MCHS grad is Harvard-bound

MCHS grad is Harvard-bound

May 24, 2001

MCHS student Aaron Montano pretends he's hitch-hiking as he talks about his coming trip to the Ivy League. The senior, who will be graduated tonight, has been accepted to Harvard.

by Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

With hopes of someday working for the FBI and bound for one of the most reputable schools in the country, 18-year-old Aaron Montaño is a "class-act" product of the Montezuma-Cortez School District.

Born, raised and educated in Cortez, Montaño will leave his familiar roots for Harvard University in the fall.

"It’s indescribable," Montaño said of being accepted into the Ivy League school. "I’m just a regular guy. I never in a thousand years thought I would get accepted, but I figured I might as well take a long shot."

The acceptance letter came last winter. He had only applied at one other school in Denver.

"I decided if Harvard didn’t feel oppressive, I was going to go there because it’s got the reputation and they graduate 97 percent of the incoming freshman. If I go and I feel like it’s seriously not a good school for me, then I’ll go to Regis (University) — but it felt pretty good there."

Montaño will graduate today at the top of his class, as one of seven valedictorians, finishing his high-school career with a 4.0 grade-point average.

Montaño credits his successes to his family and a long line of influential teachers.

"I think it all started when I was really little. Mom and Dad read to all of us kids constantly. I probably knew how to read going into kindergarten."

Once in the public school system at Lakeview Elementary, Montaño said he benefited from small classes and individual attention.

"We had two teachers and one aide for 28 students — and that was a huge year. I still keep in touch with Mrs. Murray."

In high school he participated in wrestling, Knowledge Bowl and student government in addition to his studies. While Montaño said he enjoyed every area of study, he found the sciences interested him the most, in part due to a special mentor, MCHS teacher Mike Ferland.

"As a teacher he’s just phenomenal. I couldn’t ask for a better teacher. He taught us so much and expected us to remember all of it — the finals almost killed me."

Montaño said he constantly felt challenged in his advanced classes and expects to be well-prepared for college.

"I was perfectly happy here. There are teachers that teach their subjects and that’s that. In the advanced classes we have a lot more teachers who teach the students than teachers that teach the classes."

MCHS Principal Mark Rappe said Montaño is a well-liked and well-rounded student whose trademark tie-dyed clothing and black briefcase made him stand out.

"He likes to do unusual stuff — he likes to be distinctive that way," Rappe said. "We’ve had a lot of neat kids come out of here and go to great places. And to have one go to Harvard, that’s wonderful."

Montaño said he didn’t have specific advice for fellow students but rather for their parents about fostering learning and planning ahead with college savings.

"As far as going to a big college from here, I think I’d have more advice for parents," he said. "They (Montaño’s parents) decided early on they wanted us to go to college so they’ve been saving since we were really little."

Annual tuition at Harvard is $36,500, an expense that will be met in part by scholarships and also his own college savings fund, Montaño said.

He has received $10,000 from a Harvard arts and sciences scholarship as well as $1,000 locally from the Basin Electric Scholarship and the Rolland Schneider Memorial Scholarship.

Montaño emphasized the influence of a strong family unit on his ability to succeed in school and feel confident about attending Harvard.

"That has a lot to do with my personality and who I am. A lot of it’s defined by the love I got from my parents and my brother and sister. Everything I am comes back to them."

He is the son of Laurie and Pete Montaño of Cortez and the brother of Tess and Nick Montaño. All three Montaño children have been recipients of the University of Colorado’s Outstanding Junior Award. Tess will be a junior at MCHS next fall and is currently the editor of the Panther Press, and Nick attends the Colorado School of Mines.