West Hartford Student Earns Lieberman College Scholarship

The Joe Lieberman Connecticut Scholarship Fund has announced that five Connecticut students who are headed to college in the fall will be the 10th class of Lieberman Scholars to receive scholarships from the Fund. In addition, 14 current college students who received scholarships beginning in their freshman year will have the scholarship renewed for their upcoming sophomore, junior or senior year.

The five students who graduated from high school last month - from Cheshire, Ellington, Falls Village, Stamford and West Hartford - will each receive $1,500 scholarships for their freshman year, which can be renewed for their sophomore, junior and senior years if they maintain a solid academic record.

Students to receive scholarships for their freshman year (and their former high school, college they plan to attend, and academic major) are:

• Sophie Kudler, West Hartford; William H. Hall High School, University of Pennsylvania, (Biology);
• Anmol Sapru, Cheshire; Cheshire High School, Duke University (Undecided);
• Avery Tripp, Falls Village; Housatonic Valley Regional H.S, Univ. of Hartford (Occupational Therapy)
• Arjun Anand, Stamford; Westhill High School, Dartmouth College (Economics);
• Easha Patel, Ellington; Ellington High School, Northeastern University (Data Science/Business);

“Higher education can provide the foundation for greater opportunity, enabling determined and inspiring young people to advance their studies and achieve their aspirations,” said former Sen. Lieberman. “I am pleased to support these students with this scholarship, and commend their accomplishment. The scholarship provides a way for me to express my continuing appreciation to the people of Connecticut. And it reflects my confidence that these young people, along with past scholarship recipients, will distinguish themselves in their academic studies and beyond, influencing the future of their local communities and our nation.”

This year, the Joe Lieberman Connecticut Scholarship Fund received 410 applications from students attending 160 high schools in 138 Connecticut cities and towns. Since inception prior to this incoming class, the Joe Lieberman Connecticut Scholarship Fund has distributed $225,000 to 45 new recipients and 105 renewal students, who have attended 31 colleges, and pursued 12 varied majors.

The review and evaluation of applications was completed by a selection committee at Scholarship America, based on factors including academic record, demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities, work experience, and career and educational goals and objectives. Financial need is not considered. Preference is given to applicants who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential and have a record of community service.
The five student recipients from 2021, along with student scholarship recipients who have just completed their sophomore or junior years, will each receive $1,500 for the upcoming academic year when they return to school in the fall. Five students, who were the sixth group to receive the annual scholarships beginning in 2018, graduated from their respective colleges this spring. The program began in 2013, and the first class of Scholars graduated college five years ago.

To be eligible, students must be high school seniors who reside in Connecticut and received their high school education here, plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school for the upcoming academic year, have a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent), demonstrate outstanding leadership potential and a record of community service, and be United States citizens or permanent legal residents.
Annually, up to five students are selected to receive a $1,500 award – renewable for up to three additional years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever comes first. Renewal is contingent upon maintaining a cumulative 3.0 grade point average. Scholarship awards are only for undergraduate studies. The 2022 recipients:

• Sophie Kudler of West Hartford is a researcher, advocate, and author. She teaches KenKen math puzzles using her published book, KenKen For Kids!. Inspired by those close to her, Sophie served as Epilepsy Foundation of CT Legislative Intern and testified before the CT legislature. For the past two years, Sophie has performed rare-disease research at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She was Founder and Editor-in-Chief of her school’s foreign-language magazine, yearbook Co-Editor-in-Chief, trivia team Captain, and is a Coca-Cola Scholar and National Merit Scholar.
• Easha Patel of Ellington was Class Valedictorian, Class Scholar, and National President's Award recipient. She participated in Indoor and Outdoor Track, Cross Country, Math Club, Computer Science Club, Student Council, was Class Officer and earned National Honors Society designation.
• Anmol Sapru of Cheshire was involved in multiple school clubs, with particular interests in business, politics and geography. He also worked as a tutor and is an avid swimmer. As swim team co-captain, he earned a place on the All-Conference team, and had multiple top-10 state finishes. He was also a candidate in the U.S. Presidential Scholars program.
• Avery Tripp of Falls Village was Class Salutatorian, recipient of the Superintendents Award and earned Highest Honor Roll recognition. She holds a Black belt in Taekwondo and earned membership in the National Honors Society. Avery enjoys spending her time volunteering as an assistant instructor for the beginner classes in her Dojang as well as distributing food at a local food pantry and working alongside children with special needs. She will be attending the University of Hartford in their accelerated program to obtain her BS/MOT so she can fulfill her dream of becoming a pediatric Occupational Therapist.
• Arjun Anand of Stamford was Founder and Captain of High School Fed Challenge Team, Captain of Boys' Varsity Tennis Team, Captain of Debate Team, and he completed internships at nonprofits Stamford Partnership and NGO Sustainability. He is a National Merit Scholar, and earned recognition in the National Honors Society and Spanish NHS. His interests include economics, international relations, and public policy, and he has published a research paper on the South China Sea dispute.

The scholarship is administered by Scholarship America, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals. Sen. Lieberman used excess funds from his campaign fund to seed the scholarship program, and additional funds have been raised. Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, disability or national origin, for full-time study at an accredited institution of the students’ choice.

Applications for the 2023 scholarship will open in February 2023 and close in April 2023. Additional information will be available at https://learnmore.scholarsapply.org/lieberman/