23rd Annual “Excellence in Education” Scholarship

Cascadia Eye takes great joy each year in reaching out to young people. Our Excellence in Education scholarship has been going strong since 2003, giving us a chance to assist high school graduates grow their education with an eye to the next generation. In fact, we have been able to expand our scholarship and now award two scholarships of $1,500 each to students with:

1) a GPA over 3.25

2) graduating from the following local areas

• Skagit Valley/North Snohomish County (includes Camano Island)
• Whidbey Island/Island County (not incl Camano Island)

3) plans to study in any field/major at a university, college, or trade school.

We have been inspired by each students’ passion, excellence and dedication to improving their local communities and think you will be too!

From January to April, applications are available and may be printed and duplicated as necessary. Find them here on our website, at high school counseling offices, or they may be picked up in any of our locations: Mount Vernon-Little Mountain, Mount Vernon-Market Street, Sedro-Woolley, Stanwood or Coupeville.

Students should email completed applications (or are welcome to ask questions) to marketing@ncascade.com, or may mail them or drop them off at any of our locations. The deadline for applications is April 1, 2025.

22nd annual 2024 “Excellence in Education” scholarship winners:

Happy congratulations to Clara Jeong and Cole White, the winners of this year’s Cascadia Eye 22nd Annual “Excellence in Education” scholarships. We are proud to support this next big step towards your life goals, and look forward to seeing what you do with your bright futures!

Clara Jeong, Skagit and N. Snohomish Counties

Clara Jeong’s story is one of remarkable resilience. Clara, who immigrated from South Korea to Anacortes in the second grade, faced one of the most challenging periods of her life during her freshman year of high school when her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Her mother’s illness progressed rapidly, and Clara had to endure the pain of losing her mother during a critical time in her life. 

Despite immense personal challenges, Clara excelled in her academic pursuits. She channeled her grief and anxiety into a driving force for success. She strengthened her relationship with her father and focused on her studies, achieving an impressive GPA. 

Beyond her academic excellence, Clara was deeply involved as an award-winning artist, a musician participating in wind ensemble and jazz band, and even took on leadership roles in student government. Her teacher, Mr. Andrich, praised her as one of the top students in his classes, noting her strong commitment, organizational skills, and passion for the arts. 

In her scholarship essay, Clara expressed her desire to study psychology and revolutionize the mental healthcare industry. She aims to help people heal, using the insights she has learned from her personal trials to help her make a significant impact in people’s lives. 

NOTE: Read more about Clara’s story in the The Anacortes American.

Cole White, Coupeville/Oak Harbor/Island County

Cole White impressed our review committee with his outstanding ability to manage a 4.0 GPA with a full class schedule including AP and college prep courses and participate in extensive charitable and other extracurricular activities.  

Cole’s future plans include Civil Engineering studies and ROTC training at Gonzaga, with a goal to not only create a new future for himself but to help design and create construction projects, develop infrastructure, and support disaster relief efforts. 

During high school, Cole not only played three varsity sports each year, but also spent countless hours volunteering in a local kindergarten class, coached and refereed local youth sports, and served on the worship team at his church.  

Cole points to his powerful values of teamwork, hard work, humility, trust and joy, which aided his interest in becoming a servant leader. He was taught to dream big, work hard and serve others, and has used these character traits to not only push through the challenges of COVID and distance learning but to excel while doing it. Cascadia Eye is blessed to support Cole’s college education and stellar future. 

Past recipients