2014 Scholarship Awardees Thank You’s
Megan Antalan
Dear Alumni Association,
Thank you for considering me for these scholarships and for the opportunities each scholarship will bring. These will surely be helpful in my quest for knowledge and pursuance of dreams. I haven’t started college yet, but you have already made it that much easier. For that and for everything, I thank you.
Sincerely,
Megan Antalan
2014 WSHS Graduate
Alf & Ruth Larsen Scholarship & Patricia Friedline Scholarship
Eastyn Baleto
Dear West Seattle High School Alumni Association,
I am writing to extend my sincere gratitude for being selected to receive the prestigious West Seattle High School Alumni Association Scholarship. Your generous support is helping me to fulfill my dream of attending college at the University of New Mexico and pursuing career as an Ultra Sound Technician. Receiving the West Seattle High School Alumni Scholarship makes me even more determined to maintain high academic standards and follow my dream. Thank you again for your generosity and consideration.
Sincerely,
Eastyn Baleto
2014 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Scholarship & Beverly Raleigh Freeman Scholarship
Baylee Corley
Dear West Seattle High School Alumni Association,
Thank you so much for awarding me the Herb Smith Mathematics Scholarship and the Patricia Feldman Noyes Scholarship. I greatly appreciate your generosity and I am very proud to now be able to call myself and Alum of WSHS and to be a part of this community!
Again thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Baylee Corley
2014 WSHS Graduate
Herb Smith Mathematics Scholarship & Patricia Feldman Noyes Women in Science Scholarship
Sarah Davis
WSHS Alumni Association,
I cannot find the right words to show my appreciation for your generosity. My family and I are so grateful for the opportunity that the Alumni Association has presented to me.
Many thanks,
Sarah Davis
2014 WSHS Graduate
Linkous Foundation Scholarship
Spenser Elder
Dear Alumni Association,
Thank you so much for awarding me the WSHS Alumni Scholarship. Next year I will be attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It has been my life long goal to attend college and this will help me achieve that goal. I am truly grateful for your charity and kindness. I appreciate your help immensely.
Sincerely,
Spenser Elder
2014 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Association Scholarship
Patrick Gordon
Dear West Seattle Alumni Association,
Thank you so much for the Duke-Rader Scholarship. I feel very honored to have received this scholarship and to be using it in a way that the Rader family would be proud of.
Thanks,
Patrick Gordon
2014 WSHS Graduate
Clarence & Margaret Duke-Rader Music Scholarship
Makenzie Harrison
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
I am writing to thank you for your generous $4,000 WSHS Alumni Scholarship. I was very happy and appreciative to learn that I was selected as the recipient of your scholarship. By awarding me the WSHS Alumni Scholarship, you have lightened my financial burden which allows me to focus more on the most important aspect of school, learning. Your generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals, just as you have helped me.
Sincerely,
Makenzie Harrison
2014 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Scholarship
Lukas Irwin
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
First and foremost I must express my complete and utter gratitude for granting me this amazing scholarship. With your help I will be able to alleviate the burden of paying for college at least by a little. This will allow me to focus more on my education, helping me to strive toward my college goals and subsequently those in my life as a whole. With the assistance of the Alumni Association I am going to college much more confident than I had anticipated.
Additionally, receiving this award is a true testament to the power of community. I come from a long line of West Seattleites and I truly felt a sense of pride and familiarity, while talking with the committee, that I can’t imagine having anywhere else. In closing, I am very appreciative of the Alumni as well as WSHS in general. I will never forget this generous gift and hope to pay it forward.
Thank you a thousand times,
Lukas Irwin
2014 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Ongoing Alumni Scholarship
Myka Kielbon
Dear West Seattle High School Alumni Association,
Above all else, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the aid that the WSHSAA Scholarship Committee has extended to me. I am very proud to be a product of a school that not only has the history and legacy that West Seattle High School does, but also invests in the promise of the future. My fellow scholarship recipients and I are as varied as we are accomplished and I feel that is a quality that stands for WSHS as a whole…. we as Indians and as Wildcats have broken the mold for almost a century now.
Breaking the mold is exactly what the generous aid from the WSHSAA is giving me the opportunity to do. In graduating high school, I understand that in order to grow as a person, I need to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. Attending Occidental College is my own avenue for challenge. I am proud of my acceptance to Occidental and I took great care in deciding upon moving over 1100 miles away from my family and my home. My goals to study cultural and social interactions are fulfilled by Occidental’s close- knit learning community and my ability to attend Occidental is now fulfilled by the West Seattle High School Alumni Association, to whom I now gladly belong. Thank you for investing in my future.
Sincerely,
Myka Kielbon
2014 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Scholarship
Phi-Khahn Pham
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
Thank you so much for this opportunity. I greatly appreciate your support in my academic career. I look forward to contributing as a West Seattle High School Alumni in the future.
