By Emmy Benton, Editor-in-Chief

Ethiopia may seem like a world away from the Outer Banks, but for freshman Abi Jastrzemski it isn’t as far as some may think. 

Abi was adopted by the Jastrzemski family from Ethiopia when he was 2 years old, but the idea spurred long before then. Abi’s mother, Julie, had wanted to adopt a child from Africa ever since she was a little girl. 

The family, living in Alaska at the time, was part of a program at their church with a sister church in Ethiopia. Church members could donate to the sister church and get to know the children they were supporting. 

“A family that we were close to, their little girl, all of her family members died and they decided to adopt her,” Julie said. “So we kind of went along the process with them.”

This process was a long and difficult one, but rewarding nonetheless. The Jastrzemskis first found out about Abi when he was 17 months old and he was formally adopted when he was two years and three months old. Abi went deaf while in the orphanage around the age of 1 as a result of a preventable sickness, meaning he would have had an even harder time being adopted were it not for the Jastrzemskis.

“If you talk to any of the Ethiopian people, he would have been thrown, which means he probably would have died,” Julie said. “It would be hard to find a family.”

The Jastrzemskis took on this challenge and feel stronger for it. They worked fast to get Abi his cochlear implants – just three months after they adopted him. They’ve had to learn how to raise a deaf child, all while taking care of their three biological children. 

“We’ve had to be thrown into the world of deafness and all that that entails, but it’s been a neat journey as well,” Julie said. “We’ve learned a lot and we’re obviously happy to have Abi as part of our family.” 

Abi is grateful for the life he has here, especially considering the life he probably would have had if he hadn’t been adopted.

“(My life) probably would have been bad. I probably wouldn’t have food or clothes or anything,” Abi said. 

His life on the Outer Banks is full of adventure. He doesn’t let his hearing impairment get in the way of playing sports and doing what he enjoys. His favorite sport, football, is the reason why he is in public school to start with.

“Abi, of course, I sent to school to play football because that’s his dream and we wanted to see what happens with that,” Julie said. “He’s had so many things go against him in life that I wanted him to experience his dream.”

Julie and her husband, Erik, started out homeschooling all of their children because they were paid to do so in Alaska. When they moved to North Carolina and saw that homeschooled children couldn’t participate in school sports, they began to work toward changing this. 

“North Carolina goes district by district as to whether they allow homeschooled kids to participate in sports, and our district is not allowing homeschooled children to participate in sports,” Julie said. 

Their request was ultimately denied, but Julie hopes to keep working toward her goal. In the meantime, Abi’s time on the JV football team, playing mostly wide receiver and running back, has been enjoyable for him.

“Football is really fun. I like playing for the team,” Abi said. “I love a lot of my teammates. They’re fun. I joke around with them.”

Abi’s teammates have seen first-hand his kind nature and are influenced by his positive outlook on life. 

“He’s a good inspiration. He’s always in an uplifting mood and encourages others,” junior Dillon Hoggard said. 

Senior Andy Cottrell echoed similar sentiments, explaining how Abi brings positive energy to the team. 

“I love Abi: He’s super friendly, super charismatic,” Cottrell said. “He always lightens the mood, he always greets everybody nicely, has good sportsmanship.”

Because of his cochlear implants, Abi has to have a specially-made helmet with strong magnets to keep his implants in place. 

Aside from football, Abi spends much of his time playing other sports and being outdoors. This comes naturally, as the rest of his family is very active, even running an action sports camp on the Outer Banks called Camp Radiant. Abi helps operate the camp and enjoys the experience assisting with the skateboard and surf camps. 

“I help them get people to go to it and set up. I like seeing all of my friends there,” Abi said. 

Football continues to be his favorite sport, though, and his dream is to play in the NFL is for a reason bigger than himself.

“I want to go to the NFL and play for the Buffalo Bills,” Abi said. “Hopefully I can make some money and give it to kids in need.” 

Senior Emmy Benton can be reached at 23bentonem58@daretolearn.org.