Catching up with Lopez graduates: Juan Anthony Velasquez
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, September 2, 2025
By Gretchen Wing
Sounder contributor
As part of our “Where are they now?” series, the Lopez Island Community Scholarship Foundation caught up with 2023 LICSF scholarship recipient Juan Anthony Velasquez (who goes by Anthony), now heading into his junior year at Western Washington University.
“A huge highlight of college was getting off the island,” Velasquez said, clarifying that he meant the value of “getting to meet and hear about many different cultures and life experiences that brought them all to the same place.” This exposure has brought him face-to-face with “all kinds of people,” some of whom are now “amazing friends.”
Velasquez’s academic focus is still a work in progress. “The major I am in right now is not something I had thought about when I first got to college,” he said. “Before, in high school, my idea of what my major could be was mainly based on my world experience to that point.” But new experiences continue to shape Velasquez’s plans. Because of his major’s evolving status, Velasquez preferred not to elaborate, though he did drop some hints: “Something more in the business field.”
Each new class has the potential to exert unexpected pull; one, this past year, turned disappointment into inspiration. After being shut out of a popular teacher’s math class, Velasquez found himself in a class taught by a teaching assistant. “But the way he taught was very engaging and shocking, describing different math terms like ‘a math zoo’ and different animals,” Velasquez said. “He was often pretty funny during class, breaking stuff down if we didn’t understand.” This math class was his earliest of the day, but the teacher kept him so engaged that Velasquez made sure to attend all quarter, despite often “showing up late after speed-walking all the way across campus from where I lived.” Not only did this class spark a new appreciation of the subject, but Velasquez’s other classes also benefited from his consistent attendance.
Velasquez confirmed that, between settling on a major and figuring out the time it will require, much remains up in the air. Hoping to finish within the next two years, he has yet to decide on next steps, be they graduate school or something else. “I am excited for the future, while still being a little scared of the unknown of what’s next,” he said, “but I want what’s next to happen anyway!”
Professing himself grateful for the chance to pursue higher education, Velasquez is happy with his choice of mid-sized Western, coming from “little Lopez.” But, he added, “Because of how long I’ve been here, I’m starting to think Bellingham is small—which I think is pretty funny.”
To learn more about the Lopez Island Community Scholarship Foundation, including to get involved or to make a donation to support future Lopez graduates, please visit licsf.org.
