First-ever Commitment to ‘Excellence’ scholarship awarded to Lynnwood’s Gabby Vo

Published 11:06 pm Wednesday, May 21, 2008

EDMONDS — Lynnwood senior Gabby Vo heard her name called Wednesday night and stood up. She wasn’t wearing a volleyball or softball uniform. She wasn’t out on a field or in a gymnasium. She’d just been awarded the Edmonds School District’s first-ever $4,000 “Commitment to Excellence” scholarship.

“(It’s a lot) of work,” Vo said of playing two sports for four years of high school and still maintaining 3.74 GPA.

Now Vo, who said she chose to attend USC next year over UCLA in part because the smaller classes will allow her to have a closer interaction with her professors, will have a little something extra to show for all her work.

Vo was joined Wednesday night by fifteen other student athletes and one student trainer from the schools of Lynnwood, Edmonds-Woodway, Meadowdale and Mountlake Terrace to be honored for their work at the 2008 Edmonds School District Scholar-Athlete and Coach/Community Recognition Banquet at Edmonds-Woodway High School. Scholarships totaling $31,000 were awarded to students at the banquet. Coaches and community members were also honored.

“The schools picked kids who give back to the community,” interim co-Director of Athletics Angie McGuire said. “… (Students) who are good representatives of the district.”

Each high school nominated two boys and two girls for the scholarship banquet, all of whom compete in at least two sports while maintaining a 3.2 or higher GPA. This year’s batch of students included Honors Society members, artists, tutors, Special Olympics volunteers, four year letterists, and Boys and Girls Club coaches and referees with academic interests ranging from history to neurobiology.

Vo plans to major in commmunications, and said raising awareness of global issues, especially malaria, is a goal for her. She’s coached 5th-8th grade volleyball, and is also interested in painting, calling “Salvador Dali one of my (favorite artists).”

Vo’s “Commitment to Excellence” scholarship is new — it was created in honor of the Edmonds School District’s retiring Director of Athletics, Terri McMahan.

McMahan created the Scholarship Banquet in 2002.

“(McMahan) has done so much,” McGuire said. “We received tons of donations to the scholarship … In a way, the whole night is a tribute to her.”

McMahan has been instrumental in improving the Edmonds School District’s athletic program ever since she arrived in 1997-98, McGuire said.

When McMahan arrived there were no athletic trainers. McMahan helped create athletic training programs for every high school. The district now has one trainer for every high school and a fifth that floats where it’s needed. McMahan helped put turf fields in at Edmonds District schools. She also fought to bring back the district’s middle school football and softball programs.

“I think if you look at the success that Edmonds-Woodway and Meadowdale have had, it’s a direct result of kids starting earlier,” McGuire said.

The other $4,000 scholarship winner Wednesday night was Matt Beeninga, who was awarded the Ken and Pat Allen Scholarship. Beeninga earned 11 varsity letters during his high school career in the sports of cross country, basketball, and track and field, all while maintaining a flawless 4.0 GPA. Beeninga, who also volunteered to referee for younger children, will attend the University of Washington next year and plans to major in business.

“It says a lot about these kids that they can balance (so much),” McGuire said. “It takes a unique student athlete … they really pushed themselves in an era when so many athletes are focusing on specializing.”

Student honorees included: Matt Beeninga, Rhett Bouche, Kaytlyn Dill, Tanner Detschman, Emma Fritz, Scott Hill, Anden Hormann, Kristen Lee, Kyle McCartney, Connor Nelson, Christina Olson, Max Ortiz, Andrew Peterson, Megan Runkel, Alli Streit, Gabby Vo, Lola Yelistratova.