Graduate awards 2 students with scholarships

Downingtown West graduate Steven Tribuno assisted students with a scholarship from The Feel Foundation

DOWNINGTOWN » For the third consecutive year, Downingtown West High School graduate Steven Tribuno financially helped two recent graduates at his alma mater to help further their education this fall semester.

Tribuno created The Feel Foundation in 2014 after he graduated because he wanted to provide educational programs to those living with Asperger’s syndrome or other disabilities who are seeking to further their education.

This year, Tribuno presented about a $1,000 scholarship each to Theresa Devlin and Daniel

Collins, who will be attending American University and Drexel University, respectively.

Tribuno made a scholarship that is not based on GPA or test scores. He said the scholarship rewards people for their perseverance through high school as they work toward furthering their education. On his own, he has raised donations for his cause. He presented his first scholarships to 2015 West graduates Shane Malcolm and Nick Bigelow.

Tribuno wanted to give back to students at Downingtown West, of the Downingtown Area School District, who did not have the best opportunities like he did. He also thought about his brother, Michael Tribuno, a 2016 West graduate.

“I had everything going for me, but there were still times when (school work) could get overwhelming,” Tribuno said. “I saw firsthand how hard high school could be for some kids, like my brother, who were on the autism spectrum.”

Tribuno was the school valedictorian and after graduation he reflected on how challenging high school had been for him. Now going in to his fourth year of college, Tribuno continues to study business management at Miami University in Florida. He received scholarship

and grant money from the University of Miami because of his academic success in high school and he wanted other students to have that same opportunity to attend college.

Their father, Al Tribuno, said that the scholarships are given to students who are facing adversity in high school and succeeding regardless of the obstacles. Al Tribuno said that his son Michael had difficulties in school due to having Asperger’s syndrome and overcame many obstacles to get accepted to West Chester University. Michael began college last year at West Chester and will attend Delaware County Community College this fall to study math and teacher certification.

Visit Daily Local News staff writer Ginger Rae Dunbar’s blog about journalism and volunteering as a firefighter at FirefighterGinger.blogspot.com.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Steven Tribuno, who created The Feel Foundation in 2014, presents scholarships yearly to two Downingtown West High School graduates to help them further their education.

Steven Tribuno