Scholarship planned to honor late classmate

By Sarah Nishimuta

Staff Writer

A group from Woodward High School’s Class of 1995 is working to put together a scholarship to honor their late friend and classmate Amber Fawn Wooton-Clark, and is in need of donations to get things going.

Classmate Bryan Dick reached out to the Woodward News to ask for the community’s help honoring his late classmate after she was killed leaving work in Sacramento, Calif. on Dec. 11 just this last year.

“Amber spent her life and career giving back to the communities that she lived in and when her life was cut short, that was lost,” Dick said. “This scholarship is a chance for Amber to continue to give back even though she is no longer with us.”

Life-long friend and fellow classmate Misty (Navratil) Bischoff can’t share enough wonderful thoughts about who Wooton-Clark was and what she stood for.

“Her magnetic personality and passion for education and inclusion led her into a life of service, and bettering our society,” Bischoff said. “She was driven by passion to advocate for accessibility for all to education and all of life’s opportunities. Though quiet at first meeting, Amber had a quick wit and razor sharp sarcasm, never taking herself too seriously and making sure those around her didn’t either.”

A letter was sent to members and friends of the Class of 1995, explaining the scholarship and what it represents.

“Amber was an exemplar role model who was committed to serving others,” Bischoff, scholarship committee member, wrote in the letter. “All who met Amber were influenced by her kindness, generosity and humility. Amber pursued each of life’s endeavors with a determination that often set her apart from her peers.”

The Amber Fawn Wooton-Clark Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a high school student each year beginning in May 2020 in the amount of $2,000.

“By honoring the memory of Amber through this scholarship, we hope to encourage Woodward High School students to achieve excellence through academics, extracurricular and civic activities and character development, while pursuing a degree at a post secondary institution,” Bischoff wrote.

While $2,000 each year is the current goal, the Scholarship Committee is leaving room for growth.

“In order to achieve this goal we must raise at least $40,000,” wrote Bischoff. “When the endowment fund increases over $40,000 the amount of the scholarship or the number of scholarships awarded will increase.”

Bischoff recognizes that meeting this goal will be quite the undertaking, but there is hope.

“We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a challenge grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation (OCCF),” Bischoff wrote. “OCCF will match $15,000 if we are able to reach $25,000, which makes the $40,000 very reachable.”

To make a tax deductible donation, visit www.occf.org. A notification of the gift will be sent to the family.

“This scholarship will assist someone with these same core values and allow them to charge forward, advancing Amber’s dreams of a brighter tomorrow for those that need it most,” Bischoff said.

Amber Wooton-Clark