Frontier High School senior Ethan Hartshorn is inducted as a member of the National Honor Society during a ceremony in February. (Photo provided by Ethan Hartshorn)

NEWPORT -Ethan Hartshorn is finishing up his senior year at Frontier High School with a 4.0 gpa and plans to attend The Ohio State University in the fall.

Hartshorn, 18, was born and raised in Newport with an older sister and two younger brothers. He said his family has three cats that he loves because he considers himself a cat person.

“There’s about a month-and-a-half left of school, and it’s a weird feeling because I partially want to graduate and go off to bigger and better things,” said Hartshorn. “But it also feels like it’s gone way too fast.”

Upon graduation in May, Hartshorn will be pursuing a major at OSU in civil engineering. To prepare for the career, he enrolled at Washington State College of Ohio his junior year.

“During my junior year, I took a lot of prerequisites but my senior year has been very engineering-focused,” he said.

Ethan Hartshorn in his football uniform as a homecoming king candidate during a Frontier High School game in October. (Photo provided by Ethan Hartshorn)

Hartshorn described the various mathematics and psychics courses he was taking as well as more specific classes like solid modeling and strength materials.

“These classes will definitely help me get a head start when I go off to a four-year college,” he said.

Full-time status at Washington State requires in-person classes a couple hours long for a few days during the week. Hartshorn said he enjoys taking those courses because he has more control over his schedule during the day.

Hartshorn will be attending OSU specifically for civil engineering but he said he has looked into other engineering majors like nuclear or aerospace.

“I’ve always had an interest in creating and building things, and I like reading,” he said. “Constructing and designing bridges, roadways, infrastructure and buildings has always been something that’s interested me.”

Ethan Hartshorn poses for a photo outside before a homecoming dance in October. (Photo provided by Ethan Hartshorn)

Hartshorn joked by saying he doesn’t particularly “enjoy” math but is very good at it. He said the reason he does like math is due to the set-in-stone rules and answers.

When applying to colleges, Hartshorn said he looked into programs at multiple universities spanning multiple states. Ultimately, he decided on OSU due to its distance and campus.

“It’s a beautiful campus, there’s lots of things to do, and the people there seem super friendly and welcoming,” he said. “I’m definitely excited to make new friends, experience more and further my education.”

Hartshorn has been very involved at Frontier over the years from sports to National Honor Society to FFA.

He said he joined the NHS in February and has worked on various community projects and volunteer opportunities through the organization.

A senior photo taken at Frontier High School of Ethan Hartshorn in February. (Photo provided by Ethan Hartshorn )

As part of his duties in the NHS, Hartshorn has been volunteering in his free time at the Humane Society. By the end of the semester, he also has to have worked on a community project.

“The project I’m currently working on is an organized river cleanup because there’s so much trash around this area and along the river,” he said. “It doesn’t look good, and it’s not healthy for anything living there.”

Hartshorn participated in FFA from sixth grade through his sophomore year, raising hogs and showing them at the Waterford Community Fair each year.

Through Frontier, Hartshorn has been involved in various sports over the years like football, basketball, baseball and track.

“I don’t care too much for sports, to be honest, but I like it for exercise and hanging out with my friends,” he said.

Frontier High School senior Ethan Hartshorn poses for a photo in his football jersey October. (Photo provided by Ethan Hartshorn)

Over the years, he tried out various events in track like throwing, long jump and hurdles. He said track was very enjoyable but it took a lot of practice to perfect the hurdle-jumping form.

Hartshorn has also been involved in a men’s basketball league at Paden City. He said he’s been playing in the league for a few months.

Hartshorn said one of the things he’s most proud of is getting a perfect score on the American History end-of-course exam his sophomore year and maintaining a 4.0 gpa his entire high school career.

“It comes a little bit more natural to me but I definitely did a lot of reading,” he said. “I like reading about topics and doing my own research.”

When Hartshorn isn’t studying for his engineering classes or practicing sports, he spends a lot of his time reading and researching history and engineering methods.

He said he’s excited for college because it will allow him the opportunity to continue researching more about his interests.

“I’ve always wanted to be more knowledgeable about things and the more knowledge I can have the better,” said Hartshorn. “I’m always willing to learn and listen.”

With his high school career coming to an end and summer just around the corner, Hartshorn has summer plans he’s looking forward to.

“I’m looking forward to graduating because I’ll get a break for a little bit, it’s summer, it’s nice weather, and I’ll be spending time with my friends before we all go off to college,” he said. “I’m also going to travel a little bit this summer to parts around Appalachia.”

He said he’ll be camping, hiking and fishing in Kentucky, Virginia, and southern West Virginia.

“I’m looking forward to a lot of things,” said Hartshorn.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com