Do you know a Pierce College alumnus who deserves recognition for his or her extraordinary accomplishments? If you do, this is your chance to recognize that person.

In 2013, the Pierce College Foundation will celebrate the success of our students by presenting the Seventeenth Annual Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Sixty-nine former students have been recognized at previous events. Several deserving alumni will join this select group of Distinguished Alumni at the banquet on April 17, 2013 at Pierce College Puyallup.

We honor alumni who have extraordinary achievements in their personal, professional or scholastic lives. A permanent plaque honoring recipients hangs in the District Office.

Criteria to consider include:

■ professional achievements

■ community service

■ academic achievements

■ college service

■ personal triumphs

Qualifications:

Nominee received a degree or certificate or earned 15 credits at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom (formerly known as Fort Steilacoom Community College) or Pierce College Puyallup.

For more information, contact Ruth Ann Hatchett at (253) 864-3261 or rhatchett@pierce.ctc.edu.

Pierce College is now seeking applications from military students at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for the Jennifer Jamison Textbook Scholarship, which provides $200 for textbooks. Funds will be made available to winners for winter quarter 2013.

Application is open to any active duty military personnel, with preference going to those who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. The spouses of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are also eligible to apply. (Applicants must not already be receiving compensation for textbooks from another funding source.)

Qualified applicants must be enrolled in at least 10 credits at Pierce College and have a minimum 3.3 GPA at the time of application.

Deadline to apply is Dec. 13. Contact Ruth Ann Hatchett by phone at (253) 864-3261 or by email at rhatchett@pierce.ctc.edu for application materials and additional information.

Note: Because of Ms. Jamison’s involvement in the scholarship, she is unavailable to provide letters of recommendation for students.

Suzy Ames, executive director of the Pierce College Foundation, accepts the generous donations from Anthony and Justin Lundberg.

In a special ceremony at the Lakewood Computer Clubhouse on Aug. 1, Justin and Anthony Lundberg, 10 and 12, of Puyallup, presented the Pierce College Foundation with two checks for $100 each, a gesture of appreciation for their time in the clubhouse’s summer robotics program several years before. The program inspired the boys and led them to enter Warren Buffett’s Grow Your Own Business Challenge, a national competition that gave children the chance to win start-up money for their own businesses.

The Lundberg boys were selected as challenge finalists and pitched their business idea to Buffett in Omaha, Neb., on May 21. Their original idea was for Super Clothes, a solar powered windbreaker that uses nanotechnology to charge personal electronics devices when they are placed into the pockets. Though the boys were not selected as the overall winners of the contest, they each received $500 in prize money.

They wanted some of that to go back to the clubhouse.

“Anthony and Justin attributed some of their knowledge to the time they spent at the clubhouse, creating, discovering, and exploring new ideas,” said Kurt Sample, clubhouse coordinator. “Through their gift, Anthony and Justin will be inspiring a whole new group of kids to explore and create.”

Their donation will go toward the purchase of a robotics kit for a new clubhouse center on Anderson Island.

The Lakewood Computer Clubhouse is a free drop-in after-school and summer educational and empowerment program for youth aged 10–18.  Clubhouse members explore cutting-edge software, collaborating with other members in an informal learning environment. More than 300 low-income Lakewood children use the clubhouse every year. It is supported by the Pierce College Foundation in partnership with the Clover Park School District, the city of Lakewood, and Pierce College.

Cindy McKitrick, president of the Steilacoom Chamber of Commerce and a Pierce College alumnus, presented Pierce College Foundation Board Treasurer Linda Evanson with a $2,000 check to support student scholarships at the March 16 Breakfast with the President at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom.

The Steilacoom Chamber of Commerce has, for 12 years, offered $1,000 scholarships for four graduating Steilacoom High School students to attend Pierce College. Funds for the scholarship are raised through the Chamber’s annual Spaghetti Dinner, the Grand Old Fourth of July festivities, and other smaller fundraisers.

Once the Chamber funds the scholarship, the process of identifying deserving students begins. Steilacoom High School’s Wanda Betancourt is instrumental in this part. Chosen students are awarded certificates at the Steilacoom High School Senior Awards Night each year.

The Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Foundation has awarded the Pierce College Foundation $55,000 in support of scholarships for Pierce College students.  Of that, $45,000 will be used for the 2012-2013 school year; an additional one-time-only grant of $10,000 will be awarded now.

The Fuchs Foundation is a prominent supporter of scholarships at Pierce College, having given $730,000 over the past 17 years. The generous support from the Fuchs Foundation has helped hundreds of students, and now the need is even greater, said Suzy Ames, executive director of the Pierce College Foundation.

“Tuition keeps rising at an unprecedented rate. Many of our students are living on the margin,” explained Ames. “This grant from the Fuchs Foundation will literally keep some students from dropping out. It will keep the hope of education and job training alive for Pierce College students.”

For more information on scholarships at Pierce, visit the scholarships webpage.

The Pierce College Foundation is constantly striving to improve services and facilities for Pierce College and its students. This month, the Foundation has been working to secure grant funding for a number of vital programs, including the Lakewood Computer Clubhouse and athletics scholarships.

Some recent grant information from the Foundation:

• A $7,500 grant was recently submitted to the JPMorgan Chase Foundation in support of the Lakewood Computer Clubhouse. The Lakewood Computer Clubhouse is a free drop-in after-school and summer educational and empowerment program for youth aged 10–18 provided to the Lakewood community through a partnership between Pierce College and the Clover Park School District.

• A $5,000 grant was recently submitted to Umpqua Bank in support of support the Lakewood Computer Clubhouse.

• A $5,000 grant proposal was recently submitted to Coca-Cola Foundation in support of athletic scholarships.

If you’re a military student at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and you’re in need of extra cash for books, the Jennifer Jamison Textbook Scholarship may be your solution.

Pierce College is now seeking applications for the scholarship, which provides $200 for textbooks. Funds will be made available to winners for winter quarter 2012.

Application is open to any active duty military personnel, with preference going to those who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. The spouses of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are also eligible to apply. (Applicants must not already be receiving compensation for textbooks from another funding source.)

Further, qualified applicants must be enrolled in at least 10 credits at Pierce College and have a minimum 3.3 GPA at the time of application.

Deadline to apply is Oct. 6. Contact Ruth Ann Hatchett by phone at (253) 864-3231 or by email at rhatchett@pierce.ctc.edu for application materials and additional information.

Note: Because of Ms. Jamison’s involvement in the scholarship, she is unavailable to provide letters of recommendation for students.