The North Thurston Education Foundation has awarded scholarships with a total value of $191,000 to 49 graduating seniors from North Thurston Public Schools.

“We are delighted to award scholarships to so many of our graduating NTPS seniors. Our selection process was very competitive this year due to the high quality of our student applications. These students, who spent most of their final two years of high school learning online, are articulate, strong, and resilient. It is an honor to support them as they take their next steps in life. We are thankful to our gracious donors who support the North Thurston Education Foundation Scholarship program. Due to their generosity, NTEF offered several newly named scholarships this year. We appreciate the kindness of this community and their support of our students and schools, “ said Beth Utto-Galarneau, Scholarship Chair.

Scholarships awarded range from $2,500 to $14,000. The NTEF Scholarship Committee evaluated applications on several factors, including academic achievement, school and community activities, references, quality of the required essay and financial need.

The following graduating seniors received this year’s awards: 

Named Scholarships: The scholarship program includes designated named endowed scholarships and Foundation-funded scholarships.

In 2023, 27 named scholarships were awarded to the following students:

Alex Ward Memorial Scholarship – Avery Anderson, North Thurston High School

Bill Williams Memorial Scholarship – Levi White, Timberline High School

Charles E. Callahan Education Scholarship – Rachelle Chavez, Timberline High School

Colton Thorstrom Smith Scholarship – Angel Vannoy, River Ridge High School

Lisa Corwin Memorial Scholarship – Cianna Cantrell, River Ridge High School

Davies Vocational-Technical Scholarship – Sage Tomlinson, River Ridge High School

Frank Parker Memorial Scholarship – Natalie Hagerman, North Thurston High School

Friends and Family Scholarship – Ashley Nguyen, Timberline High School

James Koval Memorial Scholarship – Lizette Arana, Timberline High School

Jeannette Hostetter Ford Memorial Scholarship – Annika Nelson, Timberline High School

John Gott Education Scholarship – Alanis Blackburn, River Ridge High School

Roy Pedersen Memorial Scholarship – Dylan Phipps, North Thurston High School

Dr. G. Sue Shannon Scholarship – Lakeshia Nesbitt-Tominus, North Thurston High School

Nicholas T. Walker Scholarship – Cooper Smith, Timberline High School

Ethel & Vaughn F. Philpot Scholarship – Snohwimnimah Nmah, Timberline High School

Rahman Family Scholarship – Chae Won Yoo, North Thurston High School

Craig A. Shanafelt Scholarship – Alyssa Jerenz-Mapu, Timberline High School

Gillis Breaking Barrier Scholarship – Pitrish Mualia, Timberline High School

Porter Scholarship for Hope – Brandon Jean, Timberline High School

Skip Scoggin Scholarship – Christopher Towne, North Thurston High School

Supporting Women in STEM Scholarship – Veronica England, North Thurston High School

The Mary P Dolciani Scholarship –

• Angelo Lomsdale, River Ridge High School
• Vladimir Ordonez, River Ridge High School

Lewis R. Hawthorne & Edna C. Hawthorne Scholarships –

• Isatou Barrow, North Thurston High School
• Sharon Gracey, North Thurston High School
• Jason Pham, Timberline High School
• Kayla Housekeeper, Timberline High School

Foundation Scholarships: $2500 Foundation Scholarships are awarded annually. In 2023, 22 foundation scholarships were awarded to the following students:

North Thurston High School: Avelinn Colombo, Angie Ata, Plascencia Alejandra, Melia Yoshioka-Niau and Laurel Cheny

River Ridge High School: Yesica Mendez Sandoval and Tavieon Tucker
Timberline High School: Jacob Garrison, Ruby Danielson, Brandon Avent, Mackenzie Comeaux, Kaydren Boyer, Lyliea Funk, Damian Zimmerman, McKenzie Welliver, Trinitee Robertson, Sierra Rice, Cheyenne Paavola, Zakary Hopper and Janine Bermudez.

Envision Career Academy: Grace Ratliff and Victoria Long

Twenty-three of the scholarships are named after individuals in the community and funded by bequests from or donations on behalf of the persons for whom they are named. The remaining scholarships were solely financed by the Foundation’s annual fund-raising and by an unrestricted grant from the Dawkins Charitable Trust. To view a list of scholarship establishment history and details, visit: https://ntef.org/special-named-endowed-scholarships/.