Evan Suzuki was the recipient of the 2016 Marcia Monma South Whidbey Commons Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes and supports youth volunteers at the Commons Coffeehouse Bookstore who have demonstrated an “outstanding” commitment to community, service and education, according to a press release. The Commons’ training program includes barista skills, kitchen and food preparation skills and customer service skills. Suzuki said his experience was more than job-specific.

“I felt an increased confidence in my ability to work collaboratively, but also to take initiative to solve problems independently,” Suzuki said in a release. “I emerged from the experience knowing that one of the things I value most about the program is the community of people surrounding it. I was able to simultaneously experience both a community among volunteers and a community between everyone present, from one side of the counter to the other.”

Suzuki is a 2015 graduate of the Columbia Virtual Academy and will attend Sarah Lawrence University. The scholarship was presented by Marcia Monma, Sue Haworth and Cathy Rooks.