KEARNEY — Romello Henry likes to explore different areas of creativity.
“I have a punk jacket with special stitching and patches,” said the 18-year-old Kearney High School grad. “I got a shirt a couple months ago that says, ‘I’d rather be quilting.’ I sewed it on the back of my jacket. That’s something really fun that I like to do.”
Henry makes jewelry that ties into another hobby — collecting bones.
“I was in a wildlife management class,” he said. “We found a raccoon skull and everybody was like, ‘Oh, I don’t want it.’ So I took it. I figured out how to clean it. That was the first part of my collection.”
After bleaching the skull, Henry began collecting dead flowers, other animal bones and dead bugs. He keeps many of those items on his Oddity Table at his home.
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His other interests include floriculture, fashion and music. Henry currently works at the floral department at HyVee.
Taking a large view of his interests, Henry ties together all his areas of interest as a spiritual quest, something that identifies him as a polymath.
“I know that sounds kinda cheesy, but all of these things tie in as to how I am as a person,” he said. “I’m kinda free-will and I tend to do things against the grain. I’m very individualistic. When people say they don’t want to do something I suggested because it’s weird, I want to find out why it’s weird. I want to know if it’s actually weird.”
Music stands out as a creative place for Henry.
“I’ve been around music my entire life,” he said. “I was in a band from sixth grade to the beginning of my senior year. My friends are in a punk band called 'Cut Throat Kids,' and I was there when they started it. I’m just really into local music. Whenever a show comes to town, I try to get to the gig if I can. It’s just really interesting to see how things operate outside and inside.”
One of his friends, rapper Troy Eaton, who performs under the name of Salvador Kubrick, influenced Henry.
“He’s doing things that I would like to do,” Henry said. “I want to get my name out there like that, but not really in a musical sense because I’m not exactly musically talented. It’s just awesome to see people do that and support them.”
When it came time to decide about college, Henry considered all of his interests and wanted to decide how they came together.
“One of the things for me in life is figuring out a path and thinking about the future,” he said. “Being a senior and thinking about college, it was really hard to pick one path. So I’ve dabbled in everything and went for the things that felt right. The things that feel right aren’t going to last forever so I try to find the things that might last, like bones.”
He settled on studying wildlife management. Although the University of Nebraska – Lincoln accepted his application, finances didn’t work out for Henry. He decided to take classes at Central Community College because it’s more “cost friendly.”
Growing up in Kearney gave Henry opportunities to explore many different areas of interest.
“Living in a town that’s not too small and not too big is very good for developing as a person,” he said. “If you’re in a clique or something that involves a couple people and it’s not really the thing for you, you can go and find another group of people or another thing that will fit you better. You don’t have to be stuck to one thing. And I really like that.”
Looking back on his academic career, Henry has some advice for his younger classmates: Ignore your limits.
“One thing that really hurt me is that I limited myself a lot,” he said. “You’re not going to keep the same friends. You’re going to need to spread your wings a little bit. Know your self-worth and let other people come to you while you can also provide something to other people.”