Klein Collins student displays act of heroism

Collin Page recently was awarded the JROTC Gold Valor Award

Collin Page, a sophomore at Klein Collins High School, has been awarded the Air Force JROTC Gold Valor Award.

He received the award, which is highest award given to a cadet for an act of heroism, Aug. 31 after aiding a childhood friend to the side of a river boat caught in the strong rapids of the Uncompahgre River in Ridgway, Colo. during a summer mission river-rapids excursion in June 2011.

"My main thought was to stay calm," Page said in a press release. "I remembered what I had learned in both Boy Scouts and AFJROTC training, and knew if I had freaked out I would have gone into shock also."

During the excursion, the boat Page and his friend were on became trapped in a funnel of converging rapids. All the other occupants, including the boat's guide, were thrown overboard. Both Page and his friend became dowsed by the swift rapids and experienced hypothermia. After his friend went into shock Page, a trained boy scout, was able to secure the boat with the help of a nearby guide.

"Collin is the light of my life," said Page's mother Shelley, a math specialist at Klein Collins, in the press release. "There's not a day that goes by that he doesn't make me smile. He amazes me every day with how ambitious he is."

The Gold Valor Award presented to Page is the highest award given in the AFJROTC program, and is only handed out a few times a year throughout the nation.

"Collin is a bright student and an aspiring cadet," said Col. Daniel Crum, director of the AFJROTC program at Klein Collins, in a press release. "His act of heroism was tremendous, and I'm proud to have presented him with this prestigious award, which is the first in school history."

In addition to Boy Scouts and AFJROTC, Page is a member of the Civil Air Patrol. After high school, he plans to enroll in the Air Force Academy and become a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.