PHILADELPHIA (May 25, 2022) – This week, 29 high school seniors from the Greater Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley region were recognized by the Green Family Foundation and Firstrust Bank at the 53rd annual Samuel A. Green Scholarship program ceremony. The awards program, one of the region’s most renowned high school scholarship programs, granted $180,000 in college tuition to community-minded seniors who crafted personal essays about they will leverage their education to substantially impact their communities.
– (Top row, from left to right) Alyssa Stauffer, Shrey Dhingra, Keith Leaphart (Keynote Speaker), Julia Green (Communications Coordinator GFF), Samuel Green (Strategy Manager GFF), Brittany Green (Grants & Operations Manager GFF), Path Patel, Darren Chen, Samuel Tryon
– (Middle row, from left to right) Christine Meng, Jane Kinney, Vanessa Morrison, Kate Hockman, Jenavieve LaTorres, Abigail Silberman, Mary Jamison, Olivia Dallmer, Mehir Badlani, Diamond Gonzalez
– (Bottom row, from left to right) TaLeah Patterson, Sophia Rinaldi, Monica Chelsea Seegars, Aparna Vagvala, Ethan Duong, Jaya Merritt, Mahitha Penmetsa, Andrew Schmidt
The deserving students were celebrated in ceremony at the Firstrust Bank Club at the Philadelphia Eagles stadium on May 24. More than 500 students applied for the scholarships this year.
“My grandfather Samuel A. Green, Firstrust’s Founder, was a steadfast believer in the power of education. He was known for encouraging students to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams, and his legacy has built this tremendous scholarship program,” said Richard J. Green, Chairman and CEO of Firstrust and Trustee of the Green Family Foundation. “We are fortunate to continue to grow the program each year to support the educational pursuits of more students in our community. This year, we thrilled to have awarded $180,000 in scholarships, which is the most we’ve given through the program in a single year.”
Samuel A. Green, founder of Firstrust Bank, believed in the importance of receiving a college education and using it to give back to the community. For nearly 90 years, these values have served as core pillars for the bank and the Foundation. This annual scholarship program upholds those founding principles by honoring young people in the region who reflect these principles.
The 29 scholarship recipients were selected based on their written responses to a topic that is rooted in the mission of the Foundation, “how will you use your college education to assist you in making a substantial impact in your community?” and a letter of recommendation attesting to their demonstrated leadership.
Downingtown STEM Academy student Shrey Dhingra, Germantown Academy student Christine Meng, and The Agnes Irwin School student Monica Chelsea Seegars received the top three grand prizes of $10,000 each.
The following students earned second and third for their essays and have received $7,500 and $5,000 scholarships respectively:
Second Place Winners – $7,500 scholarships
Mehir Badlani, Central Bucks High School South
Darren Chen, Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School
Diamond Gonzalez, Kensington Health Sciences Academy
Jane Kinney, Haddonfield Memorial High School
Jaya Merritt, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
Sophia Rinaldi, Cherokee High School
Kavish Saini, Downingtown STEM Academy
Aparna Vagvala, Downingtown STEM Academy
Third Place Winners – $5,000 scholarships
Amanda Checkoff, Council Rock High School South
Olivia Dallmer, Central Bucks High School South
Ethan Duong, Renaissance Academy Charter School
Alex Halbert, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
Kate Hockman, Pennridge High School
Mary “Molly” Jamison, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
Jenavieve LaTorres, William Allen High School
Koh McGinn, Council Rock High School South
Vanessa Morrison, Souderton Area High School
Path Patel, Downingtown East High School
TaLeah Patterson, Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy
Mahitha Penmetsa, Downingtown East High School
Andrew Schmidt, Archbishop Wood High School
Maddyn Shapiro, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
Abigail Silberman, William Tennent High School
Alyssa Stauffer, Downingtown STEM Academy
Ben Steinman, Pennridge High School
Samuel Tryon, The Haverford School
In addition to their scholarships, each student was presented with a “swag bag,” which included a sweatshirt to from the college or university they will be attending and framed version of their winning essay.
The Samuel A. Green Scholarship Program has helped the Green Family Foundation and Firstrust Bank award more than $1.2 million to nearly 1,500 local college-bound students and families in the past 53 years.
About The Samuel A. Green Scholarship Program
The Samuel A. Green Scholarship Program was named in loving memory of Firstrust’s founder Samuel A. Green. In the spirit of his legacy, the program has awarded more than $1.2 million in scholarships to students in our communities. The most recent scholarship winners were chosen from more than 500 qualified applicants from the region.
About The Green Family Foundation
The Green Family Foundation was established in 2005 by Samuel A. Green’s son and daughter-in-love, Daniel and Florence (“Flo”). Daniel was the Chairman and CEO of Firstrust Bank from 1970-2005 and Chairman Emeritus until his death in 2020. Richard J. Green, their son, serves as Trustee for the Foundation. The Green Family Foundation is dedicated to cultivating and investing in innovative and impactful solutions that foster inclusive and interconnected communities so that individuals and communities flourish and reach their full potential.
About Firstrust Bank
Founded in 1934, with assets of nearly $5 billion, Firstrust Bank is the region’s largest family-owned financial institution, one of the region’s largest and strongest full-service commercial banks, and one of the most consistently top-performing banks in the Nation. Founded by Samuel A. Green, who began the business in his mother’s kitchen in South Philadelphia, Firstrust is currently in its third generation of family ownership, operating as Philadelphia’s Hometown Bank® for more than 87 years. Firstrust offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. In commercial banking, Firstrust Bank provides a wide variety of solutions, including commercial real estate finance, business banking, asset-backed lending, and deposit and treasury management services. Firstrust Bank meets the need of its consumer customers by offering a full range of deposit, lending, and residential mortgage products. Firstrust is a Small Business Administration (SBA) Preferred Lender, is a Top Workplaces employer, the Official Bank of the Philadelphia Eagles and serves its customers through 19 branch banking offices located in Southeastern PA, Cherry Hill, NJ, and Towson, MD. For more information, visit firstrust.com or call 800-220-BANK. Member FDIC.
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