CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Huntington Scholarship program awarded 11 graduating seniors from high schools across Northeast Ohio with a $2,000 scholarship.
The Cavaliers and the Huntington Scholarship are also celebrating their 30th year since the partnership created the program to assist high-achieving students as they pursue their post-secondary education.
The pandemic presented unique challenges for students and teachers alike as they navigate remote virtual learning and social disconnection while school systems across the country adapted to the situation. However, the scholarship asked the question: “What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned up to this point in your life and how do you plan to apply that lesson going forward?” and received some inspiring answers from the applicants.
The Scholarship Application Committee considered more than 500 submissions, from which 20 semi-finalists were selected and interviewed by a panel of judges before they chose the finalists.
“Huntington is proud to join The Cleveland Cavaliers to invest in the futures of these outstanding students,” said Julie Tutkovics, Huntington’s chief marketing and communications officer.
“Their pursuit of excellence throughout the pandemic positions them well to succeed in their academic careers, and their continued support of our communities establishes them as role models for future generations of leaders. Huntington salutes these deserving, high-achieving students as they embark on their post-secondary studies.”
”Championing the importance of education is a pillar of our outreach with youth in our community, and we are proud to partner with Huntington to provide this year’s scholarship winners the opportunity to further their education while pursuing their aspirations and dreams for the future,” said Len Komoroski, CEO Cleveland Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The 11 recipients of the 2021 Cavaliers/Huntington Scholarships are:
- Steven Fellinger, from Orange High School;
- Manith Humchad, from Brecksville-Broadview High School;
- Jacob Cox, from Hudson High School;
- Oluwapelumi Obasa, from Cleveland School of Science and Medicine;
- Shruthi Ravichandran, from Hathaway Brown School;
- Zahrya Robinson, from Saint Martin de Porres;
- Grace Snavely, from Fairless High School;
- Tatyana Terrell Robinson from Warrensville Heights High School;
- Razeen Thammahack, from Firestone CLC;
- Zelda Thayer-Hansen, from Cleveland Heights High School; and
- Xiohan (Sunny) Wang, from Beachwood High School.