Friends of Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (FOCRLS) recently reached out to some of our alumni scholarship awardees asking them for college and career updates. We also asked them how the scholarships we presented them were meaningful and helpful. We are impressed with their achievements and happy we have been able to support their goals, thanks to our sponsors and donors.
Congratulations to all of our awardees who have already or are about to graduate from college!
Katya, the 2019 awardee of the Mary Frances Monti Scholarship, is working on her master of social work at the Columbia School of Social Work online advanced standing program on a clinical track with a focus on children, adolescents, and families.
A 2023 graduate of Simmons University, Katya is already a Case Manager at Reimagine Counseling. “This started as an internship for one of my classes, but I stayed on as an employee. They are a counseling clinic based in Quincy, Massachusetts, and specialise in individual, couples, family, and group therapy. I have been with Reimagine for almost a year and a half,” she told us.
“The scholarship I received via FOCRLS has made it so I am able to pursue my master’s and work towards licensure in my field. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to further my education and am excited to continue to work with and serve those in need.”
Photo courtesy of Katya.
Gassendina, the 2019 awardee of the Elaine Schear “Voice of the First Generation” Creative Writing Scholarship, is about to graduate from UMass Amherst with a degree in political science & journalism with plans to pursue a career in journalism now and a law degree in the future.
“The FOCRLS scholarship helped me pay for school. Coming from a low-income household, I knew that it will hard for me and my family to pay for college. However, the scholarship provided me with financial support. Since I had the scholarship support, I was able to have more time for my studies and other career-related opportunities. The scholarship essentially enabled me to obtain and afford higher education.”
Photo courtesy of Gassendina.
Sagyan, the 2019 awardee of the CambridgeSeven STEAM Award, is about to graduate from UMass Amherst with a degree in computer science. “After I graduate in May 2023, I am working as a full-time Software Engineer at TD Securities, the investment banking side of TD bank. I had initially interned there last summer, and have taken the return offer.”
“The financial support provided by the FOCRLS scholarship has relieved the burden of tuition fees, textbooks, and other expenses. Moreover, it has given me the flexibility to focus on my studies and explore opportunities such as internships, which have been very meaningful in giving me hands-on experience in my field of computer science.”
The annual CambridgeSeven STEAM award is sponsored by CambridgeSeven, the world-renowned architecture and design firm headquartered in Cambridge.
Photo courtesy of Sagyan.
Nellisha, a 2019 awardee of a CRLS Core Values Scholarship, is a new graduate of Howard University. She’ll be working at CBRE, a global leader in commercial real estate services and investments.
“My FOCRLS scholarship contributed heavily to my freshman year funds. Because of the scholarship, I was able to minimize my debt as a first-year student at Howard and not burden my parents with taking additional loans during my freshman year. I’m very grateful for FOCRLS, and I hope the next scholarship recipient(s) are able to similarly benefit.”
Photo courtesy of Nellisha.
Alex, a 2018 recipient of the CRLS Core Values Scholarship, graduated from Wellesley College in 2022 and is a 2023 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, studying for a career with the U.S. Foreign Service.
“The Core Values scholarship helped me with my first year of tuition at Wellesley College but it also had an impact on me intrapersonally. I transitioned from high school to college with greater confidence in myself because I knew that someone believed in me by awarding me the scholarship. That little bit of hope goes a long way when making a major life change into uncharted territory.”
Photo courtesy of Alex.
We’d love to hear from more of our scholarship awardees! Please send your updates and photos to info@focrls.org.
