Star Scholar Stories

Ayana is a senior in college who seeks to bring awareness to environmental injustice. Ayana had to overcome the loss of her father as a child and now helps support the care of her younger brother. In addition, she faces systemic barriers as one of only a few women of...

Elizabeth grew up on an orchard in a rural town near Wenatchee; her family worked in agriculture. Determined, she was excited to pursue a degree in journalism when her mother became ill and then sadly passed away while Elizabeth was in college. Devastated, Elizabeth...

If you looked up the definition of “resilience” in the dictionary, there’s a good chance it might say, “Rasha.”  An Iraqi immigrant, Rasha came to America as a young teenager, with little knowledge of English and little motivation for school.  Today,...

When Maria developed a mysterious pain in her back, legs, and feet, she was alarmed. As a mother of three, she had endless responsibilities. She needed to know what was wrong—and fast. After multiple doctor visits—and even a surgery—she finally got her answer: stress....

Growing up, Natasha’s grandmother was a medical assistant in Seattle’s Central District. “She was someone that everyone in the neighborhood could count on,” she says. “They came to her with everything—scrapes, cuts, ear infections—and she always knew what to...

Life as a freshman at Washington State University was a culture shock to Jen, who had lived what she describes as a somewhat sheltered life until then. The college felt huge and the culture was nothing like what she was used to at her small religious high school. It...

Three weeks after Stephanie enrolled in the RN program at Highline College, she found out she was pregnant with her third child.  She had registered for the two-year program because although she and her husband had been married for 12 years, she was feeling...

As the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, Michelle was raised in a family where higher education was never encouraged. Her own mom hadn’t gone to college, and her dad had been put into a labor camp when he was 18 years old. “Growing up at home was all about...

Kahmina was working the graveyard shift as a 911 operator for the Washington State patrol while raising her son as a single mother. Her job was stressful, as she was constantly surrounded by tragedy and death and trauma. She missed reading her son bedtime stories. Her...