Laura Morfitt Nominated by HEART to Receive Select Scholarship from Western Colorado University

    HEART of Saguache/KV is thrilled to congratulate Laura Morfitt for becoming the recipient of the Select Scholarship from Western Colorado University in March. Western Colorado University worked extensively with HEART of Saguache/KV through the virtual career fair that has been ongoing throughout this semester. Last month they contacted HEART and asked us to nominate a recipient amongst graduating students who had worked with HEART with a GPA of at least 3.75 to receive a full-ride scholarship. Mountain Valley Senior, Laura, was nominated and subsequently accepted into Western. This generous scholarship will cover all of her tuition.

    Born and raised in the San Luis Valley, Laura attended Mountain Valley School for all but one year of her entire school career. Her father graduated from the same school as did all of her four siblings. Agriculture, hunting, and fishing are her passions. She is also an avid 4H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) participant. She has played volleyball and basketball for her whole life. Clearly intelligent and very well-spoken, Laura seems to have participated and won honors in most of the extracurricular activities offered in the area. The list is impressive and varied. As a junior, she won first place in Districts and 6th in State for her Agricultural Business presentation in FBLA. Pursuing Agricultural Business is part of her long-term dream. Her counselor, Lisa Powers, has stated that Laura has taken more concurrent enrollment courses than any other student since Ms. Powers has been at MVS.

    Laura speaks about farming and agriculture in a way that makes it impossible to miss her passion. She spoke excitedly about a 4H trip to Atlanta, Georgia, where she learned more about precision agriculture and how farmers and ranchers have embraced the technological world. She also speaks from experience as she has been studying agriculture at Trinidad State Junior College for two years while completing high school. Of course, she hasn't always wanted to work in agriculture; when she was in kindergarten, she was determined to become a paleontologist. While her path seems to have diverged from her early career goals, she appears to be very confident about the direction she will now be heading.

   Being awarded this scholarship has clearly meant the world to her. She described how it changed her way of thinking about her future. Before getting the opportunity to attend Western, she had wanted to go to Laramie County Community College. However, she was not awarded enough scholarships to consider moving away and had decided to stay in Saguache for a year to finish her Associate's Degree at Trinidad State Junior College. The opportunity to attend Western has changed everything for Laura, and even though they don't specifically offer agricultural business degrees, she realizes that Gunnison isn't short of agricultural opportunities either. She's been accepted into the Honors Program and will be part of the business department. She would like to graduate from Western Colorado University from the accelerated Master's program, which will take five years to complete. She's excited to take a deep dive into business and learn how to help others create and market products.

​   Laura described how the faculty and staff at Western are already making her feel welcomed and special. She has repetitively expressed how very thankful she is for this opportunity. Laura worked very hard on her grades in order to take college classes in high school, and now she can see how all her hard work has paid off. Laura marveled over how much has changed in the past month. She has gone from simply wanting her Associate's Degree to planning 5 years in advance for her graduation with her Master's. Laura is a prime example of how when youth are freed from financial anxiety, they can concentrate on larger dreams. As Laura put it, this "does not sound real, especially for someone from Saguache, Colorado!". Laura hopes that this scholarship is offered annually so that other MVS students can get the same opportunity that she has been presented. HEART is so excited that we were able to play a part in helping Laura achieve her dreams, and we can't think of a harder worker or a more deserving student. Western State is definitely going to benefit from having Laura as part of their community just as much as Laura will benefit from them.

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