The Westchester County Board of Legislators and the Jandon Foundation recently announced the recipients of scholarships in the 2019 Jandon Scholars program. Former and current county legislators celebrated the 20th anniversary of the program, and the family of Donald and Jane Cecil, who founded the program.
The Jandon Scholars Program was founded in 1999 by the Cecils’ Jandon Foundation working in cooperation with then-County Executive Spano’s office. Since 2010, the program has been administered by Jandon and the Board of Legislators.
At the ceremony, Board Chairman Ben Boykin presented a proclamation honoring the program and the Cecil family. “Today is an extra special day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating 15 new Jandon Scholars, but the 2019 class marks the 20th year of the Jandon Scholarship Program. This amazing family, the Cecils, have dedicated 20 years of their time, energy, and a lot of money toward the higher education of Westchester’s students. With today’s announcement of 15 new scholars, the Jandon Foundation has awarded a total of 286 scholarships since the program began.”
Boykin also read a letter of recognition from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and offered special thanks to Program Administrator Melanie Montalto.
Scholarship recipients were then honored in a ceremony of their own. Special certificates were presented by Alec and Leslie Cecil to each of this year’s 15 scholars.
Alec Cecil praised the scholars, saying: “You’ve all achieved much, often under difficult circumstances, yet you have much more to do. We are making an investment in you and through you an investment in the country and the world.”
The Jandon Scholars program awards $12,000 over four years to Westchester public high school seniors who meet certain academic requirements and financial eligibility guidelines.
One of the distinctive aspects of the Jandon Scholars program is that it follows students through their college careers. Awards are provided in annual, increasing increments, and recipients have access to a network of hundreds of alumni who have come through the program.
Following a list of this year’s scholars, along with the high schools they attend and the colleges the will be attending:
Esther Antonetti, Palisade Preparatory H.S., City College of New York; Tasheem Brown, Mount Vernon H.S., University of Rochester; Adanech Christopher, Fox Lane H.S., Syracuse University; Yaqueline Flores, White Plains H.S., Mercy College; Leonardo Garcia, Saunders H.S., Manhattan College; Brian Garcia Hernandez, Lincoln H.S., U of R; Jean Carlos Hernandez Orellana, Riverside H.S., SUNY New Paltz; Sarinah Jean Baptiste, Roosevelt H.S., Lehigh College; Seth Moody, Lincoln H.S., Hofstra University; Jocelyn Ortega, Peekskill H.S., Binghamton University; Ygor Pereira, Mount Vernon H.S., University of Southern California; Carolyn Ramos, White Plains H.S., SUNY New Paltz; Dontae Richards, Mount Vernon H.S., University of Connecticut; Brandon Thomas, New Rochelle H.S., SUNY Cortland; Erika Yupangui Sigua, Port Chester H.S., Cornell University.
