Senior Nicolas Acero finds himself drawn to the unknowns — the enormity of space, the minutia of the atom.

“I am very interested in the extremes, so either really big or really small, he said. “So like astronomy or nanoscience. I took astronomy last semester, and I think it is one of the most interesting class I have ever taken in my life. I have always been into math and science, and I think those classes are great, but astronomy was something new. I had never had any class like that, and now I am doing nanoscience which I also think is cool.”

Nick plans to pursue something related material science and nanotechnology in college.

“It’s something we don’t know much about,” Nick said. “We don’t know anything about really anything below the size of an atom itself. We don’t know what an electron looks like anything like that. We don’t even know what is going on with the sun on the other side of the spectrum. I think that’s just really interesting.”

But at a glance, one might not recognize Nick’s interest in the sciences. He wears Harker soccer gear, not Science Bowl T-shirts, and he frequents Davis Field more than Nichols. He started playing the sport at an early age, under the guidance of his father.

“My dad is from Spain, and you have got lot of soccer there,” he said. “Growing up, I think he just threw me in. Just like he did with my brother. With kids, you just get them to try things.  Really what happened is I was pretty good at it. So I kept going, and I ended up liking it a lot. Now it is something that me and my dad share a lot in common. We watch the games on the weekends and I guess we are just stuck with it.”

Nick has found his niche within the soccer community, his name mentioned in school meetings for various goals scored. The sport also helped him bond with his younger brother, Marcos Acero (9).

“It’s his first year of high school,” Nick said of Marcos. “It’s still kind of weird seeing him walk around the campus. We have always been really close. We have been doing everything together since we were little. One of my first memories was actually when he was born and we came home from the hospital, and I remember holding him. That was one of my first memories which I think is pretty neat. We do everything together. We look different, but we have a lot in common.”

Senior Vignesh Panchanatham called Nick a “good brother,” an steadfast person despite his propensity to joke around.

“He really cares what happens,” Vignesh said of Nick. “He knows what is going on in the JV games and how Marcos is going to feel afterwards, and he makes sure that he is going to be ok and feel included.”

Vignesh, a first-year senior soccer player, appreciated Nick’s support as both a friend and teammate.

“Whenever I came out in the morning to practice, he would sometimes be around helping me,” Vignesh said. “We went to [the] park a couple of times to kick the ball around. He basically taught me how to pass the ball again… It just shows how much he cares.”