“It’s always been my dream to visit Costa Rica,” Isabel Seeley said, “because of the nature and the waterfalls.”

Now she will travel to the tropical country, located between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America. With aquamarine waterfalls, the Arenal volcano, a cloud forest, beaches, and average temperatures between 70 and 81 degrees, Costa Rica sounds wonderful. Seeley hopes to explore, and also do some volunteer work on her trip. 

The Polson High senior and most recent recipient of Logan Health’s Winslow Nichols Leadership Award hopes to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, next fall and study environmental science.

“We went to visit it in October,” she said. “I just loved the campus and getting to talk to people.” 

Seeley, with a 4.0 GPA, is among the top students in her graduating class. She was recently named a National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist, which is based on tests that students complete as juniors.

According to Polson High Principal Andy Fors, she’s the first PHS student to receive this honor in several years. She has since applied to become a finalist, which requires that Seeley be enrolled as a senior who is planning to attend college, is endorsed for the scholarship by her principal, has a record of consistently high academic performance in grades 9-12, excels on the qualifying test and essay, and has a record of community involvement and leadership. 

Fohrs, who also nominated Seeley for the Winslow Homer award, calls her “an outstanding young woman that has exhibited incredible discipline and work ethic in everything she has pursued.”

As she dives into applying for scholarships, Seeley has also applied for an early decision to Cornell, and applied to schools in Washington, Oregon, and some Montana schools. Now it’s a waiting game. 

Training for excellence

But she won’t be bored, because Seeley is a skier, and she and her dad, Polson track and cross-country coach Matt Seeley, have gotten into the arduous sport of ski mountaineering.

She likes exploring the backcountry – better snow and better hills, she says.

“I like working for the downhill (run). I feel like at a resort you’re just taking the chair up and then you ski down. Actually, putting in the effort to skin up the hill is a lot more rewarding.” 

To skin up a hill requires adapting skis by adding “skins” for traction, then shedding the skins for the exhilarating trip  down.

At the same time, Seeley is training for Polson’s annual Sorry Bout That half marathon scheduled for Jan. 13. Winter marks the lull between cross country and track seasons – both are sports in which she competes. 

In track, Seeley excels at the two-mile run, which earned her a trip to the State Track Meet last spring. She also competes in the one-mile and 800-meter events. 

She added she was the last girl in the state to qualify for the two-miler, so she went into competition as the underdog.

“It was a fun experience to run against some of the fastest girls in the state and sort of learn from them,” she said.

When she isn’t running cross country or track or skinning up a mountain, Seeley likes to be outdoors. Growing up, she and her family – mom Tana, dad Matt, and older sisters Melea and Gwen – spent time backpacking in the Mission Mountains and swimming and paddleboarding on Flathead Lake.

“I like the sense of escape you get going into nature and the peacefulness that comes and also having to push yourself to climb a mountain and then getting to enjoy the views that come from the climbs,” Seeley said. 

Giving back to school and community

Not only are they outdoors folks, but the Seeleys are very active in the Polson community. 

“I’ve enjoyed volunteering and participating to help the community, especially the pool,” she said, referring to the Mission Valley Aquatic Center. 

That includes fundraising efforts and also volunteering for athletic events such as the Sorry Bout That half-marathon, swim meets, and middle school track meets. She enjoys being able to help other people have fun with the sports in which they participate.

She’s also busy with school activities, serving as a LINK Leader and a member of National Honor Society, as well as participating in band, Math Club, and tutoring other students.

LINK Leaders are juniors and seniors who work with freshmen to get them more familiar with high school. Leaders organize events like Trunk or Treat, a Halloween celebration, and Cocoa and Cram, which provides hot cocoa and help with studying for finals. 

Delivering pamphlets for last spring’s successful school bond issue was also a job carried out by National Honor Society members.   

In addition to balancing school, sports and family life, Seeley also works part time at Showboat Cinemas – a job that has perks, including free movie access. 

As a fan of dystopian fiction, she recently saw “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and says one of her favorite books is Lois Lowry’s dystopian novel, “The Giver.”

In nominating Seeley for the Winslow Nichols Leadership Award, Fors commented, “She continually demonstrates the ability to balance her studies and activities well; and over time, my experience has shown me that this is not an easy undertaking.”  

“Isabel is admired by both her peers and her teammates for her pleasant and encouraging attitude,” he added. “She has personally set a standard of expectations that I find myself pushing other students to meet. … She has made me proud, as her administrator and as her friend, and I am sure she will continue to do so as she continues through life.”