Ten graduates of Port Townsend High School have been awarded scholarships from the Port Townsend High School Scholarship Foundation, the nonprofit announced last week.

The awards total $32,000 for the current school year.

The Port Townsend High School Scholarship Foundation is a nonprofit charity that is independent of the Port Townsend School District. The organization grants scholarships to graduating seniors from Port Townsend High School in the spring of each year and to continuing college students in the fall of each year. 

The top scholarship winners are:

• Meigan Kunz, a senior at Washington State University and an honor’s college student who is majoring in animal sciences. Kunz works with WSU Beef Operations, has volunteered at an equine rescue ranch, and plans to pursue a career in the cattle-ranching industry.

• Brennan LaBrie is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University majoring in humanities. A dean’s list student, LaBrie has studied abroad at the Institute for American Universities in southern France, and had hoped to study last fall at Oxford University until those plans were thwarted by the pandemic. He serves as news editor for the PLU campus newsletter and has written for the Port Townsend Leader.

• Tate Munnich is a senior at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and is majoring in mathematics and computer science. He studied abroad in Budapest in the spring of 2020, and completed a summer internship in website development. He serves his peers on campus as a tutor for linear algebra.

• Lauren Taracka is a junior and Honors College student at Central Washington University. She is majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology. Taracka has done field work with lizards in Mexico, and with reptiles, amphibians, and Clark’s Nutcracker (a native bird Western North America) in Washington state. On campus, she tends the educational rattlesnake collection.

The foundation said other students have also been named for awards.

Raphael Bakin is a junior and dean’s list student at the University of Washington and is majoring in atmospheric sciences with specializations in meteorology and data science. He participates in the Weather Challenge, a “team” sport consisting of aspiring student meteorologists predicting the weather of a designated city.

Jubilee Grace is a senior at The Evergreen State College who is majoring in literary arts and gender studies. Grace is an avid reader of literature, an accomplished writer, and participates in performance arts.

Leianna Kunz is a junior at WSU and is majoring in political science pre-law. She volunteers as a peer educator in the campus Health and Wellness program.

Alana McCleese is a junior at Western Washington University who is majoring in marketing, with a minor in psychology. She works on campus in the Office of Admissions and is a passionate volunteer with environmental groups.

Jason Kunz is a sophomore at Whatcom Community College with interest in becoming a paramedic or working in cybersecurity.

Kailee Kunz is a junior at WSU and is majoring in education. She works on campus as a tutor and has received certification in an English as a Second Language teaching program.

The Port Townsend High School Scholarship Foundation began building an endowment fund in the 1970s and officials said the foundation continues to thrive because of continued donations from the school’s alumni and local citizens. 

Memorial scholarships can be written to support a student who fits criteria requested by the donor. 

People interested in more information should contact Jeanie Glaspell at bmglaspell@yahoo.com or Lois Sherwood at lolo.sherwood@gmail.com.