Glenwood Springs High School senior Tucker Stinson will be graduating in May, but he has no plans to leave the mountain town where he grew up.
“I was accepted to Colorado Mesa University, but it’s not necessarily where I want to go,” he said. “I want to get an associate’s in Firearms Tech.”
His plan is to become a police officer, which is something he’s been training for since he got into high school. And although the road to law enforcement is tough, Stinson has faced some hardships in his life, beginning when he was a baby.
“At 4 months old, I was diagnosed with cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma,” he said.
Rhabdomyosarcoma affects the connective and soft tissues of a person. Unfortunately, Stinson’s bout of it was found inside his left nasal cavity.
“It was treated with chemotherapy and then it was gone. I relapsed when I was 1 and half, so they treated it with radiation that time,” he explained. “I was finally cancer free at 3 years old.”
Stinson hasn’t had any cancer since, being checked every year to make sure it doesn’t make another appearance. However, the cancer in his nose meant the tissues didn’t develop as they normally would.
“I had surgery last semester for my teeth,” he said. “I’ll have another one, maybe next year in September, that will push my top jaw forward.”
The radiation Stinson received as a child might have damaged some of his tissue and may not be able to heal — they’re waiting to see if that’s the case.
“I also can’t smell a lot of stuff,” he said. “Just really strong smells.”
While Stinson has experienced hard parts of life, he mostly shrugs it off; for him, this is completely normal.
“Everyone’s normal is subjective,” he said.
The most difficult part of his life, Stinson says, is right now — he’s been behind in school since December.
“Every time I get caught up; I miss class because I’m doing something else. Like next week, my class is going on a hike, so I’m going to be behind again,” he said, lamenting the amount of schoolwork he has.
As preparation for his future career in law enforcement, Stinson takes part in a program that allows students to learn about the career.
“I’m part of the Explorer Program here at the school,” he said. “Every month, we have a four-hour training where we learn how to be a police officer.”
The Explorer Program works in tandem with the police, and some of the things Explorers learn about are firearms, CPR, arrest control and more. They also go on ride-a-longs with officers or during work events, like the 2022 Strawberry Days Parade.
“You have to be 21 to apply to be a police officer, so until then, I’ll get my online degree and work while I do that. Then I can apply to the Glenwood Springs Police,” Stinson said. “I hope I get in. They’re very selective.”
Stinson is a corporal in the Explorer Program and is also part of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He doesn’t have any plans to join the Army but considers it a part of his education to be a police officer.
“I like talking to people,” he said of his choice to be an officer. “There’s only a shooting here like every two years; it’s one of the best places to be.”
Stinson also participated in a competition set by the Explorer Program on how to deal with various scenarios.
“My team won third place in Suspicious Circ*mstances,” he said. “I found out there’s a scholarship with that.”
Stinson has other interests as well such as fencing, although he admits he’s “alright” at the sport.
“I made it to Nationals,” he said. “I qualified for them. I didn’t get into the top 75% to compete, but at least I got there.”
Although he’s not amazing at fencing, he does much better at playing the piano.
“I was in the All-Stars Valley Talent Show,” he said. “I got in after two years.”
Out of the three categories — vocal, instrumental and dance — Stinson won the instrumental, going up against four other candidates.
“There were two on piano, two guitar and one cellist,” he said, counting himself within the pianists.
Stinson has been playing piano for 11 years. With this win from the All Valley Talent Show, put on by the Kiwanis Club, Stinson earns scholarship money that can be put toward furthering his talent or his schooling.
He’s learned a lot about the piano, fencing and how to be a police officer, but for his senior capstone project at Glenwood High, Stinson said he had an opportunity to learn more about camping.
“I went on a four-day trip with my dad on motorcycles. We went all around Colorado,” he said. “I’ve gone camping before, but this time I learned how to do it on my bike.”
Usually when people go camping, they bring all their supplies in a car, which is much roomier, but Stinson and his dad did it the hard way.
“I also learned how to ride long distances,” Stinson said. “I think capstone projects should be on stuff you want to learn about or something that will help you in the future.”
After riding exactly 800 miles around Colorado, from the start to endpoints, Stinson has been working on applying to positions within the Glenwood Springs Police Department, hoping for a code enforcer position, and in Garfield County.
As a senior in high school, it’s almost over, and then hopefully Stinson and his fellow graduates can relax.
“I passed most of my classes,” he said in his final thoughts. “That’s special.”
