It’s impossible to catch every time one of our Moffat County School District students does something incredible. It happens too often, and, frequently, very quietly.

That’s kind of the Moffat County way. But we also love to celebrate, and every so often, students are celebrated by the community at large as much as we celebrate them in their own schools. That’s the case this past week with our SWAP students.

SWAP, which stands for School to Work Alliance Program, is a state-funded program for students ages 15-24 who experience barriers to employment. It primarily serves young people with special needs or disabilities, though all students who feel they face barriers to employment are invited, and in Moffat County, more than 50 kids participate in the program.

Ashley Simonet is the director of the program at Moffat County High School.

At last Wednesday’s Chamber of Commerce State of the Community event, MCHS’s SWAP team was recognized as the United Way of the Yampa Valley Youth Volunteers of the Year award-winners.

We couldn’t be happier or more proud. These students, who are also involved in all kinds of other activities, are particularly impressive when serving in their SWAP capacity. These students are learning how to work, how to serve, how to be responsible, how to be prepared members of the workforce, and more. They’re learning all kinds of skills, and they do it for good.

SWAP students operate the Blue Bark Cafe inside the high school, they take that show on the road with regular event service, and they produce all kinds of cool materials and services.

The students who showed up to the State of the Community event to accept the award got a taste of what it means to be part of Craig and Moffat County’s contributing community.

The mayor spoke on behalf of the city, commissioner Melody Villard on behalf of the county, and numerous other speakers addressed the work being done to build the future of this community, including our very own Dr. Mathew Neal, superintendent of schools, on behalf of the district.

These students heard and learned all about the hard work businesses and agencies are doing to strengthen our economic future in Craig and Moffat County, and they are just the young people who are going to need to join that work in the coming years.

It’s a proud moment for Moffat County School District to see these students celebrated for their hard work. We’ve known for a long time how great they are. We see it every day. And we do share it with you from time to time in this space.

But we really love the chance for our students to stand in the spotlight and be recognized and applauded by the whole community for that work. That’s how we build up kids. That’s how we build up a community.