Volunteers of America Oregon is honored to announce the 2023 Al Forthan Scholarship winners! We are pleased to recognize and financially support so many remarkable young adults in achieving their dreams of attending college. With the support from our community, we were able to provide $86,000 to 47 Oregon High School Seniors this year.
2023 Al Forthan Scholarship Recipients
Kalia Hope —Oregon City High School—$10,000
Shayla Jayne — Redmond Proficiency Academy—$8,000
Izzy Valencia — North Salem High School—$8,000
Tanner Kesecker — Enterprise High School—$4,000
Mia Murphy — South Medford High School—$4,000
Elainie Myers — St. Helens High School—$4,000
Avery Nelson — Sweet Home High School—$4,000
Kiara Salas Moreno — Tigard High School—$4,000
Elsa Santana Figueroa — Tigard High School—$4,000
Alyssa Stout — Redmond Proficiency Academy—$4,000
Julieta Torres Vazquez — John F. Kennedy High School—$4,000
Another $28,000 was awarded to 36 students.
“Being a small part of Al’s journey into recovery has been one of my proudest moments in my 30 plus years of working at the MRC,” shares Greg Stone, Program Director at the Men’s Residential Center (MRC). “When I had the honor to speak at Al’s funeral in 2006 (Al passed away with 14 years clean time), I shared that Al was the ‘Michael Jordan of recovery’. That same night, with a deep respect and love for Al, I created the Al Forthan Scholarship. One month later and with my $500 donation to a Jefferson High School senior, Al’s alma mater, the Scholarship was born.”
Since the scholarship began in 2006, we have been able to award $876,000 to 543 students in Oregon who have been impacted by addiction and poverty. Please join us to support the 2023 scholarship winners at the 12th Annual Awards Ceremony on May 3rd from 5:00 – 7:30pm. We will be hosting an in-person ceremony with speeches from scholarship winners and former winners, as well as our keynote speaker, Steve Duin, columnist for The Oregonian.