Sincerely,
Phi-Khahn Pham
2014 WSHS Graduate
Beverly Raleigh Freeman Scholarship
Kara Swanson
WSHS Alumni Association,
Thank you so much for this generous scholarship you have provided me. I am so excited to start my first year of college knowing I have a great community who supports my goals and dreams. My family and I cannot possibly thank you enough for all the financial stress you have relieved us of. The road to my future looks bright and I can’t wait to find out more about myself at Bellevue College next year!
Thanks again!
Kara Swanson
2014 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Scholarship
Charlie Szender
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
I am very grateful for the scholarship that you have given me. You can be sure it will be put to good use during my time at Western.
Special Thanks to the Alf & Ruth Larson family for the Scholarship.
Sincerely,
Charlie Szender
2014 WSHS Graduate
Alf & Ruth Larsen Scholarship
Tomas Woldemichael
Dear West Seattle Alumni,
First off, thank you for taking the time to review my application and taking time to interview me. Given the opportunity West Seattle Alumni have given me I will make sure not to let you down. When I first heard that I was granted with this scholarship I could not believe it. I was pumped with excitement. I told my parents, they were captivated. My mother made me my favorite East African dish that night to celebrate the great news. One of the best moments of my life was being able to see that I made my mother proud and without the West Seattle Alumni this would not be possible.
With this scholarship I will be pursuing an engineering degree. I hope to be finished within the next 4 years and out in the work field. I hope that one day I will be able to join the West Seattle Alumni Board and be able to give young adults like myself the opportunity that you have given to me.
Receiving little help from the government and receiving no scholarships I was not sure if I was going to be able to attend a 4 year university this year. I was debating whether I should take the year off and head to work and return back to school when I had the funds. Now that I have received the West Seattle Alumni Scholarship I will have more time to focus on my school work to put me through 4 years of school. I cannot thank you enough, the best thing I could do is use your funds to the best of my ability and succeed.
Sincerely,
Tomas Woldemichael
2014 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Scholarship
Continuing Scholarships
Kirsten Kenny
Hello !
Hope everyone has had a good fall so far, and the weather hasn’t been too brisk or windy!
My second year at PLU has been very hectic and rewarding. If anything, it has been more of a learning experience going from my first year to my second at PLU than going from WSHS to PLU!
This summer, it seems like I had an epiphany and I realized what a gift it is to be able to go to school.
This semester, I was able to be an orientation guide and help incoming first year students with their transition. I was also able to get a job on campus, as well as continue my work as a volunteer for the local middle school. Balancing a full class load with a job, volunteering for Keithley and Special Olympics has been a fun challenge to say the least! I am in the process of becoming a coach or another fixed position in Special Olympics. For PLU, I am hoping to start a community outreach that will create friendship between PLU students and adults in the community with disabilities.
It seems like the days are flying by and soon enough, I’ll be in New Zealand! I also just confirmed plans for this summer to travel to Thailand for 4 weeks through ISV! There I’ll be able to help those communities through restoration projects! It is through your continuous financial support that I am able to achieve such high goals academically and I am able to help the community I live in and the ones I will encounter abroad!
It is a noble and generous act to invest in someone’s education and future, and for that, I will be forever grateful. I look forward to the reunion and I will be sure to write about my adventures in New Zealand. Thank you!
With warmest regards,
Kirsten Kenny
Class of 2013
Julia Bryson
Dear West Seattle High School Alumni
Thank you for the Patricia Feldman Noyes Women in Science Scholarship. This continuing scholarship makes every year possible for me. Without your generosity I would not have been able to finish my first year at University and most certainly would not be looking at a second year.
In this first year at Western I have been working toward a major in bio-chem and hope to be able to declare I my junior year. Next year, as a sophomore, I will be able to take all the pre-requisite classes for a major in biochemistry.
My education is my top priority and will continue to be so. Thank you again for supporting my education and allowing me to work toward my goals.
Sincerely,
Julia Bryson
2013 WSHS Graduate
Patricia Feldman Noyes
Christian Carpio
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
I’d like to thank you for renewing my Ross & Viola Galbreath Memorial Scholarship. Every day I remember how fortunate I am to have this scholarship. I remember who was kind enough to give it to me and I see how it’s impacting my schooling. It allows me to build myself a strong foundation without having to worry about resources. Without this scholarship, I would be somewhere between not enough financial aid and far too much debt. The sheer magnitude of this scholarship makes me realize how lucky I am to have a supportive Alumni Association that cares about the graduates of West Seattle High School. No other high school alumni association that I know of helps its graduates as much as yours.
