Salmon-Challis awards scholarships to 5 students

SALMON, Idaho (KIFI) — The Salmon-Challis National Forest Jackie Caivano Memorial Scholarship committee has awarded five $1,500 scholarships to students in four local communities.

The 2022 Jackie Caivano Memorial Scholarship recipients include:

• Mason Semmler of Salmon, who plans to study wildlife ecology at the University of Montana Western;
• Lexi Pippo of Leadore, who will study to become a physical therapy assistant at Brigham Young University;
• George Cecil of Mackay, who plans to pursue a degree in business and political science at the College of Eastern Idaho;
• Kelli Ann Strand of Challis, who will be attending the University of Nebraska; and
• Jarett Ollar of Challis, who will pursue a degree in business at Idaho State University.

Normally, one student per community receives the honor of the scholarship each year, but, thanks to an anonymous donor who stipulated the funds must benefit a student from Challis, the committee was able to award the honor to two students this year.

The Jackie Caivano Memorial Scholarship program is sponsored by Salmon-Challis National Forest employees. To keep the program going, employees host a variety of fundraising events throughout the year, the most prominent of which is a silent auction featuring items donated by employees, Forest Service retirees, and local businesses.

Ninety scholarships, totaling $83,500, have been awarded since the program began as the Salmon-Challis National Forest Employee Scholarship in 1998.

In 2000, the program was renamed to honor Executive Assistant Jackie Caivano, who passed away suddenly due to an aggressive form of cancer. Caivano took great pride in her work and was known for being calm, practical, and supportive. The scholarship honors Caivano’s memory while recognizing a graduating senior’s leadership ability, academic excellence, community service and participation in extracurricular activities.