Foundation News
$40,000 | The Honorable Peter Fox Cohalan Scholarship in American History For Suffolk County High School Seniors
This Scholarship is awarded to a graduating Nassau and Suffolk County high school senior who will pursue an undergraduate degree with a concentrated study of a minimum of 24 credit hours in American History and/or American Government.
The awardees must attend a 4 year accredited college or university or academic institution subject to Board approval. The scholarship award is $10,000 yearly for 4 years of degree completion.
BIO FOR 2018 RECIPIENT ISABELLA SORGI:
As a student, I am dedicated to and focused on my academic studies. Outside the classroom, I pursue various humanitarian interests, but also devote time to competing in high level athletics. I am generally described as intelligent, kind hearted, sypathetic, and trust worthy.
My focus throughout my high school career has been on my studies. I have recently been named the Bishop McGann-Mercy 2018 class salutatorian with a weighed grade point average of 101.348. My SAT score is 1500 (math 750, Verbal 750) placing me within the top 1% of all test takers and I was named 2017 Letter of Commendation Recipient.
Besides my academic career, I am also ver involved in the school and local community. I am the Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, Vice President of our National Honor Society chapter, and Team Captain of the Varsit Softball Team (where I pitch and play shortstop). I have also been an altar server for St. Rosalie R.C. Church in Hampton Bays for the past 10 years and a page at the Hampton Bays Library.
Over the course of my academic career, I have gravitated toward and most enjoyed the American history and political science courses offered at school. In many respects, my strongest academic performance has been in this area, as evidenced by my work in AP United States History and AP United States Government and Politics. This love of history led me to be selected from 2015 through 2018 to represent my high school in several history competitions. More specifically, I was chosen for the Long Island Regional Certamen competition. In this national competition, students engage in matches involving questions directed to Greco-Roman history and Latin.
On a personal level, I am intrigued (and concerned) by the manner in which political and economic systems shape modern societies and cultures. I believe to understand the factors impacting America and the world one must view today's economic, political, and cultural issues in a historical context. This past year I obtained two internships in Finland that allowed me to explore my interest in the structure and function of governments and political systems. The first public service internship involved work with a social services organization. One of my responsibilities with the organization was to assist refugee mothers recently granted asylum. I learned of their lives in Somalia, a country characterized by desperate economic and political conditions. I also learned of the historical reasons behind Somalia's collapse tracing back to the 1800's and the competition among European countries for control of the African continent.
My second internship was with a major political party, Kakkois-Suomen Kokoomus. There I learned the refugee program was controversial and viewed differently by various political factions. By the time I returned home to Hampton Bays, I better understood from these experiences the tenstion that exists between political, governmental, and social servicee organizations. I also returned more commited to university studies that focus on history, political science and government, and economics.
