Centralia College Foundation Board President Peter Abbarno presents students with scholarships on Thursday evening in Centralia.
Centralia College Foundation Board President Peter Abbarno presents Centralia College student Brian Yost with a scholarship on Thursday evening in Centralia.
Former Lewis County Sheriff Bill Logan presents Austin Filley with a scholarship at the Centralia College Foundation Scholarship Night on Thursday evening in Centralia.
Centralia College Foundation Scholarship Night didn’t have a single open seat on Thursday evening in Centralia.
Centralia College students received more money at this year’s Centralia College Foundation Scholarship Night than they ever have before.
This week, Centralia College Foundation awarded $776,000 in scholarships to more than 350 Centralia College students. The Foundation awarded the scholarships over a two-day period and, at Thursday evening’s event, there wasn’t a single vacant seat in TransAlta Commons.
“We couldn’t fit everyone in the same room, so that growth is a sign of our success,” said Centralia College President Robert Mohrbacher in his welcome speech on Thursday. “I think that you waiting here to receive a scholarship is a sign of your success and a sign that we want you to succeed. We want to bring down whatever barriers we can to your success. Making sure that you can afford your education is very important to us.”
The Wednesday evening ceremony was the first scholarship night for Centralia College students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree.
“Scholarship Night is a time-honored tradition at Centralia College,” Mohrbacher said. “Last night in this room, we held our first-ever scholarship night for bachelor’s students. Both the number of scholarships we give out overall and the number of bachelor students we have continues to grow.”
Last year, Centralia College Foundation awarded more than $523,000 in scholarships to 319 Centralia College students.
Peter Abbarno, president of Centralia College Foundation and a City of Centralia council member, said the Centralia College Foundation board set a goal to have $25 million in assets by 2025.
“The Centralia College Foundation board members have set a pretty lofty goal, but from what I see today, we are going to make it,” said Abbarno in his speech.
Abbarno referenced the scholarships Centralia College Foundation previously awarded students and the major increase scholarship money this year.
“I remember only a few years ago, I was presenting scholarships and we were talking about how the Centralia College Foundation was passing out a half a million dollars in scholarships — and how amazing a half a million dollars sounded,” Abbarno said. “Only a few years later, we are (awarding) over three-quarters of a million dollars and it’s really because all of you.”
Reid Bates, who owns Express Employment Professionals, also addressed the students. He discussed the importance of being a “lifelong learner.”
“Most of you are here gaining an education so you can go out in the workplace,” Bates said. “Our company has been here in Lewis County for about 35 years and we have put thousands of people to work at thousands of companies. Along the way, we have found that there are habits that you gain being a student that are going to propel you through life in great ways.”
After his speech, Abbarno discussed the Foundation’s more than $250,000 increase in student scholarships this year.
“Our fundraising is multi-faceted,” said Abbarno after the ceremony. “It’s not only small donors from individuals, it’s sponsorships, it’s bequests through wills. People want to give for education, and when they trust an organization like the Foundation, they know that the money is going to go directly to the students to better their education.”
