PawSox Scholars program awards two students with $10K scholarships

ON FRIDAY, Pawtucket Red Sox President Dr. Charles Steinberg, center, presented $10,000 college scholarships from the PawSox/Skeffington Charitable Foundation to Ethan Hoke, second from left, of the Calcutt Middle School in Central Falls and Charlisa Kollie, of Slater Junior High School in Pawtucket. He made the presentation along with Central Falls Mayor James Diossa, far left, and Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien, far right. / COURTESY THE PAWTUCKET RED SOX
ON FRIDAY, Pawtucket Red Sox President Dr. Charles Steinberg, center, presented $10,000 college scholarships from the PawSox/Skeffington Charitable Foundation to Ethan Hoke, second from left, of the Calcutt Middle School in Central Falls and Charlisa Kollie, of Slater Junior High School in Pawtucket. He made the presentation along with Central Falls Mayor James Diossa, far left, and Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien, far right. / COURTESY THE PAWTUCKET RED SOX

PAWTUCKET – Two middle school students each received college scholarships of $10,000 on Friday, thanks to the new PawSox Scholars program created by the Pawtucket Red Sox and the PawSox/Skeffington Charitable Foundation.
The funds, from the foundation, will be paid directly to the students’ colleges of their choice for tuition and books upon matriculation, according to a Friday announcement from the PawSox.

Charlisa Kollie, 13, an eighth-grader at Pawtucket’s Samuel Slater Junior High School, and Ethan Hoke, 14, an eighth-grader at Central Falls’ Dr. Earl Calcutt Middle School, were selected from 196 applications.
“The PawSox Scholars program funds the dream of college,” PawSox President Dr. Charles A. Steinberg said in a statement. “We know that children face destructive temptations in adolescent life, and we hope that the PawSox Scholars program is an incentive to stay the straight and narrow in both scholastics and citizenship.”
Eighth-graders were invited to submit applications, including essays. School administrators then narrowed the field, and PawSox officials selected the winners from the finalists.
“We are so proud of Charlisa Kollie and all of our Pawtucket students,” Pawtucket Superintendent Patti DiCenso said. “This program can dramatically change the lives of our children. It provides hope – an essential element of a child’s education.”
Central Falls Superintendent Victor Capellan said Ethan wrote a “beautiful essay about his love of Central Falls.”

PawSox spokesman Bill Wanless said that going forward, the organization is not sure if it will continue to offer two $10,000 scholarships annually or if it should split the funds up to reach more students.
PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino and Steinberg led the creation of similar programs in San Diego (Padres Scholars) and Boston (Red Sox Scholars).

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