Friends of CRLS Presents $33,100 in Scholarships and Awards to CRLS Class of 2016 Generate Name
Friends of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (FoCRLS) presented $33,100 in scholarships and awards to 24 members of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) Class of 2016 at the high school on Scholarship and Award Night, Thursday, May 19.
FoCRLS sponsored and presented the Charlene Holmes Award Celebrating Friendship to Jodanah Jean Baptiste, CRLS Core Values Scholarships to Meklit Melaku and Samerawet Tsgie, Dr. Christopher Saheed Future Educator Scholarships to Sarah Lipset and Sabrin Mohadmenur, First Scholars Awards to Fahmida Pasha and Elmer Vivas Portillo, and the "It Takes a Village" Multi-Year Scholarship to Farheen Abhura. FoCRLS presented continuing scholarships that included the Colonel & Mrs. Henry Bayard McCoy Memorial Scholarships, distributed by the The New York Community Trust, to Benjamin Austin, Colin McNeely, and William MacArthur; the Daphne S. Powell Scholarship, sponsored by Coleen Kay Walker, to Joann Nicole Cassama; the Dr. David A. Link Scholarship for the Health Professions, made possible by the physician's family, friends, colleagues, and patients, to Mehbooba Tamanna; the Fresh Start Contracting Corp. Award for Carpentry to Georgia Watt; the Maria J. Tavares Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by Mary Tavares Sutula and family, to Josue Cardoza Mena; and the Mary Frances Monti Scholarship, sponsored by FoCRLS Scholarship Chair Neil Rosenburg in honor of his mother, to recipient Darius Mota.
FoCRLS introduced scholarships sponsored by a growing group of supporters, many of whom took the stage to present certificates to their awardees. Through the extensive "100 by 100" Cambridge Business Community Scholarship Initiative, the organization raised $10,000 this school year, resulting in five $2,000 scholarships in the STEAM fields: in Science to Emma Belabbes, in Technology to Mystikal Scalzi, in Engineering to Rafael Pereira, in the Arts to Yanka Rodrigues, and in Mathematics to Alexis Rabkin.
Contributions to the “100 by 100” Business Community Scholarship fund, ranging from $100 to $2,000, were made by the initiative's founding donors: Arams #2 House of Pizza, Architectural Resources Cambridge, Austin Architects, Bagelsaurus, Barrell Plumbing & Heating Co., The Barrett Family, Beat Brasserie, Black Ink, Bonny's Garden Center, Boston Marriott Cambridge, Broadway Bicycle School, Broadway Marketplace, Cambridge Auto Center, Cambridge Bicycle, Cambridge Innovation Center, Cambridge Printing Company, Cambridge Trust Company, Carlone & Associates, Charles Hotel, Chestnut Hill Realty, Club Passim, Courthouse Seafood, Crema Café, Custom Eyes, Daedalus Restaurant, Dickson Bros. Hardware, Didriks, Fleming Printing Co., Formaggio Kitchen, Forty Winks, Four Burgers, Gibson Sotheby's International Realty, Gnomon Copy, Grendel's Den Restaurant and Bar, Harvard Book Store, Harvard Square Business Association, Hong Kong Restaurant, Irving House and Harding House, Klibaner & Sabino Law Offices, Local Root, Longleaf Lumber, M. F. Keane Contracting, Marc Truant & Associates, Middle East Restaurant & Nightclub, Newbury Comics, Nine Athens, Noble Wickersham & Heart LLP, OPositive Coaching & HR Services, Pann Home Services & Remodeling, Petsi Pies, Porter Square Books, RV Print Solutions, Sheraton Commander Hotel, S+H Construction Inc., Susanna, TAGS Hardware, Tayrona, Trademark Tours, Trinity Property Management, University Stationery Company, and Zoe’s Restaurant.
Among other scholarship "firsts" offered by FoCRLS this year were the Aurora M. (Ciccariello) Leydon Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by Jack Leydon, awarded to Iman Mouzinho; the Calvin Hicks Memorial Award for the Study of Music, sponsored by Marguerite Hicks-Gyewu and family and friends of Calvin Hicks, to Maximilian Kaufmann; the Juliette Kayyem & David Barron Scholarship for Children of First Responders, awarded to Raina Williams; the Patrick Ewing Scholarship, sponsored by NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing (CRLS Class of '81), awarded to Karalynn Ojeda-Pollard; and the Rose & Victor Rifkin Family Scholarships, made possible by the family and friends of Rose & Victor Rifkin and their descendants, awarded to Mehbooba Tamanna and Samerawet Tsgie.
Also new this year was a reception preceding the ceremony to recognize scholarship sponsors. In attendance were many recipients and honored guests, including Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, who addressed the crowd, along with CRLS Principal Damon Smith, FoCRLS Executive Director Elaine Schear, and CRLS Class of '13 four-scholarship awardee Yvonne Appiah. Decorations and flowers were contributed by Coady Florist and Brattle Square Florist.
FoCRLS is a 501(c)3 nonprofit association that works to bring opportunities to students, graduates, and faculty of CRLS, Cambridge's only public high school, where nearly half of the students come from families with low income. To learn more about establishing a scholarship, donating, or volunteering, please visit focrls.org, email us, or call 857.235.9290.
Photo: (l-r) "100 by 100" founding donor Selena Tan, CRLS Principal Damon Smith, and CRLS Class of '16 scholarship awardee Raina Williams