BEREA, Ohio — Gabe Davis spends his morning as most 17-year-olds do. He gets up, gets on the bus, and heads off to school. His classes come with challenges, to be certain, but Gabe approaches those with a positive mindset and, of course, a smile.

As Gabe enters the classroom each day, that smile always finds its target.

"The first thing I hear is Gabe, 'Morning, Mrs. Banka!" his social studies teacher said. "And you just, you can't not light up."

Laurie Banka teaches at Albert Einstein Academy, where Gabe is enrolled. She's watched him overcome some of the difficulties in the classroom without losing any joy. Things might not always come easy at school for Gabe, but nothing in his life ever did.

"Gabe surprised us in life. We weren't sure what he would be capable of," said Summer Davis

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