Hudson awarded 2018 Far West Jeff Wattenmaker Scholarship

The Jeff Wattenmaker Scholarship is a $10,000 scholarship awarded annually to a deserving member of the Far West skiing community. This year’s recipient is Sarah Sophia Hudson of Sugar Bowl Academy (SBA). 2018 marks the 10th year that the scholarship has been awarded to a member of the Far West Masters Scholarship Program.

In order to be eligible for the award, applicants must be a member of the Far West Masters Scholarship Program and be accepted to or currently attending an accredited junior college, university, or vocational school for the coming fall.

Each applicant is evaluated in-depth by a panel of judges and includes input from the applicants’ coaches, teachers, and peers to get a sense of the character of each applicant. The Wattenmaker family is proud to be a member of the ski racing community and love being part of the Masters Scholarship Program to help ease the financial burden for the wonderful young adults who are in pursuit of a college education.

Hudson grew up in Olympic Valley, Calif., and is a senior at SBA where she has ski raced the past four years. Hudson is excited to be attending the University of California, Santa Barbara in the fall where she will be living in the dorms and a short walk from the beach. She looks forward to experiencing a big city and vibrant community in contrast to her humble small town rural upbringing in the North Lake Tahoe area. Hudson’s area of interest is in the humanities, but is excited to take a wide variety of classes and is open to many career paths and opportunities.

Jeff Wattenmaker initiated his namesake scholarship prior to his death from Melanoma in 2010.  Wattenmaker was an active member of the Far West community and was very impressed with the Masters Scholarship Program and its ideals. He loved ski racing and passed on his love of the mountains to his children, Owen and Gwen.  Wattenmaker generously arranged to donate funds to expand the Far West Masters Scholarship Program and to make available funding for a university education to members of the program.

Release courtesy of Far West Skiing.