It's not like there was really anything missing in Braden Adams' hectic, yet very productive life.

A member of countless organizations at Abilene High School, Adams has his hands in just about everything one can think of. From being Abilene's STUCO president not to mention the go-to technology person at the school to running a pair of businesses in his "free time," Adams' plate is full.

And yet when he met with his gifted instructor at Abilene, Christy Whitehair, last spring, Adams discovered he had a small hole that needed filling.

"We were talking about making an activities list and writing down our community service," Adams said. "I'd really only done community service through my church. She told me that when she was in high school that a lot of her community service came through KAY Club. That was the first time I'd really heard about it and it instantly intrigued me."

At the time, Abilene High School didn't have a Kansas Association for Youth club, a Kansas State High School Activities Association program that focuses on leadership skills as well as service to a student's school and community. It does now.

Adams took it upon himself, with Whitehair's guidance, to start a KAY program at Abilene this school year, making a presentation before the school board in August. The program already boasts 55 members with Adams -- this week's Capitol Federal True Blue® Student of the Week -- serving as the club president.

"This was going on all over the state and Abilene wasn't participating," Adams said. "It just hit me that this could be something that could be a really big part of our school and be successful in our school. It just kind of took off from there."

Whitehair, who was a member of the KAY club when she attended Eastern Heights High School in Agra, admitted she was surprised to learn Abilene hadn't had the program when she arrived a decade ago. At the same time, she's not the least bit surprised that it was Adams who showed the initiative to get one in place.

"In northwest Kansas, every school in our league had it," Whitehair said. "It was a big deal and it was a way to get involved with other schools where you're not competing against someone but collaborating with them and doing something good for the community. When I started here, I was at the elementary -- I had Braden as a fourth-grader back in the day -- and not being in the high school itself, I wasn't sure who to get involved.

"Once I mentioned it (to Braden) he just took it and ran with it."

Which is something Adams has done throughout his life. His interests are varied and wide-spreading but Adams has attacked each one with the same passion he showed in starting Abilene's KAY Club.

"I think I've always been that way," he said. "It can be really stressful sometimes and there are times I maybe regret being involved in everything. But when I have a down day, I'm also kind of like, 'This is boring. I can be doing so many things.' It's just the way I've always been."

Athletics were a big part of Adams' early childhood, playing football, basketball and baseball for the bulk of his life. But sports weren't his only interest, and those other interests have taken hold to the point where Adams now only plays basketball for the Cowboys.

During his time at Abilene, Adams has competed for the scholar's bowl team and been a member of the Spanish Club, Future Business Leaders of America Club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership team, as well as a member of the school's National Honor Society. He also plays drums in the marching and jazz bands and has been named to the District Honor Band three years, earning first-chair selection as a sophomore and junior.

"As a student, Braden exhibits high intelligence, a strong work ethic and integrity," said Janeal Schmidt, Adams' Advanced Placement Government teacher and an assistant Scholars Bowl coach. "He has also consistently demonstrated strong leadership skills and a commitment to serving others.

"Not only is Braden an excellent student, but he cares about those around him and works tirelessly to improve our school for his fellow students. ... He excels at problem solving."

Perhaps Adams' strongest pull among his extra-curricular activities comes in the technology field.

"It just always fascinated me," he said. "I just really enjoyed it and any time I would have a problem with something of mine, I would click buttons, Google it and figure out how to solve things. When you solve enough problems, you just know how to do things."

Hence, whenever there is a technology question at Abilene, Adams is the go-to resource. When the school installed new video boards for its football field and basketball court, Adams quickly took over the entire production – from putting together the staffing personnel to creating the content that appears on the boards.

Not that it goes smoothly 100% of the time.

"Last year when we got the new board for the football field, Braden was in quarantine," Abilene athletic director Will Burton said. "He ran the video board from the basement of his house.

"Midway through football game we hear, 'How are the breadsticks?' come across the PA system. It was Braden and he forgot to turn the mute off. We were trying to figure out if someone was interfering with the signal, but it was just Braden in his basement."

For the record, Adams said the breadsticks "were really good."

Being a trouble-shooter also has paid off in Adams' personal life.

Abilene's tech department has a large number of iPads for student use, each outfitted with a crayon, which has a handful of replaceable parts. Except for a button that is vital to the crayon's functionality.

When those buttons started falling off, Adams' technology instructor asked if he could come up with a solution.

"It led to me learning what 3D printing was all about," Adams said. "They bought a 3D printer for the tech office and me and one of my buddies designed a button that we could put on the crayon. It's a $50 crayon, but if you don't have a button, it's worthless.

"Doing that just made me fall in love with (3D printing) and I thought it was a super-cool thing."

Adams bought his own printer and in March 2020 began his own 3D printing business: HB3D Print Co.

Among the many items he's designed and built was a 3D mask strap that can alleviate the pressure on the ears of people wearing protective face masks. He made roughly 200 mask straps when he started his printing business and donated them to local nursing homes in Abilene as well as hospitals in Salina.

He's already generated enough business to buy a second 3D printer to keep up with demand, much of his business coming through his Facebook page.

"You can literally make anything and that's what intrigued me more than anything," he said.

His business interests don't end there. His newest venture is HB Dronography.

Adams became a commercial drone pilot in the past year, certified through the Federal Aviation Administration. Though he hasn't quite taken off in that business yet, it's something he's looking forward to as he gets ready to head to Kansas State next fall, where he will study computer science and concurrently get his master's in business degree.

Before he leaves – a thought that drew an audible groan from Burton when asked what life at Abilene High School will be like without Adams around – Adams is determined to make Abilene's KAY Club a lasting legacy.

"I felt like it was something where everyone can belong," he said. "We have NHS (National Honor Society) which does community service, but you have to qualify and be accepted into that. With KAY, it could be for absolutely anyone who wanted to be involved in it.

"It's honestly been more than I could have ever imagined. I really think people have enjoyed it. We recruited heavily with the underclassmen because we don't just want this to be great for this year. We want this to be a foundation from which this can continue to grow."

The club has hit the ground running this school year, starting with roughly 40 members signing up at the initial meeting and adding another 15 more during a "Donut Miss Out" membership drive where members, current and new, could get a doughnut before school.

Among the school-related services the KAY Club has performed were helping the school's kitchen staff by unloading food from the truck to the freezers, raising funds by working concession stands, starting a dress drive for used formal dresses for homecoming/prom that eventually became a KAY Closet with winter coats and other formal attire, and a teacher appreciation presentation during halftime of a football game where members recorded videos about why they appreciated their teaches and how they have been impacted. 

In the community, the club wrote cards to more than 200 veterans in the community on Veterans Day, helped serve free community meals at a local church – delivering meals to those who couldn't be there in person – and recently had a "Rake and Run," where close to 20 members got a list of elderly citizens in the community in need of having their yards raked and removed their leaves.

"The first person we went to was an older lady and she teared up when we told her what we were doing," Adams said. "She said her 89-year-old husband had just gotten out of the hospital and they were struggling and just that day had talked about how they would get their yard raked. That just felt good that we were able to help out people like that."

The good feelings that service has generated for Adams are mirrored by the feelings his teachers have for him.

"Braden is something special to our school," said Mitchell Burkett, a physics teacher who is also the National Honor Society sponsor. "Braden is a powerful reminder for what it means to be a part of a community and Braden so deeply cares about his community. He not only excels in his studies, but he excels for his community."

Burton agreed.

"He's very inclusive and very diverse," Burton said. "He's well-respected by his peers. He can communicate with his classmates as well as adults. And he never says no to anything. If you need something and he can help you, he does it and that's great character."