North Star Camp for Boys







Sunday, May 6, 2018

2018 Staff Spotlight - Nick Rivera


 1st year staff member Nick Rivera is a native of the Windy City. His family hails from Puerto Rico but he's lived in Chicago his whole life. He went to Pritzker HS where he played several sports. His favorites are football, baketball and baseball. He played a year of Division 3 Football at Concordia.

Nick if finishing up his junior year at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL. There he's studying general studies and Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration.

More about Nick

How did you learn about North Star and why did you apply?
- I first learned about North Star when I met Dan Lichtenstein at an internship fair at Western Illinois University. I nervously walked in not knowing what to expect and Dan quickly approached me talking about North Star along with all the benefits they provided. I immediately gained interest in this camp because I really felt it would be the perfect fit for me and it would be the first time I would work in a city other than Chicago. The main reason I applied was because I felt Dan really cared about getting me onto the North Star team by keeping in contact with me via text or e-mail, and I felt this was a great opportunity to gain build relationships with other people in the RPTA field.

If you could be any animal (besides a human), what would you be and why?
- If I could be any animal I would probably be a lion because they are living their best life under the sun, eating meat , and sleeping. Plus I can't think of any animal that would attack and eat a lion which would be a big benefit to live life with no worries.

What is your guilty pleasure tv show(s):
- Being a 90's baby I still love watching cartoons such as Spongebob, Fairly Oddparents, and Hey Arnold. Some other shows I enjoy are Scream, Shameless, and Riverdale which is meant for an older audience.

What is your dream Job:
- My dream job has always been to be a professional baseball or football player. I stopped playing these sports after my freshman year of college to focus more on school and I choose RPTA as a minor because I would love to work with children teaching them the sports I love. This was another reason why I felt North Star would be a perfect fit for me because I would be doing all of this plus different activities such as arts and crafts, and I always wanted a job where it doesn't feel like "work".

If you could have dinner with any three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why?:
- If I could have dinner with any three people they would be my father, Russ, and LeBron James. I choose my father because I have yet to meet him and now that I am 21 years old I would want him to see how well my mom raised me and show him how much of a better man I've become over the years living in a single parent household. I choose Russ because I would like to just hang out with him and listen to his music. His music has put me in such peace and he is all I listen to when writing papers or studying.  Last but not least, I would want to have dinner with the King just to say I did since he is one of the greatest players to play the game of basketball.

What is the best Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday present that you've ever gotten:
- The best Christmas present I have ever gotten was my ps4 this past Christmas. Ever since I got my ps4 all I do is play fortnite and 2k18 after I finish my homework just to relax and distress.

What are/were your favorite subjects in school:
- In elementary school my favorite subject was science because I was always interested in how the world worked along with learning about possible life outside our planet. Another class I really enjoyed was my art class because that was the time you could use your imagination and just create whatever you wanted as long as it was appropriate.

What are your top three movies of all time:
- My top three movies of all time would have to be Step-Brothers, The Goonies, and Jurassic Park (the original).

What sports teams do you root for:
- Born and raised in Chicago, I root for the Chicago Cubs, Bulls, and Bears no matter how bad or good they are.

What noteworthy/random/menial jobs have you held?
- A job I am really proud of working was I taught 3rd and 6th grade summer school. I loved knowing I had impacted these young scholars lives along with getting them to love school and doing their work. This job impacted my life as well knowing I can change lives and help kids do better for themselves.

What did you do last summer?
- Last summer I worked long hours in a hot sports factory lifting boxes and picking orders. It's not something I would like to do for the rest of my life so having the opportunity to work at North Star and having that as a possible career choice is really exciting.