Katherine Applegate (Pylypczuk)

Katherine Applegate (Pylypczuk) – Fountain-Fort Carson High School, class of 1999

Katherine attended Colorado College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. Since graduating college, Katherine has organized and led groups of people to build homes for families in need in Mexico for six years, as well as performed general maintenance and construction projects for St. Innocent Orphanage in Mexico. In 2008, she also through-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Currently, she resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is a wife, mother, and homemaker.

# 1 – How did earning the Dollars For Scholars/Fountain Valley Scholars award make you feel knowing that your community believed in you enough to invest in your education?

Earning the Dollars For Scholars award made me feel like more a part of the community and helped me realize that people are amazing and there is so much to be gained by being supported and supporting others.

# 2 – Please provide a statement or quote that you feel represents you and your post high school educational experience

Education and personal growth are lifelong endeavors and as I have matured I have realized that some of the best opportunities for learning are in places you might not expect.  Classrooms are wonderful places to acquire knowledge, but knowledge and a very important understanding of yourself can also be found in things like taking the time to truly listen to a friend, seeing the world through the eyes of your child, putting someone else before yourself, facing a cancer diagnosis, or even stopping to listen to the wind in the trees or taking in the view.