Named Scholarships
VICTOR LEE HONORARY SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipient: Neilda Barthelemy
Victor Lee grew up in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston. He graduated from Latin Academy and Boston College, Class of 1996. He attended Boston College on a scholarship, and also had to apply for financial aid. Without help from Boston College, he would have settled for a state college or university. He believes that Boston College offered him opportunities that he would not have had elsewhere.
While Victor was a student in the Boston Public Schools, he was not aware of ACCESS. When he was offered a position on the ACCESS Board of Directors, he accepted it because he wanted to be part of an organization that provided opportunities to Boston public school students that he did not receive. As a Board member, he decided to provide the funds for the scholarship, and ACCESS named it for him.
Victor is currently a Vice-President of Digitas here in Boston. The Victor Lee Scholarship is awarded to a graduate of Boston Latin Academy who has financial need.
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ANN COLES HONORARY SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipient: Gabrielle Farrell
Ann is no stranger to ACCESS. She helped found the organization, and was a member of the ACCESS Advisory Committee for 10 years. Ann has spent her career working on issues relating to civil rights, eradicating racism and ensuring that higher education is available to all young people.
Ann was born in Vermont and received her B.A. from Brown University. She has a PhD. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Masters in Adult Higher Education from Boston University. Ann currently serves as Senior Vice-President for College Access Programs at TERI (The Education Resources Institute).
The Ann Coles honorary scholarship was created in 2000 to honor Ann, who was retiring as the founder and first executive director of the Higher Education Information Center (HEIC), for her 19 years of work on behalf of the organization. It was felt by colleagues and friends that a named scholarship was a most appropriate tribute to Ann's lifelong work of helping kids from low income families attend college. Ann also helped raise money for her scholarship by making available names of her family and friends, who generously contributed in her honor. Ann has no requirements for the students who receive her named scholarship; she wants the scholarship to go to students who need it most.
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DEBORAH LEVI MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipients: Karina Arias & Son Vu
Deborah was born in Boston and moved to Washington, D.C., where she was raised. She graduated from Harvard College, majoring in history and literature, and NYU Law School. Between college and law school, she attended Emory University, where she received a M.A. in French literature. Deb loved to travel, and was fluent in French. She was a violinist and guitarist, and she also sang. She cared about all people, and believed in building bridges between people from different circles of life.
Deb died at the age of 34, and the scholarship was created soon after in 2003 through contributions from colleagues at her workplace, Ropes and Gray, family and other friends. Because of her love of music, her parents and friends requested that the scholarship be given to students who are interested in the arts.
The idea for naming a scholarship at ACCESS in Deborah's memory came from a Boston Junior High School principal who consulted with David and Shelley Levi, Deb's parents, and her friends. They felt that an ongoing memorial that was somehow connected to Deb Levi's love of learning, love of the arts and attachment to the City of Boston was a most appropriate memorial to her.
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EDDIE MANDELL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipients: Margaret Chan, Ruo Chen, Melvin Goncalves, Amy Rivera, Kelya Veloz & Moniqua Williams
Eddie Mandell died at the age of 63 after a long bout with cancer. He never attended college, but he was a graduate of the Boston Public Schools. He felt that education was the great equalizer in our society, and that a college education enabled people to move up in life. Eddie loved children, and was often described as a pied piper, taking tons of kids to ice cream parlors, penny arcades, etc. He had the capacity to make every child he met feel special.
Eddie founded a toy company, and when that closed he helped his wife set up and run a jewelry store. However he spent most of his time on community activities. He lived in Newton but liked to bring together friends from his old neighborhood in Boston to stay in touch.
The first Eddie Mandell Scholars were named in 2000. His son, Bill Mandell, felt that kids and education captured the spirit of Eddie Mandell. Bill and his sister felt that a scholarship program would be the right kind of memorial to Eddie, but they knew they could not pick the students and administer the scholarship. Bill was referred to ACCESS by Superintendent Tom Payzant, who recommended the ACCESS program as a perfect vehicle for getting the most out of scholarship dollars.
Each year Bill's firm raises money for the Eddie Mandell Scholarship from lawyers, clients, and friends, and also through a golf outing.
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JOHN PAVLIC HONORARY SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipients: Melyssa Centeno, Marcus Fuquay, Romario Gelin, Shannon Greaves, Davidson McGuffie, Katherine Montealto, Tamara Panameno, Stephanie Polanco, Charlene Singleton & April Watkins
John Pavlic grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and received a B.A. from Notre Dame University. After Notre Dame he went into military service, and then began a career with Johnson & Johnson. After a few years there, he left to join Boston Scientific, at that time a young Boston pharmaceutical and biotech company.
When John revisited his hometown in the 1990's, he saw teenagers sitting around and not doing much. Since John had been successful in business, he and his wife wanted to make an impact on kids by helping them do something productive with their lives.
A friend of theirs who was a principal in the Sherborn schools introduced the Pavlics to Boston Superintendent, Tom Payzant. Since the Pavlics were interested in a scholarship program, it was suggested that they consider donating their money to ACCESS. John liked the idea of the ACCESS program, because it served a large group of students in the Boston Public Schools. The Pavlic scholarships have no restrictions or requirements, so they can be used to help all students who have need.
