youth
scholarships
Each year, Community Celebrating Diversity offers youth scholarships to college-bound high school students. The sponsors of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. event provides the funds for the scholarships.
Since 2007, 57 students have been awarded a total of $139,000 in scholarships. (2023)
The 2025 scholarship cycle is open.
Please contact Joe Rusin at 480-205-8620 for further information.
scholarship
requirements
The Community Celebrating Diversity Scholarship is funded by the corporate sponsors of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. CCD sponsors five $2,500 scholarships (two for pursuing a STEM degree and three for general education) to high school graduates who show promise of continued excellence in academics and community service.
These scholarships are for study at post-secondary institutions of higher education in Arizona. The following selection criteria are utilized in identifying our scholarship recipients:
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The eligible student must be a full-time resident of Arizona and has community involvement in Scottsdale.
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The eligible student must be a U.S. citizen, or provide evidence that he or she is a permanent resident of the United States.
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The eligible student must be a graduating high school senior with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
THE 2025 SCHOLARSHIP CYCLE IS OPEN
2024 YOUTH SCHOLARSHIP RECEPIENTS
Gabriella Garcia
Gabriella will be graduating from Saguaro High School, as well as the Dual Language Immersion Program, and the Scottsdale Math and Science Academy with distinction. She was an advisor for SMSA, a member of NHS, CyberPatriot, as well as two year Captain of the Girls Varsity Badminton team and a member of the Softball program and had a Spanish internship with Scottsdale City Courts. Gabriella will be attending the Honors College at Northern Arizona University this fall, where she plans to study Philosophy, Politics and Law.
Alexander Coppo
Alexander Coppo will be graduating from Notre Dame Preparatory with a 4.4 weighted GPA. Alex is an Eagle Scout, recognized as a Hispanic Merit Scholar, and was named to the Arizona High School Hockey Association’s Academic Allstar team after playing D2 & D1 hockey for NDP for the past three years. Alex has volunteered over one hundred hours for Southwest Wildlife Center, over ninety hours for Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, and participated in the Scottsdale Mayors Youth Council.
Alex is very excited to be attending Barrett, the Honors College at ASU, in the fall, to study Civil Engineering.
Olivia Wong
Olivia will be graduating from Desert Mountain High School, and attending the University of Arizona to dual-degree with Doctorate of Pharmacy and Juris Doctor. She plans to focus her career in drug development and research. Olivia found her passion when she completed an internship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Carbone Cancer Center studying Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This led her to co-run donation drives & fundraisers alongside Ray's Awareness, a 501(c)(3) locally founded non-profit organization that emphasizes skin cancer awareness. Olivia is also a member of her school's chapter of National Honors Society, Captain of Girl’s Varsity Basketball, and Treasurer of Physics Club.
Jordan Gauthier
Jordan Gauthier is a graduate from Desert Mountain High School's International Baccalaureate Program. She will be attending Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University where she will study Kinesiology, pursuing a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. As Captain of the top ten nationally-ranked Pom Team, President of Physics Club, President of the Dance Program, Vice-President of the Science National Honor Society, and a member of the National Honor Society, she lives with the goal of spreading light in all different settings. Jordan's natural passion for leading and caring for others aligns her with her future profession!
Nayely Acosta
Nayely is graduating from Saguaro High School and going to Scottsdale Community College. Nayely is part of Unitown and the National Honor Society and she has accrued around 140 volunteer hours from many wonderful places. Nayely plays the viola in Saguaro’s Symphonic orchestra, and helped found the Saguaro Craft Club. Through the “Achieving College Education(ACE)” scholarship, Nayley have earned enough credits at SCC to be able to graduate with an Associate’s with an emphasis in Counseling and Applied Psychological Sciences in May of 2025. She plans to transfer to a university and use my education to become a school psychologist.
Christopher Ramos
Christopher is a graduate and honor student from Mountain Ridge High School. He participates in the Athletic Leadership Team and is very active in sports, playing football, soccer, and wrestling.
He is pursuing a degree in business with a minor in finance. During his time at SCC, he has maintained his honor program status and secured a slot on the soccer team while volunteering at St. Mary’s Food Bank.
2023 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS
2023 Scholarship Award Recipients Zack Okun, Kaitlyn Cross, Sofia Vitaro, and Anna Schultz.
2022 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT
2022 Scholarship Award Recipients Natalie Foster and Esther Low.
2021 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT
2021 Scholarship Award Recipients Jazmin Preston, Jessica Gordon, Aylin Garcia Lugo, Cassandra Coppo, and Arianna Silva
2020 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT
2020 Scholarship Award Recipients William Noll, Eve Rennie, Jaclyn Fishbach, Carsten Ramirez, and Brianne Iannone.
2019 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT
2019 Scholarship Award Recipients Ally Lugowski, Pilar Artega, Mia Powell, Kaitlyn Moorehaed, and Max Walker (not pictured) with the MLK Event Scholarship Committee, CCD Board Members, and Sponsors.
2018 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT
2018 Scholarship Award Recipients Analisa Peterson and Maheeyah Mukarram with the MLK Event Scholarship Committee, CCD Board Members, and Sponsors.
2017 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT
2017 Scholarship Award Recipient Grace Sluga with the MLK Event Scholarship Committee, CCD Board Members, and Sponsors.
