P.E.O. Scholarship: Jill Mayer, a senior Thomas Jefferson High school, was awarded $2,500 P.E.O. Star scholarship for the fall academic year. She is the daughter of Steve and Ann Mayer of Auburn and will be attending Willamette University in the fall 2011. She was sponsored by chapter JD, Federal Way. P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) was founded in 1869 at Ohio Wesleyan College in Iowa and has more than 6,000 chapters within the U.S. and Canada. The organization has given more then $190 million in financial aid to women pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in the U.S., Canada and internationally.

Gonzaga’s top math students: Every school year, the mathematics professors at Gonzaga University in Spokane nominate promising freshmen and sophomores in their classes for the Underclassman Mathematics Award. During the 2010-2011 year, well over 1,000 freshmen and sophomores were enrolled in Gonzaga mathematics classes, but only 43 students were nominated for the award. This year’s winner was Stephen Barbarossa of Federal Way. Barbarossa is a student in the Gonzaga Honors program and is double majoring in both mathematics and religion. He is the son of Larry and Chris Barbarossa.