The Coos Bay - North Bend Rotary Club each year awards a $2,000 scholarship to a graduating senior from both Marshfield and North Bend high schools. The applications can be obtained from the guidance counselors at each high school. The awards are based on scholastic achievement, involvement in both school and the community, and the ability and dedication to succeed at the next level. However, the most important criteria the selection committee looks for is improvement. The improvement can be in or out of the classroom. A student who struggled early or has to overcome difficult situations and has the perseverance to keep trying has an excellent opportunity to win this award. Arianne Eslinger was the Marshfield High School recipient in 2000. Arianne is attending Pratt University in Brooklyn N.Y. and is majoring in architecture. Throughout high school she continued to take more difficult classes and became very involved in school leadership. As she matured she took on more responsibility and was a role model for younger students.

The North Bend High School winner in 2000 was Nicole Hughey. Nicole is attending Southwestern and is majoring in early childhood education. Nicole had been forced to drop out of school after the sixth grade to help take care of her family. After being out of school for two years she moved to North Bend and started school at the ninth grade level. On her own she faced the challenge of a limited vision problem and learning English as a second language. Nicole overcame these obstacles and more to become college bound.

For more information, contact the Coos Bay - North Bend Rotary Club at P.O. Box 102, North Bend, OR 97420, or call Jim Graves, Scholarship Committee Chairman, at 269-1150.