‘Lady Ds’ present scholarships to minority students
SHELTON — Fundraising proved to be a success for the women on the city’s Democratic Town Committee, which meant a windfall for two graduating Shelton High seniors.
The Lady Ds — as they have become known over the past local election cycles — raised $1,000 in only a few weeks, which allowed them to present two $500 scholarships, one to senior Xiomara Santos-Colon, another to fellow senior Isabela Silva.
The presentation was made at the annual Shelton High awards ceremony this past week.
Silva is ranked in the top 10 percent of her class, has been involved in several school organizations and taken AP U.S. Government and AP U.S. History. She will be attending Syracuse University in the fall to study finance.
Santos-Colon is in the top third of the class, has taken
multiple social studies electives and is enrolled in the inaugural year of the African American, Hispanic, and Latino Studies course. She is attending Sacred Heart University to study social work.
Diana Meyer, member of
the DTC and the Board of Education, spearheaded the creation of this scholarship alongside fellow Board of Education member Patti Moonan. The pair said after the fundraising success this year, they plan to make this
an annual scholarship.
“This is an opportunity to assist students with the large financial commitment to pursue higher education as well as recognize a minority student who has excelled during their high
school years,” Meyer said.
The Lady Ds were inspired to create a scholarship, according to Meyer, after seeing the vast number of generous scholarships from the community given out at the SHS awards night in 2021.
“There are many talented students at the high school who are deserving and need assistance to pursue higher education,” Moonan said. “In the array of scholarships targeting different types of students, we realized there were none geared towards minority students.”
That is when the group came together, raised funds and planned to award a minority student in good academic standing, who has been active in the community, and will be pursuing opportunities beyond high school — whether it be trade school, community college, or a four-year university degree.
“This will be the first scholarship at SHS geared toward minority students,” said Meyer, adding that the high school guidance department will handle the selection process.