COVID-19 has made this school year difficult for Goshen County students. The Telegram will be profiling a Goshen County senior each week until graduation. If you know a senior we should talk to, contact ldailey@torringtontelegram.com.
High school: Lingle-Fort Laramie High School
Hometown: Born in Henry, Neb., moved to Lingle in preschool
Activities: Choir
What’s been your favorite part about attending Goshen County Schools?
I like attending this school in particular, because a school that’s this small is basically unheard of anymore. When I went to all-nationals (choir) in Florida, people were dumbfounded that I came from a school of 300 K-12 students. They thought I went to a one-room schoolhouse or something. It’s nice because there are enough people here that you get to intermingle with a lot of different cliques and groups, but everybody still knows each other pretty personally since childhood. Everybody’s well connected but it’s a rather diverse group.
What has been the biggest challenge of senior year?
COVID-19 has been the real kicker, because with sports everyone’s been able to play baseball, basketball and all that, but with choir, they stand people literally right next to each other in a row. So, they had to cancel district clinic. They canceled it last year because of a snowstorm and then they cancelled district festival last year because of COVID. They cancelled all-nationals and all-northwest this year, so all they did was send a plaque when we were supposed to go to Washington. It’s been hard this year missing out on some of those cool experiences. At the same rate, our district is trying very hard to give us some of those opportunities. We recently got to do all-state via Zoom.
What’s next for you?
I got a 2-year full scholarship to Western Nebraska Community College for their choir program. Their instructor there has friends in New York that have record labels, and I’ve always wanted to be a musician after high school. My family owns a ranch out by Henry, which isn’t as far of a drive to Scottsbluff. I plan on going there probably for a welding degree and then after that maybe go try my way at being a musician. If that falls through, I have the ranch to come back to.
What will you miss most about
Goshen County schools?
We’ve grown together as a family. We’ve had kids come and go throughout the years, but the majority of the kids in my class have stayed in our class since preschool. It’s just going to be kind of odd not to see the same people you see every day, specifically the choir. Our choir this year is phenomenal and it’s going to be kind of hard to leave, especially since it’s one of the best choirs I’ve been in for the past four years.
What opportunities have you had through high school choir?
I made all-state all four years. All-northwest is chosen every other year, and I made that in my sophomore and senior years. I made it to nationals last year in Orlando, Fla. That was pretty cool, because I’m the first kid in the history of the county to make all-nationals. It was awesome, kind of a feather in my hat.
What’s your favorite song you’ve
performed with the choir?
We’re currently doing “Sixteen tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford, which is one of my favorite songs. It sounds so great with our choir. We have a lot of strong voices in each section this year, and since it’s a small choir, it’s really easy to get your parts zeroed in. The smallest things, we have them dead on. It’s so beautiful to listen to.
Where do you see yourself
in 10 years?
I would like to have some sort of success as a musician. And then, in my off time to come back to my ranch. I’m the fifth generation to own this ranch, so I want to keep the family legacy going. So, in 10 years I plan on taking over the ranch with my sister and trying my hand at the music thing.
