3/13/08

Student Spotlight

Love of animals drives this student

by Beckye Randall

Colleen Lukancic is a junior this year at Marysville’s Mountain View High School, but she will graduate this June, a year earlier than normal.

“Instead of taking 5 classes last semester, I took 16,” explained Colleen, “and passed them all with a B or better.”

Colleen’s high school career has been diverse, to say the least. She attended four different schools in the last three years and is happy to have found the right fit at Mountain View. Beginning in Mukilteo at ACES High School, she then tried a home school program through Sequoia Alternative and finally transferred to Everett’s Cascade High School.

“Cascade was just too big, too distracting,” said Colleen. When her family moved to Marysville she decided Mountain View would fit her needs.

The flexible schedule and lower student-teacher ratio at Mountain View allows juniors and seniors to progress at their own pace. Colleen was able to complete many courses within two weeks, then move on to the next one.

Sophomores don’t have that flexibility because of in-class preparation for the WASL test.

Mountain View principal Dawn Bechtholdt explained, “Motivated students have an opportunity to work with their teacher to complete classes at an accelerated pace where possible. Before and after school and lunch times are available for extra support. We also have online curriculum available, and the business and computer classes are fairly self-directed. It is a lot of extra work for students, and Colleen did all of the above to accomplish what she has so far.”

What drives a teen to work that hard in school? For Colleen, who has definite goals and a direction for her life, she is simply eager to get on with it.

Two days after she graduates, Colleen plans to move back to her hometown, just outside of Chicago. “I’m going back to our family farm,” she said. “There’s no crime, no drug problem there. We never had to lock our doors, and there are horses and cows. It’s very peaceful.”

This idyllic life won’t keep her in Illinois for long, though. Colleen plans to apply for admission to the Bel-Rae Institute of Technology in Denver, earning a 3-year degree to become a vet tech.

“It’s a small school with a focused curriculum,” said Colleen of her choice. “They offer lots of opportunities for hands-on learning.”

Colleen has always had a keen interest in animals and shares her home now with five pets. The two dogs and three cats are all indoor animals, and Colleen emphatically believes it’s “cruel and inhumane” to keep pets outdoors.

“They’ve been domesticated to be companions, to live indoors with humans,” she said. “Outdoors they’re victims of other animals, they get run over. It’s just wrong.”

Her canine housemates are a pit bull named Ginger and a black lab, rescued from the Lynnwood PAWS shelter, named Emma. The cats are a Siamese/Himalayan mix named Miss Kittie and two domestic longhairs (“mutts”) that answer to Molly and Sadie.

While she is a serious student, her passion is clearly tied to animals. To be more specific, Colleen considers herself a pit bull advocate, and shares very clear opinions about breed-specific legislation and the demonization of these dogs.

“Pit bull terriers were bred to love people and to protect them from other animals,” Colleen stated. “In England, they used to be called ‘the nanny dog’ because they were so good with kids. Sergeant Stubby, an American Pit Bull Terrier, was known as ‘America’s Hero Dog’ for his bravery during World War I.”

She’s critical of cities that have passed breed-specific legislation. Denver bans pit bulls completely, and euthanizes any that are discovered. Ontario, Kansas City and Miami have passed similar measures.

Colleen wants to help by fostering pit bulls and working to change their image. She’s convinced that a career in veterinary sciences will help her accomplish that, and with her proven determination it’s a safe bet that she will follow through with her goals.