Valley students earn fair scholarships

MAT-SU — Footing the bill for college will be a little easier for three Mat-Su students. Colony High School seniors Makenzie Thompson and Olivia Martin, and Tyler VanAusdal from Palmer High, are the recipients of scholarships awarded by the Alaska State Fair.

The three are among seven students statewide who won scholarships from the fair this year. Thompson was awarded the second-place scholarship of $1,500. Martin and VanAusdal were each the recipient of a $500 honorable mention scholarship.

Colony guidance counselor Peter Frank said the state fair scholarship is one of several earned by Thompson, who will graduate with a 3.9 grade point average and attend the University of Montana in the fall to major in creative writing.

“Makenzie is an extremely driven and determined person,” Frank said. “Nothing is going to stop her.”

Martin, who compiled a 3.38 GPA during her Colony tenure, will attend Boise State University and major in construction engineering. VanAusdal, a 3.97 student at PHS, will attend Brigham Young University after completing his two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A total of 32 junior and senior high school students from across Alaska applied for a scholarship from the fair, according to Kelly Larson, community relations and social media coordinator for the fair. Among other materials, applicants were required to submit an essay or creative project addressing questions including “how should the fair grow to serve all of Alaska,” “how can the fair showcase Alaska agriculture” and “how would you use a booth at the fair to educate or entertain, raise awareness of issues, or sell goods or services.”

“The state fair is thrilled to award these scholarships to these very deserving students,” Larson said. “Young people have been an integral part of the fair for as long as it has existed. So it is natural for us to give back to the community this way.”

Carol Kenley, who serves on the Fair’s board of directors and chairs the scholarship committee, said the committee was impressed with the applicants’ ideas, which included hosting the Alaska State Fair “North,” a two-week run of the fair in the Fairbanks area; an “Ag Across Alaska” exhibit offering virtual field trips to Alaska’s farms, ranches and gardens; and an “Iron Chef Alaska” competition pitting a well-known Alaska chef against a guest celebrity chef in a cook-off featuring Alaska Grown ingredients.

These youth have fresh perspectives on old problems,” Kenley said. “Besides the input we receive, we are proud to be able to assist youth in their higher education aims. We feel this outreach helps identify us a statewide fair.”

The 2013 scholarships were funded in part by the inaugural Cabbage Classic Lottery, organized by the Palmer Rotary Club during the 2012 fair. Lottery participants guessed the weight of the winning cabbage in the Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off, and the winner split the proceeds with the fair and Palmer Rotary.