PHILADELPHIA, PA — This week, seven students from Chester County were among 29 seniors awarded college scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 from the Green Family Foundation and Firstrust Bank at the 53rd Annual Samuel A. Green Scholarship Awards program. More than 500 students applied for the scholarship program this year.
The list of students from Chester County and the award amounts they received include:
First Place Winners – $10,000 scholarships
- Shrey Dhingra, Downingtown STEM Academy
Second Place Winners – $7,500 scholarships
- Kavish Saini, Downingtown STEM Academy
- Aparna Vagvala, Downingtown STEM Academy
Third Place Winners – $5,000 scholarships
- Path Patel, Downingtown East High School
- Mahitha Penmetsa, Downingtown East High School
- Alyssa Stauffer, Downingtown STEM Academy
- Samuel Tryon, The Haverford School
In total, 29 high school seniors from the Greater Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley region were recognized by the Green Family Foundation and Firstrust Bank at the 53rd annual Samuel A. Green Scholarship program ceremony. The awards program, one of the region’s most renowned high school scholarship programs, granted $180,000 in college tuition to community-minded seniors who crafted personal essays about they will leverage their education to substantially impact their communities.
The deserving students were celebrated in a ceremony at the Firstrust Bank Club at the Philadelphia Eagles stadium on May 24. More than 500 students applied for the scholarships this year.
“My grandfather Samuel A. Green, Firstrust’s Founder, was a steadfast believer in the power of education. He was known for encouraging students to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams, and his legacy has built this tremendous scholarship program,” said Richard J. Green, Chairman and CEO of Firstrust and Trustee of the Green Family Foundation. “We are fortunate to continue to grow the program each year to support the educational pursuits of more students in our community. This year, we are thrilled to have awarded $180,000 in scholarships, which is the most we’ve given through the program in a single year.”
Samuel A. Green, founder of Firstrust Bank, believed in the importance of receiving a college education and using it to give back to the community. For nearly 90 years, these values have served as core pillars for the bank and the Foundation. This annual scholarship program upholds those founding principles by honoring young people in the region who reflect these principles.
The 29 scholarship recipients were selected based on their written responses to a topic that is rooted in the mission of the Foundation, “how will you use your college education to assist you in making a substantial impact in your community?” and a letter of recommendation attesting to their demonstrated leadership.
Downingtown STEM Academy student Shrey Dhingra, Germantown Academy student Christine Meng, and The Agnes Irwin School student Monica Chelsea Seegars received the top three grand prizes of $10,000 each.
The following students earned second and third for their essays and have received $7,500 and $5,000 scholarships respectively:
Second Place Winners – $7,500 scholarships
- Mehir Badlani, Central Bucks High School South
- Darren Chen, Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School
- Diamond Gonzalez, Kensington Health Sciences Academy
- Jane Kinney, Haddonfield Memorial High School
- Jaya Merritt, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
- Sophia Rinaldi, Cherokee High School
- Kavish Saini, Downingtown STEM Academy
- Aparna Vagvala, Downingtown STEM Academy
Third Place Winners – $5,000 scholarships
- Amanda Checkoff, Council Rock High School South
- Olivia Dallmer, Central Bucks High School South
- Ethan Duong, Renaissance Academy Charter School
- Alex Halbert, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
- Kate Hockman, Pennridge High School
- Mary “Molly” Jamison, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
- Jenavieve LaTorres, William Allen High School
- Koh McGinn, Council Rock High School South
- Vanessa Morrison, Souderton Area High School
- Path Patel, Downingtown East High School
- TaLeah Patterson, Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy
- Mahitha Penmetsa, Downingtown East High School
- Andrew Schmidt, Archbishop Wood High School
- Maddyn Shapiro, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
- Abigail Silberman, William Tennent High School
- Alyssa Stauffer, Downingtown STEM Academy
- Ben Steinman, Pennridge High School
- Samuel Tryon, The Haverford School
In addition to their scholarships, each student was presented with a “swag bag,” which included a sweatshirt from the college or university they will be attending and framed version of their winning essay.
The Samuel A. Green Scholarship Program has helped the Green Family Foundation and Firstrust Bank award more than $1.2 million to nearly 1,500 local college-bound students and families in the past 53 years.
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