Scholarships
These Western Washington University students, who come from Bellingham, have been given scholarships for the 2012-13 school year.
- Jordyn Lynnea LeBlonde, daughter of Jim LeBlonde and Donna Janigo of Bellingham, received a $500 Holzman Biology Scholarship and the $6,153 June and Charles Ross Undegraduate and Graduate Scholarship. She is a junior majoring in marine biology.
- Luciana Prada, daughter of Jaime Prada and Ada Nubia Montalvo of Bellingham, received the $1,000 Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Eleanor Rinne Scholarship Endowment and the $2,000 Knapman Chemistry Scholarship. She is a sophomore majoring in biochemistry.
- Stefan Brae Weiss, son of Jack Weiss of Bellingham and Susanne Weiss of Marcola, Ore., received a $2,000 Donald Moon Scholarship. He is a senior in Western’s Plastics Engineering Technology and Vehicle Engineering Technology programs.
- Anna Rosemary Harris, daughter of Timothy and Ellen Harris of Bellingham, received a $2,500 August and Carol Radke Endowment. The endowment is awarded to a graduate of Sehome High School for his or her freshman year at Western.
- Bellingham resident Sally Hansen Herbst was awarded the $500 Bonnie J. Barthold Award.
- Julie Anne Maurer, daughter of Jeffrey and Diane Maurer of Bellingham, received a $466 Facilities Management Scholarship Endowment. She is an incoming freshman hoping to major in biochemistry.
Mount Baker Rotary club gave a total of $32,400 in scholarships to 18 students who graduated from Whatcom County high schools in 2012 and are going on to college.
Each student received a $1,800 scholarship.
- Lynden Christian: Brennan Huleatt, Jami Jo Libolt, John Pawlowski, Chad Heerspink, Kayla Aupperlee and Kaitlyn Brown.
- Lynden: Amber Stokes, Taylor Witman, Fraser Shindruk, Jeremy Korthuis, Cassidy Gunst and Sarrah VanZanten.
- Meridian: Denver VanderYacht and Kelli Terpsma.
- Mount Baker: Rachel Larson and Ben Koehler.
- Nooksack Valley: Charity Caldwell and Courtney Edwards
Six Whatcom County high school graduates have received the 2012-13 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program award, Comcast Foundation has announced.
They were among 90 students named in Western Washington and Spokane.
Comcast asked schools to nominate students who showed leadership abilities in school activities and strong commitment to community service.
The Whatcom County students and their schools are:
- Emily P. Steelquist, Blaine High School
- Patricia M. Castrejon, Ferndale High School
- Fraser J. Shindruk, Lynden High School
- Kaitlyn M. Michaelson, Meridian High School
- Brett T. Copher, Nooksack Valley High
- Janice E. Liang, Sehome High School
The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program gives $1,000 scholarships to students.
Three Whatcom County high school students have been awarded 2012 National Merit Scholarships, each worth $2,500.
The winners were announced Wednesday, May 2.
Whatcom County winners are:
- Katherine Cooke, Bellingham High School.
- Jacob Highleyman, Sehome High School.
- Mattie Carlson, Ferndale High School.
The trio were among five semifinalists from Whatcom County.
To become semifinalists, students had to take the PSAT and be among the highest-scoring participants in each state. The roughly 16,000 semifinalists represented less than 1 percent of all high school seniors.
To reach the finals, they had to have strong academic records, be recommended by their school principals, score high enough on the SAT and write an essay.
About 15,000 students were named as finalists for three types of scholarships in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Those scholarships are the $2,500 National Merit Scholarships (announced Wednesday), corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and college-financed scholarships.
About 8,300 students will have won National Merit Scholarships worth more than $35 million during the 2012 competition.
Simone Prince-Eichner, a Lummi Island high school student, has been awarded a $2,000 American Justice Essay Scholarship from the Washington State Association for Justice.
Prince-Eichner attends Prince Home School, and is one of two high school students to receive the scholarship.
The other is Marta Grzankowski of Olympia, according to the association formerly known as the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.
Applicants were asked to watch the award-winning documentary “Hot Coffee” and write an essay that addressed the question: “Do caps on monetary damages undermine the 7th amendment right to trial by jury?”
“Hot Coffee” is about the controversial lawsuit involving the woman who was burned by McDonald’s coffee years ago.
High school seniors and college students in Washington state have until 5 p.m. April 16 to apply for a new scholarship program that aims to help low- and middle-income families grappling with sharp tuition increases.
Students may apply online for the Opportunity Scholarship, which will expand college financial aid beyond the current state need grant.
