Elliot Ortiz is a 16 year old junior at SBHS. He’s been attending since freshman year and loves reading, writing, and learning about science. He’s passionate about animals and his favorite is the Virginia Opossum because they are they only marsupial north of Mexico. Despite this, the junior does not want to be a veterinarian, instead he’d rather become a forensic pathologist to determine a cause of death and help solve homicides. 

Outside of class, Ortiz is president of the Gay Straight Alliance and a member of the cabinet of Aquaponics Club. He also volunteers in the media center in his free time. At home he spends most of his time learning about reptiles and invertebrates as well as caring for his pets. He has a leopard gecko and two dogs and so far his goals this year are to get a hognose snake and a tarantula. 

In the future, the junior aspires to be like Barack Obama, namely wealthy and respected,  and wants to live on a large plot of land with a lot of pets. Even though Ortiz loves insects and arachnids, he is terrified of palmetto bugs saying, 

“Once I saw a huge one in my moms bathroom when I was like 8 and I’m still scared to go in there to this day.”