COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A Colorado Springs teen is being recognized as the 2026 Military Child of the Year for the Space Force!
Years of deployments and long separations once left Taylor Schreiner feeling the quiet strain of military life. Now, the 18-year-old is being recognized for the strength and purpose she built from those experiences.
Schreiner, a senior at Discovery Canyon High School (DCC), is the daughter of Robert and Nicole Schreiner. Her father, a Space Force brigadier general, has served 28 years in the military and currently commands U.S. Space Forces Northern at Peterson Space Force Base. Her mother is a retired Air Force and Space Force civil servant.
Selected by Operation Homefront, the award honors military-connected youth who demonstrate resilience, leadership and service.
Schreiner grew up navigating the challenges of military life, including two of her father’s deployments and 13 permanent change-of-station (PCS) moves — 10 during her lifetime. To maintain stability, her family took an unconventional approach: her father relocated for assignments while Schreiner, her mother and siblings remained in Colorado Springs.
The arrangement meant long stretches apart. In total, her father’s time away adds up to 65 months — nearly a third of her life, according to a news release from Operation Homefront.
She recalls a particularly difficult goodbye at age 6, when her father left for a duty station in England, a moment that underscored the emotional weight carried by military families.
“This is the emotional turmoil that military families conceal,” Schreiner said. “We fabricate a façade to mask the hollowness seeping through our homes.”
Despite those challenges, Schreiner has excelled academically and athletically. She is among the top students in her class in an International Baccalaureate program and competes on the varsity soccer team.
Her experiences have also shaped her career ambitions. At 17, she earned her Certified Nursing Assistant license after completing a medical internship at a senior center, where she said she observed gaps in patient care.
“I want to be the change that needs to be made in our healthcare system,” she said.
Schreiner plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison and pursue a career as a pediatric oncologist.
She is part of a family deeply connected to military service. Her older sister, Hayley, was named the Space Force Military Child of the Year in 2023, and her younger brother, Nate, is a high school junior.
For Schreiner, the award reflects not only personal achievement but also the resilience she has developed through years of change — turning the challenges of military life into motivation for the future.
Operation Homefront shared the following service and leadership highlights for Taylor:
• Health Occupations Students of America, president
• National Honor Society, officer
• Varsity soccer team and B-Elite club team, captain
• Colorado Springs Children’s Hospital, volunteer
• Certified Nursing Assistant, State of Colorado
This southeast Colorado reservoir completely dried out, taking away one of the best recreation spots
All that’s left of the Two Buttes Reservoir is a scattering of lifeless buoys, a rusty lawn chair, empty beer cans, and a number of fishing lures that have fallen into the water over the years.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
