9 deserving candidates have been awarded a total of $8750 in scholarships for 2023. We look forward to meeting most of them at our April club meeting, and introduce them to the members.
Adeline Gellert DePalma was born and raised in Port Townsend. Sailing with family throughout the Salish Sea (even as a live aboard) has given her a passion for working to understand and preserve our local ecology. Through numerous leadership roles at Port Townsend High School and volunteer work in the community she has already made significant impacts on our area. She plans to attend a 4-year University and continue her excellent academic career in the fields of marine biology, oceanography, and environmental science.
Amber Hocking spent 8 months living and sailing the Inside Passage on board a 30’ sailboat with her father. This left her with a deep love for the sea, its wildlife, and the historic peoples of this region. She currently works full time at the Northwest Maritime Center and is also working towards earning a Coast Guard’s OUPV/Six Pack captain’s license through the U.S. Maritime Academy. She hopes to one day work towards more access to sailing for struggling youth and underserved communities where they might learn transferrable skills, gain confidence, and better enable them to contribute to our community.
Elizabeth Palmer has worked for several years with Uncruise Adventures, a small adventure cruise company where she has gained significant boating knowledge, experience and skills. She is currently giving her all to the Marine Systems Program at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding and plans to continue with this program that will hopefully help her towards a career as a credentialed mariner operating a passenger carrying vessel.
At the age of five, Ellie Meopham lived with her parents aboard a steel yacht they had fitted out. She left competitive sailing in the UK to be a paramedic in the US and is currently a lead instructor and program coordinator at the Northwest Maritime Center. She is heading to the Maritime Learning System to gain a US Coast Guard’s Master Captain’s License. Her plans include continuing to teach sailing and to use this connection to the sea to help individuals build on existing skill sets, elevate them through the power of sailing, and ultimately welcome them into our unique and dynamic marine community.
Kathryn Hoerauf has worked for 7 years in the maritime tall ship industry including the Schooner Adventuress. With a degree in Recreation Management with an emphasis in Environmental Education already under her belt she will use this scholarship to add a degree in Environmental Science at Western States University. This program has allowed her to study while working full time here on the peninsula. Her hope is to work with local or government agencies to gather field data needed to manage fisheries. Kathryn has applied to work on The Ocean Exploration Trust as an intern aboard the E/V Nautilus as well.
An impressive leader, scholar, and athlete at Port Townsend High School, Lorenzo McCleese will be attending a 4 year university to study Environmental or Earth Science. Lorenzo’s love for the Salish Sea and the creatures that call it home has been reinforced by volunteer work at the PT Marine Science Center, classes taken through The Northwest Watershed Institute’s Youth Environmental Stewards program, and college level courses in Marine Biology, Botany and Chemistry through Peninsula College. He hopes after college to return to this area and work with experts to support this environment and inspire others.
Pearl Farley has excelled as a student at the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building and plans to finish her course of study to receive a Boatbuilding Associate of Occupational Degree. She would like to pass on the skills and confidence this program has given her. Having found her passion, she hopes to share it and inspire other young women and others to enter these fields in which they are currently underrepresented. Pearl would love to start her own boatbuilding business and work in a “boatyard run by women”!
Sebastian (Bastian) Rogowski is hoping to complete courses in both Boatbuilding and Systems at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding and make a much needed contribution to our community as a craftsperson in the maritime trades. He is hoping to be part of bringing back traditional trades, preserving older wooden boats and tall ships and use skills learned to both make boats more environmentally responsible and to help teach boat owners about proper maintenance techniques. Having overcome challenges in his own life and found a supportive community in PT, he would like to be an example to those struggling with their own obstacles and addictions.
Stephanie Norman will be attending the STCW Basic training course at Compass Courses in Edmonds. She has dedicated the last 3 years to our local maritime industry and is currently working aboard the nonprofit Schooner Adventuress serving as Winter Mate. The last 3 months have found her also volunteering for the Sea Shepherds Conservation Society. Before she enters her program she will be a trainee on the Brigantine Eye of the Wind serving in the North and Baltic Sea with the goal of becoming professional crew. Taking inspiration from her years on the water, her dream is to participate in the green movement that is international cargo sailing.
Congratulations to All!