A Dolores High School senior has made it to the final interviews of the Colorado Boettcher Scholarship program, which provides a full scholarship to any in-state school.
Cameron Elder, a student of Dolores schools since kindergarten and a key player on the high school volleyball team, has made the top 100.
When Cameron found out she was one of the finalists, she said she was shocked and honored. “It said, ‘Congratulations, you’re a finalist.’ I just started crying, and I just couldn’t believe it,” she said.
If she is selected, she would be the second student from Dolores Schools to be awarded the scholarship, according to the Boettcher Foundation.
Cameron has known about the program since her older sister, Taylor, applied. Taylor graduates from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in April. Cameron’s mother, Brooke, said Cameron has been thinking about the Boettcher scholarship since around seventh grade, and that the thought and planning process helped motivate and focus her efforts through the years.
“However this turns out, we are thankful for the process,” Brooke Elder said Friday.
If Cameron is one of the 42 to be selected for the scholarship, she said she would want to attend Colorado College or the University of Denver and eventually teach psychology at a collegiate level. She said that she has never considered any other profession than teaching. “I realized that was something I wanted to do after seeing what an impact they can have on society,” Elder said.
Cameron is the daughter of Scot and Brooke Elder of Dolores. She and her sister Jordan, a sophomore, played volleyball for the Dolores Bears volleyball team, which won 22 of its 26 matches and advanced to the state tournament in the fall.
