2014 Scholars

2014 Summer Study group photo

 

Aja, ‘14 Scholar

Cerebral palsy

Attends Edmonds Community Colleg. Hopes to cure cerebral palsy to join the Army. Was a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the National Honor Society.

Alex, ‘14 Scholar

Autism, bilateral hearing loss

Graduated from the University of Maryland, majoring in computer science. Received three years of presidential awards for academic excellence along with the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education Award. Currently working at Microsoft as part of the Azure team. Enjoys playing video games, watching films, and keeping up with news daily.

Anita, ‘14 Scholar

Post-polio, attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia

Earned a bachelor’s in elementary education from the University of Portland and is currently working on a master’s degree from Seattle Pacific University. Loves doing community service, reading, and hanging out with friends.

Calleese, ‘14 Scholar

Learning disability

Attends Central Washington University. Was the president of the local association student council, which helps students from different schools and events come together and learn from each other. In 2016, planned a leadership summit for three different districts to attend. Works on photography.

Carl, ‘14 Scholar

Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Was starting his senior year at the University of Washington studying at the Foster School of Business when he passed away in 2019. Was posthumously awarded his bachelor of arts in business administration.

Eric, ‘14 Scholar

Stargardt’s disease

Graduated from Duke University with a degree in electrical and computer engineering, and computer science. Has traveled to three different continents: interned at an internet of things startup in Ireland, volunteered as a teacher in Nepal, and studied abroad in New Zealand. Spent the 2019 summer working as a software development engineer intern at Amazon. Played basketball and soccer at Duke and completed first half marathon in the spring of 2019 and came in 2nd place in age group. Started a job at Amazon.

Jason, ‘14 Scholar

Bilateral atrophy of the optic nerve

Graduated with an associate degree in business management from Clark College. Attending Central Washington University to complete a bachelor’s degree in business management. Still enjoys listening to and keeping score for Mariners’ baseball games.

Jin Ning, ‘14 Scholar

Hard of hearing

Attends the University of Washington majoring in informatics specializing in data science. Plans on become a computer scientist. Used to play percussion in marching band and drumline.

Kennedy, ‘14 Scholar

Cerebral palsy

Attends Tacoma Community College (TCC) and is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and a 4.0 student. Plans on becoming a psychologist. Listens to an array of music and attended many concerts last year, including the 2019 Pain in the Grass concert series.

Lindsey, ‘14 Scholar

Spinal muscular atrophy type 2/3

Attends the University of Washington. Interned with the Associated Students of the University of Washington Student Disability Commission 2017-20. Helped run the annual F*** Stairs campaign at UW. Took part in a year-long animation course, working on the visual development and sound effects for a student short film called Dazzle! Plans on moving to Los Angeles for a graduate degree in animation to design disabled characters for the big screen. Currently works as a student assistant for DO-IT.

Matthew, ‘14 Scholar

Autism

Attends Eastern Washington University (EWU) majoring in social work. Currently enrolled in two national honors programs, volunteers for disability support services, and used to be president of the student disability culture club. Has been a guest speaker at Mt. Spokane High School to discuss attending a four-year college. Has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Served on the student board for the Mobius Science Center. Works in the EWU bookstore as a floor 

Michael, ‘14 Scholar

Optic nerve glioma

Attending Brigham Young University Idaho Pathway Worldwide to receive a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and special education. Worked for a year at Head Start in Omak, Washington and plans on pursuing a career working with children. Got married in June 2019.

Mikaela, ‘14 Scholar

Deaf

Earned a bachelor of science in psychology from Washington State University (WSU). Was coxswain for WSU’s rowing team and the president of the WSU Freerun student organization. Currently applying for nursing school and plans on becoming a nurse anesthetist in the future.

Sangha, ‘14 Scholar

Autism

Attending Seattle Pacific University studying to be a computer engineer. Enjoys playing ping pong and computer games, watching YouTube videos, and hanging out with friends.

Sean, ‘14 Scholar

Deaf/hearing impaired

Attended Rochester Institute of Technology and now attends Olympic College. Enjoys studying machining and trigonometry.

Teo, ‘14 Scholar

Specific learning disability

Attends Everett Community College. Plans on majoring in the medical field.

Thor, ‘14 Scholar

Desmin myopathy

Graduated from Burlington-Edison High School. Was a WyldLife student leader and an active member of Young Life. Thor’s career goal was to become a lawyer. Passed away in 2016.

Vanessa, ‘14 Scholar

Ollier’s disease, Maffucci syndrome

Received an associate of technical arts degree in multimedia and interactive technology from Skagit Valley College. Currently attends the University of Washington focusing on disability studies. Works as a creative production assistant at Rooted in Rights, a program of Disability Rights Washington. Received a DO-IT Trailblazer award in 2019.