Annual Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program Recognizes Students’ Leadership Skills, Academic Achievement and Commitment to Community Service
The Comcast Foundation recently announced the 2017 recipients of its annual Leaders and Achievers®Scholarship Program awards in Virginia. The program, funded by the Comcast Foundation, recognizes the best and brightest high school seniors for their community service, academic performance and leadership skills. Ashlyn Pugh of Salem High School made the cut.
“Congratulations to this year’s scholarship winners for their outstanding achievements in both the classroom and their communities,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “Education is essential to a brighter future for our students and for the economy they will enter after graduation. I thank Comcast for their commitment to education and look forward to the impact these winners will have for years to come.”
Comcast, joined by Deputy Attorney General: Transportation, Real Estate & Construction Division for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Stephen A. Cobb and school administrators, recognized the students at a special event held Thursday, May 18, at the Virginia State Capitol. Fifty-nine recipients of the 2017 Virginia Leaders and Achievers® scholarships received $1,000 scholarships. Chrinique Christian, a senior at Matoaca High School in Chesterfield County was awarded a $10,000 Comcast Founders Scholarship – instituted in honor of Ralph J. Roberts, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Comcast Corporation – for a total of $69,000 awarded this year to Virginia high school students.
“It is an honor to be a part of an event that celebrates such exceptional young adults,” said Cobb. “These high school seniors have proven to be leaders in their communities, and the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship program is giving them the recognition they deserve. I look forward to following these students’ successes in the years to come.”
“Our Leaders and Achievers Scholarship winners are committed to academic excellence and community service,” said Mary McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Beltway Region. “We are honored to recognize their achievements, and are excited to support them as they continue their educational journeys.”
The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students who strive to achieve their full potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities. The program also demonstrates the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.
Since 2003, Comcast has awarded nearly $800,000 in Leaders & Achievers Scholarships to more than 760 students in Virginia. This year, the program will award more than $2 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 students across the country to help them pursue higher education.
-Submitted by Zach Trott
