STUDENTS OF
DISTINCTION AWARDS
Each year the awards ceremony highlights the students' accomplishments. Nominees must be Peninsula School District graduating seniors and have made a significant contribution to their field or mankind in general. Students are nominated by peers, teachers or parents. Finalists are selected by a panel at each school, followed by interviews with panels comprised of community
leaders who select one individual from their specific category to receive an additional scholarship and the Panelists’ Choice award.
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Students are honored in one of seven different categories: academics; athletics; career and technical excellence; community service; music, arts and drama; overcoming adversity; and science and technology.
WHEN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2025
WHERE
Ocean5 Banquet Room
5268 Pt. Fosdick Drive
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
TIME
6:00 PM TO 9:00 PM
DOORS OPEN AT 5:30 PM
Each February, 30 to 36 high school seniors are selected as Students of Distinction from some 150 to 175 student nominations received annually from teachers, peers, parents, or community members in seven categories. Finalist interviews are held in April, followed by community announcement and feature vignettes on each Student of Distinction published in a special edition of The Peninsula Gateway and, more recently, Gig Harbor Now, highlighting the student’s accomplishments in the weeks before the awards dinner held in mid-May.
Sponsors as Kitsap Credit Union, Peninsula Light Company, The Peninsula Gateway, Ocean5, CHI Franciscan, Greater Gig Harbor Foundation, Pilkey Hopping & Ekberg, The Meacham Foundation, and numerous individual donors have helped to provide more than $12,000 in scholarship funds annually - over $276,000 to date.