CHELSEA WHALEN WORKED in a public health study in South Africa.
Elena Akins founded a summer camp.
Cali Kopczick organized a fundraiser to buy ShelterBoxes for disaster victims.
Margaret Albright Siemion is a home health nurse known for compassionate care.
Claire Schraeder plans a career in medical research.
On Saturday, Mary Kippenhan, scholarship director of the University Women’s Foundation of Jefferson County, presented $14,500 in scholarships to five young women who exemplify the organization’s commitment to service.
“There seems to be a continuous thread with all these award recipients,” Kippenhan said. “All have a sense of community and a real drive to help others.”
The UWF is the philanthropic arm of the American Association of University Women in East Jefferson County.
Margaret Siemion
Receiving the $7,500 Elmira K. Beyer Award for continuing education was Siemion, a 1999 Sequim High School graduate.
Siemion is accepted into the Bachelor of Science in nursing program at the University of Washington Bothell.
A registered nurse with Jefferson Healthcare Home Health and Hospice, Margaret and spouse Huck Siemion live in Quilcene and have a daughter, Aliyah, age 11⁄2.
Siemion said she will commute to the Bothell campus one day a week for the program and graduate in the spring.
Siemion, who attended Peninsula College, said she plans to continue her education by earning a master’s degree in nursing and would like to teach at Peninsula College Nursing School.
She is the daughter of Ellen Adams of Sequim, a nurse in the post-anesthesia care unit at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles.
Chelsea Whalen
Whalen, a 2008 graduate of Chimacum High School, received a $2,500 academic scholarship.
A junior at Seattle University, she is working on a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.
Whalen said she plans a career in public health or community nursing.
Last year, she participated in the International Development Internship Program, a nine-month program that included several months in South Africa conducting an epidemiology study in urban and rural areas.
Whalen said she is interested in working in rural communities and with women in developing countries. She is the daughter of Cass Whalen and Renne Barron of Coyle.
Kippenhan presented $1,500 scholarships to graduating seniors from each of the public high schools.
Claire Schraeder
Receiving the Quilcene scholarship was Claire Schraeder, daughter of Leonard and Judith Schraeder of Brinnon.
The valedictorian at Quilcene High School, Claire plans to major in microbiology at the University of Washington, then attend medical school.
At Saturday’s presentation, she said she decided on a career in medicine when she was in the eighth grade and is interested in working in clinical research, internal medicine or forensics.
Cali Kopczick
Kopczick is the daughter of Skip Kopczick and Heidi Lee of Port Hadlock.
The valedictorian at Chimacum High School, she has won awards in Science Olympiad and Destination Imagination and is president of the National Honor Society and the Knowledge Bowl team.
She also is active in the Interact Club and led a ShelterBox fundraiser.
A writer, Cali plans to major in literature at the University of Washington, where she has been accepted into the honors program.
Elena Akins
Port Townsend High School senior Akins was unable to attend the awards presentation because she was competing in a track meet.
According to her scholarship application, Akins is an honors student who has volunteered at the food bank and the YMCA Building Futures mentorship program, founded a summer camp and built houses for the poor in Mexico.
Elena plans to study business administration and Spanish at Chapman College in California with the aim of working for a nonprofit organization, her application stated.
Brita Guthrie, the 2010 recipient of the Elmira K. Beyer Award, spoke at Saturday’s presentation, held at Quimper Unitarian Church.
A junior at the University of Washington, Guthrie is studying international business and marketing with the goal of helping women in developing countries.
Guthrie said she first became aware of the need when she conducted research in Thailand as part of a study of the impact of globalization on women and women’s rights in 2009.
One of the things she learned: “Not everyone has a supportive community behind them,” Guthrie said.
The Elmira K. Beyer Award is an endowed scholarship and is awarded to a Jefferson County woman who has completed at least one year of college.
Proceeds from AAUW’s annual Kitchen Tour funded Whalen’s scholarship and also covered more than half the high school scholarships, Kippenhan said, with the balance from anonymous donations from branch members.
In lieu of roses, which were presented to scholarship winners in the past, Kippenhan gave the young women flash-drive key chains.
Polly Lyle, co-president of the PT AAUW, said the scholarships come with a promise and a challenge.
“Have complete confidence in yourself, knowing there is a whole group of people in Port Townsend who believe in you,” Lyle said. “Be leaders. Mentor other young women.”
The Port Townsend AAUW also honors female high school students who have excelled in science, technology and math.
Called STEM awards, they include a certificate from the Washington state AAUW and a gift certificate from the local branch.
They will be presented at awards assemblies at the Port Townsend, Chimacum and Quilcene high schools, Kippenhan said.
Membership in AAUW is open to women and men with a two-year college degree or more.
Port Townsend AAUW meetings are open to the public and are held the third Saturday of the month, September through May, at Quimper Unitarian Church in Port Townsend.
For more information, visit www.aauwpt.org.
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Jennifer Jackson writes about Port Townsend and Jefferson County every Wednesday. To contact her with items for this column, phone 360-379-5688 or email jjackson@olypen.com.
