PRINCETON, N.J., July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — For the fourth year in a row, employees of Educational Testing Service (ETS) are recognizing aspiring and accomplished students from 11 counties across New Jersey with educational scholarships totaling nearly $64,000 yesterday. This year’s effort brings the total amount of college scholarship awards for 150 New Jersey students to $500,000 since the program began. 

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The scholarships were awarded during ceremonies at ETS’s corporate headquarters last evening. The scholarships are provided through donations from staff and distributed as part of the ETS Employees’ Community Action Fund (ECAF). The scholarship recipients were chosen from 11 New Jersey counties, including eight students from Mercer County.  

The winners of the 2014 ETS ECAF scholarships are:

Kaitlin L. Abrams, Westfield Senior High School, Colgate University
Molly Berger, Toms River High School North, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Daquane D. Bland-Bennett, Asbury Park High School, West Virginia Wesleyan College
Thelma Teresa Carrera, Hamilton North High School, The College of New Jersey
Brooke A. Chretien, Cedar Creek High School, American University
Hellen M. Estrella, Trenton Central High School, Denison University
Jordan A. Fleming, Lawrence High School, Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge
Dalis M. Graham, Lawrence High School, Towson University
Aliya C. Grooms, Trenton Central High School, Spelman College
Kayla Hutchison, Wildwood Catholic High School, Atlantic Cape Community College
Vincent Patrick Mattia, Whippany Park High School, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Devashri Nirav Parikh, Clifton High School, Ramapo College of New Jersey
Dannys Ramirez, Trenton Central High School, Rider University
Jessica P. Ramsin, South Hunterdon Regional High School, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Amber R. Richardson, Oakcrest High School, University of Iowa
Kerice K. Robinson, Trenton Central High School, Seton Hall University
Jeanel Sunga, Toms River High School North, St. John’s University-New York
Kimberly M. Theobald, James Caldwell High School, Stonehill College
Imani Walker, Trenton Central High School, New Jersey City University
Jahlisa L. Wall-Prunty, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, Montclair State University
Linda Yarfi, Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy, Kean University

The students maintained high grades and excelled in honors and Advanced Placement^® classes, many while volunteering in their communities, working, or both. They did this while facing significant life challenges such as homelessness, poverty, physical illness, depression and limited resources because of family-related health or employment issues. 

“These students are the picture of bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity and have unstoppable spirits and a drive to succeed,” said Walt MacDonald, President and CEO of ETS. “And, they are as talented and bright as they are resilient. On behalf of the ETS employees who made these scholarships possible, I wish each of them great success in the years ahead.”

The 2014 scholarship recipients intend to major in forensic science; communications; athletic training; biology; engineering; nursing, pre-law; art and music; business; biochemistry, dentistry; marketing; computer science; and others. 

In the past, the ECAF has funded the construction of a house for Habitat for Humanity^® in Trenton, N.J., and an education resource center near ETS headquarters in Lawrenceville, N.J.

About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC ^® tests, the GRE ^® tests and The Praxis Series ^® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

CONTACT: Tom Ewing, tewing@ets.org, 1-609-683-2803