Each year, the Elks National Foundation provides high school seniors more than $3.64 million in college scholarships.
Gresham Elks 1805 has named six local recipients of the 2013 Most Valuable Student Scholarship. Selected from an application pool of 80, the students will receive their awards at the Elks awards banquet March 9.
Reynolds High School senior Henry Sykes has been awarded a total of $9,500, including a $1,000 Gresham Elks award, the Sally Lamm Scholarship,
After winning second place at the state level, his application was forwarded to the Elks national office, making him eligible for awards up to $60,000.
Christina Brown
Gresham High School
$500 MVS Scholarship Award
A member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic for five years, Brown has received awards for her musical talents as an oboist. Brown intends to continue her musical studies at Oregon State University, where she will minor in music and double major in education and another study to become an elementary school teacher. Brown has a 3.95 grade-point average and has taken dual-credit coursework at Mt. Hood Community College.
Elirissa Hui
Centennial High School
$1,000 MVS Scholarship Award
Hui has a 4.14 GPA and plans to study biology in order to become a forensic scientist at the federal level. She competes in Wushu, both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts, and enjoys playing the piano. Hui has been active with the Portland Art & Cultural Center and is a member of the National Honor Society.
Kevin Frank
Sandy High School
$1,000 MVS Scholarship Award
Frank will attend Azusa Pacific University, where he will study math with a goal of becoming a calculus teacher. He has been a member of the National Honor Society and acts as its treasurer. He enjoys baseball, leads the FC club as president, plays guitar for his church and writes for the school newspaper. He has a 4.15 GPA.
Sandra Dorning
Centennial High School
$1,500 MVS Scholarship Award
Dorning has a 4.14 GPA and is president of her schools National Honor Society. She has maintained an excellent academic schedule while competing in swimming and volleyball, as well as writing for the school newspaper. She has volunteered with the Multnomah County Library, Oregon Food Bank and Childrens Cancer Association. She aspires to become a marine biologist to pursue her passion for environment conservation.
Spencer Gilbride
Corbett Charter High School
$500 MVS Scholarship Award
Gilbrides career goal is to be an engineer either electrical, chemical or both. He is treasurer of the National Honor Society, belongs to Corbett Chess Club and completed his second-degree black belt in taekwondo.
Henry Sykes
Reynolds High School
$1,500 MVS Scholarship Award
$7,000 MVS Scholarship Award (District, State & National)
$1,000 Sally Lamm Scholarship Award
Sykes is a community-minded student with interests in music, athletics and civic involvement. He is a member of the National Honor Society and was selected as a U.S. State Department Ambassador for the American Youth Leadership Program. The Japanese American Watershed Stewardship Program took him to Japan, where he learned about Japanese culture and watershed practices. Sykes also plays saxophone and bassoon for his schools top music groups and wrestled four years at the varsity level. With a rigorous AP academic schedule, he has a 4.16 GPA and plans to major in civil engineering. His application is being considered at the national level for the Elks National Foundation.