Dozens of members of the Whidbey Island Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), parents, siblings, teachers and counselors gathered in Coupeville to honor Whidbey’s top female students and award them well-earned scholarships and stipends totaling more than $14,000.
Seven girls were given scholarships to AAUW’s Tech Trek, a 7th-grade science camp held in our region at Pacific Lutheran University in July:
Mikaela Labrador and Jillian Taylor of Coupeville Middle School; Grace Nowicki of HomeConnection; Kelly Murnane of Langley Middle School; Octavia Prosser of North Whidbey Middle School; and Ashleigh Merrill and Brenna Richard of Oak Harbor Middle School. All of these girls were nominated by their science teachers, completed an application including an essay, and were interviewed by the Tech Trek Committee.
Eight Juniors were chosen to receive stipends and certificates as STEM Scholars, nominated by their Science, Technology and Math teachers as being tops in those fields: Lainey Dickson (science) and Kiara Burdge (math) of Coupeville High School; Lindsay Gross (science), Elissa Nortier (technology), and Chloe Stowell (math) of Oak Harbor High School; and Amelia Hensler (science), Fiona Callahan (technology) and Kari Hustad (math) of South Whidbey High School.
Two seniors were chosen to receive the Dale M. Fischer Memorial Art Scholarship, sponsored by Sarah Richards of Lavender Wind Farm: Helena Webster of Oak Harbor High School, who plans to major in music, and Madeline Barker of South Whidbey High School, who will study visual art.
Last but not least, three Seniors were awarded academic scholarships: Destiny Cleary of Coupeville High School, Suzanne Kaltenbach of Oak Harbor High School and Amara Garibyan of South Whidbey High School. After a rigorous selection process, these girls were chosen from among 39 applicants based on their academic achievements, school activities, community service, work experience and an essay explaining why they were seeking financial aid and what they planned to do with it.
The purpose of AAUW is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.
For information, contact Barbara Bland at barble@comcast.net or Ann Zimmerman at annzim@swcp.com
