8
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 17, 2019
Jax Hgts student a fi nalist for major scholarship
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A student at Flushing’s
Townsend Harris High
School student was recognized
for her outstanding
academic excellence and contribution
to the community
after being announced as a
semifinalist for a prestigious
college scholarship.
Nefertari Elshiekh from
Jackson Heights was chosen
as one of 565 outstanding
high school seniors selected
on Jan. 29 as semifinalists
for the Cooke College Scholarship
Program, which
provides recipients with
up to $40,000 annually for
four years to enable them to
attend some of the top colleges
and universities in the
For four generations, New York’s Jewish
Community has turned to Sinai Chapels for
guidance and comfort in their time of need.
We honor and respect all Jewish traditions
and customs, attending to every funeral detail
according to each family’s personal and
religious preferences.
To learn more, contact us today:
718.445.0300 | 800.446.0406
United States.
Elshiekh, 18, a senior
at Townsend Harris High
School at Queens College in
Flushing, was also named
as a regional finalist for
the Coca-Cola Foundation
Scholarship.
“It feels like all of my hard
work has paid off, and it’s a
wonderful opportunity that
am hoping I can be a part of
these communities, because
it’s a lot more than just winning
the actual monetary
money that they will be giving
me,” said Elshiekh. “It recognizes
all of the hard work that
I’ve put in throughout high
school, it also really gives me
hope that I will have people to
turn to in the future.”
Students applied from
all 50 states, as well as the
District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, Guam, Northern
Mariana Islands, Armed
Forces Pacific, and American
Samoa — representing
3,782 schools.
Elshiekh, editor of the
school newspaper “The
Classic,” was selected based
on exceptional academic
ability and achievement,
financial need, persistence,
and service to others
and leadership.
Once a week, she volunteers
her time at Dancing
Dreams, a nonprofit organization
in Bayside that provides
adaptive dance classes
to children with physical
disabilities, and works at the
Sea, Air, and Space Museum
in Manhattan as a junior
educator, helping visitors
interact with the exhibits at
the museum.
“I’m a dancer myself
and I’ve been dancing since
I was three, so I’ve combined
both of those passions
of mine working with
children and dancing,”
said Elshiekh. “I’m very
passionate about working
with children, and I want
to be a special education
teacher in the future. … I
want to be able to take what
I’ve learned from working
with Dancing Dreams
and create an education
that is tailored to children
with special needs because
they have that opportunity
to succeed.”
After taking an oath
in her freshman year at
Townsend Harris to leave
their city greater than they
found it, Elshiekh decided
to volunteer at the late state
Sen. Jose Peralta’s office
in Jackson Heights, participating
in community
parades, donations, and
special events.
The 2019 Cooke College
Scholarship recipients will
be announced in April.
The semifinalists were
chosen from 6,174 applicants.
Last year, 106 semifinalists
were selected to
receive the scholarship.
“The students in this
semifinalist cohort are some
of the most high-achieving
and driven in the country,”
said Seppy Basili, executive
director of the Jack Kent
Cooke Foundation. “They
have achieved success well
beyond that of many of their
more advantaged peers,
and we know they will
accomplish far more in
college and beyond.”
Elshiekh has worked
throughout high school to
help support her family,
and, if she wins the scholarships,
it will allow her
to continue her academic
journey without financial
burden, she says.
“I’ve worked hard to get
to this point and it’s out of my
hands,” said Elshiekh. “But
regardless of what happens,
I am proud to have just made
it this far.”
Nefertari Elshiekh, 18, was named a semi-finalist for the
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship, and a regional
finalist for the Coca-Cola Foundation Scholarship.
Courtesy of Nefertari Elshiekh