Kelsi K. Franzen was named Outstanding Graduate in Environmental Studies, majored in Environmental Education, at Western Washington University this spring. As a student teacher and teaching assistant in WWU’s Spring Block program, Franzen taught environmental education lessons to youngsters from Blaine Elementary School and Explorations Academy. She also was part of a group of Huxley College of the Environment students who developed exhibits at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport explaining the airport’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. And she worked as an interpretive park ranger at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This summer, Franzen will begin work on her master’s degree in education at WWU and will work at the North Cascades Institute in North Cascades National Park, leading classes in the natural and cultural history of the region. A graduate of Coupeville High School, Franzen is the daughter of Leslie and Derek Franzen of Coupeville.

Students from Whidbey Island graduated from the University of Washington with bachelor degrees this June.

Coupeville: Holly Cassia Hess and Shane Owen Nelson.

Oak Harbor: Nicole Ann Amezquita, Miguel Antonio Arteaga, Matt Thomas Badger, Meegan Brianna Corcoran, Ronald Clayton Davies, Lisa Nicole Esperum, Marian T Esquela, Taylor Michael Geron, Samantha Lee Gonzalez, Antoinette Marie Juras, Sarah Alinn Krieg, Warren Dan Lybbert, Andrew Robert Marvel, Heidi Mae McNeill, Shelly S Scarboro, Ragina Jo Schulz, Andrew Christopher Smith, Christian Lukas Theumer, Christopher James Walker and Huan Wang.

Brian Vagt, son of Ms. Lynne Vagt of Oak Harbor, made the spring semester Dean’s List at Grove City Collge, Penn. The 2006 graduate of Oak Harbor High School is majoring in molecular biology.

Greg Mottet, son of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Mottet of Coupeville, made the spring semester Dean’s List at Grove City College, Penn. The 2006 homeschool graduate is majoring in mathematics.

Jillian Marie Rivera of Oak Harbor has been awarded a George Beadle Scholarship at the University of Nebraska, covering the difference between resident and nonresident tuition.

The spring quarter Academic Dean’s List at Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa, includes Justin Jansen of Oak Harbor. A junior, he is majoring in religion.

Jacob Jansen of Oak Harbor graduated this spring with a BA in sociology from Nortwestern College, Orange, Iowa.

Oak Harbor’s Karl Rollin, a member of Western Washington University’s Vehicle Research Institute Baja SAE team, contributed to the team’s fifth place overall ranking at the Baja SAE Oregon competition on May 7-10.

Rollin, son of Doug and Sally Rollin and a 2007 graduate of Oak Harbor High School, maintained WWU’s older Baja cars to train drivers and recruit new members to the team. Contact Drew Thayer, WWU Baja SAE team leader, at 360- 961-0794, or dmthayer@easy.com.

Washington State University’s President’s Honor Roll for spring 2009 includes Coupeville residents Bryan Presler and Bryan Scott Sherman, and Oak Harbor residents Lauren Acton, Sarah Bratt, Danielle Dillard, Miku Fiala, Katelynn Krieg, Annette Southard and Jennifer Michelle Vasileff.

Western Washington University awarded bachelors degrees this spring to Oak Harbor residents Keith Grayson Miller, Jason Ray Garcia and Kathleen Elizabeth Evens.

Benjamin C. Brown, a senior from Coupeville, was among the 942 undergraduate students named to the Gonzaga University President’s List for spring semester 2009.

The Spring Semester Dean’s List at Gustavus Adolphus College has been released and includes the name of Dimitri Diamanti of Coupeville. Gustavus is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minn.

Friends of Bill and Eva Palmer, previously from Ketchikan, Alaska, and with many friends on Whidbey Island, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Their daughters, Lee Anne and Nancy, are organizing a surprise party with a “Card Shower” from their friends. Please mail your cards by July 24 to: Lee Anne Short, 2413 Enchantment Circle, Henderson, Nev., 89074.