Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce Awards Scholarships

Nine local high school students were awarded scholarships from the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce this year, including two local high school students who were awarded scholarships to pursue vocational careers and one designated as an emerging leader. Graduating seniors from Croton-Harmon, Hendrick Hudson, Lakeland, Peekskill, Putnam Valley, and Walter Panas High Schools were presented with their scholarship awards at the Chamber's Annual Scholarship breakfast.

The scholarship winners received their recognition in front of family, friends, and School Superintendents at Hollowbrook Golf Club in Cortlandt Manor, NY.

“Each of our scholar recipients is deserving of our support and we wish them all the best of luck in furthering their passions, education, and careers. We hope they come back to their hometowns to launch their careers and give back to the community. Congratulations to each of our stellar graduates,” said Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce President Deb Milone.

The scholarships are funded from the generosity local businesses from the chamber's Scholarship Golf Outing, held annually in September and presented by the chamber's non-profit foundation. Scholarship recipients are chosen on the basis of academics, leadership skills, extracurricular activities, community volunteering, awards or merits, and work experience.

Honored for their academic and civic accomplishments were:

Emma Opel – Croton Harmon High School

Opel will be attending SUNY Binghamton University next year at the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences as an undecided major. Her career goal is to become a Physician's Assistant, specifically, working in Pediatrics. Additionally, during her time at Binghamton she plans to study homeopathic medication. “I believe there is significant room for improvement in our healthcare system both in better utilizing homeopathic medications and in providing better patient interactions,” wrote Opel in her application.

Taeghan Dapson – Hendrick Hudson High School

Dapson does not yet know what her exact career path will be, but she has an interest in majoring in biology because, “Biologists learn to also see failures as beginnings, not endings. Not knowing all the answers now is not a failure, but a beginning of a future that I am excited to begin navigating.” She added, “I want to do my part in this world and help.”

Enza Nikolic – Lakeland High School

Nikolic plans to pursue a career in healthcare and medicine. “Through my work volunteering in hospitals and on ambulance corps, I was able to see firsthand how crucial communication is between doctors, patients, and their families. While doctors must have the technical capabilities to diagnose, treat, and care for patients, they must have the capability to communicate their knowledge and ensure the patient feels comfortable and empowered,” she wrote in her application.

Afua Yeboah – Peekskill High School

Yeboah wants to be a teacher, noting that, “I value education so much that I desire to pursue a career in teaching to share my passion with others and allow them to also understand the true importance of education. Personally, education has been the master key to opening many doors of greatness for me. Knowing that my presence in the classroom could be an essential aspect of a student's success is another aspect that drives me to become an educator.”

Jane Sheehan – Putnam Valley High School

Music is Sheehan's passion, and in particular, opera. She wants to travel the world, singing opera. Her dream is to attend a music conservatory/college to study Opera Performance. “My parents taught me to dream big and to work hard at whatever I put my mind to. I feel lucky to know what I want to do and the path to take to start my journey,” Sheehan wrote in her application.

Brianna Jankowski – Walter Panas High School

Jankowski's goal is to become a physical therapist. “I realize that a successful therapist must have great deal of discipline to learn their field, patience to help others slowly regain their mobility,
and strong dedication to keep finding better solutions,” Jankowski wrote in her application. She intends to study Biology at Ithaca College in the fall.

Lamar Kingwood – Peekskill High School – Vocational Scholarship Recipient

Kingwood will attend NASCAR Technical Institute and train to become a technician and by 2023, he will be working for a NASCAR team in their pit crew. “I knew working for NASCAR was what I wanted to do. My love of racing and cars coupled with my natural abilities to fix things made this a perfect match for me,” Kingwood wrote in his application. Long term, Kingwood wants to build his own engine and ultimately race for NASCAR. As a young African American, he looks
forward to breaking barriers in the field of racing and growing efforts to diversify the sport.

Kaylee Colby – Walter Panas High School – Vocational Scholarship Recipient

Colby is interested in pursuing a career in sports medicine and explored her passion in the Sports Medicine program at PNW BOCES where she competed in SkillsUSA Regional Competition and won first place for her presentation on sideline concussion protocol. “The fact that I get to turn my passion for helping people and sports into a career is exhilarating!” Colby wrote in her application.

Kyle Cousins - Peekskill High School - Emerging Leader

In addition, Kyle Cousins from Peekskill High School was presented with the Emerging Leader Scholarship from the Hudson Valley Young Professionals.

About the foundation

The Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber Foundation is the nonprofit affiliate of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce. Established in 2018, the mission of the Foundation is to develop and execute tactical solutions focused on strengthening the communities of the lower Hudson Valley Gateway region by providing programs and services that promote local tourism, by
devising visitor information resource initiatives, by supporting higher education through scholarship awards, and by advancing sustainable workforce development.