Onetime North Seattle College student Aaron Small is quickly getting accustomed to a new body of water — the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne. Ordinarily you’d find him and his paddling partner, Jonas Ecker, on Seattle’s Green Lake.

Both are at the Paris Olympics, representing the U.S. in the two-man 500m Canoe Sprint. With a seventh-place finish in the 2022 World Championships, and relentless training in the time since, the two are strong medal contenders.

Small, newly 23, grew up in Seattle, took part in Scouting (rising to Eagle Scout), and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He then enrolled at the University of Washington, where he’ll soon complete his bachelor’s degree in oceanography.

In his apparently abundant free time, he’s also completed the demanding EMT/Paramedic certificate program at North Seattle College. And the Outdoor Emergency Care certification of the National Ski Patrol. And — oh yeah — trained relentlessly at Green Lake with his friend Ecker, growing stronger with every stroke.

Small has achieved all this while also being hard of hearing, a condition diagnosed in Kindergarten.

“Before that, I went around asking ‘What?’ many times, and people having to repeat themselves,” he recalls. “It was frustrating for me and frustrating for them. Getting hearing aids did help a lot.

“There were some bullying instances because kids didn’t really understand why I was wearing these ‘weird, alien’ devices in my ears. If I could talk to my younger self, I’d try to encourage him and say that hearing aids are no different than glasses. They’re just helping everyone stay connected. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Small also notes that, at times, not hearing can be a blessing. “When I’m paddling, it’s kind of my therapy for the day, and I find it quite meditative. Sometimes I even take out my hearing aids and tune out for a little bit.”

When they’re in, he feels lucky to have a new generation of hearing aids that are waterproof. They’re among the things he talks about in his growing role as an athlete-ambassador among people who are deaf and hard of hearing, at times communicating through American Sign Language (his college minor).

Small and Ecker’s Olympic races take place next week.

This article first appeared in Seattle Colleges Foundation’s “The College Minute” newsletter.

(Photo courtesy Everett Herald/Cathy Kasperbauer)