Foundation Scholarship Recipients 2022

Get to Know Abigail: In the fall, Abby will continue her education at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, in the Design and Production program. During her time at Marshall High, Abby served as the lead stage and production manager for the GCM theatre program, and was an active participant in the Statesmen Marching Band percussion ensemble.

In addition to her activities in the arts programs at Marshall, Abby served as Vice President & President for the Marshall National Honor Society chapter, as well as Points Clerk Officer and President of the International Thespian Honor Society chapter. Outside of school, Abby continues to volunteer weekly with Western Fairfax Christian Ministries, an opportunity she first began in the fall of 2020.

Get to Know Alyssa: Alyssa attended both Culpeper County High School and Fauquier County High School. Her time in high school has been filled with volleyball, track and field, Student Council, National Honors Society, Family/Career/Community Leaders of America, and various other clubs.

She values serving others more than receiving praise for her accomplishments, and desires to live a life that isn’t for personal gain. She will be attending Liberty University in the fall, where she will be studying Nursing and running on the track team. 

Get to Know Arisa: Arisa is an undergraduate majoring in Computer Science at Stanford University. She is researching how machines can better understand human slang, sarcasm, and emotion so that one day computers can perfectly communicate with us.

Outside class, she finds it meaningful to create spaces for women to spread their love for STEM because she believes  she can impact the gender imbalance in future STEM classes, leading to more diverse workplaces.

Get to Know Emma: Emma is 18 years old and a graduate of Dominion High School in Sterling, Virginia. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and spending time with her friends and family. She will be attending Virginia Tech in the fall and majoring in professional and technical writing.

She is very grateful for this scholarship; it will enable her to explore possible minors and perhaps study abroad. Go Hokies!

Get to Know Fionette: Fionette is an incoming freshman at the University of Virginia. She is the daughter of Sierra Leonean immigrants who taught her the value of love, compassion, and hope. Her passion to learn more about other cultures, people, and environments, and the intersection of the roles they play in health and well-being, has inspired her to pursue hands-on fieldwork in the global public health space.

Fionette has always placed a large emphasis on her education and graduated as valedictorian of her college preparatory school in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Throughout her life she has had the opportunity to serve her community by volunteering at church, community events, and as a resident’s assistant at her school.

Get to Know Jack: Jack is a graduate of Brunswick High School and has been accepted to the Honors College of Purdue University where he will study engineering. Throughout high school Jack was a three-season athlete, participating in soccer and track. In his senior year, he served as co-captain of the soccer team, leading them to a Maryland class 1A State Champion title.

He finished as class Salutatorian and has completed AP and dual enrollment courses totaling 45 college credits. As an active member of National Honor Society, he assisted with hurricane relief and charitable fundraisers. As a founding member of Computer Science Honor Society, he developed curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school students to promote computer science. Jack presently resides in Point of Rocks, Maryland with his mom, dad, and sister Paige.

Get to Know Kate: Kate is a rising fourth year student at the University of Virginia, originally from Reston, VA. She is majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology, and is interested in studying child development and improving our mental health systems.

Throughout college she has worked in multiple psychology research labs, is a volunteer with mental health services, and is a University tour guide. Ultimately, Kate hopes to become a clinical psychologist and work with children in some capacity.

Get to Know Kellen: Kellen is a graduate of Chantilly High School. Kellen is a 3-time 6D Regional Champion wrestler and placed 6th at VHLS States. He received Academic Honors as an athlete all four years in high school.  As a senior, he was a team captain and received the first ever Zach Winfrey Coaches Award for Leadership and Dedication. 

Kellen is also an Eagle Scout, with Bronze, Gold, and Silver Palms and was an Order of the Arrow member. Last summer he completed an internship with NASA and will return this year as a Peer-Mentor in the program. Kellen will attend the University of Wisconsin – Madison and is majoring in Electrical Engineering.

Get to Know Nicholas: Nicholas is a graduate of St. Albans High School in Washington D.C.  Nicholas is a leader of his high school Black Student Union, Vestry, and the captain of his high school baseball and football teams. Under his leadership, both teams went to the state semi-finals.

With a  passion for helping others, Nicholas serves his community by tutoring youth in math and science, preparing and serving meals to those in need with Fishes & Loaves in Washington D.C., and is an advocate of Stride Camp where he was a lead camp counselor and raised funds to eliminate all costs of summer camp for students in the community.

