Pasadena Student Receives $5,000 Scholarship from Freestone Capital Management

A Pasadena student taking up business administration at the University of Southern California has been selected as one of the five inaugural grantees of the Freestone Future Leaders Scholarships by Freestone Capital Management, a Northwest-based wealth management firm with headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

John Llamas and the four other recipients earned $5,000 each in financial support for the fall 2018 school term. The other winning students are Ashley Garcia from San Bernardino, California, attending the University of California, Berkeley; Kellen Burgess-Alm from Seattle attending the University of Washington; Lily Morgan from Gold Bar, Washington, attending Seattle Pacific University; and Andrew Ho from Clackamas, Oregon.

“We were very impressed by the ambition and compassion of the applicants we got to know through our inaugural scholarship,” said Gary Furukawa, founder of Freestone Capital Management. “The five winners are exemplary citizens and we know they’ll have a positive impact on their communities as they pursue higher education to achieve their dreams.”

In their applications, the recipients expressed outstanding community involvement, aptitude and entrepreneurial skill sets to stand apart from hundreds of highly qualified applicants, a Freestone Capital Management press release Tuesday said. Their outreach efforts include leading youth organizations, supporting people experiencing homelessness and mentoring disadvantaged students.

To determine the recipients, Freestone’s scholarship selection committee evaluated applications for the strength of their personal narratives, extracurricular interests, community involvement, entrepreneurship and financial need.

“This year’s scholarship recipients are already making a difference in their communities and share an ambition to improve global living, health and financial conditions,” said Erik Morgan, a senior partner at Freestone Capital Management. “With students pursuing degrees in international business, business administration, political science and public health, our scholarship uncovered an amazing group of analytical thinkers, doers and future leaders, and we look forward to seeing them succeed in their studies and beyond.”

Freestone has committed to providing $100,000 in total financial support for 20 students over four years, empowering deserving students to achieve a higher education.

For full details on the scholarship and to monitor for future scholarship applications, visit the Freestone Future Leaders Scholarship website, www.freestonecapital.com/freestone-future-leaders-scholarship.