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Boxell no stranger to adversity
Boxell pic
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Most high school seniors have imagined their dream job since they were little, but for some, like Turlock High senior Hannah Boxell, a future career is still a mystery.

She may not know what career path she will eventually take, but she does know that she will be attending Modesto Junior College in the fall and is hoping one class may spark a future passion.

Some career paths Boxell is looking into are child development, archaeology and the fine arts of drawing.

Boxell will be graduating from Turlock High on May 28 and then be moving onto her college adventures.

Uncertainty about the future is not new to Boxell, as she has spent a majority of her life with lingering questions about her birth mother and her native upbringing.

She was born deaf in Russia and was adopted about four and a half years later by an American couple. Diane and David Boxell have given her a lifetime of love since the day they called her their child.

Boxell quickly learned sign language and then learned how to talk when she was in kindergarten.

In junior high, Boxell took on the challenge of attending the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Mo. She lived in the dorms at the institute while learning how to speak and use language.

 “I feel good about overcoming all these obstacles,” she said. “I had lots of help.”

Even as a senior ready to graduate, she works every single day on her speech. Boxell got an implant about two years ago to help with her hearing. To help her in class, she has her teachers wear a microphone and it connects with her implant and hearing aids to better assist her in class.

Boxell is planning to use the same technique for her classes at MJC. She is also thinking about getting some help from someone who will sit next to her in class to type what the teacher is saying so she can read and hear what the professor is saying at the same time.  

She is looking forward to becoming a college student and hopes to transfer to a university after her experience at MJC.

In the mean time, she is hoping to find a job to keep her busy in her spare time and rumor has it that she might be the newest employee bagging your groceries at a local grocery store.

To contact Maegan Martens, e-mail mmartens@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2015.