There’s a certain strength behind Caiden Cloud’s sweet smile, genuine kindness and long list of accomplishments.
Perhaps it comes from growing up with a father who battled illness most of her life. Craig Cloud was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 4, which limited his ability to attend many of her school and athletic functions. He died last summer.
“He always told my brother and I that the reason he never gave up was because of us,” she said. “And so that’s something I’ve always had in the back of my mind, to never give up and keep doing my best.”
She found similar inspiration from her mother, Karen Keithly, and stepfather, Jeff Keithly.
“It was just us growing up so seeing my mom come out of that and how she went back to school, and seeing her accomplishments now makes me want to work hard,” she said.
“That’s probably my biggest motivation, my family.”
Her family’s experience also helped forge a close relationship with her brother, Korbin, who is about two years younger in age but just a grade level behind her.
“It was nice to have him by my side through everything,” she said.
CAIDEN will graduate from Iola High School on Saturday as one of two valedictorians with the Class of 2023.
It will actually be her second graduation. In a twist of timing, she graduated from community college before high school.
Caiden completed enough online and dual credit classes in high school to earn an associate degree from Allen Community College. She attended last weekend’s commencement exercises at ACC.
She also was a cheerleader and danced at ACC during her final semester of high school. She recently attended a national college cheer competition in Florida, where the team placed fifth.
Keep in mind, she was still in high school, earning A-level grades — and also worked at Sam & Louie’s Italian Restaurant.
“It was stressful at times,” she admitted. “But I don’t think I’m going to cheer or dance in college. It kind of takes my focus away from school, and I want to be focused next year.”
She plans to attend Wichita State University and will major in exercise science. She hopes to enter the school’s physician assistant program to pursue a career in the medical field.
“I can’t decide if I want to specialize in pediatrics so I can be around kids, or orthopedics.”
