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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane Scholars Banquet set to honor area’s brightest students

By Nina Culver For The Spokesman-Review

Nearly 150 high school seniors who excel at academics will be honored during the 26th annual Spokane Scholars Foundation banquet on April 16.

The foundation got its start because he and others wanted to honor the purely academic achievements of local high school students and show them their efforts are appreciated by the community, said foundation president and co-founder Eric Johnson.

The foundation is unique because it doesn’t give any weight to athletic ability, community service or extra-curricular activities. “I think we’re one of a kind,” said Johnson. “I don’t think there’s another one like it. We honor pure academic achievement.”

Each local high school is asked to select students who have excellent scholarly accomplishments in one of six content areas: English, social studies, mathematics, science world languages and fine arts. This year 27 high schools are participating and each has selected six students to be Spokane Scholars.

“They’re all Spokane Scholars,” Johnson said. “It’s a prestigious thing to be a Spokane Scholar.”

Subject matter experts act as judges to evaluate the information from each of the 148 scholars and select students to receive first, second, third and fourth place honors in each of the six categories. They looked at grades, test scores and letters of recommendation to make their decision, Johnson said.

Many of the selected students have high GPA’s and excellent SAT scores, so the letters of recommendation carry a lot of weight, Johnson said. If a teacher with 30 years of experience identifies a student as the best student they’ve taught in their career, the evaluators pay attention, he said.

Johnson is a retired physician but said he, like his other board members, never would have made it as a Spokane Scholar. “We wouldn’t qualify,” he said. “We all share this passion that learning is fulfilling and important.”

The annual banquet usually seats between 800 and 900 people and is packed with parents and grandparents, Johnson said. All the students will receive a medal marking their achievement and the top four students in each category will receive scholarships ranging from $4,000 to $1,000. More than a dozen local and regional universities match the scholarship amount if a student attends that school.

The money to put on the banquet and fund the scholarships all comes from private donations.

The banquet has grown since it started 26 years ago. In the beginning 21 high schools participated and 93 students were honored. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded $1.11 million in scholarships to 458 students and a total of 3,039 students have been named Spokane Scholars.

Over the years an eclectic group of people have been asked to speak at the banquet. Notable names include Christine Gregoire while she served as state attorney general, former Gonzaga University president the Rev. Robert Spitzer, William H. Gates Sr., former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker and George Nethercutt Jr. The goal is to pick someone who will inspire the students, Johnson said.

This year’s speaker is David W. Grainger, a 1979 Lewis and Clark High School grad who is now the department chair and professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah. Like all the speakers, Grainger is volunteering his time, Johnson said.

“He’s an incredible academic, an investigator, a scientist,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he anticipates that the Spokane Scholars Foundation will be around for years to come.

“We’re 26 years into it,” he said. “We’re here to stay. We’ll never lose sight of what we are honoring, which is purity of academics.”

The honorees

The 2018 Spokane Scholars Foundation nominees are:

English

Veranica Alexeyenko, Valley Christian; Zachary Armstrong, Ferris; Solveig Baylor, St. George’s; Preston Bingley, Mt. Spokane; Jamie Cahill, Rogers; Jackson Clark, Freeman; Sara Codd, North Central; Madison Janke, Northwest Christian; Emerson Judd, Lewis and Clark; Kaitlyn Kramer, Upper Columbia; Lydia Lamm, University; Ilina Logani, Gonzaga Prep; Kate Madrian, Central Valley; Matthew Mason, East Valley; Thomas McNamee, Riverside; Lexi Mikkelsen, Lakeside; Michael Quindlen, West Valley; Shayla Ring, Shadle Park; Benjamin Rollins, Deer Park; Maggie Ruffcorn, The Oaks; Erica Simil, Newport; Jericho Simone, Mead; Mary Julia Sitzenstock, St. Michael’s; Allison Smith, Medical Lake; Lindsay Stern, Liberty; and Rachel Suominen, Cheney.

