Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Hayley Cole, 17, a senior at Sweet Home High School was named Sweet Home Junior First Citizen along with senior Ben Schmidt.
The two will attend a dinner where they will be honored as Elks students of the month then a competition to be named Linn County Junior First Citizens. They also will appear in the Veteran’s Day Parade in Albany in November.
Cole is the daughter of Carlene and Sean Erickson and Greg Cole.
She is on the varsity dance team and taking college prep and advanced placement courses. She was involved in the high school’s LINK program, which helped orient incoming freshmen to the high school.
She works at Little Promises and is involved in her youth group at Cornerstone Fellowship.
She enjoys just about anything typical teen girls do, she said. She especially enjoys shopping and dancing.
She is carrying a 4.0 grade point average, she said, and “I’m truying to be valedictorian.”
“I’m kind of surprised, but I’m pretty excited,” Cole said of the award. “I think it’s important you try to stay as involved as you can. Being selectred junior first citizen is a real honor.”
Hopefuls went through an application process, Cole said. Usually, the selection process includes interviews, but this year, they were required to write in-depth answers to questions on the application.
“They were all actually pretty good questions,” Cole said. “I think the toughest question for me is ‘what sets you apart ? and makes you more than average?’
“I’m an average person. I do average things.”
But she has a strong work ethic, Cole said. Her hard work is where she derives her success.
Cole praised her high school teachers.
“The teachers here are really good,” Cole said. “They work hard to make things possible” and give students as much information as they possibly can.
After graduation, Cole plans to major in psychology. She has thought about attending Western Oregon University, but she hasn’t decided for sure and plans to keep her options open.