At this week’s senior awards celebration, the Cheltenham School District Foundation awarded seven scholarships to 10 students across a variety of interests. Students wrote essays to be considered for the scholarships, which increased this year from $1,000 to $6,500 thanks to the generosity of local businesses, Cheltenham teachers, community members, and organization donations.
“I am so excited and honored to have been a part of this scholarship process because it extended beyond the traditional merit scholarship for grades to include those who are capturing the spirit of Cheltenham and impacting the lives of others,” said Michelle Bellamy, who chaired the scholarship committee, which also included Pamula Hart, Lisa Angelettie and Betsy Conway. “The applications were amazing, and I am so proud of the caliber of students we have as demonstrated in the applications. Congratulations to the class of 2018. We know you will do great things.”
Awarding scholarships helps fulfill the mission of the Foundation, which was founded in 1992 to mobilize philanthropic power for the benefit of educators and students in the Cheltenham School District.
“The Foundation is proud to build an innovative student scholarship program that compliments our teacher grants,” said Laura Baldwin, Cheltenham School District Foundation President. “CSDF worked to increase our student scholarship awards and ensure this was a three-year, sustainable program to provide opportunities to our district graduates.”
This year’s winners were:
- Lauryn Banks (Spelman) earned the Class of 1967 Award for outstanding student in the senior class.
- Julia Doyle (Temple) and Alain Jean-Baptiste (Bloomsburg) received the Innovative Senior Awards, given to students demonstrating an innovative idea, initiative or project they completed while at CHS.
- Makayla Hill (Alvernia) and Gianna Williams (American) accepted the the Shooting for the Stars Awards, given to students who have demonstrated resilience and perseverance in overcoming obstacles during their CHS experience.
- Lauren Chappell and Tiffany Tieu collected the Making A Difference Awards, given to students who have a passion for improving their community and having an impact on the lives of others.
- Rachel Banner (Maryland Institute College of Art) took home the Joe Kircher Scholarship, given to a student who valued their experience at Elkins Park School and demonstrated leadership, service and strong character while there.
- Zachariah Gharrafi (Columbia) received the David Katz Memorial Scholarship, given to a student pursuing a degree in STEM in honor of the memory of Katz’ lifelong interest in STEM-related topics.
- Lillian Phung (Penn) accepted the Barry Brucker Memorial Scholarship, given to a student who demonstrates perseverance and a commitment to helping others.
