Announcing the 2022 NYCHA-CUNY Scholars

This year, NYCHA-CUNY Scholarships were awarded to 71 residents – the largest number of scholarships distributed to NYCHA residents in the award’s history – who each received $1,000 towards education-related expenses, including tuition, books, and fees.  

The NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship is awarded to residents in CUNY programs with at least a 3.0 GPA. Since 2005, the scholarship program has awarded more than $328,000 in scholarships. 

NYCHA held an in-person awards ceremony on October 14 after two years of virtual celebrations. The Authority’s Chief Operating Officer Eva Trimble congratulated the scholars and thanked the funders:  

“I’m so proud of all the work you’ve done. This is particularly important to me because my mother, who is a product of CUNY as well, is now a professor at CUNY at Queens College teaching education. I know CUNY is very important to her and to know that some of her students are also NYCHA residents is a shared passion for us. Congratulations to every student. Many students being honored today have overcome significant challenges. These students wrote about financial hardships their families have experienced and how the scholarship will provide financial support to help them fulfill their dreams. They want to graduate from college and launch their careers and we’re here to cheer you on.” 

The scholarship program includes the NYCHA-CUNY Scholarship and the Regina A. Figueroa Memorial Scholarship for residents with disabilities, both funded by the New York City Council; the Levine Family Scholarship, funded by Jeffrey Levine; the Kofi Hormeku Scholarship, provided by Nehemiah Economic Development, Inc., for residents living in Brownsville, East New York, or Ocean Hill, Brooklyn; NYCHA Youth Pathways, provided by the Fund for Public Housing for residents ages 18 to 24; and the Kisha Jackson Memorial Scholarship for residents living in Downtown Brooklyn.   

New this year is the Amazon Scholarship, which expands the scholarship program over two years thanks to a donation Amazon made to the Fund for Public Housing, a non-profit organization devoted to enhancing opportunities and quality of life for NYCHA residents while uplifting the importance of public housing in New York City. Thirty-five students received the new Amazon Scholarship this year. 

“Through this partnership we hope to create greater economic opportunity for NYCHA residents and expand the local talent pipeline for Amazon, as well as other employers,” said Carley Graham Garcia, Head of Community Affairs for Amazon New York. “We thank the Fund for Public Housing, CUNY, and NYCHA for allowing us to engage in this innovative opportunity.” 

In addition to Chief Operating Officer Trimble, speakers at the event included Robert Maruca, Associate University Provost for Planning from CUNY; Jessica Sherman, Vice President at Douglaston Development and Chair of the Fund for Public Housing’s Advisory Council; and Claire McLeveighn, Deputy Director of the Fund for Public Housing. Additional speakers included two previous winners of the NYCHA-CUNY Scholarship who received the award in 2020 but were unable to attend an in-person event at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic: Makeda Andargachew, who will graduate in 2023 from Hunter College, and Branda Ayo, a recent graduate of City College. 

Ms. Andargachew said receiving the scholarship was “confirmation and recognition that I was excelling, and it became fuel and gave me that motivation to do better and believe in myself. I began taking on new challenges, I applied for various internships and gained a lot of confidence. Scholars are a great additional supportive network, especially during this time like the pandemic and graduating this year.” 

Ms. Ayo said: “One thing I enjoyed a lot about this opportunity is the people. I was able to connect with so many people and now I also sit on the board of the Fund for Public Housing. I’ve been able to leverage resources, like scholarships, leadership opportunities, and internships such as the one I did at Snapchat. When people think of NYCHA they think of stereotypes and all the things that are wrong, but there a lot of things that are right with NYCHA – like you guys that are here today. Whether you’re still in school or graduating soon, I want to let you know that you’re more than enough. Just like you’re more than enough to be winners of these scholarships. We’re all rooting for you.” 

Congratulations to the 71 NYCHA-CUNY Scholars of 2022: 

Regina Figueroa Memorial Scholar 

Felicia Gangi 
Borough of Manhattan Community College  

Kisha Jackson Memorial Scholar 

Amy Liao 
Hunter College 

NYCHA-CUNY District 6 Scholar 

Megan M. Peguero 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice  

NYCHA-CUNY District 49 Scholar 

Yusuf Khaled  
John Jay College of Criminal Justice  

General City Council Scholars 

Justine Woo 
Baruch College 

Kevin Wander 
Hunter College 

Krizean Ojeda 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice 

Sharon Solano 
Lehman College  

Aminata Gueye 
Lehman College  

Kofi Hormeku Scholars 

Adonis Perez 
Queens College  

Ana Paredes 
New York City College of Technology  

Rian Beltre 
Baruch College  

Shirley Jones 
Borough of Manhattan Community College  

Levine Family Scholars 

Aminata Kande 
The City College of New York  

Andrew Ciprian  
The City College of New York  

Andy Zhou 
The City College of New York  

Brandon Valdivieso 
The City College of New York  

Dominick Zarba 
The City College of New York  

Genesis Forney 
The City College of New York  

Haileny Carvalho 
The City College of New York   

Ivonne Diaz 
The City College of New York 

Kazi Ahmed 
The City College of New York  

Pernell Louallen 
The City College of New York  

Sharuk Al-Siddique 
The City College of New York 

Tanya Williams 
The City College of New York  

Yassine Sakhi 
The City College of New York 

NYCHA Youth Pathways Scholars 
 
Alma Alonzo  
Baruch College  

Amber Rodriguez 
Hunter College  

Aminata Cisse  
Brooklyn College  

Amy Bueno  
Baruch College  

Braulio Gonzalez  
Queens College  

Destiny Woodward 
York College   

Emely Mendez 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice 

Jaiden Santiago  
Hunter College  

Maya Alexander  
Baruch College 

Shirley Arias 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice 

Amazon Scholars 

Abrar Alqalisi  
Brooklyn College  

Adrian Nolasco 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice  

Ana Morel 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice  

Angela Sierra  
Brooklyn College  

Angie Lopez  
Hunter College  

Ashley Areche  
Lehman College  

Candice Buggs 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice  

Carol Mui  
BMCC  

Chanel Morales  
Hunter College  

Crystal Gonzalez  
Brooklyn College  

Desiree Calvo  
Lehman College  

Desiree Obando 
CUNY School of Professional Studies  

Elaine Vega  
Queens College  

Elvira Miranda 
Lehman College  

Felix Alvarado 
NYC College of Technology  

Hope Vaughn  
York College 

Iris Ofray Rivera 
Brooklyn College  

Jenny Lau 
York College  

Julia Zhang  
Hunter College  

Julia Vigay  
Baruch College  

Melissa Silvester  
Hunter College  

Nayrobi Guadalupe Lopez Sarante  
Bronx Community College  

Nicole Caraballo 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice  

Paliouka Belande 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice 

Paola Polonia  
Hostos Community College  

Ken Tan 
Hunter College  

Petite Riley 
LaGuardia Community College  

Phyllis Seemongal  
Lehman College  

Picasso Julien  
York College  

Sherrell Rowell 
College of Staten Island  

Shou Chen  
Borough of Manhattan Community College  

Sitan Kande 
Hunter College  

Tia Hill 
Queens College  

Xueqin Ruan  
Medgar Evers College  

Yazmine Ortega 
Hunter College