High school seniors across the five boroughs to receive Albert Shanker college scholarships

The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) will award nearly $ 1 million in college scholarships to public high school students at its annual Shanker Awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 3 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., at UFT headquarters, 52 Broadway, Manhattan.

The 200 scholarship winners will each receive a $5,000 grant to help cover the costs of tuition, books, and other expenses at colleges and universities across the country. The Shanker Scholarships are an annual program sponsored by the UFT's Welfare Fund.

Press will be able to film the ceremony and interview winners from each borough ahead of the ceremony. Please arrive by 5:30 pm to interview students ahead of the ceremony.

Contact: Melissa Khan 646-901-1501

Among the 2025 winners are:

Ashley Zhong, a senior at Staten Island Tech High School, lost her father to cancer at an early age. Her father's passing prompted Zhong's quest to unlock the causes of cancer. Her passion for research won her a scholarship at Memorial Sloan Kettering to explore an alternative DNA repair pathway. She said this experience helped her hone her quest: "What can I do to prevent cancer from striking the patients I will one day have as their physician?" Ashley will be attending Brown University this fall, where she will be pursuing a healthcare career.

Marieme Diouf, a senior at Liberty High School Academy for Newcomers in Manhattan, never opened a book unless she had to. That all changed when her cousin introduced her to authors from different cultures. She said that her newfound love of reading changed the way she viewed the world and helped her develop a rich vocabulary that fueled her academic success. Marieme hopes to harness the power of storytelling when she majors in Marketing at the University of Albany this coming fall.

Alpha Diallo, a senior at International High School in Brooklyn, was intimidated by coming to the United States from Guinea and having to learn a new language and culture. He remembered that his parents had taught him: to be strong, pray, and take charge. He used that guidance to find his passion - finding ways for technology to improve, rather than destroy, the environment in developing nations. Alpha plans to study Computer Science at the City College of New York this coming fall.

Eliannie Ramirez Espinal, a senior at University Heights High School in the Bronx, spent her childhood convinced that the only way she could achieve happiness was by being perfect. After a heart-to-heart with her mother, Eliannie realized true worth came from her accomplishments and experiences, whether perfect or not. To test her theory, she enrolled in AP Physics, a course with a reputation for being impossible to ace. Instead of panicking, she chose to be disciplined and consistent with her studies and passed the impossible course with good grades. She said she is no longer focused on being perfect, but has learned to enjoy the journey while still crushing her goals. Eliannie will be attending the Sophie Davis CUNY School of Medicine in the fall, where she will be studying biomedical sciences.

Steven Gonzalez Perez, a senior at John Adams High School in Queens, didn't always have an appreciation for learning. His view changed, however, when he realized there were children who would do anything to have the same educational opportunities he was wasting. He harnessed his newly discovered motivation to mentor students in the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Then he turned this same motivation on his own academic career and enrolled in the rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Steven will be studying data science this fall at Baruch College.