For the Reporter
The BECU Foundation has awarded $3,000 college scholarships to Auburn’s Kyleigh Carbon, Christian Knutson, Krista Vavrik and Andrew Wallen.
They’re among 80 students to receive the award. The scholarship recipients were chosen based on their academic performance and passion for helping others through volunteering. Since 1995, the BECU Foundation has awarded more than $2.2 million in scholarships to 950 student members.
Carbon, a Thomas Jefferson High School student, has raised and trained five puppies to be guide dogs for a nonprofit organization Guide Dogs for the Blind.
“You spend a year and a half teaching, socializing, loving and caring for an animal knowing that it’s going to have a positive impact on the person that receives this puppy,” Carbon said. “Knowing the difference, I have made on these people’s lives with disabilities has inspired me to peruse a future career in the medical field to continue to help others and leave a positive impact on their life.”
Knutson, also a Jefferson High student, helped provide a garden seating area for elderly residents at the Wesley Home’s community.
“I gave the retirees an exercise opportunity, as they walked to a pleasant, outdoor destination,” Knutson said. “This Boy Scout service project laid the foundation for service and leadership skills I built upon in high school, where I led Thomas Jefferson peers when I served four years in student government.”
Vavrik, a Cascade Christian High student, did mission work in Mexico and Africa where she aided in providing food, medical attention and compassion to those in need.
“I strive to make everyone feel important, loved, and valued. This experience has cultivated a passion for caring for people and led me to want to pursue a career as a nurse who practices compassionate care,” Vavrik said. “Whether it is collecting the recycling with the Environmental Club or aiding the impoverished in Africa, service has become a huge part of my life.”
Wallen, an Auburn Riverside High graduate, led various activities from an anti-bullying campaign to fundraising to mentoring freshman. He is majoring in journalism at Central Washington University.
“I inspired students to be inclusive and spirited, and our high school became like family,” he said. “At the end of my senior year, I received two leadership awards: the Outstanding Activities Award and Raven of Excellence Award. Those awards reflect my dedication to Auburn Riverside and the positive impact of servant leadership.”
Elsewhere
Youngstown State University (Ohio) welcomes Gabriel Tugade of Pacific to campus for fall semester as one of more than 2,000 new undergraduate students comprising the class of 2020. Tugade, an Auburn Riverside High School graduate, is majoring in forensic science.
