Like many kids, freshman Will Romanyk’s parents signed him up for piano lessons at a young age. He admits that he was a bit stubborn about starting lessons at first, but has since started to settle in and enjoy playing.

“Playing the piano has always been fun,” Will said. “Right now I am playing a relaxing piece called ‘Song of Kilimanjaro,‘ and I have also learned an arrangement of Mendelssohn’s ‘Wedding March.’ Sometimes while practicing at home, I’ll sit down and figure out how to play my favorite songs. I also play for my grandparents when they come over. The piano has always been my favorite instrument, and I’ll keep taking lessons at least until the end of high school.”

Although the piano is Will’s main instrument, his love of music extends past the ivories — it originated with the music he listened to as a little kid.

“I’ve always been listening to music,” Will said. “When I was a little kid, I always listened to classical and kids’ CDs. But as I grew older, I listened to more popular music. Whenever my dad and I are in the car, he always plays music that he grew up listening to, and I’ve grown to like that music too.”

The music he’s found himself most drawn to has varied from classical to jazz to ’80s hits and more. With such a strong love of music, Will found it was a no-brainer to join band in sixth grade and further his musical education.

“I decided to play trumpet, and I have been playing ever since,” Will said. “However, it is a bit hard to play with braces on. Band class, in general, has been an amazing experience. We do band camp in the summer, and I’m excited for our field trip to Florida coming up soon. We also play lots of interesting music. We played Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at band camp, and it has been stuck in my head ever since. When I’m older, I’ll probably remember band as one of the best things about high school.”

While music plays an instrumental part in Will’s creativity, he also finds comfort in more linear patterns of thinking within his love of mathematics. In first grade, he found that math came easily to him. With that, he took a second-grade math course, where it became clear that his gift with numbers would carry him far.

Will is currently taking Geometry instead of the typical freshman math, Algebra 1. He hopes to be able to take more advanced mathematics classes throughout high school and gain college credit for his talent.

Will also applies his strong left brain to his love for random trivia. He finds much of his trivia material from Mental Floss, where he studies videos, facts, and stories about strange phenomena.

“I have always been into random trivia and fun facts,” Will said. “There are so many interesting tidbits of knowledge out there. For example, did you know that Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the exact same day? I just find things fascinating. I can also remember weird details that nobody else remembers, like the exact date I went to some obscure place. As a trivia lover, one of my favorite shows is Jeopardy. I watch it if I have time after homework, and I usually know a few answers. I even have a Jeopardy ‘Clue-a-Day’ calendar on my desk to further test my knowledge. In 2021, I plan to go to Los Angeles for spring break, and one of my stops will definitely be the Jeopardy studio.”

Will doesn’t only plan to visit Los Angeles in the future. His love for geography and travel have been ingrained in him for a long time, and he hopes to pursue a future where he can travel and see the world.

“When I was younger, I never had anything to do in the car, so naturally, I looked out the window,” Will said. “With my good memory, I quickly memorized all the different places and street names. I also had a globe, and if you gave me a blank map, I could probably name most of the countries and maybe their capitals. When I grow up, I want to travel all over. I’ve always wanted to make a road trip to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone, and I also want to travel to New York. I’m going to Arizona this summer, and I’m pretty excited for that. However, I’m not excited for Phoenix’s 110-degree heat.”

Throughout Will’s varied interests and passions, he still finds his home plate in music. Although freshman year has treated him fairly well, he sees band as one of the brighter points of his high school career.

“So far, I have been enjoying high school,” Will said. “I did have to get used to some things, but I’ve adjusted pretty well. Marching band has been one of the highlights of my freshman year. The other band members have made it such an enjoyable experience. The music is at a higher level, and band camp was five days of hard work in the hot summer sun, but I’m still having a good time. I’ll miss it when I graduate.”