Oaks Women’s Club honors eight high school seniors

Total of $40,000 in scholarship awards presented during April luncheon

(Top row, from left) Sommer Jeanne Altier, Booker High School; Madison Betts, Venice High School; Coralie Jean-Mary, Venice High School; (middle row, from left) Haley Rosenthal, Booker High School; Kim Nguyen, Pine View School; Kiersten Arthur, Venice High School; (bottom row, from left) Robyn Citrin, co-chair of the 2017 Scholarship Committee; Caroline Jungels, Venice High School; Amanda Moura, Venice High School; and Cindy Allcox, chair of the 2017 Scholarship Committee

The Oaks Women’s Club (OWC) has honored eight high-achieving high school seniors with a total of $40,000 in scholarships as part of its long-standing tradition of supporting local young women bound for college, the club has announced.

Each of the recipients received $5,000 to help her begin her college career, a news release notes.

“These talented and truly deserving young women receive scholarships based on exceptional academic ability, community involvement, their commitment and compassion, and financial need,” said Oaks Women’s Club Scholarship chair Cindy Allcox in the release.

The Oaks Women’s Club Scholarship program began just after the 9/11 attacks, the release points out. In the first year, the OWC raised funds to present awards of $3,000 each to three high school seniors.

The program has continued to grow since its 2011 inception, the release adds. The scholarships have assisted nearly 100 local students over the past 17 years, with $320,000 having been awarded.

The 2017 scholarships were presented to the students during a luncheon held in their honor on April 12 at The Oaks Club in Osprey, the release notes.