• Still rooted in the land

Though he’s headed to Kansas State University to study environmental engineering this fall, Marion High School co-salutatorian Kadon Mercer remains deeply grounded here in what matters most to him – his family and love of the creeks and landscape he’s fished, swum, and hunted his whole life.

“I’ve just always enjoyed being outside in the environment, and I feel like improving it with engineering is my best possibility,” he said.

Setting and checking his lines on late night or early morning kayak paddles “shows me what the environment is like and  makes me want to try and protect that and keep  nature how it is,” he said.

Graduating with a 3.89 GPA, he’s in the top four of his class, and academics have been easy for him.

He admitted he’s shy, but noted that the high school community — athletic teams like football, basketball and baseball, and Future Business Leaders — created a “perfect balance” that made high school even more valuable to him than just the classroom learning.

He’s unsure of exactly what form his engineering degree will take. It could be dams and roads, but it also could involve outdoor recreational focuses.

But Kadon doesn’t think it’ll take him far from the emotional connection of Marion and family — particularly, he added, a brand new niece who has taken his spot as the family’s youngest member.