4-H horse expo among several activities keeping local teen busy

When Evan Stewart was a child, he was busy doing one thing.

"He would talk, talk, talk," said his mother, Alice Stewart.

As a 16-year-old, Evan remains busy. But he does plenty more than talk.

The junior at Grand Island Senior High likes to keep a lot on his plate. In one sense, it's because he has a lot of interests. In another sense, he said, he just doesn't know how to live any way else.

"He went through phases when he was little, always into something else," Alice said. "One week trains, then dinosaurs, then the big Harry Potter stage."

Today, his natural curiosity has translated into many full-fledged hobbies.

This week, Evan and his horse, Jasper, will compete in advanced western pleasure and advanced western horsemanship contests in the State 4-H Horse Exposition.

He's not nervous, he said. He works with Jasper two to three times a week, and has been involved with the 4-H horse program eight years and with the Nebraska Appaloosa Club 12 years.

His interest in horses is a large part of who he is, but it is only one part.

In last two years of high school, he has been involved in drama, choir, band and astrology club, he said.

"I think he just really likes to learn -- about everything," his mother said.

To Evan, the reason behind his busy and absorbed-in-everything lifestyle is simple.

"It's just the only thing I know," he said.

This summer, Evan has split his long, hot days between training for the State 4-H Horse Exposition and co-directing "Much Ado About Nothing," with the Central Nebraska High School Theatre Program.

With a cast of about 16 high school students, Evan led rehearsals three times a week for the last two months. Performances were Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Compared to the school year, summer vacation, Evan said, "isn't less busy in the slightest."

Evan said he has always felt comfortable onstage, and joining the high school drama club was a natural fit.

At senior high, he has also participated in two select choirs and concert and marching bands, playing the trumpet, French horn and mellophone. He has more than five years of piano under his belt and is now teaching himself to play the guitar.

Evan's true passion, however, shines in the dark: He is an active member of the school's astronomy club.

"Of all his phases when he was little, astronomy stuck," Alice said.

Evan said he would like to go to college for astronomy or astrophysics.

"And then maybe work for NASA at one point," he said.

His mother is unsure where Evan will end up.

"I think he will be an important person -- somewhere," she said. "He's got a lot to offer. He's a well-rounded person.”