Class of 2013 senior portrait: Spencer Hale

How Spencer Hale found the time to sit down with the Pilot for an interview remains a mystery. The Whitefish High School senior is involved in more extra-curricular activities than can be counted on two hands. He’s literally everywhere.

Student council, drama, band, DECA, cross-country, track, percussion ensemble, National Honors Society, Whitefish Shines, pep band — the list goes on.

“I guess I just like to stay busy,” Hale says, rather nonchalantly. “I’ve always liked being involved.”

He even finds time to sit through often drab school board meetings twice a month as the student body representative — a task that he is happy to do.

“Certain meetings with policy readings can get kind of boring, but I’ve enjoyed serving on it,” he said. “It was a really good experience. And I learned I don’t want to be involved with politics.”

He first got involved with drama in middle school when he played Charlie in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

“I fell in love with drama at that point,” he said.

In high school he took on more of a leadership role, serving this year as the Montana State Junior Thespian Board president. He played an integral part in helping the Whitefish drama club win the outstanding troupe award this year.

While carrying a full extra-curricular schedule, Hale also manages to hit the books hard and will graduate with a 4.0 grade point average. He plans to attend Montana Tech in Butte next fall where he will study pre-medical biology.

His goal is to one day practice as an endocrinologist — a doctor that specializes in the endocrine system and the secretion of hormones.

Hale suffers from Addison’s disease, a disorder where the adrenal glands don’t produce sufficient steroid hormones. Symptoms often include abdominal pain and weakness.

While he lives a normal life and manages his condition with medication, he hopes to one day offer patients a better understanding of these diseases as someone who has been through the diagnosis process.

“I guess what made me want to specialize in my own disease is that when I was diagnosed in sixth grade, my doctor would always ask how I feel,” Hale said. “I remember how hard it was to describe how I was feeling.”

Hale isn’t the least bit intimidated by the many years of medical school that lie ahead.

“The medical field is always where I’ve wanted to go, ever since first grade,” he said.

“It will be a long journey, but I’ve got a lot of passion for it.”

Outside of school, Hale enjoys hunting with his family, fly fishing, hiking and skiing.