Mayor Greg Nickels announced the 21 outstanding middle school students who have earned this year’s Scholar Award for service to their schools and their communities, eight of which attend schools in West Seattle.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the mayor’s Scholars Award and in celebration, all 189 past award recipients will be honored.

Each of this year’s students will receive $500 that can be used for education or donated to a charity. Criteria for selection include overcoming obstacles or meeting challenges, giving back to the community, and maintaining good academic standing.

“With this award, we recognize Seattle’s next generation of leaders,” Nickels said. “Service to others is the foundation of a strong community, and I’m glad we can help these promising young people with their education and service goals.”

Students wrote short essays about how they contribute to their community and how they would use a $500 cash award. In addition, students were required to provide several recommendations from adults familiar with the students’ service work.

This year's award recipients from West Seattle schools are:

• Luke Asatiani, Madison, 8th grade
• Finn Kelln, Madison, 6th grade
• Tore Kelln, Madison, 8th grade
• Emma Khan-Jones, Pathfinder K-8, 6th grade
• Mariam Khodr, Madison, 7th grade
• Lauren Shaughnessy, Madison, 8th grade
• Jesse Tibbits, Pathfinder K-8, 8th grade
• Farhan Vohra, Denny, 8th grade