Reece Nelson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and was raised in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, moving there just after his birth. He is the son of Rhett Van Nelson, a former NFL player turned successful real estate sales manager. He has two younger siblings: brother, Lincoln Nelson, and sister, Emery Nelson. Reece's interest in movie making began during elementary school in Highlands Ranch where, with his classmates, he would spend the school year cataloging the class' events in video and photos, using a borrowed digital camcorder and linear editing software to make a year-end highlight reel. Reece Nelson attended Mountain Ridge Middle School and Mountain Vista High School, both in Colorado. During school he is heavily involved with the drama department, lending his audiovisual skills where needed. In recent years, Reece has taken up more of a management position, gaining seniority over the film department with the graduation of his predecessor and mentor, Bryce Miller, whose devotion to film and audiovisual production has brought numerous accolades to the high school. Working with the film and drama departments of his school, Reece has worked with his classes, creating movies to compete in local film festivals, and even creating full-length movies with school premieres. During this time, Reece was allowed to be involved in Mountain Vista High Schools' production of Wish Week: a yearly tradition-filled production, working with a local brand, Be a Good Person, and national charity, Make a Wish Foundation, raising in 2022, a record-breaking $220,895 in just a single week, which was enough to grant 30 wishes for Colorado children. That year, Mountain Vista featured wish kid, Walter, and his wish to have a space experience, creating an entire space mission for him to complete in the school gymnasium. Over the past decade, Mountain Vista has cumulatively raised over $1.25M for Make-A-Wish Colorado, making them the largest contributing high school in the world.
