A Worthy Recipient

I f Jack Smiley, the late Waitsburg Prescott ath- letic director, had been looking over Jeff Foertsch's shoulder at the time the social studies teacher went through the pool of applicants for the scholarship named in his honor, Jack would have approved of his final choice.

Valedictorian Claudia Soriano fit bill number one: she was a member of the Na- tional Honor Society, orga- nizer of the St. Jude Mathathon, Associated Student Body president, canned food drive volunteer, soccer team manager and member of the Knowledge Bowl team.

"There were several out- standing candidates," Jeff said. "Claudia was the win- ner because her overall re- sume of activities was bigger and more widespread than the other candidates."

In other words: she was involved.

"That's something Jack preached to our students," said Jeff, who initiated the creation of Jack Smiley Memorial Scholarship this past school year. "She is a good role model to the other students at Prescott High."

But the 18-year-old, who was accepted at Eastern Washington University and may go to Columbia Basin Community College to get her Associate's Degree first, also fit bill number two.

The financial support for her higher education will give her an opportunity to be the first in her family to get a college degree - something else Jack would have ap- proved of wholeheartedly.

On Friday, when Claudia graduated from PHS along with her fellow Tigers, she became the first winner of the fund set up as Jack's legacy in the district where he served so selflessly for so many years.

She received $1,000 - an amount four times higher than the figure Jeff antici- pated when he and his fellow teachers created the scholarship with support from Jack's wife and daughter.

Enough money poured into the drive to even leave some seed money for next year, he said. "The hope at this point would be to give $1,000 every year."

Soriano, who moved to Vista Hermosa, the agricul- tural workers' community at Broetje Orchards, when she was 11, comes from a family which includes three much younger siblings. Raised by a single mother who is employed by Broetje as a pack- er in the apple warehouse, Soriano played volleyball, soccer and basketball in ju- nior high and helped run the organization of the Tigers' champion soccer team.

In that capacity, the self- declared aspiring business student was a protégé after Jack's heart. Just like he did as AD for the many teams in the combine, Claudia worked quietly behind the scenes to make sure the play- ers could do what they did best: win soccer games.

In an interview about the scholarship this weekend, Claudia was humbled to silence about being selected as the embodiment of what Jack stood for.

"It means a lot to me," she said. "Some of us don't have the income to go to college. This is a great opportunity."

Claudia, who has two sis- ters (aged 6 and 8) and a little brother, said her college tra- jectory will now inspire her younger siblings to do well in school and be involved when they get older. "I want to prove to my family that I can succeed."

Her mother, who came to the U.S. from Michoacan in southern Mexico when she was 19, is understandably uplifted by her daughter's success in high school. "She is really proud of me," Clau- dia said.

And Claudia, among the many Tigers who loved hav- ing Jack as their quiet backer on the sideline, can picture the expression Jack would have had knowing she won the first scholarship.

"He was always smiling," she recalled.

For more information on the Jack Smiley Memo- rial Scholarship, visit www.jacksmileymemorialscholar- ship.com.