2023 Scholarship Winners and Scholarship Tea

The 2023 SCHOLARSHIP TEA was held on MAY 15, 2023 MONDAY at STOCKTON EDUCATION CENTER AT MORVEN. 3 P.M. – 5 P.M. Poster.

This year we had 21 scholarship winners. Below are short summaries of the winners.

Ziya Brittingham from Princeton Day School is the recipient of this year’s Kathy Hutchins Scholarship for leadership and service.  She will be attending Dickinson College where she plans to pursue her interests in International Relations, Psychology and Spanish. At PDS she has been President of the Student Council in 9th, 10th and 12th grades and vice president in 11^th grade.  She received the JV Coaches Award for her participation on the Volleyball team and was an active Board member in the Corner House Student Board as well as a member and Co-Head of the Black Student Union.

Sophia Burton from Hun School received a scholarship from the Women’s College Club of Princeton. She will be attending Northeastern University where she plans to follow her interests studying medicine and biology which have been inspired by her association with PALS and Special Olympics of New Jersey where she served as swim coach. In her junior and senior years, she completed 202 hours of Emergency Medical Technician classes as well as American Sign Language classes at the University of Georgia during the summer. In addition to being an outstanding student, she has focused on the environment (created a butterfly garden with middle schoolers), captained the varsity swim team, and was awarded the athlete of the month award.

Mia Chiodo The Women’s College Club of Princeton awarded a scholarship to Mia Chiodo from Hun School.  She will be attending Penn State University.   She plans to pursue her interests in Biology with Pre Med as her goal. Growing up on a farm in New Hope, PA, where every member of the family is involved, she feels it set a tone for her to “appreciate opportunities and handle challenges.” She received the Hun Coaches Award for good sportsmanship. Among other awards Mia was selected by the faculty to join the Hun School Women in Leadership Organization. She also participated with a group from Hun who volunteered to travel to Puerto Rico to assist locals in repairing homes and cleaning up due to hurricane devastation.

Peighton Dwellingham is awarded a Women’s College Club of Princeton Scholarship. She is graduating from Stuart Country Day School and will be attending the University of Chicago to pursue her interests in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). An AP Computer Science course led to a Wharton summer program in entrepreneurship. Serving as President of the Sparks Robotics Team at Stuart, Peighton is often seen in the Maker Space tinkering on a robot. This year she was named a Peer leader helping to guide freshmen transition into high school. She has been a member of the field hockey and lacrosse varsity teams and enjoys being an Ambassador for the Girls Scouts.

Bianca Evanovich is the recipient of this year’s Peterson Scholarship for someone who loves English, books, reading, or studying. Bianca is graduating from Princeton High School and will be attending the University of Central Florida to pursue her interest in the Hospitality Industry. Her English teacher comments, “She is one of the most prolific readers and writers in my career.  She is a true bibliophile.” For an English assignment she completed “Dear Jane” a short story written in a variety of “genres including poetry and drama.”  Her Social Studies teacher stated “Her incessant pursuit of learning, knowing, and helping others is unbelievable.” She spent 70 hours tutoring Princeton Middle School students. To honor her best friend’s father, she donated “twelve inches of her hair to Wigs For Kids.“

Reece Gallagher The Women’s College Club of Princeton scholarship is being awarded to Reece Gallagher who will be attending TCNJ where she plans to study Physical Therapy and Business. This year she joined the Mercer County Technical School program to learn more about the health sciences. Her aim is to eventually earn a Doctorate in Physical Therapy.  A three-sport athlete for four years, Reece has participated in field hockey, swim and lacrosse teams at Princeton High School. This year she became manager of the girls’ soccer team and, as a certified Red Cross lifeguard, has spent her summers at Rider University and Community Park in Princeton. She has been called “a nurturing leader.”

Joanna Lang’at The Women’s College Club of Princeton awarded a scholarship to Joanna Lang’at who will be attending Northwestern University where she plans on studying science and engineering. While at Stuart Country Day School, she has prepared herself for her college years by tackling courses in Anatomy, Forensics, Computer Physics and Calculus. In addition, her enthusiasm for Mock Trials earned her the role of Club Head in her junior and senior years. She participated in Sparks Robotics, Volleyball and Track and Field.

Serena Le is the recipient of this year’s Katherine Ness Scholarship for someone studying Science, Technology, Engineering or Math.   Serena is graduating from the Hun School and will be attending Northeastern University to pursue her interest in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. She had one of the top GPAs in her class and was a 3-sport athlete and Yearbook Editor. Serena is interested in engineering as a way to develop technology and solutions to address climate change. While at Hun she worked on environmental initiatives around the school campus.

Madisen Leggett  The Women’s College Club of Princeton scholarship is awarded to Madisen Leggett.   She is graduating from Stuart Country Day School and will be attending Syracuse University to pursue her interest in radio, film and television.  She was a Camp Counselor at the Stuart Summer Programs for all 4 years of high school. She played hockey and lacrosse throughout high school.  She was a student-nominated Ambassador to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society helping in their fund-raising.

Gloria Leroy The Women’s College Club of Princeton scholarship is awarded to Gloria LeRoy.  She is graduating from Princeton High School and will be attending Rutgers University with a goal of becoming a criminal defense attorney.   In high school she was Co-President of the Mock Trial team. She also took courses in criminal justice at Mercer County Community College, where she also joined the Criminal Justice Club.  She hopes to present a case to the Supreme Court.

