High school seniors are preparing for a major step in their lives in the next couple of months as many of them go off to college and leave their parents’ nest. For Brett Taylor the transition is even bigger as he prepares to take his talents 1,300 miles away.
Taylor — a 4.0 student at Iola High School — will be continuing his education at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas to pursue a degree in athletic training. Taylor has visited Las Vegas several times and says he feels very comfortable there.
“I go to Las Vegas twice a year for vacation,” Taylor said. “I really enjoy it there and when I started to look at the cost of tuition, it ended up being pretty cheap with my scholarships.
“It is going to be an adventure, for sure.”
The senior has been very active during his high school career participating in football, basketball, baseball and National Honor Society. He has also been active helping younger children in the community by mentoring fifth-graders every day during the school year and coaching youth basketball during the winter.
“Sports helped me become so much closer to a lot of people who I otherwise might not have even talked with,” Taylor said.
Some of his best high school memories came as a junior during Iola’s run to the state championship game in baseball.
“State baseball my junior year was such a good experience,” Taylor said. “Just getting to know everybody and be social (was rewarding).”
As the Mustangs prepare for regional play this season, Taylor hopes he and his teammates have more memories to make.
“Hopefully we can take it as far as we can to extend the time we get to spend together,” Taylor said. “Every day the team spends together is fun. We are like a family.”
Finding activities to make new friends in Nevada will be something that Taylor focuses on right away his freshman year.
“I am going to get into intramural sports to help me meet some people and I might join a fraternity to help meet even more right off the bat,” Taylor said.
Taylor also considered Kansas and Pittsburg State, before settling on UNLV.
THE CLOSEST Taylor came to losing his perfect GPA was way back in his freshman year in Travis Hermstein’s history class.
“I got a 90 percent both semesters,” Taylor said. “It was really tough.”
