Fifth grader Kevin Moore is one of five siblings. He has a younger brother, Brady, in first grade, and an older sister, Abigail, a seventh grader at Meridian. He also has a stepsister named Kaylee, though she lives in another town, and another brother who passed away as a baby. “He would be 13 now,” Kevin explained quietly. The loss is part of his story, but so are the siblings who surround him daily, giving him a sense of connection and responsibility.

His family has known hardship. A few years ago, their house burned down near the four-way stop outside of town. After that, Kevin attended Egyptian schools for a while before enrolling at Meridian in third grade. He’s been here ever since, working hard in the classroom and finding his place.

Math is his favorite subject, thanks in part to his teacher, Ms. Brown. He’s especially proud of a recent test where he earned a perfect score on decimals. “I got 50 out of 50,” he said, his eyes lighting up at the memory. Social studies is another subject he enjoys, while reading falls a little lower on his list. Still, he doesn’t complain about the work. School, for him, is a chance to learn and to be with teachers who care. “The teachers teach pretty good,” he said with a shrug that almost sounded like a compliment.

Outside of academics, Kevin is like most fifth graders—he loves sports and being outdoors. He’s played baseball, basketball, and even a little football, though basketball remains his favorite. “I want to play on the school team this year,” he said. He’s also handy with a lawn mower, weed eater, or leaf blower, and he enjoys helping his grandmother with chores around her house.

His hobbies extend beyond the yard. Kevin likes video games—titles like Call of Duty, Minecraft, and even Grand Theft Auto. He also enjoys target practice with BB and pellet guns, shooting at cans and bottles lined up in the yard. “I like all the good things outside,” he said, summing up his mix of activities in one neat phrase.

Kevin’s values show in the way he talks about life. When asked what makes someone a good person, he didn’t hesitate. “If you don’t bully people just to bully,” he said. “And if you help people out, that’s a good thing.” He lives by that standard himself, pitching in where he can, especially for family. His thoughts about leadership stretch even further. “If I were the boss of the world,” he mused, “I’d probably not do as much tax. And I’d help out people—like homeless people—by giving them a place to stay, food, and water. And I’d create more sports.”

That vision of helping others speaks to the kind of future Kevin hopes to influence. He is only 11, but already he is thinking about how life could be better for people who struggle, much like his own family has at times. His sense of justice and fairness seems to come naturally, shaped by his experiences and the resilience he’s had to build.

At Meridian, Kevin is learning how to work with others in ways that will serve him well as he grows older. In his first-period class with Ms. C, he and his classmates are working on a project about U.S. states. Group work, he says, is better than working alone. “If there’s something I don’t understand that they do, or something they don’t understand that I do, we help each other.” It’s a simple statement, but it shows how he already understands that people are stronger when they share knowledge.

Life still has space for small joys. Kevin loves Dr. Pepper, tiny tacos, and pecan pie with ice cream—cookies and cream, if he gets to choose. He spends weekends watching football with his grandpa, and he dreams about the sports he’ll play in years to come.

Kevin Moore’s story is not just about loss or hardship. It’s about resilience, curiosity, and the hope of making a difference. He is a boy who enjoys mowing the yard and shooting cans, who values kindness over cruelty, who dreams of a world where no one is left without shelter or food. At just 11 years old, he is already imagining a future bigger than himself.

And maybe that’s what makes his story so powerful. Kevin isn’t waiting for the world to hand him something better—he’s already working, dreaming, and planning for the day he can help shape it himself.