Four Yampa Valley graduating seniors have been selected as recipients of the 2026 UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center Medical Staff Scholarship, with each student receiving $2,500 to fund their education in healthcare, according to a recent statement. 

To be eligible, graduating seniors must live in Routt or Moffat counties and intend to pursue an education in medicine. The scholarships are funded by physicians and providers affiliated with the center. 

Soroco High School graduate Ava Elshere will attend Colorado Mesa University and study nursing.

“Healthcare is a field that allows me to combine my compassion for others with my interest in science and medicine,” said Elshere in the statement. “I am inspired by the role nurses play in supporting patients and their families, often acting as both caregivers and advocates.”

Moffat County High School graduate Isabella Vanzo, who will also be enrolled at Colorado Mesa, plans to major in kinesiology and pursue a career in pediatric occupational therapy — a field for which she said she has a “strong passion.”

“I look forward to dedicating my life to giving youth opportunities tailored to their needs that enhance their working brain and body,” said Vanzo in the statement.

Guadalupe Lopez Gutierrez, a recent graduate of Moffat County High School, will attend the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts to pursue a pre-med study track. 

“My desire to pursue medicine is driven by the mesmerization I feel about the brilliance of the human body and the ability of internal systems to maintain human health through intricately interdependent systems,” said Gutierrez.

Steamboat Springs High School graduate Janie Gonzales, headed to Colorado State University Pueblo, plans to major in molecular biology and pursue surgical medicine. 

“I’m so deeply interested in everything to do with how the body functions, grows and changes,” wrote Gonzales in the statement. “I want to share my love for learning and life, and I can’t think of a better way than as a surgeon.”