Bob Kaleta/Randy Salisbury Music Scholarship recipient

Layla will be attending the University of Portland, where she will major in Geophysics and minor in Music studies.

Her drive to explore our earth’s inner workings and her unwavering belief in service developed by her faith, and volunteering in the community informs her that we need sensible environmental policies that prioritize both the health of nature and the physical and economic health of people with a foundation of science and justice. Through her service experience with the Clark County Food Bank and the Heritage Farm in Vancouver, she has come to realize the gravity of climate change’s devastating impact on food production, as well as the disparities in access to science and agriculture. Layla’s goal is to fix systemic inequalities in agriculture and health that are exacerbated by this global crisis before it’s too late.

She has been district captain of the Heritage High School swim team and has qualified for the state championships.  She has also been captain of the HeLa High School’s Knowledge Bowl team for 3 years and has earned top 3 at the regional competition all 3 years.

General Studies Scholarship recipient

Francisco will be attending Clark College with a goal of becoming a Registered Nurse in the state of Washington. Once this goal is accomplished, his next objective will be to create a network of community outreach programs focused on providing health services to people who may not be able to afford them.

General Studies Scholarship recipient

Joanne will be attending the University of Pennsylvania-Jerome Fisher Program.

Joanne is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit My STEM Project. After witnessing the vast educational gap between schools internationally, after returning from a U.S. Department of State exchange to Brazil. She worked with an international team to compile the coursework, advertise the program, secure partnerships with mentors, and give back to underserved students worldwide.  Through their efforts, they impacted 200+ students in 20+ countries by providing free computer science courses and opportunities to meet new friends from various countries.