Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  William Culver is tall, lean, has clear blue honest eyes, a quiet smile and red hair. He exudes an air of confidence and serenity. William has lived all of his life in Nederland, a mountain boy who delved into learning about his community, his faith, the world around him and how to tame technology. Being in the spotlight wasn’t his goal, but the spotlight managed to find him.

Starting with Little Bear pre-school, he attended Nederland schools all his life and this Saturday, May 19, 2018, he will graduate with honors from Nederland Middle Senior High School.

Many of the awards and honors he received in the past week have been a result of his participation in music, a life-time talent, which he has pursued along with his academic achievement and work with the Robotics Club. Actually, that is the tip of the iceberg of what he has accomplished so far in his life.

Growing up in Ned in the family business of owning and running Ace Hardware Store, William had a chance to participate in school and town activities in many different realms from Boy Scouts to the Loquations. When he learned he had earned the honor of giving the class speech at the graduation ceremony, he decided he was a better singer than a speaker and wrote a song for the event. As of Monday, the song had no name. “I wanted to express who I am and how I feel and a song is the best way to get the message across. We have spent these years together and now we are moving apart, but we will always have the time we shared.”

When William was in elementary school, he joined the youth hockey league and the local Cub Scouts. During this time, he watched his older sister Kalina became a dedicated member of the Calvary Church Choir as well as a loyal singer and actor in the NMSHS Theater and Music Department.

“I always liked to sing and my sister and I began singing together.” When William was seven years old, he received a guitar for Christmas and began taking lessons with Nederland Elementary School music teacher Susan Jones. When he grew into high school, he learned from Doug Armitage of Brightwood Music.

He continued to add his voice to the school choirs, and to find a niche in the theater department, beginning with “Twitch” and “Exit” when he was a sophomore.

I found an energy on the stage that I didn’t find anywhere else,” he says. “At first I was nervous and then I got it down and had fun with it. Liz Evans was a big part of my music. Without her I don’t know if I’d still be as involved as I have been.”

When William was in middle school, he became interested in robotics. It began with MineCraft plugins and led to teaching himself how to program computers.

William’s dedication to Boy Scouts has never dwindled and this year he earned the ultimate honor of becoming an Eagle Scout.

While engaging in all these activities, William managed to maintain a 4.0 or better grade point average, qualifying him for the National Honor Society for the past two years.

He went beyond the titles and jumped into serving his school community. He was class president his freshman, sophomore and junior years and has been the executive treasurer this past year.

Over the years, William has become an active part of the Calvary Chapel Youth Group, which, he says, has helped him become a better person and understand leadership roles.

William is enrolled at the Colorado School of Mines and will study computer science.

“I will try to stay involved in music and theater and will try to make the world a better place. We’ll see where life takes me.”

During Senior Recognition Night, William was honored with a Magna Cum Laude blue tassel for a GPA of 4.2 -4.40, the National Honor Society Cord, the Best Actor in the Fall Plays, the Outstanding Musician Award for a senior, the Most Inspirational Musician in the Loquations and the Robotics Team Scholarship, presented by Randy Sachter, and the National School Choral Award.