Not everyone needs to go to college to figure out what career would make them happy and fulfilled.
Jace Leimkuhl knew from an early age that he loved working with his hands and building things – and, like his dad, was good at it.
Now that he’s older, Leimkuhl still enjoys picking up a hammer and building, say, a house as a school project, but he’s also realized something else.
“I have learned most trade companies are struggling to find good workers because not many people are working in the trade industry,” he said.
Though Leimkuhl always had an inkling he wanted to work in construction, it wasn’t until he got involved with the Manufacturing Industry Learning Lab a vocational education campus operated by Widefield School District 3 and Peyton School District 23-JT that he decided project management was what he really wanted to pursue.
The 20 graduating high school seniors who win the Best & Brightest scholarship are different each year, but their accomplishments have been consistently stellar for three decades.
Since the annual community recognition program began 30 years ago, The Gazette’s Best & Brightest award has drawn the best of the best.
More than 100 students applied for this year’s award, sponsored by The Gazette Charities Foundation and the ARDI Foundation, which, in support of academic excellence, provides endowed academic chairs at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Outstanding academic achievements and contributions to the community are among the criteria 20 prominently community leaders looked for in judging the 2021 applicants.