Lc Graduate Lands $20,000 Scholarship
Amy Seppa is a three-time winner.
This past month she graduated from Lewis and Clark High School, received a certificate in speech from Spokane Community College and was awarded a $20,000 scholarship from Toyota Community Scholars.
Seppa is one of 12 high school seniors in the country to receive the scholarship. More than 10,000 were nominated for the award by their respective schools.
Counselors and staff at LC nominated Seppa for the award, which is based on a student’s scholarship and community service.
“I found out I was a national semifinalist in February - one of 100,” she said.
Seppa, who was flown to Lexington, Ky., as one of 100 finalists, admitted to being surprised when her name was announced as one of the 12 winners.
“The other scholars were outstanding,” she said.
Seppa’s own record is outstanding.
A Spokane Community College Running Start student, she divided her day in two - high school classes at LC and a full-time class schedule at SCC.
The Running Start Program, allows students to take classes at SCC, Spokane Falls Community College or Eastern Washington University as long as they meet the respective college entrance standards. The program, administered by the state and paid for by local school districts, allows students to attend part or full time.
On both campuses, Seppa maintained a near-perfect grade-point average: a 3.95 gpa at LC and a 4.0 at SCC.
But grade-point averages rarely tell the whole story.
In addition to attending school and holding a part-time job grading college-level papers, Seppa helped build houses in Tijuana, Mexico. She volunteered at the YMCA and at Camp Reed during the weeks they hold summer camps for children with cancer, volunteered at Ronald McDonald House for sick children, and tutored at Bemiss Elementary School.
Seppa has already left Spokane to work at Camp Reed for the summer as a counselor. When she returns in the fall, she will attend Whitworth College, where she plans to major in elementary education.
, DataTimes