Sophomore Landon Gantt is the most Oregonian of anyone in his family, moving from Texas — where his grandparents still live — at age two, he said. 

While he left Texas behind, his family’s roots couldn’t be gotten away from so easily, with his grandparents, and both his parents, being teachers. 

“I’m just surrounded by teachers, teachers, teachers,” he said. “I don’t really get a break from homework, but it’s really fun because my family has taught all different topics.”

Luckily, learning has always been at the front of his priorities — at least since he moved to his current neighborhood and grew up beside some people who didn’t prioritize academics. 

“I got to see how that kind of shaped [my neighbors] in the future, and I didn’t really want to be like that,” he said. “So it kind of shaped me to be a harder worker, rather than just slacking off.”

At the same time, finding those who don’t purely define him by his knowledge, or who his parents are, has been extremely important as he has grown up, he said. That’s part of why, when he decided to transfer from the International Baccalaureate School of Beaverton, he chose La Salle.   

“I’ve definitely made a lot of good friends here who see me for who I am,” he said. “Not as like a teacher’s son, but just for me, Landon, what I represent — just somebody who cares about others.” 

Another important factor, given that he has ADHD, was feeling that teachers would have the right resources to support him, something he was less confident about at other schools.

“Going back to my ADHD — I really like doing things with my hands,” he said. “For example, [with] woodworking, I’m always doing something. I’m either cutting something, I’m sanding something, I feel like I can kind of zone out during that and just let my hands do the work.”

In academics, it’s science that has his attention. 

“I really like the study of everything that kind of keeps the world going,” he said. “You need physics for daily life, you need chemistry for experiments, you need biology for animals, and so it just kind of helps keep stuff moving.”

Still, throughout his freshman and sophomore years, it was in the history hall that he found his favorite teacher, history teacher Mr. Michael Doran. 

“He never really gets angry, and he is the most organized person I have ever met,” he said. “I’m not the biggest fan of history, but Mr. Doran made me enjoy [it].”

Outside of academics, Gantt also participates in Speech & Debate, Band, and hopefully — even though this year it’s a cut sport — tennis. 

Each of these helped him grow in its own way. Speech & Debate helped him confront his fear of public speaking while enjoying the rush of personal victory. In Band, its value is a little more abstract, but just as important. 

“I can really express myself without having to use words that I can’t necessarily find,” he said. 

In the future, he hopes to harness his love of animals to perhaps become a zookeeper or veterinarian, he said, or alternatively pursue his other interests in the sea and the stars. 

But for now, he’s content with his animal companions at home. 

“I have two dogs at home that are the cutest guys ever. One of them is so fat and he’s the color of a Cheerio. We call him Cheerio Chunk,” he said.