They say it pays to be a good citizen. For Samantha Russell, that saying came true to the tune of $2,300.
An Elementary and Special Education major, Russell is one of 10 students in Pennsylvania to receive a Commonwealth Good Citizen Scholarship from the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. She was recognized for her extraordinary service in the community and leadership on campus.
Her community service included 460 volunteer hours during Neumann’s 60th anniversary celebration, a long history of leadership in the Girl Scouts, and experience as an unpaid athletic coach for the state of Delaware.
On campus, Russell served as a Presidential Ambassador, an Orientation Leader, and a member of Knights for Education.
Now a junior, she still recalls her experience in third grade when, because of her epilepsy, adults made negative assumptions about her academic capabilities.
“The scholarship will help me in the long term because I want to become that professor that doesn’t put students in the dust,” she explains. “I want the students I teach to know that they’re not going to be forgotten, that they have support and someone in their corner.”
To win the scholarship, Russell submitted a transcript, essay, background information, and letters of recommendation from Dr. Ann Mitchell and Dr. Marisa Rauscher.