Annually in December, the Gresham Elks participates in the Elks National Foundation’s Most Valuable Student (MVS) Scholarship competition. This year, the Gresham Elks received 71 scholarship applications from local area high school seniors (49 young women and 22 young men). The applicants are scored on academic achievement, leadership, community service and financial need.
The Gresham Elks will award scholarships to the following local area high school seniors at the Awards Banquet on March 10, 2012.
Image:
Taylor Johnson Gresham High School $1,500 MVS Scholarship Award
Taylor has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her high school years. Her passion for music, dance and theatre is keeping her busy auditioning at colleges on the East Coast where she plans to study vocal performance or musical theatre. Taylor’s outstanding musical talent landed her the lead role of Maria in Gresham High School’s musical performance of “The Sound of Music”. She has received numerous awards for her musical talents and attended the 2011 Youth Choral Academy at the Oregon Bach Festival performing in concerts with legendary conductors Anton Armstrong, Helmuth Rilling and Maria Guinand. One of her favorite community service activities is dancing, singing or playing the piano at care centers.
Peter Killgore Corbett High School $1,500 MVS Scholarship Award $1,400 MVS Scholarship Award (District)
Peter has a 4.32 GPA and has committed to an arduous academic program throughout his high school years. He plans to major in mathematics and pursue a career in teaching math. Peter is currently undecided about where he plans to attend college. He has been accepted at the Honors College at Oregon State University, Portland State University, Wheaton College and Westmont College. Peter devotes many hours to community service and has worked as an aid in a Slovenia English classroom, assisted as a Translator for an orphanage in El Castillo Mexico and helped with food pickup and sorting for Helping Hands. He is most proud of his trip to Haiti to assist with earthquake relief rebuilding office spaces for the seminary faculty in Port au Prince.
McKenzie Dale Sam Barlow High School $1,000 MVS Scholarship Award
McKenzie has applied at a variety of schools ranging from local state institutions to selective private universities. She is currently undecided about a college major, however is thrilled at the prospect of using her college experience to broaden her horizons and narrow her focus. McKenzie has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her high school years taking a demanding academic program. She has volunteered time at Zarephath Ministries, Multnomah County Library, SOLV, UNICEF and Kibo Group. McKenzie finds a lot of joy and gratification in volunteering as a student leader in the Outdoor School program for 6th grade students.
Matt Clark Sam Barlow High School $1,000 MVS Scholarship Award
Matt has received awards for outstanding achievement in mathematics, German and music. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his high school years committed to rigorous coursework. Matt is interested in the medical field and plans to attend either Gonzaga University or UCLA to achieve a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He is very active in his church and hopes to someday go to Africa to assist hospitals with relief efforts.
Brittney Guzzi Centennial High School $500 MVS Scholarship Award
Brittney plans to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a Minor in Journalism and then attend Medical School. Given her passion for medicine as well as travel and cultural studies, her ultimate goal is to work as a surgeon for the organization Doctors Without Borders. Brittney maintains a 4.14 GPA and has received recognition for her academic achievements in high school and at Mt. Hood Community College. She is most proud of her community service work as a student ambassador for a cultural project (Japan-America Watershed Stewardship) where she studied the cultural and ecological relations between Japan and the United States and the newest innovations in conservation.
Max Campbell Centennial High School $500 MVS Scholarship Award
Max is interested in the Medical field and is looking at several Universities to include University of Portland, USC, Duke, Stanford, Princeton or Northwestern. He has a 4.17 GPA. In addition to his academic achievements, he excels in Basketball, Soccer and FBLA. Max is most proud of giving back to those in the community that need it the most by volunteering with the Centennial Educational Foundation
Tabatha Kogle Sandy High School $1,000 Sally Lamm Scholarship Award
The Sally Lamm Scholarship is awarded to a local high school senior who participates in the Most Valuable Student Scholarship competition and scores the highest in the areas of community service, leadership, financial need and the interview process.
Tabatha’s passion is to teach both General and Special Education at the elementary level and plans to achieve a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree. She is looking at George Fox, Pacific and Linfield. Tabatha has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her high school years and is recognized for her ability to maintain this high GPA while excelling in many extra-curricular activities and volunteering in the community. She has devoted time to the SUN program, Red Cross, Adopt-A-Family, Outdoor School, First Book, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Night Strike and a Community Clothing Drive.
