Homer High School
Nolan Bunting
Nolan Bunting is a one-in-a-million person. His appetite for knowledge is insatiable and spans virtually every discipline, be it academic or career and technical. Apart from earning straight A’s in the most rigorous classes Homer High School offers, including seven Advanced Placement (AP) classes, Nolan has also managed to build a résumé that looks more like a list of volunteer opportunities rather than anything anyone could have actually done, and done so well: Briggs and Stratton Master Service Technician, multiple state champion and team captain in both Drama Debate and Forensics (DDF) as well as in Skills USA, volunteer-extraordinaire for various local non-profits in the fields of marine biology, ornithology, and veterinary.
Nolan will attend Colorado State University (CSU) this fall to pursue pre-veterinary studies. His undergraduate education does not stand to cost him much money nor take him much time. He received local, state, and national scholarships, in addition to the merit-based award he will receive directly from CSU. And he’ll be entering as a college sophomore or better because he took classes at the local Kachemak Bay Campus, as well as being the most prolific AP tester in Homer High history—he took eight AP exams this year alone. We anticipate the faculty of CSU should be prepared to be impressed by Nolan Bunting.
Homer High School
Tag: #ClassOf2016
Jenna Kilcher | Homer Flex School #ClassOf2016
Jenna Kilcher, Homer Flex School
When Jenna Kilcher enrolled at Homer Flex School, she was behind on credits and questioning the role education would play in her life. This year, she graduated with the Class of 2016, became a Certified Registered Nurse, and is determined to further her education and continue her path in the medical field. Jenna’s transformation from reluctant learner to head of her class came with a lot of hard work and determination, but with the support of her family, she persevered. Next year, she hopes to continue this trend at the Kenai Peninsula College. and eventually the University of Alaska, Anchorage.
Homer Flex School
Maddy Rea’s senior year adventure | Seward High School #Classof2016
Maddy Rea’s Adventure
Maddy Rea [Seward High School, Class of 2016], set a goal early in her high school career to travel abroad and volunteer to work with animals. At first, her plan was to travel to Malaysia and work with Sea Turtles. When she discovered that this program was not accepting more applications, her research landed her in Yungas, Bolivia, at a place called La Senda Verde (which means The Green Path). Further research convinced her mom, CJ, that Maddy had found, “the most incredible place on the planet” and that this would be an amazing opportunity for Maddy to see her goal to fruition.
La Senda Verde takes in animals that were victims of illegal animal trafficking and, with the help of volunteers, tries to return them to a life as close to normal as they can have. It is illegal to re-release an animal once it has been trafficked in Bolivia. They are currently working with 550 different animals.
Maddy secured a position for two and a half months. She saved the money from her summer job to buy her tickets, visa, and pay for her volunteer position. Many of their volunteers are there for just two weeks. Volunteers like Maddy, who stick around, get to do a lot more with the animals. Her favorite animals to work with are what they call the “special animals.” These are all of the small primates (Lucachi, Squirrel, and Owl monkeys), Capybara and Paca (both really big rodents) and the Margays and Ocelots (cats). Based on skills she learned as a volunteer at the Alaska Sealife Center she is trying to train the Capybara (attached picture is a mural of a capybara). La Senda Verde has animals of all kinds; Spider, Capuchin, and Howler monkeys, Andean Spectacled Bears, Parrots, Toucans, Macaws, Tortoises, and Coatis.
Maddy’s days begin at 6:45 a.m. and she starts work at 7:30. She works until 5:30 p.m., has dinner and then socializes a bit. She works six days a week and on her seventh day she usually makes it into the town of Coroico where she has access to the internet. There are no other American volunteers. She lives in a dorm styled room with six other people, and has met people from Australia, Brazil, Belgium, France and other countries. She has also experienced tarantulas in her bed and the shower.
Maddy will return in mid-May to participate in graduation with her class at Seward High School and begin her summer work to save for college.