Junior Dolcine

Click here to read Junior’s collaborative piece on the Carolina Basketball Museum

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Underrated, Talented, Award-Winning: Junior.

By Edgar Walker

“I love surprising people.”

When Raoul Dolcine Jr. entered a video contest at Suncoast High School in Jupiter, Fla., he had no chance. “Junior” was an afterthought.

But Junior, 16, thrives when the odds are against him.

“I actually prefer being the underdog.”

The assignment for the contest was fairly complex. Students produced ethics-based video reports based on hypothetical disaster scenarios.

For their video, Junior and his team acted as suppliers for the International Space Station. When one of their crafts crashed in a rural town, the team had to respond.

The craft caused extreme amounts of damage to the small town’s infrastructure, and a lithium leak from the craft posed serious health threats. Elongated exposure to the lithium would put the townspeople at high risk of cancer.

Junior took on an executive role and had to make ethical decisions regarding the cleanup of the town while still adhering to a strict budget.

The contest was a school-wide affair, with the student body voting on the best videos using social media websites.

The winner of that competition? An unheralded 11th grader who came out of nowhere to defeat a senior-laden field.

Reflecting on his victory, Junior laughs and tries to conceal a grin.

“[The seniors] were kind of pissed,” he said, laughing. “I loved the looks on their faces.”

Junior—now a rising senior—entered his video in the statewide competition and brought second-place honors back to Suncoast.

“The Economics teacher started to notice me,” Junior said with a hint of nostalgia and pride. “I really impressed him.”

Yet again in his junior year, the award winner, surprised everyone—including himself. It all started with a scheduling mix-up, but ended with Junior finding his calling,

“I didn’t want to be in [the newspaper class], it was actually kind of random,” Junior said.

But something clicked for Junior in the class, and he now has aspirations of becoming a reporter, and eventually an editor.

“It all felt natural,” he said. “I love the way I can connect with people through writing, and I can be creative.”

And now, participating in the Chuck Stone Program at UNC-Chapel Hill, Junior feels confident that journalism is what he wants to pursue.

The youngest of four siblings, Junior still does not have a clear idea of what he wants in a college. However, with sister Vastille, 23, already having graduated from University of Florida, and Sophia, 21, and Greg, 18 both current collegians, Junior has picked up a vital piece of advice about selecting a school.

“My siblings tell me to go wherever I want and not to worry about the money. They say that I will always have some debt, and have some bills to pay.”

Junior says his primary career goal is to “inspire others” and he hopes to do so with his writing. A motivated worker with a chip on his shoulder, Junior certainly has the potential to achieve his goal.

And that would be no surprise.