Hartford Open Choice Students Earn Scholarships

HARTFORD, CT — The Capital Region Education Council's Hartford Region Open Choice Program recently awarded its annual scholarships for 2022 for recent Hartford high school graduates who attended area high schools.

The scholarships are awarded each year to Open Choice high school seniors, all Hartford residents. This year's winners were honored in May.

The Mary Carroll-Kennedy Scholarship was established in honor of the founding director of Open Choice, formally Project Concern, where she dedicated more than 30 years to providing opportunities for Hartford residents who desired a diverse and quality education.

Carroll began her career in education in Connecticut in 1964.

In 1966, Project Concern was developed and managed by the Hartford Board of Education and she accepted a position in 1968 as a support teacher for the program.

Carroll became director of Project Concern in 1982 and successfully worked to provide Hartford students with educational opportunities.

The 2022 recipients of the Mary Carroll-Kennedy Scholarship are:

• Juliana Garcia Chincilla of Berlin High School will attend Central Connecticut State University and major in business.

• Akeva Koulla of Avon High School will attend University of Connecticut and major in biomedical engineering.

• Sarah Antoine of Hall High School in West Hartford will attend Southern Connecticut State University and major in digital production.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Hartford Region Open Choice Program, formerly Project Concern, CREC established the Marjorie Little Book Award.

The award recognizes the contributions of parents and employees to the program and is given in honor of Marjorie Little, a parent and a former employee who committed 29 years of her life to ensure Hartford residents have a choice when it comes to their education.

The 2022 recipients of the Marjorie Little Book Award are:

• Noelle Blake of Avon High School will attend Dartmouth College and major in government.

• Didismay Yedra of Portland High School will attend Eastern Connecticut State University and major in education.

“The Hartford-based team is ecstatic to be able to continue this annual scholarship to this years recipients. Congratulations to this years recipiences. They have worked incredibly hard and we look forward to hearing about the positive impact they will make as they enter into the next stage in their lives,” said Kristina Jordan, director of school choice.

More information about the Capital Region Education Council and CREC’s award-winning schools is available at www.crec.org.