Kristen Tefertiller is on track to be valedictorian of her graduating class in Holly.
While having the highest GPA in your graduation class is no easy feat on its own, it's especially impressive when you consider what Tefertiller has been through after a leukemia diagnosis.
She has received a bone marrow transplant and spent almost eight months away from home getting treatment at the Children's Hospital in Aurora.
“I’ve been studying every single night I can,” the high school senior told 9NEWS. “(I’m) just trying to stay up with my class so I can graduate with them.”
“There was a time where I didn’t know if I was going to make it, but I just kept fighting,” said Kristen. “I’m doing good, all my blood tests are coming back with really good numbers…I’ve been feeling really good.”
During her treatments, the community of Holly raised over $50,000 to help her family pay for the medical bills, according to 9NEWS.
Kristen stayed on top of her studies during her time in the hospital through remote learning.
"I had so much help from the hospital and in my school and even Dr. Bob,” said Kristen. “He was telling me, ‘You don’t have to be number one with everything you’re going through' and I pretty much told him, ‘Watch me…I will’.”
Kristen will graduate at the top of her class in two weeks. She plans on attending Grand Canyon University in Phoenix to study Forensic Psychology.
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