Meet Our Scholars

Maurianna Vega

Maurianna Vega

2023 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

I will be attending Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, majoring in business and entrepreneurship. My hard dedication to school and getting good grades has created a different p...

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May Tran

May Tran

2023 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

I plan on attending the University of Washington in the fall studying biochemistry on a pre-dental track. I love to volunteer as I was Lieutenant Governor of 10 Key Clubs in my a...

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Jaya Manhas

Jaya Manhas

2023 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

Jaya will be attending Chapman University in Southern California, majoring in Business Marketing and Public Relations. As a scholar, tennis player, and cheerleader, she hopes to ...

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Ruby Lee

Ruby Lee

2023 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

Ruby is planning to attend Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, this fall. She is a filmmaker and community organizer born and raised in the south end of Seattle. At a young ag...

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Angeline Lee

Angeline Lee

2023 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

Angeline plans to major in Biology on the pre-medicine track at Tulane University starting this fall. Outside of school, she is involved in many volunteering activities relating ...

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Fatima Ibrahim

Fatima Ibrahim

2023 Scholar, Chief Sealth International High School

I plan to attend South Seattle Community College for two years and then transfer to university. My goal is to major in International Relations, focusing on becoming an embassy wo...

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Kayla Buechler

Kayla Buechler

2023 Scholar, Chief Sealth International High School

My education has emboldened me to pursue change in the various inequitable systems that surround us. My commitment to campaigning and organizing around creating meaningful change...

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Heena Vahora

Heena Vahora

2022 Scholar, Chief Sealth International High School

Heena is the first in her family to attend college and the Stanley Ann Dunham scholarship will allow her to pursue a degree in the technology field. She will attend the Universit...

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Olivia Turner

Olivia Turner

2022 Scholar, Chief Sealth International High School

"Transitioning during the first couple of weeks was very difficult socially and emotionally since I was living away from family and friends for the first time. However, after a c...

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Kate Larsen

Kate Larsen

2022 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Kate would tell you that it is impossible to encapsulate her strong passions morals and values in such a small space she works two jobs, plays three sports, volunteers and more....

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Saniya Sampson

Saniya Sampson

2022 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"Hello, my name is Saniya Sampson. I attend Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m majoring in political science with a concentration in Pre-Law. Transitioning into college w...

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Ilhan Ahmed

Ilhan Ahmed

2022 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"I will be attending the University of Washington, and I’ve just recently registered for classes that are engrossed in bio as my hopeful major. And as of right now, I’m in co...

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Gigi Huynh

Gigi Huynh

2022 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"My name is Gigi, and I am a student at the University of Washington - Seattle. For me, the transition from high school to college life is both extremely nerve-racking and exciti...

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Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson

2021 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"I know these two career paths are white male and white female-dominated, but I want my presence in these spaces to allow more Black, Indigenous, and POC scholars to see someon...

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Hiyab Tewoldeberhan

Hiyab Tewoldeberhan

2021 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"I have witnessed suppression especially within our democracy and how we make voting accessible to underserved communities… this has fueled my passion and dedication to communi...

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Annika Bhananker

Annika Bhananker

2021 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"I firmly believe that listening to diverse voices is the first step toward creating change at individual, community, and global levels."

Update: Annika plans to attend Rice U...

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Angelina    Riley

Angelina Riley

2021 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"I plan to pursue a career that takes me around the world, to places and people who have been stripped of their resources and help them gain power back. My specific region of in...

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Wendy Bui

Wendy Bui

2020 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"I admire Stanley Ann Dunham’s commitment to creating meaningful change for marginalized communities and building cross-cultural awareness and understanding. I hope that like S...

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Laine Hooper

Laine Hooper

2020 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"The disabled community is a place of extreme diversity, innovation, and flexibility. Made up of people of different abilities, ages, and backgrounds, it includes disabled indivi...

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Yobachinia Frazier

Yobachinia Frazier

2019 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"Just like Ms. Dunham I care about my community and just like her I will strive to change the world but first I will began starting with my community. I tell myself if I want cha...

