Christmas may come early for some New Jersey college students
The nonprofit New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) is offering scholarships to real life Garden State superheroes this fall.
Applications for the annual Dana Christmas Scholarship for Heroism, which honors students who have completed heroic acts, are being accepted by HESAA until Oct. 15. The scholarship, formed in 2001 by executive order from the governor and enacted by the state legislature, was named for Dana Christmas, a Seton Hall Univeristy student resident assistant who rescued several of her classmates from a college dormitory fire in January of 2000.
Christmas was awarded with the state-supported scholarship in 2001 for her heroism. Each year five scholarship recipients are awarded with a $10,000 scholarship in Christmas’ honor.
The 2006 Dana Christmas scholarship recipient Scott Lafontaine, 20, of Glassboro, is now a junior at Kean University.
The biotechnology major and chemistry minor is a graduate of Glassboro High School and hopes to attend pharmacy school after he graduates.
Lafontaine received the award for an act of heroism he performed at the age of 17 while helping his father teach sailing classes at a summer camp for 5-to-15 year olds on the Rehoboth Bay.
An unexpected storm arrived while 15-year-old campers were out sailing on the bay, and Lafontaine used quick thinking and his life-guarding skills to go out on a rescue motorboat to help pull campers to safety.
The heroic act occurred during the summer of 2005 at Camp Arrowhead in Lewes, Del.
Lafontaine was surprised to receive the award.
“It was a great honor to receive such a prestigious award. It helped out my parents and I tremendously in paying for college. As a life guard, I was trained to do that and I wouldn’t have expected to receive anything for it,” Lafontaine said.
According to executive director of HESAA Michael Angulo, 36 students have been awarded the scholarship since its start.
“What Dana Christmas did was truly heroic. The scholarship was created to honor her heroism and to recognize any New Jersey students who act in a heroic manner to save another’s life,” Angulo said.
To be eligible a student who has helped any individual escape a dangerous situation needs to be nominated for the award. The HESAA selection committee asks for written documentation such as press clippings, police reports, hospital records or evidence that the act took place.
The final application is then reviewed by the HESAA selection committee and winners are chosen based on the level of heroism and the impact on another person’s life. Applications are available online at www.hesaa.org.
Applicants are required to be New Jersey residents and under the age of 21 at the time of their application and the act of heroism, registered for the selective service and provide proof of citizenship and school enrollment.
Scholarships can be used for undergraduate and graduate degrees at colleges approved for federal financial aid. If a student is not of college age upon receipt of the scholarship, the funds are held in trust and awarded to the student upon entering college.
Each year the scholarship is advertised through print media, school districts, word-of-mouth and online on the HESAA Web site.
“It’s noble what these students do. The fact that they went above and beyond and had the fortitude and courage instinctively to act in the way heroes act, at such a young age, shows they should absolutely be rewarded,” Angulo said.
According to Angulo, HESAA is a main financial aid source for New Jersey students and families. In the past year the organization has provided nearly $270 million in grants and scholarships to about 80,000 students through its financial aid programs.
HESAA also provides low-interest loans to assist families in meeting the cost of higher education. Last year the organization provided about $350 million in loans to 25,000 students throughout the state.
The organization also administers the New Jersey Stars program that provides free community college education to students within the state meeting residency and eligibility requirements in the top 15 percent of their high school graduating class.
Applications for the annual Dana Christmas Scholarship for Heroism, which honors students who have completed heroic acts, are being accepted by HESAA until Oct. 15. The scholarship, formed in 2001 by executive order from the governor and enacted by the state legislature, was named for Dana Christmas, a Seton Hall Univeristy student resident assistant who rescued several of her classmates from a college dormitory fire in January of 2000.
Christmas was awarded with the state-supported scholarship in 2001 for her heroism. Each year five scholarship recipients are awarded with a $10,000 scholarship in Christmas’ honor.
The 2006 Dana Christmas scholarship recipient Scott Lafontaine, 20, of Glassboro, is now a junior at Kean University.
The biotechnology major and chemistry minor is a graduate of Glassboro High School and hopes to attend pharmacy school after he graduates.
Lafontaine received the award for an act of heroism he performed at the age of 17 while helping his father teach sailing classes at a summer camp for 5-to-15 year olds on the Rehoboth Bay.
An unexpected storm arrived while 15-year-old campers were out sailing on the bay, and Lafontaine used quick thinking and his life-guarding skills to go out on a rescue motorboat to help pull campers to safety.
The heroic act occurred during the summer of 2005 at Camp Arrowhead in Lewes, Del.
Lafontaine was surprised to receive the award.
“It was a great honor to receive such a prestigious award. It helped out my parents and I tremendously in paying for college. As a life guard, I was trained to do that and I wouldn’t have expected to receive anything for it,” Lafontaine said.
According to executive director of HESAA Michael Angulo, 36 students have been awarded the scholarship since its start.
“What Dana Christmas did was truly heroic. The scholarship was created to honor her heroism and to recognize any New Jersey students who act in a heroic manner to save another’s life,” Angulo said.
To be eligible a student who has helped any individual escape a dangerous situation needs to be nominated for the award. The HESAA selection committee asks for written documentation such as press clippings, police reports, hospital records or evidence that the act took place.
The final application is then reviewed by the HESAA selection committee and winners are chosen based on the level of heroism and the impact on another person’s life. Applications are available online at www.hesaa.org.
Applicants are required to be New Jersey residents and under the age of 21 at the time of their application and the act of heroism, registered for the selective service and provide proof of citizenship and school enrollment.
Scholarships can be used for undergraduate and graduate degrees at colleges approved for federal financial aid. If a student is not of college age upon receipt of the scholarship, the funds are held in trust and awarded to the student upon entering college.
Each year the scholarship is advertised through print media, school districts, word-of-mouth and online on the HESAA Web site.
“It’s noble what these students do. The fact that they went above and beyond and had the fortitude and courage instinctively to act in the way heroes act, at such a young age, shows they should absolutely be rewarded,” Angulo said.
According to Angulo, HESAA is a main financial aid source for New Jersey students and families. In the past year the organization has provided nearly $270 million in grants and scholarships to about 80,000 students through its financial aid programs.
HESAA also provides low-interest loans to assist families in meeting the cost of higher education. Last year the organization provided about $350 million in loans to 25,000 students throughout the state.
The organization also administers the New Jersey Stars program that provides free community college education to students within the state meeting residency and eligibility requirements in the top 15 percent of their high school graduating class.
