The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Peg Bermel, Friends of the Sisters Library Scholarship started in 2007 and Audrey Tehan, of the well-known Sisters Seed-to-Table Garden, was the first recipient.

The award amount is $1,000 for their first year of college and $1,000 for their second year. Nancy Montecinos is this year’s winner.

The criteria for the scholarship was that the student must have demonstrated motivation, commitment and involvement in the community through school, volunteer work or in the work force.

The students applying for the scholarship must have taken rigorous high school classes, maintained a good attendance, and they must have challenged themselves in their studies to have maintained a 2.5 GPA or better.

In addition, they must also demonstrate the will to do their job(s) within the community, or work with the best effort possible, and to submit an essay stating the goals they have if they should come out a winner in the scholarship contest.

The scholarship essay review committee consists of a chair and five members. Two are members of the FOSL board, and the other three members are from the Sisters community.

Montecinos found Sisters Library to be a vital component in her life at a very early age. She discovered the Spanish-language selection of books to be the perfect solution for her to learn English when she moved to Sisters from Mexico.

By reading both Spanish and English novels a paragraph at a time, then sounding out the words in English, she became bi-lingual in time to excel in school.

Montecinos still volunteers at the library today, and is preparing to enter nursing school in the fall.

Read Nancy’s winning essay on page 24.