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MURTHA CULLINA HONORARY SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipient: Lily Liang
Murtha Cullina is a law firm headquartered in Hartford, CT with offices in New Haven, Boston and Woburn, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1936, and every year, it used to spend a lot of money on Christmas cards, plants and other gifts for clients. In 1999, the firm decided that helping youngsters attend college was more important than a holiday card or gift. The first scholarships for students in need were awarded in Hartford and New Haven, where the firm had offices.
When Murtha Cullina merged with a Massachusetts law firm in 2000, they decided to continue the scholarship program here. Debra Sciarra, the Marketing Director of the firm, was given the name of the Boston Plan for Excellence and ACCESS. After meeting with the Executive Director of ACCESS, the firm felt the ACCESS program was how they wanted to provide support to youngsters in a city where they do business. The firm publicizes this scholarship program on their website and through press releases.
Each year the firm contributes $10,000 to the ACCESS program for the scholarships, and plans to continue this gift as long as they stay in business.
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RICHARD SODEN LAW AND JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIPS
2008 Recipients: Kareem Cutler, Siu Lee, Ednice Monteiro, Paul Pitre, Richa Shrestha, Irza Torres
Goodwin Procter LLP established the Soden Scholarships in 1995, in celebration of Richard Soden's election as president of the Boston Bar Association. The firm chose to invest in Boston public school students because this aligns with the firm's core values of building diversity in the legal community and ensuring equal access to justice.
Richard Soden was one of the first African-Americans elected to partnership at a large Boston law firm. He has chaired the American Bar Association's Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs and has served as a leader and member of several other legal groups.
Outside of the legal community, Richard has been involved with many nonprofit groups as part of his commitment to supporting educational and enrichment opportunities for disadvantaged youth. He is past chairman of the Board of the Judge Baker Children's Center, past president of the United South End Settlements, as well as a former trustee of Boston University. He also served on the Executive Board of the Northeast Region of the Boy Scouts of America.
Richard grew up in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BA from Hamilton College and graduated from Boston University Law School in 1970. He clerked for the Honorable George Edwards, US Court of Appeals, before joining Goodwin Procter in 1971. He was a partner from 1979 until 2006, when he became Counsel to the firm.
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ROBERT SPERBER HONORARY SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipient: Ernest Pough
Robert Sperber's lifelong work has been devoted to achieving educational equity for all students. He was one of the founders of ACCESS and a member of the original advisory committee. In the 1970's, higher education institutions, members of the business community and committed people such as Bob came together to form the Boston Compact. ACCESS was one of many organizations that grew out of the work of the Boston Compact. ACCESS was founded and funded by New England Life through the efforts of Compact leaders, including Bob.
Bob was raised in New York City and received a M.A. and Ed.D. from Columbia Teachers College. In 1964, he became Superintendent of the Brookline Schools and in 1982 he moved to Boston University as Professor of Educational Administration as well as Urban Education Advisor to President John Silber. While at BU, he created the Higher Education Partnership, a consortium of 30 colleges and universities founded to help Boston High School students through scholarship aid and grants.
The Robert Sperber scholarship was created in 2000 as a tribute to Bob when he retired after 18 years as Executive Director of the Higher Education Partnership. The funding for the scholarship came through the generosity of the 30 institutions that comprised the Higher Education Partnership. At Bob's request there are no restrictions to the named scholars. It is his hope that the scholarship will go to those who need it most.
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MARIO PENA MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipient: Cayne Fernandez
Mario Pena dedicated his life to providing young people from all backgrounds with educational opportunities that would allow them to develop their full potential and lead healthy and productive lives. He worked particularly hard on behalf of students from low-income backgrounds, beginning in pre-school and supporting them through completion of a college degree.
Mario left a rich legacy in the projects and organizations he launched across the United States. One of his most notable contributions was serving as the founding Executive Director of ACCESS, a financial aid advising and last dollar scholarship program for students in the Boston Public Schools. In 2006, a Named Scholarship was created in Mario's name, as a way of remembering him and recognizing his commitment to young people.
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ANNE F. "DOLLY" BROFMAN SCHOLARSHIP
2008 Recipients: Damina Soares & Kenneth Wen
Anne “Dolly” Brofman was born and educated in Boston, attending Boston Latin Academy and Dorchester High School. She had hoped to go on college, but due to economic circumstances, had to begin working as soon as she finished high school. Dolly recognized the value of education and felt that no one should be denied it because of financial circumstances.
In 2000, her husband, Sam Brofman, contacted Boston school officials to find out about opportunities to honor his wife’s memory by supporting Boston students. He was put in touch with ACCESS and decided to establish a Named Scholarship to give Boston youth the opportunity she never had to reach higher education. In a 2000 Boston Globe column, Sam Bronfman said, referring to the scholarship, “I never believed in divine guidance. But I never thought I would be doing this from my own mind. I think it’s her telling me.”
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