Ten minutes into first period AP Literature with Mrs. Ramirez, Hart senior Hector Dominguez is nowhere to be found. The track star, philosopher, chef de cuisine is still at home, attempting to combat the sleepiness, and is armed only with a steaming hot cup of joe.

After excessively blinking his watery, somewhat sleep deprived eyes, the senior wins his battle with fatigue and finally arrives at school, ready and eager to learn.

“And then [school’s] pretty much a blur,” said Dominguez.

At Hart, Dominguez has never shied away from participation. He’s been involved with Renaissance Man Club, Chemistry Club, Bad Movie Club, the elusive Poker “Club” and even played a key role in the fruition of Hart’s mural, having spent hours upon hours designing, painting and tweaking the piece.

In addition to being an artist, Dominguez is also an athlete on Hart’s Varsity track team and has been since his sophomore year. Dominguez is a former pole vaulter but currently competes in long jump and races the 400: just one lap around the track.

After track practices, if his energy levels are willing, he also enjoys cooking. Dominguez crafts all sorts of cuisine, but is currently perfecting two classics: the grilled cheese and chicken soup (separately– not paired together, of course).

“You have to go deep into your ingredients… It’s not so much the tricks and stuff: the ingredients are everything,” Dominguez said.

But for him, cooking is much deeper than the simplicity and comfort of grilled cheese and chicken soup.

“I have a hard time being consistent with things. It’s easy to start new projects and not follow through, but cooking is a [skill] where I’ve been consistent,” Dominguez said.

After graduation, he hopes to go on a road trip to visit the Four Corners monument which borders Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico and host dinner parties for his friends. As of currently, Dominguez’s prospective school is UC Riverside, where he plans to major in philosophy.

Twenty years from now, he doesn’t know where he’ll be or what he’ll be doing. Maybe the polymath will be a chef. Perhaps a philosopher. Maybe he’ll escape it all and spend the rest of his life playing poker. Only time will tell.

“I’m feeling like I’m gonna go outside of history,” Dominguez said.