We are honored to announce the winners of EHS PTSA Scholarships for this year:

Katherine Siddoway Scholarship

     Katherine Siddoway was the founding principal of Eastlake High School. As the principal, she focused on creating a “student-centered community of learners in which each person had dignity and intrinsic worth.” She built on student strengths to prepare them to make responsible choices and to be contributing members of our community.

Katherine Siddoway Scholarship 2023 Winners are Alyssa Flindt and Sagan Hoffman.

Alyssa Flindt

In principals of leadership one of the first lessons I was taught was the law of influence which goes as follows, “when one life touches another two lives change, when one life touches another potentially the whole world changes”. As a sophomore the idea that my actions as an underclassman, both good and bad, could impact not just one person but a whole school of people was unbelievable. This lesson helped me put more thought into my actions as well as my motivation behind what I do. In the two years that have followed I have made the law of influence my internal mantra. I try to start each day with a positive attitude and ask myself what I can intentionally focus on that day to serve those around me. I do all this in the hopes to create a positive and loving environment – Alyssa Flindt

Sagan Hoffman

All of these things that Eastlake has taught me culminate into determining how I will interact with the world. Not only in college, but beyond. I remember in 10th grade learning about “lateral searching,” the method of confirming research by looking at other news sources from other reliable outlets instead of trusting only one source. Now while that may seem like an obvious thing to do, it still helps with building the habits of confirming what you know instead of blindly trusting. This is majorly important now days when fake and embellished news seems to be everywhere. It is really easy to be radicalized by a single source, so you should always learn from multiple sources. Eastlake has also taught me the importance of having a solid network of friends and colleagues. From tangential acquaintances to your closest friends, the network you build in high school and beyond is critical in helping you make the right decisions. If you are ever confused or lost, you can always turn to your support network to lead you in the right direction – Sagan Hoffman

Perseverance – in honor of Lori Rowe

Lori Rowe was Eastlake’s beloved Office Manager for many years. She lent her ear and opened her heart to students that were experiencing struggles and hardship. She was always rooting for them and in their corner as they faced challenges that might have disrupted their educational journey. She took great comfort in seeing the success and perseverance of her students throughout their academic and personal lives. The Rowe Family would like to honor her memory through the Perseverance Scholarship and champion her cause.

Lori Rowe Perseverance Scholarship 2023 Winners are Camdyn Rolak and Kate Pallett

Camdyn Rolak

Something I have grown to love throughout my life is music… In experimenting with music programs, I learned I loved writing show pieces for marching band and that I happened to be quite good at it. I utilized this opportunity as a way to demonstrate to the band director my love for marching band and my capability for leadership and creativity. On October 28th, 2022, my Aladdin musical medley was performed for the Senior Night football game halftime show. To have created something so monumental and had it displayed to hundreds of people was an earth-shattering moment for me. The final note of my final halftime show in high school helped me truly, for the first time, understand that what I accomplish in my life can, and does, have an impact on others and means something to them. For the first time, I truly understood that I mattered as a person, and that everyone, no matter how large or small their commitments, contributes to society in some way or another – Camdyn Rolak.

Kate Pallett

As an officer of Mock Trial Club, I watched dozens of nervous freshman auditions, and they reminded me of my own audition when I first joined the club. I made it my goal to help these students gain their confidence and find their voice. I organized various activities and exercises to help new members, both witnesses and attorneys, improve their public speaking skills. Every meeting, we practiced something new, whether it was performing speeches in front of a group or projecting our voices throughout the hallway. With each new exercise, I saw their confidence grow along with their excitement for the trial. On the day of the competition, I saw none of the nervousness from auditions. Instead, every witness I worked with had a vibrant character and strong voice. I was proud to see how much their confidence had grown over the months we’d been working together. As the current Vice President of Mock Trial, I make sure every member’s voice is being heard. I work to resolve disputes and find a place in the club for all members, and I continue to help new members come out of their shell and find their confidence – Kate Pallett

Community Service Awards & Scholarship

     Our PTSA strongly advocates volunteerism which is a testament to character of the students at any grade level. The community service award is in recognition of outstanding contributions made to the Eastlake and/or Sammamish community.

Community Service Award Scholarship 2023 Winners Rhyley Pruitt and Shrimayee Narasimhan.                        

Rhyley Pruitt

For the past three years, I have been a part of the Athletes For Kids organization, a nonprofit group that pairs high school athletes with students in the Sammamish community who have been diagnosed with special needs or disabilities. Although this has not been my only engagement in the community service space, it is by far my most moving and meaningful one…Through this organization, I was eventually introduced to my future friend and life-changing mentee. She struggles with severe anxiety and anger, but I got to know her first for what she is at heart: a little girl who loves to bake, paint nails, and dance, just like me. Over time, she helped to teach me just as much as I hope I've taught her. There have been good days and bad, but we saw them through together. I quickly learned what it means to be a mentor and the responsibilities that come with being a guiding figure in someone's life. I have been put in situations that I do not know how to handle, and that has helped me grow in unimaginable ways. My mentee has taught me what it means to be kind, responsible, and understanding, and has selflessly shown me what true friendship looks like. Friendship carries through the good and bad and manages to overcome any obstacle together – Rhyley Pruitt

Shrimayee Narasimhan

Over the years, I’d grown increasingly intimidated by science: it seemed like only boys were excelling at it; it was difficult to grasp; and I wasn’t doing amazing in it. I had convinced myself that I could never like STEM or anything similar. This all changed when I joined an organization called Girls Rock Science and Math (GRISM) in 5thgrade. It’s a local high-schooler-run non-profit focused on making girls feel confident about science and math at a young age. Participating in GRISM sessions sparked a passion in me as I saw that Stem can be hands-on, artsy, and collaborative. In early high school, I began volunteering as an Instructor for GRISM. I got to facilitate interactive sessions for the girls on advanced subjects like Satellite Remote Sensing. I led hands-on activities and served as a female role model for the girls to look up to. Now, as the President of GRISM, I’m giving back to the program that’s helped me grow so much… Being a participant, volunteer, and leader in GRISM has pushed me to pursue a career in computer science. I’m ecstatic to continue these efforts in college and beyond – Shrimayee Narasimhan

Certificates of Appreciation – Its never too early to help and have impact!

Alon Ragoler– Grade 10

I am the lead volunteer coach of the National Science Bowl (NSB) club at Evergreen Middle School. National Science Bowl is a fast-paced, buzzer-style middle school science competition. The purpose of the club is to teach advanced physics, chemistry, life science, and earth science, and to inspire a love of science, learning, and

curiosity in the students…We teach challenging material in these classes, with students regularly growing and excelling in this environment, learning from each other, and encouraging one another to persevere. We provide mentoring and advice on

how to excel at the competition, and these teams become very tight-knit as they practice for the contest together, and build relationships that will continue well beyond middle school – Alon Ragoler

Tanzil Hussain – Grade 11

I have served as the president of Keystone, a service-based high-school student program, at the Boys and Girls Club of Sammamish…Being a part of Keystone has impacted my life by providing me an outlook to serve, create an impact, and has improved my interpersonal and management skills. Another service project I led the planning of was a presentation to elementary and middle schoolers on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Equitable practices are an integral part of today’s society and through this service project, I educated students on what equity is and how to be more equitable and inclusive individuals. I’ve gained experience in working with diverse groups and instill equity and inclusion practices within my work to develop a sense of belonging” – Tanzil Hussain