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