Spencer Burmester of Lake Washington High School (LWHS), Class of 2016, was selected winner of the 2016 Kirkland Heritage Society $2,000 Christine J. Neir Memorial Scholarship for his essay “The Lakeside Paradise.” Ten submissions were received from seniors at Lake Washington and Juanita High Schools.

Spencer has been an honors student throughout his high school career. He is vice president of the schools DECA chapter, a two year varsity swimmer and swim captain, volunteer tutor at Lakeview Elementary, and lifeguard and swim coach for the city of Kirkland. This fall, Spencer will be attending Chapman University in California and plans to major in Business Administration.

The Kirkland Heritage Society established the scholarship in 2009 to foster an interest in our local history and to provide an opportunity for high school students to demonstrate the importance of civic involvement. Students were asked to submit an essay about their own personal experience growing up in Kirkland.

“History is not just what happened a hundred years ago. Our youth are creating new history every day. Young people growing up in Kirkland experience neighbors, family, school friends and events that influenced their life,” said Bob Neir of the Heritage Society.

Bob Neir, Jim Neir and LWHS Career Counselor Julie Madsen presented the scholarship award on May 5.