Twenty Manhattan College Students Received James Patterson Scholarships

For the fifth consecutive year, a group of Manhattan College students will receive scholarships to continue their education, thanks to the generosity of best-selling author James Patterson '69, who will award $110,000 in academic scholarships to Manhattan College. Ten juniors and ten seniors from the Schools of Liberal Arts, Business, Education and Health, Engineering, and Science have received scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year.

Patterson started the scholarship program to recognize and reward the academic achievement and leadership potential of Manhattan College students, especially those interested in a career in education. The 20 students received the scholarships based on merit, need and involvement in activities related to the College's mission.

"This is a great group of Jaspers who exemplify what it means to be a Manhattan College student," Patterson said. "My family and I are delighted to see their hard work pay off in the classroom and in the surrounding New York City community."

The scholarship recipients include:

Juniors

• Mia Bertolli, biology (Leonia, N.J.)
• Lorraine Bishop, radiation therapy technology (Bronx, N.Y.)
• Carly Corbett-Frank, international studies (Winthrop, Mass.)
• Kathia Coronado, mechanical engineering (Bronx, N.Y.)
• Shane Duggan, finance (Pearl River, N.Y.)
• Alessandra Eraifez, English (Yonkers, N.Y.)
• Maria Mazo, biology (Yonkers, N.Y.)
• Yulemmy Mendez, physical education (Bronx, N.Y.)
• Shimul Miah, international studies (Bronx, N.Y.)
• Lisa Marie Nilaj, civil engineering (Scarsdale, N.Y.)

Seniors

• Rachel Gerard, philosophy (Carmel, N.Y.)
• Cathleen Giordano, civil engineering (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
• Goldie Gunawan, civil engineering (Endicott, N.Y.)
• Megan Heaney, special education/elementary education (New Hyde Park, N.Y.)
• Christopher Hoey, electrical engineering (Las Vegas, Nev.)
• Adriana Irizarry, biology (Bronx, N.Y.)
• Roman Kuzmiak, electrical engineering (Yonkers, N.Y.)
• Jenifer Martin, English (Bronx, N.Y.)
• Klaudia Maslowska, special education/elementary education (Hampton Bays, N.Y.)
• Amy Oliva, elementary education (Flushing, N.Y.)

The scholarship program will award $5,000 to each of the 20 recipients. All seniors are eligible to apply to receive one of four additional $2,500 awards based on essay submissions. The seniors will submit essays detailing their various accomplishments during their junior year and their personal vision for plans after graduation.

"Through his generosity toward our students, James Patterson is making an investment not only in their future but in the future of the fields they will enter after graduation," said Brennan O'Donnell, president of Manhattan College. "His support of future teachers is especially important, and also very much in the spirit of Manhattan's Lasallian educational tradition."
Patterson holds the Guinness record for the most consecutive No. 1 novels on The New York Times Best Sellers List, and is most famous for his best-selling Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Michael Bennett series.

In 2015, Patterson was awarded the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. That year, he also donated $1.75 million to public school libraries and $1 million to independent bookstores throughout the United States.

To post a comment, you must register and login.