16 local students receive scholarships from Red Sox, Red Sox Foundation
For the eighth consecutive year, local high school students were bestowed scholarships by one of the Major League Baseball teams that calls Lee County home each spring.
On Sunday, 16 students looking to further their educational journey were honored and presented with $5,000 scholarships by the Boston Red Sox and Red Sox Foundation. Before the game, each recipient walked onto the field at JetBlue Park to meet Sox manager Alex Cora, received a personalized bat and got a rousing applause from the crowd on hand.
The 2023 recipients are:
• Vanessa Kinley- Bonita Springs
• Jennifer Gongora-Caruncho – Cape Coral
• Autumn Rodes – Cypress Lake
• Ah’riyah Kemp – Dunbar
• Janalicia Nava Ozuna – East Lee County
• Justin Breitenstein – Estero
• Dalevyon Knight – Fort Myers
• Rozaria Brown – Gateway
• Ella Daudbasic – Ida Baker
• Tawny De La Fe Cruz – Island Coast
• Alexis Smith – Lehigh Senior
• Berk Aydogmus – Mariner
• Makayla Ashley – North Fort Myers
• Mar Perez – Riverdale
• Deborah Ghullikie – South Fort Myers
• Emily Paraboschi – Charter/ALS
“This is what it’s all about,” said General Manager, Florida Operations and JetBlue Park at Fenway South, Shawn Smith. “Getting a chance to honor education, as well as veterans, are big cornerstones of what we believe in fundamentally as an organization, and certainly what I believe in as a person. There’s no greater thing than to serve. Education is the ultimate tool to break down a lot of challenging things in our world, whether it has to do with things economically or socially or politically. Education is important. To see so many young people that care about their education — not only the winners, but the finalists and the people that applied — that they cared that much about their opportunities and their future to be a part of this, the honor is all ours.”
Once again this year, all Lee County charter and ALS schools were included, with one $5,000 scholarship also being awarded to a student from this category for a total of 16 scholarships worth $80,000.
The scholarships are for academically talented students who have shown a commitment to community service and are pursuing a two- or four-year degree at any college or university.
The students plan to attend universities ranging from the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Harvard, Georgia Tech, Rice and more, and will major in subjects such as computer science, business, aerospace, engineering, nursing, biology, communications and other fields.
Scholarship funds are raised annually from proceeds of the Red Sox annual Swings for the Sox Golf Tournament. To date, the Swings for the Sox has raised more than $497,000 for local charities and specifically $437,175 for the scholarship program. Due to Hurricane Ian, this year’s tournament was cancelled.
David Doran, owner of DLD Builders LLC of Naples, was the title sponsor of the Swings For The Sox for the eighth consecutive year. Doran has donated over $70,000 to the Red Sox scholarship program.
“Since I never graduated college, I’m happy to continue supporting these impressive students on their first great step towards their future,” he said. “My hope is not only for these students to do well, but at some point, when they are able to pay it forward and help the next generation behind them.”
Cape Coral High School student Jennifer Gongora-Caruncho is deciding between UF and Vanderbilt University where she hopes to study biomedical engineering and eventually earn her masters. She said when her sister was younger, she dealt with frequent illnesses that required many trips to the hospital. Often times, answers could not be provided as to what was going on.
“They used to tell us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong’ a lot. And now that I’m older and reflect back on the effect it had on me, I feel for other families that are told ‘I don’t know,'” Gongora-Caruncho said. “I want to find answers for people.”
She said a possible road she’d like to go down is into the field of genetics to help those that want children and are unable, to do so. As for how the scholarship will help her on her next endeavor, she said, “Schooling is expensive here in America. Definitely any scholarship or any financial aid I can get is helpful as it’s just me, my sister and mom in our household. Anything I can do to lift that financial burden off my mother is helpful.”
Mariner High School’s Berk Aydogmus is shooting for the stars next year, heading to UCF to study aerospace engineering.
“I always wanted to be an astronaut, so might as well pursue that and hopefully it works out,” Aydogmus said. “I want to be up in space.”
He said the scholarship will assist in helping him further his educational path, as he hopes to earn a masters and possibly even a Ph.D.
His advice to those starting their high school career with high aspirations is, “Never give up. Always believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. You have to be the first person to stand up for yourself and believe in yourself every step of the way.”
Ella Daudbasic of Ida Baker High School has plans to attend FSU next year to study nursing, something she says comes from her mother working in healthcare all her life.
“She always came home and told me stories, and it just sparked a joy in me, so ever since then I’ve been pushing to pursue something in the medical field,” Daudbasic said.
Better late than never as they say, as Daudbasic applied for the scholarship on the last day, a decision she’s quite happy she made.
“When I eventually found the scholarship, I immediately applied,” she said. “My dad is disabled, my mom works overtime, I have two jobs because I’m trying to save up for college,” Daudbasic said. “Everything I can do to lessen tuition and housing, I’m trying to do.”
Her advice to younger high school student? Get involved with your peers.
“Just make friends. Stick to school, make friends, focus on school, don’t be someone that slacks because it’ll bite you. You want to have a future and plan for something big. Obviously have fun, but focus on school and find your close friends.”
North Fort Myers students Makayla Ashley is going to FGCU next year with plans to study elementary education, which she said could possibly change, but wants to work in the world of education.
“I’ve always had a great connection to school, I really like the environment,” Ashley said. “We need teachers, and I want to be a part of that impact and I want to help change the school system to where all kids have more opportunities to learn and have a mentor to be there to guide them.”
She said the scholarship will be a major uplift to her next step, as she’s had to work a job the last two years to help support her family. She said Hurricane Ian also took a big toll financially.
“Instead of having to work way too much, it will help me focus on school and my education,” Ashley said.
So, what’s something she’d like to see change in schools?
“I would want to change or shift from doing standardized testing, to doing more on what kids need to know to further their education,” Ashley said.
She added many schools often prepare you to pass a test, not obtain and use information pertinent to everyday life.
“We need tools to help us go out into society,” Ashley said. “(A lot of kids) learn how to pass a test, not lean the material. I personally think that can be harmful, even though some standardized testing can have pros, as well as cons.”
Tawny De La Fe Cruz of Island Coast has plans to attend UF to study aerospace engineering.
“I’ve always liked engineering and physics, so I thought that would be the best combination of both of them,” he said.
De La Fe Cruz said his dream job would to work with NASA with satellites and in the telecommunications realm. He added the scholarship money is a major step in the right direction when it comes to moving forward.
“It’s going to help pay for housing mainly, as I’ll be moving to Gainesville next year,” De La Fe Cruz said.
His advice to high school students is: “To enroll in clubs and take leadership position. For me, I wanted to make an impact. If you want to make an impact, enroll in NHS and other clubs. Also, study for the SAT, it might seem not as important, but if you get a good score, it can be a game-changer.”
The Red Sox Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox. The foundation’s primary focus locally is in serving the health, education, recreation and social service needs of children and families across Southwest Florida.
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To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com