Twenty-four graduates from Mancos High School will walk across the stage Sunday, May 17 for their high school diplomas.<\/p>\n
For many, the journey has been long and difficult.<\/p>\n
Courtney Colyer is this year\u2019s valedictorian with a GPA of 4.19.<\/p>\n
The race to the top was close. Colyer was followed very closely by salutatorian Jessica Willburn, who finished high school with a 4.187 GPA.<\/p>\n
Both of Mancos\u2019 top students plan to go into the medical field. Colyer plans on attending the private Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., to study premed on her journey to become an anesthesiologist. Willburn plans to go to Colorado State University and hopefully become a pediatric cardiologist.<\/p>\n
Willburn said her desire to be in the medical field was cemented when at age 14, she underwent two heart procedures known as catheter ablations.<\/p>\n
Willburn said she first knew there was a problem when her heart started to race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started when I was in the sixth grade. They thought I was having panic attacks,\u201d Willburn said.<\/p>\n
But eventually, at the Children\u2019s Hospital in Denver, doctors were able to find out what was wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine now. I don\u2019t have to have any medication or anything,\u201d Willburn said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I decided I wanted to go into that field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those who attend Mancos High School have probably seen little of Colyer and Willburn this year as the two both were taking a full load of classes at Fort Lewis College. Willburn will go to Colorado State University with 23 college credits.<\/p>\n
Willburn\u2019s brother Zane is in the Air Force Academy and graduated in 2013 as the valedictorian. Her parents are Tara and Joe Willburn.<\/p>\n
Colyer said she knew it was going to be a close race for the top class spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been that way our whole lives,\u201d Colyer said of Jessica.<\/p>\n
Colyer hopes to major in bio-chemistry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to do anesthesiology,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do something in the medical field, but I didn\u2019t want to be the one cutting people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colyer was drawn to anesthesiology during an internship at Southwest Memorial Hospital when she was in her 10th-grade.<\/p>\n
Colyer said she is looking forward to this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited and kind of nervous,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Colyer\u2019s brother Cody will graduate from the Naval Academy this year. Her mother and father are Debi and Tern.<\/p>\n
Mancos Principal Adam Priestley said he was proud of this year\u2019s class, which has earned $680,000 in scholarships. They were presented Monday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations on a job well done,\u201d Priestley said.<\/p>\n
Brady Archer will be the speaker at graduation on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe senior class is a mixture of very well thought-out students,\u201d Priestley said. \u201cThey know what they are going to do, and how they are going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another student worth recognizing is Maria Bradshaw, who will graduate from Mancos High School with her cosmetology degree, a first at the high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall. this bunch of kids is pretty focused on what they want to do after high school,\u201d Priestley said.<\/p>\n
The Mancos High School graduation will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17 at the Mancos Performance Center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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