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Unlock the Possibilities
Your donation opens doors for local students.
Education unlocks possibilities. People with postsecondary credentials find more opportunities and enjoy greater prosperity. Our General Scholarship Fund helps open these doors for local students. In 2023, thanks to a generous community of givers, we provided 28 scholars with meaningful awards. With your help, we hope to expand this support to 40 students in 2024.
Meet Deanna Green
Thanks to donors like you, we awarded $75,500 from the General Scholarship Fund in 2023.
Meet the Recipients
Kelly Marshall
Kelly is a domestic violence survivor whose experience led her into the field of psychology. The counselor who helped her through her healing process was also a survivor, and it inspired her to see that she, too, could get out and have a better life. Now, she aims to share that same hope and healing with others.
More Student Stories
Arriana Wells
Growing up in Stevenson was isolating for Arriana, but it had nothing to do with the rural geography. They lived in an abusive household for 16 years before bravely reaching out to get help for her and her mother. The experience still hurts, yet Arriana is finding ways to turn the pain into positivity. They are laser-focused on three priorities: family, health and school.
With this steady determination, she made the honor roll every year, created a Women’s Rights and Advocacy Club at school and worked as a youth advocacy leader at a local domestic violence shelter. Today, they are a first-generation student at WSU Vancouver majoring in human development, with a focus on social services. Her ultimate goal is to become a domestic violence counselor so that she can help others find their way to safe, secure, happy lives. Their scholarship helps make that dream possible. More importantly, it’s a reminder that they are smart enough, capable enough and good enough to reach their goals.
Griffin Barlow
Griffin grew up in China for 11 years with little access to education until he was adopted and landed in Vancouver. He gratefully accepted the challenge of integrating into a new family and culture. While daunting for anyone, Griffin also lives with achondroplasia—the most common form of dwarfism. He sees this adversity as a strength. It has inspired him to work hard, catch up to his peers and pursue new opportunities, like scholarships.
He graduated on time from Mountain View High School, earning four consecutive athlete scholar awards for maintaining good grades and serving as captain of the swim team his senior year. In his spare time, Griffin works on perfecting his English and likes to volunteer. This year, he dove into an environmental science degree at Clark College to work on issues surrounding climate change and sustainability. While the college lacks a swim team, Griffin still trains with his club in hopes of competing at the Paralympic Games.
Kelly Kelly
After thirty years of chasing a degree, Kelly Kelly started questioning her path. Her educational journey has been interrupted by several family emergencies. This is what happens when you volunteer to raise nearly 30 children — including six nieces and nephews currently in her care — with little financial support. Attending college as a working parent is especially difficult, but Kelly managed to finish her junior year pursuing dual degrees and earning multiple honors.
She doesn’t qualify for traditional financial aid, so scholarships are her only option outside of accruing debt. On top of the financial support, her award also reminded her that hard work pays off. Her next goal is to become a project manager in the tech field. She hopes this role can provide enough flexibility to continue providing her kids with unconditional love and support — something she missed as a child — while also showing them that she never gave up on her dreams.
Jaime Gomez
Jaime has fond memories of helping his dad fix the family car. YouTube was the go-to repair manual and taught Jaime about alternators, brakes and more. These experiences, along with a small engines class, sparked his early desire to become a mechanic. But Jaime’s educational journey took an unexpected and traumatic turn when his mother passed away his freshman year. The experience left a hole in his heart that brought on anxiety, depression and loneliness. His grades slumped and he felt like doors were closing all around him.
This all changed his senior year when a counselor and mentor asked him, “How can we get you to where you want to be.” It reminded Jaime of his mother’s “ganas” or desire to keep pushing forward. Jaime is living out this maternal value today. He is working part-time to pay for his classes at Clark College, pursuing his dream as an automotive technology student, and sees his scholarship as a reminder to never give up.
Rachel Harris
Rachel is a strong, graceful and motivated woman. She earned her medical assistant certificate right out of high school and worked in a variety of care settings, moving up the ranks as she went. She eventually landed a role as a clinic supervisor that allowed her to press her talents into supervising a team, maintaining quality control and improving workflows.
An abrupt round of layoffs took this from her, but she saw it as an opportunity to earn her management degree. Her family and friends encouraged her to go for it, but she knew the financial burden it would place on her husband and two children. Rachel forged ahead anyway, knowing the credential would help her step into positions that desperately need people who think and look like her. She hopes to deliver on this purpose when she becomes a first-generation college graduate and a healthcare administrator who is ready to effect real change.