North Central senior surprised with coveted UW Presidential Scholarship

Something intangible woke North Central senior Atasha Velarde on the first of March.

Just after 1 a.m., she stirred, frantically grabbing her phone to look for an email she feared she’d never see.

In the first weeks of March, the University of Washington releases decisions for its next class: who’s in, who’s out and who earned the coveted Presidential Scholarship awarded to about a dozen Washington seniors.

“I got into my head I wasn’t even going to get in,” Velarde said.

But then on Monday, Velarde was surprised at her school. Not only was she accepted to the West Side school, she’d been chosen out of thousands of Husky hopefuls and awarded with the scholarship, worth $10,000 each year for four years.

“It was so overwhelming, it was such a huge weight off my shoulders,” Velarde said, still reeling the day after the surprise. “I’m just happy I got in.”

Her AP United States History Teacher Matt Johnson was beaming the day after her surprise. He couldn’t think of a better recipient than Velarde, having taught her during her junior year and felt her infectious, inviting magnetism walking through the halls as a senior.

“The one thing that sets her apart is how eager she is to learn and how she’s also so eager to collaborate and work with others, and you can just see that in her,” Johnson said. “Cheerleading, how she is in school, in our leadership class, how she’s been with our civics engagement club.”

Velarde was instrumental in organizing a recent debate between then-candidates for Congress, Johnson said. She’s driven and motivated to learn, fueling her relentless curiosity for how the world works.

“It wouldn’t shock me if at some point kids are calling her ‘Governor,’ ” Johnson said.

She plans to study psychology at UW, intending to go to medical school to become a child psychiatrist. Some day, she hopes to open her own practice to make mental health care accessible to all, regardless of their income.

“It’s so interesting how every little thing can affect how a child develops,” Velarde said. “If kids are helped at a young age and get what they need, they have all the resources to be successful people.”

Johnson described Velarde not only brimming with academic drive and success, but a palpable genuineness to include her peers. She got the most out of her high school experience: from good grades to co-captain of the cheer squad to involvement in clubs; she encourages her peers to assume the same carpe diem attitude in their education.

She’s kind to all, Johnson said. Though still school-aged, Velarde was inspired watching how her actions impact others.

“Every little thing I do has an impact on someone out there, so I want to make sure that impact is as positive as possible,” Velarde said.

“If we could clone Atasha, we would take as many as we could get,” Johnson said.