Protestant Home names scholarship winners
The Philadelphia Protestant Home announced three 2017 Schea Scholarship winners.
Scholarships of $750 each were awarded to three PPH employees attending college.
The winners are Lovely Ave, nursing staff member, studying nursing at West Chester University; Michelle Boggs, security staff member, studying nursing at Drexel University; and Devon King, of dining services, studying Information Technology at Community College of Philadelphia.
Winners were chosen based on financial need, academic merit and a 500-word essay on how the funds will be used to advocate their careers in healthcare and senior services.
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Local students receive bikes
City Councilwoman Cherelle L. Parker (D-9th dist.) was joined by CH2M at Ben Franklin Elementary School to distributing bicycles to 15 deserving students from three Philadelphia schools through the Bikes for Kids program.
“This year, we celebrate students from Carnell, Ellwood and Franklin elementary schools who have each exhibited stellar academic achievement, improvements in their academic performance or a special commitment to serving their school community. We applaud them for their hard work,” Parker said.
Each school principal selected five students, who all received a new Huffy bike and a helmet.
“On behalf of the students, we would like to say thank you to Councilwoman Parker for donating bikes to us,” said Giana Ward, a third-grader at Franklin.
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Politz Hebrew Academy earns grant
State Rep. Ed Neilson (D-174th dist.) announced that safety at Politz Hebrew Academy, 9225 Old Bustleton Ave., will be enhanced thanks to a state grant.
Politz Hebrew Academy will receive $40,000 from the state’s Safe Schools Initiative Targeted Grant Program. The grant will assist the school in paying for salary and other compensation for a school resource or police officer’s position for the school year. Up to $2,000 of the grant may be used for approved safety training.
“It is crucial that students feel safe in school. A secure environment is needed for education to truly happen,” Neilson said. “These funds will help us further our goal of providing a quality education to every child in the community.”
Safe School Initiative grants are competitive grants awarded by the state education department to help school districts prevent and reduce school violence through school resource and police officers, prevention programs and security-related technology.
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College teams with local school
East Stroudsburg University’s admissions office has extended 21 offers of admittance to seniors at Tacony Academy Charter High School.
Students were offered the opportunity to have their transcripts, GPAs and SAT/ACT scores reviewed for the chance of an on-the-spot acceptance.
“They were so proud of themselves and some cried tears of joy,” said principal Na’imah Holliday. “I am so proud of this special group. Their futures are brighter than they imagine.”
Tacony Academy is a charter school whose themes are inventions, innovations and problem solving. About 390 students attend Tacony, with 80 in its graduating class.
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LF student Grover wins scholarship
Little Flower High School’s Olivia Grover was among 20 American Heritage Federal Credit Union members who received $1,000 college scholarships.
The recipients earned the scholarships based on their scholarly merits, community and school involvement, a letter of recommendation and a submitted essay describing something the recipient has done that has made a difference in their community, school, church or organization.
For more information, visit www.amhfcu.org ••
St. Basil grads earn $9.5 million in scholarships
St. Basil Academy’s class of 2017 was awarded more than $9.5 million in merit scholarships.
Graduates will be attending 29 colleges and universities across the country.
Natalie Kucowski served as valedictorian, and Madelyn Riehman was the salutatorian.
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5 high school grads earn college scholarships
Five local students were among 50 high school seniors selected to receive the 2017 Philadelphia City Scholarship.
The scholarship — intended for Philadelphia graduates who will attend college in the five-county area — provides recipients $1,000 per year for up to four years of college.
The selection criteria included students’ GPAs, financial need demonstrated through FAFSA forms, resumes and personal essays.
The local winners were Taylor Brennan (Archbishop Ryan, Temple), Yasmeen Hassan (Abraham Lincoln, Temple), Thao Nguyen (Little Flower, Drexel), Sheba Roy (George Washington, Drexel) and Dilvozakhon Utkurova (George Washington, Drexel).
“I am going to Temple to study to be a pharmacist, and this scholarship will reduce the financial challenge of investing in my future,” Hassan said. “I want to work in medicine and help people; helping people is a must. Temple is big college, and I’m excited to stay in Philadelphia but also get out of my comfort zone and explore a new part of the city. I’ve had family members go to Temple and I’m so excited to go to a diverse college, meet new people, and start my career.”
For more information about The Mayor’s Office of Education’s Philadelphia City Scholarship, go to https://beta.phila.gov/documents/philadelphia-city-scholarship-program-application/ ••
