Honors College Celebrates Scholarship Winners and Donors

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Family, faculty, and donors gathered in the Honors College Events Hall on Saturday, November 6 to celebrate Honors students receiving over $350,000 in scholarship awards. 

Dean Mari Castañeda centered the scholarship ceremony around recipients, inviting student speaker Sherley Mejia to the podium. “At an event that celebrates students, it is only fitting that their voice should be included and emphasized,” Dean Castañeda said.

Mejia, a junior biology major, thanked donors who sponsored each award. “We greatly appreciate the value you have put in giving back to society,” she said. “You have made our path to formal education easier so that we can get more from it.”

Elizabeth Jenkins spoke on behalf of the McGoldrick-Jenkins Family Scholarship to announce that Niajah Hyppolite won the award. “My mom started the scholarship in honor of my grandparents, who were strong advocates of public higher education,” Jenkins said. Jenkins and her two sisters, who both attended the event, are alumni of the Honors College. “The stress of [paying for college] was one reason we chose UMass, and so to be able to help someone else with that means the world to us.”

Hyppolite is a junior sociology major working as a Peer Advisor for the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the female news publication Her Campus, and will soon join the Women Into Leadership professional development program. “What you’re up to is really energizing,” Jenkins said to Hyppolite. “We’re so proud [the Honors College is] producing students like you because that’s the future of the school.”

Hyppolite appreciates the Jenkins family’s generosity. “It means a lot to me and my family. Coming from a working class background, it’s sometimes hard to pay the bills,” she said. “Any amount means a lot because it’s less stress for my family.” Hyppolite ran to celebrate the scholarship with her mom upon learning she received the award.

Herlin Rijo, a senior computer science major who won five scholarships, loved meeting the donors. “You can just tell they’re really excited for you and believe in you, and having that feeling of people backing you up and …knowing you’re going to do great things is another motivator to push you forward and achieve your dreams.”

Donor Karen Dionne shared the value of sponsoring an award, explaining how she and her husband established the Bettez-Simanis Scholarship. “We decided that it was our responsibility to give back since Joe’s father received a full scholarship to Yale University, and my mother actually received a full scholarship to attend a two-year nursing program,” she said. 

“We understand what a tremendous gift our parents’ education was in providing both a better life for themselves and for us. It feels really good for both of us to pass that gift along to somebody else.”

Dean Castañeda concluded the event by thanking the families and friends of the scholarship winners, acknowledging that, without their support, students could not have reached this achievement. 

“Me and my father immigrated here alone,” agreed Rijo. “When he wasn’t able to be there for me, it was all my teachers and peers who really lifted me up and pushed me forward.”

At the end of the ceremony, Dean Castañeda reminded listeners, “Continue to apply for those scholarships!”

Congratulations to the Honors students who received scholarship awards, and thank you to the generous donors who funded these opportunities! Learn more about giving back.