Stim Bullitt scholarship winners celebrate trailblazers who shaped Washington

The Seattle Public Library Foundation is pleased to announce the three winners of the 2021 Stim Bullitt Civic Courage Scholarship.

First-place winner Julianna Folta and runners-up Eric Anthony Souza-Ponce and Taylor Yingshi each won tuition support from the Foundation by writing essays on courageous Washingtonians who made their communities a better place by fighting for their ideals.

Running 8 years strong, the essay contest honors the legacy of the late Library supporter, community leader, and activist Stimson Bullitt, who believed that civic leadership could make a lasting positive impact on society. The contest challenges local high school and college students to write an essay about an individual or group from Washington state who demonstrated the courage to advance an important community issue at great personal, political, or professional risk.

Each year, $10,000 is divided among three outstanding students and their essays are permanently cataloged in The Seattle Public Library’s Seattle Room.

We are grateful for the time and efforts of the local authors who judged the finalists: Kristen Millares Young, Jon Krakauer, and Jonathan Raban.

Winner Julianna Folta, who earned $5,000, wrote about Deborah “Tsi-Cy-Altsa” Parker, a Tulalip tribal leader who advocated for the protection of indigenous survivors in the federal Violence Against Women Act. Eric Anthony Souza-Ponce and Taylor Yingshi, who won $2,500 each, wrote about Nisqually tribal activist Billy Frank, Jr., and Seattle’s first elected official of color Wing Luke, respectively.

Congratulations to our winners!

Julianna Folta
Junior, Cascadia College
$5,000 scholarship
“Deborah ‘Tsi-Cy-Altsa’ Parker”

 

 

Eric Anthony Souza-Ponce
Ballard High School
Entering Western Washington University
$2,500 scholarship
“How a Nisqually Icon Freed the River”

 

 

Taylor Yingshi
Issaquah High School
Entering Columbia University
$2,500 scholarship
“The Flap of a Wing, the Overhaul of a City: Seattle’s First Asian-American Councilman”

 

 

Learn more about the Stim Bullitt Civic Courage Scholarship.