In a surprise classroom presentation, three Lake Washington High School seniors were awarded a Lily Waluconis Memorial Scholarship – each in the amount of $750 on June 9. Each student submitted an application and was chosen on the basis of their academic performance and commitment to social justice.
The three scholars bring a diversity of experience, academic achievement and high aspiration. Becky Forgrave will attend Colby College in Maine to pursue studies in environmental sciences. Forgrave started a tutoring club at LWHS with over 20 student tutors helping other students meet their academic goals. “Together, we are working on getting students who need help to come and get it,” said Forgrave, who had 4.0 GPA.
Andrew Grady Olson will attend Whitman College in Walla Walla. In addition to high academic standing, Olson has extensive volunteer experience. He believes that both large and small volunteer activities benefit a democratic society, “ … even the simplest of tasks benefits our society. We do not do it for compensation or potential gain; we do it because we know it is morally right.”
Julia Reisner is headed to the University of Miami and after achieving a bachelor’s degree will consider medical school. A hardworking and serious student, she believes that the “notion of social justice translates into community fairness.”
In addition, runners-up for the scholarship that were acknowledged for their academic achievement were Kaitlyn Hartl and Claire Cronenweth who both received awards from the scholarship fund.
Established five years ago, the Lily Waluconis Memorial Scholarship originally planned to award one scholarship of $500 per year. Instead, the scholarship has awarded between two and four scholarships per year and this year increased the monetary amount of the award. Jake Waluconis, a trustee of the fund stated, “Given rising tuition costs, we decided to increase the scholarship this year and hope to raise it yet again next year.” The scholarship honors the memory of Lily Waluconis who graduated at the top of her class at LWHS and Carleton College. The scholarships pay tribute to young scholars who believe they can help build a better and more humane world.
