Megan Setliff, a West Grand senior, was awarded a full ride scholarship to the Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO earlier this week. Megan is the recipient of the Colorado Garden Foundation scholarship which includes tuition, fees, room and board and all required books for four years. In addition, she will be given a laptop computer and printer.
To earn the prestigious scholarship, Megan was selected from her application and was interviewed rigorously. In the first round, four interviewers traveled to Kremmling to meet Megan, her mom, and selected teachers and ask them questions. She then moved to the next level of interviews with one other candidate. The final interview was held in Lakewood with the eleven members of the Colorado Garden Foundation board of directors.
Colorado Garden Foundation Executive Director Jim Fricke said, “When we met Megan, we just knew she was a perfect fit for the scholarship. She knows what she wants to do, and she is going to succeed.”
The Colorado Garden Foundation scholarship was established eleven years ago to financially aide students entering into an agricultural related field, and Megan will major in Agricultural Education with a minor in soil and crop sciences.
She credits high school teachers, Will Humber and Emmylou Harmon for her interest in agriculture and hopes to become a VO-AG teacher like her mentor Mr. Humber and return to Kremmling to teach. Megan also beamed when she found that Ms. Harmon will receive a $5000 grant for her greenhouse program because Megan was the recipient of the Colorado Garden Foundation.
Throughout high school, Megan was always active in extra-curricular activities ranging from volleyball, cheerleading, FFA, student council, drama, World Affairs Challenge and yearbook. She also worked at the Rocky Mountain Bar & Grill and for Francois Tucker in his greenhouse.
“I feel that the committee recognized that I had a balance between work and school and that I could handle the pressures of college,” Megan admitted.
Megan leaves West Grand High School with one of the highest FFA honors. She earned the Colorado State FFA Degree and was the first FFA member at West Grand to do so since Joe Docheff earned the distinction in 1985, more than 30 years ago. To earn the Colorado State FFA Degree, Megan had to first receive her Greenhand Degree and then her Chapter Degree. She then logged over 40 hours of community service, earned $1000 productively and invested 300 hours of work.
Megan hopes to earn the top honor of the American Degree next year, which is received by fewer than 1% of the more than 500,000 FFA members nationwide.
Megan also received a $1000 scholarship from her FFA Chapter that she will donate back to the Chapter to be re-awarded.
“I want others to have the same opportunities I have. It may make a financial difference for someone else,” she generously said.
She encourages others in high school to expand their horizons and get involved. “Do community service. Set yourself apart. Have something special about you.”
Megan is the daughter of Korby Kline and Everett Setliff. She is the third generation to live in Kremmling and graduate from the West Grand school system. As the youngest of five children, Megan’s mother never had any doubt that Megan would make her mark in the world, “She was born on St. Patrick’s Day with red hair,” her mother often says.
Megan has definitely followed her own advice and set herself apart with her achievements and drive.
