Auburn School District No. 408
915 4th Street Northeast, Auburn, WA  98002

4/20/06

NEWS RELEASE
Auburn Senior Awarded
Boeing Merit Scholarship

Aaron Kaufman, a senior at Auburn Riverside High School, has been selected as the winner of the corporate-sponsored Boeing Merit Scholarship.

Approximately 1,000 outstanding high school seniors will receive corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards financed by some 300 companies, foundations and other business organizations. More than 1.3 million juniors in nearly 21,000 U.S. high schools entered the 2006 Merit Scholarship competition.

Aaron submitted a substantial amount of information and fulfilled certain requirements to attain Finalist standing, including presenting an outstanding academic record; being endorsed and recommended by the school principal; earning SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance; and providing an essay describing activities, interests and goals. Some 15,000 Semifinalists advanced to the Finalist level and only half of the Finalist group was selected as Merit Scholarship winners. Aaron also had to meet the criteria of his scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors generally provide Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or have plans to pursue majors or careers the grantor wishes to encourage.

Most corporate-sponsored scholarships are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Others provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use the awards at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

For more information, contact Laurie Dooley, Auburn Riverside High School Career Counselor, at (253) 804-5154.