Margaret Lesinski received a Women’s College Club of Princeton scholarship. She is graduating from Stuart Country Day School and will be attending Villanova University to pursue her interests in engineering and environmental science.  At Stuart she was selected as a Peer Leader and received the Head of School award.   In addition to her scholastic achievements, she became certified as an emergency medical technician (EMT). Furthermore, she is a talented Irish dancer who has won many competitions around the world.

Meyli Lorenzana The Women’s College Club of Princeton scholarship is awarded to Meyli Lorenzana.  She is graduating from Princeton High School and will be attending Montclair State to major in nursing.  She particularly enjoyed her anatomy and physiology class and developed her interest in Nursing through helping with family members’ healthcare and child care.

Roisin Lovett from the Lewis School is the recipient of the Luna Kaiser Memorial Scholarship awarded to a student with special needs. She was born in Ireland to an Irish father and an American mother, but came to the US when she was five. Roisin will be attending High Point University in North Carolina where she plans to study Exercise Science and ultimately nursing. Roisin wants to share some of her challenges to help others. In her spare time, she enjoys photography and swimming.

Amarachi Nzeribe is the recipient of this year’s Marjory White Scholarship for a student in Pre-Med. She is graduating from the Hun School and will be attending George Washington University with a Biology major on a Pre-Med track. Due to foreign service work reassignments, her family moved a number of times. For 5 years Amarachi attended school in Liberia. It was there that she became aware of opportunities that exist to improve healthcare.

The Women’s College Club of Princeton scholarship is awarded to Oluwatooni Olaleye. “Tooni” is graduating from Hun and will be attending Rensselaer for Architecture with a goal of becoming an architectural engineer. She attended the Academy at Rutgers for Girls in Engineering and Technology every summer since sixth grade. She received an introduction to the field of architecture at a Temple University Pre-College Program. At Hun she was captain of the Soccer team.

Mitalee Pasricha from Princeton High School is a recipient of a Women’s College Club of Princeton Scholarship. Mitalee is looking forward to a career in science. Through her extensive work with the Ridgeview Conservancy and being one of two teenage members of NJ Forest Task Force, she has decided to study environmental science at the University of California at Berkeley where she hopes to explore ancient cultures and their techniques of surviving in harmony with nature and compare that with climate action and sustainability in today’s world. Mitalee is also a talented musician who not only sings and has performed musical theater for the NJ Repertory Theater, but has studied classical piano since the age of five. She won the Grand Prize for Music Fest Rising Talent Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall. Mitalee has won seven consecutive Gold Medals in NJ Music Teachers Association Festival. During the quarantine she organized a group of students to record songs and books for children at the Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.

Jealyn Vega Ramos from Princeton High School is the recipient of the Gervato Haucke Scholarship given to a student who has demonstrated hard work, empathy and willingness to serve society in the field of social work or government. Jealyn will be attending Occidental College to pursue her interest in sociology and advocacy of social justice. Jealyn has a passionate interest in addressing social inequality. While at Princeton High, Jealyn served as president of Latinos Unidos as well as president of National Equity Project. She has received many awards including the Gold Key Award for meritorious service and the Paul Robeson Scholar Activist award. In addition, she received a Not in Our Town Unity award for promoting equality throughout the Princeton community.

Ida Sidik is the recipient of the Molly Updike Award given to a Princeton High School student with high scholastic standing, who demonstrates qualities of leadership and character, is accomplished in extracurricular activities and shows promise of service and usefulness. Ida will attend Rutgers New Brunswick where she will study pre-law and psychology.Ida cares deeply about social and racial justice. As a member of the Cultural and Equality Club at Princeton High, Ida initiated a podcast with staff members of color in which they spoke of their experiences growing up and working. She received a Not in Our Town Unity award for promoting equality throughout the Princeton community. Ida is equally passionate about her Italian Wall Lizard science project. She and her partner researched this invasive reptile as well as created public awareness of the issue when they were featured in the NJ Patch and NBC local news.

Sarah Villamil from Princeton High School is this year’s recipient of the Hillier Prize for displaying an aptitude for and a future interest in the arts. Deeply proud of both her Colombian heritage and her American identity, Sarah wants to share her powerful voice with the world through theater. She plans to study acting and drama at Northwestern University. Her goal is to write, act and direct, creating characters that are role models for Latino children as well as accurate portrayals of community members.  Sarah was the president and a performer for the Spectacle Theater for Princeton. In addition, Sarah was captain of the Varsity Volleyball team. She has won many awards including AP Scholar for 2022 and All-Area Team Player in 2021.

Katherine Xiong who attends the Hun School is the recipient of the Chowsoon Chuang Ju Memorial Scholarship given to a student whose parent, or parents, has immigrated from China. Kat is fluent in Mandarin and proud of her Chinese heritage. She has tutored Chinese students in English and writing. She will be attending Colby College where she will study economics and play collegiate softball. She looks forward to someday pursuing her interest in film and writing. At Hun Kat was vice president of the student body, and was a member of the National Honor Society. She played on the Varsity Softball Team and was inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Prep League All- Academic Team for softball.

Amelia Zuccati from the Hun School is the recipient of the Carol Stawski Memorial Scholarship given to a student planning to study in the field of education and to ultimately teach. Amanda’s eyes sparkle when she speaks about working with children at the environmental education camp where she worked for three summers. She will attend the University of Tennessee where she will major in elementary education.