Public Employee Press

Union scholarships pave the way for college dreams

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Ami Patel is a third-year student at the New York Institute of Technology on Long Island and plans to become an ophthalmologist. Every day she commutes from Sunnyside, Queens, to the Old Westbury campus for her premed courses, every Friday she volunteers at New York Presbyterian Hospital and as a student ambassador, she is responsible for helping 90 first-year students.

"I have a very strong work ethic," said Patel, at DC 37's annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon on Sept. 12, where she was accompanied by her proud father, Bharat Patel, a member of Local 420 who works at Bellevue Hospital Center.

She was one of 25 ambitious college students who received academic scholarships from the DC 37 Education Committee at the Sunday luncheon at Antun's Restaurant in Queens.

Parents and family members accompanied the proud students, most of whom have started their first year at colleges around the country. Chandradat Kampta, a Local 372 School Aide at James Monroe High School in the Bronx, came with his son Tavendra. "He's a very determined young man," he said of the York College freshman, who plans to become a psychiatrist. "Naturally, we're very proud of him."

Fundraising grows

Successful fundraising allowed the DC 37 Education Committee to increase the number of scholarship recipients this year to 23 from 2009's 19. "And in the future, we aim to provide even more scholarships for members' children and grandchildren," said Committee chair Shirley A. Williams, the president of Real Estate Employees Local 1219.

DC 37 Education Fund Administrator Barbara Kairson applauded the work of the committee and their commitment to helping union children achieve their dream of a college education. "We are very pleased that the work of the Education Committee continues and has been expanded throughout the years," she said at the luncheon.

Assistant Associate Director Henry Garrido addressed the proud scholarship students on behalf of DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "Let's remember that education begins and ends in the home," he said, praising the winners' families.

In addition to the awards made by the DC 37 Education Committee, some individual locals also presented scholarships to deserving children of their members, bringing the total number of scholarships awarded at the annual Sunday affair to 33.

Honour Roll
Memorial Scholarship Awards	Evelyn Gaskin Scholarship Award	Education Committee Awards	Local Awards
Oscar Buitrago, Jr. Local 1930 Kristi Chen, Local 2627 Timothy Crawford, Local 1549 William Davis, Local 1549 Abha Desai, Local 371 Raj Desai, Local 375 Genia Guerra, Local 768 Tavendra Kampta, Local 372 Paris McCants, Local 2054 Deborah Mininberg, Retirees Assoc. Parin Patel, Local 375 Samantha Toussaint, Local 1549 Megan Williams, Local 374 Yifeng Zhao, Local 1549	Michellene Barrett, Local 1087	Cori Davis, Retirees Karamjit Purewai, Local 1321 Malcolm Madkins, Local 384 Ami Patel, Local 420 Nnecka Boyd, Local 1931 Kevin Godfrey, Local 768 Jane Joseph, Local 1757 Michelle Urman, Local 371 Michael Pociask, Local 375 Janki Parikh, Local 375	Local 957: Tynasia Fell and Joscany De la Cruz Local 1113: Dashan J. Axson Local 1407: Roneka Maynard, Nancy Muhtaseb, Swati Shah, Keola Smart, Melody Schwenk