Recipients of awards and Members of the scholarship/mentor committee have shared their comments.

AWARD RECEPIENTS: Shirlena Coke · Na'imah Spells

MEMBERS of the SCHOLARSHIP/MENTOR COMMITTEE: Nancy Hetz Sieffert

Shirlena Coke:

To the Irvington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation Committee:

I am extremely elated to have gained such a prestigious award and could not be any more grateful than I already am to receive additional aid as most college bound students go into large amounts of debt. Just days before Irvington High School’s Senior Class Day, I was skeptical as to how I would afford a laptop compatible with rigorous coursework. My parents, of Jamaican heritage, would not have been able to cover these expenses otherwise. Upon attaining this award, I can now afford one. My story of perseverance, determination, scholarship, and service should showcase how in the end it all work does pay off and someone is always watching. I also want others after me to see that achieving great things can be beneficial long term so do not be in such a haste if you do not get the praise for it all now.
I have chosen to enroll in Drew University located in Madison, New Jersey which is in close proximity to my hometown of Irvington. This summer I will be an Equal Opportunity Scholar at Drew University taking three classes over a six week time span. In the fall, I will also be In the Baldwin Honors Program. To date, I am undecided on a major, but nonetheless my interests include Sociology and Biology in hopes of being a criminal profiler although it can always change. Thanks to the Irvington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation, not only was this a great incentive for me and others before me for excelling in scholarship and service, but also my debt will be lessened. Sitting on the stage for Class Day was the icing on the cake of my high school career. I thank everyone who played a role in me in receipt of this award and be sure to keep in touch with me at Scoke@drew.edu.

Best Regards,

Shirlena Coke

Na’imah Spells:

To the Irvington High School Alumni Scholarship Foundation Committee:

Words cannot explain how blessed I am to have received this scholarship award and I am more than grateful for the much needed additional financial aid. This committee has definitely lift a weight off of my shoulders and has placed my mind a little more at ease. Coming from a family who was declining financially, paying for college was a huge issue. I could not pay for anything for college. My mother has four children and was in no position to send one off to college, let alone a private one. It has always been a dream of mine to go off to college and not become a product of my environment. Receiving the prestigious Irvington High School Alumni Scholarship has made it easier for me to obtain my goal; a goal that had once seemed unobtainable. I have endured many trials and tribulations in my life. Everything I have been through has been my fuel for my ammunition and my target college. Thank you so much for what you all have done for me. I know that you all did not have to choose me for this award but you did. You all saw something in me, something deep inside that lead you all to believe that I, along with Shirlena Coke, deserved this award. Thank you so much.

I am elated to inform you all that I will be attending Centenary College in the fall as an Education Opportunity Program student. This program requires that I take three class four days out of the week. My major will be Social Work. There is not anything else in the world that gives me more pleasure than to know that I have helped someone realize his or hers self-value and talents. I want to change the lives of children just like so they will not have to endure the same struggles I have been through and feel as though they are alone in this world. Thanks to this scholarship I will be able to become that effective social worker that I desire to be. Again, thank you for everything. If there is anything that I can do for the committee please do not hesitate to let me know.

Respectfully,

SUMMARY 2013
by MEMBERS of the SCHOLARSHIP / MENTOR COMMITTEE

Hi Everyone -

Not all of you could attend Class Day yesterday so I thought I'd give some of my overall feelings of the day.  Marty Jacobs, Jean Martin Fowler and her husband Michael, Vic Petriella, Sam Sudfield,  Clara Roth and I attended - we missed all of you who couldn't be there with us! 

Another IHS Class Day - It seems to get better each year!

As we entered the auditorium we heard the Jazz Ensemble playing on the stage!  Remember how we walked into assemblies with the orchestra playing!!  The junior ROTC let us in the pledge of allegiance and then one of our scholarship recipients sang the Star Spangled Banner and did a fantastic job!!

Read more...

Nancy Hetz Sieffert, June 8, 2013