While most seniors are currently focusing on getting all their college applications in and keeping their grades up until they get in, senior Tommy Lewis is focusing on getting ready for the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016. Lewis will be competing in the Olympics’ first-ever ballroom dancing event as a part of the American teen team.

Lewis has been doing ballroom since he was 10 years old, following in the footsteps of his mother, but he took it to a whole other level and started competing internationally.

“I have a partner that lives in Maryland,” Lewis said. “I go there one weekend every month and practice.”

Lewis loves to dance because it allows him to tell a story, like he does with acting, but without having to say anything.

“It’s cheesy, but you can create a motion and show a story to the people watching,” Lewis said.

Recently, Lewis and his partner Alexis Garish won the United Country Western Dance Council’s Worlds competition and, as a result, the opportunity to go to the Olympics competing for the USA.

“The competition will be similar to every other competition I’ve done, but it’s going to be at an Olympic level,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be pretty regular, but I’m going to be in Brazil staying in the Olympic village, which I’m sure is amazing. I get to be on the inside of the Olympics rather than being just a spectator.”

Because ballroom dancing is brand-new to the Summer Olympics, 2016 in Rio will be a trial run. The event will not be broadcasted, and if it doesn’t receive a positive response, it could be cut from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Still, Lewis is excited and focusing hard on improving before the Olympics, which are only a year and a half away.

“Clearly, I hope I win,” Lewis said. “I hope I can be an Olympic gold medalist, that would be amazing, but I just want to put on a good performance.”