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Whiz Kid: University Place Students Named Scholarship Winners From Comcast

Sarah Matthews and Samantha Lethbridge are two of 91 students from around the state who received scholarships from the Comcast Foundation.

A pair of students from University Place have won a $1,000 scholarship from the Comcast Foundation.

Sarah Matthews of Life Christian Academy in Tacoma and Samantha Lethbridge of  are two of 91 students in Washington who received scholarships from the fund-raising arm of Comcast.

Here's some more information on the local winners:

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Sarah Matthews

Sarah plans to study biochemistry at Abilene Christian University in Texas. She’s the daughter of John and Jackie Matthews of University Place.

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Sarah was honored for a variety of leadership activities, including Vacation Bible School counselor and Interact Club president. She has also held office in student government and was a student page in the Washington State Senate. Sarah’s been honored with the Presidential Education Award and honored by National Student Leadership Conference for health care and medicine. She also participated in cross-country.

The Interact Club, associated with adult Rotary Clubs, has doubled the number of events that’s taken place this year. Sarah told Comcast one of her goals was compiling information so she could set up future officers for success: “One of the first things I did as President was compile information so that whoever takes over the club next year will have needed information from which to build Interact in the future.”

Said one of Sarah’s teachers, Gary Bertelsen ,“As a Rotarian of 7 years, I have seen many Interact groups and I am very impressed with Sarah's leadership of this group. In a short period of time, this current school year, I have seen Sarah organize several events ranging from AIDS awareness to events dealing with Hunger … Sarah Matthews is definitely classified as a community servant. She is looking out for the well-being of others, first and foremost.”

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 Samantha Lethbridge

 Samantha plans to study biology at the University of Portland. She’s the daughter of Joe and Sally Lethbridge of U.P.

At school, the awards she’s received include Washington Music Educators Association, President's Education Awards - Outstanding Academic Excellence, and Outstanding Student Athlete Award.  She also participated in track and field and is captain of the cross-country team. As team captain, Samantha’s given advice to other students about how they conduct themselves, and how to stay healthy. At her church, Samantha was Praise Band leader and Vacation Bible School leader.

Said a member of the University Place Presbyterian Church, “Samantha Lethbridge  has helped provide guidance for 6th-8th graders, shared her talent on the piano to enhance worship, and assisted planning many activities for the youth department at University Place Presbyterian Church. Samantha has always expressed strong leadership traits among both the smaller children as well as her peers. She is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, and finishes assignments efficiently as well as completed well. Sunday mornings, Samantha leads worship with her musical talent and encourages others to join in singing.”

Congratulations to both girls and all of the scholarship winners throughout the state.

Here is the release from Comcast:

The Comcast Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide charitable support to its local communities and to empower and enrich lives, today announced the 91 recipients in Washington State of its annual Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program in 2011. The full list can be seen at http://wacomcast.com/2011/04/12/comcast-names-91-leaders-and-achievers-scholarship-recipients-in-washington-state/

 “Comcast is proud of its Leaders & Achievers scholarship recipients.  They represent some of the best and brightest high school seniors who also demonstrate civic involvement in the communities we serve across the country,” said Charisse Lillie, Vice President, Community Investment of Comcast Corporation and Executive President of the Comcast Foundation. “We are thrilled to support their educational efforts with these scholarships.” 

“These young people have worked incredibly hard to build remarkable track records of leadership and commitment to help their communities. We’re proud to honor their effort by helping to fulfill their dreams of education,” said Len Rozek, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Washington market.

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program provides one-time $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students.  The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to be prepared for the future, to engage youth in their communities, and to demonstrate the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

About The Comcast Foundation

The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities.  The Foundation’s focus areas are volunteerism, literacy, and youth leadership development.  Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $64 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/inthecommunity.

About Comcast in Washington

Comcast has about 3,200 employees in Washington state, including 1,000 local customer service representatives in three call centers, who serve more than 1.1 million customers in Washington. For more information about Comcast in Washington state, see http://www.comcastinwashingtonstate.com

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