Two high school graduates with a drive for excellence
are welcomed to campus with a prestigious award
TACOMA, Wash. – Emma Didier, of Berkeley, Calf., and Jordan Fonseca, of Albuquerque, N.M., have been named University of Puget Sound Lillis Scholars, honoring them with the college’s most prestigious award for students who show extraordinary promise in academics and scholarship.
The two freshmen, whose tuition, room, and board at Puget Sound will be covered by the scholarship for up to four years, are each engaged in an impressive variety of activities—ranging from design, science, and music, to languages and athletics. They were chosen for the highly competitive award based on their academic record, passionate interest in ideas, intellectual independence, and potential for pursuing excellence during their college years and throughout their careers.
The annual awards are funded by a generous gift from Gwendolyn H. Lillis P’05 and Charles M. Lillis P’05, made through The Lillis Foundation to Puget Sound’s $125 million One [of a Kind] comprehensive campaign.
Finalists for the Lillis Scholarship are selected from a pool of about 5,500 applicants to Puget Sound. Didier and Fonseca will become part of a cohort of 14 Lillis Scholars named since the program began making awards in 2008.
Didier attended Berkeley High School in California where she was named a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Program. She also is a candidate for the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Didier traveled to Costa Rica with the field science and culture exchange program Ecology Project International. While there she participated in studies of the rainforest and volunteered to help protect the endangered leatherback sea turtle. The experience in Central America deepened her passion for environmental sustainability and confirmed her decision to participate in the Environmental Policy and Decision Making Program at Puget Sound.
She plays both the violin and the piano, and at Berkeley High School was a member of her school’s diving team. Didier was born in France and is a dual citizen of the United States and Germany, speaking both English and German at home.
Fonseca attended Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico where he was named a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Program. At his school Fonseca tutored other students, participated in the National Science Bowl, joined the chess team, and ran cross country. While interning with a race car team at the student-oriented Formula SAE Series, he designed a three-element wing for a race car. He also was a technician for Vitality Works, a herbal medicinal supplements company, where he performed microbiology testing and ran statistical analyses.
After graduating from Albuquerque Academy in 2013, Fonseca studied abroad in Europe, primarily in Spain, where he participated in a Spanish immersion program and worked as a translator for an outdoor adventure company. Fonseca plans to study physics and mechanical engineering and to participate in the Dual Degree Engineering Program at Puget Sound. His additional pastimes include running, drawing, and discussing literature and ideas.
About the Lillis Scholar Program
The Lillis Scholar Program was established in 2007 through a generous gift made by The Lillis Foundation of Castle Rock, Colo., to recognize academic excellence and encourage intellectual independence. Gwen Lillis is chair of The Lillis Foundation, vice chair of University of Puget Sound’s board of trustees; and chair of the Board of Advisors at Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon. Charles Lillis is former chair and chief executive of MediaOne, founding partner of LoneTree Capital Management, and chair of the board of trustees at University of Oregon. The Lillises are the parents of Puget Sound alumna Jessica Baker Isaacs ’05. Each year two Lillis Scholars are selected from the incoming freshman class.
For information about eligibility for the Lillis Scholar program, contact the Office of Admission at 800.396.7191 or visit www.pugetsound.edu/scholarships.
Photos on page: Top right: Students work outside Jones Hall, by Ross Mulhausen; Above left: Emma Didier in Costa Rica; Above right: Jordan Fonseca (courtesy photos).
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