W.F. West Student Awarded Washington PUD Association Scholarship

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W.F. West High School student Abigail Kay, daughter of Grays Harbor PUD System Engineering Supervisor Dan Kay, has been awarded the Washington Public Utility District Association (WPUDA) Educational Scholarship.  

The $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually to the child or dependent of a WPUDA utility member who is a “well-rounded student that demonstrates scholastic ability, community involvement, and thoughtful consideration of the services provided by PUDs.”  

“I am so grateful to WPUDA for this great honor and to the Grays Harbor PUD for supporting my application,” said Kay, in a news release from WPUDA.  “I’d also like to thank my parents and teachers who have been so supportive, especially during this uncertain time.” 



Kay, a senior at W.F. West High School in Chehalis, hopes to begin her college education next fall at the University of California, Berkeley or Stanford, where she plans to study molecular genetics.  She has maintained a 4.0 grade point average, takes college level courses through the College in the Classroom program and is a member of the National Honor Society.  Outside the classroom, Kay has served as a page for the Washington State Senate, volunteers for the Chehalis Foundation and the United Way of Lewis County, and is an active dancer and instructor at the Southwest Washington Dance Center.

As part of her scholarship application, Kay wrote an essay on public utilities and their work on rural broadband expansion, which she called “an essential service that needs the support of public utility districts across Washington.”