Schools

40 Students Picked for $1K Scholarships

The Gloucester Township Day Scholarship Committee's 2011 scholarship winners were selected prior to Council's meeting Monday.

Mayor David Mayer and Council President Glen Bianchini pulled 50 pingpong balls from a bingo cage set up at the front of Council chambers Monday night.

Why?

They were selecting the 2011 Gloucester Township Day Scholarship Committee's 40 $1,000 scholarship winners, as well as 10 alternates.

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"It is very unique to Gloucester Township, and it is just another reason why this community is a great community," Mayer said of the scholarship program, which has now awarded more than $875,000 to college-bound students over its 26-year existence.

Eligible to receive the scholarships each year are all high-school seniors who have lived in Gloucester Township for at least three years, been accepted to an accredited college, scored a minimum of 1200 on the SAT, and either attained a place in the top 50 percent of his or her graduating class or earned a minimum 2.5 GPA.

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As the criteria suggest, it is not an "overly exclusive" scholarship, Scholarship Committee Treasurer Dick Hollinshead said.

"We believe that because we solicit money throughout the year from many, many people in Gloucester Township that we want as many people as possible to have an opportunity to get the scholarship," he said. "And, so, our scholarship program is very inclusive and includes a lot of very good students who might not qualify for some of the very, very top scholarships but are still going to college."

Mayer and Bianchini selected the first 40 pingpong balls to determine the scholarship winners.

Each of the 485 students who applied and were deemed eligible for the $1,000 scholarships this year had been assigned a number that was written on one ball placed in the bingo cage.

Mayer then selected 10 balls to represent the alternates, who are eligible to receive the $1,000 scholarships in the event any winners decide not to attend college.

The 40th and final scholarship ball, pulled by Bianchini, belonged to Triton's Kyle Mosley.

Triton's Allison Gensel attended the scholarship selection ceremony with her parents. She was one of a handful of students selected as a winner in attendance Monday night.

"I'm very excited to be picked," the Rider University-bound student said. "I want to thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to win."

The 2011 Gloucester Township Day Scholarship Committee scholarship winners are: Daniel Bednarik, Timber Creek (TC); O'Keitho Blake, TC; Vanessa Blue, Highland; Rachael Brady, TC; Danielle Brocco, Triton; Charlotte Burns, TC; Kelly Canfield, TC; Allison Cardelli, Triton; Edward Delessandra, Triton; Vijal Desai, Highland; Gianna DiSalvatore, TC; Michael Ferguson, TC; Ashlei Fuller, TC; Allison Gensel, Triton; Michael Glennon, TC; Casey Gollihue, TC; Christopher Griffin, Highland; Danielle Huff, Highland; Shadi Kassem, TC; Kaycee Marchetti, TC; Robert Marghilano, Triton; Avery Merrick, TC; Erica Moeller, Triton; Joylynn Morris, Highland; Kyle Mosley, Triton; Billy Nguyen, Highland; David Nole, TC; Samantha Orlando, Triton; Danielle Porcari, TC; Christina Puk, Triton; Ronald Reagan, Highland; Danelle Rodgers, TC; Charles Schnapp, Triton; Shannon Swift, TC; Elise Tiralli, Highland; Chelsea Vance, Highland; Jennifer Walat, Highland; John Weiss, TC; Eric Williams, TC; and Felicia Williams, TC.

The 10 alternates are: Lillianne Bershaw, TC; Melissa Bucher, Triton; Danielle Dupont, TC; Brandon Harper, Highland; Aaron Hill, Highland; Melissa Jastillana, Triton; Courtney Madden, Triton; Taylor Mickle, Gloucester Catholic; Chelsea Pineda, TC; and Monica Powell, TC.

Gloucester Township Day Scholarship Committee's major sponsors are Bach Associates, Beneficial Bank, Bowman & Co., Camden County College, CES Consulting Engineer Service, Conner Strong Companies, Former Democratic Mayors of Gloucester Township Association, Garrison Architects, Lincoln Investment Planning Inc., PSE&G, Remington & Vernick Engineers, The Gibson Tarquini Group, Sharrott Winery, Wade, Long, Wood & Kennedy LLC, and Zallie's ShopRite.

The committee's local business supporters are All Sheen Inc., Bensi, Brick Engineering, Brown and Brown of NJ, Crabcake Hotline 2, Edlen's Meats, Family Imports & Trophies, Glen Oaks Liquors, H & R Block, HNTB, Inverso & Stewart CPA, J.J.M. Plumbing, Land Dimension Engineering, Little Pond Golf Center, Monarch Self Storage, Piccolo Realty, Republic Services, Rotary Club, The Shoppes at Cross Keys, Sports Outlet, Target, Techniques Salon & Spa, Thompson Trucking Inc., and United Computer.

Harry Morgan is chairman and Judy Gore secretary of Gloucester Township Day Scholarship Committee. Members are Jessica Botte, Judy Calabrese, Debi Carr, John Custodio, Nicole D'Amico, Police Chief W. Harry Earle, Joan Eller-Hinski, Bill Fagan, Camden County Freeholder Rod Greco, Kris Kitchenmann, Kate Kochanski, Sandi Love, Mayer, Kristina Roehr and Judy Weiserth.


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