On June 7, graduating seniors were celebrated for their earnings in scholarships at Senior Recognition Night. Over 50 scholarships that were recognized and throughout the year the class of 2016 was awarded with 6.6 million dollars in scholarships and accepted 3.8 million of those offerings.

  “This huge number (of scholarships) is another credit to the hard work and dedication that these young people show day in and day out,” said Principal, John Koch. “They really are the best and the brightest, these students are an amazing group of young people.”

  One of the biggest scholarships that was recognized that night was the Gates Millennium Scholar. The goal of the Gates Millennium Scholar is to provide an opportunity for thousands of eligible students of color to reach their fullest potential, according to Koch. This scholarship was awarded to Gia Agatha Dacayanan, which will pay for one hundred percent of Dacayanan’s unmet need for college and also giving her the opportunity to apply for more help into graduate school. Dacayanan plans on going to Willamette University to study History.

  Another big scholarship that was awarded during the Senior Recognition Night were the Act Six Scholarships, which were earned by Naomi Fortenell-Bautista and Davyd Mishchenko. The Act Six Scholarships are given to young emerging leaders from underrepresented communities that want to utilize their college education to make a difference in their community and in the world, according to Adam Ristick from the Portland Leadership foundation. This scholarship is full tuition that could range all the way too 150,000 dollars to either Warner Pacific College or George Fox University. Fortenell-Bautista and Mishchenko will both attend Warner Pacific College in the fall.

  There were 10 recipients of the Portland Community College Future Connect Scholarships. Among Diana Giorgees, Legend Gray, Brenda Hernandez, Christian Langarica, Salvador Robles-Olvera, Eilen Salazar, Jailine Saldana, Esmeralda Segura, Jorge Trujeque Ruiz and Thai Turcol, there was a combined total of about 32,000 dollars in scholarships.

These scholarships are given to support individuals who are the first in their family to go to college. All recipients plan on going to Portland Community College in the fall.

  That night Madisen Hallberg, who was awarded with a Portland State University Scholarship and Choir Student of Distinction scholarship this year, made a heartfelt speech before her performance of Over the Rainbow.

  “Leaving high school and leaving the cushion of being a child is not easy and looking into an uncertain future is often disheartening,” said Hallberg. “But I think something we all strive to do, that we are all trying our best at, is to be optimistic about our future. And scholarships and achievements and awards like these to recognize our hard work really helps with that.”