Chapter 25: Kellen Hornbuckle
Kellen Hornbuckle, also known as Kell, is a new to the scene this year as a Freshman at Pleasant Valley High School. Born in Davenport, Hornbuckle has lived in the area his entire life. Although he has not been at the High School for long, he states that so far, his year has been “Pretty good and better than the Junior High for sure.” His goal for this school year is to work hard to get good grades.
He has four siblings total, three brothers and two sisters. Unfortunately, one of his brothers, Nathan, passed away at the age of two in 2007 but his impact continues to live on. Nathan’s death influenced his mom, Michelle Hornbuckle, to start the Buddy Walk. Families and friends of children with Down Syndrome come together to walk through Veterans Memorial Park, here in Bettendorf. The day is filled with fun activities and music and Hornbuckle looks up to both his brother Nathan and mom for the impact they’ve had on the Quad Cities. Hornbuckle’s other brother, Connor, is also a person that he looks up to. Throughout 2013, Connor fought a sinus infection, coming very close to death and is lucky to be alive today. Hornbuckle looks up to him for fighting through the adversity of his illness. Hornbuckle’s family is filled with fighters and so is his second family, the football team.
Hornbuckle’s heart lies amongst the turf on the football field. “There’s no other sport that makes me feel the way that football does. I love the contact and I love playing as a team,” he explains. He plays a wide range of positions in football and can commonly be found on the pitcher’s mound, in center field, or at first base during baseball. The University of Iowa is where he hopes to attend college and get into sports marketing. He would also like to play either football or baseball for the Hawkeyes. The Iowa Hawkeyes, Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Cardinals, and Lakers are his favorite sports teams.
Its evident that Hornbuckle spends a majority of his time practicing and competing in sports but he also sets aside time for music. He enjoys playing guitar and listening to rap. His favorite artists include NAV, Kendrick Lamar, Young Thug, Travis Scott, xxxtentacion, 21 Savage, and Future. His favorite song at the moment is I Get the Bag by Gucci Mane.
One of the most interesting places he has traveled to is the Dominican Republic. “It was a lot different. When we went zip-lining, we drove through a large portion of the country that was underdeveloped and it was just different,” he explains. For his next vacation, he would like to go to Europe.
There are a lot of things that make Hornbuckle who he is and he has a lot to offer to the community. Although he is just a Freshmen, he along with his family have already made a significant impact on the Quad Cities.
