Xander Coronado is a precocious 14-year-old in the middle of his eighth-grade year at Hope Academy of Public Service and definitely a defier of the stereotype about big football players. You can meet him and his family Saturday starting at 10:00 a.m. at Walmart (weather permitting) as they raise funds for his trip to Dallas University July 5th to join a STEM program for young scholars.
Xander had the choice of whether to travel to Washington, DC this summer for a leadership conference or to attend Dallas University’s STEM program. He chose DU, he said, because of its nearness but there remains the problem of its cost.
“My parents figured out that there's another program closer, which is better for them and me, because we can be closer. It's going to be in Dallas University. Whenever I figured that out, whenever I first heard I could go, the first thing I thought is I didn't want them spending that type of money on me,” Xander said yesterday.
To cover the $500 deposit to reserve a place in the class of 100, the Coronados started a GoFundMe. It raised the deposit amount but not much more. Fortunately, friends gave Xander’s father, Lieutenant Jesus Coronado of the Hope Police Department, an idea that is working a bit better.
“They told us to really try to do a fundraiser, which we did,” he said. “I started selling tickets for the nine millimeter and so far, we've done pretty good at it, because the total tuition was about $3,200 something after application fees and all that. We're a little over halfway there now.”
The lieutenant is referring to the family’s raffle of a Smith & Wesson 9mm Equalizer pistol. It will come with a range bag, Viridian RFX15 green dot and an easy loader. Without the accessories, the gun prices out at about $599 on the Smith & Wesson website. You’ll see a picture of it when the Coronados set up their table outside Walmart tomorrow morning. The raffle will take place May 30th.
For Xander’s part the science that he most interested in is meteorology. Within that discipline, he said he finds the study of tornados especially intriguing. “They're cool, but they're so dangerous. And I would love to see one, but I just really hope it's just in a rural field, where there's no people or anything.”
Xander said he follows the career of storm chaser and author Reed Timmer and has been inspired by him to create his own designs for vehicles that can be used to approach and study tornados. “I have a computer in there, and I I build stuff like that all the time. I build some of my favorites. I’ve got Storm Guardian, the Goliath and the Valkyrie. Those are my interceptors, my latest ones I've built.”
Another interest for Xander is football. He plays on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Hope eighth- and ninth-grade Bobcats. “I've liked football for a while,” Xander said. “It’s a lot of things going on. It allows me to just move but I get to work out and stuff, lift weights. I love doing that.”
It was his coach Antwone Casteel who recommended him for the Dallas University program. Casteel said, "I’ve known Xander for two years now, and he’s an outstanding young man. Not only has he grown on the field but off of it. His grades are always great, and he shows more character than most his age. Xander is a great example of a student athlete able to own up and take responsibility of his/others actions and leading when it is time."
All of that comes through very clearly when you talk to Xander about his interests.
So come out to Walmart tomorrow, meet the Coronados and pony up for a raffle ticket. You may be funding the future of tornado study and saving some lives and property.