Three Petaluma Students Win Leadership Scholarships

Three Petaluma teens will be honored in Sacramento this Wednesday after receiving a scholarship awarded to California students for leadership, academic achievement and community service.

The winners include Suzanne McNamara, 17, and a recent graduate of Casa Grande High School, Laura Smith, 17, a graduate of Petaluma High School and Nicole Thompson, 17, of St. Vincent's High School.

The Petaluma winners are three of 190 high school seniors throughout the state to be awarded this year's Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship. They will receive a $1,000 and be eligible to win one of 20 laptops and two $10,000 scholarships. Winners also receive a tour of the state capitol and The California Museum. 

Just looking at the winners' list of activities, it's clear that these girls are doers. McNamara was the student body president at Casa Grande and involved in the school's leadership program for all four years. She will attend Chapman University in Orange, Calif. where she plans to study communications.

Nicole Thompson was the president of St. Vincent's book club for the past two years as well as a co-president of the drama club. She also participated in the Tomorrow's Leaders Today program, which exposes promising teens in the community to various local issues and introduces them to decision makers. Thompson is also a regular volunteer at the Humane Society in Novato and plans to take a gap year in Germany before attending Reed College in Portland. 

Laura Smith was the co-captain for Petaluma High School's swim team and captain of the tennis team. She will attend Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego in the fall.

Congratulations to all the winners!