Born: White Plains, N.Y.

Family: Parents, Nancy and Charles, Tonganoxie; sisters Meghan, 22, and Cora, 11; and brother, Ben, 16.

Occupation: Assistant manager at Tonganoxie Water Park.

Dream job as a child: Professional athlete.

“I was too short to play basketball and not big enough for football so I was kind of stuck,” Lanz said.

Digging deeper: Lanza also tried out for tennis in high school at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, N.Y.

He played on an ultimate Frisbee team in high school and likes to play golf, as well as pick-up basketball games with his brother in Tonganoxie.

Lanza, 20, attends College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

His mother, now the Basehor police clerk, grew up in Basehor, but moved to the East Coast where she met Lanza’s father. The family moved back to the area, coming to Tonganoxie about three years ago from New York state. His father works for Reece and Nichols, while his siblings will start classes next month for another year in the Tonganoxie school district. His older sister is a recent graduate of Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

When Lanza attended Fordham Prep, he took the train in to the city.

He said Tonganoxie is an ideal spot to live — close to the city but not crowded.

“I’m a fan of living out here, of living out here in Kansas,” Lanza said.

Attending school in Massachusetts is a good mix between New York and Kansas, he said.

Lanza is majoring in psychology. He hopes to go into clinical psychology or be a therapist.

He said he also looked into computer science, but that it wasn’t “personal enough.” He likes to interact with individuals more.

“I’d like to integrate spirituality with that as well,” Lanza said.