Each year, choosing a recipient for the Patricia Lynn Vermeulen-Tomocik (PLV) Scholarship reminds me just how much strength can exist behind a young person’s accomplishments. This year, I am pleased to introduce our 2026 PLV Scholarship winner, Ella Fogle. Ella’s application stood out to us for its honesty, resilience, and hope. She wrote candidly about living with mental health struggles, enduring bullying, feeling alone, experiencing financial hardship, and growing up in a home marked by conflict. But at the heart of Ella’s story was something else: music. Ella spent part of her childhood in Victorville, California. On weekends, her mother would pile Ella and her younger siblings into the car…