Blackwood is CHS Student of the Month

Here's an interesting thing to know about Hattie Blackwood, the Concordia High School Student of the Month for February: she hunts coyotes.

“My dad and I go out coyote calling,” she said. “One time I shot one and it went down, but we had to turn the truck around. I was watching it, and it got up and limped over a hill. We never did find it. I was so upset.”

Blackwood, the daughter of Dr. Bradley and Alisha Blackwood, loves to hunt and fish. “Hunting is probably my favorite, but I've had a fishing pole in my hand ever since I could walk. I go to the lake with my dad a lot.”

Born in Belleville, Blackwood has lived in Clyde and Concordia. At CHS, she has participated in volleyball, cheer, softball, the National Honor Society, the Fellowship of Christians in Action, student council (she is the student body president), Friends of Rachel, band, choir, chamber choir, color guard, and star spangled banner singers.

In the band, she plays the clarinet. “I'm second chair, but my best friend is first chair, so we have a lot of fun. Sometimes Mr. Roegge is like, “Girls, shhh!”

She likes playing softball a lot, but her favorite sport is volleyball. “I practically grew up playing with my mom. I've worked on being a setter since I was little.”

In her spare time, Blackwood enjoys going to the lake with her family and friends, fishing and hunting with her Dad and dog named, “Tucker”, and driving around with friends.

After CHS, Blackwood plans to attend Washburn University and get a degree in nursing. “A lot of my family are nurses. And my dad's a chiropractor, so I've been around the medical field my whole life. I'm a CNA at Park Villa now. But even when I was young I always saying I was either going to be a doctor or a nurse. I love helping people. Right now I think I want to work with babies or delivery, but I'm just going to go through school and see what I experience in the classes. That will probably help me decide.”

Though she is going to miss her family and friends when she moves to Topeka, Blackwood is excited about the opportunity. “I'm really looking forward to it. The freedom to live on my own and meet new people and learn new things is going to be super exciting.”

When Blackwood looks to the future, she sees some aspects of her life clearly, and some of it is still a mystery. “I've thought about that a lot,” she said. “I'll definitely be a nurse somewhere, or a nurse practitioner maybe. And I love small towns, but the pull of a big city is also there. There's just so much more to do. So we'll just wait and see how it goes.”

Blackwood wanted to thank her parents, teachers, and coaches for all they've done to help her along her journey in life. “They've guided me along the way, and made me into the person I am.”

Congratulations to Hattie Blackwood, the CHS Student of the Month for February.