The 2023 Scholarship Application is Open!
Apply Here.
The Sammamish X Scholarship was created to bring SHS alumni together to support graduating students.
For corporate matching funds, please choose Sammamish High School PTSA as the charitable organization and then specify in the comments that your donation is for the Sammamish X Scholarship (if nothing is specified, the money goes to the PTSA general fund).
If you have any questions you can email us at SammamishX@gmail.com. Thank you.
And here are some of the scholarship committee members touring the new gym at Sammamish High School. Pictured from left Daniel Blau, Alex Lofton and Becca Miller.
Questions? Want to get more involved? Want to give in honor of a fellow student, a teacher, or a favorite principal?
Email Dan Blau and Winston Lofton: SammamishX@gmail.com
SAMMAMISH HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI CONTINUE SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR GRADUATING STUDENTS
OUR PURPOSE – A group of Sammamish High School (SHS) alumni are coordinating their annual Sammamish X Scholarship Fund to help provide financial support for graduating Sammamish students who will be continuing their education.
“Bellevue is known as a place with a lot of BMWs and rich people,” said Dan Blau, class of 2005. “But it’s not all like that, and one of the great things about Sammamish is its diversity – in terms of ethnicity and socio-economics. SHS is great at getting students to graduate and preparing them for college, but college is too expensive for too many people. We want the scholarship to help make it a little easier for graduating Sammamish seniors, many of whom will be the first in their families to attend college.”
Alumni from the classes of 2003-2007 have led the effort, and been joined by alumni from several classes including the class of 1963, the first incoming Freshman class to graduate from Sammamish. Together they will work to sustain giving over time, encourage a tradition in which each class attending their 10-year reunion raises additional money to support Sammamish students, and explore creating an endowment to fund annual scholarships for years to come.
Since 2002, the number of students at Sammamish eligible for free and reduced lunch has doubled from 20% to 41%. Today, more than 35% of students there speak a language other than English at home. Those students speak over 40 different languages. Some face significant barriers to college access.
Alex Lofton from the class of 2003 explained other motivations for launching the effort as well: “Many of us went on to college and had great experiences. One thing we noticed was that a lot of our peers from private high schools, and many of us in private colleges, gained access to people and resources through alumni that helped advance our education and careers. Sammamish students deserve the same kind of access and opportunities, and we felt SHS alumni should be a part of that. We started this in part because we want to build that type of support.”
Sammamish X Scholarship Fund 