Last year, the Seaside American Association of University Women awarded more than $11,000 of scholarships to eight Clatsop County women seeking higher education.

Kristen Wilkin, the dean of workforce education at Clatsop Community College, is in charge of the marine environmental research and training station, which includes automotive, welding, computer-aided design, historic preservation, fire science and maritime science.

“For any of those areas there is a demand not only locally but around the state and our region,” Wilkin said.

“Take a few classes, see if you like it and go from there and achieve your goals.”

The scholarship selection committee is composed of Seaside AAUW Foundation and organization members.

Scholarship candidates are assessed by their commitment and desire, Carol Brenneman, the co-president of the Seaside American Association of University Women Scholarship Foundation, said.

“We always do a professional interview because I think so much more can be said than just the application,” she added.

During the pandemic, the community college went to a hybrid model where students were in class one day a week and then online for the rest of the time.

“Our scholarship recipients for the last couple of years have had some daunting times as far as having to complete their education, whether they were going to Oregon State or the University of Oregon, or Clatsop (Community College),” Brenneman said.

After a career as a waitress and a family caregiver, Bonni Hilderman, who lives on the Long Beach Peninsula, followed a longtime interest in automotive repair by enrolling in “Auto 101: Introduction to Automotive Technology” at Clatsop Community College.

“When I first started, I just wanted to learn how to work on the two Jeeps I’ve got here to learn the basics, and that’s what the Auto 101 class does,” she said.

Hilderman met with the American Association of University Women scholarship panel last June, and they helped her to pursue her educational goals.

She thought she was going to be the only woman in the program, but she was one of several.

Hilderman hopes to pursue a work-study program in January, and plans to graduate in 2024 with an associate degree as an automotive technician. She plans to work in an automotive shop or possibly have her own repair shop.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” Hilderman said. “The automotive instructors are there if you have questions. They are eager to answer them. I would definitely encourage young women to do this.”

Scholarship recipient hillary Dochow attends Eastern Oregon University remotely, as does her daughter, Victoria Dochow. She graduated from Clatsop Community College in the spring of 2021 with an associate degree in general studies. Last year, hillary Dochow was the treasurer of the accounting club and will graduate this coming spring with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Both mother and daughter are involved in the Pinnacle honor society at Eastern Oregon University.

At Clatsop Community College, both were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

The American Association of University Women scholarship helped her to complete her education, hillary Dochow said.

“It was what put me over the top for funds this year and I did not have to take out a student loan,” she said.