Aleo began his college career this Fall. Like Bella, he elected to stay local. I already talked about his unsolicited scholarship, which made his attendance in a film program at this private university possible.

Alex has been interested in video production for years. He's watched hundreds, possibly thousands, of hours of videos on the subject. Before the pandemic, he was predominately a consumer of the material. But the pandemic elevated the need and import of video production, moving it to the forefront in a fast and serious way. As a result, he did a surprising and impressive amount of video work for his high school. But as he neared graduation and those commitments started to wane, he was burning fewer cycles than he had been on real stuff.

And then he announced he was going to make a short film. It turns out there was a film club at his high school, which he curiously was not part of, but they advertised a year-end event where they would showcase all the films they had made over the year. They welcomed others to submit works. I believe Alex was the only one to take them up on that offer, and it is possible they later regretted sharing the stage, given the degree to which Alex and his collaborator stole it. Given the unprecedented nature of this action, everyone, Marty and I included, was left a bit speechless at what was unveiled in that high school auditorium--subdued excellence, which is how Aleo himself might be described by some.

Fast forward to college. Only a little is expected of first-year students in film programs, where the older kids have the reps and bruises of a creative education. Students were invited to share any past work a few weeks into the term. Alex provided a link to his short film. People knew his name overnight, and within weeks he was invited by juniors and seniors to participate in their projects. What a rich lesson in the power of competence and productivity.

I asked Alex if he was intimidated by these situations he suddenly found himself in. He casually dismissed it with an easy "Nah." I found it hard to believe, mostly because I would have been intimidated if I had found myself in similar waters at his age. But I got my true answer when Alex agreed to help an older group of students on a film-jam project over the weekend. This is where students have 48 hours to produce a short film, end to end. Alex would help with some of the set work, like lighting and sound. Then a few hours before he arrived, the lead called to say a few people couldn't make it and asked if Alex could be one of the actors instead. Sure was his reply. And not only was he one of the actors, he played the lead.

And in case that wasn't enough evidence of Aleo's fearless entry into his college years, he and his girlfriend planned and paid for a trip to New York City on his fall break. And if you still need convincing, he has begun making plans for a semester abroad next year, again fully unprompted by Marty or me.

Marty and I never worried about Alex. But we also never envisioned him with this sort of aggressive initiative toward new experiences. We are both eager to see where his talents and curiosity take him.