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Next-generation STEM leaders celebrated during SouthCoast Community Foundation award reception.
The SouthCoast Community Foundation hosted its 21st Annual Jacobs Family New Bedford High Schools Scholarships reception virtually on Friday, May 13th, where five New Bedford students received awards totaling $175,000. Zachary Bois, Raven DeGrace, Samuel Thomas Jupin, Sabrina Rosa Costa, and Katherine Maldonado Montoya each received a four-year $35,000 grant from the SouthCoast Community Foundation to support their STEM-focused academic pursuits. Joining the Community Foundation, school leadership, previous Jacobs scholars, were donors Dr. Irwin and Joan Jacobs and Mayor Jon Mitchell.
“With these five new scholars, there are now 93 New Bedford students who are benefitting from the Jacobs’ kind spirit, generosity, and encouragement to use their college education and future careers to make the world a better place, to safeguard our democracy and planet,” stated SouthCoast Community President and CEO, Leonard M. Lee. “We are honored to steward this fund on behalf of Irwin and Joan Jacobs and help Zachary, Raven, Samuel, Sabrina, and Katherine pursue their educational dreams and aspirations.”
The Fund annually provides five four-year scholarships, up to $35,000, to one New Bedford Global Learning Charter School, three New Bedford High School, and one Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School graduating seniors who major in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) related field. In the fall, Zachary will pursue a degree in Forensic Accounting at Franklin Pierce University. Raven will attend Gordon University, where she will major in Psychology with a concentration in Counseling. Samuel will be studying Zoology at the University of New Hampshire. Sabrina plans to study Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and Katherine also plans to attend the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to study Computer Science.
Addressing the scholars and attendees, Mayor Jon Mitchell commented, “The Jacobs Scholarship event has become a rite of spring. The awards are a recognition of excellence and an acknowledgment of hard work. The Jacobs have been there for New Bedford and our students time and again. We are profoundly grateful to them and the Community Foundation, teachers, and administrators for their support. Congratulations to the recipients. We will be watching you move along in your academic and professional careers and hope you will come back to New Bedford to share your talents, just like Dr. Irwin and Joan Jacobs do every year.”
The Jacobs Scholarship was established in 2000 by New Bedford native Dr. Irwin Jacobs (New Bedford High graduate, Class of 1950) and his wife, Joan, to honor two New Bedford High School educators who made a huge impact on Dr. Jacobs and his future career, Philip Bronspiegel and Melver C. Felton, Jr.
Dr. Irwin Jacobs remarked, “A big congratulations to the 2022 awardees. It is always exciting to meet the new scholars and reconnect with our past recipients every year. While pursuing our education, Joan and I benefited greatly from scholarships. Without that support, we wouldn’t be in a position today to help others. It gives us great pleasure to do so and cheer them on as they progress through their academic and career paths.”
The SouthCoast Community Foundation is a nonprofit serving the communities of Southeastern Massachusetts through philanthropy. The Community Foundation mission is to mobilize philanthropy by matching donors and resources with community needs for the benefit of our region. Since 1995, the organization has distributed over $50 million from more than 200 funds to humanitarian, educational, and cultural organizations in the region. For more information, visit www.southcoastcf.org.