That grant reaches families with 70 percent of the median family income, which is about $57,000 for a family of four.
The Opportunity Scholarship is open to students in families who earn up to 125 percent of the median family income, or about $102,200 for a family of four.
Created by the state Legislature in 2011, the scholarship program is a public-private partnership seeded with $5 million from the state of Washington. Boeing and Microsoft have committed a combined $50 million.
The program will award 3,000 scholarships of $1,000 per year to students working toward a bachelor’s degree in high-demand fields such as science, math, engineering, health care and technology.
Scholarships are renewable for up to five years.
What do you think? Will the Opportunity Scholarship help your family — much?
A number of organizations and businesses are offering scholarships to Whatcom County students.
I’ve listed a few below.
People have until Thursday, March 15, to nominate young volunteers, ages 6 through 18, for their contributions to their communities as part of the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program.
Kohl’s will award more than 2,200 kids with over $440,000 in scholarships and prizes this year.
Assistance League of Bellingham has scholarships for students in grades 6 through 11 who want to take summer enrichment programs such as art, debate, drama, journalism, leadership, math, music, science and technology.
The scholarships are for students in public school, or home-schooled students with a public school affiliation.
More than $33,000 in scholarships was awarded to 53 students last year.
Application deadline is 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 11. Click here for more details.
The Sisu Children’s Fund of Bellingham is offering a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating high school senior in Whatcom County or Skagit County for continuing education, including beauty school.
The fund also is providing a $2,500 scholarship to a student attending Bellingham Technical College.
Application deadline for both is Monday, April 30.
The scholarships are open to students who have, or have had, a medical problem or physical disability.
Applications are available by clicking here, calling 360-671-8766, or emailing sisuchildrensfund@gmail.com.
A couple of caveats. The form may still have last year’s deadline, and it’s OK for students to use the same form for either scholarship.
High school juniors who live in Bellingham have until March 1 to apply for a $500 scholarship from the Friends of the Bellingham Public Library.
The money is to be used for educational expenses after high school, such as for admissions fees or textbooks.
Applicants must write an essay of about 500 words describing how libraries have influenced their lives. It must be typed and submitted with an application form by March 1.
The winner will be announced Saturday, April 28, at the Friends of the Bellingham Public Library annual meeting.
Click here for details about the scholarship, including the application form.
These Western Washington University students, who come from Bellingham and Ferndale, have been given scholarships for the 2011-2012 academic year.
- Jennifer Quimby, daughter of John and Donna Quimby of Ferndale, received a $1,890 Eunice D. Faber Scholarship Endowment. She is a senior majoring in Spanish and double minoring in psychology and bilingual education.
- Sarah Viera, daughter of John and Julie Viera of Ferndale, received a $968 Herbert Baird, Jr. Scholarship. She is a senior who is double majoring in kinesiology and Spanish.
- Deborah Blakesley, daughter of Harold and Christine Heuser of Bellingham, received a $250 Alumni Association Leadership – College of Fine and Performing Arts Scholarship and a $500 Aftermath Club Scholarship Endowment. She is a senior majoring in music with a concentration in voice.
- Nicole Parise of Bellingham received a $750 Ada and Don Walter Endowment, a $750 String Quartet Scholarship, a $500 College of Fine and Performing Arts Scholarship, and a $518 Aftermath Club Scholarship Endowment. The junior is majoring in music/viola performance.
- Billy Metteba, son of Will Metteba and Ada Kiely of Bellingham, received a $4,000 Northwest Indian College III Scholarship Endowment. The junior is majoring in mathematics.
- Laura Engels, daughter of Rick and Joyce Engels of Bellingham, received a $1,500 Oscar Edwin Olson Arts Scholarship. The senior is majoring in theater with an acting concentration.
- Rico Wilkins of Bellingham received a $1,500 Walker Family Annual Men’s Basketball Scholarship. He is majoring in general studies.
- Gary Washington, son of Gary Washington and Nonylon Astudillio of Bellingham, received a $500 Fairhaven College Scholarship. The senior is majoring in visual communications.
- Jose Martinez of Bellingham received a $1,500 Jay Baumann Memorial Scholarship. The freshman is majoring in industrial design.
- Bonnie Cahill, daughter of William Ashinhurst and Sherry Ware of Bellingham, received a $2,000 Non-Traditional Student Waiver. The junior is majoring in politics and economics.
Northwest Professional Educators is offering $500 scholarships and grants to teachers across Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
The scholarships can be used to cover costs associated with conferences, workshops and more. The grants can be used to purchase materials for classroom projects, including software, calculators, books and supplies.
Applications are due by October 31. For more information and to apply, click here.
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