The Baltimore Ravens have selected their 2016 class of Ravens Scholars. For the seventh-consecutive year, five outstanding area high school seniors will be awarded a $5,000 renewable scholarship ($20,000 over four years to each scholar) to support their respective college educations. Each scholar was selected after displaying remarkable academic achievement, extra-curricular participation and community service.
Funded by the Ravens Foundation, Inc., the scholarship program enables local youth to continue their education on the collegiate level. The team has a long-standing history of service to local communities, and this fund helps support those who exhibit the same commitment. Applications were accepted from students who attend public schools in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Carroll County, areas where the Ravens operate training facilities, maintain offices and hold youth football camps.
The Ravens organization once again continued its partnership with CollegeBound Foundation, an independent, nonprofit program designed to work exclusively with local students, helping high schoolers achieve a post-secondary education. After receiving over 125 applications, the scholarship committee selected 10 finalists to be interviewed at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills. Ravens director of public relations Patrick Gleason and coordinator of community relations Kelly Quinlanjoined members of CollegeBound to conduct the interviews.
Below is the 2016 class of students who will receive scholarships:
2016 Ravens Scholars
Ariel Barbosa, Towson High School –Barbosa will attend Eastern Mennonite University in the fall of 2016 to pursue a career in missionary journalism. Driven by her deep-rooted faith, Barbosa participated in a 30-hour famine to raise awareness about world hunger, and started Towson High School's first chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Leadership skills come naturally to Barbosa who also served as president of the school's Best Buddies Program, team captain of her varsity and JV soccer teams and news anchor for Towson's morning announcements. In 2015 and 2016, Barbosa traveled to Nicaragua with the organization "More Than Fútbol" to help establish an organized soccer league for impoverished youth.
I'Shea Boyd, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute – Boyd plans to study electrical engineering this fall as she enrolls at University of Maryland, College Park. Passionate about her chosen field, Boyd was an esteemed member of Poly High School's world-renowned Robotics Team and designed multiple 3D models through her practicum work at Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland. With a strong desire to serve others, she volunteers regularly at Our Daily Bread homeless shelter, Beans and Bread and the William S. Baer School, a public school in Baltimore City for students with special needs. Additionally, Boyd served as class president, event coordinator for the National Honors Society and captain of the women's basketball team.
Abigail Fowler, Francis Scott Key High School – In the fall of 2016, Fowler will attend the University of Maryland, College Park. Pushing herself academically throughout high school, Fowler enrolled in multiple AP and Honors classes, and maintained straight A's all four years. Not only did she serve four terms as her school's class president, she also served two terms as president of the Carroll County Student Government Association. When she's not focusing on academics, Fowler can be found planning events for Maryland Leadership Workshops, a nonprofit organization offering peer-led student leadership development through core residential and outreach programs. Fowler is also a member of the National Honors Society, Dance Company and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Karen Hernandez, Western High School – As valedictorian of her graduating class, Hernandez will seek to further her education this fall at the University of Maryland, College Park. With ambitions of entering the medical field, she spent the past two years working at Johns Hopkins through the Medical Education Resource Initiative for Teens (MERIT) Scholarship Program. Through this program, Hernandez worked in a research laboratory at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine studying treatments for Multiple Sclerosis. A talented student-athlete, she also served as captain on both the varsity lacrosse and varsity soccer teams.
Tuvia Rappaport, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute – Rappaport will be attending University of Maryland, College Park in the fall of 2016. Stemming from his love of nature, Rappaport took it upon himself to renovate the courtyard at Poly High School by constructing a new student walkway, refurbishing benches and planting new bushes. As an Eagle Scout, he is dedicated to serving others and has spent countless hours helping children with special needs through the organization Friendship Circle. Rappaport is also passionate about engineering and spent his senior year enrolled in the UMBC Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), a collaboration between NASA Goddard and UMBC which studies Earth Science. Additionally, he is part of the National Honors Society, Aquaponics Lab and varsity swim team.