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Anahyta Aazaad Burn

Anahyta Aazaad Burn

2019 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"I once thought that empowerment of women was simply an effort towards justice and equality. Today, as a global citizen raised in three very different cultures, I see this quest ...

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Michelle King

Michelle King

2018 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"I had to grow up fast and while I was displaced at one point just like Miss Stanley, we both found our way and we’re trying to do some good."

Update: Rising Freshman at Gre...

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Arwa Mokdad

Arwa Mokdad

2018 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Change is happening all over the globe, and I want to be a part of that movement toward justice and equality for all…. Through vigor and an optimistic outlook, mountains can b...

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Sophie Poole

Sophie Poole

2018 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Like Stanley Ann Dunham, I wrote for the newspaper at Mercer Island High School. Like Stanley Ann Dunham, I was not afraid to speak truth to power. Like Stanley Ann Dunham, I le...

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Gabriela Lopez Jimenez

Gabriela Lopez Jimenez

2018 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"Stanley Ann Dunham believed that every group of people had something to give. Building relationships with people everywhere you go makes a huge impact on your life and you teach...

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Christine Lee

Christine Lee

2017 Scholar, Mercer Island High Schoo

"I feel all children and young adults have the right to education and nutritious food."

Update: Freshman, University of Washington

High School Activities and Vo...

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Emily Au

Emily Au

2017 Scholar, Rainier Beach High School

"The idea of social activism and fighting for equity reflects Stanley Ann’s life work. Her beliefs and values continue to spread through the minds of active empowered young wom...

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Rose Guttman

Rose Guttman

2016 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"I’ve seen how I can make a positive impact at my job and with other students in my classes. I strive to broaden that impact on our society, country and the whole world."

Up...

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Holly Waggoner

Holly Waggoner

2016 Scholar, Mercer Island High Schoo

"I am driven to explore opportunities to further girls’ education and to create a world where this is not a privilege, but a right."

Update: Sophomore, Santa Clara Universit...

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Adrienne Suhm

Adrienne Suhm

2015 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Thank you again for bringing me deeper into the world of microfinance and anthropology through this amazing scholarship!"

Update: Senior, University of Southern California; m...

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Naomi Moore

Naomi Moore

2015 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Talk to people around you. Be open and be willing to have an informed opinion…keep in mind that discussing is different than arguing; real progress comes from being open to ot...

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Rachel Gallagher

Rachel Gallagher

2014 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"I will emulate Stanley Ann by dedicating myself to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by autism."

Update: Graduated from Carleton College Magna Cum L...

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Ellena Jones

Ellena Jones

2014 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"The Stanley Ann Dunham scholarship has enabled me to take time off from my work/study job to focus on academics during my first semester of college. It will also allow me to con...

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Hannah Frisch

Hannah Frisch

2013 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Though I have a much different lifestyle than people I work with, we share innate human characteristics that ultimately connect us all."

Update: 2017 BA, Political Science an...

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Sarah Bahn

Sarah Bahn

2013 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Given the choice between hope and cynicism, action and resignation, I do not see a choice. There is work to be done. I have something to give that no one else can, and that is m...

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Suzanne Gaber

Suzanne Gaber

2012 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Many are aware of [Stanley] Ann’s strong belief in the power of education and the rights of women. I share a similar commitment education, both for myself as well as for other...

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Kyle Kercher Wunderlin

Kyle Kercher Wunderlin

2011 Scholar Mercer Island High School

"I grew up learning all people are equal regardless of genetics or circumstance, a doctrine easy to take advantage of if one never experiences otherwise. Up until I began traveli...

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Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson

2010 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"Culture and diversity are two things I seek in my life. Different cultures bring liveliness and creativity and new solutions. They should be celebrated as opportunities that ena...

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Kristine Fu

Kristine Fu

2010 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"I went on a mission trip to Kenya intending to help the people living in the slums of Nairobi…Amidst the poverty was a hope and light I never expected to see. The people were ...

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Khia Johnson

Khia Johnson

2010 Scholar, Mercer Island High School

"The world beyond my comfortable life has always enchanted me, but not until I spent time in Chile as an exchange student did I consider it an essential piece of my life…I grew...

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