Between schoolwork, practice and holding a job, Dillon Slaven often found himself squeezing everything he could from each day.
Burning the candle at both ends?
Slaven blasted his with a blowtorch.
“I may not miss the early mornings and late nights,” the Iola High School senior admitted as he winds up the school year. “But I’m definitely going to miss high school, being around friends, playing sports.”
Slaven’s unceasing dedication to all things IHS culminates Saturday with his high school graduation. He is one of eight members of the Class of 2021 to have earned a 4.0 grade-point average.
But Slaven’s efforts have extended well beyond the classroom.
On top of holding a weekend job at Orscheln Home & Supply, which he took on last spring once the high school doors were shuttered amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Slaven also is active in multiple clubs and activities, usually around sports.
There was football in the fall, basketball over the winter months, and now baseball in the spring.
And while he’s never been the star athlete, Slaven’s endeavors have reaped him a pair of significant honors.
The school announced earlier this month that Slaven and classmate Sidney Shelby were named recipients of the KSHSAA Citizenship Award for their respect, responsibility and reverence on and off the field.
“I didn’t know I was going to get it,” he said. “It was a big honor.”
And Slaven was named the winner of the first-ever Distinguished Mustang Award, which was devised by the Iola Football Alumni Group, and voted on by the current football players at the conclusion of the 2020 season.
“All of the kids who were nominated were deserving, but Dillon stood out to me,” IHS head football coach David Daugharthy said at last fall’s football awards banquet. “He’s a kid who will do the exact right thing in the classroom, he’ll do the right thing in the weight room, and he’ll do the right thing on the practice field.
“He’s just a fantastic kid, a great kid for others to look up to,” Daugharthy said. “He’s a definition of what it takes to be a leader.”
It’s just all in a day’s work for the soft-spoken Slaven, who plans to attend Allen Community College in the fall to pursue a career in physical therapy.
“There were times we’d have rough stretches,” Slaven said. “I’d always keep a positive attitude, cheer teammates on to get back on the winning path.”
After ACC, Slaven said he plans to attend Wichita State University.
“They have a good physical therapy program,” he said. “It’s just something that’s interested me. It kind of drew me in.”
