Jefferson County Community Foundation awards $7,000 to students

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Jefferson County Community Foundation has awarded $7,000 in scholarships to area students.

Cassie Olin from Port Townsend High School was awarded a $1000 scholarship from the Deb Johnson Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund. Olin is to attend the University of Washington in the fall. The Deb Johnson Scholarship is awarded to an individual who participates actively in their community and plays a varsity sport. In recommending Olin for this scholarship, Scott Wilson, her basketball coach at Port Townsend High School, said, “I envision Cassie being successful in academics, in student leadership, in civic work and in her chosen profession, with more certainty than with any other student with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with in these past many years.”

Alex Johnsen and Reilly Berkshire were each awarded a $2,500 Friends of the Arts Scholarship, the fund for which was established free years ago with a gift by a group of local citizens who wanted to support young people seeking professions in the arts.

Johnsen graduated from Quilcene High School and is to attend the Art Institute of Seattle in the fall. “Imagination and creativity are two things that I feel are incredibly important in life,” said Johnson. “Without both, nothing would be unique and special.”

Berkshire is a PTHS graduate set to attend Western Washington University. “Art is my form of expression, my passion, a release for my creativity and a challenge that I continue to push forth against,” said Berkshire.

Stevie Riepe, a PTHS graduate, is the 2016 recipient of the Barbara Marseille Arts Scholarship. Riepe is to attend Clark Community College in Vancouver, Washington in the fall. Riepe was actively involved in the Port Townsend High School Drama Club as well as the Mock Trial, and the Yearbook Club. The Marseille scholarship was established in her memory by her husband, Don, as an arts scholarship established to encourage people to pursue their passions in the arts, architecture and design. Marseille was an authority on historic preservation and Victorian décor.

For information about establishing a fund with the foundation, contact finance chair Doug VanAllen, at dkva@aol.com.