Rotary Club scholarship winners: young, green visionaries

Published 10:50 pm Wednesday, May 28, 2008

EVERETT — Want a glimpse into the future?

It’ll probably be green if the 35 students who recently received Rotary Club of Everett scholarships reach their goals.

Some of the winners plan to study sustainable architecture, solar power and what one called a “green energy revolution.”

At its 2008 luncheon earlier this month, the Rotary Club of Everett handed out $244,000 in scholarship money — up from $198,000 last year — to some of Snohomish County’s brightest and most motivated students from Cascade, Mariner, Jackson, Everett, Archbishop Thomas Murphy and Kamiak high schools and Everett Community College and Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center.

The amount was the most the club’s Youth Foundation Education Committee has given in scholarship funds in its 56-year history. The additional money helped make two more scholarships available this year.

About 200 people attended the sold-out luncheon on May 20, which was held in the Commons at Naval Station Everett.

The scholarship luncheon is one of the Rotary Club of Everett’s major annual efforts. Since 1952, the club has awarded more than $2.5 million

As students stepped forward to accept their scholarships, counselors described not just dreamers, but doers: students who have already made significant contributions to their schools, communities, churches and the organizations where they volunteer or work, most before reaching the age of 18.

The student received scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $17,500.

One student, Mathew Lane, a Mariner High School senior, was selected for a scholarship but told his counselor he wished to turn it down in favor of another student, said George Bowden, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge and chairman of the Youth Foundation Education Committee, who added that Lane is “a real class act.”

Lane’s generosity enabled Bryan Roberts, a student at Sno-Isle Tech Skill Center, to receive a $4,000 Moss Adams scholarship.

Robert’s father is disabled as a result of injuries he sustained when he was hit by a drunk driver, and his mother has been the sole support of his family for the past 10 years, Bowden said.

Lane did not attend the event. Bowden said in an e-mail that Lane later learned that he would receive a Sullivan Scholarship to Seattle University, which is a full scholarship for four years.

At the Rotary event this year, the Suskin Foundation gave $45,000, which enabled the service club to increase the amount of many of its partner scholarships. The money also funded two individual scholarships of $4,000 each. The EverTrust Foundation provided a gift of $12,000 to fund two separate one-year scholarships and the Jackson Foundation gave $6,500 for the new Scoop’s Troops Scholarship.

Here are Rotary Club of Everett scholarship recipients and privately funded scholarships:

— Kamiak High senior Annissa Alusi received an Anthony G. Bozich scholarship, one of the four largest scholarships that gives $17,500. Alusi plans to head to Stanford or Harvard, where she hopes to study alternative energy and engineering.

A science award Alusi received in the eighth grade helped spark her interest in science, she said, and she started at 16 working for a biotech company in the scientific marketing program.

Alusi said in her application that she is “extremely interested in the green energy revolution and new ways to advance the world’s options of economically and environmentally beneficial energy resources.”

— Mariner High senior Khiet Thinh, Archbishop Murphy High senior Kyle Ryanl and Cascade High senior Tom Le received the other three Anthony G. Bozich scholarships for $17,500 along with Alusi. The scholarships are funded by an endowment left by Bozich, who believed that the best way to keep America strong is through superior education. The scholarships are four-year awards for students who intend to major in technical studies such as mathematics, engineering, chemistry, physics, biology or similar fields.

Thinh plans to study aeronautics, astronautics and math at the University of Washington.

Ryan plans to study engineering and accounting at Gonzaga University.

Le plans to study civil and environmental engineering or applied mathematics at Seattle University.

— Roberts, who received his scholarship after Lane declined, would be the first in his family to receive a college degree. He hopes to attend Edmonds Community College and then transfer to the UW to major in electronics.

Roberts is the ASB president at Sno-Isle, played football at a 4A school for three years, and competed in track and field for six years.

— Kathryn “Kate” Cunningham, a senior at Kamiak High School, received a Puget Sound Kidney Center scholarship worth $8,000. She plans to study psychology and philosophy at the UW.

Cunningham has been riding horses since she was 9. She rode horses at the Academy of Horsemanship and worked as a barn manager to help pay for her lessons, feeding horses, cleaning stalls and tending to wounded or injured horses.

