Congratulations to Emma Johnson of Sandy Hook on being named a Cartus scholarship recipient!
For many, scholarships are far more than a bonus – they’re crucial for students to bridge the gap between the rising costs of tuition and what their families can afford. To help, Cartus Corporation, a leading provider of global relocation services, presents three scholarships to children of its employees, annually. The Danbury-based company with operations around the world sees its scholarship awards as an investment in future leadership and is one of the many ways it supports its valued employees.
A Cartus judging panel reviewed 16 applications, considering recommendation letters, student essays, transcripts and examples of leadership and community service activities. Amy Meichner, Cartus Vice President of Human Resources, noted that the committee was impressed by the varied strengths, talents and school- and community-based contributions of each student, which made choosing just three a difficult task.
Emma Johnson of Sandy Hook, Connecticut, was awarded $2,000, which she will apply to tuition at Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University where she plans to study biochemistry. Her hope after graduation is to conduct research and create new medicines that will benefit people worldwide.
Two more scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each were awarded to Akil Purdy of Memphis, Tennessee, and Christopher Joyce of Bethel, Connecticut. Purdy, who will attend the University of Memphis this Fall, hopes to become a defense attorney. Joyce, headed for High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, also hopes to become an attorney. Both cited a desire to help those in their communities as motivating factors in their career choices.
“Providing our employees with support for their childrens’ education is gratifying, in and of itself,” said Meichner, “but we’re also happy to be supporting the futures of three students who clearly want to benefit their communities through their passions and service. The winners have exemplified inquisitiveness, leadership and dedication to their studies; we’re confident that they’ll all do great things, in college and beyond.”
This is the eigth year that Cartus has offered its Scholarship Awards. To date, the company has distributed $33,000 to college-bound children of Cartus employees.
Christopher Joyce
Christopher noes that while many students identify themselves as either athletes, scholars, club members or workers – he considers himself to be all of these. A two-season athlete who is also a member of the National Honor Society, the graduate also participated as Battalion Commander and Chief of Staff for Bethel High School’s NJROTC program. Through the organization, Christopher participated in a variety of community service activities, including collecting leftover Halloween candy to send to overseas troops and collecting Christmas trees after the holiday to be mulched and recycled back into the environment.
Christopher plans to pursue a degree in criminal justice at High Point University and, eventually, become an attorney.
Emma Johnson
According to Emma, she “grew up on dreams of science,” from geology and paleontology to astronomy, and those dreams have only grown. In addition to her academic pursuits, Emma is a well-rounded student. The recent graduate was a member of Newtown High School’s swim team (where she participated in regional and state championships), a participant in national circuit debates as part of the debate team and was also the president of Newtown High School’s Christian club.
Outside of school, Emma is actively involved in community service and has spent a significant amount of time over the last two years, researching and raising awareness in her community about the issue of human trafficking. In addition to developing a website on the topic, she’s presented to her school and church regarding this important issue.
Emma plans to attend Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University, where she will study biochemistry. Her hope is to conduct research and create new medicines that will help people worldwide.
Akil Purdy
In addition to consistently making the honor roll and principal’s list throughout his experience at his high school, Power Center Academy, Akil Purdy is also a two-time winner of the Knight’s Citizenship award – the school’s highest honor, which recognizes individuals who exemplify exceptional character and the best overall academic record. He’s a member of the National Honor Society and Beta Club.
Outside of academics, Akil was a member of the debate team, earned six awards while participating on both Varsity and Junior Varsity athletic teams, and participated in PaSaRyu Martial Arts where he won multiple first and second place awards for sparring.
Akil’s life goals include finding meaningful ways to give back to the community, so he spent a great deal of time doing community service work that included organizing a clothing drive to provide uniforms to fellow classmates who were in need, volunteering to deliver bagged lunches to underprivileged children in his neighborhood and distributing school supplies and shoes at a local church, which is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. He hopes to become a defense attorney, because he wants to “defend [his] community against injustice and inequality.”