Saluting student scholars

North Idaho salutes its student scholars who are committing to bright futures in academia.

Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy is celebrating its seniors who have signed letters of intent to continue the pursuit of knowledge at higher learning institutions. At the start of May, 29 of Charter's 65 seniors had committed to a college or university after they graduate from high school. Several students will stay close and attend the University of Idaho or Lewis-Clark State College. Others will take the leap to schools across the country, including Northeastern University in Boston, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Some are still waiting to hear back from Ivy League schools.

It's a big deal, especially for students who have studied and toiled for years at Charter, a school dedicated to providing a "rigorous, content-rich, college preparatory education for students willing to accept the challenge."

"This is really our attempt to be different," Principal Dan Nicklay said Tuesday. "We wanted to emphasize that we are celebrating our scholars who are going off to do scholarly things."

Seniors Taylor Hancock and twin brother Cooper have committed to the University of Idaho after seven years at Charter. Taylor will pursue business. Cooper will study mechanical engineering.

The twins spent most of their educational life together and are happy to continue that family tradition. The University of Idaho is also where their parents met.

"It’s meaningful," Taylor said. "It's kind of cool to see where our parents met and where they had so many memories. They spent four years there. It's such a large part of their lives. It'll be cool to make it a part of ours."

He said he is interested in finance and management. His goal is to mirror the success their parents have had.

"I've seen how they've built really good lives for our family," Taylor said. "I want to provide for my family and have the skills to do that."

Senior Sam Meyer also attended Charter since sixth grade and will be going to the University of Idaho on a full-ride scholarship. He is enrolled in a four-year Air Force ROTC program and will major in computer engineering.

"A lot of this goes unrecognized sometimes. Athletic scholarships are popular and in the spotlight," he said. "It's kind of cool to receive some of that spotlight as well."

He said this exposure encourages people to know different post-secondary paths exist.

"You can still get those full-ride scholarships even if you don’t go into sports," Sam said. "Setting those kinds of goals in the first place will build a better person. You have those goals to reach and those commitments are very important in life to have a path. It will lead to a better future."

Across town, Kootenai Technical Education Campus is celebrating its seniors who are committing to vocational or military futures, or industry careers. KTEC held its signing day Tuesday.

Post Falls High School/KTEC health professions senior Makayla Bole, 18, signed for four years as a hospital corpsman with the U.S. Navy.

"I'm pretty happy with it," she said. "It's kind of scary. I've never really been away from home, but at the same time it's the exciting kind of scary."

She wore a shirt proudly proclaiming she is a veteran's daughter. Her dad and stepdad were Army, both grandfathers and a step-grandfather were Air Force and her great-grandfather served in the Navy in World War II.

"It's really important to me," she said. "It's my family. I'm really happy I did Navy because I brought it full circle. My great-grandpa passed a year ago and it's still really hard. That's one of the reasons I chose Navy."

Automotive student David Ford, a senior from Kootenai Bridge Academy, signed to Midway Hyundai in Post Falls.

"It's good to start a career," he said, seated next to girlfriend Madi Gonzales. "I feel like I'm further ahead than most people. I'm going to do better. I'm not going to be stressing all the time paycheck to paycheck."

"It's very inspiring," Madi said. "It makes me very proud of him and excited for our future endeavors. He's very committed to what he does."

Wyatt Todd, 17, a Lake City High senior in KTEC's diesel tech program, will go to Western States Caterpillar, where he spent time job shadowing and apprenticing.

"Super safety-oriented shop they run," he said. "I could just really tell they care about their employees. They didn't mess around."

He's looking forward to spending seven months training followed by a two-month paid internship and ultimately a job.

"Training's in Boise and then I work for the Hayden Caterpillar," he said. "I'm ecstatic. I've always loved it here. There's still some land to purchase. My dream is to have a piece of acreage here and to be local and be around family. I'm very, very happy."

KTEC director Colby Matilla reported that 61% of KTEC's graduating seniors are heading directly to industry careers, 33% will pursue post-secondary education and 6% have enrolled in the military.

"All these kids are signing up for their careers and their futures," he said. "They have enlisted, they are starting their careers with companies. It's their big launching point."

INFOBOX: We want to celebrate your student scholar! Send a high-resolution photo to dweeks@cdapress.com of your students signing letters of intent. Please include their names and high schools as well as the name of the higher education institute and program they'll pursue.