Class Notes 2021

The 2020 Irvington High School awards ceremony was postponed due to the protocols of the virus, but everyone had hoped that this year, 2021, would be a return to standard format. However, it was not to be. Nancy Seiffert and Marty Jacobs, representing the committee, were informed that the awards ceremony would be a virtual program. However, it was not only a special program, it turned out to be spectacular. While we didn’t meet with the winners in person, we learned about their plans and areas of interest. The high school’s administrative team was involved in making this program a success. Even with the logistics of using a virtual format the proceedings were beautifully executed. The entire virtual event was positive and well received. Students volunteered with a musical interlude and various speakers wished the students well as they embark on their intended careers. We have listed the names of the recipients and their areas of study for your reference. While we missed meeting the alums who usually attend the awards ceremony, we hope that next year will be a return to the standard presentations.

The committee sends a newsletter to all alums who have made contributions to the program and to all who request a copy. If you would like to be on our mailing listing, please email Nancy at Nancy.Sieffert@gmail.com. Information on the participants, special scholarship awards, thoughts from the graduates, etc. are topics for the newsletter. This year a special Bob Roberts scholarship award was presented to McLord Otabil. Bob was an active member of the IHS team and was a retired captain of the Irvington Fire Department. This scholarship honored the memory of Mr. Roberts who passed away last year.

The scholarship winners and where they plan to study and their area of interest are:

Azizz Smith

– at Rutgers for Bank Management

Osaretin Aghahowa

– at Bloomfield for Pediatric Nursing

Esther Ono

– Muhlenberg for Neuropharmacology

Anna Boakye

– at Rutgers for Pediatrician

McLord Otabil

– at Norwich for Criminal Justice

Make a donation to the "IHS Alumni Scholarship Fund".

Make a secure on-line donation to the "IHS Alumni Scholarship Fund" at the Community Foundation of New Jersey.

New Collaboration
- moving the scholarship committee to a new direction

The IHS Alumni Scholarship Committee has completed a succession plan since all of the committee members are at least in their 70’s and the time had come to look towards the future of the program. Since the committee was not able to recruit possible successors from our younger alumni, it was decided to pursue a successor organization to eventually take over the administration of the fund to protect the fund holdings and to enable continuation of awarding scholarships. The Community Foundation of New Jersey in Morristown has many years’ experience in administering scholarship funds. The IHS committee met with the Community Foundation and after review, implemented an agreement to work with the Community Foundation in the distribution of disbursements and record keeping. The IHS committee will retain responsibility for selecting award winners and scholarship amounts throughout this transfer. Please be assured that this will be a seamless transition and this will enable the scholarship program to continue to operate as far into the future as possible. You can learn a more about the community foundation of New Jersey at wwwcfnj.org.