2011 Most Valuable Students
Image:
Kama Bellfrom Gresham High School will receive a first
place $1,000 MVS scholarship award. She
also placed first in the District and State Elks MVS scholarship contests earning
a total of $5,500 to-date. Kama's scholarship application will now compete in the
Elks National scholarship contest against 500 other finalists nationwide. She is eligible to receive at least a
four-year scholarship of $1,000 per year and has the opportunity to win a
four-year scholarship worth $60,000. Kama's
passion for music has made William
Paterson University
her top pick. She has maintained a 4.0
GPA throughout her high school years. Kama has completed courses in the Chinese Language at PSU
and Spanish Language at MHCC. She is an
accomplished saxophone musician currently playing with the Gresham High School
Jazz Band 1, Jazz Combo, Wind Symphony and Pep Band and is also a member of the
American Music Program and the Alan Jones Academy of Music. Kama was
awarded a full tuition scholarship to the 2010 Berklee College of Music 5 week
summer program and has been awarded a renewable four-year scholarship to attend
Berklee.
Riley Protz from Gresham High School
will receive a first place $1000 MVS scholarship award. He also placed first in the district and
state Elks scholarship contests earning a total of $5,500 to-date. Riley?s scholarship
application will now compete in the Elks National scholarship contest against
500 other finalists nationwide. He is eligible
to receive at least a four-year scholarship of $1,000 per year and has the
opportunity to win a four-year scholarship worth $60,000. Riley plans to attend the Oregon State
University to achieve a
degree in Bioengineering or Pre-Pharmacy.
He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his high school years. Riley has completed many courses at Mt Hood
Community College and is working towards a full International Baccalaureate
Diploma. He devotes a lot of time to
community service work with TOPSoccer and AMIGOS de las Americas. Riley and his mother, Sue started a TOPSoccer
program in Gresham
for local special needs children to play soccer. With AMIGOS de las Americas,
Riley spent several months raising about $4,000 to travel this last summer to
Tabara Arriba, a remote mountainside community in the Dominican Republic. While there, he helped organize fundraisers
to help the community build a canal to divert a mountain stream into a river to
lessen flooding. He also taught children
how to play a sport he loves and excels in - Soccer..
Emma Felzien from Reynolds High School
will receive a second place $750 MVS scholarship award. Emma plans to attend a private University pursuing a Pre-Medical
degree. She has a 4.17 GPA and has committed to most rigorous courses
throughout her high school years. Emma has received many awards for her
outstanding musical talents and a notable one year tuition award from Clackamas Community College for her outstanding
jazz performance on alto saxophone. She is
active on the varsity soccer and track teams and devotes a lot of time to the
Children's Ministries program at her church.
Emma's passion is to be a Missionary Doctor working with the
underprivileged in third world countries. (Emma
Felzien photo provided by Charlotte Schwertfeger, Photographer)
Cody Hanset from Gresham High School
will receive a second place $750 MVS scholarship award. Cody will be attending Brigham Young University
with an undeclared major to explore his options. He is a Scholar's Diploma candidate and has maintained a 4.0
GPA throughout his high school years. He
serves on the Student Council as Treasurer.
Over the last several years, Cody has contributed many hours to community
service projects through the Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, Portland
Transition Project and LDS
Church while also working
to achieve the Eagle rank in the Boy Scouts of America.
Samantha Twardoch from Sam Barlow High School will receive a third
place $500 MVS scholarship award. Samantha plans to attend the University of Oregon majoring in Biology or Human
Physiology. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA
throughout her high school years taking the most academically rigorous course
work offered at Barlow. Samantha is on
track to graduate from Barlow with honors distinction and as
valedictorian. She is very active in the
community volunteering at the Oregon Food Bank, tutoring middle school
students, contributing to Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross. Samantha has been a competitive and talented
soccer player for the last thirteen years, but recent injuries have forced her
to quit playing the sport.
Kevin Krautscheid from Centennial High School
will receive a third place $500 MVS scholarship award.Kevin will also receive the Sally
Lamm Scholarship award of $1,000. [The
Sally Lamm Scholarship was established in 1994 from an inheritance received
from the estate of Sally Lamm, a long-time valued employee of the Gresham Elks. Annually, the Sally Lamm Scholarship is
awarded to a local high school senior who participates in the Most Valuable
Student Scholarship competition and scores the highest in the areas of
community service, leadership and financial need.]
Kevin plans to attend the University of Portland
or Santa Clara University to pursuing a double-major in
finance and management. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his high school
years and has committed to most rigorous courses. In addition to a demanding academic schedule,
Kevin devotes time to the Habitat for Humanity, Oregon March of Dimes, Red
Cross and Centennial Education Foundation.
