Receives College Scholarship

Spencer DeSena

Spencer DeSena, a resident of Garden City, and student at Garden City High School, is among 15 college-bound high school seniors to receive scholarships of $15,000 from The Jewish Guild for the Blind (The Guild). The GuildScholar Program scholarships will be awarded prior to the academic year that begins September 2008. The recipients are currently enrolled in high schools in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The GuildScholar Program was created, in part, through a generous grant from the Jeannette A. Klarenmeyer Trust.

This year, for the first time, teachers of some of the winners are being acknowledged for their role in encouraging and bringing out the best in their students. Each applicant was asked to write an essay about a teacher who is of great importance to them. The three teachers chosen from among the applicants' essays will each receive a prize of $2,500.

"We're mindful of the often unexpectedly large sums of money needed to accomplish a successful transition from high school to a college or university and we think that this scholarship money can be put to excellent use during this phase," said Alan R. Morse, JD, PhD, President and CEO of The Guild.

"At The Guild, we are committed to working toward a more inclusive society. The GuildScholar program will help assure that more blind students are able to enroll in colleges or universities that might otherwise be beyond their reach financially," Dr. Morse continued. "We're not concerned with their fields of study, but we are eager to help in the education of this country's next generation of leaders, a group that must include persons with vision impairment," he concluded.

The recipients were chosen by a selection committee not only experienced in overseeing programs for blind and visually impaired persons, but also knowledgeable in matters of student financial aid and the non-profit organizations that fund educational programs. The committee chose the 15 winners after a rigorous application process that included criteria such as academic excellence, community involvement, legal blindness, financial need and US citizenship.