Kailynfaye Witonsky

Hometown: Littleton, Colo.
High School: Arapahoe High School
Intended major: English and neuroscience
Possible career: E.R. doctor and author

Kailynfaye writes, "All monsters are scary. But it's the ones that are cloaked in silence and taboo that prove most menacing of all." She is passionate about finding a need in a community and attempting to address that need. In particular she is committed to suicide awareness and prevention. Following two suicides in her high school, Kailynfaye sought out training and learned that one of the most important aspects of suicide prevention comes from awareness. With this in mind she contacted her principal with the idea of adding the suicide hotline number to the back of student identification cards. He agreed and the number was added. After a successful year with no suicides at her high school, Kailynfaye corresponded with superintendents across the state of Colorado suggesting the same idea. After ongoing communications and follow-up with school personnel, she learned that the suicide hotline number was added to the back of approximately 29,500 student ID's across Colorado.

Kailynfaye was a member and commissioner of Link Crew (a freshman/new student transitional program) during her Junior and Senior years. As a commissioner she was responsible for crafting and teaching a leadership class held once a week for 100 leaders. In addition, she was the president of YouMatter club, a club centered on suicide awareness. She was a student ambassador in student council, and one of two students chosen to represent the student body on her school's accountability committee for two consecutive school years. She swam all four years on her school's JV swim team and served as captain her senior year. She loves to explore, garden, hike, learn, and write.