He credits his involvement in the Future Business Leader of America
(FBLA) for developing and expanding his leadership skills and community service
work. Kevin's goal is to be a Chief
Financial Officer of a Fortune 500 Corporation.
2010 Most Valuable Students
Image:
Gresham Elks Awards Scholarships
Annually in November, the Gresham Elks participates in the
Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student (MVS) Scholarship
competition.This year,the Gresham Elks received 45 scholarship
applications from local area high school seniors (36 young women and 9 young
men) attending Centennial, Corbett, Gresham, La Salle Catholic College
Preparatory, Open Door Christian Academy, Reynolds, Sam Barlow, Sandy and
Springwater Trail.The applicants are
scored on academic achievement, leadership and financial need, and awards are
given to the top three young men and the top three young women.
The Gresham Elks will award
$5,500 in scholarships to the following six high school seniors at an Awards
Banquet on March 12, 2010.
Kristina Johnson of Reynolds High School received a first
place scholarship award of $1,000.Kristina has a 4.17 GPA.She attended a summer program at Yale and plans
to attend undergraduate school to study Political Science and then attend Law
school to pursue a career in criminal law.
Kristina also received the Sally Lamm Scholarship award of
$1,000.The Sally Lamm Scholarship was
established in 1994 from an inheritance received from the estate of Sally Lamm,
a long-time valued employee of the Gresham Elks.Annually, the Sally Lamm Scholarship is
awarded to a local high school senior who participates in the Most Valuable
Student Scholarship competition and scores the highest in the areas of
community service, leadership and financial need.
Sam Box of Sam Barlow High School received a first place
scholarship award of $1,000.In addition, Sam placed first
in the Elks Metro District and State competitions receiving an additional
$3,800.As a first place winner in
District competition, he will automatically receive $4,000 from the Elks
National Foundation in Chicago with an opportunity to win $15,000 a year for
four years.Sam has a 4.0 GPA and will
pursue an Environmental Engineering Degree.He has applied at Duke University, University of Washington and Oregon
State University.
Elke Neuenschwander
of Sam Barlow High School received a second place scholarship award of $750.Elke has a 4.0 GPA.She plans to
attend either Whitworth or Redlands University to achieve a degree in English
and also meet pre-medical standards requirements to later attend medical
school.
Garrett Close of Centennial High Schoolreceived a second place scholarship award of $750.Garrett has a 3.98 GPA.He will be attending Portland State
University to achieve a double-major in Advertising Management and Marketing
with a minor in Communication Studies.
Elise Lagerstrom of Sam
Barlow High Schoolreceived a third place scholarship award
of $500.Elise has a 4.0 GPA.She plans to attend a private four year
college to achieve a degree in Biology and later attend medical school.
Kevin Davis of
Gresham High School received a third place scholarship award of $500.Kevin has 4.0 GPA.He plans to
achieve a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology or Chemistry.Kevin has applied at University of
Washington, Northwestern University, Princeton University and Harvard College.
Annually, the Gresham Elks participates in the Elks National Foundation's Most Valuable Student Scholarship (MVS) competition.There are four levels of competition in this program:local, district, state and national.A first place applicant advances to the next level.An applicant who places first at the district level competition is guaranteed a four-year scholarship of $1,000 per year from the Elks National Foundation and an opportunity to win a four-year scholarship of $15,000 a year.Each year, the Elks National Foundation awards 2.216 million in college scholarships to 500 high school seniors nationwide.This competition is open to any graduating high school senior.
This year, the Gresham Elks received 42 MVS Scholarship applications from high school seniors (30 young women and 12 young men) attending 10 local area high schools: Centennial, Centennial Learning Center, Damascus Christian, Gresham, Open Door Christian Academy, Reynolds, Sandy, Sam Barlow, Springdale Academy Home and Springwater Trail.Applicants are scored on academic achievement, leadership and financial need.On March 13, 2009, at an annual awards dinner, the Gresham Elks will recognize and award $6,300 to the following 2009 Most Valuable Student (MVS) Scholarship winners and the Sally Lamm Scholarship winner.
Abby Tran from Reynolds High School and Casey Emmerling from Sandy High School will each receive a $1,000 first place award. Abby also won a $10,000 sixth place scholarship from the Elks National Foundation.
