Seward Community Library Association, aka Friends of the Seward Library, are proud to announce that two Seward students have been awarded the Swetmann Educational Scholarship Award, each for $1500.

The recipients are Creeanna Whitcome and Heleanna Backus, both graduating seniors of Seward High School.
Creeana Whitcome wrote about how the library fulfilled her early quest for knowledge and Storytime visits inspired her to want to read, read, read.  Her grandmother took her and her sister to the library whenever they could find the time and the summer reading program was a time of fun competition with her younger sister.

Heleana Backus, chose to do hands on crafting of ceramic mugs with imprinted quotations from Rockwell Kent’s book, Wilderness.  Each ceramic mug, shaped by her own hand, were as unique as Kent’s descriptions of life in the Seward wilderness.  The words were imprinted in the clay with dry pasta noodles in the shape of the alphabet. Heleana wrote, “He was a zany individual whose creativity and eccentricity was legendary, but he was also an avid appreciator of silence, solitude, and the unknown.”

The board of directors for SCLA, aka Friends of the Seward Library, want to wish these two outstanding applicants a wonderful start to their ongoing educational goals.  The funds awarded will be sent directly to their schools’ finance departments.  They are also able to request renewal of these funds, one more time, for the following year of education.  Making these scholarships worth $3000 each, if the second year is requested.

Since 1978, the Friends of the Seward Community Library has offered college scholarships to
Seward area youth pursuing academic education or vocational training after high school. The
scholarship is named for Viola Swetmann, a founder of the Seward Library.
 
Seward Community Library Association (SCLA) is a 501c3 non-profit organization that exists to enhance literacy in our community by supporting the Seward Community Library services, programs and resources, preserving SCLA historical resources and providing educational opportunities through scholarships and other programs.

The Seward Community Library Association, a.k.a. Friends of the Seward Community Library, is excited to award Swetmann Scholarships to local students each year.

Since 1978, the Friends of the Seward Community Library has offered college scholarships to Seward area youth pursuing academic education or vocational training after high school. The scholarship is named for Viola Swetmann, founder of the Seward Community Library.  All Seward area youth between the ages of 16 – 21 are eligible, as long as they hold a current library card from Seward Community Library. Applicants are invited to wander through the Seward Community Library Museum to identify a passion or subject of interest that they would like to render into an original project created solely for this scholarship application.  The project is intended to elicit each applicant’s connection to Seward’s unique history and resources through creative personal expression. Projects are scored based on the number of references cited, the depth of exploration, originality, clarity, and technical accuracy. A list of past scholarship winners is available for viewing. The amount awarded as scholarships each year depends on the fundraising success of the Friends of the Seward Community Library with help from an endowment fund with Alaska Community Foundation.

In 2016 the Friends were to be able to award two scholarships. Winners of $1500 scholarships are Susannah Doepken who did an original painting entitled “Rockwell Kent Meets Disney” and Moriah Doepken who created a photo book, “Faces of Seward”.  These projects are on display at the Seward Community Library Museum upstairs near the young adult room. Current library hours can be found at www.cityofseward.us/libmus.

The mission of the Seward Community Library Association, a.k.a. The Friends of the Seward Library, is to support and enhance literacy in our community, provide educational opportunities through scholarships and other programs, support library functions, and encourage community- wide involvement in cultural activities for all ages. For additional information please visit www.friendsofsclm.org.

The Seward Community Library Association, a.k.a. Friends of the Seward Community Library, are excited to announce this year’s winners of the annual Swetmann Scholarship.

Since 1978, the Friends of the Seward Community Library has offered college scholarships to Seward area youth pursuing academic education or vocational training after high school. The scholarship is named for Viola Swetmann, founder of the Seward Library. All Seward area youth between the ages of 16-21 are eligible, as long as they hold a current library card. Applicants are invited to “wander the Seward Community Library Museum to identify a passion or subject of interest that they would like to render into an original project that is created solely for this scholarship application.” The project is intended to elicit each applicant’s connection to Seward’s unique history and resources through creative, personal expression. Projects are scored based on the number of resources cited, the depth of exploration, originality, clarity, and technical accuracy. This year’s applications were strong and demonstrated a wide variety of interests.

Winner of the $1,500 scholarship was graduating Seward senior Robin McKnight. Robin found inspiration in the exhibits of the Seward Museum where she found “historical figures that had spirit and strength.” To celebrate Seward’s female founders, such as Alaska Nellie and Sylvia Sexton, Robin created a hand-made book entitled Northern Hands: Women of the Resurrection Bay Area. Northern Hands combines the biographies of several Seward women with eight original poems celebrating the complex lives of these strong and spirited figures. Robin utilized original materials available through the Museum to research these biographies.

Maria Jackson, also a graduating Seward senior, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for her original quilt exploring the Klondike gold rush history of Alaska. Maria was inspired to represent “the first major migration to Alaska” after exploring exhibits at the Seward Museum that highlighted the gold rush history of our state. Maria undertook her first quilting project to create a four-part quilt with cut-outs to represent Alaska, the mountains experienced by miners, mining tools, and a miner panning for gold.

These projects will be on exhibit at the Seward Community Library through the remainder of the summer. Please find them displayed upstairs near the young adult room! Current library hours can be found at www.cityofseward.us/libmus.

The mission of the Seward Community Library Association, a.k.a. The Friends of the Seward Library, is to support and enhance literacy in our community, provide educational opportunities through scholarships and other programs, support library functions, and encourage community-wide involvement in cultural activities for all ages. For additional information, please visit our programs page here on our website.

Photo courtesy of Robyn McKnight
2015 Seward High School graduate, Robin McKnight, won the Seward Community
Library Association’s scholarship with a hand-made book combining historical
stories with original poetry.

Photo by SCLA
Maria Jackson poses with her quilt about the Klondike gold rush,
inspired by a visit to the Seward Community Library & Museum.