Tacoma Student Earns American Dream Scholarship

Tacoma, WA, June 19, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Kevin Castellanos, a recent graduate of Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, earned one of four $2,500 scholarships in the 2015 “New Car and Truck Dealers American Dream” scholarship program sponsored by the Washington State Auto Dealers Association (WSADA.)

Kevin received one of two scholarships earmarked for family of a WSADA member dealership employee.  His father, Fermin Castellanos Leon, works at Tacoma Subaru.  Scholarships were also designated for one Eastern Washington and one Western Washington student. 

The judges were impressed no only with Kevin's essay, but also his outstanding academic and community accomplishments,"

Vicki Giles Fabre, WSADA Executive Vice President

During high school, Kevin took Advanced Placement courses, was involved in student leadership and graduated within the top 10% of his class.  He was also a member of the wrestling, soccer and swim teams, and worked part-time as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the local YMCA. 

“The judges were impressed not only with Kevin’s essay, but also his outstanding academic and community accomplishments,” said WSADA Executive Vice President Vicki Giles Fabré.  “He is a highly capable, self-motivated, and promising young person who will undoubtedly make a significant impact on his community in the future.”

“I’m very grateful to receive this scholarship, and moving forward in life, I hope to be able to pay this generosity forward,” Kevin said.  He will attend Pacific Lutheran University this fall and is interested in becoming a lawyer. 

Applicants were asked to write an essay detailing what the American Dream means to them and how they plan to fulfill their own dreams.  Entries were judged on a 100 point scale with a maximum 60 points for the essay portion, 30 points for 2 letters of recommendation reflecting scholarship worthiness and service to others, and 10 points for a résumé reflecting high school achievements, activities, awards, work and/or volunteer experience.  Judges included WSADA members and staff, as well as media representatives.

“Washington dealers as individuals are very active in supporting the academic goals of young people,” said WSADA Executive Vice President Vicki Giles Fabré.  “The Washington State Auto Dealers Association is honored to take that a step further as a group and help Kevin as he embarks on this exciting and important next phase in his life.”

Since the 2008 inception of the Association’s scholarship program, a total of $64,000 has been awarded to twenty-six students from across the state.  WSADA will offer another scholarship program in the fall of 2015.  Information will be available at www.wsada.org.

Founded in 1920, the Association’s 293 dealer members serve 70 cities and towns across Washington and are responsible for annual sales volume totaling over $13.2 billion.  Together, they employ over 20,000 people with a combined payroll of more than $1.08 billion.  Their dealership sales total 13.4% of the state’s retail sales, generating hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue for state and local governments through sales, corporate, and payroll tax revenue.

Contact: 

Vicki Giles Fabré 

206-433-6300