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Spartan of the Week: Hall Hupperts

Posted 04/21/2009 by Sam Stavish

Easy going and fun, Hall has passions as big as the Rocky Mountains!

hall_small1Ask anyone at TJ, and they’ll tell you that Senior Hall Hupperts is exciting and easy to get along with. Some may know her as the excellent Mr. TJ Emcee, while others know her best as the varsity girls’ swimming captain. Even to her closest friends, however, there is much more to Hall than meets the eye.

Hall was born and raised right here in beautiful Colorado, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love Colorado! We have everything,” Hall exclaimed. “Sure we might not have the ocean, but I usually end up getting sea sick anyways. But we have reservoirs and the amazing Rocky Mountains,” she added.

Hall’s strong passion for the outdoors started long ago, before she was even born. Her dad, Matt Hupperts, started a ski, bike, and board shop (The Bicycle Doctor/Edgeworks) here in Denver when he first moved to Colorado. “A lot of my love for nature starts with my family. I was the camping baby. My parents would throw me in the backpack, and we would go hiking and exploring. I think that is one of the reasons I like to camp and hike now,” said Hall.

Skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and camping are the activities Hall enjoys the most, but she is willing to try anything new, especially if there is a good old bag of gorp on hand. “I remember eating the trail mix as a kid. The gorp is always refreshing when you are on a nice hike, especially the delicious M&M’s.”

In the future, Hall hopes to stay in Colorado, and always desires for the environment to play an important role in her life. “I can never see see myself living in any other state than Colorado,” Hall said. “I feel like I might regret leaving Colorado if I ever did. I would love to have a cottage, preferably in the mountains, drinking hot cocoa everyday. That would be a dream come true!”

Although the outdoors are an extensive part of Hall’s life, she is hoping to one day follow her real dream of becoming a teacher in the special education field. “I do want to take a more educational turn in my career choice, and show all my teachers that their hard work has paid off. The one difference is that I will help those kids who have really earned and deserve the help, and that is the special education field,” said Hall

Hall’s interest in special education began sophomore year with the help of former TJ special education teacher, Jelynn Crane. Hall was enrolled as an assistant in one of the special education literature classes, and soon discovered her interest in helping these kids learn. “I wasn’t in Unified Sports, but I did take a literature class with the special education program sophomore year. Jelynn had different worksheets for very single kid. Jelynn would organize more personalized activities for every student, so the class would all be doing their own thing for every kid, so I would help and try and keep things organized,” stated Hall.

Now, as a senior, Hall has formed a commendable bond with many of the special education students, who she says are amazing. Hall finds the experience rewarding on many levels. “All of them are always showing improvement, and they all really care,” she said. “You can see that they all really care for one another and you discover that they all have really great hearts. The more time I spend with them, the more I get to learn about each kid. It is especially neat when you figure out each kid and can really relate with them on a personal level.”

Hall has focused on her schooling the last two years, but makes it part of her everyday schedule to routinely visit the literature classes, along with the other special education classes, and give a friendly “hello” to her friends. In the future, Hall hopes to be a full-time special education teacher. She has recently been accepted to the University of Northern Colorado at Lowery. The Lowery Campus is the education and teaching area, so Hall will have the opportunity to teach a class and get some necessary hands-on experience, and if all goes well, get paid at the same time.

Hall is friends with just about everyone, including many of the teachers. Her nominating teachers had a few compliments to give.

Special Education Teacher, and guide for Hall, Candace Grant, realized Hall’s potential several years ago. “I have known hall for two years now. Her personal goal and aspiration has always been to be a special education teacher. She has now met her goal. She has been accepted to the University of Northern Colorado at Lowery, and they have given her scholarships to attend there.”

Hall’s ceramics teacher, and another nominator, Catherine Salazar commented on Hall’s ability to stand her ground. “Since the first day I met Hall, she has always been respectful and displayed a positive attitude. One of her best qualities is her ability to stand up to her peers, which I know can be tough. She will stand up to her peers who are maybe being disrespectful and acting out of line. Hall always goes above and beyond in everything she does. Yeah, go Hall!”

When it comes down to it, Hall is trying to live life to its fullest, and take things slowly. “Live every second,” advises Hall. “You can’t live by minutes. Minutes are too long. Enjoy every second of life and try not to miss anything. It can be tough sometimes, and you have to tell yourself to slow down sometimes, and remember to enjoy every moment.”

Hall Hupperts: Conquering the world one mountain at a time.