To Wood River High School principal Peter Jurovich, the strong connection between the community and education couldn't have been more striking than it was Wednesday during the school's 2010-11 Scholarship Assembly in Hailey.
Nearly $200,000 in scholarships was awarded during the ceremony. As Jurovich noted in his opening remarks, "Investing in education is an investment in the future. Scholarships give our students opportunities, and this is an important event for our school and our community."
A highlight was the presentation of Works of Grace Foundation scholarships that local philanthropists Theresa Castellano-Wood and Benjamin Wood have developed for the children of Blaine County teachers.
Since 2002, Works of Grace has granted 75 grants worth over $790,000 to children of local teachers with over 1,300 years of teaching experience, presenter Vicki Browne said.
This year's graduates earning the grants were Andrew Pfeiffer ($10,000), Christopher Turco ($10,000), Ashton Lupton ($5,000), Halsey Pierce ($1,000) and Jade Glenn ($1,000).
Last year's graduates awarded Works of Grace scholarships were Morgan Pike ($10,000), Britta Gaeddert ($7,500) and Sierra Money ($1,000).
Nearly 30 organizations, memorial funds and individuals announced scholarships to WRHS seniors and juniors who are active in academics, community affairs and leadership.
The Lewis Legacy Scholarship given in the name of Dr. Jim Lewis, retired Blaine County School District superintendent, was presented to Gabriela Juarez Rangel.
Claire Bowman received the $1,000 Idaho Mountain Express Scholarship.
This is the 24th year the Express has given grants to Blaine County students in three different schools. Over $90,000 has been given to students since Express scholarships began in 1988. There were 46 applicants this year, with four interviews.
Also leading the way was the Hailey Rotary, which has awarded scholarships at the high school since 1967. Hailey Rotary representative Shelley Seibel announced 20 scholarships including several $1,000 memorial grants.
The Hailey Rotary's prestigious Roberta McKercher Scholarship went to Anne Drier. The Lawrence Heagle Scholarship went to Connor Hesselbacher. Winning the Joe Fuld Scholarship was Esdras Santiago De la Rosa. And the Dick Jones Scholarship went to Ben Hofferber.
The new Dex Gannon Memorial Scholarship given in memory of the 2008 WRHS graduate was presented to Victoria Poole.
Other Hailey Rotary grants at WRHS went to Andrew Uriarte, Ashley Aschliman, Joshua Crotty, Gabriela Juarez Rangel, Kyson Chin, Ellen Davis, Dakota Barnes, Mariah Davis, Mia Jefferson, Cody Levitan, Alison Town, Dulce Torres, Rebecca Hogan, Jade Glenn and Dallas Lewallen.
The Ketchum/Sun Valley Rotary gave seven $1,000 scholarships and one $2,000 grant. Presenter Will Duke gave $2,000 Dean Donaldson Memorial grant to John Bartoletta, and $1,000 scholarships to Claire Bowman, Vanessa Santacruz, Louvier Gomez, Laura Kunz, Alexandra Peck, Kylee Richmond and Ashton Lupton.
The four recipients of Sawtooth Board of Realtors scholarships were Alexandra Peck, Kylee Richmond, Rachael Blum and Ashley Aschliman.
Another highlight of the one-hour and 35-minute assembly were "Dollars for Scholars" scholarships in the amounts of $1,000 going to eight students. Presenter Audrey Bashaw said the local program, founded in 1995, has awarded over $320,000 in scholarship money to Blaine County high school students.
"Dollars for Scholars" recipients from Wood River were Cassandra Regalado, Hunter Van Bramer, Benito Reveles Aguayo, Natalie Hinijo Macha, Gabriela Juarez Rangel, Angelica Delval-Gonzalez, Isaiah Garza and Esteban Palencia Hurtado.
Awarded for the 18th year were Leon Friedman Memorial Scholarships, which have amounted to nearly $550,000. This year's 12 WRHS recipients were Ashley Aschliman, Rachael Blum, Emma Jane Dilley, Samual Funk, Louvier Gomez, Ashton Lupton, Alison Town, Christopher Turco, Kyson Chin, Joshua Crotty, Alexandra Peck and Kylee Richmond.
