Scott Abel Awarded "Jerry Jr." Scholarship - Lake Chelan News and Information

Over $1,100.00 Raised to Perpetuate the Scholarship Fund

by Dennis Rahm

Senior Scott Abel was awarded the 3rd Annual Jerry Isenhart, Jr. scholarship at a halftime ceremony of the Chelan High School spring football scrimmage on Thursday.

The Isenhart Family, including his parents, Jerry & Cecilia, brother Willy, cousin Bert Mendivil, Jerry’s Grandmother, Rosa Acosta, and Coach Romero (pictured above) were on hand to make the announcement.

Jerry Isenhart, Sr. indicated making the choice was a tough call. “While there were several deserving applicants, Abel stood out for his diversity of exceptionalism,” Isenhart said. “What a talented and self-made young man.”

Abel will be attending the University of Washington to study medicine. In his application, Abel indicated an interest in participating with the Doctors Without Borders program as part of his future goals. His full application essay is included below.

The Isenhart family would like to thank the Chelan Football Coaches and Players, the Chelan Athletic Booster Club and all the volunteers who helped raised over $1,100.00 during the game, which will be added to the Jerry Isenhart, Jr. perpetual scholarship fund.

Scott’s Application Essay:

Since moving to Chelan, football has been a major part of my life. Starting with youth football and playing every year consecutively since, the sport has taught me a lot and helped me grow as a person. When I was a kid, I was always shy and had difficulty making friends, yet being on a team for the first time helped change that. As my first major experience on a team, football taught me that in order to succeed, we all needed to work together and rely on each other. This inspired me to try to become someone everyone could rely on; not just as a teammate, but as a personal overall.

Since then, I have been an active participant in numerous community events and service projects, some which I led myself. One such project was my Eagle Scout project required to finish the Boy Scouts and achieve the highest rank. For that, I chose to repair and replace the media box at Sargent Field. Although I initially attempted the project by myself, I quickly realized I would need a team. Despite being hesitant to reach out and call people, looking back I’m glad I did, as the as assistance I received was essential to finishing the project on time. Having people take time of their day to help me with this project was humbling and has inspired me to help others in turn. I try to put this into practice in my daily life as well, such as when a friend and former teammate needed a place to live. I intervened on his behalf and asked my parents to house him. He has lived with us for a year and a half now, and I am glad to have found him a save haven.

Helping others has even influenced my career choice, as I strive to get into medical schools so that I may take that knowledge into the world with me to help those in need. It is a dream of mine to be able to participate in a program such as Doctors Without Borders and be able to travel abroad and learn about a culture while providing medical care to its people. This in itself is inspired by a role in my life, my grandfather. His stories about being a doctor in Vietnam and managing to spread some good in the world even through such a terrible time is something I strive to echo in my own life. Medical School is a daunting task, but the knowledge that I have a team of friends and family willing to help me through is all I need, and knowing they support me is only further inspiration to help give back and aid those around me.

Whether it is lending my time and strength to a service project, or just being an ear to listen to someone who needs help, I am happy to be someone that others can rely on. One of the promises one must make as part of the scout oath is “A scout promises to help other people at all time,” and this is an oath I intend to keep.