— Everett High senior Lauren Cudaback received a $2,000 Evelyn Hoffman scholarship. She plans to study English and history, heading first to Everett Community College. The scholarship is awarded each year to a student at Everett High School who excels in English, literature or writing. Everett High school counselor Nancy James said at the Rotary luncheon that Cudaback is interested in solar and wind power, volunteers at KJR (97.5 FM) and belongs to a nonfiction writers group.

— Everett High senior Brent Swezy received the Everett High School Class of 1955 scholarship for $2,000. Swezy plans to get a degree in disaster preparedness from Western Washington University. He hopes to work for FEMA or the Red Cross he said. Everett High counselor James said Swezy rode his motorcycle on a long trip through California and other states, played football and baseball, and is a member of Young Life.

— Everett High senior Simone Tarver received a Botesch, Nash and Hall scholarship for $3,000. She plans to study architecture, something she said she has been interested in for “as long as I can remember.”

“I hope through my work, I will be able to make a positive impact on the world by creating structures that are more easily sustainable and require less energy, but still look great,” she said in her application.

— Ilona Palamarchuk, a senior at Cascade High School, received $2,500 from the Bernie Webber Memorial Scholarship, which is funded through the Everett Rotary Club and awarded jointly by the Arts Council of Snohomish County. The award honors Webber, a Snohomish County commercial artist. The scholarship is awarded to the student demonstrating outstanding talent and career interest in fine arts.

Palamarchuk plans to attend Cornish College of the Arts. She recently was named winner of the Everett Public School’s Superintendent Purchase Award and also winner of the Everett Public Schools Foundation art scholarship.

— Mariner High senior Michelle Thomas received $3,000 from the Fred Sjoholm Scholarship, which was created as a continuing honor to Sjoholm, who is the senior partner at Hascal, Sjoholm accountants and long-standing Rotary member who has overseen the club’s finances and endowments. The award is intended for a student with financial aptitude and an interest in pursuing a career in accounting or financial management.

Thomas hopes to study accounting and business management at Seattle University.

— Jackson High senior Daniel Pak and Everett High senior Christina Taylor both received a Suskin Foundation Scholarship for $4,000. The scholarships is funded by a gift from the widow of the man who invented the black box found on all commercial aircraft to record flight data.

Pak hopes to study biology, chemistry, music and French at Swarthmore College to become a doctor.

Taylor, who has already recorded an album, plans to study pre-med to become a veterinarian or chemist.

— Everett Community College student Alta Langdon received a Pearl Ballew Memorial Scholarship for $4,000. The scholarship is funded by the Ed and Andi Hansen family and honors Andi’s mother who was a nurse. The award is reserved for a student with demonstrated financial need who wants to get a nursing degree.

Langdon is in the college’s nursing program. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in nursing and to specialize in geriatrics.

— Brett Somers, a student at Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center, received a Donna Johnson Memorial Scholarship for $5,000. The art scholarship awarded to a graduating senior with a minimum 3.2 grade point average, with demonstrated leadership and community activities who will pursue a course of study in art or a related field, such as graphic arts or interior design leading to a four-year degree.

Somers, a computer Web programmer, plans to attend the Art Institute of Seattle to obtain a bachelor’s degree in video gaming.

— Ryha Milici, a Kamiak High School senior, received a Hol Mabley-Gamut 360 scholarship for $5,000. T. Hollister Mabley founded a successful mechanical contracting firm in Detroit where he was a Rotary president, then Rotary district governor, before retiring to Mukilteo. The Lyons-Dobler family honors Mabley’s memory with the Hol Mabley Memorial Scholarship.

Milici hopes to attend Whitman College to study mathematics and engineering. She plans to become an elementary school teacher.

— Lindsay Fjeran, Kamiak High School senior, received a Robert Gray Memorial scholarship for $5,000. The scholarship is funded by Tom Gray in memory of his brother, Robert, who was a noted geologist. Fjeran plans to study physics and math at the UW or Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

— Jackson High senior Jennifer Hapaianu received a Sanford Wright Sr. Memorial scholarship for $5,000. The scholarship honors the memory of Dr. Sanford Wright Sr. who funded programs directed to help young people. The recipient of this scholarship must attend the UW for study in architecture, engineering or medicine. Hapaianu plans to study pre-med and psychology at the university.

