The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund awarded $175,000 to 29 graduating seniors from McCaskey High School on May 27, 2020 as follows:
$30,000 in scholarships given by the law firm of Hagelgans & Veronis, both alumni of McCaskey, to be awarded into six $5,000 scholarships each to the following:
- Candace Graupera
- Mayerli Taveras
- Nayan Sunuwar
- Caroline Wisler
- Gavin Collier
- Linette Hernandez
$25,000 to Quyen Hoang, donated by the Dietrich Botstiber Foundation;
$25,000 split into two $12,500 scholarships each to Summer Edwards and Leydi Gil, donated by Nicholas and Susan Veronis;
$20,000 to Tianna Lawrence, a MLK, Jr. Board Scholarship in honor of a beloved and long- time board member, Nelson Polite, Sr.;
$10,000 in scholarships donated by John Enoch in loving memory of his wife, Christine to be given in two $5,000 scholarships to Penn State bound scholars, Alexis Link and Livia Seifert;
A $6,000 scholarship to Aliyah Newcomer donated by Joan Pollock, Board Member and former nurse in the school district, in memory of Nurse Practitioners in the school district Shelby Hackman, Zelma Martin, and Lois Weidman ($5,000) and by David Walborn in memory of his mother Evelyn Loretta Walborn ($1,000);
Other graduates receiving $5,000 scholarships were:
- Jazlyne Flores, donated by Edward and Kathy Shoenberger;
- Christina Burton, donated by Edward and Kathy Shoenberger;
- Serenity Milner, donated by Sharon A. Hargrave;
- Ariana Tellado, donated by Betty Beck in honor of her parents Robert and Betty Kreider;
- Areyana Montanez, donated by Georgina and Thomas Russo;
- Jack Ziegler, donated by Georgina and Thomas Russo;
- Kiana Marti, donated as a David Johnson Memorial Scholarship by the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
- Rachel Graham, the Ellen Pike MLK, Jr. Board Scholarship
Seven other seniors awarded a $2,000 MLK, Jr. Board Scholarship each were:
- Sadeyah Perales,
- Dejon Manning,
- Aidan Freeman,
- Samuel Ossa Rodriguez,
- Karla Diez Alicea,
- Juan Colorado Lopez, and
- Brian McCloud.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund grew out of a community group of which Nelson Polite, Sr. was a member and was established in 1982 by a group of teachers at Martin Luther King Elementary School. Its vision was to support a King Elementary student who planned to attend post-secondary education. It has grown from its modest beginnings, and in the past 35 years, the Fund has awarded more than $1,200,000 in scholarships to nearly 500 graduating seniors at McCaskey High School.
Successful applicants must demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, a drive to succeed, service to school and community, and must have financial need. In many cases, these exceptional scholars work part- time jobs while attending McCaskey. The majority are the first persons in their extended families to have the opportunity to attend college.
The dedicated and entirely volunteer board is made up of teachers and local professionals. It vets each potential recipient to ensure that only financially qualified students receive the scholarships. For more info, visit https://www.mlkjrfund.org/.