Lighting the Way

NLI awards educational and lineworker scholarships

NLI awarded eight $1,500 scholarships and one $3,000 lineworker scholarship. Although this year’s annual meeting scholarship presentation was postponed, these scholarship winners received their certificates by mail and all plan to attend college in the fall. Congratulations to the following students.

Jake Suhr

Jake Suhr is a Sandpoint High School graduate and will attend Montana State University in the fall.
“I want to receive a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Montana State University in Bozeman, as well as participate in their ROTC program and serve in the military,” Jake says. “ROTC is a program for college students to be able to automatically become an officer when they graduate from college. I think that by having this pair of both being in the Army, as well as being a mechanical engineer, can really help me achieve my full potential in life.”

Megan Parnell

Megan Parnell is a Sandpoint High School graduate and plans to attend the University of Idaho.

“My future goals include attending the University of Idaho to attain a B.S. in agricultural business and apply my degree to a career in the agricultural field,” Megan says. “My passions for agriculture include business management, accounting, and animal science. I also plan to have a family after I complete college. Family is very important in my life.

Victoria Rae

Victoria Rae graduated from Bonners High School and will attend the University of Idaho this fall.

“My educational goals beyond high school will include seven additional years of schooling to pursue a career in occupational therapy,” says Victoria. “My first step toward achieving my goals will be attending the University of Idaho and earning my bachelor’s degree in medical sciences while also earning all of the necessary prerequisite credits for Idaho State University’s master in occupational therapy program. Finally, after completing my master’s, I will be fully prepared to enter the workforce as a fully certified occupational therapist.”

Gracie Reichart

Gracie Reichart also has graduated from Sandpoint High School and will attend North Idaho College.

“My educational goals are to complete my two-year nursing degree,” Gracie says. “I plan to go to North Idaho College in the fall to complete my nursing degree. After my two-year degree, I am hoping to continue on to get my four-year nursing degree. My occupational goal, once I graduate from college and receive my two- or four-year degree, is to become a pediatric nurse. I eventually want to move back to Sandpoint and work at Sandpoint Pediatrics.

Shaleyna Higgins

Shaleyna Higgins attends University of Idaho and is working toward a double major with bachelor’s degrees in exercise science and advertising, and a minor in dance.

“My first goal is to finish my bachelor’s degrees and keep my GPA at 3.88 so I can be accepted when applying for a master’s program,” Shaleyna says. “I want to get my masters in exercise science and health with an emphasis in teaching and eventually become a professor at the University of Idaho. I would be thrilled to teach exercise science, health, or dance classes at the university level. I am very passionate about education and training people in these fields. My dream is to eventually save enough money to open my own health and wellness center, gym, and/or dance studio. I strive to have a career that I enjoy and one that fulfills my need to help others live healthy lifestyles.”

Moxley Roesler-Begalke

Moxley Roesler-Begalke is a Troy High School graduate and plans to attend the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.

“My future goals are to graduate from the University of Puget Sound with a bachelor’s degree in history and a focus in prelaw,” Moxley says. “I have not decided on whether I will work for a couple years or jump straight into law school. In either situation, I plan to attend University of Montana’s law school to obtain my degree. After graduating from law school, I would like to work as a prosecuting attorney.

Madelynn Rusho

Madelynn Rusho graduated from Priest River High School and will attend North Idaho College in the fall.

“My parents raised me on a small farm with a herd of sheep, barn cats, chickens, pigs, goats, and our loyal dogs,” Madelynn says. “Being around all of these animals made me a more compassionate person, as I had to feed them every day, take care of their injuries, and help with the birthing of baby sheep. I began to notice the grouse populations drop over the years more and more, along with the fish populations. All of these things drove me to choose fisheries biology to be the degree that I want to pursue. Fisheries biology will be my major and I am going to minor in wildlife biology so I can get a job with the Idaho Fish and Game when I graduate with my bachelor of science degree. I would like to help make a difference in at least our community when it comes to the conservation and preservation of our wild animals so they will be around for our future generations’ enjoyment.

Sage Saccomanno

Sage Saccomanno is a Sandpoint High School graduate and plans to attend Bard College in Hudson, New York.

“My youth exchange year truly changed my perspectives of the world and allowed me to discover my true passions: traveling, justice, the environment, and making meaningful change,” Sage says. “My time in Italy made me realize the importance of protecting our environment. Growing up with the climate shift controversy and seeing different protests and activism throughout not only my own country, but also the world as a whole, allowed me to realize that young leaders are needed in the world today in environmental and worldly causes, and I aim to become one of those young leaders. My goals include pursuing environmental law, then eventually running for a political position to be able to directly make the positive changes that I believe are needed, and community supported for success and growth throughout our country. I am excited to continue on my journey.

Tyler Almeida

Tyler Almeida is a graduate of Sandpoint High School and will attend Montana Tech Highlands to become an electrical lineman.

“I want to become an electrical lineman and work on power lines,” Tyler says. “I’ve always been passionate about working with my hands and I really enjoy challenging work. I hope that by working in this field I can help those recovering from natural disasters and help rebuild their communities, as well as gain a purpose and drive in a rewarding profession.