Ava McEachern is a Junior at Fossil Ridge High School, this is her first year on the Etched in Stone Staff. Ava took journalism because she prefers writing about the real world, knowing people are going to read her work. She joined Journalism II so she could actually participate in the publishing process, and because of some convincing from a former teacher.

Ava loves helping people learn, especially tutoring science. As for her free time, she enjoys playing video games, and going shopping with some of her closest friends.

Being that she’s always been a naturally curious person, Ava is looking forward to the possibility of a career in biotech. She wants to stay close to home in the future not wanting to leave the Fort Collins area, she “loves it here and has family” so there’s no need to leave.

Kelly Colanto, a senior, is starting her fourth year as a part of Etched in Stone. In past years, Colanto has worked on editing articles for her classmates and hopes to continue and improve this role throughout the school year. Her hard work has earned her the position of Head Copy Editor, ensuring the products of her classmates are of the highest quality before being viewed by fellow students.

Colanto moved to Fort Collins from Northern California just before eighth grade and loves living closer to the Rocky Mountains. One of her favorite parts about Colorado is how beautiful it is and all the variety of activities there is to do. She has found a few new hobbies since moving like skiing, boating, and paddle boarding throughout the mountains. Colanto’s favorite ski resort to visit is Winter Park, and her favorite lake in the summer is Horsetooth Reservoir.

Colanto has a passion for dancing and is even a member of the Fossil Ridge High School dance team. She loves competing in many different styles of dance with the team while traveling around the state and even the country. These styles include hip-hop, musical theatre, jazz, and performing at Fossil sporting events, otherwise known as pom.

Another very large aspect of her life is music. She loves listening to indie and alternative genres, and more specifically, artists such as Rex Orange County, Tyler the Creator, Cuco, Kanye West, and Cage the Elephant. She says, “As a dancer, being able to connect with all kinds of music is a big contribution to improving my musicality and technique.” She continues to say that music helps her “connect, relax, and help achieve a positive mindset.”

Her family consists of her mom, dad, and her older sister, who goes to UNC Greeley, an older brother, who goes to CU Boulder, and two dogs – a Yellow Labrador and a Mini Australian Shepard.

Looking into the future, Colanto is attending the University of Colorado Boulder where she hopes to obtain a degree in Psychology. She wants to follow her love for psychology and see where that path takes her.