• Events
  • WWU Events Calendar
  • Submit a calendar item
  • Events Calendar guidelines
  • Events Calendar submission style guide
• Get involved
  • Brand Central
  • Social media at Western
  • Western Today
  • Viking Village
• Media
  • Brand Central
  • News Releases
  • Social media at Western
  • Photo Center
  • Institutional Profile
  • Faculty research database
• Emergency
  • WWU Emergency Information Website
  • Receive Western Alerts
  • Weather information
• Publications
  • Annual Report
  • Window Magazine
  • Soundings
  • Western Today (website)
  • Western Today (e-mails)
  • Gaia, WWU's research magazine
  • President's Report
  • Western Weekly
• Speakers
  • Guide to Speakers
  • List of Speakers
  • List of Topics
  • Request a Speaker
• Contact
  • View contact info
  • Submission/Request Forms
  • Ask a question
• Search
• Subscribe
  • Subscribe to Western Today
  • Subscribe to Western Weekly
  • Subscribe to Soundings

Contact: Kayle Walls, WWU admissions counselor, (360) 650-3442 or Kayle.Walls@wwu.edu.

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University’s Office of Admissions has announced the winning videos for its inaugural Why Western? Video Scholarship Contest, and with more than 35 videos received from as far away as Minnesota, the final decisions were challenging.   

The top videos were selected by the scholarship committee based on factors such as YouTube view counts, creativity, relevance to WWU and the student’s ability to demonstrate his or her unique talents.

The videos by the contest’s winners are available for viewing at http://admissions.wwu.edu/whywestern.

Chris Jespersen, a senior at Capitol High School in Olympia, was selected as the grand prize winner.  He will receive $2,000 towards his education at Western this fall, and is interested in studying Music and Communication.  

The second place award and $1,000 prize was awarded to Katie Guetz of Golden, Colo., for her artistic video documenting her family life and hobbies.  Guetz is a senior at J.K. Mullen High School in Wheat Ridge.

Zach Kutkey from Vancouver’s Evergreen High School received the third place award and $500 for his music video. He hopes to study Mathematics at Western this fall. 

The video scholarship contest allowed freshman applicants to introduce themselves to the scholarship committee and showcase their talents beyond the traditional scholarship applications, transcripts and essays. Students were encouraged to create a video that tells why they feel Western is the best place to spend their college years and what they will add to the Western community.

This scholarship initiative was just one of the several ways Western’s Office of Admissions plans to reach out to high school students through the mediums with which they are most comfortable. The scholarship contest was facilitated via YouTube, and promoted through the new WWU Admissions Fan Page on Facebook.

For more information, see http://admissions.wwu.edu/whywestern, or contact Kayle Walls (360) 650-3442 or kayle.walls@wwu.edu.

printer friendly