Colby Domé wants to someday work in health care to help people, an aspiration the 18-year-old Ballard Memorial High School senior has had from an young age.
“It has always been my goal to become a health care provider because I like to help as many people as I can,” he said. “My uncle is actually a nuclear pharmacist and I got to see how many people he could help and since I was real little I always wanted to be some kind of doctor.”
Domé, who’s a certified nursing assistant, plans to attend West Kentucky Community and Technical College this fall to study nursing and get an associate’s degree. He wants to transfer to Murray State University for a bachelor’s degree and, after graduation, hopes to gain experience by working two years as a travel nurse.
He’d like to go on to study advanced nursing and become a nurse practitioner. He’s also considered the job of certified registered nurse anesthetist. Many advanced nursing programs require professional experience, Domé said, which is where travel nursing comes in.
“I just don’t necessarily know where I want to live and settle down,” he said. “So, I found this as a great opportunity to travel around the United States and do what I love and then hopefully find somewhere that I really like, and want to settle down, and go back to school and become a nurse practitioner. And then, hopefully, open my own practice one day.”
Domé, son of Dana and Gary Ingram of Bandana and Scott Domé and Diane Case of Kevil, is the Paducah Bank Teen of the Week.
Each Monday and Tuesday, The Sun has profiled area high school seniors chosen from a pool of nominees for Teen of the Week consideration. Around the end of the school year, a selection committee names one of these students as Teen of the Year, which carries a $5,000 scholarship. Another student will receive the Inspiration Award and a $1,000 scholarship.
Domé has earned a 4.0 unweighted cumulative GPA at Ballard Memorial and that puts him in the running for class valedictorian. In school, he’s served as student council president, HOSA chapter president, Pep Club president, Beta Club historian and participated in Future Business Leaders of America. Outside of school, Domé previously worked as a CNA at an area nursing home and has a part-time retail job.
With student council, Domé helped lead and organize student council meetings, worked closely with the school principal and teachers for related activities, planned after-school activities and promoted school spirit, including work on homecoming week events.
Ballard Memorial’s culture and community is important to Domé, who described the school as “close-knit,” explaining it’ll be hard, as a graduating senior, to part ways from school classmates and staff.
Domé never imagined that he may have already taken his last walk through the halls as a student, due to COVID-19 related closures.
“The majority of students that attend Ballard have grown up together, so we’ve been together from kindergarten all the way up to high school and when you grow up with someone, you have a sense of love and care for that person,” he said.
“So, growing up with my classmates, I have seen good days and bad days, but we’ve all been there for each other and that’s what makes it such a great culture at Ballard.”
By: Kelly Farrell