Ten outstanding Carbondale high school students have earned merit-based scholarships from the Garwin Family Foundation (GFF) to attend highly selective enrichment programs in STEM and the Fine Arts.
Marsha Ryan, MD, JD, FACS, and GFF Director: “This is the GFF’s 8th year of sponsoring some of the brightest and most dedicated CCHS students in science, math, and the arts. It is our privilege to know them and to be able to contribute to their learning this summer. Again this year, most of the programs are remote. We are disappointed that so few of our students will enjoy the community benefits of a summer stay at these prestigious campuses, but we remain committed to doing what we can to provide rigorous academic experiences for them nonetheless. We will relish the ‘new normal’ when it arrives in the summer of 2022.
This group of exceptional students is a tribute to CCHS, its faculty, leadership, and staff, which provides them with such extraordinary structure here at home. We are proud of the work CCHS does, and we are certain these students will be well-prepared to make a difference in the world.”
The 2021 sponsorees are:
- Alexander Brown, junior and second time GFF recipient will attend Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, studying Art and Design
- Longmei Ge, junior and third time GFF recipient, will study The Pursuit of Happiness at the University of Chicago
- Yoonseo Jung, freshman, is enrolled in Stanford’s Pre-Collegiate Number Theory course
- Minseo ‘Emily’ Jung is currently an IMSA junior and is enrolled in the University of Chicago’s course in Economics
- Arkaprabha Kolay, junior and second time GFF recipient, is enrolled at the University of North Carolina in Introduction to Programming with Machine Learning
- Jason Qin, currently a sophomore at IMSA and second time GFF recipient, will take courses in Algebra 2.5 and Numbers Sense with the Awesome Math Summer Program
- Michelle Wang, sophomore, will study Autonomous Air Racing through MIT’s Beaverworks Program
- Samuel Wang, sophomore, is enrolled in Introduction to Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
- Jayla Ware, junior, will study Climate Change Resilience through the University of Florida-Gainesville
- Elaina Xiao, a current sophomore at IMSA, will study Artificial Intelligence at Stanford
The GFF program has a lasting impact on recipients. It enhances their academic and artistic excellence through advanced studies, provides a competitive edge in college applications, and readies them for college life through the development of time-management and independent living skills (this year again replaced with independent study skills). Previous scholarship winners have pursued undergraduate majors in the area of their GFF-sponsored programs, and several have attended the elite university where they participated in summer enrichment activities.
Superintendent Daniel Booth states, “The Garwin Family Foundation’s support for CCHS students is a national model of how to give back and it is one of the partnerships that drew me back to CCHS to become their next superintendent. The experiences that our students partake in from the scholarships awarded are mind stimulating, thought provoking, and direction giving for students that are working to chart their path in life. The support given to our students through the GFF is appreciated by our school community in ways that cannot be measured through words, and we look forward to continuing this partnership for years to come.” CCHS Principal Ryan Thomas adds, “Thanks to the Foundation’s financial sponsorship, our students will have the opportunity to learn, create, and immerse themselves at some of the most distinguished academic institutions in the country. Their experiences at these institutions will open countless doors and create endless opportunities. It will also put CCHS students on display as some of the strongest in the country.”
The GFF, a tax-exempt operating foundation based in Carbondale, Illinois, was established in 1993 by Leo and Ruth Garwin. The Foundation’s principal objectives are furthering study and fostering achievement in the arts and sciences, humanities, law, and medicine. In the nearly three decades of its operation, it has underwritten many education programs, its latest being the CCHS Student Sponsorship Program for Talented Students in Arts, Sciences and Math.
For more information, contact Lori Merrill-Fink, GFF Student Sponsorship Program Administrator at lomerfi@outlook.com.
