Mayor Greg Nickels announced today the 26 "outstanding" middle school students, including one from Ballard, who have earned this year’s scholar awards for service to their schools and communities.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the mayor’s Scholars Awards and in celebration, all 189 past award recipients will be honored.

Each of this year’s students will receive $500 that can be used for education or donated to a charity. Criteria for selection include overcoming obstacles or meeting challenges, giving back to the community, and maintaining good academic standing.

“With this award, we recognize Seattle’s next generation of leaders,” Nickels said in a statement. “Service to others is the foundation of a strong community, and I’m glad we can help these promising young people with their education and service goals.”

Students wrote short essays about how they contribute to their community and how they would use a $500 cash award. In addition, students were required to provide several recommendations from adults familiar with the students’ service work.

Ballard area award recipients include:

Sidney Axtell, Salmon Bay School, 8th grade

Nickels will present the awards, along with a mayor’s scholar letterman jacket, to each of the students at a reception at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall on Tuesday, May 12. One of the 8th grade scholars will receive the mayor’s leadership award, a $2,500 scholarship for a four year university or community or technical college. In addition, Nickels will award the $1,000 Leighton Hilbert Scholarship for Native American students.

The awards are coordinated by the city’s Office for Education, a division of the Department of Neighborhoods, and funded entirely through private donations to the nonprofit Alliance for Education.