It was an emotionally charged evening of impassioned cheer and high promise as Trenton Central High School announced dozens of scholarship recipients at its 2019 Senior Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 6th.
While there were no news cameras at the 1001 West State Street auditorium, which slowly emptied after the last award recipient was announced, it was certainly a newsworthy encounter filled with stories of future doctors, lawyers, journalists, athletes, scientists, teachers, and leaders in every category of achievement.
I had the distinct pleasure of announcing two of these exceptional Trenton Central High School seniors, Belveth Simon and Emily De Jesus, who were selected as esteemed recipients of Greater Trenton’s Journalism and Communications Scholarship and Internship Award. In addition to receiving scholarship monies toward college, they will each participate in paid summer internships working as news writers for Greater Trenton’s TrentonDaily online publication. This internship and scholarship program, made possible by proceeds from Greater Trenton’s First Annual Caren Franzini Capital City Award Celebration held last year, aims to engage Trenton students who have a passion for writing to accentuate Trenton’s more positive narrative.
The program offers a tremendous opportunity to not only strengthen a passion for writing, but to also help bolster positive stories about Trenton from talented minds and bring fresh perspectives to Trenton’s multifaceted story from a lens of progress and opportunity. The awards were also announced at Greater Trenton’s First Annual Capital City Economic Outlookon May 23rd, 2019, where both students attended with family members and friends.
This Fall, De Jesus will attend Dickinson College where she will major in Communications and Business Administration. Simon will begin Rider University with a focus on secondary education and mathematics. Both students were also recipients of a number of other awards during the ceremony.
“Part of Greater Trenton’s purpose is to help create a positive and forward-thinking narrative for the Capital City,” said Greater Trenton Chief Executive Officer George Sowa. “Thanks to the creation of TrentonDaily.com, this is happening. As we invest in the development of writing and communications skills for Trenton’s youth, this will become even more of a grass-roots initiative.”
Over 40 distinct awards were granted to deserving students at TCHS’ 2019 Senior Awards Ceremony throughout the evening from a number of community and external agencies as well as in-house scholarships.
As we all ponder the bright future and tremendous accomplishments of these aspiring Trentonians, I leave you with this — a long list of college acceptances where a number of Trenton Central High School Seniors will continue their positive narrative this Fall.
The list includes: Albright College, American Dramatic and Musical Academy, American University, Arcadia University, Bloomfield College, Bucks County Community College, Clark Atlanta University, Coppin State University, Dartmouth College, Delaware State University, Dickinson College, Drew University, Drexel University, Elizabeth College, Felician University, Georgian Court College, Gettysburg College, Hampton University, Harrisburg University, Hofstra University, Howard University, Jersey City University, Johnson and Wales University, Kean University, Mercer County Community College, Monmouth University, Montclair State University, Morgan State University, Mount Holyoke College, Pace University, Princeton University, Rice University, Rider University, Rowan University, Rutgers University, Seton Hall University, Spelman College, St. Peter’s College, Stockton College, Temple University, Trinity College, The College of New Jersey, University of Bridgeport, University of Florida, University of Hartford, University of Maryland, University of Richmond, William Patterson University, and Xavier University.
Bryan Evans
Editor-in-Chief, TrentonDaily
