Los Alamos High seniors earn local scholarships at ceremony

Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation and community supporters awarded $93,000 in current and renewal scholarships this year, backing community service, career technical study and future teaching for Los Alamos High School graduates. Sixty seniors were recognized during senior week at the school, giving the Class of 2026 one more public moment before graduation.

The local awards reflected how broad the town’s scholarship network has become. At the high school ceremony, Anabel Irving, Alyssa Sun, Adia Fortin and Noelle Judd received the Sophia Feldman Memorial Scholarship, a memorial award honoring a Los Alamos High School student who died in September 2019. Cara Gauss, Laila Muller, Steven Romero, Hayden Watkins, Olivia Shipman and Adalyn Trujillo were awarded the Knights of Columbus Scholarship, adding another layer of local support from a faith-based organization with deep roots in the community.

A related LAPS Foundation recognition at Duane Smith Auditorium on Monday, May 18, put the total current and renewal scholarships at $93,000 and underscored how the foundation is steering money toward specific career paths. The foundation said it offers community-service scholarships every year, created a career-technical scholarship in 2022 and added a future-teacher scholarship and a former student board member scholarship in 2024. Students who receive LAPS Foundation scholarships also choose an Educator of Distinction, a built-in nod to the teachers who helped shape their path.

That mix matters in a town where graduation often leads directly into college, technical training or public service. The June and Harry Ettinger Memorial Scholarship honors longtime Los Alamos residents and is meant for students who love books and reading, while the Sophia Feldman scholarship keeps the memory of a local student present in each new class of recipients. The awards are practical financial help, but they also reinforce the idea that achievement in Los Alamos comes with community backing and community expectations.

The ceremony fits into a larger scholarship pipeline that has become a hallmark of Los Alamos. In 2025, 125 local scholarships were presented to Los Alamos High seniors. In 2024, 61 seniors were recognized and more than 50 scholarships and awards were handed out. Beyond the school and foundation ceremonies, the LANL Foundation and the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund have awarded nearly 2,900 scholarships totaling close to $15 million since 1999, including a record $1,030,000 to 138 bachelor’s-degree students in 2025.