Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Chief Allan speaks to a crowd of more than 700 people Tuesday morning during the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber’s Scholarship Breakfast Connect. Also pictured: Coeur d’Alene Chamber President/CEO Linda Coppess.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Idaho State Board of Education board member Shawn Keough, center left, and Idaho Gov. Brad Little stand among scholarship recipients Tuesday morning at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.
Coeur d’Alene High School senior and ASB President Payton Conn receives a $500 Strength of Character scholarship Tuesday morning at The Coeur d’Alene Resort during a historic Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber scholarship breakfast.
Kootenai Bridge Academy senior Adia Hite prepares to walk to the stage to receive a Strength of Character scholarship Tuesday morning.
Rose Creek Singers Jade Mokry, left, and Kamille Sims perform at the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber Scholarship Breakfast Connect on Tuesday morning.
COEUR d’ALENE — From the elders to the young ones, the value of education has been woven into the stories of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe for time immemorial.
“Those have always been there,” Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council Member and Director of Natural Resources Cajetan Matheson said.
Wisdom came from observing the land and the animals, he said. That knowledge was important for inner-tribal relations, marriages, relationships and even warfare.
“There are so many stories about how we avoided warfare by being able to use our minds and education and understanding of so many different things,” Matheson said.
Honoring this cultural legacy, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe made three special announcements Tuesday morning at the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber’s annual Scholarship Breakfast Connect at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. It was one for the record books as at least $500,000 in scholarships was awarded to more than 200 high school seniors from 15 area schools.
Each student earned a $1,000 scholarship thanks to a challenge issued by the Tribe and nearly 80 local businesses that rose to that challenge. As the morning concluded, Matheson was joined onstage by fellow members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council to announce that every student who planned to attend an Idaho college would receive an additional $1,000 scholarship.
They also addressed students who will go to out-of-state institutions.
“We don’t want you guys to be left out,” Matheson said. “If you’re attending a college outside of the state of Idaho, we still want to give you guys an additional $500 upon what you received today.”
One more announcement came from Tribal Council Member Margaret Sijohn: The select few students who will stay in Idaho as they pursue careers in education will be awarded yet another $2,000.
As they go off to college next fall, Tribal Chairman Chief Allan asked the awardees to think about what will make their elders proud.
“Whatever you do in that walk of life,” he said, “always try to live up to that expectation.”
In attendance at the packed event of more than 700 were students, teachers, administrators and business leaders as well as local and state dignitaries, including Coeur d’Alene Mayor Woody McEvers and Idaho Gov. Brad Little.
Not quite a decade ago, just three students received $1,000 scholarships through this program. By 2021, the recipient number increased to five, then all the way to 51 students in 2022 with the Tribe awarding an additional $1,000 each for their first year in school for a total of $102,000 awarded.
The number grew in 2023 with 70 students who received $1,000 scholarships plus additional $1,000 awards from the Tribe. Seven students were awarded $1,000 Strength of Character scholarships that year. The Tribe announced another $1,000 for each student who stayed in school a second year for another $70,000 for 2024, which saw 115 students earn $1,000 scholarships and 10 be awarded Strength of Character scholarships for a total of $120,000.
Allison Isenberger, a Lakeland High School senior, will go to the University of Idaho this fall.
“I want to help people,” she said. “I’m hoping to go into something like social work, giving back to my community.”
She said she was honored to be among the recipients.
“It was quite a shock to get the scholarship,” she said. “I was just amazed to see this many people and all the businesses that came out and sponsored so many students. It was pretty amazing to see.”
Has she made her elders proud? Yes — her mom, Holly Isenberger, was by her side at the celebration.
“I think it’s a great honor to have my daughter be a part of such a great community and to be recognized for her accomplishments,” Isenberger said.
Ten students received $1,000 Strength of Character scholarships, which were awarded in recognition of academic achievement, leadership skills, community involvement, strength of character and future aspirations.
Coeur d’Alene High School ASB President Payton Conn was one of those selected for the honor. He plans to study political science and pre-law at the University of Idaho and someday open his own firm when he returns to North Idaho.
“Gov. Little said he wants people to come back to Idaho; that’s his whole goal is to keep people here and I would say it’s working,” Payton said. “This area’s amazing, all the people here are amazing. It’s just a great area.”
He said he appreciated the recognition he and his peers received that morning.
“There’s always a lot of hard work that goes into these sorts of things, but it’s really good to just see the community come together again and just seeing the increase of scholarships over time.”
Christian Center School peers Michael Marshall and Zeke Sperling are both dual enrolled and bound for Whitworth University. Michael is going into pre-med, then plans to join the Air Force to continue using his medical degree. Zeke said he wants to get a master’s in nursing and work in a hospital.
Michael said he felt very blessed to receive a scholarship.
“It’s another piece of the puzzle that can help make my dreams develop and be more possible,” he said.
Zeke said it was nice to see everyone at the event knowing they were all in the same boat, guided by divine hands.
“It’s kind of cool to be reassured that God wants me to go down this path,” he said. “It feels like He’s just helping me get there.”
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