Douglas High senior Jessica Vega has garnered some high honors during her high school career.
This year alone, she's been a homecoming queen and a soccer state champion.
Last month, though, she earned a distinction she never expected, or even aimed for.
But it was one that probably meant more than all the others.
Vega was inducted into Fenwal Donation Hall of Fame in recognition of her dedication to saving lives in partnership with United Blood Services.
As part of the honor, she, along with her remarkable story, will be featured in the annual calendar issued by Fenwal Blood Technologies in 2011.
"It's a huge deal," said Alana Ladd Ross, donor recruitment supervisor for United Blood Services in Carson City. "Hundreds of people were put in for it from all over the country and they chose just 12.
"It's quite an honor. This is only the second time I know of that someone from this area has won it and the first one was many years ago."
It was Ladd Ross who nominated Vega for the award, and she only came to know the outgoing teen in the last year or so.
"I met her mother when Jessica first came in to donate blood, on her 17th birthday," Ladd Ross said. "I got to talking to Rhonda and she started telling me about what Jessica had been through.
"It was a story that touched my heart. In donor recruitment, you want to be able to put a face on where these products that are being donated go.
"Jessica is someone who benefited greatly from the types of services we provide and here she was giving back. She has served as a guest speaker for us on a few occasions and it's always a case of not leaving a dry eye in the house.
"She's just a bright light and a beautiful person. I want people out there, people going through similar instances to what she has been through, to see there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
Vega's full story appears here: https://www.recordcourier.com/article/20101229/SPORTS/101229881/1062&ParentProfile=1049
