5 Arlington County Students Win Dunkin’ Regional Scholarships

ARLINGTON, VA — Five students in Arlington County are among the winners of the 2024 Dunkin’ Regional Scholarships.

Dunkin' and its DC area franchisees awarded $125,000 in academic scholarships to 50 high school and college students throughout the DC region. The $2,500 scholarships go toward part-time or full-time undergraduate degree at a higher education institution in fall 2024.

"The Dunkin' Regional Scholarship is part of our ongoing commitment to empowering young adults and giving them an opportunity to achieve their goals in life," said Jamie Struwe, field marketing manager for Dunkin'. "We are proud to continue the tradition of furthering students’ educational goals in our community and help lead them to a bright future."

The Arlington County scholarship recipients were Tselmeg Battelmen, Cynthia Lionheart, Malek Ben Hammoudae, Natalie Bernstein, and Abbey Lennox.

Battelment attended Yorktown High School and is a member of the Class of 2026 at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria. She works at iTouch, where she enjoys creating digital art. She also likes spending quality time with her family.

Lionheart received her GED and is a member of the Class of 2026 at NVCC. Currently, she's developing a website that will help people suffering from contact allergies to discover safe products. Her work in this area will help people with environmental disabilities, such as MCAS. This earned her second place at both NVCC's honors conference and R Street Institute’s hackathon. In addition, she placed third in Amazon's Next Design Competitions.

Ben Hammoudae was a student at Washington Liberty High School and is in the Class of 2028 at the University of Virginia. She has been active in Hoops for Hunter, where she helps support a variety of charitable causes. She also enjoys working with the Connect Mentor Organization and Wheels for Africa. In addition, Ben Hammoudae is a Student Ambassador and a member of the Liberty Girls Varsity Basketball and Tennis teams.

Bernstein attended Yorktown High School and is a member of the Class of 2027 at Johns Hopkins University, where she is a research assistance at the Hopkins Laboratory for Child Development. She is also a member of the Psychology Undergraduate Steering Committee and the Political Science Steering Committee, as well as an editor with the undergraduate law review. She looks forward to next year when she will be a First Year Mentor.

Lennox was a student at Liberty High School and is a member of Virginia Tech's Class of 2028. She is spending her time this summer at Boolean Girl, where she's remaking and teaching the micro coding camp curriculum. Lennox also works as an assistant soccer coach.

Scholarship recipients will be honored at a recognition ceremony at Nationals Park Thursday.

Other scholarship winners include:

• Annapolis: Ana Hernandez Valcarcel, Broadneck Junior High School (Anne Arundel Community College Class of 2024)
• Ashburn: Saoirse O'Hair, Stone Bridge High School (College of William and Mary)
• Baltimore: Ira Geller, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Cornell University Class of 2028)

• Baltimore: Viktoria Sanchez-Aleksandrova, Parkville High School (Morgan State University Class of 2028)
• Baltimore: Jaylin Burston, Overlea High (University of Maryland – Baltimore County Class of 2028)
• Baltimore: Melissa Flores, Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts (Community College of Baltimore County – Essex Class of 2026)
• Bel Air: Samuel Tesfai, C. Milton Wright High School (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Class of 2028)
• Bel Air: Matthew Luk, C. Milton Wright High School (California Institute of Technology Class of 2028)
• Belcamp: Kemi Imode, Havre de Grace High (Harvard College Class of 2028)
• Behtesda: Leora Leavey, Walter Johnson High School (University of Maryland – College Park Class of 2028)
• Bowie: Jadon Walker, Bowie High School (University of Maryland – College Park Class of 2027)
• Bristow: Ashlee Moreno Watanabe, Patriot High School (James Madison University Class of 2027)
• Brookeville: Adalia Bonilla, Sherwood High School (Montgomery College – Rockville Class of 2026)
• Brunswick: Calebta Agyeman Badu, Frederick High School (University of Maryland – College Park Class of 2028)
• Chantilly: Jainil Modi, Freedom High School (University of California-Los Angeles)
• Elkridge: Yasmin Razak, Howard High School (University of Maryland – College Park Class of 2028)
• Elkton: Ella Lineaweaver, Rising Sun High School (Culinary Institute of America Class of 2026)
• Ellicott City: Caroline McCaffrey, Mount Hebron High School (Bucknell University Class of 2028)
• Ellicott City: Allie Liu, Centennial High School (Georgetown University Class of 2028)
• Falls Church: Jaylen Rocha, Justice High School (Northern Virginia Community College Class of 2025)
• Frederick: Dhruv Girish, Urbana High School (Johns Hopkins University Class of 2028)
• Frederick: Abigail Brower, Walkersville High School (Salisbury University Class of 2028)
• Fredericksburg: Benjamin Quansah, Massaponax High school (Old Dominion University Class of 2026)
• Fulton: Alanna Ro, Reservoir High School (University of Maryland – College Park Class of 2028)
• Halethorpe: Haylee Beard, Lansdowne High School (Garrett College Class of 2026)
• Hampstead: Erin Chaney, Manchester Valley High School (Virginia Tech Class of 2028)
• Kearneysville: Victoria Hardy, Martinsburg High School (West Virginia University Class of 2030)
• Laurel: Gabriella Patrick, Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Oxford College of Emory University Class of 2028)
• Loudoun:
• Millersville: Savana Gambriel, Old Mill Senior High School (Anne Arundel Community College Class of 2026)
• Mount Jackson: Drew Ludwig, Mountain View High School (Lord Fairfax Community College Class of 2025)
• Odenton: Erin Scott (University of Maryland – Baltimore County Class of 2027)
• Oxford: Aylin Ruiz Lopez, Oxford Area High School (Cecil College Class of 2026)
• Pasadena: Cecilia Hartford, Northeast High School (Washington and Lee University Class of 2028)
• Purcellville: Lima Naimi, Loudoun Valley High School (University of Virginia Class of 2028)
• Rising Sun: Jane Huegel, Perryville High School (Cecil College Class of 2026)
• Rockville: Allison Xu, Walter Johnson High School (University of Pennsylvania Class of 2028)
• St. Michaels: Iven Chen, Easton High School (Vanderbilt University Class of 2028)
• South Riding: Prisha Singh, Freedom High School (George Washington University Class of 2027
• Stafford: Isaiah Rhoe, North Stafford High School (Virginia Tech Class of 2028)
• Waldorf: Gerald Tabe, St. Charles High School (University of Maryland – College Park Class of 2028)
• Waldorf: Ayobami Abudu, St. Charles High School (Salisbury University Class of 2028)
• Washington, DC: Devan Tatlow, School Without Walls Senior High School (Harvard College Class of 2028)
• Washington, DC: Amirahimaan Kalonji, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School (Dartmouth College Class of 2028)
• Washington, DC: Akesh Mallia, School Without Walls High School (University of Wisconsin – Madison Class of 2028)
• Woodstock: Thomas Lee, Gilman School (Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2028)