Eyes will be deceived and minds will be blown away while watching Elias Schaefer in the midst of a magic trick. President of the KHS Magic Club, Schaefer is not only an expert in the field of illusion, but astonishment as well.

“Even though people don’t believe in it, I like knowing I can do an illusion, and just for a second, I can make them think that maybe it was magic,” Schaefer, senior, said.

Schaefer aspires to become a professional magician like his brother, the person who initially exposed him to magic.

“Magic is just who I am,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer specializes in close-up magic; illusions that are performed inches away from the eyes of the spectator.

“As far as good tricks go, even the simplest can be the most amazing,” Schaefer said. “It all depends on the amount of showmanship.”

Whether wielding his stack of playing cards or flipping a silver coin in the air, Schaefer is currently focused on entertaining his audience with close-up magic. He hopes to eventually begin awing them with stage illusions.

“I haven’t performed any paid shows yet, but I do magic for my friends when I’m in the mood to perform,” Schaefer said.

One of these moments was in 2009 on a bus bound for Chicago, carrying a crowd of a cappella choir students.

“While on the bus, I performed magic all the way there and back,” Schaefer said. “It wasn’t the best setting, but I loved it because of the people there. At the end of the trip, Mr. Canon even gave me an award just for performing.”

Inspired by his passion, Schaefer incorporated magic into his campaign for senior class president. During the weeks prior to the election, he decked the halls of KHS with posters of himself performing card tricks. In the end, Schaefer was elected senior vice president.

“I thought they would look cool, and apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so,” Schaefer said. “Magic is one of the bigger facets of my personality, and I thought that as much as you’re voting for what the person will do, you’re also voting for the person in general.”

During his campaign speech, Schaefer even engaged his audience in a magic trick that required the participation of the crowd. The peanut-gallery particapation helped Schafer win the votes he needed.

“It was a cool and creative idea for a class office speech,” Lee Anna Sanders, senior, said. “He really got the students involved by doing a magic trick.”

Schaefer’s magic tricks drove his fellow students to cast their votes for him, thus capturing the attention of those around him.

“Life isn’t as fun without magic,” Jill Meyer, Spanish teacher and Magic Club sponsor, said. “When he is doing a show or performing, sparks fly.”