BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
MONTVALE—Well, that’s convenient! Cumberland Farms recently announced that 130 talented high school seniors have been awarded Believe & Achieve Scholarships to help them attend college in the fall.
Among the winners was Pascack Hills High School graduate Taylor Robinson of Montvale, who aims to go to law school and pursue immigration law or politics.
With “translates” attached to her name in her email address, it’s no surprise she attends The Honors College of Rutgers University as a linguistics major, is considering a minor in Spanish, took Spanish and French in high school, and taught herself Korean on the side.
Robinson, named an AP Scholar with Honors, tells Pascack Press she was president of the Spanish honor society and started a volunteer project helping immigrant residents of Bergen County.
“I spoke about that at a TEDx Talk at my school in May, which was amazing. I think the language thing was probably what helped me get the scholarship because it’s not a super common interest,” she said.
She also was president of her school’s Environmental Club and belonged to youth leadership organizations outside of school such as the Bergen County Commission on the Status of Women.
“I care a lot about immigrant rights and basically the rights of any marginalized group, so I’d love to make a career advocating for those who are underrepresented, especially in the current political climate,” she added.
“I’m definitely going to join the same kinds of organizations in college,” she said.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, and involves an analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context.
Since the launch of Cumberland Farms’ popular scholarship program more than a decade ago, the company has provided more than $1.2 million in critical financial assistance to more than 1,200 college-bound young adults to help them realize their dreams of achieving a college education.
As part of the company’s commitment to nurturing the future of young people, the Believe & Achieve program provides $1,000 scholarships annually to 130 eligible graduating high school seniors across its service area.
This year Cumberland Farms awarded $130,000 in Believe & Achieve Scholarships to students in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, and elsewhere.
The program is open to students entering a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited college, university, or vocational-technical school in the fall of 2018 who live within 30 miles of a Cumberland Farms store.
Scholarships are awarded based on a student’s academic performance and financial need, as well as involvement in extracurricular activities such as community service and athletics.
The application process for next year’s scholarship program opens in October.