By GARY VAN CLEAVE
Special to Great Bend Post
During his high school days, Eston Juno set some insane standards to follow at Otis-Bison High.
“To me being a leader meant looking over everyone and setting a good example,” the 2024 Otis-Bison graduate said. “Doing good things that can be passed down to others and keeping a good culture flowing. Doing this will help you and your peers achieve many goals. Being a leader takes a lot of courage and drive, but it is an important thing to have within your community, school, work or wherever you are.”
During his time at Otis-Bison, Juno participated in football, basketball, traveling baseball and track. He also was a big part of various clubs such has Stuco, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, 4-H and National Honor Society. He fashioned a 3.93 GPA in high school.
“My favorite sport was probably football,” Juno said. “One of my best games was on Oct. 1, 2021 against Tescott. I was a sophomore at the time and I had one of my best receiving games of my career. I had six receptions for 104 yards and four touchdowns, while also having seven tackles and one tackle for loss in the 72-22 win over them.”
Juno was also a defensive end for his first two years of high school and linebacker for his last two years.
“One of my best defensive games was at linebacker when we played the ranked Sylvan-Lucus Mustangs,” he said. “They pointed us a couple minutes after halftime and I still racked up 13 tackles for the first half.”
“Eston’s work ethic was unmatched,” current Cougar senior Ian Haselhorst said. “Everyone noticed that Eston worked harder than most and cared about Otis-Bison and being the best leader he could. He really set an example, it got to the point where staff members at our school used the phrase ‘be a leader like Eston’ or ‘set an example like Eston.’ “
Juno is now taking his leadership qualities to the real world. He’s taking a one-year oil and natural gas program at Barton Community College.
“During high school I found out about the natural gas industry when we would look at careers during our seminar. I quickly took interest in it,” Juno said. “So I applied at Barton for the natural gas program and got in. I also knew the manager of the storage field at the Oneok Bushton facility and he was able to get me an internship for the summer. It was a great experience and I hope I can work there after school.”
His daily tasks normally were helping write work permits, help perform maintenance on pumps and help turn valves.
“Some of the fascinating aspects of the oil and gas industry is the amount of opportunities this career has,” Juno said. “They have so many different jobs within the career that can best suit your skills. Also it is a great paying job and has great benefits. Lastly, the evolving equipment and strategies are constantly getting better.”
“Eston is definitely the most hardest working person I’ve ever met,” senior Jake Hoopingarner said. “The guy just does all the dirty stuff, gets no praise and just does it over and over again. Our basketball coach said many, many times that if he could coach 10 of him, he would do that for the rest of his life.”
His former teammates knew Juno would go big in life.
“He’s a really smart kid with a good work ethic,” Cougar grad Riley Polly said. “He should do great in life.”
“He’s a great leader. His junior year, my freshman year, I looked up to him a lot,” junior Louis McVey said. “As a younger guy, he was the upperclassmen that you wanted to emulate. Everything he does, he does to 100%.”
Juno has learned a lot about himself.
“I have definitely learned that I have more skills than I thought I had,” he said. “My problem solving skills have gotten a lot better as well as my communication skills. Working at Oneok this summer really helped me get better at those skills. That’s what will help me be successful in my career and just life in general.”
“It was honestly great when me or another teammate didn’t understand something,” Haselhorst said. “He always explained it so that it made sense. He was very patient as well and didn’t judge you for not knowing things.”
Juno has especially been instrumental in playing older brother and junior Kelson.
“He was always a leader in sports and always works hard,” Kelson said.
“I have learned that being around people makes the experience a lot better and helps your growth,” the elder Juno said.
Eston noted sports and clubs served a useful role in their time in high school.
“All the sports and clubs taught me and my friends about life,” he said. “It can give you so many tools that will help you be successful in the real world.”
Eston doesn’t plan to stop promoting positivity in other people’s lives.
“Being a positive influence can have many influences. People that are a positive influence can create a great environment for others,” he said. “This can help with relationships and inspire change for your peers. This will help better yourself and everyone around you.”