A graduated senior from Mancos High School has won the 2020 Four Corners Bar Association scholarship for her years of community service and academic achievements.
Talissa Bahr, now a freshman in the honors program at Fort Lewis College, earned a 4.12 grade-point average by taking college-level courses during her junior and senior years of high school. But she’s also received national recognition for her community service – Bahr was honored with the 2020 President’s Volunteer Service Award.
“I’m really grateful to be given the opportunity,” Bahr said.
As an all-conference volleyball player, Bahr volunteered with Mancos Youth Volleyball and became a mentor for the kids involved. She’s logged more than 160 hours of volunteer time with the kids.
She moved to Mancos in fourth grade, and youth volleyball was “a way to become a part of the community.”
“It really meant a lot to me,” Bahr said.
Bahr also helped organize the Girl Scout Fall Color Run in Mancos, a 5K in which runners are doused with colored cornstarch. Money raised during the event allowed Girl Scouts in middle school to go to an overnight camp trip to NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Her community service also includes an annual food drive at the Mancos Food Bank.
At the same time, Bahr contributed to her family’s income, as she has a single parent and several younger siblings.
Keenan Lovett, an attorney with McCabe, Lovett & McCabe in Cortez, said Bahr was selected because of her “overall community involvement, the obligations she balanced at home and the fact that she was still able to achieve academically.”
“She showed a lot of maturity in pursuing her endeavors,” Lovett said.
Thirteen students applied for the scholarship, which was awarded by the 22nd Judicial District chapter of the Colorado Bar Association, which includes both Montezuma and Dolores counties.
Scholarship recipients may pursue any subject in college. All graduating seniors from school in Montezuma and Dolores counties are eligible to apply.
Bahr’s annual $500 scholarship is for $2,000 for four years.
Bahr has not decided on a major at Fort Lewis College, but her interests include writing and nutrition. She also wants to work with youth volleyball and other volunteer opportunities.
“She is hoping to go into a field in which she is helping others,” Lovett said.
Bahr’s advice for younger students is to start getting involved early with the community.
“Look for any little activity,” she said.
It was difficult for Bahr and other seniors when their final year at Mancos High School, along with youth volleyball, was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Bahr said she will continue to give back to the community and help how she can.
“Once I started to see the effort pay off, it was very rewarding,” she said. “It made me want to keep pushing and doing more.”
Bahr moved to Fort Lewis College on Thursday, where classes will start Aug. 24.
