Public Employee Press

DC 37 scholarship awards
Legacy of Learning

By JANE LaTOUR

A rich legacy emanates from every investment in education. Dozens of youngsters from DC 37 families put these important benefits on full view Sunday, Sept. 9, at the union’s Annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon.

Education Committee Chairperson and Local 1219 President Shirley A. Williams hosted the event and welcomed the students and their families to the celebration.

Associate Director Oliver Gray offered the students words of wisdom from “Lady Soul,” rhythm and blues legend Aretha Franklin: Take more pains to learn your history and concentrate on getting a good education.

For scholarship winner Michelle Utti, her older cousin’s example handed on the legacy. As Utti wrote in her winning essay: “One significant influence on my life was watching my cousin graduate from college. When she walked down that aisle to get her diploma, it made me look at school differently. I wanted to enjoy that same feeling she had. It gives you a feeling of pride to know that your hard work and determination earned you the right to receive a piece of paper that yet so small, means so much.” The daughter of Local 420 member Rose Utti, Michelle received an Education Award Scholarship and is now attending Bronx Community College.

Maged Shenouda, the son of Local 375 member Deloor Shenouda, won the Overcoming Obstacles Scholarship. He is now in his freshman year at New York University. In his essay, Shenouda described the impact of his experience as a participant in a prestigious student teaching program: “I taught Spanish to a fourth-grade class and incorporated games, dialogues and oral examinations to help students master the Spanish vocabulary. This experience inspired me to serve other people and helped me to become more articulate.”

The DC 37 Education Committee awarded a Memorial Scholarship to Michael Fagan, the son of Local 372 member Karen Fagan. He is currently in his freshman year at Vanderbilt University. Fagan’s essay described the lasting effects of helping another student achieve a goal. “My coach had asked me to help a teammate qualify for the state competition in a speech category that I had never done before,” he wrote. “This taught me to be open to new things.”

Local 2054 President Colleen Carew-Rogers presented three scholarship awards to students on behalf of her local. “Each time we award a scholarship to a student, we are not only rewarding the scholastic achievement of that individual, but helping them on their journey towards what they are capable of being,” she said.

Scholarships were also awarded to the children of members on behalf of their locals by DC 37 Treasurer and Local 1407 President Maf Misbah Uddin, Local 957 President Walthene Primus, and Local 1219 President Shirley A. Williams. In a separate ceremony, six students won scholarships from Local 299.

DC 37 Education Fund Administrator Barbara Kairson noted, “Scientists have determined that the bumble bee should not be able to fly. Its wings are too small, its body is too large, and its shape is aerodynamically wrong. But the bumblebee doesn’t know that.”

“I am sure today’s scholarship winners have encountered obstacles that could have prevented them from becoming successful. However, armed with their own perseverance, the dedication of family, friends, teachers and mentors, and the support of a strong union, they didn’t know they were not supposed to be successful students. So they succeeded anyway!”