Multitasking between school, social life, a job, and a business, senior, Leonardo Muñoz does it all.

Munoz is one half the leadership team of a landscaping landscaping company he started with his dad when he was 13-year-old. 

“We started a business together. Since then, it’s been growing to the point where it needs more workers. We reached the point where my dad would not have another job to support our family,” Munoz said. 

Throughout the summer, Munoz works either with his father or in the warehouse. 

“Ever since I was young, I always enjoyed being outside and enjoyed working outside,” Munoz said. 

Somehow, he also finds the time to work at his second job in a warehouse in Batavia, IL.

“So over the past year, I started working at another job during school. I would use that to make money on the side of the company. During the winter, I didn’t have the opportunity to work outside because it was too cold and there was nothing really to do. So I got another job at a factory,” Munoz said.

At the warehouse he works 30 hours every week. Now, this 17-year-old is making bank.

“This helped me to in one year be able to buy a car, a Mercedes, which is very expensive, and gas. It took me a while to decide on which car I was gonna get, but once I saw this car, I just had a feeling that it was gonna be the car,” Munoz said.

Because he is a saver, he was able to purchase the car in cash (for $12,000).

His friends view him as a relaxed, fun-loving individual who knows how to put in the work.

“What i admire about Leo is that hes a cool guy,hes really easy to talk to , and hes a really hard working person and hes down for anything. He is a really cool guy. He’s really easy to talk to, and he’s a really hard-working person,” senior Marvin Garcia said. 

Just when life seemed to be passing by easily, Munoz had the worst experience of his life: a near-death encounter in downtown Chicago on Independence Day.

No, the Mercedes was not involved. 

“To celebrate [my birthday], we went to Chicago. We went to the city to see, like, other celebrations that were happening. We ran across some gang-affiliated members, and they ended up jumping us. And it all happened because my cousin’s girlfriend was there and  she got catcalled, and my cousin, you know, he didn’t like her getting catcalled,” Munoz said. 

A swarm of people – perhaps 15-20 – started punching Leo and his cousin. At some point, Munoz thought he was going to die,  and recalled lying on the sidewalk with eight muscular  men throwing kicks and punches at him. He could do very little but just eat their punches. 

Munoz remembers the blood stains all over his shoes and his hoodie. 

“What was the craziest part about that story was that we went to the police that day, running away from what had happened. And the police just said ‘keep pushing’. They didn’t care. They said, ‘you’re fine. You could just keep running,’” Munoz said.

So, that is what they did. Munoz, his cousin, and his girlfriend went looking for other police officers, hoping someone would help. 

“They took us out of the way to keep managing traffic from people getting by since it was Mexican Independence Day, until the people that were chasing us got caught up to us and we were fighting, fighting with us in front of the cops, and that’s when the cops stepped in to help us,” Munoz said. 

Munoz and his party went to the hospital afterwards to get checked, as did some of the other individuals involved. 

“And that was basically on my birthday,” Munoz said, recollecting having X-rays of his skull taken, and describing the night as “one to remember.”

Since then, Munoz has tried to focus on his studies and put the incident behind him.

“Leo has overcome many obstacles this year and I lowkey feel bad for my brudda brudda because he’s so chill and nice,” senior Anthony Hinojosa said.

“School has been going good. I mean, getting my grades up at the start of the semester due to getting jumped, I got unmotivated even to continue school, but I’ve been catching up,”Munoz said.

His plan after graduation is to enter trade school, and hopefully buy another car that he desires.