Today, 34 high school seniors from the greater Philadelphia region will be recognized at Firstrust Bank’s 48^th annual Samuel A. Green Scholarship program. The awards program, one of the region’s most renowned high school scholarship programs, granted $55,000 in college tuition to community-minded seniors who competed by penning a personal essay about leveraging education as a means to actively bolster their communities. The deserving scholarship recipients were celebrated today during a ceremony at The Franklin Institute.

“The purpose of this scholarship competition is to empower students to utilize their ingenuity and education to advance their communities and what better place to celebrate this mission than The Franklin Institute, a model for using creativity and intellect to give back to the world,” said Richard J. Green, C.E.O. and Chairman of Firstrust. “We are pleased to celebrate such a distinguished group of scholarship recipients, all of whom are poised to make positive changes in their own communities.” 

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. Over eighty years later, the bank remains committed to these same values. This annual scholarship program upholds those founding principles by honoring young people in the region who reflect these principles. 

The 34 scholarship recipients were selected based on their written responses to a topic that is rooted in the mission of Firstrust, “How My College Education Will Help Me Cultivate Prosperity in My Community.”

Central Bucks High School West student, William Doyle, Jr., received the Grand Prize of $10,000; Wissahickon High School student, Alycia Lee, and Springfield High School student Rachel Smith, Second and Third Place winners each received $5,000 scholarships; and Patrick McGettigan, Germantown Academy student, won the $5,000 Teacher Award, specifically for a high school senior pursuing a career in education. 
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Thirty additional high school seniors from across the region were each awarded scholarships of $1,000:

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• Rafael Barcan, JR Masterman High School
• D'Anthony Birch, Boys Latin High School
• Alexis Bloedel, Great Valley High School
• Shreya Chodisetty, Central Bucks West High School
• Jack Cimino, Downingtown East High School
• Eryn Cohen, Upper Dublin High School
• Grace Comerford, Mount St. Joseph Academy
• Kerri Czekner, Villa Joseph Marie
• Jennifer Davis, Nazareth Academy
• Shari Goldberg, Moorestown High School
• Cindy Guevara, Avon Grove High School
• Kathie Jin, Moorestown High School
• Brooke Kaminsky, George Washington High School
• Nazish Khan, School of the Future
• Lauren Kim, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School
• Kaitlin Kirk, Mount St. Joseph Academy
• Elizabeth Lipscomb, St. Hubert High School
• Caitlin Mahon, Mount St. Joseph Academy
• Samantha Nino, Whitehall High School
• Michael O'Donnell, Archbishop Wood High School
• Michael Pakuris , Archbishop Carroll High School
• Natalie Pietrowski, Neshaminy High School
• Allena Schwartz, Shawnee High School
• Emily Severino, Community Academy High School
• Robert Sim, JR Masterman High School
• Rachel Smith, Springfield High School
• Jill Spirk, Bethlehem Catholic
• Rachel Swope, Central Bucks West
• Michaela Trigg, Mount St. Joseph Academy
• Allison Wilcox, Parkland High School
• Joy Zhao, Central Bucks South High School

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The Samuel A. Green Scholarship Program has helped Firstrust award nearly one million dollars to more than 1,000 area college-bound students and families in the past 48 years.

“Even after all this time, the passion these students have for their communities never ceases to amaze me,” said Mr. Green. “I am confident each one of them will accomplish great things and it is a privilege to be a part of their journey.”