by PJ Rooks
Landmark reporter
Kelsey Boeding, Platte County R-3 High School senior, is this year’s winner of The Landmark English Award.
A $250 scholarship, The Landmark English Award is given each year by the newspaper to a faculty-selected top English student at Platte County R-3. The annual award, which was begun by the newspaper in 1982, is designed to help foster an interest in the English language.
"This is exciting," said Boeding when she was notified of the award.
Planning to double-major in English and possibly also either writing or journalism, Boeding is headed to Truman State University this fall and credits her high school English teachers with helping her define her career and study goals.
"I'd looked at English as more of a hobby and not as a profession, but coming into it this year, Ms. Miles, Ms. Martin and Ms. Swensen were pretty vital to my college decision and what I would be majoring in," said Boeding.
Boeding said that during high school, she took Challenge English 1, Challenge English 2, Advanced Placement English and is currently enrolled in Advanced Composition, a dual credit class with UMKC. She also served as the school's news editor during her senior year and won the 11th grade division of the Royals’ Father of the Year essay contest.
"That was really cool because it kind of honored my dad, but it also showcased my ability to write about him," she said. "It was nice to get that double-dose thing.”
National Honor Society vice president, Mo-Kan All-Stars volleyball player and a lover of literature, Boeding said that she always has a book with her and hopes to work as a book editor after college. Meanwhile, she's working on plans to spend some time studying abroad.
"I was thinking most likely Europe would be the place that I would study abroad because there's a lot of travel opportunities," said Boeding. "And my aunt lives in Lebanon, so I'm going to try to work it out to maybe study abroad and then maybe go visit her.”
Boeding currently lives with her dad, Jeff Boeding, her step-mother, Nikki Keiser, and two dogs, Maddie and Murphy. Her brother, Zach, a junior, will attend school in Boston next year.
The Landmark English Award will be officially presented to Boeding during the school's awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on May 19.
