Cody Gotchall is an accomplished student: a member of the National Honor Society, he graduated from Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon, where he spent four years participating on the school’s robotics team and developing strong interests in woodworking, science, math, and sculpture. He successfully maintained high grades while also balancing various work and volunteer responsibilities.

Cody Gotchall has recently been exploring his Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Autism. He has found that it is helpful to have specific directions to follow on assignments and projects. Because the TBI impairs his speech, it is harder for him to self-advocate. Mr. Gotchall requires time to formulate his thoughts and responses to questions. He is receiving help with his speech and social processing skills at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center (BIRC) in Portland, Oregon.

Currently, Cody Gotchall is studying at Linn Benton Community College, where he has taken courses in accounting, and engineering graphics as he works towards a career in mathematics and data analytics.

In his free time, Mr. Gotchall enjoys playing backgammon and cribbage. He has been playing cribbage since third grade and enjoys the continuity and pattern recognition involved in a match. His father originally taught him the game to help him find entertainment in math and he enjoys playing against his father and other relatives when he can.

Beyond that, Cody Gotchall’s penchant for finding patterns manifests in a fondness for Sudoku as well as picture and board puzzles. In addition to playing various puzzle games, Mr. Gotchall is an avid reader. He generally prefers reading fiction, and some of his favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and C.S. Lewis.