Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 2, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Gov. Locke to award Promise Scholarship certificates this week

OLYMPIA – Gov. Gary Locke this week will visit five colleges and universities across the state to award Washington Promise Scholarship certificates to eligible students.

More than 6,600 Washington students are eligible to receive the Washington Promise Scholarship this year, according to the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“Promise Scholarships tell students that they can do anything and nothing can hold them back,” Locke said. “The Promise Scholarship is our state’s way of saying we are proud of students and we believe in them. May they never lose faith in their potential.”

The governor will visit Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Highline Community College in Des Moines, Washington State University in Pullman, Yakima Valley Community College in Yakima and Whatcom Community College in Bellingham.

The Washington Promise Scholarship provides college funds to the state’s top high school seniors. Eligible students come from low- and middle-income families and either rank in the top 15 percent of their graduating classes or score 1200 or better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test on the first attempt. The two-year scholarship equals about two years of tuition at a state community or technical college.

The HECB administers the program with help from the >b>Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Washington Promise Scholarship is funded through June 2003 as part of the 1999-2001 state operating budget enacted by the governor and the Legislature.

Marc Gaspard, executive director of the HECB, said the governor’s leadership in fighting for the Washington Promise Scholarship has made a big difference for many aspiring students.

“Governor Locke put his stamp on the Promise Scholarship program and has insisted that the state continue to make it work. It’s evident that it has worked for some 6,600 students and their families,” Gaspard said.

This year, students may receive up to $1,404. Of this year’s student recipients:

• Nearly two-thirds are women.
  
• More than half plan to attend a public four-year university.
  
• More than one-third also qualify for the State Need Grant, a financial aid program for students from low-income families.

For a complete list of the times and locations for each scholarship event, please visit the governor’s homepage at www.governor.wa.gov and click on “Public Schedule.”

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Related Links:
- Higher Education Coordinating Board
- Washington Promise Scholarship
- Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Bates Technical College
- Highline Community College
- Washington State University
- Yakima Valley Community College
- Whatcom Community College

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