Whiz Kid - Meet Samuel Riches

In pre-school he wanted to “drive around and be a blueberry picker who told people about Jesus.” His career aspirations later shifted to becoming a scientist and an astronaut. There was even a time when he wanted to have an elephant sanctuary.

One thing is certain, no matter what career path 11-year-old Samuel Riches chooses, it will be challenging. The bright young man, a fifth-grader at Blair Mill Elementary School, has been in the school’s talented and gifted program since third-grade. 

“I could have gotten in sooner,” said Samuel, whose favorite subjects are, not surprisingly, science and math. “The stuff that they teach in school is often too easy.”

His parents, Jonathan and Beth Riches, work to keep Samuel engaged in the learning process.

“Because we’re teachers, we give him extra things to do to challenge him,” Jonathan said.

And those challenges have already begun to pay off. Samuel recently took the  School and Abilities Test, which is administered by Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. The test is normally reserved for eighth-graders. Despite taking the test three years early, Samuel score in the 94th percentile in verbal and the 99th percentile in math, as compared to eighth-graders, according to his dad.

“He’s the only one in the district of all elementary schools who scored high enough to receive recognition,” Jonathan said, adding that Samuel was also a “top scorer” in the state too. 

When asked if the timed test was hard, the ever-modest Samuel responds, “not really.”

In addition to challenging himself in the classroom, Samuel said he enjoys playing clarinet in the band.

And, of course, learning about various aspects of science, as was the case with his earlier career goals, is a hobby that’s become a big part of his life. 

“There’s not one specific thing that I like about it. I just enjoy the idea of all of it,” Samuel said. “I enjoy adult science shows, like ‘Nova.’ "