Article by Erik Smith. Published on Monday, May 24, 2010 EST.
Scholarship Awards at the Highest Level
The ceremony on the top floor of the Columbia Center tower in Seattle attracts current and former governors — Gov. Christine Gregoire, Dan Evans, John Spellman and Mike Lowry.
SEATTLE, May 21.—If you want to signal that an event in Washington state is on the highest level, there’s probably no better way to do it than to involve all the state’s governors and hold it at the pinnacle of Seattle – the exclusive top-floor club on the 76th floor of the Columbia Center tower.
And there they were in the front row Friday – four of the seven living current and former governors of the state of Washington – Gov. Christine Gregoire and former governors John Spellman, Dan Evans and Mike Lowry.
The event was the Governors’ Scholarship for Foster Youth program, which annually awards college scholarships to foster children – a group with a low rate of enrollment and completion in higher education. Many face challenges that include difficult family situations, homelessness and shelter living. Barely 1.8 percent of the state’s foster children make it all the way through college.
Thirty-four graduating high school seniors were awarded scholarships Friday.
“Education is something nobody can take from you,” Gregoire declared. “There is no door you can’t unlock without education. There is no ceiling you cannot break, no door you cannot open.”
The program was established in 2001 by then-Gov. Gary Locke, who was unable to attend Friday because of duties in Washington, D.C. as commerce secretary. Other living ex-governors are the ailing Booth Gardner and Albert Rosellini, who recently turned 100.
Funds are raised primarily through the annual Governor’s Cup Golf Tournament held each fall. Each student receives $2,000 to $4,000 annually, depending on the college attended. It is administered by the Issaquah-based College Success Program. The program is aided by a large contingent of corporate sponsors.
This year’s recipients and their schools are as follows:
Holly Allen, Riverside Christian School; Osmilda Alvarez, Career Link Academy; Rachel Andrews, Shorecrest High School; Dylan Aparis, Decatur High School; Isaiah Arn, Woodland High School; Co’orde Bailey, John R. Rogers High School; Chloe Bodine, Ferris High School; Grace Cormier, Tahoma High School; Darrian Creamer, Peninsula High School; Sasha Davison, Jenkins High School, Walter Edmond, Redmond High School; Melissa Ehart, Sunnyside High School.
Michael Gonzalez, Deer Park High School; Kayla Grayson, Mountlake Terrace High School; Leonardo Gutierrez, Running Start; Alyssa Jimenez, Mary M. Knight High School; Veronica Logan, Fort Vancouver High School; Jessica Lundy, Arlington High School; Rebecca Miranda, Mount Tahoma High School; Nycole Morgan, Cheney High School; Melissa Morris, Warden High School; Ngalula Okanda, Spanaway Lake High School; Solomon Olantunji, Sammamish High School; Kayla Pinza, Walla Walla High School.
Sabas Rousseau, Chief Sealth High School; Marcus Ruffin, Black River High School; Rodney Saechao, John R. Rogers High School; Melissa Seville, Graham-Kapowski High School; Zachary Startzman, Arlington High School; Krysta Stearns, Kelso High School; Heather Stovall, Ridgefield High School; Tiffany Straley, North Thurston High School; Stephanie Tabares, Harbor High School, Harbor High School; Theophany Truitt, W.F. West Running Start Program; Samuel Wani, Kentlake High School.
Sponsors of the program are KKR, Nike, Gene J. Colin, Costco Wholesale, McKinstry Co. Charitable Foundation, Weyerhauser Co. Foundation, Altria Client Services, Inc., Avista, the Boeing Co., BP America, Comcast, M.A. Mortenson Co., Puget Sound Energy, Qwest, Real Networks, Starbucks Coffee Co., Trilogy Partnership, Vine Street Investors, Inc., Amgen, Lilly, Premera Blue Cross, Amazon.com, AT&T, BNSF Railway Co., Callison, Denny Miller Associates, GTECH Corp., Holland America Line, J.P. Morgan & Chase Co., Microsoft Corp., Nintendo of America, Inc., PEMCO Insurance, ProBuild, Safeco Insurance, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, Swinomish Tribes, Tualip Tribes, UPS, Verizon, WaferTech, LLC, Washington Dental and Washington Dental Service Foundation, The 5th Avenue Theater, Alaska Airlines, BECU, Casey Family Foundation, William D. Ellis, Filson, Fisher Communications, Fluke Corp., Getty Images, Molina Healthcare of Washington, Plum Creek, Ponti Seafood Grill, Puyallup Tribe, QFC, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Suquamish Tribe, Swedish Health Services, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.Your support matters.
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