Totally unprecedented, two local high school graduates each received the Post's $1,000 scholarship for 2020. Historically, the Post awards only one $1,000 scholarship yearly. However, this year's finalists were so close in scoring that it was decided to award each a scholarship. Alexadria Marie Ashbaugh graduated from Pagosa Springs High School and plans to attend the University of Northern Colorado. She plans to study Biochemistry. Anika Rae Thomas graduated from the Thomas Learning Center Homeschool in Pagosa Springs. She intends to enter Colorado Christian University and major in Music Education and in Kinesiology/Exercise Science. Ashbaugh's parents and her grandfather are veterans; her mother is a retired USAF lieutenant colonel. Both Thomas' grandfathers are veterans.
In the attached photos, Ashbaugh (top) is pictured with Post Commander Raymond Taylor. Thomas (bottom) is pictured with Taylor and scholarship chairman Jim Huffman.
Recipients: 1990 Corbett Ray Rowell @ U of Cal-Santa Cruze, 1991 Rock Wilson @ U of NM, 1992 Heidi Moor @ Ft Lewis (FLC), 1993 Angelene Vega ($500 half semester) @ FLC, 1995 Steven Gates (canceled), 1996 Melanie Lucero @ FLC, 2003 Jared Lincoln @ CU, 2005 John R. Archuleta @ San Juan Basin Tech, 2006 Paul Curtis Muirhead @ WSC, 2007 Emily Martinez ($500 half semester) @ FLC , 2008 Shantilly Mills ($500 half semester) @ San Juan College NM, 2009 Elizabeth Schur @ FLC, 2010 Case Lynn Crow @ Oral Roberts Univ OK, 2011 Andrea Fautheree @ CU, 2012 Kelsy Sellers @ CSU, 2014 Creede Wylie @ CSU-Pueblo, 2015 Marissa Talamante @ FLC, 2016 Jordyn Martinez @ Pueblo CC, 2017 Maison Hessman @Kansas State, 2018 Owakeena "Keena" Murphy @ University of Nevada-Reno, 2019 Cade Cowen @ Cornell College. 2021 not given. 2022 Christian Kay @ East Oregon Univ; Eathan Hart @ Adams State; Wilhelm Aucoin @ FLC; 2023 Kyle Marotta @ Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
