Samuel Hughes

Samuel Hughes – Nevada
Nomination & Photography by Amanda Hughes
Issue 54 of Inspiring Teens Magazine

Nomination: Samuel Hughes was diagnosed with autism at age three but overcame the odds to become an outstanding 13-year old. While barely verbal at the time he was diagnosed, he worked hard during countless hours of therapy and “graduated” in just a few years. Now in 7th grade, Sam goes to his STEM school an hour early each day for Leadership class, enjoys working on the school yearbook, and excels at the piano. His smile is infectious, and nothing thrills him like making other people laugh. Sam is a joy to be around and we are thrilled to nominate him.
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Photography by Amanda Hughes

What should we definitely know about you?
I think I am a very smart person, I love school, and I have straight A’s in all of my classes. My favorite classes are yearbook, English, and History. I like to play soccer and I love to read also. I enjoy helping organize my school’s events in my leadership class because I like helping out with school and helping my teachers. I love animals and I want to be a vet when I grow up.

What do you love most about school?
I just love my classes the most. I love learning about all kinds of topics and new things. I really like my school because the teachers all come up with interesting things to do in class. In history we got to do a simulation where each group represents a country and we discussed how different countries might handle different situations. We also get to pick different activities to do with the teachers during lunch. Teachers host different activities like playing games with students or building legos. There are lots of lunchtime activities to choose from every day.

What do you do for the yearbook? What are your primary roles and responsibilities there and what do you love most about it?
In Yearbook, I am assigned to do certain pages. This year I’ve worked on the “6th Grade Best Friends” page as well as the orchestra page. I take pictures, put them in the yearbook website (which kind of models the yearbook), and make captions about those pictures. The thing I love most about Yearbook is probably taking pictures of the students. I like interviewing them too!


What about English do you love?
I love all the different topics we learn about! This week we are learning about the Titanic. We read survivor accounts and other passages about the Titanic. We learned about the details about what happened with the Titanic and what went wrong. Then we analyzed what we read, created flow charts, and answered some questions about what we learned. I got to read a Shakespeare play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as part of an advanced group that I got to be in. I really liked the drama and the storyline of the play.

Photography by Amanda Hughes

​What is something that you learned in History that you find fascinating?
There’s a lot! This year we learned about the Holocaust. The topic was very sad, but I liked learning more about it. I had learned about it before but I think it was good to get more details and information about what happened, even though it made me sad. I also learned about Napoleon. I thought it was interesting how he had many successes but also a lot of failures as well.

Tell us about your soccer career.
I started playing soccer when I was five years old. I usually play goalie and defender. I love trying to catch the ball when I’m the goalie and trying to keep it away from the goal when I am defender. One thing that is kind of hard is that this year I tried out for my middle school soccer team and I didn’t make the team. I felt sad, but I want to try out next year. I will practice and train and try again in a year!

What is a favorite accomplishment from playing soccer?
My favorite accomplishment from playing soccer was when I helped my team win the championship in 2019! I was the team goalie and our team was in 3rd place overall in the league when the tournament started. We won our first game. The next game (the semi-finals) we tied and so we had to do penalty kicks. I was the goalie and I blocked all of the other team’s kicks and we won. In the championship game, we tied again. I was the goalie in that game as well and I helped us win again. It was a great day.

What are you reading now and what is your favorite book to recommend?
I just read “The New Kid” by Jerry Craft. It was the book for our school’s book club, and I really liked it. “The New Kid” was a great story and I liked how the boy was able to overcome his problem and forgive another kid who was a jerk. I also liked the comedy in the book. “A Monster Calls” by Patrick Ness is another book from the club. I really liked how the monster helps the boy with his sadness. I felt really sad during the book but I liked the lessons in the tales the monster told.

Photography by Amanda Hughes

What have you learned about yourself in leadership class?
I’ve actually learned that I’m shy and I get nervous sometimes that I will say something wrong to the other kids. But I’ve also learned that I am very helpful and I don’t back down from a challenge. This year I ran for class secretary and lost. But I learned how to write a speech and I know some things I can do better when I try again next year!

What do you think is your strongest leadership quality?
I am very helpful. I can recognize when something needs to be done and I am pretty good at taking charge and helping out when that happens. For example, we needed extra workers to help out with the school Valentine’s dance and so I volunteered to work both shifts (instead of just one). I enjoy helping out and feeling like I can make a difference.

Do you have pets now? Tell us about them.
Yes, I have five pets and they are all chickens! They are about six months old and they just started laying eggs. They like to eat and love to look for food when we let them out into the yard. This is my first time having chickens and they are very fun. I like holding them, even though sometimes they try to jump away! Sometimes my sister and I bring them into the house, even though mom and dad tell us not to.

What type of music do you like to play on the piano?
Classical music is probably my favorite. I really like fast songs. One of my favorite songs is “Theme from Swan Lake,” because it was very beautiful and melodic. I really liked the drama of the song too. I also like Fur Elise because it is a classic song that everybody knows.

Photography by Amanda Hughes

​What inspiring things about you does your nomination not cover?
I like challenges and I always work to overcome them. When I was in second grade, I set a goal to read a million words, and I did it! Even though I get frustrated, I work hard to accomplish what I want to do. Right now I am learning Moonlight Sonata on piano and it is hard, but I feel accomplished learning such a long and difficult song. I know I will feel good when I pass it off. I always try to focus on my work and don’t give up until I’m done.

If you were to present a topic to a group of your peers, what would it be?
I would do a presentation on animals. I would include how different animals survive in their natural habitats, how the food they eat helps them, how humans are threatening different species and how we can stop this, and how to treat different species wounds. I am very passionate about animals because I love how interesting their lives are and how they survive. My favorite animal has to be dolphins. This is because they are a very friendly species and they are intelligent and cute.

We see your mom is also your amazing photographer. Do you get to help plan the shoots with her or do you get to just show up and look cool? What do you love most about photo shoots with your mom?
I love to help my mom with photoshoots. Sometimes I help her plan, and sometimes she has me help her with her gear. A lot of the time if I’m not in her pictures, I help her by holding something called a reflector. It helps control the amount of light in the photos. I’m also in charge of making people laugh or smile for pictures.

What is the hardest thing you have ever accomplished, and how did you do it?
I think reading a million words when I was in second grade. That goal is usually for 4th and 5th graders but I wanted to do it when I was younger. I read all the time and I did it!

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be where you are today?
I would tell them to stay calm and try not to stress too much! Forgive yourself too, because everybody makes mistakes.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years/what are your plans?
In five years I see myself graduating high school! I also want to serve a mission for my church and go to college.

What is your favorite activity or pastime that was not in your nomination?
I love to cook! I am kind of obsessed with Master Chef and I like to learn how to make new dishes.

Do you have a hidden talent? What is it?
I can do tricks on the trampoline in our backyard.

3 Things on your bucket list
Eat at one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants
Cook lamb chops
Become a veterinarian

Who do you find inspiring?
I love Gordon Ramsay. He is an amazing chef and he is able to handle a lot of pressure.

What about you inspires others/why do you think you are inspiring?
I think I am inspiring because I have overcome some challenges in my life. I learned to talk when I didn’t know how and I overcame some of the difficulties I have because of autism.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
I scored very high on my last English and Math MAPs (standardized) testing and I’m pretty proud of myself for that!

Look for Samuel in issue 54 of Inspiring Teens Magazine!

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