Perhaps the best moments in Sean’s life so far have come from playing soccer. His extensive travels on missions with his family as Sean was growing up brought him to many different countries, but one experience in particular stands out: playing soccer with young children in Cambodia. The kids may have been poor and couldn’t speak English, but their sheer joy in playing needed no translation. Sean also recalls the wonderful day when he found out that he had received a soccer scholarship from Pierce College in Lakewood; the college coach was there to watch him play, and it was an extremely good game! There’s more to Sean than just soccer, though; he loves solving complex problems and puzzles and looks forward to using these skills as a computer engineer. After playing soccer at Pierce College for two years, he plans to transfer to a four-year university for his bachelor’s degree. Sean will receive the $2000 Duke and Jeanne Shold renewable scholarship, the $3000 Mitch Black Scholarship, and the $500 Greg Bolling Memorial Scholarship.

Ever since she was a young child and picked out a constellation from the night sky, Madison has been fascinated by the stars. She has devoured as much knowledge as she could about astrophysics and worked extremely hard to become an outstanding STEM student, thoroughly prepared to study this challenging field at the University of Washington. Madison looks forward to using the university’s advanced lab equipment and active research centers as she pursues her goal of earning a PhD in astrophysics. Her teachers describe her as a brilliant, exceptional scholar, who consistently strives for excellence and loves a challenge. They also noted her kindness and her determination as yearbook editor to make sure that every student in the school was represented in the yearbook. In recognition of her outstanding character and impressive academic skills, Madison will receive a $2000 Duke and Jeanne Shold renewable scholarship, the $2000 Truvedson Scholarship, and the Norm Christie renewable $1,200 STEM Scholarship.

Tanner’s teachers consistently describe him as a disciplined, focused, solid, reliable, dedicated student who cares about his school and community, so his career choice of becoming an FBI agent seems like the perfect fit. Fascinated by law enforcement since he was a small child, Tanner plans on majoring in Criminology at Washington State University, with the goal of eventually enrolling at the FBI Academy. Tanner has been preparing for success by working hard in a variety of challenging classes and through his active participation in football, basketball, and track and field. He is awarded a $2000 Duke and Jeanne Shold renewable scholarship and the $1,165 Chimacum Staff Payroll Deduction Scholarship.

Winner of the $500 Tina Johnson Memorial Scholarship, Gracie Hasson has always been fascinated by the science of the brain. Her dream is to become a neurologist, and to that end she will enter Seattle University in the fall, where she will work on her core classes and attain her bachelor’s degree before transferring to the University of Washington to study medicine. Well respected by her teachers and peers for her kindness and good character, Gracie is a very hard worker, dealing with a full academic load, an after-school job, and helping to care for her one-year-old little sister! This ability to balance a heavy load will no doubt be very useful as she pursues her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor!

Fascinated by his stepdad’s stories of the open road, Sean has always wanted to be a truck driver. He loves the idea of travel and has the necessary independent spirit to be a success. Beginning to work and buy his own things at age 14, Sean admitted that “I’m proud to work young and independent.”  After graduation, Sean plans to attend Peninsula College to obtain his commercial driver’s license. His plan is to drive locally for a few years, and then move on to long haul trucking. Teachers thoroughly enjoyed having Sean in class for his great personality, mischievous spirit, and wonderful sense of humor. He will receive the $3000 Mitch Black Memorial Scholarship, the $1000 Franson Trucking and Excavating Scholarship, and the $1000 Henry Rogers Memorial Scholarship.

One of Paisley’s fondest memories is of gathering roly poly bugs on a sunny day in her front yard with her little brother; a small moment, but a significant one, clearly revealing her great love of nature in all its varied forms. Paisley has always been fascinated by nature; to her, animals and the outdoors were not only her safe haven, but where she truly excelled. To achieve her goal of becoming either a park ranger or possibly a biology teacher, Paisley plans on attending Peninsula College and then transferring to Washington State University. Praised by her teachers for being a kind, caring person, Paisley will receive a $500 scholarship from the Quilcene Lions Club.

Connor has always been fascinated by complex projects that appeal to his love of improvising and problem solving. He put his skills to the test two summers ago when, for his Eagle Scout project, he built a public nature trail through wetlands and engineered several custom-made footbridges to span the wildly uneven terrain. He also enjoyed learning construction techniques another summer by working with a team to build small homes for those affected by the housing crisis. Described by his teachers as “ridiculously good, fabulous, helpful, responsible, incredibly bright and sensitive,” Connor has been accepted to the University of California, Davis, where he will continue his fascination with designing and building by majoring in mechanical engineering. Connor will receive the $10,000 Ross and Claudine Roesler Memorial Scholarship, renewable for 3 years for a total of $40,000.

Deeply curious about everything from religion to nature to human psychology, Elliott credits his father for teaching him the nature of cause and effect and for encouraging him to explore, create, and enjoy fun moments with cherished family and friends. Praised by his teachers for his intellectual curiosity and “great questions that no one else thought to ask,” Elliott’s desire to learn about many different people and cultures has led to a heightened sense of compassion and a desire to make a difference. He thus hopes to enter the medical field, specializing in obstetrics/gynecology. He will attend Olympic Community College and then transfer to the University of Washington. Elliott has been awarded the $2,500 Susan Phillips AP Scholarship and the $1000 First Fed Scholarship.

An extraordinarily talented musician and scholar, Maria hopes to make her mark in a field where women are all too scarce: as a professional saxophone player. She is also interested in becoming a high school music teacher and has already demonstrated how capable she would be in this role. Her teachers report that when the high school band program was floundering without a director two years ago, Maria stepped up and literally took over the entire program, a feat that would have been impossible without the deep respect the students had for her as a leader and consummate musician. Maria credits her passion for music as the key to a rich, fulfilling life, and is looking forward to continuing her studies at the University of North Texas where, she says, she might even bring her horse! For her outstanding achievement, Maria will receive a $2000 renewable Duke and Jeanne Shold Scholarship and the $500 Judy Gunter Memorial Scholarship.

LuElle didn’t seriously consider the FBI as a career choice until she took classes such as psychology, forensic science, and criminal justice at West Sound Tech this past year. These subjects were so intriguing to her that she decided to attend Olympic College for two years and then transfer to the University of Washington, where she will major in criminology. Teachers note that, with her strong ethical and moral codes and impressive work ethic, LuElle will be very successful as she probes the mysteries of the criminal mind! To aid in her studies, LuElle will receive the $1000 Truvedson Scholarship and the $1,500 Chimacum Backpacks/ Karen Jensen Memorial Scholarship.

An outstanding athlete and hard-working student, Alyssa has always found sports to be her strength and support in dealing with life’s challenges. When she moved to Chimacum in the fourth grade, it was daunting to adapt and become part of a new community, but Alyssa quickly made friends by joining a local little league softball team. She went on to develop a love for all competitive sports and was thrilled to win a national championship for softball, as well as earning a spot on the second all-league teams in basketball and softball. In recognition of her skill, she has been recruited for the basketball and softball teams at Centralia College, where she will study nursing in their highly competitive four-year program.  Alyssa’s teachers praise Alyssa as a strong leader who never says anything negative. She will receive a $2000 Duke and Jeanne Shold renewable scholarship, a $1000 Truvedson Scholarship, and the $1, 541.55 Dave Garing Memorial Scholarship, which is very fitting, since Dave coached the girls’ softball team at Chimacum for many years.