Ellis Aune

At 17, what did you know about your future? Were you confident in who you were and who you wanted to be? Had you planned your career? Did you look forward to the challenges of a college curriculum?

For many, answers to these questions might have been unclear, but 17-year-old Stapleton resident Ellis Aune speaks about her future with confidence and maturity beyond her years.

The 2014 George Washington High School graduate recently received the Boettcher Scholarship, a virtually full-ride, merit-based scholarship to attend a four-year college or university within the state of Colorado.

The board of trustees of The Boettcher Foundation considered more than 1,600 applicants. This year, 40 Colorado high school seniors received the scholarship.

“The rather rigorous application and interview process looks at who you are, not even necessarily what you’re doing now, but how you got there,” Aune says. She focused her essay on how she is shaped by her father’s death when she was young.

While she is grateful for her time at George Washington with the “best teachers and a strong sense of community,” she is ready for college. Her room is already half packed and all her dorm items are ordered (she likes to be prepared).

Aune will attend the University of Colorado-Boulder in the fall and study biological and chemical engineering. “I am probably most excited to start studying what is the relevant material that I’ll use in my career and the rest of my life.”

She looks forward to getting involved in the academic programs, extracurricular activities and intramural sports. After earning her undergrad, she plans to join the Peace Corps for two years, which she hopes will direct her ultimate career goal. Then she plans to get her master’s in biomedical engineering and be integrated into research.

Besides studying, Aune enjoys softball, speech and debate and snowboarding.