Nine Tucson-area students have been awarded National Merit scholarships.
Some of the awards provide between $1,000 to $10,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 to $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
The winners are: Aaron X. Trinh of Canyon Del Oro High School; Alexandra L. Chao, Benjamin A. Alexander and Konnie G. Huang of Basis School Oro Valley; Tom M. George of Basis Tucson North; Margot C. Nicholson, Rebecca Y. Han and Robert M. Pawloski of Catalina Foothills High; and James J. Yang of University High.
The students entered the National Merit Scholarship program when they took the 2019 Preliminary SAT, which served as an initial screener. The highest-scoring students were named semifinalists. To be considered for the finalist level, the semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with information on extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record and be recommended by a high school official.
About 16,000 students advanced to finalist standing, and about half of those would be named Merit Scholarship winners for 2021.
Additional recipients of college-sponsored awards will be announced in July.
Marana students earn scholarships
The Rotary Club of Marana-Dove Mountain awarded scholarships to two local high school graduates.
Christopher Te of Mountain View High and Diya Patel of Marana High each received $2,000 scholarships. They were selected based on academic achievement, an essay, interviews and extra-curricular activities, a news release said.
Te will attend the University of Arizona, and Patel will attend the Barnard College of Columbia University.
The Rotary Club has awarded academic and vocational scholarships annually to Mountain View and Marana High students since 2006.
Nonprofit raises money for families
Interfaith Community Services is trying to raise $10,000 during June to provide low-income families with funding for backpacks, tutoring, sports lessons/teams, summer camps and more.
The Youth Enrichment Support Program, also called YES, originated as a school supply drive called βGifts of Love Backpack Campaign.β
Because of changing needs around COVID, the campaign expanded from just funding school supplies to include access to extracurricular opportunities, including academic needs such as technology, science supplies, musical enrichment, class fees and after-school programs as well as paying for lessons, sports teams and camps.
βParticipating in extracurricular programs including sports, music and the arts provides benefits to kids in the areas of physical health, social and emotional skills and academics,β says ICS Director of Self Sufficiency Programs Lauryn Valladarez. βIncreasing access to these activities for families that otherwise may not enroll their kids in these types of programs closes the gap for those that are already struggling in other areas.β
To make a donation, go to p2p.onecause.com/icsyouthenrichmentsupport. For information on the YES program, contact Valladarez at 520-526-9288 or lvalladarez@icstucson.org or contact Youth Programming and Support Coordinator Elise Smith at 520-526-9297 or esmith@icstucson.org.
Grants awarded for nonprofits
The Marshall Foundation is awarding about $1.6 million in scholarships to Tucson nonprofits that provide support for children and families from early childhood education to undergraduate study.
2021 recipients to-date have received grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000, and more grants will be distributed through the end of the year.
Current recipients include: Assistance League of Tucson Inc., Childrenβs Action Alliance, CITY Center for Collaborative Learning (CommunityShare), Earn To Learn, Educational Enrichment Foundation, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights and Project, Interfaith Community Services, JobPath Inc., Literacy Connects, Old Pueblo Community Services, Our Family Services, Sahuarita Food Bank, Social Venture Partners, Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired, Tucson Festival of Books and Tucsonβs January 8th Memorial Foundation.
Funding also went to numerous University of Arizona Foundation scholarships and programs, including Arizona Assurance Scholarships, Arizona Assurance Scholarships Edie Auslander, Presidents Directed Student Scholarships, Honors College, Early Academic Outreach, undergraduate scholarships, College of Nursing scholarships and graduate college scholarships.
The Marshall Foundation has been serving Tucson communities since 1930, when Louise Marshall and her husband Tom created the first private foundation in Arizona. The foundation has since awarded more than $25 million to University of Arizona and Pima County nonprofits.
