Murray NEB.-With a school the size of Conestoga Jr/Sr High, it’s easy to become familiar with your fellow classmates and peers. While most believe that they know the people that they spend over six years of their life with, many more don’t truly know what their classmates are like outside of school.

Though many things can be assumed about who someone is or how someone acts, not all things should be left up to general assumptions. The truth is, there’s a lot more to the people in this school than anyone could ever know.

From boasty collections to wiz-kid talents, the students of Conestoga are ready to be heard.

Freshman John McConnell is one of those hidden gems. McConnell sports a hefty collection of PEZ dispensers, a manual candy dispenser that features a character atop its candy-filled clip.

“It kind of started as a joke”, says a chuckling McConnell. “I always liked PEZ. It’s candy, every kid loves candy, and a toy, so that’s really awesome for a kid.”

Though John says the collection started as a mere joke, he admits that the collection may have slipped out of his intention.

“I had like seven or eight of these things and I was like ‘haha I can start a collection’”, says McConnell. “And then I actually started a collection… Now I have 350.”

As McConnel’s collection stands as an impressive feat, other students offer extraordinary qualities as well. Eighth grader Kylee Plowman is a wiz with a Rubik’s cube, and oh yeah, she’s colorblind.

“I’ve been color blind my whole life,” Plowman said. Though having such an impairment to her vision, it hasn’t stopped her from doing what truly interests her.

“My sister brought one (a Rubik’s cube) home in the third grade. She had one and I just wanted to see what it was like,” states a confident Plowman.

Her talents and interests in Rubik’s cube have carried her to this very day, where she can solve a Rubik’s cube in just under a minute.

While McConnell and Plowman may not have had their talents and hobbies expressed to the world before, there’s no doubt that their journeys have taken them to this moment of recognition. One shuffle or piece of candy at a time.