Lafayette High Student Earns 2026 Metro West Scholarship

Kylie Nichols, a Lafayette High senior, was named the recipient of this year’s Metro West Firefighters Community Outreach Annual Scholarship.

The $2,000 scholarship benefits a senior who is a resident of the Metro West Fire Protection District. The application materials ask students to write an essay detailing what core values define their lives, how these values guide their education and how they will ultimately have a positive impact on the students' communities.

Metro West firefighters and paramedics surprised Nichols with the good news in front of family, staff and some of her Lancer Regiment bandmates at Lafayette on April 30.

Nichols plans to attend Missouri State University to study elementary education. At Lafayette, she was a four-year member of the band and cross country and track and swim teams. She also volunteered with the Disabled Athlete Sports Association and one of its signature programs, Camp WeCanDu.

"Being a leader is something that I have always strived to be and has become a core value in my life," Nichols wrote in her application essay. "I’ve led in many different settings from being a camp counselor, a group leader in church and team leader in school sports. One of the most important things I’ve found about being a leader is knowing when to lead and when to follow. I will always be finding new ways to lead as I go off to school and in my community."