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Jonathan Fickies

Hard work and achievement were honored at the 46th annual Albert Shanker Scholarship Awards ceremony at which the union handed out nearly $1 million in scholarships to 177 high school seniors and five prospective graduate students.

“You’ll often hear teachers and paraprofessionals saying ‘my kids,’” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the audience of students accompanied by their proud family members and educators at the June 8 ceremony at union headquarters. “Always remember that we are here for you, and we are here to help each other.”

The awards are in the name of the union’s legendary leader, whose widow, Eadie, serves on the scholarship selection committee and attends the ceremony every year.

“These students represent the best and brightest in the New York City public schools,” said Anthony Harmon, a special assistant to the president and the director of the Albert Shanker College Scholarship Fund. “Some are high achievers, while others have overcome enormous obstacles.”

As students received their award certificates on stage at Shanker Hall, their colleges of choice were also announced, including Princeton, Barnard, Fordham and various CUNY and SUNY campuses.

Queens Councilman Daniel Dromm, a former public school teacher and UFT delegate, noted the diverse ethnic backgrounds of the people in the room. “That’s what public education is all about,” he said.

Dromm, who chairs the Council’s Education Committee, said Al Shanker had taught him what unionism means. “Today you can see the results,” he said. “This is his dream.”

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A remarkable transformation: Winston Scott

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Jonathan Fickies

Winston Scott remembers his life before high school with candor. “I wasn’t on top of my game at all in middle school,” he said. “In high school, I started to care so much more.”

At Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem, a middle school is attached to the high school, which is where Marquis Harrison, a history teacher and chapter leader, met Winston.

Harrison is equally candid: “If you had told me when Winston was in 7th grade that he would be a Shanker scholarship winner, I would’ve said, ‘Ah, I don’t know.’”

Sendy Keenan, Winston’s trigonometry and AP calculus teacher, concurred that he was a student “who needed an extra push.”

Winston credits both Harrison and Keenan for challenging him to do better. “Mr. Harrison gave me educational values and advice on manhood,” Winston said. “He’s one of the reasons I am the person I am today — more kind and concerned about my surroundings. He gave me the courage to go after what I want.”

Winston calls Keenan “an inspiration.”

“I’m a complainer,” he said. “She’d ignore me and challenge me with more work, dealing with mathematical equations and concepts.”

Winston excelled academically and became a leader, too: He is president of the school’s National Honor Society, involved with student government and president of the Harlem Vocal Ensemble. In the fall, he’ll study mathematics at the University of Rochester. “The reason for going so far with this idea of math is to give back to my community,” he wrote in his Shanker Awards essay. “Give children the opportunity to love math the way I love it so much.”

Harrison is gleeful that Winston will be going to his alma mater. “We definitely created a bond,” Harrison said. “And now that he’s going to the University of Rochester, that’s another link to me.”

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A tribute to her parents: Genesis Escobar

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Jonathan Fickies

High school can be tough for anyone, but Genesis Escobar completed her studies at Harry S. Truman HS in the Bronx after overcoming a family tragedy. Her father had suffered a stroke when she was a child, and her mother had been his caregiver for as long as Genesis could remember.

But then as she was beginning high school, her mother became ill and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. After an 18-month struggle with the disease, her mother died. And then, just a week later, her father suffered a second stroke and died. Genesis was a sophomore.

“This tragedy will always be with me,” Genesis, age 17, wrote in her Shanker Awards essay. “Although I feel incomplete without my parents, it motivated me to excel in my academics because that is what they would have wanted me to do.”

Genesis said her family and church helped her through her grief. And when it came to school, Roseanne Pinto, her guidance counselor at Truman HS, gave her an important lift.

“She encouraged me to keep my grades up,” said Genesis. “I had moments when I doubted myself. Mrs. Pinto would give me a reality check and remind me of the things I achieved before in honors and AP classes.”

Pinto helped Genesis fill out college and scholarship applications, working with her to hone her college essay.

“Genesis shone,” said Pinto. “She’s vivacious and jovial. You would never know what she has been through.”

Pinto praised her motivation, skills and ability to stay focused. “I could not think of a more deserving candidate,” she said.

Genesis, a member of the school’s National Honor Society, will study nursing at Lehman College in the fall.