This fall, Nicholas will attend Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, majoring in biology, and will use that degree to pursue a career in healthcare.

Get to Know Samantha: Samantha is from Warrenton, Virginia and recently graduated from Kettle Run High School and Mountain Vista Governor’s School. While in high school, she received a General Science Associate’s degree with a Specialization in computer science from Lord Fairfax Community College.

Samantha plans to attend Virginia Tech in the fall, majoring in aerospace engineering. She has been playing volleyball for almost ten years, and hopes to continue playing in college.

Get to Know Sarah: Sarah is currently enrolled in the Joint Degree Program with the College of William & Mary and the University of St. Andrews, for the class of 2026. Having loved to read and write all of her life, she plans to major in English. She has developed her writing skills in high school as a Cappies theatre critic and by being a contributor and staff member to her school’s literary magazine. She is looking forward to cultivating her passion for theatre at the university level. She enjoys acting and working backstage for theatrical productions, having acted in all four of her high school shows and being a run-crew member, set painter, and stage manager for various others.

Get to Know Anastasia: Anastasia is currently a sophomore at Drake University, double majoring in English and Musical Theatre. She has always had a strong love of reading, music, and performing, which has led her to her majors. Ana loves volunteering with Ronald McDonald House Charities, and has worked with her high school’s Head Start program in the past, helping children learn sign language and communication skills.

In the future, Ana wants to pursue acting, and eventually become a high school theatre teacher. She is very thankful for this scholarship as it allows her to continue pursuing her higher education.

Get to Know Brian: Brian will begin his college career at George Mason University in mechanical engineering this fall. Brian was homeschooled and enjoyed Vienna Youth Soccer, guitar, robotics, and Boy Scouts. Living with dyslexia taught him how to empathize with others who struggle with being different and the importance of perseverance in all his endeavors.

Brian is currently an Eagle Scout and an assistant scoutmaster with his troop, as well as a Vigil member of Order of the Arrow (Scouting’s Honor Society), acting as the George Mason Chapter Chief.

Brian has also been a member of a Robotics team for five years which qualified for State Competitions four times and for the World Competition once. His community service includes teaching robotics to youth of all ages.

Get to Know Sarah: Sarah is from Warrenton, Virginia. She has lived in Warrenton with her parents and two younger siblings her entire life except for three years when her family lived in Frankfurt, Germany. She graduated from Kettle Run High School and also participated in the iSTEM Academy. She is looking forward to attending Texas A&M University in Fall 2022 where she will be a member of the Corps of Cadets and plans to major in Engineering with a minor in Sociology/Criminology. She is currently a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and hopes to continue her training in College Station.

Get to Know Seth: Seth is a rising senior at Virginia Tech double majoring in International Relations and National Security & Foreign Affairs with a minor in Chinese studies. He is an active member of his campus as the historian for his co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.

He currently is working as a research mentor after spending last summer doing Chinese translation for the Hume Center. After graduation he hopes to go to graduate school and eventually work for the federal government or the United Nations.

Get to Know Shaeleigh: Shaeleigh graduated from Bishop O'Connell where she received a Global Studies certificate which "prepares students to be well-informed, self motivated adults with the skills, confidence, and moral perspective needed to succeed as leaders in the 21st century".

While at O'Connell, she was a peer mentor, ensuring those with disabilities were part of the O'Connell community through friendship and support. She will be attending North Carolina State University in the fall and will be majoring in Horticultural Science with a concentration in Landscape Design, Gardens, and Urban Environments.

Get to Know Anay: Anay lives in Centreville, VA and will be starting at Cornell University's College of Engineering. At his high school, he founded the Finance and Investment Club with the goal of educating students on financial literacy and managing student debt. Additionally, he was a technical lead for his school's robotics team and Vice President of the National Honor Society.

Outside of school activities, he is very passionate about making a positive influence in society through tutoring children in math and science, volunteering for the Fairfax Park Authority, coaching basketball, and other fundraising endeavors where he has reached people globally and raised thousands of dollars for charities.

Get to Know Deekshita: This fall Deekshita will be attending George Mason University to pursue a degree in Business with a concentration in Management Information Systems. With her business degree, she plans to pursue a career in the healthcare administration field. Her end goal is to create more affordable and efficient healthcare through an executive role.

