SHS Hall of Fame Board awards two scholarships
Two Sequim High School graduates — Ivy Barrett and Elizabeth Beebe — have some extra help in their pursuit of academic degrees, thanks to the Sequim Hall of Fame.
The organization recently awarded these 2025 SHS graduates a scholarship each worth $2,500, with funds raised from the 2024 Sequim Hall of Fame event.
Barrett received the Aubrey and Carol Verstegen Scholarship. She excelled in both soccer and track and field at Sequim High. She was also a referee, a volunteer coach and helped with a fundraiser for her soccer team.
Barrett worked several after-school jobs and plans to attend the University of Washington, where she plans to pursue a career in medicine and exercise science/physiology.
Beebe was awarded the John Knapman, Jr. Foundation scholarship. She participated in FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) each of her four years at Sequim High. She participated and excelled in trap shooting each of those years. She also volunteered at the Sequim Food Bank and worked at the Olympic Game Farm, her family’s business.
Beebe is interested in a career in veterinary science and plans to attend Washington State University.
Sequim High School provided Hall of Fame board members with 52 scholarship notebooks from SHS students who met some or all of the following criteria:
With nearly 50 combined years of professional and personal dedication to the Sequim School District, Aubrey and Carol Verstegen’s experiences spanned school administration, district-wide counseling, teaching various grade levels, librarianship, Title 1 programming, coaching, Knowledge Bowl, SHS Operetta, and even driver’s education. Aubrey served on the Washington High School College Relations Board and was regional representative to the Washington State Principals’ Association, while Carol oversaw Western Washington University student teaching candidate programs in addition to district counseling and teaching middle school and accelerated English. The couple, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on June 12, 2023, were committed to Sequim’s schools from 1965 through their respective retirements.
Having walked together in four graduation ceremonies—from Metaline Elementary School to master’s degrees—Carol and Aubrey continued to be a dynamic duo within the halls and walls of Sequim High School and Sequim Middle School, their last posts before retiring. Before there was a name for it, they embodied the notion of “managing by walking around,” keeping a pulse on student and teacher needs, always with the focus of bettering a student’s education or teacher’s experience. Many students fondly recall spontaneous chats with Principal Verstegen in the lunchroom or with Aubrey at his Wednesday Rec Night pick-up basketball games in the gym. Carol is often cited for inspiring students’ love of writing and poetry and, in the community, for her dedication to and leadership in Delta Kappa Gamma, the professional teaching organization that awards scholarships to teachers and aspiring teachers.
Both Aubrey and Carol have long been credited by former students for their successes later in life, whether personally or professionally.
Carol, Aubrey (recently deceased) and the Verstegen family are very grateful to the Sequim Hall of Fame for the honorary naming and legacy of the Aubrey and Carol Verstegen Family scholarship for a five-year period, and equally proud of its first recipient, Ivy Barrett, who embodies the commitment to the values, character and spirit we hope our family lives each day. Congratulations, Ivy!
John Knapman, Jr. is a true Sequim original. Raised on his father’s farm across the street from Sequim High School, he was a proud member of the class of 1979 and a genuine inspiration to all who knew him.
John was an outstanding athlete, a spirited competitor, and a great communicator who could instill confidence in all those who needed it. He connected with people through understanding and compassion, and had a genuine empathy for all. He was also a positive force that changed the direction of countless people’s lives.
John had a long list of profound accomplishments throughout his personal and business life, though he would not want to advertise them. Whenever there is a gathering of Sequim High School students from the mid- to late-1970s, one topic always comes up: the life of John Knapman Jr. and his profound impact on all those who knew him. Qualities remembered include his great sense of humor, his positive attitude and his great listening ability. He was a man of unwavering faith in “the man upstairs.” His conversations with people were always about them and never about him, and he reminded people of what truly matters in life, kindness, laughter and togetherness.
Whenever people saw John, he would always repeat his catchphrase: “Ping Ping Ping, I love people.” This was more than a catchphrase for John; it was how he lived every day of his life.
We are proud to award a $2,500 scholarship again this year. This carries on a tradition of previous scholarships awarded over the years on behalf of John Knapman Jr. The criteria for the worthy recipients has been a constant: a person who exemplifies the qualities of John, including overcoming obstacles in life as he did.
Congratulations on the outstanding achievement of this year’s recipient, Elizabeth Beebe.
