Mount Si High School senior Brianna Kelly dreams of a career decorating beautiful wedding cakes.

As Mount Si’s finalist for the Washington Award for Vocational Excellence, or WAVE, scholarship, she’s in the running for funds to help her attend college and grow business, nutrition and culinary skills.

Kelly is among high school seniors across the state who have come to rely on scholarships in the recent economic downturn. Her scholarship opportunity is on thin ice, though. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed postponing the WAVE and five other scholarships in 2010 to balance the state’s budget.

Washington state is looking to cut $26 billion from education funding this year. The state could save $24 million by postponing six scholarship funds for one year.

“We know the governor has listed specific names and scholarships that may be cut,” said Mount Si High School Counselor Amy Anderson.

WAVE cuts

On the block are the state workstudy program, Washington Scholars, the Foster Care Passport to College, the Western Interstate Compact Professional Student Exchange and the Rural Osteopathic Medicine Program.

Cutting the WAVE award alone will save the state $1.4 million.

The state’s need-based scholarship programs remain intact.

“Our hope was to keep funding that would serve the most and neediest students,” said Karina Shagren, spokeswoman for the governor’s office.

Next month, when the legislature passes a new budget and Gregoire signs it, the state will announce the funds to be cut. WAVE scholarships, if any, will be announced in April.

“The WAVE program is getting hit, and the school district is getting hit,” Anderson said. “It’s very sad. For a lot of these kids, this is a big deal. How are they going to do it?”

Without scholarships like the WAVE, Anderson said students who are college bound have to get creative about financing their education.

Anderson has been contacting past WAVE scholarship winners who still have eligibility for funds to look into back-up plans such as FAFSA in case their funding falls through.

Students who are awarded the WAVE scholarship have a six-year time span to use the gifted amount. Anderson said a number of students will be affected as their deadlines fall during the suspension.

“If they cut the money they’re cutting everybody, past winners and new winners,” she said.

Anderson has seen a rise in the number of candidates for the WAVE, which has been offered at Mount Si for 10 years. She said the rise is linked with the state of the economy and the generous amount the award offers.

WAVE pays two years of tuition at a technical, community, four-year or private college in the state, up to $15,000.

“The scholarship is equal to and covers the tuition cost of two years of college with a cap,” said Tim Sweeney, marketing director for the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, which administers the WAVE. “The cap is based on the highest tuition that a public institution charges in this state, which is about $7,000 a year at Washington State University.”

Kelly’s future

Kelly was selected from 10 Mount Si applicants who seek the 2010 WAVE scholarship. She is competing with other students in the Fifth Legislative District for two awards.

Coming from a single-parent home, Kelly’s scholarship would mean the difference between loans and school choice.

Anderson is currently working on Kelly’s application, as she has been told by the Workforce Board to act as if the scholarship remains in place — if the scholarship is saved, Mount Si will still have a candidate in the running.

If awarded the scholarship, Kelly would use it towards either South Seattle Community College, which offers culinary work experience, business management, cake decorating and nutrition classes, or Washington State University, which offers hospitality, business management, nutrition and psychology programs.

With limited family funding available and a 14-year-old sister who is also college bound, Kelly said receiving the scholarship would help her family’s financial situation.

“We rely on the scholarship,” she said. “It would be totally great if I got it. If I don’t, it’s not the end of the world. It just means we have to work harder.”

Kelly’s mother Karen, is proud of her daughter’s efforts in seeking the WAVE. She said her family will do what it can to get Kelly and her sister Rebecca through college. If the scholarship does not go through, she will have to take out loans.

“I am uncomfortable about doing that during the current economy,” Karen Kelly said. “But that’s what I did, and I have a four-year degree. It’s worth it for the education.”

But with Kelly’s cake shop plans, “it’ll be nice for her to start that business without having to pay back loans,” Karen said.