As far as my progress through college, I’m in the Electrical Engineering Department with three concentrations: Power Electronics and Drives, Large Scale Power Systems and Sustainable Electric Energy. In addition, I’m working on a Mathematics minor. At the Husky Union Building I’m still a sound technician. I was also recently promoted to student building manager. Outside of studies and work I’m and officer of UW Robotics, where we just finished our Mars Rover for an international competition held at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. I was responsible for the rover arm, hand, scientific station and power system. I’m also a drummer in a few student bands on campus. I find that bashing drums is a fantastic stress reliever and I recommend it to everyone.
Again, I want to thank you for all the work and effort you’ve spent on me and the other scholarship recipients. I’m truly thankful for this wonderful scholarship and I will never forget your kindness.
Sincerely,
Christian Carpio
2011 WSHS Graduate
Ross & Viola Galbreath Memorial Scholarship
Gabriela Flores
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
I am so incredibly thankful to the Alumni Association for renewing my scholarship for my third year at the University of Washington. This scholarship has taken a huge financial burden off of me and let me focus on classes. I have been accepted into the Biology major and look forward to taking all the exciting classes the UW has to offer, graduating and continuing my education. The support you have shown me over the last two years means so much to me.
Thank you and Go Indians!
Sincerely,
Gabriela Flores
2012 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Ongoing Scholarship
Lauren Jeglum
WSHS Alumni,
I can’t thank you enough for the generous scholarship! With all of your support over the last 3 years, you have made a huge impact on my future. I will continue to work hard to ensure the money has been well spent!
Thank you!
Lauren Jeglum
2011 WSHS Graduate
Tim Brenton Memorial Scholarship & WSHS Alumni Scholarship
Kirsten Kenny
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
Thank you once again for hosting the All School Reunion and for giving out all of the scholarships. I am truly grateful and honored to be a WSHS Alum. It is an amazing thing to do; to have faith in the college bound students and invest in their futures.
It’s crazy how fast freshman year has gone by! While I am nervous for my upcoming class load, your generous scholarship has lifted some weight off both my parent’s and my shoulders. This has allowed for me to focus on balancing classes, volunteering and searching for jobs and internships. Thank you once again!
With warm regards,
Kirsten Kenny
2013 WSHS Graduate/Future 2017 PLU Graduate
WSHS Ongoing Alumni Scholarship
Hannah Matalone
To the Wonderful & Incredibly Generous WSHS Alumni,
Wow! I am beyond thrilled! Thank you all for the extremely generous WSHS Alumni Scholarship and the Class of 1963 Scholarship! These awards will cover my tuition for as entire year and make it possible for me to continue my education in graduate school. That will be my next step in my journey to becoming a speech-language pathologist! I am excited to earn my degree and hope to come back to serve our community in West Seattle.
I want to take a moment to also express how lucky I feel to be a part of this incredible network of Alumni. West Seattle is a really special place because of you all and your ability to reach out and support the continuing generations of Alums.
Thank you for thinking of me at this critical point in my education. I am really looking forward to June 6th to see everyone at the reunion event.
Thank you so much again!!
Hannah Matalone
2011 WSHS Graduate
WSHS Alumni Scholarship & Class of 1963
Kalani Meligo
To the West Seattle High School Alumni Association,
I wish I could say more than the words “thank you”, but those are the only words that truly fit this situation. Thank you for supporting my education, thank you for believing in me, thank you for making me believe in myself!
With the aid of the Class of 1962 Scholarship, I feel like I can achieve anything.
Best Wishes,
Kalani Meligo
2013 WSHS Graduate
Class of 2012 Scholarship
Haley Peterson
Dear Alumni,
I am completely overwhelmed by this generous offer to provide tuition for my senior year at WSU! I have worked hard these past three years, majoring in finance and plan to continue striving toward my future with this last year in college.
Thank you so much, I love WSHS!
Sincerely,
Haley Peterson
2011 WSHS Graduate
Ross & Viola Galbreath Memorial Scholarship
Lauren Shaughnessy
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
Thank you so much for awarding me the Patricia Feldman Noyes Women in Science Scholarship! I’m so grateful to be awarded this scholarship for the 2nd year in a row. My first year of college was fun, but hard and I’m so glad that I was able to focus on studying instead of having to get a job to help pay for college.
I really, really appreciate this scholarship.
Thank you!
Lauren Shaughnessy
2013 WSHS Graduate
Patricia Feldman Noyes Women in Science Scholarship
Michael A. Swanson
Dear WSHS Alumni Association,
I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for your extraordinary support over these past four years. You have enabled me to achieve my educational dreams and grow as a person. As I transition into the working world, I hope that one day I too will be able to pass on such generosity to future generations.
In such a difficult age of rising tuition, the WSHS Alumni Association has been there for me every step of the way. It has meant so much to me, as I’m not sure where I would be today without your incredible help. Just know that you have helped one more wildcat find his direction in life and for that I am forever grateful.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Swanson
2011 WSHS Graduate
Ross & Viola Galbreath Memorial Scholarship
