Nicholas Hein is currently a senior at JFKMHS. As a varsity track runner and aspiring math teacher, he heads off to The College of New Jersey this fall for math education.
I know that you did football in your freshman and sophomore year, but now you specialize in track and running sports. What was the reason for the change, and do you miss football?
Nick: The reason for the change was that I was more passionate about running and more passionate about track. I also had better, closer friends in track than in football. In football, I did have friends, but I didn’t know anyone super well.
I also just wanted to do what would be more fun for my high school experience. I didn’t want to do a sport that I didn’t have fun with, so that’s kind of why I switched, really just to do what makes me happier.
At the end of the day, that’s what you should be doing in your life. You shouldn’t be trying to hold on to things that you feel you should be doing; you should just be doing what you want to be doing.
What is the most challenging and frustrating thing about XC and track?
The most challenging thing about XC and track is the nervousness that gets to you. A lot of people don’t know, but track, distance events and XC can be very nerve-wracking because you’re spending hours before the race just sitting there, speculating what’s going to happen while you’re out there, knowing that when you do it, you’re going to be extremely exhausted. Me and my friends, Achilles Tu and Ayaan Amin, we all get super nervous before every single race.
After we finish the race, it’s a very euphoric feeling, like you just dropped all the stress that’s on you. So, I’d say the hardest part is like putting in the work, because it’s a very hard sport. You’re going out there running and leaving every little bit of energy you have out on the track or XC course, and it requires a lot of determination, grit and persistence to get through everything that’s being pushed at you.
How do you balance your AP classes and your sports?
I’d say a lot of times, you just choose what’s more important to you. You’re never going to have enough time to get 100s on everything in your AP class or to grind in sports. Of course, academics are important, but if you also have a career in sports and you want to go somewhere with that, then it’s OK sometimes to give up academics to go practice a sport instead. It’s not always academics over sports, you just have to choose what’s more important to your future, well-being, and to what you want to do.
How do you mentally prepare yourself for school assignments and exams, in contrast to how you physically prepare yourself for sports?
I’d say they’re different in the way in which you do something. Obviously, for sports you have to practice, you have to do physical activities, and for school you have to focus and study. But they’re similar in the way that you have to want it. If you want to get a good grade on that test and you put in the work to do that, you will get a good grade on that test.
You just have to believe in yourself and your abilities to do that. If you want to improve your skills in a sport, you have to believe in your training, and the things that you do to get better will help you to get there. You can’t put half work in and then expect to get better; it must be something that you’re consistent with and dedicated to.
Word is you study at your track meets. Does studying help you take your mind off the competition while you’re there?
Definitely. For me, I stress a lot about races, worrying about what’s going to happen. Putting my mind on something that’s kind of difficult and challenging really helps me take my mind off it. It’s a benefit in both areas, because I’m getting in some studying, which is good for academics, and I’m also taking my mind off of everything that’s happening around.
What was your initial thought when you were nominated for Mr. JFK?
I was very excited. I didn’t fully expect to be nominated, so it was a very exciting moment, and I wanted to run my whole Mr. JFK campaign just based on humility. I went in with the mindset of, “I’m not the best here. I know that, and I’m just here to have fun and try to be a good person.” I posted a lot of things on my [Instagram] story about Mr. JFK. And with the speech that I gave during it [Mr. JFK], I wanted to show people that I’m not someone who’s stuck up or that I’m the best, but that I’m a humble person and am willing to admit some people are better than me sometimes, and that I’m OK with that.
How do you think you did, and do you think you could have done better?
Well, that’s an interesting question. Mr. JFK is all opinionated. There’s nothing written saying he did good, or he did badly, because it’s a performance. It’s not a test, there’s no score. So do I think I did good? I don’t know. What I will tell you is that I am happy with what I did. I am happy with my talent portion, and I am happy with my speech during the Q&A, even though a lot of people were laughing at me.
In terms of what I could have done better, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m not going to sit here and question myself, ‘What if I did this?’ or ‘What if I did that?’ ‘Would I have won?’. It’s not something that I constantly want to look back on or obsess over. My family, my friends and my girlfriend were proud of me, and I was proud of myself. So, I wouldn’t do anything else differently.
During Mr. JFK, you played “See You Again” by Tyler, the Creator. You’ve also shown a lot of love for his songs when you post on Instagram. Does his music change aspects of your life or inspire you?
100%. A little background: Tyler, The Creator made “See You Again” to show people he was talented and that he could sing, because no one took him seriously. People kind of just saw Tyler, The Creator as comedic relief who couldn’t actually make good, thoughtful music. And then he released “See You Again” and it got on the radio. People started taking him seriously and realized he’s actually a talented artist. So that’s kind of what I wanted to do. I picked “See You Again” because I know I act weird a lot, but I wanted to show people that besides all of that, I’m actually talented and that I can actually do something that requires a lot of effort and do something that’s actually very cool.
So, do you think that Tyler is a version of you in a way?
Yeah, I would say so. Because Tyler acts goofy all the time and I think people would say that I do too. He’s also very talented and I think I’m very smart and talented too.
You are going to TCNJ to become a math teacher. Who/What inspires you to go onto this path the most?
Definitely Mr. McGroarty. He was my calculus III teacher. From Mr. McGroarty, I learned that to be a good teacher, you just have to put the students before you. There are a lot of teachers out there that kind of put their needs and wants before the students. They would say, “Oh I’m tired today, whatever I’m just going to do this,” but Mr. McGroarty was never like that.
If me and my classmates were struggling, he would make a study guide and post it that night to help us with the test. And that’s what really inspired me. Everyone loved and learned from him. He makes me want to be a math teacher because he was so good at it and he really laid down the blueprint for me of what it takes to be not only a good teacher, but a good person.
You carry yourself as a very spontaneous, outgoing person. Do you think you’ll remain the same Nick we see today, or will your personality or outlook change?
No, I’m not going to change. I believe that part of me to be my core character traits and that’s something I never want to change about me. Even when I’m an old man, I hope that I’m out there doing crazy stuff and getting in trouble. Because that’s what keeps life interesting.
