Adrian Ray hopes Amarillo College will serve as a springboard to medical school

“I’m a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan,” he said on the day after the Patriots beat his Steelers to earn a berth in the world championship game. “I really don’t care who wins the Super Bowl, just so it’s not the Patriots.”

Not that Adrian has a great deal of spare time for televised sports; he’s a full-time student at AC, and his classes are challenging.

“My primary goal at AC is to keep my GPA up and to go on from here to get a bachelor’s degree in biology and matriculate to medical school,” he said.

A product of Tascosa High School, Adrian says he chose to attend AC due to its convenience and affordability.

“It’s very affordable and it’s close to my house,” he said. “And the teachers seem very intuitive and gung ho.”

Adrian says he has drawn inspiration most particularly from Dan Porter, his professor of biology.

“His (Porter’s) main concern is for you to be successful in all your classes, not just his,” Adrian said.

Despite such formidable present-day classes as Biology, STEM Algebra and Composition II, Adrian, a scuba-diving enthusiast with more than 50 dives, some to depths over 100 feet, is easily managing to keep his head above water.

“I’m just taking it one test at a time,” he said. “It’s all good.”