Porter Cottrell is sophomore at Pleasant Valley. Although this is the only place he has ever lived, his life has been anything but boring.

Cottrell was born with three holes in his heart, a condition that typically requires a risky open heart surgery. However, in Cottrell’s case, the surgery was not necessary. “It was kind of miraculous. Right before I was supposed to have the surgery, the holes just closed up on their own. That’s really rare,” Cottrell explained.

Since then, Cottrell has been able to live a normal life. He participates in both basketball and track at school. During basketball season, he plays guard and center, and he does the 100 meter, the 200 meter and does the high jump for track. However, he is currently injured and unable to run track at this point in the season. Outside of school, Cottrell also enjoys fishing with his dad.

This past August, Cottrell also had the opportunity to go on the school trip to Peru. He was able to help out in a local school, an experience he said he will never forget. He said, “It was really fun and a cool experience. It was cool to meet all of the people and to see how they lived. A lot of them had close to nothing, but they were still happy with everything they did each day.”

When he is older, Cottrell plans to do something in the medical field, but he is not positive yet. He did consider orthodontics for a while though. “I have some relatives that are in the medical field, and I find it very interesting. I’ve always known I wanted to do something medical when I’m older,” he said.

Cottrell is a very kind individual who wants the best for others, made clear by his experiences helping children in Peru. However, he is also very funny and loves to laugh with his friends. Cottrell is definitely leaving his mark here at Pleasant Valley.