$37,500 in scholarships awarded to local students

Outstanding character and achievement earn post-secondary funding for local students.

June 15, 2018 8:30 am
From left to right, back row: Nicolas Woolwine, Isaac John Perrin, Lucas Wall, Bradley Ross Cagle, Daniel Liu, Tyler Paul Zangaglia; front row: Scott Cavanagh, Michelle Um, Divya Parimi, Anna Wang, Jessica Wells, Jamie Ellen Hudson, Khushi Manish Chaudhari, Shawdi Mehrvarzan. Photo by Brandi Comstock. Photo courtesy of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation
From left to right, back row: Nicolas Woolwine, Isaac John Perrin, Lucas Wall, Bradley Ross Cagle, Daniel Liu, Tyler Paul Zangaglia; front row: Scott Cavanagh, Michelle Um, Divya Parimi, Anna Wang, Jessica Wells, Jamie Ellen Hudson, Khushi Manish Chaudhari, Shawdi Mehrvarzan. Photo by Brandi Comstock. Photo courtesy of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation

Lake Washington PTSA Council and Lake Washington Schools Foundation have announced a combined total of $37,500 in scholarship awards to sixteen local students.

Through a joint application process that received more than one hundred applications and required more than thirty community readers, the LWPTSA Council conferred fourteen individual $1,250 student scholarships in the categories of merit, education and perseverance. The LWPTSA Council bestowed an additional $500 each to exceptional teachers Eleanor Jones at Thoreau Elementary and Steve Okun at Redmond High School.

Lake Washington Schools Foundation awarded the largest scholarships of this year’s batch, presenting Tyler Zangaglia of Eastlake High School and Scott Cavanagh of Tesla STEM High School ​each with a $10,000 scholarship to attend college.

“Tyler and Scott have each shown incredible strength of character, an unlimited capacity for achievement, and the drive to change our world for the better,” says Lake Washington Schools Foundation Executive Director Dr. Larry Wright in a press release. “We’re pleased to have this opportunity to assist such admirable and promising young people pursue post-secondary education.”

Scott Cavanagh graduates this year from Tesla STEM High School in LWSD, an institution that he credits with sparking his interest in an engineering career.

“I am honored that I have been selected for this very generous scholarship. It has given me more confidence to pursue my college dreams and in paying for the rising cost of a college education.” said Cavanagh in a press release.

Cavanagh has been accepted into the prestigious direct admission engineering program at the University of Washington, where he plans to study Biomedical Engineering and spend time volunteering at UW Medical Center.

Tyler Zangaglia is the founder and director of The Hope Festival, a non-profit organization that he began at age 16 to bring together donors, providers, and community organizations to deliver essential supplies and services to hundreds of in-need Seattle-area individuals; as well as Hope in Motion, a year-round club that activates local youths to engage in community service projects.

“Thank you to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation for their incredible support through this scholarship. The past four years I’ve spent at Eastlake High School, along with the many more spent in the Lake Washington School District, have allowed me to grow academically and become prepared for the future,” said Zangaglia, who will attend Gonzaga University to study business.

Longstanding LWSF donors Ben and Nancy Remak provided funding for this year’s Lake Washington Schools Foundation scholarships.

“We’re grateful for—and inspired by—Ben and Nancy’s steadfast commitment to helping students in the Lake Washington School District achieve their potential,” Wright said in a press release. “We would also like to thank those who read and scored the scholarship applications, including the Foundation’s trustees, for the time and effort they spent in support of this work.”

All recipients of this year’s LWPTSA and LWSF scholarships were honored at a reception and awards ceremony on June 4, at the Lake Washington School District Resource Center.

Recipients

Staff Scholarships ($500):

  • Eleanor Jones, Thoreau Elementary
  • Steve Okun, Redmond High School

Lake Washington Schools Foundation ($10,000):

  • Merit: Tyler Paul Zangaglia, Eastlake High School
  • Perseverance/Turn Around: Scott William Cavanagh, Tesla STEM

LWPTSA Council ($1,250):

  • At Large: Bradley Ross Cagle, Redmond High School
  • Perseverance: Lucas Jeffrey Wall, Eastlake High School
  • Turn Around: Kalle Rose Benson, Juanita High School

Education:

  • Jane Wierenga Scholarship: Jamie Ellen Hudson, Juanita High School
  • Lake Washington Education Association/Bates: Daniel Liu, Redmond High School

Dr. L.E. Scarr/Vocational/2-Year:

  • Nicolas Woolwine, Lake Washington High School

Merit Scholarships

Eastlake Learning Community:

  • Isaac John Perrin, Tesla STEM
  • Divya Parimi, Eastlake High School

Juanita Learning Community:

  • Shawdi Mehrvarzan, Juanita High School
  • Jessica Wells, Juanita High School

Lake Washington Learning Community:

  • Michelle Um, Lake Washington High School
  • Bryce Charles Klinker, Lake Washington High School

Redmond Learning Community:

    • Anna Wang, Redmond High School
    • Khushi Manish Chaudhari, Redmond High School