MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Columbia High School Scholarship Fund continued its 93-year legacy of helping students pursue secondary education by granting $161,500 in need-based scholarships to 106 graduating seniors and alumni during an awards ceremony in the CHS Library on June 9.
That amount is a little less than the $165,000 given out last year, but it nonetheless significantly adds to the more than $1 million the fund has already provided to students since 1923. And it is also the first time in recent memory that the funds awarded has decreased, according to CHSSF President Joan Lee. Lee said the amount granted has been increasing each year for many years, pointing out that 2016’s $161,500 is much more than the $92,000 awarded in 2012.
But Lee said what is important is that many CHS students are getting the necessary support to continue their education. Though she acknowledged that the scholarships could never cover the full cost of tuition — the average student receives $1,500 — the president said every dollar helps in the face of the cost of higher education.
“It makes a difference,” Lee told the News-Record prior to the ceremony. “Kids get to school and they may have tuition and room and board covered, but they don’t have any money for books.”
Lee said a CHSSF scholarship could cover that expense, or it could go toward credits, transportation costs and other education-related necessities. Any past or present CHS student intending to pursue some form of secondary education — whether for a four-year university, technical program or graduate school — can be considered for one by filling out an application and supplying a tax return. The fund’s selection committee then picks as many applicants as financially feasible, choosing those who have demonstrated that they are both academically serious and demonstrate need. This year 126 applications were submitted, Lee said.
Those selected are certainly deserving of their scholarships, according to CHSSF Vice President Brigid Casey. In fact, Casey said it is sometimes downright shocking to see the level of financial need some students have in a community as nice as South Orange and Maplewood. She said some students are legally emancipated from their parents, which means they must shoulder the burden of paying for college entirely by themselves. Others have parents with credit so maxed out that they cannot co-sign for their children’s loans, leaving them with limited fiscal options.
“We always think that we’ve seen it all, and then we’ll read the applications and see the dire financial need the kids have,” Casey told the News-Record following the ceremony, adding that those obstacles make it even more impressive that the students are so determined to find a way to further their education.
Helping students achieve their goals is powerful, according to CHSSF trustee Madeline Tugentman. Speaking with the News-Record after giving out the awards, Tugentman said working for the fund is more meaningful to her than all her other charitable endeavors considering the impact she gets to make on people’s lives. She said she even gets emotional just thinking about the effect the scholarships can have on recipients.
“It’s just one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever been a part of,” Tugentman said. “You’re actually helping children move on and better their life situations.”
Trustee emeritus Sheila Perruzzi agreed that helping the students is what makes being a part of the fund worthwhile. Having been involved with the organization in some fashion since the 1980s, Perruzzi said she has taken on just about every job and seen contributions rise from $22,000 to now more than $150,000. And she is proud to see how far the CHSSF has come — but she said the real reward is knowing who is benefiting.
“The joy comes from seeing the kids achieve,” Perruzzi told the News-Record after handing out the awards. “There are our kids.”
The award recipients in attendance at the ceremony knew exactly how they would be using their scholarship money. With wide smiles, each proudly announced where they plan to attend school in the fall and what they intend to study. It was an impressive list, with universities including Johns Hopkins University, the Berklee College of Music and Pennsylvania State University mentioned. Their majors were also a diverse mix, ranging from psychology to music education to forensic science.
But as hard as they worked for acceptance into such colleges and programs, the students also recognized that the CHSSF is a reason they are able to attend. Shadae Farquharson, a mechanical engineering student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, told the News-Record that the more than $2,000 she has received in grants from the fund has allowed her to breathe easier when it comes time to pay university fees.
“It has made the financial burden lighter,” Farquharson said before the ceremony. “It has caused my family and I to pursue my education without worrying about finances.”
Fellow CHS graduate Michael Jenkins also knows how helpful the extra monies that the CHSSF provides can be. Currently studying landscape design at Morris County College, Jenkins said the $3,500 he has received so far have enabled him to take additional classes that he would not have otherwise been able to afford, taking him one step closer to his ultimate goal of starting his own business, and he said he will always be grateful for that.
And the students are not the only ones thankful for the fund. Leanor Rolle-Harris said she is so proud of her daughter Ciara for being accepted into Montclair State University, where she plans to study public relations and business management in the fall. But college is expensive, which is why Rolle-Harris said she feels fortunate that Ciara was able to obtain a scholarship from the fund. After receiving an excellent education from the local school district that has prepared her daughter for higher education, she said this scholarship will help her move forward and put that knowledge to use in college.
And Rolle-Harris said the trustees and supporters of the CHSSF should be lauded for that.
“To help these children in today’s times, when finances can be a little difficult — it’s just really a wonderful program,” Rolle-Harris told the News-Record ahead of the ceremony, adding that she is extremely excited to see her daughter benefit. “I’m just dancing on the ceiling, I’m so happy.”
Carl Adrien is a testament to how beneficial the CHSSF scholarships can be. The CHS Class of ’02 alumnus said the funds he received throughout his four years at Bloomfield College were a big reason why he was able to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business administration — and with no student debt. Today, Adrien works for JPMorgan Chase and holds a master of business administration degree. He credits that success to the support he received from the CHSSF.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without the help of the scholarship fund,” Adrien told the News-Record following the ceremony. “Not only (did it help) just financially, but it showed me that the community wanted to see me succeed. And that was additional motivation that I needed to push forward to get to where I am now.”
Adrien never forgot where he came from either. After attending his 10-year high school reunion, he approached the CHSSF about setting up a scholarship and has been contributing to students’ education ever since. He is now even a trustee of the organization that once helped him so much.
Giving back to the cause is a great feeling, Adrien said. But the fund obviously cannot survive on his donations alone. The recipient-turned-trustee urged all fellow CHS graduates who have benefited through the decades also to pay it forward and help today’s students.
“(The CHSSF) goal is to give as much as possible, but we can only give as much as we have,” Adrien said. “The more money we have, the more money we’re able to contribute.”
Lee also encouraged SOMA residents to donate, even if they never received a scholarship from the fund. The CHSSF president said her organization is run entirely by volunteers, which means almost all money goes directly to the students. And considering the positive impact graduates can have on the world using their education, she said providing them with the financial support necessary to make it happen really benefits everyone in the long run.
“It’s just truly remarkable the things that these kids are going to go off and accomplish, so why wouldn’t you invest?” Lee said. “That’s our best resource — our children.”
Photos by Sean Quinn