Congratulations to all the Mercer Island High School seniors who received scholarships and recognition of their energy and hard work during their time at Mercer Island High School. These students represent the very best of our Island. We don’t send them off officially until June 9, when Commencement will be held at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. But in these parts, the accolades and award ceremonies come early and often. One item of note in the program for the Senior Awards (shown in its entirety on our Web site) is the names of three Islanders who completed Associate of Arts degrees at Bellevue College through the Running Start program. They are Thomas Niemisto, Genevieve Pan and Safarian Christopher. Good for them!
And good for us! It is remarkable that year after year, the community joins together to honor these students and fund these scholarships. And we always know it is awards time when we see Dean Quigley, of the VFW and the Masons — both organizations long supporters of Island youth — handing out yet another award, looking perhaps a bit gruff to the uninitiated, but very pleased.
What is sometimes left out of these recognitions, although not intentionally, are the accomplishments that do not come in the form of scholarships or certificates. It is sometimes a less visible feat that can make all the difference to a young person — perhaps a feat that did not come easily, one that was the result of hard work and perseverance. We must ensure we celebrate those as well.
Over the last several weeks, the Reporter has included ads that invite Islanders to fill out a survey to help the Reporter and our Sound Publishing partner papers learn more about our readers. A good deal of the information gathered is plainly for marketing purposes; to attract advertisers. The more advertisers we have, the larger our paper is. It is as simple as that. We think it is better for you and for us to have more resources and space to print Island news. As far as what readers want to see in the pages of this paper, there is a place to comment in the survey. However, many readers already give input directly to us. We invite you to send in story ideas, comment or ask questions. We will try our best to get back to you promptly. To access our online survey, go to www.mi-reporter.com. To send in comments, e-mail editor@mi-reporter.com or rmar@mi-reporter.com. And thank you for reading.
