For as long as she can remember, Kate Rogers has wanted to save lives.
"I was the girl who pulled floating, sprawling June bugs out of puddles," said Rogers, a Paducah Tilghman senior. "During my middle school years, I stood on the sidelines with the high school's football team, assisting the trainer when players cramped up or needed ankles bandaged."
In summer 2017, Rogers' passion culminated at Medical Camp at Baptist Health in Corbin. Observing medical procedures, shadowing professionals, and receiving hands-on training in many of the intricacies of medical treatment, Rogers said, solidified her career path.
Her partnership with the Baptist Health Medical Explorers Club has allowed Rogers to experience many facets of medicine, such as studying the human heart, meeting with an obstetrician and watching a birth simulation, and learning about X-ray procedures.
"Throughout my high school career, I have been given numerous opportunities to prepare for my future in the medical field," Rogers said. "But I have gone above and beyond, ensuring that I was ready for the challenges ahead.
"Attending Medical Camp at Baptist Health, taking rigorous STEM and humanities classes, and being involved has allowed me to put my best foot forward after high school."
Rogers, the daughter of Mike and Rebecca Rogers, is the Paducah Bank Teen of the Week.
Every week in the online edition and Tuesday in the print edition, The Sun features a teen selected from nominees submitted by guidance counselors throughout the region.
Near the end of the school year, one of the students profiled will be named Teen of the Year and will receive a $5,000 scholarship.
An additional student will be chosen for an Inspiration Award and receive a $1,000 scholarship.
During her high school career, Rogers has pursued an accelerated academic track, taking classes that interested her and laying the foundation for a future in medicine.
Ranked third in her class of 160 students, Rogers has a 4.35 grade-point average, is an honor roll student, a Kentucky Governor's Scholar, and a Youth LEAD graduate.
She is involved in 24 extracurricular activities, including the cross country and track teams, speech and debate, mock trial, student council, Medical Explorers, Future Business Leaders of America, Interact Club, pep club, National Honor Society, Beta Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Rogers serves as both chaplain and president of Medical Explorers, is CPR certified, and serves as an active STEM advocate for women at Paducah Tilghman.
Learning to speak Spanish, Rogers said, also has been a priority.
"I am working on fluency, and am currently comfortable with conversational Spanish," she said. "I feel that is important to be able to communicate with my future patients in their native language."
Rogers will attend the University of Kentucky in the fall to major in chemistry on a pre-med track.
"In the classroom, I love new experiences that open new doors of learning," she said. "I am proud to be ranked third in my class of very high achievers, and I look forward to the rigor of college and medical school."