In high school, Deekshita was heavily involved with her school’s DECA and Model UN chapters and hopes to continue her passion for these two clubs in college. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, binge-watching a good show, or reading a book. Deekshita is so grateful for her scholarship!

Get to Know Erin: Erin is a rising senior at Franklin & Marshall College pursuing a double major in History and Government on the Pre-Law track. In her free time, Erin is the Editor-in-Chief of her school's newspaper, The College Reporter, a Research Assistant for the F&M Global Barometers, the student co-chair of her campus‘s voting rights activism coalition, F&M Votes, and a member of several student committees and organizations, including the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

This summer, Erin will be interning at the U.S. Attorney's Office, and working on her honors thesis about the theoretically based variables affecting the protection of LGBTQ+ human rights in the United States as compared to Western Europe.

Get to Know Joel: Joel is a full time student at Penn State University. This fall he will be entering his sophomore year, working towards a major in digital/print journalism. In his spare time Joe; covers the Nittany Lions baseball team for The Daily Collegian, a student-run school newspaper.

After college, Joel would like to pursue a career in sports media. He hopes to cover football or baseball for a major sports network.

Get to Know Julianne: Julianne is a rising junior attending James Madison University while majoring in Social Work and minoring in Occupational Therapy. She loves participating in her school’s theatre productions, going to the gym, and playing rugby or frisbee with her friends. She looks forward to graduating in 2024 and furthering her academic career by getting her masters in Occupational Therapy.

Get to Know Marissa: Marissa will be a senior at Belmont Abbey College this upcoming fall, with a major is Elementary Education. She has been student teaching in a Catholic 3rd grade classroom.

She is looking forward to teaching young students their academics, but even more excited to help foster their social and emotional growth. She has always been extremely grateful to her teachers and hopes to give as much to her students as she has received in the past.

Get to Know Matthew: Matthew is a graduate from Lake Braddock Secondary School and will attend the University of Tennessee in the fall, pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering. During high school, he focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math classes and was also a two-sport athlete playing both football and baseball. His commitment to both schoolwork and sports provided many unintended benefits, including lessons in time management and teamwork. 

During the summer of 2020, his younger brother and he started their own online business buying and selling trading cards. The business helped him understand the foundation of business and financial planning, and more importantly, inspired his brother to consider a future in business. He volunteered to fill local food pantries and make sandwiches for those in need. His career goal is to one day work for NASA.

Get to Know Matthew: Matthew is a full-time student at George Mason University. He is majoring in Information Technology with a concentration in Cybersecurity. He grew up in Herndon and has enjoyed volunteering in the community.

Matthew was an active member of the BSA, and earned his Eagle rank. In addition to being a full-time student, he currently works part-time at GameStop. After finishing school, Matthew hopes to enter the I.T. field and do hands-on work for a data center or a local tech company.

Get to Know Natalie: Natalie recently graduated from Tuscarora High School and has wanted to be a Georgia Bulldog ever since she was a little kid. Getting to bring this dream to reality has been exciting for her. After putting countless hours into her studies, achieving her dreams has been rewarding and made all the intense effort worth it.

Get to Know Vivek: Vivek is an alumni of John Champe High School and the Loudoun Academy of Science in Northern Virginia. He is proud to have invested his time throughout high school in improving the health and well-being of his community - from working with the National Building Museum to refurbishing basketball courts to designing novel bioremediation strategies that combat heavy metal pollution. 

After graduation, Vivek headed to the Georgia Institute of Technology where he is studying Industrial Engineering. He hopes to specialize in Operations Research & Mathematical Programming as he seeks to find ambitious solutions to today’s rising challenges. Vivek also looks forward to a career of service as a rising third year cadet with Georgia Tech’s Air Force ROTC program.

Get to Know Willa: Willa recently graduated from McLean High School where she was heavily involved in math and chemistry tutoring clubs, honor societies, and the softball program. Service to those with special needs and in faith-based communities has always been a core aspect of her life. While earning her Silver Trefoil Award for Girls Scouts, she became aware of those living with financial-based needs and encountered people seeking to improve their financial well-being.

Financial literacy became one of her focuses in high school and over the past year she has worked with peers on the leadership team for Financial Literacy for Youth, a student-led 501(c)3 organization. She will begin studying engineering at Carnegie Mellon University this fall. Her goal is to make an impact on people’s lives through discovery, innovation, and creation in the biomedical field.