Brooke Stewart tried to get as much out of the high school athletic experience as she could.
She was the captain of the cross country team.
She competed on the track and field team.
She played three years of basketball and also spent a season on the swim team.
Oh, and she excelled in academics, too. She plans on attending Gonzaga University in Spokane.
That led her to looking into scholarship opportunities.
“It’s definitely pretty expensive. My parents are doing a lot to help me, but we’ve also been trying to find different scholarships that would help with the tuition,” Stewart said.
She found one that started right here in Clark County, the Rego Athletic Scholarship Fund.
“I read his story. I thought it was really, really cool,” Stewart said. “What stood out to me the most is he was an assistant coach and he was so big into making a good community and making sure everyone was welcome,” Stewart said. “From what I read, he was a really, really cool guy who made an impact on a lot of people.”
Mark Rego, who died during the 2018 football season after a battle with cancer, was an assistant football and track and field coach at Evergreen and Union. He also volunteered his time in the offseason with athletes from all over the county.
The Rego Fund is available to student-athletes from Evergreen and Battle Ground public schools.
Stewart said that she described her philosophy of being a team leader and hoped it would make an impression on the people who run the scholarship.
“I was the co-team captain for my cross country team. It definitely gave me a bigger sense of leadership and taught me to give positive energy and the kudos to everybody on my team,” Stewart said.
Rego, as well, was known for his infectious enthusiasm.
“I still approach everybody daily with a positive attitude, trying to hype everybody up,” Stewart said. “I just hope to keep that positive attitude with me my whole, entire life.”
Stewart said she is hoping to walk-on to the Gonzaga cross country team.
“If that doesn’t work out, I’ll join a running club, or maybe a swim club, expand my horizons,” Stewart said. “Sports are definitely a big part of my life. I don’t want to give that up.”
