TowerCares Foundation Announces Scholarship Winners

Awards $25K to college-bound students in the scholarship program’s inaugural year

[Laurel, MD] – What do a student planning to attend Princeton University, a student dreaming of a degree in computer engineering, a student gearing up for her freshman year at Wesleyan University, a student who wants to help develop new innovations in farming, and a student interested in a career in Environmental Sciences have in common? They are the inaugural class of winners in the new TowerCares Foundation Scholarship Program.

Five college-bound students—four of them Maryland residents—each won a one-time award of $5,000 from TowerCares. The winners were selected by an independent judging organization and based upon accomplishments in the areas of academics, leadership, community service, and extracurricular activities. Preference was shown by the judges for students planning to pursue degrees in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields or, in keeping with TowerCares’ mission of supporting the families of those who protect our freedom, children of parents who work in that capacity.

The five scholarship winners were selected from an impressive pool of over 200 applicants, says TowerCares Foundation President & CEO Rick Stafford. “I am amazed by the accomplishments of our first class of winners and the other students who applied to the program from across the country,” he says. “TowerCares is proud to recognize the successes of these five exceptional students and to help support their pursuit of higher education by making attending college financially less burdensome on them and their families.”

The 2018 TowerCares Foundation Scholarship Program award recipients are:

Marina Beshai, of Severn, MD, who plans to study Computer & Information Services at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Amelia Chedister, of Boone, NC, who plans to study Agronomy & Farming at Appalachian State University in North Carolina.

Victoria Nelson, of Elkridge, MD, who is studying Environmental Sciences at University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Maria Rodriguez-Castro, of Millersville, MD, who plans to study Psychology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Jessica Schneck, of Laurel, MD, who plans to study Computer Engineering at University of Maryland- Baltimore County.

Although the $5,000 is a one-time award, Stafford says, the winners and other applicants can re-apply for the program again next year. “We hope that we will be able to expand the TowerCares Foundation Scholarship Program next year so we can help even more students as they pursue their education.”

PHOTO CAPTION: The TowerCares Foundation announces its inaugural class of 2018 College Scholarship Program winners. Each student won a $5,000 award from the Foundation. George Cumberledge, Chairman of the TowerCares Foundation Board of Directors (center), and Dan Balkin, TowerCares Foundation Secretary, presented the awards at TowerCares headquarters in Laurel, MD, to scholarship winners (L-R) Victoria Nelson of Elkridge, MD; Marina Beshai of Severn, MD; Jessica Schneck of Laurel, MD; and Maria Rodriguez-Castro of Millersville, MD. (Not pictured – Amelia Chedister of Boone, NC).