Community Stories - Rainier Scholars

At the Intersection of Society and the Environment — Cohort 2’s Jimena Diaz Leiva Dreams of the Rainforest

May 21, 2020 | Alumni Stories

By Tom Moore Jimena Diaz Leiva dreamt of going to the Amazon rainforest since she was in second grade. That year, her class made dioramas of rainforest animals and had discussions about deforestation, and saving the rainforest. The project culminated in a visit to...

When a Journey Becomes a Calling — Dr. Leo Rozal, Cohort 1

May 13, 2020 | Alumni Stories

By Tom Moore As for most of us, the path for Leo Rozal begins with his parents. Lachmi and Leonardo Rozal are immigrants from the Philippines who came to America knowing it would be important for their son to get a good education. What they did not know was the best...

Excellence, On and Off the Pitch — Dawit Workie, Cohort 6

May 13, 2020 | Alumni Stories

By Tom Moore Dawit Workie was a rugby player – a very good rugby player. Both in his senior years at Saint Michael’s University School, a K-12 boarding school in Victoria, British Columbia, and at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Dawit was voted the...

Rising to the Challenge — Sallie Lau, Cohort 3

Apr 24, 2020 | Alumni Stories

By Tom Moore There was a seminal moment early on in Sallie Lau’s time with Rainier Scholars. It was during the Academic Enrichment Phase of the program and her English Literature instructor, Ms, Mikolasy, was teaching the Jane Schaffer Paragraph Structure (a...

Scholars “Zoom” into Reading

Apr 16, 2020 | Community Stories, News, What We're Reading

by Ashley Sirls, Associate Director of Leadership Development Every summer at Rites of Passage (our 14-month Academic Enrichment Phase graduation ceremony), scholars are told that they are no longer in Rainier Scholars, but they are Rainier Scholars. This ceremony...

Supporting Our Scholars and Community During COVID-19

Apr 16, 2020 | News

by Liz Sadler, Director of Academic Counseling A core component of the Rainier Scholars support system is checking in with students, making sure they have what they need to succeed academically, and ensuring that their families’ basic needs are being met. Many of our...

Elevating the Power of Curiosity — Miesha Swensen Baker, Cohort I

Apr 8, 2020 | Alumni Stories

By Tom Moore It happens sitting on a school bus looking out the window. It happens during lectures. It happens facing a CEO of a start-up company. It even happens sitting on the couch with her husband and their two dogs: Miesha Baker can’t stop asking questions. “My...

Powerful Mentors: Three Generations of Rainier Scholars — Yael Tellez-Rodriguez, Cohort 6, Angie Aguirre-Tobar, Cohort 12 and Gabby Donaldson, Cohort 18

Mar 24, 2020 | Alumni Stories

By Tom Moore After twenty years, Rainier Scholars is old enough to have multiple “generations” of students. Meet three of them here: Yael Tellez-Rodriguez, 24-years-old, Cohort 6, who is an Academic Counselor at Rainier Scholars. Her parents emigrated from Mexico....

Coming Full Circle: Karen Lobos, Cohort 2

Mar 4, 2020 | Alumni Stories

by Tom Moore Karen Lobos’ commitment to social and economic justice lies deep in her DNA. It goes back to her grandparents and great-grandparents, who as farmers living and working in northern Mexico in the early 1900s, fought for their land rights. For...

No Fear of Failure — Adam Iyob, Cohort 6

Feb 20, 2020 | Alumni Stories

by Tom Moore For people of a certain age, there was an act on the Ed Sullivan Show circa 1969 that was always a show- stopper, at least it was for me as a child of thirteen. It was Erich Brenn and his plate-spinning extravaganza. Cohort 6 Rainier Scholar Adam Iyob has...