EVERETT — High school students from several school districts received help paying college tuition Tuesday at the annual Rotary Club of Everett Scholarship Awards program.
One at a time, school counselors introduced this year’s 31 recipients of the awards in the commons at Naval Station Everett. All together, the scholarship awards totaled $161,500.
“This is our big day of the year,” said Connie Wittren, chairwoman of the Everett Rotary Youth Foundation Education Committee. “Along with our partners, we produced 31 scholarships today, and we’re very proud of that.”
Don and Jan Jensen have funded one of the Rotary scholarships for the past nine years in honor of their son, Brett, a 2001 graduate of Cascade High School who also received a Rotary scholarship. He was a student at the University of Washington in May 2002 when he died after falling from a window. They gave this year’s $7,000 Brett Akio Jensen scholarship to Giselle Alcantar-Soto, a senior at Cascade High School who plans to attend Western Washington University and double major in linguistics and English-as-a-second-langauge education.
“What I like best about Giselle is her glistening smile and positive attitude,” said Kim Taylor, a counselor at Cascade. “She takes advantage of every opportunity around her and is quick to help those in need.”
Mariner High School senior Daniel Nguyen, 17, was happy to be awarded a $5,000 Puget Sound Kidney Center scholarship. He plans to major in chemistry and minor in biology at the University of Washington and one day become a pharmacist.
“I would have been happy with any amount,” he said. “I want to stay in the community. I appreciate the Rotary.”
Nathan Hollcraft, 18, has taken robotics and electronics courses at Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center for the past two years and was part of the school’s competitive robotics team. He received a $5,000 Fluke Corp. scholarship and acknowledged the company’s name.
“On the robotics team, we actually used a lot of equipment Fluke donated to us and it helped us get all the way to the finals,” he said. “I’m planning on attending the University of Washington, and this is definitely going to go toward tuition.”
Four students introduced were each recipients of a $16,000 Anthony G. Bozich scholarship. Bozich, who died in 2004, worked at a country club as a young man and befriended a member who was a stockbroker and taught him about investing. The Everett man made a gift of more than $1 million from his stock portfolio so that each year the Rotary Club of Everett can give away scholarships.
“He wanted teachers, researchers, scientists, chemists,” Wittren said. “He wanted people in the infrastructure doing the work. He always felt he wanted to give back.”
Elizabeth Hassebrook, a senior at Archbishop Murphy High School, was one student who received the scholarship. She plans to major in civil engineering at Gonzaga University.
“I am so excited and I am so thankful and I feel so blessed,” said Hassebrook, 18. “I listened to all of the things that all of these kids have done and I’m just shocked that I was fortunate enough to be up there.”
Everett Rotarian Ted Wenta asked students to keep in touch with the club.
“You have a great life ahead of you,” he said. “We want to hear back from you after you’re off to school. Tell us what you did with those dollars, share with us your stories. We have the utmost confidence that you will be a guiding force in the community and in our world.”
Darren Pouv, a senior at Cascade High School, smiled as he shook Wittren’s hand on his way out of the auditorium. Pouv received the $4,000 Rubatino Refuse Removal scholarship and is planning to study biochemistry at the University of Washington and then attend medical school.
“This is absolutely amazing,” said Pouv, 18. “I’m honestly overwhelmed.”
The Rotary Club of Everett has awarded more than $3.2 million to students. Students are nominated by their school counselors and then interviewed and selected by club members who are part of the Everett Rotary Youth Foundation Education Center. The scholarships are awarded to students from Archbishop Murphy, Cascade, Everett, Jackson, Kamiak, Mariner and Sequoia high schools, Everett Community College and Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center.
Here is a list of other winners by high school:
Archbishop Murphy High School: Kiera Daigle, $5,000 Puget Sound Kidney Center scholarship; Chelsea Newgard, $2,000 Moss Adams scholarship.
Cascade High School: Devin Bell, $2,000 Pat Miller scholarship; Heidi McArthur, $2,000 Suskin Foundation; Dana Washington, $2,000 Suskin Foundation scholarship.
Edmonds Heights: Sarah Sprouse, $5,000 Donna Johnson scholarship.
Everett High School: Lindsey Gipson, $16,000 Anthony G. Bozich scholarship; Elizabeth Rabon, $1,500 Evelyn Hoffman scholarship; Mikayla Svob, $8,000 Loren Baker scholarship; Khadija Tarver, $4,000 Ed Hansen scholarship.
Everett Community College: Darrick Caudill, $2,000 Dwayne Lane Auto Center scholarship; and Emily Harrington, $5,000 Everett Clinic scholarship.
Jackson High School: Lowti Ahmed, $4,000 Providence General Foundation scholarship; Yi Taek Hwang, $4,000 Hol Mabley and Gamut 360 scholarship; Ray Parker, $3,000 Rotary and Suskin scholarship; Hanna Yoo, $6,000 Sanford Wright Sr. scholarship.
Kamiak High School: Kaitlyn Anderson, $16,000 Anthony G. Bozich scholarship; Bobby Diep, $16,000 Anthony G. Bozich scholarship; Tracey Wright, $1,000 Fred Sjoholm scholarship.
Mariner High School: Ashley Alday, $5,000 Rotary and Suskin scholarship; Fatou Conteh, $4,000 Pearl Ballew scholarship; Leila Haghgoo, $2,000 Pacific Topsoils scholarship.
Sequoia High School: Seira Goins, $4,000 EverTrust Foundation scholarship.
Snohomish High School: Matt Brigham, $1,000 Bernie Webber scholarship.
Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center: Jason Ordonez, $2,000 Boetsch Nash Hall scholarship; and Sydney Rosborough, $2,000 Suskin Foundation scholarship.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
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