While Adan Sepeda originally went to Hill Country with the dream of joining the Air Force, his dreams were cut short due to an unfortunate allergy.

“When I came to the school, I had the goal of joining the Air Force Academy,” Sepeda said. “It’s funny because I found out that I couldn’t attend due to my peanut allergy. So I had to change up my whole plan and everything just because of that.”

This wouldn’t keep him down for long, however, as Sepeda would quickly rebound through becoming student council president

“A lot of the opportunities presented within the first year allowed me to set up things like the athletic club and student council,” he said. “I knew I had natural leadership skills, but I never applied them until I came to the school. So being able to figure out how to lead people, how to delegate, and how to upkeep your morals, it was very tough.”

This downside inspired Sepeda to spend time reconnecting with his spirituality.

“I’ve always been Catholic in some sort of way, but I’d never been baptized,” Sepeda said. “About a year ago, I realized that if I ever wanted to believe in something, I needed at least to believe in a God. So I started exploring my spiritual side to keep myself grounded, especially with the challenges college will bring.”

Sepeda plans on attending CU Boulder in Colorado, he is currently undecided but is planning on going into aerospace engineering.

“I hopefully plan on working in research and development as an adult,” he said. “And I’d like to start teaching whenever I retire because it’s been something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”

The change in scenery will also allow Adan to pursue his passion for martial arts further as well.

“I plan to start competing in karate again over in Colorado,” he said. “I found a school there and I’ve already been training at home. Hopefully, I’ll get to compete in the World Karate Federation and become an athlete.”