Three IHS seniors awarded scholarships for achievement

Three Issaquah High School seniors were awarded scholarships of $500 each by the Newcastle Rotary Club in January. The seniors, Christell Allers, Santos Hernandez, and Derek Wooldridge, were honored by the Newcastle Rotarians at a breakfast on January 25 at the Golf Club at Newcastle.

Each student was recognized for his or her participation and achievement in the Running Start program at Renton Technical College (RTC). Students completed an application, submitted letters of recommendation, and went through an interview process prior to being selected for this annual award. Three scholarships are awarded each year with RTC Running Start students from Renton and Issaquah School Districts eligible to apply.

This year, Issaquah High School students swept all three awards. All of the students are enrolled in full-time technical college programs and are earning their high school diplomas as well as college certificates and degrees. Christell Allers attends the Auto Body course; Santos Hernandez is working toward his degree in Computer Aided Drafting; and Derek Wooldridge is enrolled in the Computer Networking program. All three students plan to complete Associate’s degrees at Renton Technical College within the next one to two years.

Also invited to the awards ceremony as a guest speaker was Matt Anderson, an Issaquah High graduate and former Rotary scholarship recipient. Matt completed his associate’s degree in Culinary Arts at RTC last year and is currently employed at the Salish Lodge. Each of the students spoke to the membership about his or her career goals and about what it means to be recognized as a scholarship winner.