The Community Foundation For Northern Virginia: Community Foundation Awards Over $332,500 In College Scholarships

Press release from the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia:

July 14, 2021

Higher education costs and student loan debt continues to climb as a new crop of students prepare to head off to college this upcoming fall semester. The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, a leader in philanthropy in the region announced today that it has awarded more than $332,500 in college scholarships to 122 recent high school graduates and current college students to support their higher education goals in the upcoming academic school year. This year’s recipients, who were recognized for academic achievement, character, financial need, and for demonstrating good citizenship at school, at home, and in the community. “Every year we are very impressed by the pool of talented students applying for Community Foundation scholarships,” said Eileen Ellsworth, President and CEO at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. “These scholarships reflect our ongoing commitment to invest in the next generation and we are thrilled to recognize their dedication to academics, family, and their communities.” The Community Foundation manages twelve scholarships and administers the funds for eighteen other scholarships that support Northern Virginia students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees. Each individual scholarship fund supports a different area of focus as created and envisioned by the donor. One of the many scholarships available is our Northern Virginia First Responders Scholarship Fund.

The fund, which benefits first responders and dependents of active first responders in the Northern Virginia area was established by donor Aaron Kinworthy. “This scholarship fund is our small way of recognizing those brave individuals and saying thank you to them by highlighting their incredible efforts and accomplishments,” said Kinworthy. Saira Akram, a graduate of the Academies of Loudoun is the recipient of a $5,000 NVTC Foundation Kilberg Scholarship, which was established to support female students pursuing higher education in STEM-related fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) “I didn’t want to be a financial burden to my parents, so I applied for the NVTC scholarship. This scholarship has allowed me to pursue my education in cybersecurity,” said Akram. This year’s scholarship winners were announced during Community Foundation’s Virtual Cocktails & Conversations event available here. See the complete list of scholarship winners below.

ahayra Guzman-Rivas, Garfield High School Gavin Duhe', Hayfield Secondary School Kimiya Farzinfar, Woodbridge High School Magaly Villegas Hernandez, John R. Lewis High School Clara E. Guardado Lopez, Arlington Career Center Christina Pelliccio, University of California, Berkeley * Melannye Perez, Falls Church High School Ayesha Riasat, Herndon High School Fatima Villalobos Gonzalez, Washington-Liberty High School Selah Dean, Woodson High School Lara Zanotti, Westfield High School Nathan Buchanan, Haverford College* Kathleen Cannon, Duke University * Irene Chen, Emory University * Aarushi Dubey, University of Maryland * Arianna Gehan, Senior year - County College of Morris, NJ Emily Huo, University of Virginia * Hannah Jones, UNC - Chapel Hill * Mark Joseph, Loyola Marymount University * Luke Katzen, University of Virginia * Ramcharan Malladi, Broad Run High School and Loudoun Academy of Engineering & Technology Sreya Mallipeddi, College of William and Mary * Julia Noppenberger, Haverford College * Brittany Peng, McLean High School Grace Pluemacher, Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, NJ Jonas Ravich, Johns Hopkins University * Sachi Sakaniwa, University of Vermont, Burlington * Karen Song, Thomas Jefferson High School Jasmine Summers-Evans, UCLA * Avery Watkins, Stanford University * Chris Yang, Duke University * Anonymous (2) Mariana Buenaventura, Hayfield Secondary School Glenn Cotone, Virginia Tech University Sara Guckenberger, Fairfax High School Liam Mangan, Loudoun County High School Nicole Notta, Stonebridge High School Ashburn Nalin Aggarwal, Freedom High School Vivian Cao-Dao, University of Virginia * Isabella Drake, Leiden University * Jaspreet Kaur, Virginia Commonwealth University * Riya Maheshwari, Georgetown University * Jesus Neyra, University of Virginia * Hayly Nguyen, John Champe High School & Northern Virginia Community College Huzaifa Shafique, Westfield High School Anubhav Thapaliya, Virginia Commonwealth University * man Abuel-Hawa, Northern Virginia Community College Katie Jordan, Patriot Hight School Emma Patane, Battlefield High School Sanjoli Agarwal, George Mason University Saira Akram, Academies of Loudoun Shery Kamel, Mountain View High School Rachel Lin, James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School Sukriti Sharma, West Springfield High School Isabel Craun, Liberty University * Eliana Glover, Roanoke College * Naim Gmati, Virginia Commonwealth University * Gina Nored, Lipscomb University * Charley Piercy, Woodgrove High School Erin Poplin, Miami University * Maria-Paula Proano, George Mason University * Lindsey Staub, Broad Run High School Ashleigh Trudell, Heritage High School Marissa Young, Belmont Abbey College * Bryan Bocompani, Brentsville District High School Angelina Cherian, John Champe High School Academy of Science Maria Hamilton, Herndon High School Ronald Ortiz Jr, Unity Reed High School Jackson Buley, Herndon High School Semhar Habte-Mariam, Herndon High School Jacqueline Kerner, West Springfield High School Maris DePalma, Mansfield High School, Massachusetts Laura Ryan, Home School & Northern Virginia Community College Anonymous Gurleen Kaur, Thomas Jefferson High School Kayla Kim, Potomac Falls High School Dinan Elsyad, Thomas Jefferson High School Olivia Lippincott, Loudoun County High School Margaret Short, Potomac Falls High School Emma Wetmore, Stone Bridge High School All attend South Lakes High School Anonymous * Hadi Abdelhalim* Aamina Ahmad Alejandro Alvalos Alvarenga* Andrea Ataucusi Emeli Avalos Barillas* Melani Beltran Zayyan Budiman* Andrea Coca Ventura* Ian Cruz Diseye Ken Fiobotei* Luis Zevallos Garate* Mona Hassan* Maricila Hernandez-Recinos Sohale Hessavi* Abdi Hobor* Carla Jovel* Javaria Khattak* Mishal Khattak Anisa Mahamed* Abita Mahdi* Priscilla Maradiago* Nayeli Martinez Mancia* Nicol Salinas Perez* Aiza Shabbaz Hamdi Feisal Sharif* Tsiyon Wakjira* James Watkins* Nia Winston* Brenda Yanes* Austin Marzett, Patriot High School Amanda Crisp, South Lakes High School Nathan Wojciechowski, South Lakes High School Iman Abuel-Hawa, South County High School Saera Kim, Centreville High School Jaella Lahat, South County High Schoool Gabrielle Paker, Centreville High School Victoria Grace Turtiainen, Chantilly High School.

For more information about scholarships at Community Foundation contact Jennifer Cochran, Manager of Grants and Scholarship at 703-879-7639, or visit www.cfnova.org/scholarships

This press release was produced by the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. The views expressed here are the author’s own.