For Immediate Release
UFT awards $1 million in scholarships to 227 outstanding high school students
Jun 3, 2009 5:20 PM
Many are recent immigrants or have overcome great personal obstacles while striving to excel in school
Two hundred and twenty-seven New York City public high school seniors who have excelled academically will receive four-year college scholarships when the UFT awards $1 million worth of grants at the union’s 40th Annual Albert Shanker Scholarship Awards Banquet on June 4.
The students – many of whom are immigrants or have overcome daunting obstacles in their personal lives while successfully pursuing their studies – will be recognized for their achievements at the banquet at Stuyvesant High School at 345 Chambers Street and West Side Highway in Lower Manhattan.
Each student will receive a $5,000 scholarship – spread out over four years – from the union’s Albert Shanker College Scholarship Fund, named for the crusading teacher who became president of both the UFT and AFT. The awards are based on both academic merit and financial need.
In addition, seven former undergraduate UFT scholarship winners will each receive graduate scholarships to pursue master’s degrees or otherwise continue their studies. One of the graduate scholarships is for medical school, another is for law school and a third is the Jonathan Levin Teaching Scholarship, named in honor of a city high school teacher murdered in 1997 by a former student he had tried to help.
The keynote address will be delivered by WNBC-TV Channel 4 news anchor Demarco Morgan.
The students, representing every New York City neighborhood and a wide diversity of the city’s public school population, will be accompanied by their families and will be available for interviews during the hour-long reception that begins at 5 p.m. and after the 7 p.m. banquet ends at 8:30 p.m.
The recipients include:
Kari Abouelnaga, a first generation Egyptian-American whose family lost their home and later lost his father to lymphoma in 2007. Making matters worse, Karim had to be treated for a growth hormone deficiency as a freshman. Despite the personal adversity, Karim poured himself into his studies at Long Island City High School in Queens and became a top student there while playing varsity football. He also sought out free tutoring at Baruch College on Saturday mornings and became an Advanced Placement Scholar. He currently earns extra money for his family by working as a part-time lifeguard and swimming instructor.
Jonathan Behar, who struggled to read at an early age until he was diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade. Rather than being daunted by the condition, Jonathan became determined to overcome it by spending every day after school in a library. With the help of his teachers, Jonathan developed a love of reading that led him to become a library volunteer at Bayside High School where he also excels in math and is a member of the school chess and cricket clubs.
Melissa Gaitan, who realized at an early age that she would have to help her mother raise her and four other siblings because of the crushing poverty in which they lived. There were times when the family did not have enough food to last a week, and her mother often could not afford school uniforms or school supplies. The family struggles motivated Melissa to get the best education she could at Jane Addams High School for Academics and Careers in the Bronx. She began taking advanced placement courses in American history, English composition, pre-calculus and physics and she enrolled in many after-school activities such as student government, peer education and the music club. She also participates in clubs outside of school such as Building with Books and Women of Essence, and she has worked in bake sales to help raise money to build schools in other countries.
XiuZhen Fang, who at the age of 15 left Guangdong, China, with her family to come to New York City. The family relied upon her to be their interpreter and guide because she had studied English in China. In order to overcome her fears and frustration, Xiu Zhen started reading newspapers and magazines and watching television news programs to improve her vocabulary. Her English improved quickly, as did her confidence. She also developed a great appreciation for the freedom of the American press because it was a far cry from the state-controlled news media in her homeland. Now that she has become a top student at the High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies in Manhattan, she is considering a career in journalism.
