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.
Chapter 46: Emma Irons
An exceptional sophomore at Pleasant Valley, Emma Irons encompasses what our school stands for: commitment to excellence. She is involved in crossfit, loves her family, and is passionate about academics in school.
She moved to the school district in fifth grade from Davenport and created long lasting relationships with her friends that she still loves to hang out with. “My favorite memory at PV is when I met my friends Addie Hegland in fifth grade and Avery Lanning and Anna Kunau in seventh grade.” Going out and doing fun activities with them is one of her favorite things to do when she is not playing with her two dogs, Ford and Hank.
She also lives with her grandparents and has family all over the world! “I have two cousins that live in Germany and one cousin in Arizona.” Visiting them and traveling is another one of Emma’s favorite things to do. When asked what she would do with one million dollars, she said that she would “love to take a trip to Germany, Paris, and Scotland because of the history and architecture.” She would also love to give some of the money to charities and buy another dog.
After high school, she wants to go to college and become a physical therapist. Since biology is her favorite class, and she loves learning about the human body, it is very fitting for her to pursue that path once she graduates.
Being the involved student she is, she loves to do crossfit because of the “adrenaline and feeling of a successful lift.” She said she loves the feeling after a successful lift and that it inspires to stay healthy. In her free time, she loves to talk to her friends and family and listen to music. Some of her favorite music is old music with songs such as “Dancing Queen, Take on Me, and Beat It.”
Emma Irons is a student full of passion and ambition for everything she does, and she always puts forth her best in school and cross fit so she can accomplish her goals.