Federal Way Mirror awards scholarship to student in honor of late employee

Published 3:04 pm Friday, June 5, 2015

Ditch her phone and spend more time interacting with others — that’s what Lizeth Saray Villarreal Garcia would do better.

“By being able to manage the amount of time I spend ‘connected,’ I will have the possibilities to have actual connections, real teenage memories and real friends rather than those labeled as Facebook friends and followers,” the Decatur student wrote in her essay that won her a $500 scholarship from the Mirror in honor of the newspaper’s longtime employee Mary Louise Goss, who died of lung cancer in February 2014. “I want to continue to experience tearful laughter with someone in person rather than ‘LOL’ alone. I want to see the community grow as a whole rather than a selfie-based community.”

Goss asked many people she knew: “What would you do better?” In her honor, the Mirror set up a scholarship fund in her name that was available to high school students for the first time this year.

“Mary Lou was a proud Decatur mom and she would have wanted it no other way,” said Rudi Alcott, Mirror publisher. “We will continue Mary Lou’s challenge to Decatur students by asking them to submit an essay every February based on her simple but provocative question.”

Garcia said she was shocked that she was selected to receive the scholarship.

“I feel honored,” she said.

At Decatur, Garcia is involved in the Future Business Leaders of America, the Latino Club, Honor Society, Decatur Ignite and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Club.

Garcia has been accepted to five colleges, including Seattle Pacific University and Pacific Lutheran University. However, she plans to attend Green River Community College and then transfer to the University of Washington to study medicine.

She hopes to become a doctor.