SALEM — Salma Anguiano of Hermiston was one of seven Oregon high school graduates receiving the 2021 Workers’ Memorial Scholarship awards, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division) announced. Anguiano is receiving a $4,000 award.

The awards program helps finance higher education for family members of Oregon workers who have been fatally injured or permanently disabled on the job.

Anguiano, a 2018 graduate of Hermiston High School, is studying American government and politics, and Chinese language and literature at Whitman College in Walla Walla. She said she wants to “use my experience and background to influence equitable public policy that benefits individuals who come from marginalized backgrounds.”

A vehicle accident left her stepfather, who worked at a dairy farm, a quadriplegic.

The Workers’ Memorial Scholarship is open to any high school graduate, graduating high school senior, GED recipient or current college undergraduate or graduate student who is a dependent or spouse of an Oregon worker who has been fatally injured or permanently disabled while on the job.