Scholarship Program

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Five very deserving sons and daughters of county employees have each won $3,000 scholarships for the 2008/09 school year from the Washington Counties Scholarship Fund. One hundred fifty one applications were received this year and two independent selection committees chose the award recipients. The winners reflected superior academic achievement, leadership qualities and dedication to family, community and continuing education. The winners are:

• Caitlin Corulli, daughter of Doug and Sandra Corulli, of Wenatchee.  Doug Corulli is a Chelan County Deputy Sheriff. Caitlin is a senior at Wenatchee High School and will not only graduate with honors, but will also receive her Associates of Arts transfer degree from Wenatchee Valley College where she has been in the Running Start program.Caitlin will be attending Washington State University this fall and plansto major in pre-medicine. She hopes to eventually become an anesthesiologist.

• Matthew Hendricks, son of Deborah and Terry Hendricks. Deborah Hendricks is employed by the Benton County District Court Probation Department. Matthew is a senior at Richland High School, and has maintained a rigorous schedule that has included three advanced placement classes and seven honors classes. He attended the 2007 National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine and plans to study physics, energy and biomedicine in college, and is interested in medical research and engineering.

• Kelly Johnson, son of Pamela and Lewis Johnson. Pamela Johnson is the Clerk of the Board for the Skamania County Commissioners. Kelly graduated from Stevenson High School and has attended Mount Hood Community College since last fall. He has helped tutor high school students and held a workshop for college students on essay writing. Kelly is pursuing a career in the field of sports medicine so that he can become an athletic trainer.

• Derek Reinelt, son of Lorin Reinelt and Myra Willingham. Lorin Reinelt is employed by the Pierce County Department of Public Works and Utilities. Derek is a senior at Vashon High School and will graduate with honors this year. Last summer, he volunteered with the Amigos de las Americas program in rural Mexico for eight weeks. At that time, he realized the clear impact one can have on the lives of others. As he leaves for college in the fall, it will be to pursue the engineering development field.

• Annie Robertson, daughter of Rick and Joan Robertson. Rick Robertson is a Snohomish County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. Annie will graduate as Valedictorian from Holy Names Academy in Seattle this year, with honors and six advanced placement classes under her belt. She has been involved in drama and dances with the Pacific Northwest Ballet. She has been accepted into Ballet Chicago this summer. She will join her sister at Stanford in the fall looking forward to new opportunities.

Two alternates were also selected in the event that one of the previous students is unable to attend college this fall. (1) Kira Hendricksen, daughter of Richard Hendricksen and Mary Hendricksen. Richard is with the Columbia County Planning and Building Department. Kira is graduating with honors from Sequim High School and is in the Running Start Program at Peninsula College. She will attend Seattle Pacific College in the fall to study language.

(2) Rebekah Grochowski, daughter of Stan and Priscilla Grochowski. Stan works for Pierce County Information Technology. Rebekah is a junior at Gonzaga University and is planning on a career in Civil Engineering. The Washington Counties Scholarship Fund received applications from students in all 39 counties this year. They are all eager to embrace the world and follow their passions, and it was a very difficult job to award only five scholarships. They are all so deserving!