The Connecticut REALTORS® Foundation announced 2018’s 41 outstanding Raymond F. Gates, Jr. Memorial Scholarship winners one of whom resides in Stamford
Leadership skills did not come easily for Stamford High School student Vedant Gannu. He worked at developing them during the course of his academic career, and now with a 4.68 grade point average, he is earning rewards for his efforts.
The Stamford Board of REALTORS® presented Gannu with two scholarships at a reception hosted by the Board last week. He was one of 12 students from the Stamford schools to receive both the Raymond F. Gates, Jr. Memorial scholarship from the Connecticut REALTORS® Foundation and the Frank N. Green, Jr. Memorial scholarship award from the Stamford Board of REALTORS®.
Gannu, who attends Stamford High School, will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and major in computer systems engineering. He brings with him an impressive list of leadership positions he earned during his career in high school. In addition to serving as President of the school’s Mentoring Staff and Co-President of the Leadership Academy he also was the co-Principal Investigator of a NASA Student Space Flight Experiment Program Research Mission. Gannu’s list of volunteer roles, including positions at Stamford Government Center, Tully Health Center and Ferguson Library is equally impressive.
“Becoming comfortable in leadership positions was definitely something that I had to overcome,” Gannu said. While Gannu built an impressive academic resume, he feels it was his commitment to leadership that helped him earn the scholarships.
The Raymond F. Gates, Jr Memorial Scholarship named after the late Executive Vice President of the Connecticut Realtors® and in memory of REALTOR® Frank N. Green, former President of the Stamford Board. Scholarship winners are selected based on grade point average, standardized test scores, class ranking, extracurricular activities and letters of recommendation.
For the 2017-2018 academic year, the Connecticut REALTORS® Foundation received 111 eligible applications. This year, 41 outstanding children of CT REALTORS® were selected to receive a total of $35,000 in scholarships.
Stamford High students Carly Bennett, Elizabeth DeMarkey, Brianna Fabiano, Kiran Jagtiani, James Pease and Jessica Saturne also received $1,000 Frank N. Green Scholarships. Westhill’s Sarah Jane Bennett, Yaneira Torres and Reshmi Ranjith and Trinity Catholic’s Katherine Janik and Thomas Butler also received Green scholarships.
The Stamford Board of REALTORS® increased the number of awards this year from 10 to 12. The Stamford Board of REALTORS® Frank N. Green Scholarship is based on community service, school service, demonstrated leadership ability and acceptance by an accredited institution of higher learning. Students must be a resident of Stamford and attend a Stamford public, private or parochial high school.
Torres, who will attend Union College to study psychology, volunteered at Stamford Hospital and served as an Executive Member of the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council. She also volunteered at Person-to-Person and the Ferguson Library.
“I was surprised when they told me that I won the scholarship,’’ Torres said. “I did a lot of work with my leadership responsibilities, and I think that was important. It means a lot to me be recognized, especially when there are so many deserving students in Stamford.”
Katherine Janik earned recognition as the salutatorian. Her older sisters, who graduated in 2011 and 2013, rose to the same rank in the class. “I was so excited and grateful when I learned I had won the scholarship,” said Janik, who will attend Catholic University and plans to study architecture. “They called my mom to notify us and left and message, and I got an email. I knew immediately what it was, and I was thrilled.”
Janik feels that the scholarship will help her take part of her hometown along with her when she enrolls in the Washington D.C. college later this year.
“I’m overwhelmed that people are taking an interest in my life and want to help me succeed,’’ she said. “I definitely feel like I’ll be taking part of Stamford with me when I go there. It’s going to be exciting.”
The scholarship winners were accepted into some of the nation’s most challenging institutions, including Hamilton College, Columbia University, the University of Texas and Marquette University.
“We are proud supporters of our students and the Stamford school system,’’ said Susan Swidler, chairperson of the Stamford Board of REALTORS® Scholarship committee. The Stamford BOR has been awarding scholarships for over two decades. “Every year, we are presented a challenging assignment to identify the winners of the scholarship. There are so many outstanding, bright young men and women. We’re thrilled we were able to increase the number of scholarships, and reward the students for their terrific achievements,’’ Swidler said.