SANFORD — Ask Ethan Dube about his career path after high school and he’ll tell you, pretty specifically, where he’s headed.

“I want to become a thoracic surgeon,” he said in an interview one day last week.

So, while some students know they want to be a doctor someday, many haven’t honed on a specialty at 18 yearsold. But Dube has, and it’s because of a personal experience.

It was during his sophomore year that he first felt pressure on one side of his chest. Then, he passed out, in class. His lung had collapsed. As it turns out he had a condition called spontaneous pneumothorax ”“ spontaneous because it didn’t happen as a result of an injury. The problem is caused when an air-filled blister on the lung ruptures and releases air into the pleural space, according to Webmd.

According to the New York Times, spontaneous pneumothorax occurs most often in tall, thin, young people, a description that fits Ethan to a T.

A month later, it happened again, and then, a third time, and so he underwent surgery at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland to correct the problem.

These days, he’s fine, he says.

And like the remainder of his senior class, he is looking forward to graduation and the future.

Besides his classes, Dube has been active in Sanford High School Film Club with their production of “Howl,” a 23-minute film that won an award at the Sanford International Film Festival. He’s run cross country, took part in the mock trial program and is a member of the National Honor Society.

He’s a reader, a video game enthusiast and recently authored a novella called “Gray,” now available for sale online at: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/ethandube. It’s about a UFO and an alien virus and more.

Dube said he had fun writing the story that started as long term project for a creative writing class, which morphed into something more. And now, because it’s available for sale online, “people can actually read it,” he said.

Dube has been active in Key Club and Strategies for a Stronger Sanford throughout his high school career. This year, he’s president of both clubs.

Dube plans to be pre-med at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. He was accepted at a few colleges, he said, but chose the northern Maine school for a couple of reasons. Cost was one of them. He figures he’ll be in university a good many years in his quest to become a surgeon, and wanted to keep costs as low as possible.

He’s looking forward to becoming a surgeon, “being useful,” he calls it, and helping people.

Dube is the son of Dennis and Darcy Dube; he’s brother to Josiah, Elijah and Brenna. The family lives in Sanford.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.