Outstanding Graduates Awarded $82,000 From Comcast

by Elisa Klein | Jun 15, 2014 | Events, Features, Uncategorized

Portland, May 31st, 2014. The Comcast Foundation honored 65 Oregon and SW Washington high school seniors with $82,000 in Comcast Leaders and Achievers® scholarships at the Portland World Trade Center. More than 150 guests attended including 48 students. Fourteen students are from the city of Portland and 30 students are from the Portland Metro Area.

Vanessa Dominguez, 2013 Comcast Leaders and Achievers and Founder’s scholarship winner, joins the celebration to share her first-year experience of college with the 2014 winners. While attending Oregon State University, Vanessa continues her work at Momentum Alliance as youth director with co-executive director Rebecca Shine.

Attendees have brunch at the Portland World Trade Center in celebration of winning scholarships. Photo by Andie Petkus Photography.

Students receive commemorative Comcast Leaders and Achievers medals. Photo by Andie Petkus Photography.

Mark Lewis, director of STEM for the Oregon Education Investment board, encourages students to continue exploring their roles in education and the community. Photo by Andie Petkus Photography.

Students were invited to bring parents and special guests to celebrate their accomplishments with Comcast and fellow Leaders and Achievers scholarship recipients. Photo by Andie Petkus Photography.

Comcast community investment manager Rebecca Brown and VP of external affairs Theressa Dulaney are anxious to unveil Comcast Founder’s scholarships—additional awards to the Comcast Leaders and Achievers scholarships.

Abigail Pasion from Roosevelt High School receives a total $5,000 award for college with a $1,000 Leaders and Achievers scholarship and a $4,000 Comcast Founder’s scholarship. Photo by Andie Petkus Photography.

Each student received $1,000 scholarships for higher education. Fifteen students also won iPads to help with their studies, including five from the Portland Metro Area, and three students received additional Comcast Founder’s scholarship. Abigail Pasion (Roosevelt High School, Portland, OR) and Morgan Baker (R.A. Long High School, Longview, WA) were each awarded $4,000 Comcast Founder’s scholarships which brought their total scholarships to $5,000 each. Jazmin Cruz (South Salem High School, Salem, OR) was awarded a $9,000 Comcast Founder’s Scholarship which brought her scholarship total to $10,000.

Abigail Pasion from Roosevelt High School has been involved in several activities including student government, theatre, and SUN Community Schools. After working with Global Citizens Corps in 2012, Abigail created the program RISE: Reaching Individual Success through Education. It is a peer-run group designed to increase and sustain the percentage of college-bound youth in the St. Johns area of Portland.

Honored students and guests heard from Rodrigo Lopez, Comcast Oregon & SW Washington regional vice president; Mark Lewis, director of STEM for the Oregon Education Investment Board; and Vanessa Dominguez, 2013 Comcast Founders’ scholarship recipient and Oregon State University undergraduate student. 

Recognizing the exceptional academic commitment and community involvement of the students, Rodrigo Lopez joked, “I’d be embarrassed to tell you my community involvement when I was your age.” Mark Lewis commended their leadership and role-modeling in school, noting that “education is a collective responsibility.” Vanessa Dominguez reminded students, “when the going gets tough, just keep on swimming.” Citing her continued community involvement as youth director of Momentum Alliance, she encouraged students to keep up with community service despite possible challenges in adjusting to college life.

“These students are great leaders. They will surely continue to make change happen in their schools and communities by their own actions and the examples they set for their peers,” remarked Rodrigo Lopez.

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program provides $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities. The program also demonstrates the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

To date, Comcast has awarded more than $21.6 million to nearly 21,000 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship winners.

2014-2015 OREGON AND SW WASHINGTON LEADERS AND ACHIEVERS® SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS – PORTLAND METRO AREA (*Asterisk notes iPad winner)

Connect with the scholarship winners at www.facebook.com/ComcastLeadersandAchievers. Explore and “like” Comcast in the community at www.facebook.com/WePowerDreams.

The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified nonprofit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation has three community investment priorities—promoting community service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow’s leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $130 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.

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