Wilson Prieto
For many, Mr. Norristown is an opportunity to get out there and do something they would typically be hesitant to do, but for Wilson Prieto, it also presented an opportunity to use his passion for audio production.
“I mixed and mashed up my music tracks for my performance,” said Prieto. “ There’s [also] two others that I’ve helped make the complete soundtrack for, and it’s honestly been a pleasure doing so.”
Prieto wasn’t always interested in audio, but a scheduling mistake sophomore year would lead to him getting placed in a Video, Sound, and Music Production, which would turn out in his favor.
“It brings out a part of me that I wasn’t even aware I had,” he said. “The teachers know me really well, it’s a connection [that goes deeper than] just a student. It makes me feel included and valued and that helps me shine in a way that I haven’t been able to academically.”
And he hasn’t stopped creating ever since.
Outside of school, he makes “promotional posters whenever [his] friends are having a little house party or a birthday party,” which he considers a nice change of pace from what’s typically done in his classes. “It’s more fun to have an image with all the details rather than a paragraph with all the information spread throughout.”
As Prieto transitions from high school to college, he hopes to study a field related to graphic design at Drexel. “[I want to capture] life and put it into a booklet or website or something, just be able to capture that image and make it mine.”
Norristown’s diversity is one of the many aspects of his life that has inspired him to create and to be proud of who he is.
“I’ve learned so many amazing things from so many amazing people from different places and backgrounds,” he said. “It’s definitely made me have more pride in who I am and what I represent in this diverse city.”
Norristown has left an indelible impact on his life that can never be undone, no matter what he goes on to do or be. “I would rather be from here than any other school in the surrounding area,” Prieto said. “There’s so much life here and there’s so much opportunity for people that take advantage of it.”
Prieto has learned to embrace who he is by defining himself as distinctly Colombian. He hopes that by winning Mr. Norritown, he may also get to define himself as from Norristown.
“To win Mr. Norristown means I’d get to put Colombia on my back, I get to put South America as a whole [on my back], and I get to put Norristown on my back, so I get to rep all 3 of those with pride.”
Prieto hopes not only to represent Norristown but his birth nation Colombia with pride as he goes into the post-high school world. “I’m looking forward to just discovering the world, new people, new places.”