Spring break is a time for many students to relax and take a break from learning new material. However, freshman Clayton Tilley is different in that he spent his break learning about history while on his trip to London, England.

On the trip, Tilley visited various museums and historical landmarks such as Stonehenge, the Royal Observatory and the National History Museum.

According to Tilley, his favorite place that he visited was Stonehenge because “it’s one of the ancient wonders,” and it is cool to “see everything in person.”

Tilley has had a lot of experience traveling since he was only seven months old when he made his first trip to Germany, Austria, Belgium and France with his family.

He has learned that traveling teaches valuable lessons.

“You get the most experience and learning from it [traveling]. You learn more than you learn in the classroom because it’s hands-on,” Tilley said.

In London, he also spent time watching and practicing his favorite sports–soccer, cross country and track–by attending multiple soccer games and going on runs around town.

At De Soto High School, Tilley participates in soccer, cross country and track.

Since this is his first year in high school track, he has some mixed emotions about the season.

“I’m actually really excited and nervous at the same time because I’m coming off of an injury,” Tilley explained.

This past soccer and cross country season Tilley injured his tibia from, what doctors assume, overuse. The injury caused Tilley to be in a cast for one month and then complete physical therapy for another four months.

“[coming off of an injury] You don’t want to hurt yourself but you also want to get back. I want to go straight back into it,” Tilley said.

Tilley has been slowly increasing his running alongside his physical therapy in order to prepare for the mile and 800-meter run in track.

There are many aspects about track that make it Tilley’s favorite sport to compete in.

“I really love how track is all up to you, like if you fail then that’s your fault. I just like the people and the whole atmosphere of it,” Tilley commented.

Though Tilley is only a freshman, his long-term goal is to qualify for State throughout his time at DHS.

This track season, Tilley is “looking forward to PRing.”