The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

By Karen Bertroch

At last Saturday's graduation ceremony, Naselle/GRV seniors celebrated their high school years with information on scholarships given in support of their pursuits in higher education. Principal Justin Laine's scholarship presentation reported as follows: "There is great leadership, strong character, and outstanding citizenship in this class. I am proud of every single one of them. Collectively, they have shown tremendous kindness, grace, humility, and respect.

"Local scholarship organizations have contributed over $48,000 in scholarships to this year's graduates. In total, these graduates will receive approximately $255,000 in merit-based scholarships, as well as several unquantified athletic scholarships. They have also been offered over $143,000 in additional scholarships and are awaiting notification about several others. One of the things that makes their accomplishments even more impressive is that they achieved this despite the challenges that they faced during COVID. As I reflect on that, I realize that I didn't fully grasp how they were impacted during that time. These students quietly endured and persevered." Scholarships were announced as follows:

Kolten Lindstrom: $6,350; Bank of the Pacific $2,250, Lyle and Elaine Patterson Tribute $1,000, Merle and Bobbitt Hall Memorial $500, Linn Benton Community College baseball scholarship approximately $1,300 per year x 2 = $2,600.

Brynn Tarabochia: $32,500; Wahkiakum West Communications $1,000, Ralph and Marie McGough Memorial $500, Merle and Bobbitt Hall Memorial $500, $200 from the Naselle Assembly of God Church, $500 from the Ocean Beach Hospital Foundation, and $1,000 from the Assistance League of the North Oregon Coast, Quinault Indian Nation Education Department Scholarship $6,600 X 4 = $26,400, Lower Columbia College volleyball scholarship = approximately $1,200 x 2 = $2,400.

Haley Eastham: $74,500; Wahkiakum West Communications $1,000, Ocean Beach Hospital Foundation $1,000, Mae Striefel Memorial $500, Fast Pitch Scholarship from Corban University $18,000 per year = $72,000 over 4 years.

Bella Colombo: $4,250; H. Robert and May Johnson Adair $1,000, Emma Holm Memorial $1,000, Merle and Bobbitt Hall Memorial $500, $1,000 from Alpha Theta ESA and $500 from Nuveen Natural Capital, Jon Dearmore Memorial $250, *Scholarship to play volleyball at College of the Siskiyous in Northern California.

Delaney Kragerud: $21,000 received Offered $89,000 more; Roy Nelson Memorial $1,000, William E. Wockner Foundation $2,000–renewable, Ray Shotwell Memorial Scholarship $2,000, EWU President's and Honors Scholarships $4,000 per year, totaling $16,000 over 4 years, Montana State University Merit Scholarship $22,000 per year and $1,000 from Anna Maria College, *Dozens of volleyball scholarship offers.

Brayden Colombo: $66,500; Harry Thornberg Memorial $1,000, Luke Jensen Memorial $1,000, William E. Wockner Foundation $3,000–renewable, $1,000 from Nuveen Natural Capital and $500 from the Naselle Education Foundation, Oregon State University Merit Scholarship $10,000 per year = $40,000 over 4 years, Salmon Creek Crawfish Scholarship in the amount of $5,000 per year = $20,000 over 4 years.

Arvid Ross: $4,750; Giro Nakagawa Memorial $500, Bud and Dot Mickelsen Tribute $1,000, William E. Wockner Foundation $3,000–renewable, Jon Dearmore Memorial–$250.

Lauren Katyryniuk: $5,000, H. Robert and May Johnson Adair $1,000, Lorraine Tyyska Barlow Memorial $1,000, Lyle and Elaine Patterson Tribute $1,000, Merle and Bobbitt Hall Memorial $500, $1,000 from the Assistance League and $500-$600 from Woodworkers' Association–Local #536, Basketball scholarship at Lower Columbia College.

Luke Johnson: $9,000 Offered $44,000 more; Ron Holm Memorial $1,000, WSU Achievement Award $4,000 per year X 2 = $8,000, OSU Merit Scholarship $8,000 per year X 4 = $32,000, Western Oregon University $3,000 per year X 4 = $12,000.

Owen Matthews: $21,500, Jacob and Katariina Pakanen Memorial $1,000, Dennis Wallace Memorial $1,000, $1,000 from the Peninsula Arts Association Scholarship and $500 from the Ilwaco Masonic Lodge, Oregon State University Merit Scholarship $6,000 per year for 3 years = $18,000.

Kaylin Shrives: $4,000 Offered $10,000 more, John and Pearl Doll Memorial $1,000, $1,000 from the Bayshore Animal Hospital, $2,000 renewable scholarship from the William E. Wockner Foundation, Volleyball scholarship to Linn Benton Community College, Offered $4,000 from EWU and an 8-credit scholarship from Umpqua CC total $6,000 over 2 years.

Malcolm Schell: $3,500; Joe Carter Memorial $1,000, Carson Burkhalter Memorial $1,000, $1,000 renewable scholarship from the William E. Wockner Foundation, $500 scholarship from the Deep River American Legion.

Bella Dunagan: $1,000; George and Pat Vernon Memorial $500, Finnish American Folk Festival $500

Destiny Gifford: $1,000; John and Pearl Doll Memorial $500, William E. Wockner Foundation–$500.