Abby Tran has a 4.25 GPA and is ranked first in her class of 633 seniors.Abby has excelled in numerous advanced placement and honor courses at Reynolds and is a member of the National Honor Society.She was selected this year as one of five Oregon and SW Washington Student Leaders in the Neighborhood Excellence Initiative by Bank of America.As a Student Leader she interned for eight weeks with the Habitat for Humanity and spent a week in Washington D.C. at a National Student Leaders summit.Abby's Advanced Placement U.S. History Instructor states, "I would rank her at the top academically, socially and as a leader.Abby Tran is the real deal." Abby also won first place at the Elks District Scholarship competition.She will receive $1,600 and competed at the Elks State Scholarship competition held February 28, 2009 where she won 1st place and an additional $2,200.As a first place winner in the Elks District Scholarship competition, Abby will receive at least $10,000 from the Elks National Foundation winning a sixth place award.To-date, she will receive at least $14,800 in scholarship awards from the Elks Fraternal Organization.
Casey Emmerling is a member of the National Honor Society and is ranked first in his class of 354 seniors with a 4.0 GPA.He has received Student of the Year awards in advanced courses of English, Math, Biology, History, American Literature and German. Casey's English Teacher states, "Scholastically, Casey is simply stellar".Casey's talents as a musician and actor are predominant as well resulting in many awards.In March, he will be performing in a lead role of the play "Prelude to a Kiss" at Sandy High School. Casey also devotes many hours to fund raising events for various organizations.As a first place scholarship winner at the local level, Casey participated in the Elks District Scholarship competition and placed fourth.
Rachel Nederhiser from Sam Barlow High School and Jason Summerfield from Sandy High School will each receive a $750 second place award. Rachel Nederhiser will also be receiving the Gresham Elks Sally Lamm Scholarship of $1,800.The Sally Lamm Scholarship supplements the MVS Scholarship contest and is funded by the Gresham Elks Lodge.A MVS applicant's combined score in the areas of employment/community service, leadership, extracurricular activities and financial need contributes to determining candidates for an interview.As a result, four MVS applicants were interviewed for this scholarship.They were Hilary Annes of Sandy High School, Vanessa Michaels of Reynolds High School, Rachel Nederhiser and Abby Tran.Rachel received the top score.
Rachel Nederhiser is a member of the National Honor Society and is ranked first in her class of 443 seniors with a 4.0 GPA.She is a member of the debate and speech team and was a competitor on Sam Barlow's 2008 award winning debate team.Rachel is an extremely talented musician and serves as President of the school's Symphonic Band.She has provided lessons in flute, interned with MetroArts Kids Camp assisting in their music room and performed in the Oregon Music Educators State Solo Contest, Oregon All-State Band and MENC All-Northwest Honor Band. Her Band Director states, "She is a gifted, enthusiastic student and I have no doubt of her success in any field she enters". She also finds time to work as a Barista at Coffees On.
Jason Summerfield has served in the positions of Vice-president and Treasurer on the Associated Student Body Council at Sandy High.He is a member of the National Honor Society with a 3.95 GPA and a TAG student.Jason devotes many hours to service in the community volunteering at Providence Hospital, participating in fundraising for Doernbecher and helping the Kiwanas.He also participates in numerous extracurricular activities to include football, basketball, snowboarding, wakeboarding and weightlifting.One of the many compliments received from his Social Sciences Instructor included, "Jason has been a tremendous asset to many different programs and his diverse interests make him a top-flight team member".
Siara Leininger from Sandy High School and Andrew Smith from Gresham High School will each receive a $500 third place award.
Siara Leininger is President of the National Honor Society at Sandy High with a 3.91 GPA.She has received Student of the Year awards in Geography, Global Perspectives and Spanish. Siara is outstanding athletically in track and basketball earning numerous awards.She has devoted many hours to volunteering in the community helping with food drives, walking for literacy, teaching Sunday School at her community church and working on various fund raising activities.Siara's Advanced Placement Calculus instructor stated, "She has the drive, the work ethic, talent, and leadership ability to continue to excel in whatever she chooses to pursue".
Andrew Smith is a member of the National Honor Society with a 4.0 GPA and is ranked first in his class of 429 seniors.He is Vice-president of the Student Council at Gresham High and has held a leadership position in DECA, Concert Choir and Young Life school organizations.Andrew has received awards for outstanding achievement in a foreign language, mathematics, chemistry, and leadership.Andrew also excels as an athlete in baseball and basketball.He has devoted many hours to service in the community by participating in blood drives, teaching in youth sports camps and helping with food drives.Andrew's Basketball Coach stated, "I find him to be one of the most, if not the most, well rounded students I have ever encountered".
