The Community College President's Award is designed for transfer students who have leadership potential, are community-service oriented and have an excellent GPA.
Students are nominated by their community college’s president and receive a renewable full resident tuition award. (This award cannot be combined with other WSU Vancouver tuition discount programs and cannot be used with intercampus enrollment.)
We accept nominations every year from:
- Centralia College
- Clark College
- Lower Columbia College
Contact your community college President’s Office for nomination information.
2024/25 recipients

Alita Sundberg
Clark College
Alita Sundberg had always wanted to work with children. After taking psychology and sociology classes, her interest grew, and her career advisor helped her realize that human development would be right for her. She is particularly interested in helping children who had a rough childhood. She understands from experience how adverse childhood experiences can have an impact on adult life. Sundberg’s father died when she was young, leaving her mother and herself. Her mother worked two jobs and took care of her parents. Sundberg’s goal is to make sure children receive love and motivation, know that there is hope and feel confident there is a future ahead of them. Sundberg completed her associate’s degree at Clark College and is excited to be at WSU Vancouver.

Brandon Zandecki
Centralia College
A first-generation college student, Brandon Zandecki was a Running Start student for two years while completing his high school education and trying to decide on a career. He had always wanted to give back to people, especially underserved and vulnerable groups. Soon after graduating from high school, he realized he could make the most significant impact as a nurse in the health care system. He graduated from Centralia College’s nursing program in 2024 and is excited to continue his undergraduate work in WSU Vancouver’s RN to BSN bridge program.

Isha Snow
Lower Columbia College
Isha Snow is pursuing concurrent sociology and psychology bachelor’s degrees with a minor in at-risk youth. Snow has a broader vision of societal change that questions systems and traditions to reshape parenting, relationships and governance in ways that prioritize mutual respect, emotional safety and collaboration. As a WSU Vancouver student, they are balancing the demands of disabilities, single parenting, recovery and self-actualization, with a vision of contributing to global peace. Snow recently graduated from Lower Columbia College with highest honors and a 3.92 GPA and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa’s 2024 Washington All State Academic Team. In their spare time they serve as a member of their county’s action coalition, maintain an annual plot in their community garden and volunteer at the public library.
Prior award recipients
Recipient | College | Year |
---|---|---|
Eunji Lee | Lower Columbia College | 2023/24 |
Melissa Reyes | Centralia College | 2023/24 |
Sonia Talero | Clark College | 2023/24 |
Maddie Hennerty | Clark College | 2022/23 |
Trinity Butterfield | Centralia College | 2022/23 |
Eakthapor Shinvoranont | Lower Columbia College | 2022/23 |
Moses Korir | Clark College | 2021/22 |
Friedrich Ross | Centralia College | 2021/22 |
Kathleen Neuhalfen | Lower Columbia College | 2021/22 |
Evans Kaame | Clark College | 2020/21 |
Matt Rounsley | Centralia College | 2020/21 |
Tia Verhasselt | Lower Columbia College | 2020/21 |
Esmeralda “Vita” Blanco | Clark College | 2019/20 |
Josiah Cowin | Centralia College | 2019/20 |
Ashley Smith | Lower Columbia College | 2019/20 |
Heather Beaird | Centralia College | 2018/19 |
Clinton Howard | Lower Columbia College | 2018/19 |
Grace Moe | Clark College | 2018/19 |
Josiah J. Corwin | Centralia College | 2017/18 |
Nicholas Freese | Clark College | 2017/18 |
Andrew Jaspers | Lower Columbia College | 2017/18 |
Tanner Byman | Lower Columbia College | 2016/17 |
Elsa Gomez | Portland Community College | 2016/17 |
Bailey Peters | Centralia College | 2016/17 |
Nuvia Ramirez-Romero | Mt. Hood Community College | 2016/17 |
Holly Varner | Clark College | 2016/17 |
Cheyenne DeFrates | Lower Columbia College | 2015/16 |
Alseny Diallo | Portland Community College | 2015/16 |
Kathy Fockler | Clark College | 2015/16 |
Joscha Oswald | Centralia College | 2015/16 |
Skye Troy | Mt. Hood Community College | 2015/16 |
Yesenia Herrera | Portland Community College | 2014/15 |
Natasha Hambrook | Clark College | 2014/15 |
Beija Robbins | Mt. Hood Community College | 2014/15 |
Rashida Ullah | Centralia College | 2014/15 |
Anna Davis | Lower Columbia College | 2014/15 |
Momodou Musa Bah | Portland Community College | 2013/14 |
Ramona Vercher | Clark College | 2013/14 |
Brett Merritt | Lower Columbia College | 2013/14 |
Antonio Guerrero | Mt. Hood Community College | 2013/14 |
Travis Kinney | Centralia College | 2013/14 |
Hoa Le | Lower Columbia College | 2012/13 |
John Hoffman | Centralia College | 2012/13 |
Britany Martin | Portland Community College | 2012/13 |
Tami Eldridge | Clark College | 2012/13 |
Beatriz Madriz-Rodriguez | Mt. Hood Community College | 2012/13 |
Inva Begolli | Clark College | 2011/12 |
Nicole Buckner | Portland Community College | 2011/12 |
Margaret Debevec | Centralia College | 2011/12 |
Tia Glover | Mt. Hood Community College | 2011/12 |
Brian Jurvakainen | Lower Columbia College | 2011/12 |
Sheila Rae Henrickson | Clark College | 2010/11 |
Melissa Knudson | Lower Columbia College | 2010/11 |
George W. Lewis III | Mt. Hood Community College | 2010/11 |
Hanna Mekonen | Portland Community College | 2010/11 |
Daniel Morrison | Centralia College | 2010/11 |
Dora Hernandez | Clark College | 2009/10 |
Janine Johnston | Mt. Hood Community College | 2009/10 |
Golnaz Koloushani | Centralia College | 2009/10 |
Jeffrey Northington | Lower Columbia College | 2009/10 |
Henry Ortega | Portland Community College | 2009/10 |
Cynthia Bergman | Centralia College | 2008/09 |
Angela Dahlke | Lower Columbia College | 2008/09 |
Marneet Lewis | Portland Community College | 2008/09 |
Kenneth Nyholm | Clark College | 2008/09 |
Nicole Chittock | Lower Columbia College | 2007/08 |
Carol Lopez-Gustin | Clark College | 2007/08 |
Victor McBrooks | Portland Community College | 2007/08 |
Stanley Noga | Centralia College | 2007/08 |
Vanessa Brockman | Centralia College | 2006/07 |
Asalie Groff | Lower Columbia College | 2006/07 |
Pamela Sullivan | Clark College | 2006/07 |
Maria Cook | Centralia College | 2005/06 |
Sherry Murphy | Clark College | 2005/06 |
Steven Gresswell | Clark College | 2005/06 |
Jennifer McLean | Lower Columbia College | 2005/06 |
Veronica Ross | Portland Community College | 2005/06 |