In the week leading up to the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce’s annual Rob Fuller Scholarship Luncheon, STEM Scholarship award presenter Amanda Singleton received a postcard from a W.F. West High School graduate who received the STEM Scholarship at the luncheon four years prior.
In the postcard, the student thanked Singleton for the scholarship and let her know that she had graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and had accepted a position at Providence St. Peter Hospital.
“It’s super cool to see the success of you guys. You have a really cool journey ahead, and we wish you all the best,” Singleton said ahead of presenting this year’s STEM Scholarship.
Amy Buzzard of the Centralia Community Foundation had the honor of presenting a scholarship to a student she has known “since she was a baby,” and Sarah Althauser of the Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County noted that one of the students in Centralia High School’s top 25 was in the first kindergarten class she ever taught.
“This is amazing, to be in this room. I know you guys have been working so hard. All your dedication and hard work has paid off,” Althauser said.
The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce presented a total of 18 scholarships, nearly $20,000 in total, to Centralia, W.F. West and Adna high school students during the luncheon on Tuesday, which celebrates the scholarship recipients and the top 25 students from Centralia and W.F. West high schools.
Hosted at Jester’s Auto Museum and Event Center in Chehalis, the luncheon additionally featured a variety of giveaways and raffle items donated for students.
The event’s keynote speaker was Centralia College Vice President of Student Services Robert Cox, who encouraged this year’s graduates to utilize the support available to them at college, including school faculty, libraries and their own families and friends.
“As you make all those hard choices, you have to know you don’t have to go at it alone,” Cox said.
In addition to offering advice on financial aid, making friends and using New Courier font to make a shorter essay look longer, Cox encouraged this year’s graduates to enjoy their time in their post-secondary education programs.
“College should be fun. College will be fun. Enjoy your time while you’re there,” Cox said.
Below are the scholarship recipients and the top 25 students from Centralia and W.F. West high schools.
Chehalis School District Top 25
Marilyn Arevalo Cerritos, Hayden Blanton-Lamping, Tommy Caperon, Chloe Chloupek, Justin Chung, Maddysen Creech, Natalie Eklund, Carly Ericson, Lena Fragner, Aspen Goble, Audrey Greene, Shelby Hazlett, Lia Hornby, Mya Jensen, Braden Jones, Grace Oien, Courtney Pinkerton, Rene Remund, Zoey Robertson, Andrew Scheer, Jenna Smith, Laurel Toynbee, Brea Tracy, Freya Wearner, Ella Young
Centralia School District Top 25
Daniel Abarta, Susannah Berry, Chihiro Bringman, Alan Cox, Joshua DeMaris, Kendra Dimaggio, Andres Flores Bravo, Ruth Gonzalez, Isabelle Gruginski, Shalyn Hall, Olivia Hedgers, Tig Hedgers, Summer Holmes, Johnathan Kaech, Lauren Mannikko, Victor Morales, Kiersten Moxness, Joselyn Sanchez Gomez, Diann Semenchuk, Ignacio Sevilla-Moctezuma, Brady Sprague, Makenzi Van Der Hoeff, Lauren Wasson, Von Wasson, Emily Wilkerson
Scholarship recipients
• Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County Scholarship: Kendra Dimaggio
The $1,000 scholarship is available to all 2024 graduating seniors from W.F. West and Centralia High School.
• Centralia Community Foundation Education Scholarship: Olivia Hedgers
The $1,000 scholarship is available to all 2024 graduating seniors from Centralia High School based on their desire to go into the field of education.
• Althauser Rayan Abbarno, LLP Cheyllyn Collinsworth Scholarship: Hunter DeGravelles
The scholarship, which awards a minimum of $500 to a W.F. West or Centralia student pursuing a teaching career, was created in memory of a former Centralia High School senior and aspiring teacher who died in a car accident shortly after her high school graduation.
• Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce Olivia Mitchell Scholarship: Jessica Wickert
This $500 scholarship was created in honor of an Adna High School and Running Start student who was set to graduate with both her associate of arts degree and high school diploma when she passed away her senior year. The scholarship is available to Adna High School seniors.
• Lightcurve STEM Scholarship: Ema Weerasinghe
The $1,000 scholarship is available to all 2024 graduating seniors from W.F. West and Centralia High School based on their educational experience with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
• TwinStar Credit Union Business Leader of Tomorrow Scholarship: Hunter Padgett
The $1,000 scholarship is available to all 2024 graduating seniors from W.F. West and Centralia High School based on their desire to go into the field of business or finance.
• Valley View Health Center Nursing Scholarship: Hayden Blanton
The $1,000 scholarship is available to all 2024 graduating seniors from W.F. West and Centralia High School based on their intent to seek a degree as a registered nurse.
• Visiting Nurses Foundation Scholarship: Orion Schroeder
The $1,000 scholarship is available to all 2024 graduating seniors from W.F. West and Centralia High School based on their intent to seek a degree as a registered nurse.
• The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce Rob Fuller Scholarship: Gabriel Priest, Anna Alexander, Ella Chaput, Jack Pendleton, Alan Cox, Summer Holmes, Alayna McGregor, Laurel Toynbee, Ava McGregor, Chloe Chloupek
These scholarships of up to $1,000 were awarded to seniors at W.F. West or Centralia high schools who are children or grandchildren of current Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce members. The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce scholarship fund was developed to encourage and promote educational opportunities for children of chamber members. In 2011, the chamber of commerce changed the name of the scholarship to honor longtime Lewis County resident, president of Fuller’s Inc., city councilor and philanthropist Rob Fuller, who passed away in 2011 from lung cancer.
