Dunmore, Holy Cross students awarded scholarships

Posted on August 7, 2024 by The Dunmorean

James F. Swift scholarship recipients include, first row, from left: Barbara O’Hara, Scranton Area Community Foundation Board Governor; Allyson Stafursky; Joel Cali; Makenna Stugus; Angela Zeng; Meghan Wong; Matthew Howard; Holly Burke, Frank Caputo, Grants and Scholarships Manager, Scranton Area Community Foundation. Second row, same order: Ava Decker; Antonia Piraino; Caden Brennan; Ryan Coleman; Lorna Lynch; Jayde Waibel; Sarah Wolfe. Third row: Cathy Fitzpatrick, Director of Grants and Scholarships, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Geanna Kirchner of Dunmore High School; Hunter Geise; Ethan Symuleski; David McKenney; Jayden Evans. 2024 James F. Swift Scholarship recipients missing from photo: Noah Beckish, Jocelyn Brown, Carolyn Chakiris, Elizabeth Cummings, Celia Emiliani, Kate Evans, Nikauri Fernandez of Holy Cross High School; Emma Field, Sarah Goetter, Savannah Lockwood of Dunmore High School, and Alexa Williams.

Twenty students from 13 different high schools in the area including Dunmore and Holy Cross, have each been awarded a prestigious scholarship through the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation. This competitive scholarship provides $5,000 per year for each recipient for up to four years to assist with continuing education expenses.

The following students are first-time recipients of a James F. Swift Scholarship: Noah Beckish (North Pocono), Caden Brennan (Carbondale), Jocelyn Brown (Carbondale), Holly Burke (Scranton Preparatory), Carolyn Chakiris (Mid Valley), Elizabeth Cummings (Old Forge), Celia Emiliani (West Scranton), Kate Evans (West Scranton), Nikauri Fernandez (Holy Cross), Emma Field (Scranton), Sarah Goetter (Mid Valley), Geanna Kirchner (Dunmore), Savannah Lockwood (Dunmore), Antonia Piraino (Lakeland), Allyson Stafursky (Valley View), Makenna Stugus (Abington Heights), Alexa Williams (Riverside), Sarah Wolfe (Riverside), Meghan Wong (Scranton), and Angela Zeng (Abington Heights).
In addition to the 20 new recipients, there were 57 James F. Swift Scholarship renewals in 2024. The following students are recipients of a James F. Swift Scholarship Renewal in 2024: Ava Aulisio, Emma Aversa, Jacquelyn Bitter, Alexander Bond, Jillian Brennan, Cameron Butka, Joel Cali, Sofia Capozzi, Kaeden Carr, Riley Clarke, Ryan Coleman, Alyssa Cosklo, Ava Decker, Jayden Evans, Erileidi Fernandez, Sofia Flores-Weidner, Hunter Geise, Sadid Hassan, Courtney Hazelton, Matthew Howard, Emma Illian, Elina Joshi, Michael Kazmierczak, Eliana King, Kendal Johnson, Lorna Lynch, Dana Mackin, Hailey Matechak, Sara McCormack, Finley McHale, David McKenney, Thomas Milewski, Connor Monahan, Ayman Mounota, Owen Morgan, Julia Murphy, Mia Muskey, Paige Pezanowski, Ron Prislupski, Meredith Purcell, Mila Racibor, Ritu Regmi, Taralyn Reilly, Lexee Risner, Michael Rodyushkin, Kayla Rose, Chloee Rumford, Ryan Salony, Michael Sewack, Gabrielle Snee, Christian Snee, Ethan Symuleski, Alexis Tanana, Benjamin Thompson, Martin Turi, Jayde Waibel, and Molly White.

The James F. Swift Scholarship Fund has awarded over $5 million since 2008, benefiting over 340 local students. Created in 2002 through a gift by James F. Swift to the Scranton Area Community Foundation, the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund supports higher education for students graduating from high schools in Lackawanna County.

Following Mr. Swift’s death in 2006, the Scranton Area Community Foundation gratefully received a significant gift from his estate to the scholarship fund, allowing many students from Lackawanna County to pursue their academic and professional goals through higher education.

The scholarship aims to provide an ongoing matriculation stream at Lackawanna County colleges and universities. The Scranton Area Community Foundation aims to award 75% of the scholarships to students who plan to attend institutions of higher learning in the Lackawanna County region.

Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO Laura Ducceschi praised Mr. Swift’s generosity, noting that “he has left a permanent and enduring legacy for our region’s youth. His scholarship fund makes higher education more attainable for generations of students.”

