Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School Student Earns Scholarship Courtesy of the Cleveland Cavaliers and First Merit

For 21 years, the partnership between the Cleveland Cavaliers and FirstMerit Bank has addressed the importance of higher education. Once again in 2012, 10 graduating high school seniors from Northeast Ohio received a scholarship through the Cavaliers/FirstMerit Bank Scholarship Program. Each student will be awarded a check for $2,000.

Franklin Popek will be among the recipients to be recognized during a halftime ceremony at the Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs game at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday, April 3^rd.

The criteria for awarding the Cavaliers/FirstMerit Bank Scholarships was based on applicants’ academic achievement, extracurricular activities and submission of a 500-word essay about the most important lesson they’ve learned in life thus far and how they plan to apply that lesson going forward. Also taken into consideration was their level of involvement in the community. Applicants also submitted a high school transcript, ACT and SAT scores and one letter of recommendation from a high school faculty member.

Popek, currently a senior at Broadview Heights High School in Broadview Heights, is the president of National Honor Society, drum major for the high school marching band, captain of the Science Olympiad and member of student council. In his free time, Popek steps up to the plate as a coach for a multi-handicapped baseball team, creator of a music therapy program for multi-handicapped students at his school, and assists Broadview Heights freshmen as a peer tutor and mentor.

The Scholarship Application Committee reviewed all applications and essays. Twenty finalists from a pool of nearly 600 applicants were selected and interviewed by the committee, which included members from FirstMerit, the Cleveland Cavaliers and community educators.

“We are honored to once again partner with the Cavs on this exceptional program and we are truly blessed to have so many talented students in Northeastern Ohio,” said Julie Tutkovics, Chief Marketing Officer at FirstMerit Bank. “We are excited to watch these bright young students head off to pursue their dreams, and hope that they come back here to Northeastern Ohio to begin their careers.”