14 N.J. Students Awarded $70,000 in College Scholarships by ETS

News provided by

Jul 20, 2015, 10:55 ET

PRINCETON, N.J., July 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the fifth year in a row, employees of Educational Testing Service (ETS) are recognizing aspiring and accomplished students from across New Jersey with educational scholarships totaling nearly $70,000. Including this year's scholarships, ETS has awarded more than 150 New Jersey students a total amount of nearly $600,000 since the program began.

ETS President and CEO Walt MacDonald and the 2015 ECAF scholarship award recipients.

The scholarships were awarded during ceremonies at ETS's corporate headquarters last Wednesday night. The scholarships are provided through donations from staff and distributed as part of the ETS Employees' Community Action Fund (ECAF). The scholarship recipients were chosen from nine New Jersey counties, including four students from Mercer County.

"These students admirably maintain the drive and perseverance to succeed, regardless of their past adversities," said Walt MacDonald, President and CEO of ETS. "On behalf of the entire ETS community, we wish these students luck as they continue to succeed in their future endeavors."

The winners of the 2015 ETS ECAF scholarships are:

Joseph A. Gonzalez, Clayton High School, Wesley College
Trent C. Gray, Shawnee High School, Lehigh University
Madeline Humphrey, Morristown High School, New York University
Anastasia N. Mancini, Point Pleasant Beach High School, Ocean County College
Anthony G. Mattia, Whippany Park High School, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Luis A. Rivas Molina, Trenton Central High School, Mercer County Community College
Mary C. Roberts, Delaware Valley Regional High School, Messiah College
Kelsey E. Roe, Central High School, Ringling College of Art and Design
Nicholas O. Santiago, Science High School, Harvard University
Christine Thomas, Edison High School, Indiana University-Bloomington
Alvin J. Toha, Science High School, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Anastasiya E. Torres, Lindenwold High School, Rowan University
Kristi Truong, Steinert High School, Temple University
Brandon J. Washington-Steele, Plainfield High School, Benedict College

Throughout high school, the students maintained high grades and excelled in honors and Advanced Placement^® classes, many while volunteering in their local communities, working or both. They did this while facing significant life challenges, including physical and mental illness, poverty and limited resources because of family-related health or employment issues.

MacDonald concluded his remarks with his modest and sensible motto: "Work hard, have fun, be good and most importantly do good."

The 2015 scholarship recipients intend to major in a variety of subjects, including accounting, biochemistry, biology, engineering, film arts, international relations, marketing, mechanical engineering, music and sports medicine.

In the past, the ECAF has funded the construction of a house for Habitat for Humanity^® in Trenton, N.J., and an education resource center near ETS headquarters in Lawrenceville, N.J.

About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC ^®tests, the GRE ^® tests and The Praxis Series ^® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150720/238196

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120110/DC33419LOGO

SOURCE Educational Testing Service