu Alpha Theta math honor society.