May 15, 2003

Seven Receive Annual Trachtenberg Scholarships

Fourteen-Year-Old Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship Program Offers District High School Seniors an Opportunity to Reach New Heights

It might have been a day like any other for seven Washington, DC, public high school students — grab a bite to eat while heading out to catch the bus or a ride to school. Then it’s off to homeroom and the start of classes. But for these students, the routine at school would soon erupt into a frenzy of celebration with surprise presentations at each of their respective high schools of the annual Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship — a full, four-year scholarship worth more than $170,000.

This year’s awardees were Derwin Pierre Fields, Anacostia High School; Janae Michelle Eason and Danielle Beth Greene, Benjamin Banneker High School; Ronald Lee Rivers, Jr., Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School; Alessandra Laura Carozza, School Without Walls; and Trinh Ngoc Nguyen and Lindsay Curtis Totty, Woodrow Wilson High School. 

“The George Washington University is committed to serving our neighborhood and our community,” says President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. “With these scholarships, we honor the city’s best and brightest students and build an even stronger bond between the University and the city.” 

The annual rite, which began 14 years ago as the GW Presidential 21st Century Scholars Program, has gone on to help 68 outstanding academic achievers from the Washington, DC, Public School System earn college degrees, and has made The George Washington University the largest single post-secondary contributor of aid to DC public schools for the last 10 years. GW’s total commitment since the inception of the program is more than $9 million.

GW selects students based on their class rank, GPA, SAT score, course of study, teacher recommendations, leadership qualities, community service, and other extracurricular activities and achievements. The scholarships are renewed annually, provided the recipients meet the University’s academic progress standards.

 

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu