Looking forward to a summer of extracurricular programs in the arts, science, music, journalism, math and computers, four Whitman Middle School students have been awarded and given the opportunity to be involved in various summer camps through scholarships given by the Assistance League of Seattle.

Whitman students Tanner Smolen, Gabe Christiansen, Zach Stover and Connor Bradley will be attending camps like the University of Washington Summer Computer Camp, the Digi Pen Summer Workshop for Wide Game Programming and Summer Camp Project Fun and the Cybercamps Academy.

The Assistance League of Seattle is a non-profit volunteer group that accumulates more than 15,000 hours annually of community service to the community and has given aid to students since 2008 through its Enrichment Scholarship Program.

Students apply by writing an essay on why they want to attend a certain program while getting letters of recommendation from school teachers and counselors.

“It was a great program we started last year,” Nancy Farden, public relations co-chair of the Assistance League, said. “We awarded seven last year and 12 this year and we work with school counselors and try to get them to make the scholarship known to students throughout the Seattle middle schools.”

Farden said the scholarships give students the ability to attend summer enrichment programs of their interest that they necessarily wouldn’t be able to attend and they are trying to award as many scholarships as they can.