Way back in elementary school, Nicholas Roskilly did not know he would one day be a track record holder or a section leader in band. All he knew was that he really liked jumping. During gym class with Mr. Tilk, his teacher set up a challenge that involved leaping over obstacles – and Roskilly was good at it. So good, in fact, that it stuck with him.

That moment — simple, funny, and unforgettable — helped spark a love for athletics that still drives him today.

Roskilly is on the track and field team at West Chicago Community High School, where he spends multiple hours a week practicing and competing. Recently, he broke a 25-year record in the 4×200 relay. His strategies for accomplishing this feat consisted of motivation and effort.

“The difference between a star athlete and one who is just on the team is sort of how much effort you put into every practice. Not every practice is going to be hard, not everyone’s going to have the most benefits, but it’s whether or not you put in the effort all the time that is really when you see the results of that,” Roskilly said.

Additionally, on May 31, Roskilly competed at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state meet and placed fifth in the high jump. Although battling sickness at the time, Roskilly also achieved a new personal record at 6 feet, 6.25 inches. Only a few days later, he was awarded a certificate from the principal, Dr. Will Dwyer, for being the first person to place in a state meet since 2018.

In addition to athletics, Roskilly spends a lot of time in the band room. He is the lead alto saxophonist in the jazz band, a member of the Honors Wind Ensemble, and a section leader during marching band season.

“Nicholas leads by example, always striving for excellence while encouraging and uplifting those around him. His humility, perseverance, and passion make him not only an exceptional musician but also a respected and admired leader among his peers,” band director Marissa Janiszewski said.

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Photo by Ja'Nyah Villa

Roskilly leads the alto sax section in multiple ensembles.

Outside sports and music, Roskilly has a handful of unique hobbies — including a love for the immersive tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), which he plays regularly with a group of friends.

“At the beginning… I was debating about continuing doing D&D and being like, you know, ‘I don’t really know if I want to do this,’ but now I’m so glad I didn’t make the choice of leaving early because if I had, I wouldn’t be in the experience I am right now…D&D for me right now is really awesome because we’re all involved in the story: like, we’re all really digging deep into it,” Roskilly said.

Roskilly did not name the members of his party until after the interview, when he asked for them to be included because it felt “more like him.”

His D&D party includes juniors Hailey Teran, Nick Riconosciuto, Matthew Krysinski, and Kody Leano.

One of his favorite D&D memories comes from a recent campaign in which his character was given the opportunity to defeat a villain. He and his party members used objects around them to create a plan of attack.

“It [the ability] was something that was given to me halfway through the campaign. The DM (Dungeon Master: Matthew Krysinski) had told me ‘Hey, you get one shot, so make this one count.’ It was a spell that froze time. And so me and all the other people who were playing (Hailey, Nick, and Kody) got to participate and attack… we’re like, ‘Okay, I’ll go from here and I’ll do this and that,'” Roskilly said. “There was a photo of it. It was a giant table in which there was a humongous circle of objects that we used… for weapons and stuff. And everything was pointed at this one guy.”

Roskilly says that although his characters tend to be athletic or have a music-related ability, he does not believe that that connects to who he is as a person or his life outside the dungeon.

Apart from D&D, Roskilly also spends his free time creating 3D-printed objects.

When he was in middle school, he joined a club that had an engineering focus but also offered an abundance of creative opportunities. Not wanting to insert himself in a half-complete robotics project, he steered away from his peers and focused on learning how to 3D print. However, there were limits on what he was allowed to create, so Roskilly decided to buy his own printer and move outside those boundaries.

“Being able to make whatever crazy things I wanted was a really cool experience for me,” Roskilly said. “It’s still improving my daily life because I’m able to use that and focus on something else – it takes away from school, but I also am able to make really intricate things and designs that help with the engineering focus that I’m going for.”

Roskilly’s creativity and compassion have not gone unnoticed by those around him.

“He is honestly the nicest person I have ever met, and he cares about all the important people in his life. He almost always prioritizes others’ feelings over himself, to an honestly insane extent,” Leano said. “Above all, he always makes everyone’s day with his goofy antics in any conversation he joins.”

Accordingly, if described in three words, junior and close friend Ella Moffat says that Roskilly is “trustworthy,” “compassionate,” and “loyal.”

Behind his merit, however, lies a story of perseverance.

At only three years old, he was faced with something no child ever should: a cancer diagnosis. Roskilly recalls having to give up part of his childhood to stay healthy enough to fight off his illness. Despite facing such a grueling tribulation, he learned the value of life and gained motivation to make each day count.

With that mindset, he has been able to achieve things that not many others have had the opportunity to; however, Roskilly continues to set goals for himself. He hopes to break another school record this year –  and to keep building the skills he will take with him to college and beyond.

“Survival meant an opportunity to make something out of my life and to show the world what potential I have that would have been lost had something gone wrong,” Roskilly said.