Grad receives Carolyn Knight Scholarship

Amanda Martilla

Canyon Lake Temescal Canyon High School graduate and Student of the Year Amanda Martilla has been named the recipient of the Carolyn Knight Memorial Scholarship awarded by The Friday Flyer.

“Amanda is the perfect recipient of this award,” Chuck Golding, The Friday Flyer publisher, said. “She is exactly what Carolyn was looking for when she asked for this scholarship to be established in her name. Carolyn wanted to honor a young woman who was looking to continue her education and serve her community. Amanda is a part-time reporter for The Friday Flyer…Carolyn would so love to be mentoring her!”

One of three valedictorians at Temescal Canyon High School, Amanda achieved an unheard of 4.6 GPA. She also was busy with extracurricular school activities, including lettering in three varsity sports and provided significant service to the school.

Amanda is enrolled at UC San Diego and will begin her education there in the fall. She will be majoring in Education Services and plans on pursuing a career in teaching. Her degree will include earning teaching credentials in multiple subjects. She eventually is looking to acquire a master’s degree in education.

“My goal is to help make the system of education more fair,” Amanda said. “This I will do by becoming an elementary school teacher and/or involving myself in educational policy.”

Carolyn Knight, who passed away June 13, 2017, was the Executive Editor of The Friday Flyer from 1990 until her death, the last few years in an emeritus status. The scholarship is awarded to a Canyon Lake student who best epitomizes the standards Carolyn stood for, particularly a young woman involved in community service and advocating community improvement.

Amanda received top league awards in the three varsity sports in which she participated. She played on the Titan tennis team that won the 2017 CIF Championship. She was named to the All-League Team for three years. She also participated in water polo on teams that won the 2020 league championship and advanced to the CIF quarterfinals. She was a CIF qualifier for three years in swimming and the team won the league title twice. Amanda holds several swimming school records. She was the team captain for all three sports at her school.

Academically, Amanda was a recipient of an AP Scholar, Riverside County Seal of Biliteracy, Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce Student of the Month and TCHS’s Riverside County Student of the Year. She participated in the Society of Women Engineers and Scientists, National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, Interact, and Link Crew.

In the Canyon Lake community, Amanda was also busy. She earned top honors as a Girl Scout for the long-established Canyon Lake Troop 1077.

This Carolyn Knight scholarship is one of a treasure trove of scholarships the outstanding student received, including scholarships from Canyon Lake clubs.

Remarkably, Amanda never missed a day of school from the day she entered Kindergarten until graduation from Temescal Canyon High School.

Each year The Friday Flyer awards a $500 scholarship to a deserving graduate, a promise Chuck made to his dear friend and business partner.

Thirteen years ago, the two sat in Carolyn’s living room and chatted about her pending retirement. It was there, in the spring of 2007, that Chuck made a promise he thought would be decades before he’d have to make good.

“Upon my death,” Carolyn asked Chuck, “Please have the newspaper sponsor a scholarship in my name to a graduating high school senior. I don’t care the amount or the qualifications of the recipient, but I want my name associated with the promotion of education.”

Throughout her life she battled a life-threatening allergy to sulfites, and had many brushes with death. As a breast cancer survivor, she was one of four Canyon Lake women who founded the Bosom Buddies Support Group, advocating for others facing the same battle.

Carolyn always valued education, and although her plans were placed on hold when she married at age 18, she never gave up her dream of earning a college degree. After 14 years of study and raising her two girls, she obtained her BA from California State University Fullerton.

Carolyn moved to Canyon Lake with her husband Vick Knight in 1981. After working with the Canyon Lake POA and editing newsletters that went to Canyon Lake residents, she became editor of the community’s newspaper, The Friday Flyer. Later, she and Chuck became co-owners.

“I am extremely honored and grateful to be receiving this scholarship,” Amanda said. “I would like to thank my family and friends, Temescal Canyon High School, the community of Canyon Lake, and everyone else who I’ve crossed paths with for the influence that they’ve had on my life so far.

“I do not know exactly where my career will take me, but I hope that I can honor Carolyn Knight’s wishes and memory by pursuing a higher education and helping others to do the same.”