Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Pompano Beach alumnae feted
Angelakos, Maker receive scholarships
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers honored two Pompano Beach alumnae with the NFL team’s first Girls in Football Scholarship.
Lorraine Angelakos, who is attending Brown University, and Tatiana Maker, who is attending the University of Central Florida, were announced as two of the four scholarship winners Friday.
“The gender stereotypes that everyone has in place are being broken down because people are expanding scholarships such as the Bucs, the first to offer a scholarship for flag football” Maker said in a press release.
“It shows that people are changing, things are changing, and female athletes are going to have more access to financial aid.”
Buccaneers players Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David, Mike Evans and O.J. Howard told Angelakos and Maker they had received the scholarship during a virtual interview, according to the press release.
“There are so many girls and women with a passion for football, yet there is limited exposure to the many kinds of opportunities that exist for them to follow their passion into a career,” Buccaneers co-owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz said in the press release.
“We want to bridge that gap and provide better avenues for women in this pursuit. These scholarship recipients are dedicated to being difference-makers and we’re proud to support them as they take the next step to achieving their goals.”
The Buccaneers’ Girls in Football Scholarship is funded through a $250,000 grant from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation. To qualify, a student must have at least a 3.0 gradepoint average, participate in a form of football and submit an essay on how they plan to make a positive impact in the sports industry in their future, according to the release.
Angelakos, who was Pompano Beach’s Class of 2020 valedictorian, plans to become a sports and entertainment lawyer. Maker plans to become a civil rights attorney.
Angelakos made news in June when she recruited Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to speak at Pompano Beach’s graduation ceremony by writing him a letter.
“This is a remarkable young woman whom I’ve come to appreciate for her drive, her leadership, her achievements and for her humility,” Pompano Beach High Principal Hudson Thomas said in a Broward School District statement following her Senate appointment.