Scholarship winners included recipients of the Ciarco Family Scholarship, endowed by Philip J. and Kathleen Ciarco.
PARAMUS, N.J. – The holidays came early for more than 70 Bergen Community College students Dec. 7 thanks to the generosity of contributors to the Bergen Community College Foundation. The students received nearly $100,000 in scholarships during a morning ceremony emceed by Foundation executive committee member Philip J. Ciarco III, of Lyndhurst.
“We realize what our students have done to get to this point – the path to earning a degree is often lined with roadblocks and challenges,” he said at the event. “Financial difficulties often stand at the top of that list. And that’s why the friends of the Foundation mean so much to Bergen and our students.”
Despite the College’s low tuition – approximately $3,000 per semester – relative to its quality – Bergen ranks No. 1 in the state for associate degree graduates – cost remains a challenge for many students. Federal and state student aid and grants accounted for $48.5 million of the institution’s overall budget last year.
Students become eligible for scholarships by achieving various academic and demographic benchmarks assigned to each award. The Foundation leads the application and disbursement process, which has totaled nearly $20 million since its inception in 1982. Contributions to the Foundation can be made at tinyurl.com/GiveBergen or by calling (201) 447-7117.
Fall 2016 scholarship recipients, by hometown:
Belleville
*Luisa Idrovo, $1,000, Ethel Burns Scholarship
Bergenfield
*Amanda Brimat, $1,000, Suez Water NJ Scholarship
*Kadesha Bryan, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Diane Tridente, $1,000, Dill Family Scholarship
Bogota
*Rolando Flores, $2,000, Michael J. Esposito Scholarship
Carlstadt
*Mary Alber, $1,500, Dr. Richard Ciccone Endowed Scholarship
Cliffside Park
*Michael Comas, $1,500, Stryker Orthopaedics Scholarship
*Roxhensa Papa, $1,500, Southpole Foundation
Demarest
*Jung Min Choi, $1,000, General Scholarship
Elmwood Park
*Kevin A. Bonilla, $1,500, PSE&G STEM Scholarship
*Tiffany Gary, $1,000, Paul Marshall Scholarship
*Juan Hurtado, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Quran Manlove, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Sinan Turhan, $1,000, General Scholarship
Englewood
*Bryan Blanco, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Nina Darbouze, $1,000, Suez Water NJ Scholarship
*Victorya De Araujo, $1,000, Verizon Scholarship
*Howard Han, $1,000, General Scholarship
Fair Lawn
*Lisa Peralta, $1,500, William M Orr Endowed Scholarship
*Macarena Silvestri, $1,000, General Scholarship
Fort Lee
*Sara Hwang, $2,500, Pitkin Foundation Scholarship
*Yeasol Jang, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Olga Litvenkova, $1,000, Jeremiah and Yolanda Ciancia Foundation Endowed Scholarship
*Young Hyun Park, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Egnatia Vaso, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
Garfield
*Zhane Ball, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
*Anita Jedraszewska, $1,500, Southpole Foundation
*Jose Alonso Lazarte, $1,500, PSE&G STEM Scholarship
*Mykola Svyrydenko, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Jenifer Vasquez, $2,500, Pitkin Foundation Scholarship
Glen Ridge
*Shamar Gill, $1,000, General Scholarship
Guttenberg
*Richard De Fina, $1,000, Paul David Walter Memorial Scholarship
Hackensack
*Samuel Azner, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Jeanae Peterson, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
*Ashli Scott, $1,000, General Scholarship
Kearny
*Anthony Castro, $1,500, Dr. Richard Ciccone Endowed Scholarship
*Andre Cueva, $1,500, Southpole Foundation
Leonia
*Erica Marson, $1,500, Southpole Foundation
Little Ferry
*Yugen Takii, $1,000, Gourmet Dining Hospitality Scholarship
Lodi
*Anthony Horta, $2,000, Michael J Esposito Scholarship
*Sibora Peca, $1,500, PSE&G STEM Scholarship
Lyndhurst
*Stephanie Cruz, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
*Ryan Tobiason, $1,000, General Scholarship
Mahwah
*Nicholas Rogalsky, $1,500, Southpole Foundation
Maywood
*Heineken Daguplo, $2,000, Moses Family Scholarship
*Donovan Howes, $1,500, Dr. Richard Ciccone Endowed Scholarship
*Marjorie Remington, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
*Zuhal Shaheer, $1,000, Jeremiah and Yolanda Ciancia Foundation Endowed Scholarship
New Milford
*Fatima Ouadia, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
North Arlington
*Rachel Hall, $1,500, Maura Soehnlein Scholarship
North Bergen
*Laura Gonzalez, $1,000, Verizon Scholarship
Nutley
*Jesse Kent, $1,500, Stryker Orthopaedics Scholarship
*Joseph Mattia, $1,000, General Scholarship
Oakland
*Michael Finn, $1,000, General Scholarship
Palisades Park
*Minjoo Kim, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Yuta Nagasaka, $1,000, General Scholarship
Paramus
*Nicholas Bucci, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
Park Ridge
*Nile Hagag, $1,000, General Scholarship
Passaic
*Amanda Perez-Agramonte, $1,000, Art & Cecilia Tolve Service Learning Award
Ridgefield
*Hea Jin Chun, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
Ridgewood
*Roberta Gasparic, $1,000, General Scholarship
*Keilin Picado, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
Rutherford
*Sooji Kim, $1,000, Nick Anagnostakos Scholarship
*Fabiola Newman, $1,000, Gourmet Dining General Scholarship
Saddle Brook
*Rabih Abbas, $1,500, Stryker Orthopaedics Scholarship
*Dayana Teshima, $1,000, General Scholarship
South Hackensack
*Katie Reinhardt, $1,500, Ciarco Family Scholarship
Teaneck
*Denzel James, $1,500, Southpole Foundation
*Jordan Posada-Osorio, $3,195, Philip Begonja Memorial Scholarship
*Roy Tan, $1,000, Art & Cecilia Tolve Hospitality/Culinary Arts Scholarship
Tenafly
*Gumju Kim, $1,000, BCEA Teacher Education Scholarship
Wallington
*Luis Salinas, $1,500, Stryker Orthopaedics Scholarship
Wayne
*Fatih Furkan Kaya, $1,000, General Scholarship
Westwood
*Teresa Garofalow, $2,000, Michael J. Esposito Scholarship
Wood Ridge
*Maryam Echreshzadeh, $1,500, PSE&G STEM Scholarship
Based in Paramus, (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 15,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
# # #