Niwot High School Senior Spotlight Claire Jensen

The Left Hand Valley Courier is known for its coverage of athletes and arts students at Niwot High School. The Courier also honors an array of students who pursue activities such as community service, robotics, academics, and topics that fall under the S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) umbrella.

Niwot High School senior Claire Jensen strives to be a positive force and role model for those at Niwot High School, whether they be students or teachers. Through her kindhearted personality and passion for helping others, Jensen has become widely known as a friend to all.

Through service-based extracurriculars, Jensen pursues her passion for supporting those around her. Such extracurricular activities include Helping Hands Club, Longmont Youth Council, Girl Scouts of Colorado, National Honor Society, Link Crew, and most prominently, the NHS Best Buddies Club, part of Best Buddies International.

The Best Buddies International website states, "Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)."

Jensen has taken on leadership roles within Best Buddies throughout her high school career. As a junior, she was the club's vice-president, and as a senior, she now serves as president of Niwot High School's Best Buddies Club.

Jensen spoke proudly of the club's program, "We have created meaning for all of the students in our special education program, and that has in turn created meaning in my life. Being able to see historically underrepresented students form connections with others has changed how I see my own world and I am incredibly proud of what our program chapter has become."

As a senior, Jensen reflected on her past four years at Niwot High and said her proudest achievement and passion has been creating disability advocacy at NHS. She said, "As a part of my role in Best Buddies and with Niwot's special education programs, I have created so many bonds with those that are disabled, so I created a project that taught others about how they can get involved as well."

Next fall Jensen will most likely be attending California State University, Long Beach. She has applied to seven schools and currently has been accepted into six.

With a major in nursing, Jensen hopes to pursue a career in healthcare, specifically as a registered nurse in mental health or pediatric care, and eventually as an occupational therapist in pediatrics.

She said, "Something I am very passionate about is healthcare equality, whether that be for underrepresented communities or those in need of life-saving procedures. I aspire to work in healthcare so equality is particularly important to me."

In her free time, Jensen loves the outdoors. Whether it be hiking through the Colorado mountains, snorkeling off the coast of Hawai'i, or watching whales breach in Washington, she loves anything to do with nature.

Another passion Jensen has found during her time at Niwot is the art of ceramic pottery.

She explained, "I fell in love with the art of ceramic pottery in my junior year of high school and I love the messy process of creating something functional, eye-catching, or both."

Jensen's passionate nature, intelligence, and kindness will be a powerful tool for her to use while pursuing her dreams, just as it has throughout her time at Niwot High School.