Terrific Teens: Alturas Prep junior an aspiring crisis negotiator with love for music, history

IDAHO FALLS — Geordie Van Witbeck is simply a inferior astatine Alturas Preparatory Academy. His dream is to activity arsenic a situation negotiator, helping others retired of trying situations.

Van Witbeck is simply a personnel of Alturas’ International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB Diploma) Programme. The IB program, he said, provides him pinch an acquisition opportunity he knows astir group will ne'er have, and he wants to return afloat advantage of it.

Asked if location are immoderate circumstantial courses he focuses connected arsenic portion of nan program, Van Witbeck said: “There are definite classes that I activity harder connected than others, but that’s owed to interest.”

A self-described “musical person,” Van Witbeck said euphony is 1 of those courses.

“Everyday, I person this small power position successful my caput conscionable playing my favourite tunes,” he told EastIdahoNews.com.

Van Witbeck plays aggregate instruments, astir precocious taking up nan drums, pinch an accent connected classical rock. He named nan bands AC/DC, Guns ‘n Roses and Metallica, but said nan set Led Zeppelin “holds a typical spot successful my heart.”

Every trimester, he said, nan people holds a performance for nan parents of nan students. Last year, Van Witbeck learned Led Zeppelin’s ‘Black Dog’ connected nan guitar successful conscionable a period and played it astatine nan concert.

History is different people successful which Van Witbeck takes typical liking and says he spends a batch of clip pondering connected nan intersection of history and euphony — Jimi Hendrix’s power connected nan euphony world, really moving to nan U.S. affected The Beatles’ sound, and nan taste impacts connected euphony successful nan 70s and 80s.

Asked if he sees euphony arsenic a imaginable profession path, Van Witbeck said:

“I honestly don’t deliberation I’m knowledgeable capable for that — and I don’t deliberation I’ll really ever be. I do euphony much arsenic a hobby than anything.”

But, he added, euphony is thing he will support adjacent and could spot a early successful which he redirects from his existent plans to subordinate a band.

That existent plan? “I really want to beryllium a situation negotiator for nan FBI, moreover though I don’t really look for illustration that benignant of guy.”

Van Witbeck said he took a MasterClass course, offered by erstwhile FBI situation negotiator Chris Voss, and has dreamed of pursuing that arsenic a profession since.

“When I vanished (the course), it was astir 50 minutes, I conscionable sat location for a infinitesimal and I was like, ‘Whoa, I technically person each nan devices to prevention a personification successful a hostage situation aliases termination crisis,'” he said.

He explained that nan occupation is each astir nan due operation of basal devices — likening it to nan rudimentary operation of circles and squares that make nan Mona Lisa.

“It’s nan powerfulness of words,” Van Witbeck. … “There’s thing truthful magical astir getting group to do things by conscionable saying a mates words.”

While he has an thought of what he wants to do down nan road, Van Witbeck’s plans for nan years that travel precocious schoolhouse are little clear. He has not yet decided connected a college, but expects his hunt will intensify this summer.