Young local kid inspired by school employee to start a new hobby The receptionist at Hughes Elementary School in New Hartford inspired a student to start a new hobby while remote learning. Posted: Mar 15, 2021 6:35 PM Posted By: Violet Scibior Many young kids are remote learning and are stuck at home. But one young boy decided to pick up an activity that he has the perfect backyard for, bird watching. 11- year-old Luca Valent is in 5th grade and has a love for animals. Luca said, "So when I was little, I really loved dinosaurs and when I grew up I wanted to be a paleontologist. But then I kind of thought it over twice again. Then when I got older I realized that birds were really close to dinosaurs. I'm like hey that must be really cool."