12 U.S. Students Receive Scholarships From D'Addario Foundation On Long Island

FARMINGDALE, NY — The D’Addario Foundation has awarded 12 students across the United States the D’Addario Foundation College Scholarship, the organization announced.

Each student receiving the scholarship is set to graduate from high school and advance to college. Ten of the 12 students are the first generation of their families set to attend college, according to D'Addario.

The students participated in robust community music programs such as OrchKids, Play on Philly, and Laby Harmony Project for 10 years on average.

In 2018, the D'Addario Foundation established this fund to support the distribution of merit and
need-based scholarships to socio-economically disadvantaged youth who have studied music in
D'Addario Foundation grantee organizations for multiple years, show great promise, but lack the resources to attend college or trade school after high school.

The D’Addario Foundation College Scholarship Program now serves four cohorts of 43 students; of these students, 35 are the first generation in their families to attend college.

Carla Salas, a 2022 D’Addario Foundation Scholarship recipient from long-time grantee New
City Kids, reflected on the impact of participating in this program.

“New City Kids picks up people who don’t have much all around our community; they give us a voice and make us feel important," Salas said. "They go out and search for those people in need. You honestly feel loved and cared for. If it wasn’t for New City, I wouldn’t be where I am right now, wouldn’t be hanging around with the right crew, and wouldn’t be focusing much on my future. But because of them, I’m actually going to go to college and study something that I love…I’m going to be the first one in my whole family to ever go to college.”

The 2022 Class of the D’Addario Foundation College Scholarship Program includes:

• Allen Bryant: Laby Harmony Project – Ventura, CA – Ventura College.
• Carla Salas: New City Kids – Jersey City, NJ – New Jersey City University.
• Elijah Brown: Ravinia Jazz Scholars – Chicago, IL – University of Illinois, Chicago.
• Jackie Moreno: Latino Arts Strings Program – Milwaukee, WI – Marquette University.
• Jelil Missouri: OrchKids – Baltimore, MD – Columbia College, Chicago.
• Jennifer Calderon: Ascenté Chamber Orchestra – Copiague, NY – Rowan University.
• Johnathan Campbell: Intonation Music – Chicago, IL – Elmhurst University.
• Juan Munoz: Merit School of Music – Chicago, IL – Wilbur Wright Community College.
• Katia Campo: Play on Philly – Philadelphia, PA – Temple University.
• Maria-Simone Williams: OrchKids – Catonsville, MD – Middle Tennessee State University.
• Nerelly Mendoza: Merit School of Music – Chicago, IL – DePaul University.
• Quetzaly Ferrales: Harmony Project Phoenix – Phoenix, AZ – Grand Canyon University.

"These scholarship recipients exemplify the D’Addario Foundation’s mission; their dedication &
hard work allowed them to benefit from robust, continuous music education & mentorship and
has helped nurture their positive development," the D'Addario Foundation wrote. "They are truly ambassadors of the work the D’Addario Foundation does. The D'Addario Foundation Scholarship Program is made possible thanks to the generosity of Rita & Herbert Z. Gold Charitable Trust and the compassion of Janet D'Addario."

To learn more about the D'Addario Foundation’s College Scholarship Program, click here.

D'Addario is a musical manufacturer based in Farmingdale, New York.