The Scranton Area Community Foundation partners with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) in the Partnership for Access to Higher Education (PATH) Program to offer qualifying students additional financial aid. Through PHEAA, scholarship recipients may be eligible for additional dollars toward their tuition.

For more information on the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund at the Scranton Area Community Foundation, please contact Brittany Pagnotti, Communications Director of the Scranton Area Community Foundation, at 570-347-6203.

Students awarded James F. Swift scholarships

Posted on August 3, 2022 by The Dunmorean

JAMES F. SWIFT SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS include, first row, from left: Tori Kovalchick, Nina Sampogne, Mia Muskey, Ritu Begmi, Elina Joshi, Sofia Flores-Weidner, Elizabeth Stone, Alyssa Cosklo, Chloee Rumford.

Second row, same order: Joel Cali, Ava Aulisio, Michael Kazmierczak, Molly White from Holy Cross High School; Gwyneth Serowinski, Olivia Manarchuck, Hannah Carr, Nicholas Guerra.

Third row: Tyler Muskey, Owen Morgan, Finley McHale, Riley Clarke, Jacob Vituszynski, Joshua Vituszynski, Ryan Salony, Antonio Pugliese. Also in photo: Cathy Fitzpatrick, Grants and Scholarship Manager, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Frank Caputo, Grants and Communications Coordinator, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Laura Ducceschi, President and CEO, Scranton Area Community Foundation.

Recipients missing from photo include Eliana King from Dunmore High School, and Dana Mackin from Holy Cross High School.

James F. Swift Scholarship Recipients Announced

Posted on August 4, 2021 by The Dunmorean

Shown first row from left: Gabrielle Snee, Rebecca Lucas, Liz Stone, Olivia Manarchuck, Taralyn Reilly and Ryan Coleman. Second row, same order: Hannah Carr, Maura Turi, Jillian Brennan and Alexis Tanana, both from Holy Cross High School; Ava Decker, Caitlin Doughton, Gerardo Sanchez Garcia, Gwyneth Serowinski, Fione Evans, Korey Kruk. Third row: Hunter Geise, Ben Thompson, Antonio Pugliese, Nicholas Guerra, Ashley Capone, Taylor Seprosky, Jenna O’Malley. Fourth row: Christian Snee, Jacob Vituszynski, Joshua Vituszynski, Claudia Pitts, Tyler Muskey, Marguerite Flynn, David McKenney, Eric Spivak. Also in the photo are Cathy Fitzpatrick, Grants and Scholarship Manager, and Frank Caputo, Grants and Communications Coordinator, Scranton Area Community Foundation.

Twenty students from 13 different high schools in the area, including Alexis Tanana and Jillian Brennan, two students from Holy Cross High School in Dunmore, have been awarded a prestigious scholarship through the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation, which provides $5,000 per year for each recipient for up to four years to assist with continuing education expenses.

The James F. Swift Scholarship Fund has awarded over $3.2 million since 2008, benefiting over 220 local students to date. Created in 2002 through a gift by James F. Swift to the Scranton Area Community Foundation, the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund provides support for higher education for students graduating from high schools in Lackawanna County.

Following Mr. Swift’s death in 2006, the Scranton Area Community Foundation gratefully received a significant gift from his estate to the scholarship fund which has allowed a great number of students from Lackawanna County the opportunity to pursue their academic and professional goals through higher education.

The scholarship aims to provide an ongoing stream of matriculation at Lackawanna County colleges and universities. It is the goal of the Scranton Area Community Foundation to award 75% of the scholarships to students who plan to attend institutions of higher learning in the Lackawanna County region.

Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO Laura Ducceschi praised the generosity of Mr. Swift, noting “he has left a permanent and enduring legacy for the young people of our region. His scholarship fund makes higher education more attainable for generations of students.”

The Scranton Area Community Foundation is a partner with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) in their Partnership for Access to Higher Education (PATH) Program to offer qualifying students additional financial aid. Through PHEAA, these scholarship recipients may be eligible for additional dollars toward their tuition.

For more information on the James F. Swift Scholarship Fund at the Scranton Area Community Foundation, please contact Brittany Pagnotti, Communications Manager of the Scranton Area Community Foundation at 570-347-6203.

Scranton Area Community Foundation works to enhance the quality of life for all people in Northeastern Pennsylvania through the development of organized philanthropy. With assets of more than $40 million and more than 180 charitable funds, the Scranton Area Community Foundation distributed over $1.3 million in grants and scholarships in 2018. Additionally, through its foundation management services offered to other private and public foundations, the Scranton Area Community Foundation manages assets of more than $31 million and distributed an additional $1.5 million in grants and scholarships in 2018 through assets under management. More information about the Scranton Area Community Foundation can be found at www.safdn.org.