EVERETT, Wash., May 24, 2012 - On May 16, 2012, nearly 300 people attended the YMCA of Snohomish County’s 12th annual Minority Achievers Program (MAP) Recognition & Scholarship Banquet to recognize and celebrate MAP students, volunteers, staff, and supporters and to award scholarships to students of color and immigrant students.

The MAP mission is to motivate and support students to achieve higher education and career goals. The student scholarship recipients are graduating from high school and going to college; these students reflect and are examples and role modes to our younger MAP students.

This year, 15 students received scholarships, thanks to the generosity of the EverTrust Foundation, American Distributing Company, and the Seattle Foundation. Since 2001, MAP has awarded 140 scholarships totaling more than $75,000.

Congratulations to the following MAP scholarship recipients:

Ashely Smith, Everett High School; Deontae Elder, Mariner High School; Daniel Conchas, Marysville Getchell High School; Francisco Petz Cantu, Marysville Getchell High School; Carlos Romero, Monroe High School; Sir Stephen Jackson, Edmonds Woodway High School, Manyma Jammeh, Mariner High School; Weyni Haddis, Mariner High School; Leobardo Carmona, Everett High School; Gabe Cacias-Neri, Monroe High School; Candy Vargas, Monroe High School; Leticia Aparicio, Marysville Getchell High School; Jessica Idrovo, Jackson High School; Ahmed Lowti, Jackson High School, Colleen Cruz, Marysville Getchell High School.

In addition to scholarships, the Ray Sievers Award is presented annually at the banquet recognizing volunteers who go above and beyond the call of duty to support the YMCA and the Minority Achievers Program mission. Ray Sievers is JJ Frank’s mentor and worked with JJ when he was in high school (JJ Frank is the YMCA of Snohomish County Minority Achievers Program director). Ray went above and beyond the call of duty to help JJ with homework through tutoring, acted as his mentor, and provided JJ with a job in high school. Ray continues to mentor JJ and helps him with life lessons.

The following are recipients of the 2012 Ray Sievers Award:

The following recipients model the ideals of bothRay Sieversand the YMCA:

1. The Miller Family: Steve, Dru and Beverly Miller (Steve’s Mom) - We want to extend our gratitude to Steve and Dru for their leadership in providing MAP scholarships as part of their significant and ongoing support of the YMCA of Snohomish County. In addition, Steve and Beverly, through their support, have initiated a new effort at theMarysvilleYMCAYouthDevelopmentCenter to assist students in developing healthy lifestyle habits through nutrition and physical activities. Steve, Dru, and Beverly are role models to youth and adults alike. The Miller family is a tremendous example of families making a difference for healthy living and youth development inSnohomishCounty.
2. Dr. Hoa Appel: Dr. Appel recently wrote a grant to theUniversity ofWashington to address childhood obesity. Dr. Appel worked tirelessly to gather 115 surveys from high school students indicating how much students exercise and what they eat. She is currently working on recommendations and next steps to pilot a healthy living program at theMarysvilleYMCAYouthDevelopmentCenter. We are thankful to Dr. Appel for her commitment to the health and wellness of our MAP Students.
3. Mark Thornley: Mark has volunteered with the YMCA’s MAP program based at Explorer Middle School since 2010. Mark has helped numerous students with one-on-one mentoring with their math homework. A Boeing engineer by profession, mark spends his Tuesday afternoons mentoring kids at the YMCA Casino Road Youth Development Center. Mark is a patient, fun, and warm-hearted individual who takes time with any student who needs help. Additionally, during the construction of the Casino Road Youth Development Center, it was Mark who volunteered his time to get dirty and knock down walls for the new future MAP site. which opened in late September. It is volunteers like Mark, working directly with students each and every week that change the lives of students.
4. Alexis Romero: Alexis has been volunteering for our middle school MAP program since 2011. He attended the MAP program himself from his 9th grade year until he was senior. Alexis volunteers about 20 hours a week! He is always going above and beyond at MAP, helping to set up, clean up, and do homework with kids. He has also helped with soccer and summer camps in the last year. Alexis has been a huge reason our middle school MAP program has been so successful and ran so smoothly this year! We are grateful to have a committed MAP volunteer such as Alexis.

About YMCA of Snohomish County

The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The YMCA of Snohomish County has been serving and strengthening our communities since 1901 and has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change. The Y offers programs, services, and initiatives to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support our neighbors. For more information please visit us online at ymca-snoco.org.

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