Fine Arts

William Baldwin, Riverpoint; Ayesha Bergman, Rogers; Emilie Browning, Medical Lake; Justin Cai, The Oaks; Mallory Carbon, University; Mahala Christensen, West Valley; Zoe Cunnington, Lakeside; Sophia De Felice, Gonzaga Prep; Allissa Empert, Cheney; Ericka Flory, Freeman; Isabella Harris, North Central; James Heer, Liberty; Susan Jones, St. George’s; Gabrielle LeStage, St. Michael’s; Karlee Ludwig, East Valley; Brandon McMeen, Newport; Seth Reed, Mt. Spokane; Elizabeth Roberts, Northwest Christian; Zoe Ruchti, Shadle Park; Alaina Stockdill, Ferris; Courtney Stockman, Deer Park; Daniel Stratte, Upper Columbia; Daniel Sweet, Riverside; Christopher Tamayo, Central Valley; Samuel Thackston, Mead; and Claire Woodard, Lewis and Clark.

Mathematics

Zachary Annanie, Lakeside; Emma Arbanas, Ferris; Audreya Bell, West Valley; Courtney Collins, The Oaks; Cynthia Fan, St. George’s; Alec Fletcher, Liberty; Justin Gill, Newport; Gabrielle Hager, Mt. Spokane; Celina Heglin, Deer Park; Javion Joyner, Central Valley; Haejoon Lee, Northwest Christian; Michael Lin, Lewis and Clark; Kayla Miller, Shadle Park; Caleb Nelson, Upper Columbia; Desmond Parisotto, Freeman; Alaina Perry, Mead; Katharine Pointer, East Valley; Henry Reinhardt, University; Benjamin Rose, Cheney; Lauren Saue-Fletcher, Medical Lake; Darius Strobeck, North Central; Jonathan Vevang, Rogers; Alec Walter, Gonzaga Prep; and Olivia Willis, Riverside.

Science

Ammasie Allred, Lakeside; Kevin Beck, Northwest Christian; Nathan Beine, Ferris; Taylor Cannon, Medical Lake; Corinna Cauchy, Newport; Jamie Conner, Riverside; Connor Cremers, St. George’s; Sabra Dunakey, North Central; Malia Fay, Deer Park; William Grassel, The Oaks; Charles Guo, Gonzaga Prep; Lauren Holbrook, Mead; Nicolas Hollon, Lewis and Clark; Charlene Jackson, West Valley; Ali Jones, Mt. Spokane; Teigan Mikkelsen, Shadle Park; Alyssa Mitchell, East Valley; Elizabeth Potter, Cheney; Andrew Radford, Rogers; Austin Rambo, Liberty; Gunnar Sly, University; Emma Stevens, Freeman; Jason Vasquez, Central Valley; Thomas Warren, Upper Columbia.

Social Studies

Justyce Cogswell, Medical Lake; Caleb Crary, Northwest Christian; Thomas Dexter, University; Katelyn Dillon, Liberty; Preston Forrest, East Valley; Hunter Gedicke, Lakeside; Kari Goodrich, Newport; Noel Goodwin, West Valley; Anya Howko-Johnson, Cheney; Magdalena Knoll, St. Michael’s; Cheng Lee, Rogers; Sophie Madill, Mt. Spokane; Haily McCleary, Shadle Park; Max Mihalick, St. George’s; Luke Moore, The Oaks; Sahvana Morri, Deer Park; Halle Nelson, North Central; Abigail Ofenloch, Freeman; Lauren Potyk, Ferris; Holland Pratt, Central Valley; Benjamin Shaw, Riverside; Emmett Simmons, Gonzaga Prep; Hannah Summers, Lewis and Clark; Michael Vance, Upper Columbia; and Katherine Wright, Mead.

World Languages

Anna Arensmeyer, Cheney; Frances Bertotti-Metoyer, Gonzaga Prep; Jazmyne Borja, Rogers; Colby Brookins, Upper Columbia; Brianna Bullock, Deer Park; Natasha Chrisp, Riverside; Tucker Christensen, The Oaks; Tanner Christensen, University; Garrett Crothers, East Valley; Levi Goris, North Central; Tanner Henry, Medical Lake; Stephanie Huang, Newport; Nadine McDaniel, Lakeside; Emma Morse, Mead; Alexander Nguyen, Ferris; Saray Peralta, West Valley; Thomas Redder, Liberty; Ashley Sande, St. George’s; Aubony Slack, Central Valley; Emma Stalder, Shadle Park; Iris Thoren, Mt. Spokane; Julia Trudeau, Lewis and Clark; and Ana Wilson, Freeman.

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This article has been corrected. It adds names of students that were inadvertently omitted from the group of science award honorees.

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