This content was published: May 7, 2010. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Dual-enrolled PCC student wins big scholarship
Story by Meryl Lipman. Photo by James Hill.
Dual-enrolled Portland Community College student William Coad of Beaverton has been selected as a Coca-Cola All-State Community College Scholarship recipient through Phi Theta Kappa, a national honor society for students of two-year colleges.
The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation announces the Coca-Cola All-State Community College Academic Team each year, providing up to $450,000 in stipends. Coad is one of 150 national finalists who will receive a stipend.
Rock Creek's William Coad.
“I am grateful to PCC Staff and specifically Loretta Dike, who helped me find out about this scholarship and aided in the application process,” Coad said. “I am also grateful to my teachers and references at the school – those invaluable people who support me in my day-to-day endeavors. This award represents an affirmation of my personal goals and career aspirations, objectives which, I believe, are in keeping with the mission of the Coca-Cola foundation.”
Coad, 18, is enrolled in the Beaverton School District’s Early College Program where he attends classes at the Rock Creek Campus and Sunset High School simultaneously. He is currently set to attend both graduations in June.
The eldest son of a Chinese-Canadian geo-chemist mother and American attorney father, he spent much of his youth in Switzerland before the family moved to Beaverton. Coad, whose parents emphasized achievement, began “cobbling together scholarship (opportunities) to help my family as much as possible (in paying for college tuition).”
In addition to his scholastic achievements, he has logged 245 volunteer hours at St. Vincent’s Hospital’s pathology and eye surgery wings.
“William carries himself in a very mature, professional manner,” said Student Activities Assistant Loretta Dike. “He is also very well rounded outside the classroom.”
His volunteer work supports his goal of becoming a pediatrician, a plan that formed in homage to his autistic younger brother.
“I have seen the effect (autism) can have on families and I want to try to make a difference – in primary practice, but also in research,” he said.
Coad plans to start classes at Portland State University and apply for an Oregon Health & Science University internship this summer.
“I hope to become the kind of civic leader that the Coca-Cola Scholarship Selection Committee was looking for,” he added. “This scholarship represents 12 percent of my total budget for next year, and every dollar certainly helps. Most importantly, I want everyone to know that I will work tirelessly to be worthy of this award, that this investment in my future will not be wasted, and that the assistance I receive now will be returned in service to the citizens of my neighborhood and community.”