Carter Hanson has always seen academics as a way to prove himself — an area where he can excel.
But where that drive has funneled him has as much to do with compassion as competition.
Hanson, who will graduate from Senior High on Sunday, plans to become a doctor after studying at the University of Washington. He's already had significant exposure to the medical world. Hanson was born with a heart condition and has had three open heart surgeries.
“His drive to be in the medical field is just so closely related to how he wants to give back to the medical field that he’s been involved in,” said Senior High English teacher Erica Hartman.
That's not to say that Hanson always talks about it. He views his heart condition as an unavoidable part of his identity, but alongside other traits. Hartman, who taught Hanson in a college-level writing course, was unaware of the condition earlier this school year.
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"It's something that I can't really fully disassociate myself from, as much as I try to," Hanson said. "I hope that the way people perceive me is not my heart first."
More likely, they'll run across Hanson studying for Advanced Placement chemistry, playing string bass in the school orchestra, competing for Senior's academic team, or maybe just playing video games with friends.
There have been some hurdles. Most contact sports have been a no-go for Hanson, and activities like soccer fell to the wayside as he got older. His family always worried about him having to be held back a year if he needed a heart surgery during the school year.
"Athletics were never my thing, but I was able to make academics a way for me to stand out," he said.
'Healthy and here'
Writing wasn't always one of those subjects. Hanson's wheelhouse is math and science, and he found himself in unfamiliar territory in Hartman's class with college-level writing.
Hartman helped him academically, but what he mentions first is her ability to connect with students on a personal level.
“He came in and admitted that he didn’t know what he was getting into,” she said. “I think it's tough to acknowledge that we have personal weakness, but Carter had no problems admitting that 'I need help with this.'”
The intertwined relationship of academic work and social structure that Hanson found has been interrupted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has for students around the country.
Hanson was looking forward to senior milestones — a Chicago tour with the orchestra and a long-prepared-for instrument solo, a normal graduation ceremony, even just some in-classroom commiseration about senioritis.
He said there's a feeling of collective loss among students — that opportunities to say "this is your time to celebrate, you earned this," have been dampened.
Remote learning has worked all right for Hanson, though he prefers in-person instruction, and he got through at-home computer-based tests for college-credit courses. He's concerned about whether the pandemic will affect colleges in the fall.
But he believes that ultimately, he and his peers will have the chance to look back and be grateful for the opportunities they've already had.
"As much as it took from us, most of us are healthy and here," he said.
It's an attitude that didn't surprise Hartman one bit.
“He's just going to take what comes," she said, "And not just take the best out of it, but become better because of it.”