Forty-one years after its founding, the Peninsula Hawks Scholarship Fund awarded a record $500,000 to 156 students at its award ceremony May 27. The event at the Peninsula High School auditorium showcased a total of 427 scholarships.
The scholarship fund receives money from private donations and from the SAVE (Seahawks Academic & Vocational Education) Thrift Store, a full-time fundraising effort supporting the fund.
Awards are based on merit, not financial need. The scholarships can be used for any type of accredited educational institution and in all fields, including vocational, technical, or academic. Each scholarship is unique, matching the student’s story with each scholarship’s criteria. Students complete a scholarship portfolio detailing academic and community work, along with supplemental essays. Scholarship donors review each portfolio to select the winners.
The stories are what keep the board members and donors motivated to raise money year after year in support of the students.
Hawks board President Crystal Devers said that for many donors, the scholarship fund becomes a family tradition with donations made each year even after the original donor has passed away. Hugh McMillan was one such donor. A well-known figure on the Key Peninsula, McMillan, along with his wife Janice, looked forward to presenting the annual scholarships. The McMillan family has continued to donate since Hugh died in 2023.
Devers said that some students are on the fence about going to college, but receiving a scholarship makes all the difference. “All the hard work that we do all year long, scholarship night is completely worth it just to see the kids’ faces.”
Hawks board member Deanna Russell has been involved with the scholarship since 2009. “It’s just absolutely heartwarming to give this money to these students, to help them understand that the community is behind them and wants them to live their dreams.
“This year, a young woman was just about in tears as she received a $500 scholarship. Later in the evening, she received a second scholarship, one of our largest, for $5,000, and it was wonderful to see how surprised and moved she was by receiving those two awards.”
The award ceremony is attended by many of the donors and all of the student applicants.
Ryan Anderson was awarded four scholarships totaling $5,000, one from the Key Peninsula Lions Club, one from the Smith Family, and two from SAVE Thrift Store. As an NJROTC student, Anderson was also awarded the four-year Navy ROTC Scholarship. He is headed to the University of Washington for mechanical engineering and plans to join the U.S. Navy.
“The biggest thing for me was how supported I felt and how the community really had my back,” Anderson said. “The scholarship night, with that feeling of mutual community support, was really cool.”
Olivia Gaston was awarded six scholarships: three from SAVE and three from outside donors, totaling $4,500. She plans to attend the University of Utah to eventually become a certified nurse anesthetist after spending a few years as an ER nurse to gain experience in trauma care.
“I filled out my Hawk Scholarship portfolio,” Gaston said. “I knew it was an extensive process and was going to be seen by a lot of people. I hoped to get one, but didn’t expect six.”
Haley Higgins received a $400 scholarship in 1991, which paid for her books for one quarter of college. She was the first in her family to attend college, and she now operates her own business, Allovus, in Gig Harbor. Higgins became involved with the Hawks while her son was a student at PHS, first as a donation committee member, then as a donor herself.
“Three years ago, my accountants figured my company had given back over $250,000,” Higgins said. “So, you know, $400 can turn into something much bigger down the road.”
One of her favorite stories involves a girl who struggled through high school. Her counselor had worked with her to complete a portfolio, encouraging her to reach a little further. Higgins saw potential in this student and awarded a scholarship to her, even though she did not have the best academics. “She needed someone to believe in her.”
Higgins faced some criticism for this but continued to support the student. Creative thinking was needed to help the student reach her goal of becoming a massage therapist, which she achieved, and she has since moved into a nursing career.
The Hawk fund disburses all the money it raises each year. Occasionally, an awarded scholarship is not used within the 18 months allotted, and the amount is rolled back into the fund for the upcoming year. Private donations make up part of the fund, but most money raised each year comes from the SAVE Thrift Store.
The store launched in the early days of the fund’s beginning. Founding member Sandy Newhouse said it was originally operated out of a donated portable classroom, which soon burned to the ground. Located in an old fire station since that time at 14201 Purdy Lane NW, the SAVE thrift shop raised about $146,000 this year for the sole purpose of funding scholarships.
Newhouse said the fund awarded $26,000 in its first year, up from the $7,000 in scholarship donations before the store opened.
“Whatever they were going to do after high school, we were going to help them do it,” she said. “I recall giving one kid enough money to get his mechanics’ tool kit.”
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