Raritan seniors earn

Bloustein scholarships

BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer

BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer

HAZLET — Seniors and scholars stepped up to the plate to be rewarded recently.

A proud moment for the district happened at the Jan. 21 Board of Education meeting when 13 Raritan High School seniors were honored for being bestowed with the Edward J. Bloustein Scholar awards.

The scholarship is awarded to outstanding seniors in New Jersey who rank in the top 10 percent of their class and have a combined SAT score of 1,260 or more.

The highest combined SAT score is 1,600.

Bloustein was the president of Rutgers University, and the students chosen for the scholarship are those who emulate his standards of education, Superintendent of Schools Renae LaPrete said.

"We are thrilled with the number of students who received this award this year," LaPrete added. "It is wonderful to be able to honor these young people for such high achievement, which we believe is a true testament to the high standard of excellence at Raritan. There have been many improvements in academic programs over the years and a show of commitment by staff, administration and students alike which is directly reflected in this sort of milestone being met. [The board and I] are very proud."

The scholarship is doled out in annual payments of $925 per year for each of the four years of each recipient’s undergraduate tenure. The students must attend a state school to get the money, but the honor still stands if they opt to go out of state to college.

LaPrete said the number of recipients of the Bloustein scholarship jumped from seven last year to 13 this year.

Of the 13 scholars at Raritan, five know where they will attend college. Three, so far, will go to New Jersey schools: Nicole Berzinskis and Joseph Valenzuela will both attend The College of New Jersey, formerly Trenton State College, in Ewing; and Michael Bolen will attend Seton Hall.

Two, so far, have opted to attend private universities outside of the state. David Druckman will attend Columbia University in New York and Kimberly Lane will attend Johns Hopkins University, Maryland.

The remainder are undecided: Lori Andriance, Joseph Jennings, Ashley Pendle, Nicole Ricchione, Matthew Shapiro, Elizabeth Stamoulis, Arlee Trembley and Amy Trudell.

"Whatever they decide, the honor is a tremendous one," LaPrete said.