Upper Columbia Adademy’s Chad Aufderhar has his game on

Eighteen-year-old Chad Aufderhar will be graduating from Upper Columbia Academy this weekend. Chosen as a graduate of note by the school’s administration, Aufderhar was baffled by the honor. “I’m not amazing academically. I’m not musically talented or artistic. I could name other worthy students,” he said.

Quiet and humble, Aufderhar did not even consider mentioning his miraculous story of survival. Why? “Because,” he said, “I feel blessed, not like someone with a disability.” It’s not so noticeable, really: some scars, a slight limp and a weak right hand, and for a while no one knew.

During the school’s annual Week of Prayer, Aufderhar stood before a full house and told his story. He lightened up the serious nature of his past with humor, describing how he has responded to the questions: What is that scar on your head from? “Shark bite.” Why does your hand look retarded? “Because it is.”

Quite tall, some assume he plays basketball, and it has crossed his mind to ask extremely short people if they work for Santa, Willy Wonka or bake cookies in a tree. Once, as he was running to catch a plane, an elderly woman “loudly exclaimed, “He looks like an injured ostrich when he runs.”

But Aufderhar has overcome great obstacles. At 4 months old, it was discovered that his skull was not growing correctly and he had to undergo cranial reconstruction that entailed titanium plates and screws. At 1 year old, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Not expected to talk or walk, let alone run, Aufderhar does feel blessed, though at times it’s been hard. At the end of his inspiring speech, he admitted he has felt weak and broken but urged others to stop using weaknesses as an excuse. He opened his speech with lines from “All Star” (Smash Mouth), “Somebody once told me that the world is gonna roll me, I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed,” and wrapped it up with “Hey now, you’re an all star, get your game on, go play.”

“Just go play,” he said. “Running might be hard and painful and it’s not going to be easy, but if you fall down between first and second, God will be there to make sure you get home.” In his speech, he also refers to Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations,” and Proverbs 16:3: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

Aufderhar attended a church school in Wenatchee before moving to Kentucky, where he was home-schooled. He decided to leave home and attend the academy in Spangle in his junior year. “I didn’t really want to leave home, but I knew it would be good for me.” He has since bloomed, becoming senior class president.

He recommends the book “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris; though his future is undecided, he plans on continuing to do hard things while urging others to do the same. He’s considering bringing song (and probably funny stories) to the pulpit in front of a congregation.