Editor’s note: This is the second installment of an eight-part series highlighting graduating high school students in Garfield County.

Roaring Fork High School senior Jane Taylor has called the Roaring Fork Valley home since she was 2 years old. A passionate adventurer, she spends her free time hiking, skiing, playing guitar, reading, and floating rivers with her family—along with writing songs, visiting her many cousins in Utah and traveling abroad. Her journeys during high school have taken her to France, South Africa, Namibia and the Galapagos Islands. This fall, she’s headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study civil engineering and business management.

Here are her responses to the Post Independent’s graduate profile questions.

Q: What is the most important thing you’ve learned during your four years of high school?
A: The most important thing I’ve learned in high school is that you can create a place and belonging for yourself anywhere; you don’t have to let your environment and circumstances define your identity and capabilities. However, your place can shape you in important and valuable ways if you are open to them, so it is important to make the most of wherever you are and to connect with and understand your place and community deeply so you may have positive impacts on each other. This has become apparent to me especially through taking classes outside of my high school, both at Colorado Mountain College and at Glenwood Springs High School — I’ve done so to challenge myself academically and pursue classes that interested me, but I had to face the discomfort of immersing myself in an entirely new environment surrounded by strangers. However, it has always been well worth it, and I now feel confident entering completely new environments and expanding the communities I am proud to be a part of.

Q: What motivated you most to do well in high school?
A: My main source of motivation to do well in high school is my genuine enjoyment of learning and classes. I derive a lot of satisfaction from solving problems, answering important questions, and finding ways to continuously improve and grow my abilities. At some point around elementary school, I had the revelation that when you boil it down, learning is our purpose in life, and it is so boundless and provides so many opportunities to explore a diverse range of interests that how could I not love it? My parents, both teachers, also raised me with a growth mindset and curiosity about the world, so my motivation to do well in high school primarily stemmed from my attitude that I should take the hardest, most interesting classes I could and always put in my greatest effort to learn. It became such a deeply ingrained habit that I found it more difficult not to give 100% effort on an assignment, complete the textbook reading, or study for an exam (even when I didn’t need to for my grade) because I felt happier and more fulfilled if I did.

Q: What will you miss about high school?
A: What I will miss most about high school is the community at Roaring Fork High School. I have created close connections with all of my teachers, who have been some of my most supportive and inspiring mentors, and I will miss each of them so much. I will also miss my peers and watching them pursue their unique interests with passion and dedication; I am continuously awed by the intelligent and hard-working students I have been surrounded by throughout high school. Finally, I will miss the direct influence of this valley on my school and education.

Q: Where are your post-graduation plans taking you, and why?
A: My post-graduation plans are taking me to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA, to study civil engineering; I am especially interested in designing structures that support sustainability and address social problems, and I also hope to study business management to one day own my own engineering firm. I’ve chosen to attend MIT because it is my best option to pursue my passions with incredible instruction and resources in an environment full of like-minded learners and a diverse range of inspiring peers. It was also my most affordable option for college; I’m extremely grateful for the support MIT has extended to me in this process. I see college as an adventure to discover more about myself, the world, and the ways I can fit into it and benefit it, and I have no doubt MIT will open my eyes to experiencing things differently and learning/problem-solving in ways I can’t even imagine.

Q: What do you most look forward to in your future?
A: I most look forward to learning to apply my knowledge through important projects to make real impacts. At MIT, there are so many opportunities to do so, many of which are on national and global scales. I can’t wait to get involved in research and internships and make connections with brilliant leaders to address critical problems. I also look forward to enjoying my time in college with friends and learning more about myself. And again, I’m excited to learn in general—especially more about physics and calculus.