Grand County High School Students of the Month

Congratulations to Willow Joy Kruta Nichols and Jackson Hobbs, Grand County High School’s January students of the month!

Eleventh-grader Willow Nichols listed four favorite classes: ceramics, yoga, AP English, and chemistry because it is deeply fascinating and very engaging. Nichols has also been in the marching band since she was a freshman, and is part of the Quiz Bowl team. She also serves as historian for the drama club, lettered in competitive drama last school year, and had a lead role in the fall musical. Nichols is in the Honor Society and is junior class vice president. Outside of school, she volunteers weekly at the Youth Garden Project. After high school, she plans to attend college.

“One valuable thing I have learned while in school is that nobody is as critical of you as you are of yourself,” Nichols said. She also shared a piece of advice to other high schoolers: “You should try to start to learn to love yourself while you’re young, since you’ll be spending the rest of your life with yourself.”

Senior Jackson Hobbs said that farming has become a passion during a Youth Garden Project internship through the high school’s Career and Technical Education program. Two classes tie as the most challenging: Mr. Black’s business communications class and Ms. Graham’s English class. Hobbs is a member of the Moab chapter of Future Farmers of America and is Queen of the Rainbow Club. “We went with a monarchy instead of a democracy,” Hobbs said. “My position is the same as president of the club.”

Hobbs also plays cello, recently playing in the Moab Music Festival’s Winterlude concert. After high school, Hobbs plans to become a certified esthetician and massage therapist and attend college. “I’ve learned that no matter how your school experience has been,” Hobbs said, “we can still take as much knowledge with us as we can and no one can stop us.”

Congratulations and best of luck, students!