For her entire life, Shylee Graf has longed to explore.
Born and raised in Cortez, she doesn’t know where she wants to end up yet, and who does at age 17?
But she’s keeping her mind open and her aspirations elevated.
“I’ve really always dreamed big and dreamed of getting outside of Cortez and not living the same life that my parents have chosen to live,” she said. “I think that that is a wonderful way of living, and it works for some people. But I don’t think that it works for me.”
The Chang-Chavkin scholarship she was awarded has laid the foundation for her dream, she said.
The scholarship, opened to Montezuma-Cortez students last year, endows high-achieving, low-income, first-generation students with $60,000 in college funds.
It’s not only the monetary backing that has made a difference though, Graf said. The scholarship organization provides four years of college advisement.
This advisement goes beyond academia, said scholarship director Valene Bakersfield.
The Chang-Chavkin team also hopes to be a source of emotional and social support throughout the students’ college careers.
Sometimes this can even mean one-on-one meetings, or calls out of the blue to just chat about life, Bakersfield said.
“We stay with them til the day they graduate,” she said.
While the scholarship committee searches for high-achieving students, there is no GPA requirement.
“We can overlook some things,” Bakersfield said.
Candidates from six high schools were considered during Graf’s application cycle, and she was one of three semifinalists at Montezuma-Cortez High School.
For Graf, it was important to express “how grateful and thankful I am for being a part of the Chang-Chavkin scholarship program.”
The three-step selection process was challenging at times, she said, but it’s prepared her for college applications.
While she’s applying to many schools, she’s got her sights set on Brown University or Colorado College.
She wants to pursue an English degree, which she said could open the doors to a variety of careers — editing, proofreading, journalism or writing.
Graf, ambitious and well-spoken, is aware of the world waiting before her.
An avid participant in her school’s theater program, she’s most comfortable behind the scenes, facilitating staged productions and selecting costumes.
She’s got a penchant for true crime podcasts – particularly “Crime Junkie” and immerses herself in books and music.
Created by philanthropists Arnie Chavkin and Laura Chang, the Chang-Chavkin scholarship is also available in Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Norwood and Nucla school districts, as well as some in Massachusetts.
The application is open, and can be accessed here.
