Three First-year Students Attend CWU Thanks to Prestigious Diversity Scholarship

October 8, 2009

ELLENSBURG, Wash. ⎯ After years of hard work within their communities, three Central Washington University students were awarded a Champions of Diversity scholarship. Rafael Avila, Fiona Verschoor and Alejandro Espinoza have all received a full tuition waiver for the 2009-2010 school year.

Champions of Diversity are recognized through a fairly new program started in 1990 by the Skagit Valley College Foundation. Over 50 high school students are nominated each year and on average, 35 go on to receive scholarships from various universities. CWU gave Avila, Verschoor and Espinoza each an award of $4,842.

Avila and Verschoor, both 19 and graduates of Mount Vernon High School, and Espinoza, 19, from Burlington-Edison High School, all have extensive volunteering experience — on and off their high school campuses.

Avila didn’t know what was in store for him when he volunteered to coach the local middle school wrestling team. He also enrolled in the class, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) in high school. AVID is an elective class primarily for low-income students that can be taken from sixth grade all the way through to high school graduation. The class is designed to give students self-confidence, with high expectations, encouragement, day-to-day help, and a vision of college as an attainable goal.

Avila is very thankful for AVID because it pushed him to get involved with causes and people outside of school, he says.

“I recommend for future students to definitely take this class,” says Avila. “The program at Mount Vernon High School is one of the best in the country and hopefully students will take full advantage of it.”

During her high school career, Verschoor volunteered for numerous organizations, including the Skagit County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Skagit Valley Hospital, Skagit Civil Air Patrol and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Explorers. But despite all her hard work, she was still surprised by her award.

“I didn’t really expect any scholarship,” Verschoor says. “I had already planned to attend Skagit Valley College for another year but this made it possible for me to attend CWU.”

Espinoza transferred to Burlington-Edison midway through high school. After his transfer, he was actively involved in advanced placement courses, the organization Delta Epsilon Chi (DECA) and was a standout member on the soccer team. When out in the community with family and friends, he helped them with translations.

Avila is planning on double majoring in psychology and education while Verschoor is undecided, with her choices leaning toward law and justice, psychology or communication studies. Espinoza hopes to start his own business after graduation.

Both Avila and Verschoor plan to volunteer during their time in Ellensburg. Verschoor has already become involved with the Residence Hall Association.

Media Contact: Liz Bryson, CWU Public Relations & Marketing, 509-963-2714, brysone@cwu.edu

Teri Olin, CWU Public Relations & Marketing, 509-963-1416, olint@cwu.edu

Central Washington University is a master's degree-granting institution with approximately 10,000 students and 1,500 faculty and staff. More than 160 undergraduate and master's degrees are offered. Founded in 1891, the Ellensburg campus is located in the heart of Washington State, nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River. Since 1975, CWU has served the needs of placebound students at six university centers throughout the state. CWU is an AA/EEO Title IX Institution.