Jul 30, 2015

Stemilt awards $37,500 in college scholarships

Stemilt Growers is helping send six students to college this fall through its participation inWashington Apple Education Foundation’s (WAEF) scholarship program. The company awarded over $37,500 in college scholarships in 2015 through WAEF, and its recipients were honored along with others during WAEF’s annual scholarship luncheons held on July 20th in Yakima, Washington and July 27th in Wenatchee, Washington.

WAEF is the charitable organization for the Washington tree fruit industry. In 2015, they awarded 225 scholarships to local students totaling $850,000.

Eduardo Ramos, a recent Wenatchee High School graduate and son of two Stemilt employees was given the Thomas K. Mathison Memorial Scholarship, which totals $22,500. The scholarship honors Stemilt’s late founder and tree fruit industry pioneer, Tom Mathison.

Five other children of Stemilt employees received scholarships from the company ranging from $2,500 to $4,000, and several plan to use the funds as they pursue careers in the medial field. Stemilt scholarship recipients included: Teresa Bendito, a recent graduate of Wenatchee High School and soon-to-be pre-med major at Eastern Washington University; Diana Chavira-Lopez, an Eastmont High School graduate and nursing major; Noell Huck, a recent graduate of Naches Valley High School who plans to study biology and hopes to become an allergist; Roxana Claro, a junior at Washington State University studying Psychology and Human Development; and Ernesto Castro, a sophomore engineering major at Washington State University.

Stemilt has supported local students through the WAEF scholarship program since WAEF’s inception in 1994.

“Education is paramount to our future success as a company, and for the fruit industry as a whole. We are thrilled to help send six students and children of Stemilt team members to college this year,” said Courtney Mathison, who oversees Stemilt’s corporate social responsibility committee. “The WAEF scholarship program takes college from a dream to reality for many in our community, and we couldn’t think of a better cause to support than that.”

Earlier this month, Stemilt management team members presented WAEF with a check for $22,500. The funds for the check came from proceeds of the 7th annual Thomas K. Mathison Memorial Golf Tournament, which was held in May in Wenatchee. These funds helps sustain the Thomas K. Mathison Memorial scholarship for years to come.