By Kristine Thomas
Silverton High School senior Briana Bledsoe is a list maker.
When she was an eighth-grader, she made a list of what she wanted to accomplish before graduating from high school. Her list included studying to become a doctor, becoming valedictorian and playing basketball for the Lady Foxes.
Not one of those goals became a reality.
Yet achievements she didn’t have on her list have happened instead, such as playing the lead role in the fall production of You Can’t Take It With You, winning second place in state competition with the high school’s concert choir, participating in Link Crew and The Associated Student Body, volunteering for Silverton Community Aid, organizing a Red Cross Blood Drive and working for the Silverton Peer Court and the Tree of Giving.
One item that definitely wasn’t on her list was being chosen as the Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Future First Citizen.
“I didn’t know what was going on when the Silverton (Chamber) Ambassadors came to present me balloons and the certificate. I didn’t understand that I had been chosen until I saw my parents,” Bledsoe said. “There are plenty of students at Silverton High School who deserve this award. I feel like everybody should be recognized.”
She is the daughter of Dixon and Lisa Bledsoe and has a brother, Trevor, an eighth-grade student at Mark Twain Middle School.
Looking back, Bledsoe realizes no matter how much she plans, life sometimes takes unexpected twists and turns. And when that happens, she said, the best thing to do is to accept what’s happening and gain from it.
“I have learned I can’t control the cards I’m dealt, only how I play the hand,” she said.
Her greatest lesson in learning to accept the unexpected is when she was hospitalized in the eighth grade and was diagnosed with failure to thrive, or the inability to gain weight. She points out that inability to gain weight is not the same as an eating disorder.
“Being hospitalized was awful,” she said, “but it’s something that I am also thankful for. I learned so much about medicine, which made my career choice easy.”
She realizes if she had never had that experience she wouldn’t be the person she is today. She never would have changed her goal from becoming a doctor to being a pediatric nurse, never participated in a long list of school and community activities or made the friends she has today.
“I probably would have spent all my time studying,” she laughed. “Being in the hospital made me stronger and taught me that although things don’t always work out as planned, they will probably work out for the best.”
She’s been accepted to Concordia University’s nursing program and Oregon State University and is waiting to hear from Linfield, George Fox and the University of Portland, her first choice, because “It’s so much like Silverton. It’s a small campus, everyone knows everyone.”
While she describes herself as being “loud, outgoing and bubbly,” she’s modest about her achievements.
She was nominated for the Future First Citizen Award by Jennifer Hannan, a high school counselor, and Judy Yriarte, the principle broker for Prudential Real Estate.
Hannan said Bledsoe is “easily in the top 15 percent of kids” she has ever had the pleasure of working with in her career as an activities director and high school counselor.
Hannan added that Bledsoe’s ability, empathy and her strength of character makes her an exceptional student leader and an outstanding young person.
Yriarte said Bledsoe has had to overcome a “great deal” to accomplish all that she has.
“I feel it is safe to say that much of her efforts have been done through sheer willpower,” Yriarte wrote, “and the belief and hope that through her passions she would heal herself and (with) her knowledge and gleaned empathy she can help others.”
Bledsoe said she feels compelled to give back to her community because of how people – strangers and friends alike – helped her when she needed it.
For everything she has accomplished, she said, she has had support along the way. Her list of people who have influenced her life is long.
“I would have to say my dad is my number one hero,” she said. “He’s helped me through everything and is the most optimistic person I know. My mom has been so supportive and loving; she’s a wonderful role model.”
She also praises her boyfriend, Ethan Hupp, and friends Hallie Day, Kaitlin Radigan and Christi Zollner. She recently learned from her chemistry teacher, Jim Brueckner that “It’s OK to ask for help when things get difficult. Not everything in life comes easily.” She’s thankful for Sue Fisher, Paula Cross, Geralyn Sheets and Jennifer Hannan for their advice and support. She’s excited Helen Thomas and Laura Wanker are receiving awards for Distinguished Service from the Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce.
“There are no words to describe what Helen has done for our school,” she said. “She is so wonderful, not just to me, but to everyone she meets. She really cares about all the students and so many wouldn’t be in school if it weren’t for her. I have the highest level of respect for her.”
Bledsoe’s newest list outlines where she would like to be in five years. Items on the list include graduating with a nursing degree, getting married and moving back to Silverton to eventually raise a family and work as a nurse. “I want my children to have the same feeling of support that I had growing up. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
She’s learned every time the unexpected happens to take it in stride.
“I really believe in Karma – do good things and good things will happen,” she said. “This is one of the many lessons the Silverton community has taught me. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to grow up here, surrounded by family, friends and a supportive community.”
