Area students receive Leaders and Achievers scholarships

The Comcast Foundation honored 65 Oregon and Southwest Washington high school seniors with $82,000 in Comcast Leaders and Achievers scholarships on May 31 at the Portland World Trade Center. More than 150 guests attended, including 48 students. Fifteen students are from Southwest Washington, including five from the North Clark County area.

Students in North Clark County who were awarded scholarships included Taylor Beardall from Battle Ground High School, Jonathan Booker from Woodland High School, Joseph Ostrand from Ridgefield High School, Antonio Sandoval-Pinacho from La Center High School and Laura Stewart from River HomeLink in Battle Ground.

Each student received $1,000 scholarships for higher education. Fifteen students also won iPads to help with their studies, including four from Southwest Washington. Beardall and Sandoval-Pinacho were both recipients of iPads.

Honored students and guests heard from Rodrigo Lopez, Comcast Oregon & Southwest Washington regional vice president; Mark Lewis, director of STEM for the Oregon Education Investment Board; and Vanessa Dominguez, 2013 Comcast Founders’ scholarship recipient and Oregon State University undergraduate student.

Recognizing the exceptional academic commitment and community involvement of the students,  Lopez joked, “I’d be embarrassed to tell you my involvement when I was your age.” Mark Lewis commended their leadership and role-modeling in school, noting that “education is a collective responsibility.”

Vanessa Dominguez reminded students, “When the going gets tough, just keep on swimming.” Citing her continued community involvement as youth director of Momentum Alliance, she encouraged students to keep up with community service despite possible challenges in adjusting to college life.

“These students are great leaders. They will surely continue to make change happen in their schools and communities by their own actions and the examples they set for their peers,” Lopez said.

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities. The program also demonstrates the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

To date, Comcast has awarded more than $21.6 million to nearly 21,000 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship winners.

Connect with the scholarship winners at www.facebook.com/ComcastLeadersandAchievers. Explore and “like” Comcast in the community at www.facebook.com/WePowerDreams.

The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified nonprofit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities—promoting community service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $130 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.