Granville High School Class of 2022: Persevering through challenges

The Granville High School Class of 2022 will soon toss their caps and celebrate their graduation.

From advocating for others to enduring medical challenges, these students have left their mark on the village and Ohio.

The Advocate spoke to four Granville graduates about their high school experience and the next steps in their educational journeys.

Liz Hedger advocated for inclusivity

Liz Hedger did the work — inside and outside the pool — to make it to the Ohio High School Athletic Association's state swimming tournament in February.

It was a culmination of 10 years of swimming and two years of advocating for athletes like herself with a disability to be included during the district and state tournament. Liz has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.

Liz moved to Ohio in at the beginning of ninth grade from Indiana where athletes with disabilities could participate in the state tournament. But in Ohio that was not option. Liz and other athletes with disabilities continuously reached out to the OHSAA to make it a reality.

“I was seeing all my peers .... and friends go off and do these state competitions and districts and I was like ‘Well I have this awesome time cut’ and they’re like 'Oh that’s cool.' No one understands, but everyone understands when you’re like, 'I went to states,'" she said.

Thanks to her efforts, athletes with disabilities could participate in the district tournament during the 2019-20 school year. They had the opportunity to compete at the state tournament during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

But Liz isn't satisfied. Only a handful of athletes have participated each year and she wants the numbers to keep growing.

"The goal is to have it grow to the point where we can have time cuts and have it be really competitive because right now it’s just, like, you sign your name on a form and then you’re going to states," she said. "It should be as competitive as, you know, states is for other people."

Liz, who plays the trumpet in the GHS Marching Band, will head to Michigan State University in the fall where she intends to audition for the Spartan Marching Band. But she'll also watch the OHSAA to ensure opportunities for disabled swimmers — and disabled athletes in other sports — get the chance to compete at the highest level.

"When it came to the Paralympics, at its heart is that it’s not only just athletes that are overcoming physical or mental impairments, it’s just the fact that we are people that are … able to compete and look past it and not care," she said. "I think that’s what was really important for me."

Isaac Lowry headed to Brown University, medical school

A bachelor's degree is a common next step for many high school seniors. But Isaac Lowry is a step ahead.

Isaac has been accepted to Brown University's Program in Liberal Medical Education, an eight-year program that allows students to combine their undergraduate and medical school education at the university. Meaning Isaac has already been accepted to medical school.

The program, Isaac said, gives students a wide view of medicine rather than focusing strictly on the science to ensure they become compassionate doctors.

"The PLME program really focuses on, like, getting students exposed to writing and arts and things like that that you wouldn’t typically think would make like a good physicians," he said. "But they’ve actually like proven that, that’s very helpful for being like a good communicator and like being more empathetic to patients and colleagues in the future."

Isaac knows first-hand the qualities needed for a caring doctor. He has a genetic condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia, CAH, which limits hormone production in the adrenal glands. It has required multiple surgeries, shots and treatments.

He hasn't decided on a specialty yet, but he said he wants to be caring and compassionate toward his future patients while also having a deep understanding of the medicine. He also wants to treat patients but also still be involved with research to discover new treatment options.

He's already had a head start and his first patient has been himself.

"I’ve definitely done a lot of research on my own condition and, like, similar conditions and that’s like driven me to want to find new solutions for things," he said. "I’ve actually, found medications that my doctors hadn’t recommended."

He also wrote a research paper last summer through an online program for students that proposed a new treatment for CAH. He worked with a professor from the University of Notre Dame and the paper was published in a journal organized by the program.

"I’ve always really wanted to do, like, a deep-dive," Isaac said. "I decided that if I was going to focus on an area, it might as well be one that I’m, like, very passionate about."

Nia Jacques finds new home in Ohio

For Nia Jacques, this school year has been full of new experiences.

A native of Haiti, Nia was sent to live with family friends in Granville after Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021. Her bright spirit hasn't dimmed even though she is separated from her parents, who are still in Haiti, and two younger siblings, who are living with family in Florida.

Her parents chose for Nia to come to Ohio rather than stay in Florida like her siblings, so she could learn English, something she had never spoken until she arrived.

"I was scared that I couldn’t speak English with them but when I arrived, like, the words were coming out of my mouth without me knowing what I was saying," she said. "I got used to it."

She's embraced her experience in Granville by being involved with the set crew during school theatrical productions.

Nia plans to stay in Ohio and attend The College of Wooster where she'll study biochemistry.

Once done with college, Nia said she would like to be a medical researcher and hopes one day she can find a cure for disease.

Technology and video calls have made it possible to connect with family even though they are thousands of miles away. But her two siblings are headed to Granville for her graduation, something she's overjoyed about.

She said she is missing her family and the Haitian food, but overall she adapted well, and other can learn from her example.

"They should not give up at the first problem and try to work through to find a solution," she said.

Davidson Jump is the comeback kid

Davidson Jump is headed to Denison University this fall and will be a kicker on the football team. But his dream almost didn't happen.

After having a grand mal seizure near the end of eighth grade, a tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins called an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, was found in Davidson brain. He had it removed the summer before high school at Boston Children's Hospital during an extensive 30-hour surgery. Doctor's said Davidson, who was an offensive lineman, could not play football again.

He remembered standing in the student section during the first varsity football game that fall.

"I wanted to be out there so badly," he said.

During a pediatrician visit that winter, his doctor suggested he switch positions and become a kicker. Two days later a pair of soccer cleats appeared on his bed.

After approval from his doctors, Davidson practiced extensively and kicked his sophomore year, which he described as rocky. But once the COVID-19 pandemic started, he was able to finish his online classes early in the day and would spend hours at the high school field practicing.

"I was out there all the time. I hate to say it, but that really, really helped me develop as a player, spending time out there," Davidson said.

Joining the team again went the world, he said.

"My whole family’s from Granville. My dad played football at Granville, my uncles played football at Granville," he said. "It’s something I always wanted to do. Every kid wanted to play under the lights. It’s unbelieve."

Davidson has remained healthy since his surgery and has been seizure-free for four years. But after his surgery he had to relearn how to read, something he used to do every night before bed. While he can do it now, he can't read for long stretches and instead uses audio books. For tests, his school counselor will read the questions aloud to him. He also has a blind spot in the upper right portion of his vision.

Through it all, Davidson said, his parents have been a source of strength.

"There were a lot of tough conversations and bad days and they would never let my head go down," he said. "They were always there for me, they supported me."

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville High School Class of 2022: Persevering through challenges