PLAINFIELD, Ind. – Looking back on his time in high school, Mason Naaman doesn’t feel like he wasted any of it.
“This life can really go by,” says the soon to be 2020 graduate. “You can’t let a day just go away.”
In the last four years at Plainfield High School, Naaman made it his mission to never “leave a day empty.”
His proudest moments were found on the basketball court, but his involvement didn’t stop there.
He is president of the National Honors Society, vice president of the Student Council, an ambassador for the school, and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership council. Those are just a few of his involvements at school.
Outside of school he serves at his church and volunteers to help veterans.
“You can really do anything with a smile on your face, and just the persistence to go out there and grab it. That’s what I tried to do.”
That decision may not have been easy all the time.
“Five years back I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes,” Naaman recalls. “I was a healthy kid playing basketball. A teenager is so active, and I was.”
In 7th grade he began to show early symptoms. A trip to the doctor revealed an alarming blood sugar level of 507.
“Right when the number was read my mom went to tears, and I looked at her and said, ‘Mom everything is going to be okay. We got this.'”
Now he gives himself three to five shots every day to keep his blood sugar regulated.
He describes the disease as tedious, but he refuses to allow it to control his life. In fact, in some ways he even finds the positive.
“It taught me that everybody can have a challenge, and my challenge is type 1 diabetes. Other people may face other things. No matter what the challenge—with the right mindset and with the right actions—you can overcome it.”
Not only would diabetes impact his outlook, but it also impacted his career path. Naaman hopes to pursue pediatrics.
Next year he begins that journey at Wabash College where he committed to playing basketball. And if you know Naaman, you can likely assume his involvement won’t stop there.
