SAN ANTONIO – Meet KSAT’s newest Scholar Athlete of the Week: Nico Vela of Jefferson High School.
Vela is a four-year member of the varsity basketball team, where he was named First-Team All-District his senior year. He’s a three-year member of the National Honor Society and has been involved with TJTV School News for four years.
Vela also volunteers to coach basketball players in middle and elementary schools.
He maintains a 3.9 GPA and is ranked in the top 15 percent of his class.
Vela plans to major in aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU TAKE AWAY WITH YOU AS YOU LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL?
“My favorite moment that sticks out probably is this year’s playoff game when we played Liberty Hill. I know it went down as a loss, but I couldn’t ask for a better way to end it. We worked hard, fought to the end; it was a great way to seal my last four years.”
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS ON HOW TO BALANCE ACADEMICS AND ATHLETICS?
“Time management. Be good at time management. Know when you have to practice. Know when you have to do your schoolwork. Set a time for everything, and when you have that time, you have to do it.”
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER YOU GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL?
“I plan to go to UTSA to major in aerospace engineering. It seems like a great field I look forward to. It looks exciting, something new every day, that’s what I like. I hear the engineering program is one of the best in San Antonio. My dad works over there at Boeing, and I look up to my dad. That’s one of the main reasons, too.”
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR PARENTS OR TEACHERS OR COACHES?
“I want to thank my family. Shout out to my family. They help me work hard every day, strive for me to be the best person I can be. Big shoutout to coach Vela and coach Moore. They set this all up for me; they help me every day, grades, on the court, off the court, everything.”
