Box Elder grad makes family feel proud

Jonni Bacon graduated from Box Elder High School Saturday with some outstanding achievements to her name: valedictorian, recipient of numerous scholarships and grants and future Montana State University-Bozeman Bobcat.

Throughout high school, Bacon’s driving forces have been fueled by the knowledge that she is different and by the desire to make her family proud.

Bacon graduated a member of National Honor Society, which has worked with National Relief Charities to provide basic essentials for people in and around the Box Elder area.

Bacon applied for, and received several noteworthy scholarships. These scholarships include: The Montana GEAR UP Achievement Grant, Montana GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship, Faechner Family Scholarship, Governor’s Merit Scholarship, MSU Bozeman Scholarship, and Box Elder Education Association Scholarship. The highest valued came from Montana GEAR UP — Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness For Undergraduate Programs.

The Montana GEAR UP Achievement Grant is awarded to eligible students in their junior year of high school. The Montana GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship can then be awarded to that same student in his or her senior year, if eligibility has been retained. To earn the scholarship, Bacon did an in-depth science research project involving biofuel. She tested three different types and recorded how they interacted with commercial additives. This impressive project earned her the Montana GEAR UP Pathways Scholarship valued at up to $22,540.

These scholarships will be used to help with college-related costs at MSU-Bozeman come fall. Bacon says she did not visit many college campuses, but when she toured that particular campus, she felt she could see herself living there, because she liked the environment. In Bozeman, she plans to major in chemistry while also taking pre-med courses.

Bacon is entertaining the idea of going into pharmacy, or even endocrinology because, she says, her family has a history of diabetes.

This awareness brings that particular branch of medicine into a personal light.

In addition to her bright academic future, Bacon also says she is looking forward to exploring life outside her home of Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and seeing what the world has to offer.