CWU Featured On "Montel" Show About Multiple Births

December 8, 2006

ELLENSBURG Wash. - On Monday, Dec. 11, "The Montel Williams Show" will air a broadcast about multiple births. Among the four-featured families are the Stevensons, from Poulsbo, Wash., who established a western Washington record when Courtnee delivered quintuplets on March 30.

The four girls, Aniston, Belle, Camilee and Scarlett, and one boy, Weston - who are all healthy and growing -- joined older sister Lilli, 3.

When Courtnee, 31, and Michael, 33, went to New York with their children for the October taping of the Montel program, they were unaware that a representative from Central Washington University would also be there.

"We were contacted by the show, because they were wanting to help the Stevenson's prepare for their children's college education," says Dr. Becky Watson, CWU director of public relations and marketing. "They were looking for a college near Poulsbo and discovered one of our western Washington centers, CWU-Lynnwood."

Watson attended the taping, at which point it was announced that the university had established a scholarship fund, which will provide for the quintuplets and their older sister.

Courtnee, between 1995-98, and her sister, Camilee Brand, both attended CWU, while their father, Robert Brand, is a 2000 business administration graduate of CWU-Lynnwood. Courtnee says she is grateful to CWU and Ellensburg for "embracing and loving my family."

"I want to thank Central for an incredible education and experience, and I'm proud my children will one day attend CWU," she adds. "The scholarship is beyond anything Mike and I could imagine. I look forward to one day calling Ellensburg home again."

Contributions to the fund for the Stevenson children can be made to the CWU Foundation. Through Sunday, Dec. 31, the university is also providing matching money, up to $1,000 for each contribution, for the first $20,000 contributed. The Montel Williams Show and CWU Alumni Association each have made $1,000 contributions to the fund.

Visit the Scholarship site HERE.

To contact the CWU Foundation, call 509-963-2160 or 1-800-752-4378. For more information about the Stevenson family, visit www.stevensonquints.com.

"It's nice that we can provide this help to such a deserving Washington family," Watson adds. "It's a bonus that we are also helping an alumna and that this is the start of a three-generation legacy for this family and Central Washington University."

Contact: Becky Watson (509-963-1493/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail: bwatson@cwu.edu)