2010 BP Statewide Scholarship

Bethel student picked for big scholarship Published in the Tundra Drums
By Alaska Newspapers Staff
May 14th, 2010

Twenty five Alaska high school seniors will each receive a $4,000 scholarship from the BP Principals’ and Commissioner’s Scholarship program. One graduating senior, Kelsey Wallace, of Bethel Regional High School, was selected by the Alaska Commissioner of Education to receive a scholarship totaling $20,000.
Since the program started in 1985, BP has granted more than 650 scholarships totaling $2.7 million to graduating high school seniors. The scholarships are based on academic achievement, leadership potential, community and school involvement, and financial need.

“Education is the foundation of our communities,” said John Mingé, President, BP Exploration Alaska. “It is important to recognize students who strive for excellence and will work to build Alaska’s future.”
Wallace, 17, plans to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks and study public communications.
“She is very involved in a lot of different school-based activities, like sports and academics, and she’s good at prioritizing her time,” said her mother, Sheila Wallace, a 7th and 8th grade teacher in Bethel.

An Honor Society student, Kelsey spoke at the AFN convention for youth last year, and heads to Washington, D.C., for Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s internship program.

She’s a graduate of Bethel’s elementary school Yup’ik language immersion, Ayaprun Elitnaurvik, and has some fluency and literacy in Yup’ik in addition to English.