Comcast Awards $109,000 In Scholarships to Maryland High School Seniors

ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Comcast Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide charitable support to its local communities and to empower and enrich lives, is awarding 100 Maryland high school seniors scholarships through its annual Leaders and Achievers^® Scholarship Program.  The program, one of the Comcast Foundation's signature community investment programs, recognizes students' leadership skills, academic achievement and commitment to community service.

Comcast, joined by Interim State Superintendent of Schools Bernard J. Sadusky and other government officials, recognized the students at a special event held yesterday at the Historic Inns of Annapolis.  Ninety-nine of the 2012 Maryland Leaders and Achievers recipients received $1,000 scholarships and Micah Connor of Coppin Academy High School in Baltimore City was awarded a $10,000 Comcast Founders Scholarship - instituted in honor of Ralph J. Roberts, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Comcast Corporation - for a total of $109,000 awarded this year.  After a prize drawing, three students were also given an iPad to use at college.

"In Maryland, we believe in making the investments needed to build the nation's best public school system to help us create jobs, expand opportunity and move forward in this changing new economy," said Governor Martin O'Malley.  "Together with great partners like Comcast, we're making the investments in our future that will allow us to lead the way for decades to come. We are grateful that Comcast shares our commitment to developing our future leaders and helping them achieve their dreams of higher education."

"Comcast is a valuable partner in public education and I am pleased to join them in recognizing these students for their academic accomplishments, extensive community service and leadership abilities," said Sadusky. "These students serve as role models for their peers, and are an inspiration to us all."

"Comcast has a vested interest in providing our youth with opportunities to excel and succeed in a highly competitive higher education landscape and job market," said Tom Coughlin, regional senior vice president for Comcast.  "We commend these students for their outstanding achievements, and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors."

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program provides one-time $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students.  The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to be prepared for the future, to engage youth in their communities, and to demonstrate the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

Since the program's inception there have been over 17,000 scholarship winners totaling more than $17.2 million.

2012 Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Winners from Maryland
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS (by County where high school is located):

Anne Arundel
Shannon Donelan of Northeast High School in Pasadena
Ian Frazer of Southern High School in Harwood
Sangyoon Jee of Old Mill High School in Millersville
Michael Lentz of Annapolis Area Christian School in Severn
Mark Ritterpusch of Chesapeake High School in Pasadena
Jennifer Wonsever of Glen Burnie High School

Baltimore City
Muluberhan Bahre of Patterson High School
Trevon Ball of Edmondson-Westside High School
Kayla Beckner of National Academy Foundation
Aaliyah Bennette of Academy for College and Career Exploration
Jennifer DiNoto of Mercy High School
Jean Cedre of Digital Harbor High School
Kristin Chaney of Baltimore Renaissance Academy
Lanae Christian of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Micah Connor of Coppin Academy High School
Samantha Gillyard of Merganthaler Technical High School
Adam Gracia of Mount St. Joseph High School
Rita Gunter of Western High School
Maurice Harried of Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy
Evelyn Knight of St. Frances Academy
India Lamb of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
Tyrone Page of Baltimore School for the Arts
Dahlia Pratt of Institute of Notre Dame
Ryland Trogdon of Frederick Douglass High School

Baltimore County
Zachary Bowers of Jemicy School in Owings Mills
Revae Boykins of Overlea High School
Ronald Christian of Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore
Miguel Fernandez of Carver Center for Arts & Technology in Towson
Naya Frazier of Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills
Katrina Grewe-Valdebanquez of Owings Mills High School
Rahul Grover of Dulaney High School in Timonium
Stephanie Honig of Pikesville High School
Kara Jackson of Loch Raven High School in Baltimore
Rachel Kurtz of McDonogh School in Owings Mills
Kelsey McDonald of Maryvale Preparatory School in Brooklandville
Maisa Nimer of Eastern Tech High School in Baltimore
Alyssa Rampath of Western School of Technology in Baltimore
Rachel Schaefer of Hereford High School in Parkton
Soronia Taylor of Randallstown High School
Tyler Welsh of Loyola Blakefield High School in Towson

Calvert
Kendall Queen of The Calverton School in Huntingtown

Caroline
Erin Sullivan of North Caroline High School in Ridgely

Carroll
Kayla Federici of South Carroll Senior High School in Sykesville
Zachary Jacobs of Century High School in Sykesville

Cecil
Kimberly Vogt of Rising Sun High School in North East

Charles
Brianna Cole of La Plata High School
Crystal Dionisio of Henry E. Lackey High School in Indian Head
Brittany Drawdy of Maurice J. McDonough High School in Pomfret
Yaffet Meshesha of Westlake High School in Waldorf
Kevin Ramseur of North Point High School for Science, Technology & Industry in Waldorf
Bianca Watson of Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf

Dorchester
Khadijah Sampson of Cambridge-South Dorchester High School

Frederick
Shabnum Gulati of Governor Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick
Hyung-Gwan Bae of Tuscarora High School in Frederick
Chloe Scott of Frederick High School
Elizabeth Shriver of Frederick County Career & Technology Center in Frederick
Kathleen Weber of Brunswick High School

Harford
Michelle Tran of John Carroll School in Bel Air

Howard
Edgar Bonilla of Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City
Marc Broughton of Wilde Lake High School in Columbia
Swathi Narayan of Oakland Mills High School in Columbia
Raynna Nkwanyuo of Glenelg High School
Ifeoluwa Olujobi of River Hill High School in Clarksville
Julen Rodriguez of Howard High School in Ellicott City

Montgomery
Rushika Athia of Rockville High School
Anuradha Banerjee of Poolesville High School
Brendan Chang of Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville
Laura Choque of Seneca Valley High School in Germantown
Jinney Chung of Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville
Vera Damanka of Gaithersburg High School
Hayley Fixler of James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring
Natasha Frazier of Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville
Alicia Froh of Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg
Jazmin Guzman of Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park
Caryne Moses of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring
Siva Rahmadani of Albert Einstein High School in Kensington
Kendra Reid of Springbrook High School in Silver Spring
Stefany Rivera of John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring
Naomi Orevba of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Eboni-Nicole Scotland of Wheaton High School in Silver Spring
Esther Oh of Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville
Alexa Pereira of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda
Elizabeth Ung of Northwood High School in Silver Spring
Chan Sokleap Vuth of Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg
Yi Yang of Clarksburg High School

Prince George's
Je`Vonie Alston of Fairmont Heights High School in Capitol Heights
Aarif Bradley of Suitland High School in Forestville
Miche' Cheung of Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro
Julie Diaz of Parkdale High School in Riverdale
Chantal Dones of Frederick Douglass High School in Upper Marlboro
Evangela Matthews of Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro
Tramon McZeal of Bladensburg High School
Koon-Peng Missana of Central High School in Capitol Heights
Matthew Nunez of Bishop Mcnamara High School in Forestville
Dorothy Singletary of Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg
Stephanie Villalta of Laurel High School
Maurice Williams of Forestville Military Academy

Wicomico
Casey Hawkins of Parkside Senior High School in Salisbury

Worcester
Lynde Pepper of Worcester Preparatory School in Berlin
Makya Purnell of Worcester Technical High School in Newark

About the Comcast Foundation

The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities.  The Foundation has three community investment priorities — promoting community service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow's leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated over $108 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.

About Comcast Cable

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:CMCSA - News) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.

SOURCE Comcast