News and Stories

Meet Amanda Wanker, a driven Community College scholarship recipient chasing her dream—and making it real, one class at a time. She’s just one of 7,500 students we aim to support on their educational journey this year. With your help, we can get her there—and reach thousands more. Follow her story and be a part of the impact.

This summer we got to catch-up with one of our featured students after an amazing milestone: she had just graduated four days before – and we are so proud to have played a small part in her success through scholarships!

But Amanda is not done yet…

After two years of hard work and focus, Amanda completed her Associates degree at SFCC.  She will be returning in the fall to earn her Bachelor of Applied Science in the Integrated Behavioral Health program. 

It's a program she's passionate about because of her community work and advocacy for women's recovery. She calls that work “building community,” a value that is true to our hearts at the Foundation. Integrated Behavioral Health is also important to her after she herself went through substance use disorder nearly 20 years ago after her first time at SFCC. She's now been in recovery for 16 years!

“I'm all registered for fall,” Amanda shared, and “I'm super excited to be a part of that program and that my journey gets to continue for another two years!” 

But Amanda isn't taking the summer to sit back and relax – she's volunteering at the Spokane Regional Health District Opioid Treatment Program to continue working toward the hours she needs for her Substance Abuse Disorder Professional license.

Both years in the addiction studies program, Amanda received scholarships that allowed her the opportunity to put any extra time and energy into helping to build a collaborative and supportive community that supports her classmates. (Stay tuned for more news from Spokane Colleges on the result of her efforts with the launch of a new initiative!)

For Amanda, her scholarships were more than just alleviating some of the cost of education. “A scholarship is having someone say, ‘I see you, I see your potential, and I want to support you,'” Amanda said.

Amanda wants to pay that support forward. She is excited to reconnect with friends from her cohort who are also moving into the IBH program and working with them to support the growth of integrated support services that can help everyone move through recovery.

Congratulations Amanda! We are excited to see where you go this year!