Two incoming first-year students with a track record of leadership and civic service receive the prestigious award.
TACOMA, Wash. – Aliah McCord '20, of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Erin Rasmussen '20, of Boise, Idaho, have been named Puget Sound’s 2016 Matelich Scholars in recognition of their outstanding potential to excel in both academics and leadership.
The prestigious and highly-competitive Matelich Scholarship is awarded to students who exhibit exceptional drive and integrity, the promise of notable academic and personal achievement, a commitment to service, and the capacity for a life of leadership. The award covers all tuition and fees, including room and board, for up to four years.
The scholarship is funded by a generous gift from George E. Matelich ’78. Susan E. Matelich made it to Puget Sound’s One [of a Kind] comprehensive campaign, which raised $131.6 million last summer, exceeding its goal.
Finalists for the Matelich Scholarship were selected from a pool of about 240 applicants, among the 6,400 students applying to enroll at Puget Sound for fall 2016. McCord and Rasmussen will become part of a cohort of eight Matelich Scholars named since the program began making awards in 2012.
Aliah McCord (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
McCord, an athlete and community volunteer who regularly finds herself in leadership roles, graduated from Harbor High School, where she maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. She received Outstanding Academic Achievement awards every year of high school and was named an AP Scholar.
McCord began stepping to the forefront when she was named captain and pivot on her roller derby team. Over many years of participation, she developed a passion for the sport and came to appreciate her own strengths and others' strengths. This year she was selected to be on the Team USA Junior Roller Derby.
In high school, she was captain of the water polo team and president of the Mock Trial Program. She is a member of the Junior State of America leadership program, a national student-run initiative that organizes conventions, debates, conferences, and political-awareness events, intending to create informed citizens. She also participated in a constitutional law program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
McCord volunteers as mayor of the Santa Cruz Youth City Council, where students from diverse backgrounds discuss issues that affect youth safety. This work led to a collaboration with the Youth Violence Prevention Task Force of Santa Cruz County (YVPTF). McCord and her team conducted surveys with more than 800 students, and YVPTF used the data to develop a five-year plan for juvenile justice reform in the county. The collaborating team also partnered with the W. Haywood Burns Institute to conduct workshops on the school-to-prison pipeline.
McCord aims to take pre-law courses and to study politics and government and Spanish at Puget Sound. She will be a member of the Honors Program.
Erin Rasmussen (Boise, Idaho)
It was a passion that started with a bin of worms. Rasmussen worked as a farm intern at the public advocacy group, Create Common Good when she learned about the critical need to protect bees and other beneficial pollinators. Having started at the farm by collecting a bin full of worms for earth aeriation, she moved on to creating a bee habitat and whole insect gardens. Now a leader at the farm, she is often in charge of 20 adults.
In her Matelich Scholarship essay, Rasmussen wrote that she “slowly learned that it isn't fancy suits that make someone a leader; it’s experience and passion. And on the farm, that meant me.” She did the research, and now she leads entire groups in planting, mulching, and weeding. The insect garden, meantime, has attracted leaf-cutter bees and monarch butterflies—insects not seen previously on the farm.
Rasmussen studied at Boise High School, where she served as secretary of the student government. She qualified for state competitions in debate and helped teach younger debaters on her team. She also swam with the school swim team—the defending state champion.
Other roles she took on at school included helping raise awareness of mental health issues, tutoring refugee children, and creating an inclusive classroom environment.
At Puget Sound, Rasmussen expects to study international political economy or politics and government and at least one foreign language. She will be a member of the Honors Program.
About the Matelich Scholar Program
The Matelich Scholar Program was established in 2010 through the generosity of George E. Matelich ’78 and Susan E. Matelich, who wish to provide future generations of students with the opportunity to pursue a life-changing Puget Sound education. Both were the first members of their families to graduate from a four-year college. George Matelich is a managing director of Kelso & Company, chair of the American Prairie Reserve, a past member of Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council, and a trustee emeritus at the University of Puget Sound. Susan Matelich serves as a member of the American Prairie Reserve Board of Directors and as treasurer and emergency medical technician for the Town of Mamaroneck/Larchmont Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Two Matelich Scholars are selected each year from the incoming first-year class.
For information about eligibility for the Matelich Scholar program, contact the Office of Admission at 800.396.7191 or visit pugetsound.edu/scholarships.
Photos on page: From top right: Autumn colors on the Puget Sound campus (photo by Ross Mulhausen); Aliah McCord; Erin Rasmussen.
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