Fitchburg High graduate scholarship divided community college students

FITCHBURG – After a Fitchburg High School graduate was due to go to community college students for announcing her $ 40,000 scholarship, she said she had a plan to split her scholarship to include eight students in four years help.

During Fitchburg High’s graduation ceremony on June 4th at Crocker Field, Verda Tetteh, 17, made an important decision. As one of two recipients of Fitchburg High’s General Excellence Award, Tetteh would receive the George K. Progin Scholarship, a $ 10,000 grant that is renewable for four years.

After an unselfish speech by the high school’s assistant principal, Tetteh made an unwritten announcement that she would not accept the scholarship and would use the money to help someone attending community college.

Tetteh took her place after receiving her award, and said her thoughts went to her fellow students and how her award could help those in need of financial assistance.

“My only thought at the time was that someone sitting in this crowd with me would probably need the money more,” said Tetteh. “Because I got a very decent, frankly very large, financial aid package from Harvard and my mother went to community college and struggled to work for it.”

Over the past week, Tetteh’s announcement has garnered national attention and praise. Tetteh, who will be studying chemistry at Harvard University this fall, said her school, the George K. Progin Scholarship Fund, and the Fitchburg Public Schools administration backed her decision when she discussed the details with Fitchburg High principal Jeremy Roche , worked out.

Tetteh said the current plan for the scholarship is to split the annual grant of $ 10,000 into two grants of $ 5,000 for Fitchburg High Seniors graduates attending community college.

The first contingents will be given to students in this year’s final year and the next three will be given to two graduates in the next three years. Tetteh said the applications for the first allotments will be available shortly to students in their senior year.

Robert Jokela, superintendent of Fitchburg Public Schools, said the General Excellence Award is given to one female and one male graduate each year, with recipients being chosen by the faculty. He said it has never happened before that a student returns his scholarship.

In his limited interaction with Tetteh and when she gave an interview, Jokela said he was impressed with Tetteh’s authenticity.

“She is a completely authentic, genuine, caring, empathetic person who puts others clearly above herself, as this gift proves,” said Jokela. “She’s one of the most sincere people I’ve known, period.”

The scholarship is awarded in honor of Tetteh’s mother, Rosemary Annan. Annan attended Mount Wachusett Community College for an associate degree in science and is currently taking online courses at Liberty University for her bachelor’s degree in psychology.

“One of the impressions it made on me is the importance of education. It’s really important to get an education and to improve the quality of life, “said Tetteh,” but also to work really hard and the very simple concept of doing the right thing. ”

After seeing her mother have to work to pay tuition fees, Tetteh said she wanted to help others find easier education.

“When my mother went to community college, she worked a lot to pay for tuition. It puts a strain on your physical and mental health and the time you can spend with your family or take care of yourself, ”she said. “So I hope that this money, which is going to some community college students, will ease some of that financial pressure.”

Providing this opportunity to graduates from a school where 44% of graduates enrolled in two-year public colleges in the 2019-2020 school year could make a big difference in the education of the students selected, Jokela said.

“It’s potentially transformative,” said Jokela. “It provides access and opportunity to a deserving student who may not have the financial needs. So this could really change the path of someone who has the desire and academic skills to go to college and make that a reality. “

Tetteh’s family is originally from Ghana and was born in the city of Bradford, United Kingdom. When Tetteh was 8 years old, the family moved to Fitchburg.

At Fitchburg Public Schools, Tetteh said the education she received helped her develop a sense of initiative, such as when she started a student ambassador program at Fitchburg High.

“Fitchburg Public Schools have definitely been a great blessing to me and my family. I think the system made me grow a lot, I came when I was in third grade, ”said Tetteh. “I’ve learned a lot, how to just take the initiative and make the change you want to see in the world.”

Tetteh said her Harvard financial aid package would cover her tuition, room and board for four years. Additional scholarships she received would help pay for other expenses, she said.

With the new platform that has given her coverage of her decision, Tetteh hopes to use it when she comes to Harvard this fall by working with the university to start an even bigger scholarship initiative.

As a Christian, Tetteh said that her beliefs also influenced her decision to award her scholarship.

“I was taught that we are blessed to be a blessing to others, so this crossed my mind while I was sitting there,” she said. “That I was so blessed in so many ways: my loving family, my great community, my friends, and then of course college and the opportunity to pay for college. So it was just the right thing to bless someone else. “

Tetteh said she plans to enter medicine after college. She said she might want to become a pediatric surgeon or medical researcher.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/fitchburg-high-graduate-scholarship-divided-community-college-students/