Katie Cashatt’s Hamblen Years Pay Off Big

Katie Cashatt went for broke when she was a fourth-grader at Hamblen Elementary School.

Cashatt fell off the monkey bars and “snapped” her arm, she said.

After the fall, her arm was in a cast for two months. And she couldn’t play violin until her arm healed. Despite her tumble, Cashatt says she loved her school years at Hamblen.

And now it’s paying off. Cashatt, an 18-year-old senior at Ferris High School, was awarded the $1,000 Hamblen Alumni Scholarship this month.

In March, Hamblen’s parent-teacher group began soliciting applications for the scholarship. Any senior graduating from any high school this spring who attended Hamblen from at least fourth through sixth grade was eligible.

This is the second year it’s been awarded. The scholarship committee - former English teacher Jean Herzog, Steve Taylor and PTG member Patricia Terry reviewed the applications. The award is based on a combination of grade point average, SAT scores, extracurricular activities and community service.

In Cashett’s 300-word essay, she outlined her education goals. She said Hamblen’s teachers taught her to work hard and shoot high.

She specifically mentioned her homeroom teacher Steve Taylor, who teaches sixth-grade, and Carolyn Schmitz, a second-grade teacher who taught art when Cashatt attended Hamblen. She already has plans for the scholarship.

“I’m going to use the money to attend a community college in Seattle,” Cashatt said. “Then I want to transfer to Western Washington University and study environmental science or music therapy.”

The scholarship has two purposes, Terry said: Support graduates of Hamblen in their quest for higher education and let elementary students know it isn’t too soon to start thinking about college or technical school.

“We ask students to write about what contribution they hope to make to society by continuing their education,” Terry said.

Cashatt’s name will be installed on a plaque at Hamblen, next to last year’s winner, Greg Pschirrer, who attends Gonzaga University.

She will also receive her own plaque as a keepsake.

In winning the scholarship, Cashatt will be asked to address this year’s class of graduating sixth-graders at Hamblen.

“I don’t know what I’m going to say yet,” Cashatt said. “Maybe just talk about how they’re graduating - I’m graduating. How it feels to have things come full circle.”

, DataTimes