WAEF History
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson and this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. It was announced recently that over 300 college students would receive over $1 million in scholarships this year.
Washington Apple Education Foundation Executive Director, Jennifer Witherbee says it’s something they’ve been doing now for a long time …
WITHERBEE … “So WAEF is over 30 years old now. When we started, scholarships were there but it really wasn’t our primary program. It took maybe about 10 years for the scholarship program to really, really take off.”
Since then, Witherbee says the program has developed into much more …
WITHERBEE … “And then it was a few years after that that we added on what we call our ‘Beyond the Scholarship.’ And those are the services that we provide to students to help make sure they make it through to degree completion, building up that sense of community and helping them with motivation. And then, when they graduate, they graduate career ready.”
Many times, Witherbee says they’re ready to help the industry …
WITHERBEE … “Students that are WAEF scholarship recipients are hearing from us all the time. They’re participating in career exploration events. We do professional development workshops. It’s year round that WAEF students are interacting with the foundation and our volunteers. Volunteers are key to being able to deliver the program.”
Witherbee says many WAEF alumni continue to be involved with the program either as volunteers or donors or both.
