��������

Kathryn O’Connor, an English teacher at Freeman High School, frequently likes to refer to her student Tristan Albrecht as an “old soul.”

Albrecht, 17, is mature for his age. The senior, who will attend Western Washington University next year, has already decided on his major – English with a literature focus. And he wants to be an English teacher.

“That’s something that we should have seen coming but we really didn’t,” said Nathan Albrecht, Tristan’s father. “We didn’t really identify that as something he would pursue or get his career in … it seemed like a year ago, he just figured it out … it’s like a light bulb went on for (my wife and me), like ‘Oh, that sounds perfect for you.’ ”