Houk signs letter of intent with Colby Community College

Leyton High School senior Jessica Houk is not in Kansas right now, but will be soon after signing a letter of intent to run track for Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas starting this fall.

"I'm ready for a new adventure," Houk said.

A native of Sidney, 18-year-old Houk said she made the decision to attend the college after visiting the campus.

"It's a smaller school, and it has what I want," she said.

Houk said she plans on studying towards a degree in secondary education, with an specialization in biology.

"When I visited their campus, I got to see the science rooms," she said. "They actually have lab practical jars that have eggs, plants and animals, and you get to do dissections not just on pigs or cats. You get to do large-scale dissections."

Houk said her former science teacher, Rob Shoopman, cultivated her love of biology and inspired her to pursue a career as an educator.

"He was my science teacher for three years," she said. "He taught me so much and made me love science. The way he made the atmosphere in the room feel, it was nice. It was inviting. You wanted to learn about science."

As a Leyton High School student, Houk participates in numerous activities, including the National Honor Society, the student council, speech, basketball and track and field.

"I just try to be really involved so I can show the underclassmen that it's fun to be involved in things," she said. "You make friends, get life experience and develop life skills that nobody can take away from you."

Houk's mother, Bridgette, said her daughter is a very good student.

"She's an 'A' student," she said. "She's studies hard, she studies long and she puts every effort into what she does."

Houk is even taking classes through Western Nebraska Community College as a high school student, which her mother said will transfer to Colby Community College in the fall.

"She will also take classes while at Colby through Chadron State College," she said. "So she can later transfer back into Nebraska and get that education she needs to get into the field that she wants."

As with her academics, track is also important part Houk's life.

"She has always loved running," Houk's mother said. "Even in the summer, she keeps conditioned."

For Houk, it is the dichotomy of being on her own, yet part of a larger piece of the puzzle that has drawn her to track.

"You run the track as an individual, but you also participate as a team," she said. "So you're on your own, but you're also more than an individual."

Leyton Girls' Track Head Coach Jodi Craig said Houk has done tremendous in the school's program.

"She's a good all-around athlete," Craig said. "She works hard in practice, and is somebody you know you can count on to do what you ask her to do every time. It doesn't matter what event."

Craig said Houk has excelled at the 100- and 200-meter dash for the past three years, and has done well this year after moving to 400-meter track events.

"She stepped in really well," she said. "And she's liking it."

Although still a few months away, Houk said she thinks she is ready to run at the collegiate level.

"It's kind of scary, but I'm excited for it," she said.

While she is somewhat scared about running collegiate track, Houk said she has no worries about leaving her home in Sidney for the first time to travel nearly 230 miles to Colby, Kansas.

"To drive from Sidney to Colby, it's about three-and-a-half hours," she said. "It's far enough away from home where I can't come home every weekend, but not far enough away where I can't always come home if I need to."