ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Allentown School District Foundation awarded 77 scholarships to 60 students who graduated from William Allen High School, Louis E. Dieruff High School, Building 21 High School and the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute this year. Some students received more than one financial award.
While this year is the ninth year the foundation distributed these senior scholarships, it is the first year Allen students received some new scholarships.
- Allen High School seniors were the recipients of new scholarships created this year
- The financial awards were provided by the Allentown School District Foundation
- A total of $95,000 were granted to students this summer to attend higher education institutions
The ASD Foundation gave a total of $65,789 to 2023 graduates, with more than $30,000 going to students who received four-year scholarships in previous years, for a total of over $95,000 handed out to students this summer.
"The Allentown School District Foundation is very pleased and proud to serve as a scholarship provider for students in Allentown,” said Julie Ambrose, ASD Foundation executive director.
"In some cases, getting a scholarship is the determining factor in their ability to pay for higher education. And so the fact that donors in the community, families are willing to create memorial scholarships or graduation classes are willing to create a scholarship on behalf of their class, the generosity of those people is what's helping today's students be able to enroll in higher education,” Ambrose said.
Brand new scholarships went to Allen High School seniors this year.
The James P. Musselman scholarship was created in honor of the long-time art teacher. This $10,000 endowed scholarship and this year’s allocation are dedicated to graduates who plan to pursue a two-or-four-year degree in art.
"In some cases, getting a scholarship is the determining factor in their ability to pay for higher education."ASD Foundation Executive Director Julie Ambrose
One of the other new awards is the Kurt D. Zwikl Memorial Scholarship. It memorializes the Allen High School graduate who went on to become the youngest-ever member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1973. This scholarship grants recipients $500 until the fund is exhausted.
Also being awarded for the first time was the Anne and Ed Davis Scholarship for Allen students attending Muhlenberg College, Kutztown or East Stroudsburg universities. Ambrose said the donors of the award wanted $500 to go to a student who is attending Muhlenberg and $500 to go to a student who's attending either Kutztown or East Stroudsburg.
The William Allen Class of 1963 scholarship was also revitalized by members who celebrated their 60th class reunion in July. An anonymous donor offered to match all class donations received in the next week.
