Dear Mr. Larson and members of the Scottish Rite Scholarship Foundation of Washington,

I want to thank you for your organization’s generosity in providing the John D. Blankenship Scholarship. I have been awarded the scholarship for the first year of my graduate studies in speech language pathology at the University of Washington. I will be putting the award toward my tuition for the year, which will be a great help to me in achieving my master’s degree.

It is not very often that one is extended the opportunity to be recognized for their devotion and service to those in need. It is an honor to be designated as an individual who upholds the attributes of the Scottish Rite Freemasons, those being upstanding character, charitable acts and compassion. I thank you for your confidence in me. The award letter states that you would like an opportunity to explain the source of the John D. Blankenship fellowship. I would be interested to understand how this fellowship came to be. Please let me know when we could meet.

Thank you again for your generosity. I look forward to attending the Scottish Rite Annual Meeting and would enjoy observing clinical services at the Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders. My contact information is below.

Sincerely,

Seth Hayden

Dear Mr. Smith,

Thank you kindly for your continued support of our graduate speech-language pathology program. With the skyrocketing cost of tuition, your scholarship is invaluable in helping us to recruit and retain exceptional students. The student that we chose for the 2007-2008 Blankenship Fellowship is Mr. Seth Hayden. His bio is below and is also attached. Seth is an outstanding student who has worked very hard to better himself and the lives of others. His strength of character and dedication to helping children is remarkable. We believe he will represent your organization well.

Thank you again for your support.
Warm regards,
Kristie A. Spencer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Speech and Hearing Sciences
University of Washington
1417 NE 42nd Street
Seattle, WA 98105
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Seth Hayden graduated from the University of Richmond (Richmond, VA) in 2003 with a B.A. in Journalism. During his time at Richmond, he fulfilled a scholarship from the Bonner Scholar Foundation by volunteering as the Family Services Assistant at the Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity for four years. After graduation, Seth spent a year working as a special education aide in the intensive support class at a middle school in Greenwich, CT. He also worked as a youth advisor to a middle and high school Church youth group. Before Seth made his way to Seattle, he spent a summer working for City Kids Wilderness Project, an experiential education camp for inner-city youth from Washington D.C. As an Adventure Counselor, his goal was to build confidence and character through experiential education in the outdoor environment. Before he returned to school for his B.S., Seth worked as a classroom assistant and then lead teacher at a small private school for children from kindergarten through high school with special needs and behavioral issues. He received his B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Washington and hopes to work in an educational setting as a Speech-Language Pathologist.