By Ashley Marshall, USTA Foundation
Dozens of deserving high school seniors have been awarded a combined $300,000 to follow their college dreams in the latest round of scholarships awarded by the USTA Foundation.
The national charitable arm of the USTA announced that it has granted 31 students a variety of college scholarships, ranging from $2,500 to $15,000.
The scholarships were awarded to youngsters who have participated in USTA and other organized youth tennis programs such as the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, have demonstrated high academic achievement and require financial assistance for college matriculation.
“The USTA Foundation is committed to supporting the educational endeavors of students and proud to award these scholarships to deserving individuals who have shown academic excellence and commitment to community service,” said Dan Faber, Executive Director, USTA Foundation. “We congratulate this year’s winners on taking the next step toward higher education while using tennis as their conduit.”
The Marian Wood Baird Scholarship was awarded to Lillian Chamberlin (pictured above, left) of Harbor Springs, Mich. The $15,000 scholarship is given annually to a senior who has excelled academically, demonstrated achievements in leadership and participated extensively in an organized community tennis program.
Michel Landon Gloaguen (pictured above, center) of Houston and Morgan Richardson of Center Point, Ala., were each awarded $10,000 as part of the Dwight F. Davis Memorial Scholarship, given to seniors who have actively participated in extracurricular activities, community service and an organized tennis program, while Tevani Hibbert (pictured above, right) of Bronx, N.Y., and Bernard Thomas III of Jacksonville, Fla., each received $10,000 through the Dwight Mosley Scholarship Award.
The $10,000 Rosalind Walter Scholarship Award, presented to two high school seniors who are academically achieving students of good character, was given to Priya Kukreja of Omaha, Neb., and Kevin Tran of Saint Paul, Minn.
The Professional Tennis Management Scholarship, a $10,000 scholarship targeting high school seniors who exhibit a passion for tennis and plan on attending one of six colleges currently offering a PTM program, was awarded to Ryan Jenne of Mill Spring, N.C., who will be attending Methodist University, and Payton Newcomb of Orlando, Fla., who will be attending the University of Central Florida.
The following high school seniors each received a $10,000 award as part of the USTA Foundation College Education Scholarship: Jeanine Acierto, Centreville, Va.; Alexandra Brazier, Sammamish, Wash.; Joshua Carlberg, Aitkin, Minn.; Taylor Collado, Baldwinsville, NY; Michael Heile, Prior Lake, Minn.; Sophie Henderson, Las Vegas, Nev.; Gabriel Herrera, Laredo, Texas; Maxwell Ho, San Francisco; Justice Jones, Laurel, Md.; Guillermo Lopez-Torres, Toa Alta, PR; Yok Eyh Ma, Manteca, Calif.; Kajen Monroe, Hawthorne, Fla.; Sar Oo, New Bern, NC; Trina Pham, Mauldin, SC; Tajmarie Preddie, Bronx, NY; Julia Ronney, San Diego, Calif.; Jonathan Rosenblum, Port Murray, NJ; Marilyn Ruiz, Shenandoah, Iowa; and Jonah Wafula, Corvallis, Ore.
In addition, two seniors, Julian Loera of Milwaukee, Wis., and Eunice Lai of San Diego, were the recipients of the $2,500 Eve Kraft Education & College Scholarship, bestowed upon two students who live in an economically disadvantaged community and who have excelled academically, meaningfully served their communities and played tennis in an organized program.