Dr. Bonita Stanton, Founding Dean of the new Seton Hall-Hackensack School of Medicine was recognized by the Tri-County Scholarship Fund.
Tri-County awards thousands of financially disadvantaged New Jersey students scholarships, giving them a chance to pursue private primary and high school educations, according to the Scholarship Fund website. In 2017, the graduation rate for 2017 students attending private high schools on Tri-County scholarships was 100%. Since 1981, the Fund has awarded $26 million in scholarships.
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The Tri-County Scholarship Fund awards thousands of students in New Jersey who struggle financially and wish to be educated at private primary and high schools.
Photo via shu.edu.[/caption]
“I am greatly honored, appreciative, and humbled in the receipt of this recognition from such a remarkable institution,” Stanton said.
Dean Stanton admired the work Tri-County does for underprivileged youth and said that the Scholarship Fund is unique from other organizations.
“Like many wonderful groups, they recognize the importance of providing financial support for youth from families with limited financial resources to enable them to attend higher education,” Stanton said. But much earlier than so many other organizations, they realized that this support must begin for students entering junior high and middle school if the schools in their own districts are not able to provide them with the support and educational challenges they need.”
The new School of Medicine’s goals are very similar to that of the Tri-County Scholarship Fund’s mission. Both the School of Medicine and the Fund aim to support a student’s development from the early stages of their education onward.
“For [the Fund], as for the School of Medicine, the commitment to students is lifelong and the expectations for students are likewise enduring,” Stanton said. The fund did not respond to The Setonian’s request for comment.
The new School of Medicine also wishes to offer as much financial support as possible upon opening, Stanton said. The School is planning on giving special priority to students from “historically underrepresented backgrounds in medicine,” Stanton said. The groups that are typically lacking in medicine and health-related fields include “first generation college graduates, persons from families below the poverty line, African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans,” said Stanton.
Dean Stanton will be honored at the Tri-County Scholarship Fund’s Gala held on Nov. 6.
Megan O’Malley can be reacehed at megan.omalley@student.shu.edu.
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