Being in the Know with Austin Bodoh

It is possible that 10-year-old Austin Bodoh knows more about what is going on in the world than most average grownups.

Bodoh lives in where he just finished fourth grade at . Academically, he excels in all of his advanced level classes and takes part in many extracurricular activities, including basketball, soccer, Cub Scouts, good news club and chess club.

One of the most unique things about this whiz kid might be his nose for news, especially when it comes to following local weather.

“It’s important to be informed so we can prevent disease and disaster and starvation and get prepared for different kinds of weather," Bodoh said. “You know, it’s not smart to go outside and play when there’s a tornado going on;  you need to stay somewhere safe, away from windows."

Tech-savvy Bodoh gets most of his news sent directly to his iPod via applications that he has selected to give him the news that he wants.

“I like News 360 because it gives world news right when it happens; I get notifications of what’s going on,” Bodoh said.

Currently, the news he follows most regularly include natural disasters, the civil war in Egypt, the unrest in the Middle East and local gas prices.

Other news sources Bodoh subscribes to include Fox, 10 Mile News, Gas Buddy, and, of course, Patch.com.

“I like how it’s organized by date and that it gives you news on the specific area," he said. "It could be better if I could get more instant notifications of what is going on, other than that – it’s pretty good,” Bodoh said of Patch.

Bodoh’s favorite subject in school is science, where he is particularly fascinated by weather patterns.

“We learn about water cycles, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, tropical depressions, tropical storms… It’s interesting and fun to learn about how things work,” Bodoh said.

Bodoh’s ravenous quest for knowledge is also evident by his reading list, which includes the Bible and a whole host of other classics like Huckleberry Finn and Moby Dick.

“My dad makes me read the classics; I like them when it gets to the good parts, the first parts are sort of boring,” he said.

In addition to classical literature, Bodoh also enjoys comic books, action/adventure books like Star Wars, funny books like Captain Underpants, and Mad Libs.

“Ever since I brought (Mad Libs) home from school, it’s become like a family hobby,” Bodoh said.

Like most boys his age, he enjoys video games, going on hiking and swimming trips with his Cub Scout group and playing sports.

“Chess is my favorite sport out of all of them and I can pull off a move called the ‘four move finish,’” Bodoh said, who then went on to explain this strategy as a specific sequence of plays that involves a pawn a queen and a bishop in order to win the game.  

Bodoh also enjoys spending time with his family, which includes a couple of pets that he cares for.

 “We have a dog named Emma, a dog named Rocket, a cat named Gravy and a human named Alex – Wait, that’s my brother” said Bodoh, jokingly.

He also likes to give back to the community.

Through his church, , he and his family volunteer on a regular basis to help local charitable organizations like Lamb’s Fold and the local food pantry. The Bodoh Family also recently participated in Great Strides, to help raise money to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

 “It’s important to help people, the Bible says that we should be nice to each other to make other people feel better,” Bodoh said.