— Sno-Isle Tech student Erika Stanley and Sequoia High senior Andrew Springer received EverTrust Foundation scholarships for $6,000. These awards are granted to students who plan to attend a local community college or approved local vocational training program.

Stanley plans to study fire science and business at Everett Community College. Springer hopes to study computer network technology at Edmonds Community College.

— Maggie Burton, a senior at Everett High School, received a Scoop’s Troops scholarship for $6,500, which was awarded for the first time to honor former staff who worked alongside Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, whom he fondly called his “troops.” The award includes a public service internship and a tuition payment to the college or university the recipient will be attending.

Burton plans to study business and psychology at the UW.

— Archbishop Murphy High senior Jared Smith received the Brett Akio Jensen Memorial scholarship for $7,000. The scholarship is funded by the Jensen family and Rotary and honors the memory of Brett Jensen, who lost his life while he was a UW student. It is awarded to a student, who like Jensen, has been actively involved in student leadership, school and community activities.

Smith plans to study bio-engineering at the UW and hopes to obtain a master’s degree and to be an NBA basketball coach.

— Jacqueline Ricaurte, Jackson High School senior, received the Loren R. Baker Memorial scholarship for $14,000, which is a four-year award funded by the Everett Rotary Club in memory of Loren R. Baker, a member of the club for 40 years. He was a lifelong resident of Everett and a strong supporter of youth programs. Ricaurte hopes to study neurobiology and mathematics at the UW and also hopes to study in Spain.

— Jackson High senior Sara O’Neal received $15,000 for the Laurie Ivens Memorial scholarship, which is funded by Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County in honor of Laurie Ivens, an occupational therapist who battled a heart condition but died at 33. The award is a three-year scholarship awarded to a student with demonstrated financial need who will be studying in the fields of physical, speech or occupational therapy.

O’Neal plans to study exercise science and business at Central Washington University. She has played soccer throughout high school.

Partner in Excellence with Rotary Club of Everett match scholarships

— Sasha Mohnan, Mariner High School senior, received the Dwayne Lane Auto Centers Scholarship for $4,000. Mohnan plans to study multi-cultural education, world history and anthropology.

— Emma Nelson, an Archbishop Murphy High School senior, received a Coast Real Estate Scholarship for $4,000. Nelson plans to study international relations at the University of Santa Clara or the University of Portland.

— Everett Community College student Myhanh Nguyen received an Everett Clinic scholarship for $5,000. Nguyen plans to study nursing at Everett Community College and hopes to become a nurse in the maternity ward.

— Julie Milburn, an Everett Community College student, received the Ed and Andi Hansen scholarship for $5,000. Milburn plans to study law enforcement at Everett Community College. She is a single mom with a daughter.

— Aubrey Ahlberg, an Everett High School senior, received the Rubatino Refuse Removal scholarship for $5,000. Ahlberg commutes to high school from Redmond. She plans to attend Western Washington University to study either business or the sciences.

— Lana Fingarson, an Everett High School senior, received a Perteet Engineering scholarship for $5,000. Fingarson’s counselor said Fingarson had never earned a grade lower than an A and was still involved in Young Life, was the chief editor of her school’s yearbook and played basketball and volleyball. Fingarson hopes to study engineering at the UW.

— Chelsea Eslick, a senior at Cascade High School, received a Bethany of the Northwest scholarship for $6,000. Eslick hopes to study biology at the UW.

— Cascade High School senior Matthew Nguyen received a Fluke Corporation scholarship for $6,000. Nguyen hopes to study management information systems and finance at the UW.

— Chelsea Arneson, a senior at Sequoia High School, received a Tiz’s Door Sales scholarship for $6,000. Arneson plans to study business communications at Edmonds Community College and to go into the public relations field.

— Cascade High School senior Shannon Martinez received a Cascade Bank scholarship for $7,000. Martinez plans to study international business and pre-law at George Washington University or Pace University.

— Shewit Andeberhan, a senior at Mariner High School, received a Frontier Bank scholarship for $10,000. Andeberhan plans to study pre-law and psychology at Washington State University.