Volunteers in Action
2024 Varsity Letter Awards
Congratulations to our 2024 Varsity Letter in Community Service recipients. 14 students earned this award, and together they served a total of 4,433 hours of community service!
- Azalea Abejon
- Aurora Coakley
- Cailyn Rosalin
- Courtney Tapia
- Esperanza Tepale
- Holly Ann Pitcher
- Jaydn Kress
- Michelle Nguyen
- Nicole Oliver
- Noorul Huda Ali
- Perla Ruby Quiroz
- Sarah Ewig
- Vanessa Leavitt
- Yasmeen Martin
Azalea Abejon, North Thurston HS class of 2024
Azalea volunteered a total of 283.5 hours. She volunteered 141 hours with the North Thurston High School Rotary Interact Club, where she assisted with events at elementary schools, and with the North Thurston High School Honors Society, where she helped with the Billy Frank Jr. Annual Celebration.
Sarah Ewig, North Thurston HS class of 2025
When she applied for the Varsity Letter, Sarah had over 300 hours of community service. By the time you read this, she likely has even more hours. Most of her hours were served at Providence St. Peter Hospital, where she greeted and escorted visitors, delivered flowers, managed wheelchairs, and visited patients. Sarah volunteered at so many North Thurston activities that there was not enough space on the application for all of them. Some of those activities include Teen Tech Squad, an intergenerational event where high school students work with senior citizens on technology skills, the Dungeons and Dragons club at Salish Middle School, book cleaning and sorting at the South Sound Reading Foundation, and packing backpacks for the Little Red School House. Sarah plays the violin and received a second varsity letter for orchestra. One of her favorite volunteer experiences was the Chinook Music Educators Association Middle School Orchestra Festival.
Michelle Nguyen, North Thurston HS class of 2024
Michelle served a total of 252 hours, 202 of which were spent with the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement, where Michelle planned and lead lessons in Vietnamese culture. Michelle loved working with the students in her classes and the connections she made with the staff and students there. Michelle also volunteered as a concessions lead with the Rotary Interact Club at North Thurston High School.
Yasmeen Martin, North Thurston HS class of 2024
Yasmeen served a total of 253.5 hours during her time in high school. She was an officer with the North Thurston High School Rotary Interact Club, distributed food with the Thurston County Food Bank, and helped run a women’s business pop up at South Puget South Community College. Yasmeen’s favorite thing about volunteering was meeting and building relationships with people she would never have met otherwise.
Courtney Tapia, River Ridge HS class of 2024
Courtney served an impressive total of 704 hours. She spent 470 hours as a coach in training with the Thurston County Youth Football League, where she managed the sports equipment, assisted at practice and games, and helped organize end-of-season celebrations. Courtney also volunteered 219 hours with the Girl Scouts of Western Washington. Using money earned from selling Girl Scout cookies, she made and distributed over 1000 face masks to communities in need during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through her volunteer service, she learned the importance of staying consistent and sticking with something, even if it is difficult and overwhelming. The end result of helping others is worth all of the hard work.
Holly Ann Pitcher, River Ridge HS class of 2024
Holly Ann Pitcher served a total of 271 hours. Most of those hours were spent coaching girls’ cheer with the Thurston County Youth Football League cheer team. Holly also designed and printed shirts for TCYFL and the River Ridge student store. Her favorite volunteer experience was coaching cheer at TCYFL and watching the students learn and grow as people and as cheerleaders.
Perla Ruby Quiroz, River Ridge HS class of 2024
Perla Ruby Quiroz served a total of 280 hours, most of which were with Parkland High School in Ysleta, Texas. She collected cans for the unhoused community with the JROTC. Her favorite thing about volunteering was knowing that she was making a difference in someone’s life.
Cailyn Rosalin, Timberline HS class of 2024
Cailyn volunteered 395 hours during her four years in high school. She volunteered as a peer mentor for a middle school student with Big Brothers, Big Sisters. She initially started volunteering as a peer mentor to get the required community service hours, but once she got to know her mentee, her motivation changed. She loved working with her mentee and the relationship they built together. Cailyn also volunteered over 100 hours with the Thurston County Food Bank, where she collected, sorted, and delivered food packages to seniors’ houses. She also volunteered in the Timberline library and the Timberline Key Club. Cailyn plans to work in health care, and her community service has taught her the importance of giving back to her community.
Aurora Coakley, Timberline HS class of 2024
Aurora, a full-time Running Start student, athlete, and theater participant, also served over 250 hours during high school. She spent 161 hours volunteering with the Capital Lakefair, where she assisted at community events, did face painting, sold raffle tickets, and participated in parades. She also volunteered with the Timberline High School Key Club, where she helped with events like a Santa Brunch and Olympia Harbor Days. Her favorite thing about volunteering was meeting new people and learning about her community.
Vanessa Leavitt, Timberline HS class of 2024
Vanessa volunteered a total of 283.5 hours. 165 of those hours were with Planned Parenthood’s Teen Council. Vanessa presented at local middle and high schools on safe, appropriate, and comprehensive sex education. She also participated in teen lobby day at the state legislature to advocate for accessible healthcare, privacy, and civil rights. She also volunteered as a counselor at Camp Zion, where she planned lessons and led activities like scavenger hunts and swimming, and with Timberline High School to make blankets to donate to a homeless shelter. Through her volunteer service, Vanessa learned that even something that seems like a small act of service can have a huge impact on your community.
Nicole Oliver, Timberline HS class of 2024
Nicole volunteered a total of 397.5 hours. Most of those hours were with Unified Sports, a program where students with and without disabilities compete on the same sports team. She also volunteered with the Tenino Oregon Trails Days, the Timberline High School Boys Swim Team, the Timberline High School Library, and Lakes Elementary. Nicole loves community service and hopes to continue working in her community in the future.
Noorul Huda Ali, Timberline HS class of 2024
Noor served a total of 582 hours. 252 of those hours were with the Timberline High School library, where she reviewed books, and with Lakes Elementary, where she tutored students in different subjects.
Esperanza Tepale, Timberline HS class of 2024
Esperanza volunteered for a total of 272.5 hours. Most of those hours were at the Kinetic Dance Academy, where she taught classes and helped around the studio. Her favorite thing about volunteering was the friendships she made and the people she met.
Jaydn Kress, Timberline HS class of 2024
Jaydn spent 582 hours volunteering during high school. She woke up before 2:00 am to bake cookies and other sweet treats for Timberline staff and students. The most rewarding part of Jaydn’s volunteer baking was people saying that their baking reminded them of their family. Jaydn also volunteered with the Washington State Solo Ensemble.