RAWLINS - "The day she got it, (I) thought she wrecked my truck," said Lisa Landa. "She was just hysterical."
That moment of fear and panic quickly turned to elation when Lisa Landa learned why her daughter, Selena, was so hysterical. Selena received one of the best scholarships that can be obtained by a Wyoming student: the Daniels Fund.
The Daniels Fund Scholarship is a four-year scholarship for both school and personal needs offered to Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah students with exceptional character, leadership, and commitment to community service.
While a naturally gifted academic, her consistent and continued work to improve her community netted her the prestigious award. As the scholarship prizes community service in addition to academic achievement, Landa's unique blend of extracurricular activities and achievements put her on firm footing to obtain the award.
"At first, I thought it was a really long shot," said Landa.
With her track record, Landa's candidacy for the award was far stronger than she admitted to herself at the time. Landa had undertaken an active role in more than 12 extracircular activities, ranging from coaching Special Olympics, to chapter president of Best Buddies, to mentoring elementary school students.
It was during the down time between submitting her application and final interviews that Landa received a Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of her long and continued service to the community. The medal requires more than 800 hours of community service in various facets, which must be done over the course of at least two years.
With her resume nearly a carbon copy of the scholarship's ideal candidate, Landa was called in for a follow-up interview as part of the final stage for determining award winners. According to Landa, she used her Congressional Gold Medal as proof of her dedication to community and her commitment to achievement during the interview.
With the interview over, the possibility of a Daniels Fund Scholarship no longer seemed a distant dream; rather it appeared a concrete possibility. With her final input for the Daniels Fund complete, the only thing left to do was wait for the inevitable.
As she began the excruciating four-week wait, nervousness began to take root. As it seemed a real possibility rather than the extreme long shot it had once appeared, Landa began to both anticipate and dread the eventual news.
"That was the longest four weeks of my life," Landa said.
But then on that fateful March day, Landa received the official word: she had been accepted. Nearly beside herself with joy, Landa immediately phoned her mother to share the news.
The confused jumble of words only struck fear into her mother's heart, however. In the mind of her mother, the only possibly that could drive her daughter to such hysterics was a wreck. Even her coworkers began to free the worst, as they watched Lisa Landa suddenly begin asking deliberate questions in a worried tone.
This initial fear was quickly replaced with utter joy from both parties, as the question of college tuition now had a definitive answer.
Landa's choice of the University of Wyoming had always been her intention since she spent three weeks on campus as a part of the High School Summer Institute. According to Landa, she fell in love with the campus and the surrounding area.
Her eventual goal is to secure a position as trauma and pediatric surgeon.
In preparation for this career, Landa will double major in physiology and kinesiology, but she also plans to undertake a double minor of history and honor roll.
The burden of coursework will be cut down, as Landa is only a few credits shy of being a college sophomore due to college courses from Western Wyoming Community College.
Despite her intense upcoming workload, both Landa and her mother agree the change from high school academics to college will likely be easy for her.
Both, however, agree that her hardest transition will likely stem from moving from Rawlins' close-knit community.
In any case, Landa looks forward to the challenge and hopes to become as involved at UW as she has been at Rawlins High School.
"Knowing her, it'll be a breeze," said Lisa Landa.
