The Zonta Club of Cheyenne has presented its 2021 Young Women in Public Affairs Award to Kylie Schelhaas. This is the second consecutive year that Ms. Schelhaas has received the $1,500 award. The award is offered annually to a young woman, age 16 – 19 years, with ties to Laramie County. The recipient must have exhibited leadership skills, achievements in volunteerism, and dedication to her school, employer, and/or community.
Ms. Schelhaas is a Senior at East High School in Cheyenne. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average even with some of her coursework being Advanced Placement classes and while working part-time at two different retail establishments. She is also a leader in her high school band and participates in the concert, jazz, and marching bands. Her leadership is not only at her high school but is widespread involving activities at her school, her church and throughout the community.
Some of the organizations and activities in which she has been involved include: East High Interact Club, Outlaws 4-H Club, Frontier FFA Chapter, Safe School Ambassadors, Peacemakers, Rotary Youth Leadership, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She is also the recipient of the Bronze Congressional Medal of Service.
She is active in bettering her community and the world. Projects in which she has engaged include: AARP Tech Day, Friday Food Bags, Youth Day of Giving, raising funds for reusable personal hygiene products for girls in Africa, raising funds for an orphanage in Haiti, and raising funds for heart surgery for an orphan in China. While excited about each activity that helps others, her favorite project was called “Eat Read Grow” where elementary students and their families are invited to a free meal and sent home with groceries and a free book.
While active and engaged in many matters, Ms. Schelhaas’ passion lies in guiding the young women she works with in her role as a volunteer coach for her 4H shooting club. She is a competitive shooter who works with less experienced youth learning the sport. As her team is often comprised of nearly all or all young women, she has taken it upon herself to help her teammates embrace their femininity on the range in order to instill confidence in themselves as female competitive shooters. The team is nationally recognized for the fact that they wear bows in their hair when they shoot in order to prove that a bow or being female does not determine or define their success in the competitions.
Her planned next step is to attend the University of Wyoming on a Band Scholarship where she hopes to study Zoology, Environmental Sciences, and Education. Her goal is to become a secondary school science teacher and an environmentally conscience civic leader in her community.
Having received the award from the Zonta Club of Cheyenne, Ms. Schelhaas will compete with other Club recipients for an additional award of $2,000 at the district level. The Zonta District in which she competes includes 19 Clubs in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
For more information about the Zonta Club of Cheyenne or the Young Women in Public Affairs Award may be found at https://www.cheyennezonta.org/