By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A Hays High School school senior is one of 621 students in the nation to be selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholars Program semifinalist.
Taylor Weidenhaft, 18, Catharine, wrote in one of her essays about the struggles she has overcome to be one of the top students in the nation.
Weidenhaft was 14 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. She underwent four rounds of chemo at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
She spent much of her eighth-grade year completing her school work remotely so she could undergo treatment for the illness. She was a 4.0 student going into treatment and has remained a 4.0 student at HHS.
She wrote about her eighth-grade Algebra I teacher, Desirae Kinderknecht, in one of her essays for her Presidential Scholars application.
"She motivated me to work harder and push myself," Weidenhaft said, "because she believed in what I could do. She has helped me through my high school years too. She has always been there for me. I just really appreciated her."
She was announced to be in remission on Feb. 1, 2016.
Weidenhaft also wrote in her Presidential Scholars essays about the great support the community gave her when she was undergoing cancer treatment.
The community staged a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for Weidenhaft. About half of the 500 attendees at the dinner were total strangers, she said.
A third prompt for her scholars application asked her to write about a song or piece of art that inspired her.
Weidenhaft chose the song "Rise Up" by Andra Day.
"It just talks about how you can rise above your circumstances. Even when you get knocked down, you have to get back up and continue to push yourself and keep fighting," she said. "I felt that was really connected to me."
Weidenhaft has used her experience to reach out to others who have been affected by cancer. She helped a friend whose mother was undergoing cancer treatment.
"I tried to give him someone to talk to who understood what she was going through," she said.
She also met a another student from Tulsa at church camp whose younger sister was fighting Hodgkin's lymphoma, just as Weidenhaft had.
"I was able to be there for her when her little sister finally made it out of treatment and was announced into remission," she said. "It is crazy to see that I can have a positive impact on people who are going through similar things as I did."
Weidenhaft said her experience fighting cancer has inspired her to pursue a career in the medical field. She will be attending Kansas State University in the fall and hopes to major in human health biology with a minor in psychology.
She said she aspires to be a pediatric plastic surgeon.
"When I was at [Children's Mercy], I saw kids walking in and out of my appointments with all kids of medical needs and different disabilities," she said.
"My dad has a client who is a plastic surgeon and talked about how you could work with kids who have cleft pallets or dog bites or burn victims. I thought that would be really neat.
"I know how difficult it can be for children to have good self-esteem. I experienced that when I was in chemo and lost all my hair and gained weight from all the medications I was on. It was really hard for me.
"It eventually taught me what you look like on the outside isn't what your identity is."
She said she knows it is easier to be confident in who you are when you have a physical appearance you can be proud of.
Weidenhaft said she intends to do undergraduate research at K-State and said vaccine research would be an area she would consider after seeing the affects of COVID-19.
Weidenhaft has kept busy at HHS with a variety of activities, including varsity soccer, Red Cross Club, Future Medical Professionals Club, Student Council and National Honor Society. She also competes in barrel racing and is active in her youth group at Celebration Community Church.
Her volunteering with her youth group has included participation in A Night to Shine, which is a formal dance for developmentally disabled adults.
Weidenhaft said she is particularly disappointed to not be able to finish her senior year of soccer, but she said she understands schools are closed to keep everyone safe.
HHS Principal Martin Straub said this was the first student in his memory from HHS to be named a semifinalist in the Presidential Scholars Program.
Weidenhaft was one of 5,600 students out of the anticipated 3.6 million U.S. seniors that was invited to apply for the program. She has gone through several rounds of competition to reach this final stage.