Town: Danville

High School: Scott High School

GPA: 4.16

Plans for after graduation: Attend West Virginia University or an out-of-state college to become a chemical engineer because chemistry, math and drafting were her favorite classes in high school. She also is considering entering law school after receiving her undergraduate degree.

Engineering Her Future

Boone County Student Strikes Balance Between Schoolwork and Sports

She was the homecoming queen who was to be crowned the night the game was canceled because the refs didn't show. She plans her high school classes based on what she will need to know in college. She's taking a drafting class at the vocational school because as an engineer, she might have to work with draftsmen one day.

Her favorite classes are math and chemistry.

Yes, Kelsey Scott is a nerd. She admits it and enjoys it.

"I actually don't mind doing schoolwork."

The 17-year-old senior at Scott High School in Boone County is one of three statewide winners in the EQT Students of Excellence full scholarship worth up to $18,000 per year for four years.

Schoolwork and looking ahead to college come more naturally to Scott than to most students. Her mother and stepfather are teachers at Scott High, as is her aunt.

"I've always been expected to go to college. My grandparents went to college. I've always been expected to think forward," she said.

The drafting class is one example of that.

"All engineers have drafters. We do different types of drafting, and it shows me a little bit of everything. It's not what I want to do, but if I understand drafting, engineering will come easier."

Scott was nominated by her principal, Allen Halley. Halley said he encouraged Scott to apply for the award the day of the deadline. Within a few hours, Scott had written an essay that helped her win the four-year scholarship.

"She is a leader in the school. Her test scores are outstanding. She knows what she wants, and she will follow through on that," Halley said.

Scott's present plans are to attend West Virginia University, where she would study to become a chemical engineer, mainly because her three favorite classes in school have been chemistry, math and drafting.

But, she says, her future is fluid.

"I've been really questioning what I want to do," Scott said.  After she earns her four-year degree, she might pursue engineering as a career, or she could go to law school or medical school, she said. She has already talked with a family friend — a lawyer who earned his undergraduate degree in mine engineering — about that option.

"My family's always been WVU fans, and I like it as a school," Scott said. Most people in her family attended what's now West Virginia State University. Scott considered several schools in the state, but after eliminating most of them, she decided WVU fit her needs best.

Spending three weeks at the Governors Honors Academy on the WVU campus this past summer helped convince her that Morgantown would be a good fit for her.

But WVU isn't necessarily set in stone, she said. She's trying to get her SAT score up, and she might apply to prestigious out-of-state schools, she said.

But that's in the future. For now, she's a serious student who participates in school activities. She was a cheerleader for a while, but she gave that up so she could participate in cross-country running.

And she was her school's homecoming queen who didn't have a game to celebrate. It was a rainy evening, and the game officials didn't show because they apparently scheduled themselves for two games on the same night.

So she received her crown in a downpour. And the parade went on, too, despite the rain, she said.

Scott also is a member of the Scott High School tennis team.

Scott says she likes writing, speaking, math and chemistry. She has taken the first two levels of chemistry offered at Scott High and is debating whether to take another chemistry class or AP calculus in her final semester. She can take only one because she has to work an art requirement into her schedule, she said.

"I wanted to have some math this year because I didn't want to go to college without having some math at the end of the year," she said.

There was one other thing about the Honors Academy. It made Scott want to start college immediately. She's not certain where that will be, but she says she's ready.