BECU Foundation Awards $3,000 Scholarships to 80 Students Total
The BECU Foundation has awarded Maria Namuddu and Sydney Walker, Kent residents, $3,000 BECU Foundation scholarships. Congratulations to these Kent students!
Maria Namuddu
Maria Namuddu, a Washington State University student studying nursing, volunteered at a food drive at the Salvation Army in Renton where she sorted out donated food.
“When I was in Africa we had a problem of hunger. Knowing what it means to go without food, this inspired me to volunteer in the hunger food drive at the Salvation Army in Renton. From this service I learned that hunger is an issue around the world and it is up to us to help those in need. Together as one we can overcome the hunger problem and make the world a better place to live.”
Sydney Walker
Sydney Walker, a Brigham Young University student studying communications, served in Arizona as a missionary reaching out to others by comforting them and proselytizing.
“I realized that people are more alike than they are different. Service and love can overcome any supposed difference we might think we have with others. I talked with people who had struggled with depression and suicide, lost loved ones, and lost jobs. People are resilient. People are strong. People can find joy in any circumstance. In watching people overcome these challenges and devastating moments, I too found joy. Joy came to me, as I derived my purpose from putting other people’s challenges above my own.”
They’re among 80 students to receive the award. The scholarship recipients were chosen based on their academic performance and passion for helping others through volunteering. Since 1995, the BECU Foundation has awarded more than $2.2 million in scholarships to 950 student members.
