Local kids look to future

It’s the age-old question our society asks children: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Some children know exactly what career path they want. But for the majority, that dream job changes as often as the styles of their clothes.

For this Labor Day, children from Portales’ three elementary schools gave their answers.

• James Elementary second-grader Nya Carbajal, 7, wants to be either a nurse or a teacher.

“I want to help people stay healthy,” Nya said. “I like going to the park and playing on the field. Cartwheels and flips are my favorite.”

Then after lots of consideration, Nya agreed that the physical education teacher may be the perfect fit for her as she loves to stay healthy herself and to help others as well.

• Fellow James second-grader Ivan Mendoza, 8, wants to continue working in the family trade as his father works on one of the local dairies.

“I want to be a cattle rancher or work at the diary,” Ivan said.

He did say that if he doesn’t work on a ranch, he wants to get involved in rodeos.

“I want to be a bull rider because it looks fun,” he said. “I’ve seen lots of rodeos and that looks cool.”

• The answers were just as varied at Valencia Elementary.

Patrick Alvarado, 8, wants to help others as either a member of the government or the military.

“I want to be a secret agent,” he said. “If I can’t be that, I want to be a police officer. My dad used to be in the military. I want to be a patrol cop. I think it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and help people.”

• Fourth-grader Mykenzie Sanchez loves gymnastics. “I want to be in the gymnastics Olympics,” Mykenzie said. “We do uneven bars, floor, vault and beam in class.”

She said she knows most Olympic athletes don’t compete much after their 20s, so the 9-year-old does have a backup plan.

“I’ll probably teach high school,” she said. “I like science where you do different experiments. We’re currently learning about cells, all the parts of it. It’s my favorite class. My mom is a teacher here at Valencia.”

• Santana Rodriguez, a sixth-grader at Lindsey Steiner Elementary, has dreams of playing at Jerry World in Arlington, Texas, someday.

“I want to go to the NFL and I want to play running back or linebacker,” he said.

“It’s got to be (playing for) the Cowboys.”

If the pro route doesn’t pan out, his love of animals has given him an idea for a good secondary job option.

“I would like to be a doctor,” he said. “The kind that takes care of animals. I’d also like to get homeless animals and check them. My favorite animal is a dog. I have a lab called Big Boy and a blue pitbull named Storm.”