Edmonds CC student recognized as top Washington state scholar
01/24/19
Edmonds Community College student Lazarus Hart will be recognized for their scholastic achievement and community service at a ceremony on Thursday, March 21 at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia.
Representing Edmonds CC, Hart is among the state’s top scholars who represent Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges as members of the All-Washington Academic Team. Each two-year college in the state may nominate up to four students for the honor.
“It has been nice to see my hard work and community involvement be recognized in such a major way by Phi Theta Kappa and the All-Washington Academic Team,” Hart said. “This scholarship will certainly aid me as I represent Edmonds Community College moving forward with my postgraduate education.
“I would like to thank Dr. Thomas Murphy in particular, without whose mentorship and guidance I would never have found my path." Murphy is head of the college’s anthropology department.
Members of the team will be honored by Gov. Jay Inslee and receive a medallion from their respective college president at the March 21 ceremony. Edmonds CC President Dr. Amit B. Singh will present Hart with their medallion.
Hart is the vice president of Edmonds CC’s Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society and a Service-Learning programmer in the college’s Center for Student Engagement and Leadership. They are pursuing an Associate in Arts transfer degree with a focus on anthropology.
Hart has been actively engaged as a student and volunteer in an Edmonds CC undergraduate research program that seeks to return salmon to streams at Japanese Gulch in Mukilteo. Through the program, they discovered a passion for anthropology and landed a job in the field. Hart is now employed as the program’s Salmon Monitoring Technician.
They have spent more than 100 hours monitoring salmon and cataloging artifacts found at the gulch during archaeological digs and stream restoration projects.
“Being part of this project has given me a huge advantage,” Hart said. “I already have an anthropological resume, a job in the field, and a solid foundation for transferring to University of Washington and moving forward in my chosen career.”
About the All-Washington Academic Team
The All-Washington Academic Team program recognizes and honors the state's finest higher education students. The students who make up the All-Washington Team reflect the diversity of the state, maintain high standards of excellence, and contribute positively to the community. Their stories are often inspiring, sometimes surprising, and always reflective of the larger story of the state's community and technical college students.
The program has become the showcase for Washington's community and technical colleges because it honors the academic high achievers, those who have demonstrated a commitment to success in the classroom and in the communities in which they live. This recognition demonstrates the state's commitment to scholarship and community service on the part of those attending the state's public community and technical colleges.