Orland Township held a scholarship awards dinner in May at OPA! in Orland Park. The students, all Township residents, collectively were awarded $17,000 from the Orland Township Scholarship Foundation. Over recent years, the Scholarship Foundation has awarded more than $233,700 dollars in scholarships, helping nearly 300 students receive financial aid towards college. The students and their families were invited to the honorary dinner.
Supervisor Paul O’Grady, who also serves as president of the Scholarship Foundation, presented the awards to the students after dinner was served. He detailed the various initiatives necessary to raise private dollars for the scholarships.
“The generosity of all the donors to help these students with such a heavy financial burden amounts to a great investment for the community,” Supervisor O’Grady said. “Our youth are the future of Orland Township, and so we are proud to do our part to help support and encourage them.”
Of the 16 award recipients, five were from Carl Sandburg High School (Demetra Feradouros, Kate Ferguson, Armando Gutierrez, Matthew Hurley, Michael Tortorici), two were from Providence Catholic High School (Elizabeth Kulpinski, Erica Winjum), six from Victor J. Andrew High School (Alexander Day, Daniella Duran, Patrick Keating, Tyler Roney, Kaylee Schifferl, Adriana Scumaci), one from St. Laurence High School (Noah Swerhun), one from St. Rita High School (Charles Armbruster), and one from Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School (Isabella Hughes).
The selected students demonstrated outstanding leadership in their schools, communities, and extracurricular activities. Supervisor O’Grady and the Board of Directors of the Orland Township Scholarship Foundation hope you join them in wishing these students the best in the next chapter of their academic careers.