Astronaut. A dream job for most kids, but eventually they lose interest. Kids grow up and reality sets in. “It’s just not practical,” they say. But Marcos Garcia, a senior at Texas High, never cared...

Pencil shavings and textbooks litter his desk as his fingers fly across the illuminated keyboard. Between the physics homework and his paper due at 10 p.m., most students would crack. The pressure would...