Check the May 11 Local Life for more photos of winners.
Other award recipients
Josh Pollock Memorial scholarships from Power Engineers (presented for the 15th year): Alexander Bates ($3,000) and John Siegel ($1,000).
Bob Shay Memorial Scholarship from the David Ketchum American Legion Post (12th year): Isaiah Garza.
The Barbara Cimino Memorial Scholarships went to Samual Funk and Dallas Lewallen.
Presented to 10 Wood River students and two from Silver Creek High School were the Student of Hispanic Origin Continuing Scholarships from Jim Cimino, who attended the ceremony.
Wood River recipients were Dulce Torres, Yocelin Chavez Vasquez, Rosa Nava, Esteban Palencia Hurtado, Benito Reveles Aguayo, Maria Del Rosario Paredes Gutierrez, Reyes Nava, Esdras Santiago De la Rosa, Arturo Ambriz Baltazar and Gabriela Juarez Rangel. The SCHS winners were Rosendo Torres Vargas and Yessenia Lopez.
Other memorial grants were:
The Tyler Shelly Memorial Music Scholarship for $1,000 honoring the memory of the 2002 WRHS graduate (7th year): Sarah Brown and Samual Funk.
Alan and Diane Johnson $1,000 Memorial Scholarship (8th year): Ashton Lupton. The Jill Palm Memorial Scholarship: Dylan Peterson.
Many organizations and businesses contributed grants.
Building Contractors of the Wood River Valley/Gregg Stowe Scholarships: Anne Drier, Alexandra Peck, Louvier
Gomez and Kylee Richmond.
DL Evans Bank Scholarships: Kylee Richmond, Morgan Rust and Ingrid Roman. Paula's Girl: Rachael Blum. Sonya Tarney Scholarship (given since 1988): Jordan Nevins.
During a separate March 15 ceremony, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities gave more than $50,000 in scholarships to 38 Blaine County students and educators. Sun Valley Center representative Britt Udesen attended Wednesday's scholarship assembly and elaborated on the Wood River recipients.
Stephanie Sloan, currently enrolled and on the dean's list at Berklee College of Music, earned the $2,000 per-year renewable Gay Weake Scholarship. Barrett Brown received the $5,000 Ezra Pound Award for the Visual Arts. He plans to attend a pre-college program at Ringling College of Art and Design.
Other recipients of the Sun Valley Center Arts and Humanities grants this year were:
Annie Ashfield, William Ashfield, Shaylyn Bernston, Zachary Dolenar, Amelia Fugate, Caleb Garvin, Syringa Hansen, Reyna Kelly, Nathaniel Kniffen, Fischer Lewis, Kaitana Martinez, Desiree Midby, Sydney Morales, Erin Murphy, Jonnie Pedersen, Stephen Poklemba, Adam Potts, Dalyah Reel-Hughes, Cristian Gonzalez, Michele Krankkala, Jordan Nevins and Alison Town.
Blaine County Education Association scholarships: Ashton Lupton and Dulce Torres. Vocational/Technical Scholarship: Ashley Aschliman.
Surfing Heritage Foundation grant for $1,000: Ashley Kibling. The "Leg Up Scholarship," for $1,000 created by veterinarian Randy Acker: Esdras Santiago De la Rosa.
Wood River Medical Society: Breeana Baledge. The Ruscitto/Latham/Blanton Scholarship for $500 (11th year): John Siegel. Masonic Lodge $500 Scholarship: Andrew Uriarte. Ketchum/Hailey Eye Center: Kylee Richmond and Ashley Aschliman.
Smith College Book Award for an outstanding junior: Elizabeth Fry. Colby College Book Award to an outstanding junior: Nathaniel Kniffen.
United Dairymen of Idaho Distinguished Students of the Week: James Paris, John Siegel, Ashton Lupton and Kylee Richmond.
Samual Funk and Sarah Brown were the recipients of the Tyler Shelly Memorial Music Scholarships honoring the memory of the 2002 WRHS graduate. The grant was presented for the seventh year at Wednesday’s Wood River Scholarship Awards Ceremony in Hailey. Photo by David N. Seelig
