Pine Creek High School senior's honors show evidence of strong work

Colorado Springs Business Journal, Feb 11, 2005 by Jennifer Knight

Every day, forensic scientists meet people on the worst day of their lives, to paraphrase CSI's Gil Grissom.

But forensics and its fascinating marriage to crime scene investigation, despite the depravity of the reason for its existence, is what Pine Creek High senior Krista Fager is called to.

That, or medical research. She hasn't decided yet.

I'm real math-and-science oriented, she said. I like the investigation, and problem solving, taking and analyzing evidence. Things like that.

And it's not because she is enamored with any of the popular crime dramas on television. Frankly, she doesn't have the time.

Fager is taking an astonishing course load that includes honors senior English, Advanced Placement statistics, honors Spanish IV, AP psychology and honors DNA science.

She hopes to major in biology at either Colorado College, the University of Denver, Notre Dame or Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where she has already been accepted.

Ultimately, Fager hopes to earn a doctorate.

In 10 years, I'll still be in school, but starting to really focus and streamline a career field. Probably just starting out in society and trying to build a career and working for a Ph.D., hopefully, with a pretty solid foundation as either a medical or forensic technician.

A lofty goal for a horsewoman.

In addition to carrying a 4.0 GPA (5.0 weighted), Fager is an accomplished competitive equestrian.

My parents were in it way before I was born, so basically, I learned to ride before I could walk. I love the competition.

The year 2003 was the best of her horse showing career. Fager earned ninth-place honors of more than 100 in her Horsemanship class, at the World Championship in Fort Worth. They judge you on your ability to ride and manipulate a pattern.

Toward the end of that year, she found out she was ranked 20th in the entire nation among thousands of exhibitors, for the year's record of point standings.

They judge your ability to handle your horse, basically. In one class it's your ability to manipulate obstacles, in another it's how well you ride and the training of your horse, Fager said. They want to see what level you can perform at without seeing any visible cues. The goal is to make it look like the horse is reading your mind and doing whatever you want.

In other words, she and her horse have to know each other well.

Showing horses has kind of taught me, besides my formal education, most of what I know, she said. It's where I learned responsibility at a really young age, and it set me up really well as far as going to school, because horses are not a small commitment.

But Everyones Choice, her horse of six years, is actually a replacement for Watch Me I'm Classy, who was struck by lightning in a devastating accident.

Fager intuitively answers the evident question-The breeder picks the name when they're born. Usually there's nothing standard, but often they incorporate the stallion and mare's names into it.

She also shows horses for 4H.

Fager has been involved in the youth education branch of the Cooperative Extension Service (a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) since she was 8.

Now 17, she has many wonderful memories of growing up through the program.

When I came into it I looked up to all the big kids, who were kind of like my mentors. I had a lot of fun and was able to have a lot of really cool experiences, she said. Now that I'm on the other end of it, I can help the little kids coming up. I love being a senior mentor.

Last year, Fager won the El Paso County Senior Sportsmanship Award, which is given to the person with the most votes for helping out at various 4H shows and activities throughout the year.

During her time with the 4H Horse Project, Fager has won three state championships.

But despite all her accomplishments in the equestrian arena, showing horses is still her idea of relaxation. My horses are my fun, it's kind of my downtime. I love to play sports, too. If I can be active and be with friends, I'm a happy camper.

Fager's values are evocative of a less leisurely era in American history, a time when hours of daily must-see television would have been unheard of.

Hard work pays off in the end, for everything in general, education or otherwise. If you really strive to reach your goals, if you work really hard, it will come to you.