At the end of May, the Arlington County Council of PTAs (CCPTA) awarded 17 graduating seniors who intend to pursue a career in education scholarships by the Arlington County Scholarship Fund for Teachers, Inc. (ACSffT, Inc.). The awards were presented at a ceremony at the APS Education Center on May 23, which also featured remarks by APS Principal of the Year Bridget Loft  (Swanson Middle School), and APS Teacher of the Year Michelle Cottrell-Williams (Wakefield High School).

Scholarship recipients include: Connor Banks (Washington-Lee), Kathryn Buckholder (Yorktown), Joseph Cederholm (Yorktown), Caroline Freeman (Washington-Lee), Thomas Hassett (Yorktown), Carolina Hernandez (Yorktown), Avery Hiskey (Washington-Lee), Madeline Holladay (Washington-Lee), Emily Jensen (Yorktown), Hawase Jima (Wakefield), Jennifer Moreno (H-B Woodlawn), Aysia Moten (Wakefield), Brenda Quintanilla (Wakefield), Katherine Safian (Yorktown), David Strobach (Wakefield), Emma Theunissen (Yorktown), and Flor Zurita-Capihuara (Wakefield).

Recipients were chosen based on written applications and individual interviews with members of the Board of the ACSfft, Inc. Each student received a $2,500 scholarship to be used during his or her first year of college or university.

“The future of our schools looks bright as these promising students enter the teaching vocation,” said Cathy Eckbreth, ACSfft President. “They demonstrated a passion for the field of education, and they were diligent in their pursuit of hands-on experience during their high school years. Arlington Public Schools should be very proud to have had a role in shaping these wonderful young people.”

In addition, 10 students received scholardships from the Arlington School Administrators (ASA) and the Arlington School Administrators Associates. Scholarship recipients include: Kevin Tipan Calvachi (Wakefield), Catarina Davis (Wakefield), Emanoor Hamid (Wakefield), Laura Londono Iza (Career Center), Peace Pius (Yorktown), Veronica Olivera Rojas (Arlington Community High School), Eric Tyson (Yorktown), Jasmine Connor (Washington-Lee), Fabian Montenegro-Andrade (H-B Woodlawn), and Johanna Klein (Washington-Lee).

The Arlington Scholarship Fund for Teachers, Inc. was established in 1955. The organization is sponsored by the Arlington County Council of PTAs, the Arlington Retired Teachers Association, the Arlington Education Association, the Arlington Civic Federation and individual school PTAs. Individuals also make donations, and several have endowed scholarships over the years. For more information, visit http://acsfft.org.