Ask Kaysin Crusinbery how she became so successful in and out of the classroom, and she hesitates a bit.
She couldn’t pinpoint a single reason. Instead, she mentioned a laundry list of influences and factors that led to her maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average throughout her career at Iola High School.
Crusinbery and her classmates will be honored at Saturday’s 2 p.m. commencement ceremony in the IHS gymnasium.
As for the strongest influence on Crusinbery, the parenting factor comes in first.
Her dad, Brad Crusinbery, is Iola Middle School principal. Her mom, Stacey, is IMS counselor.
“They always wanted me to work hard in school, and of course, they expected me to have good grades, but eventually I just put it upon myself to do well,” she said.
Then she pointed to her athletic career. She was active in basketball, softball and volleyball — her favorite sport — all four years of high school.
It was as a freshman that Crusinbery was inserted as the team’s setter, and given a leadership role for the young Mustang squad.
“And I was not a leader,” she laughed. “I was always kind of timid.”
But she quickly grew to appreciate the nuances of the role, setting up her teammates to succeed on both offense and defense.
“It really helped me become the person I am,” she noted. “I definitely grew into the role.”
Finally, Crusinbery points to her senior year, as an intern at Thrive Allen County, where she periodically is tasked with speaking in public and interacting with folks of all ages throughout the community.
“It really helped me step out more,” she said. “Plus, I got paid during the school day. I’m gonna miss that.”
CRUSINBERY has one last summer to embrace her hometown before heading off to Lawrence to major in business and minor in psychology at the University of Kansas.
“Since I won’t have to do summer weight training for sports, I’m going to work and take a couple of classes at Allen Community College to get my gen ed stuff out of the way,” she said. Crusinbery also works part time at the Humboldt Fitness Center.
She also looks forward “to one last chance to hang out with my friends for our last summer together before we all move away.”
