THE PRIDE of PCV: Proud parents and residents of Princeton Community Village celebrated the scholars in their midst at a celebration for students receiving awards from the New Jersey and National Affordable Housing Management Associations (JAHMA and NAHMA). The award winners, pictured here with JAHMA and NAHMA Scholarship Administrator Bruce Johnson, are: from left: Christian James Nazario, Alana Chmiel, Celaine Sackey, Cindy Guzman, Vanessa Guzman, and Mary Ebong. Scholarship recipients not pictured: Jackie Chmiel, Jonas I. Daniecki and Phoebe Hanna. (Photo by L. Arntzenius)

Nine accomplished students from Princeton are the recipients of this year’s scholarships, given annually by the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) and its New Jersey affiliate (JAHMA).

Family, friends, and neighbors gathered to celebrate with the award-winners at Princeton Community Village (PCV), an affiliate of Princeton Community Housing on Karl Light Boulevard, across from Hilltop Park on Bunn Drive. This year marks the 13th annual JAHMA/NAHMA scholarship celebration. For the first time, the event was recorded on video for website purposes.

The 2015 winners and the universities they will be attending are: Jacquelyn L. Chmiel (Rutgers); Alana G. Chmiel (Rutgers); Jonas I. Daniecki (Norwich University); Mary C. Ebong (Rutgers); Cindy M. Guzman (Rutgers); Vanessa Guzman (Fairleigh Dickinson); Phoebe Hanna (Seton Hall); Christian James Nazario (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising); and Celaine N. Sackey (Rutgers). All are graduates of Princeton High School (PHS) and all have strong academic records as well as significant community involvement.

“These are all amazing kids who have worked very hard,” commented PCV staffer Edith Juarez at the event, which began with remarks from PCV Executive Director Ed Truscelli.

Mr. Truscelli thanked the PCV staffers who had done so much to guide the young students through the applications process and keep them on track and on task. “This always feels like a family event,” he said.

He also thanked board member Sara Just for her sincere support and acknowledged the award recipients who could not attend: Phoebe Hanna, Jackie Chmiel, and Jonas Daniecki; all three are multiple year award winners.

JAHMA award range from $1,000 to $4,500; NAHMA awards are $2,500. This year the former awarded grants totaling $46,000 and the latter, $215,000. In JAHMA’s 13 years, it has given out $625,000 in awards; in NAHMA’s six years it has awarded some $750,000.

Keynote Speaker

Ms. Just welcomed keynote speaker Police Officer Shahid Abdul-Karim who grew up in the “ville” and recalled his time playing basketball on the site which is now the PCV clubhouse.

Mr. Abdul-Karim is a popular repeat speaker for this event. A PHS alumnus who went on to coach basketball for the school team, he eventually joined the Princeton Borough Police Department. He moved to Princeton from New York City with his family when he was just five years old. For a time, he and his four siblings squeezed into his grandmother’s two-bedroom house on Ewing Street while they waited for their Butternut Row home in PCV to be ready. He recalled childhood days spent catching fish in a nearby creek, playing basketball, and riding bikes through the woods, and reported that his grandmother, now 95, still lives in Princeton.

“I’ve seen every angle of this great town of Princeton, from growing up here to teaching, to coaching, and policing,” he said, urging the award recipients and the younger students who follow them to take advantage of every opportunity. “There are a lot of resources here and all you have to do is keep your focus, prioritize your goal, and you will reach it.”

Award Winners

JAHMA and NAHMA Scholarship Program Administrator Bruce Johnson, introduced each of the award recipients present.

Mary Ebong will be entering her second year at Rutgers, where she works as an information/office assistant for a student center. “I am very proud of my job and my position even just as an information assistant because the entire building is run mostly by student staff, including event set ups, setting up appointments, giving building and room tours to clients,” she said. During her spring performance review, Mary was recommended for promotion to junior manager in training, but declined in order to focus more on academics. She is also a member of the United Praise dance team, which performs throughout the year.

Newly graduated from PHS, Alana Chmiel is looking forward to living on campus as a Rutgers freshman this fall. During her senior year at PHS, she received scholarship awards at the Senior Awards Night, and a Gold Key award recognizing involvement in PHS and the community. She is following in the footsteps of her older sister Jackie who just finished her sophomore year at Rutgers where she is in the Honors Program in the School of Arts and Sciences and is in the top ten percent of her class.

Also just graduated from PHS where she was a member of the varsity fencing team as well as the ”Do Something” and “Generation One” clubs, Celaine Sackey will be a Rutgers freshman.

Cindy M. Guzman is going into her third year of a double major in human resources and communications at Rutgers. During her school breaks (summer and winter) she works at J.Crew in Princeton, where she loves learning aspects of retail management. During the school year she serves as an interpreter between doctors and patients and she is an active member of the Rutgers Latin Counsel. “I appreciate everything these funds have done for me, they help to alleviate some of the financial pressure,” she said.

Vanessa Guzman (no relation to the above-mentioned Cindy), a student at Fairleigh Dickinson, is also a recipient of the Fund 101: Scholarship and the Dorothea van Dyke McLane Scholarship. She was on the Dean’s list in the Fall of 2014 and is spending her summer breaks working at the Princeton recreational department.

Christian James Nazario, who just graduated with an associate’s degree with honors from Mercer County Community College spoke about his gratitude for funding that will help him live in New York City where he will be attending the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising.

“We cannot fully fund our scholarship recipients but we can contribute,” said Mr. Johnson, noting that most of the award-winners had been working in addition to studying and gathering useful experience. “It is unfortunate that today, many young graduates are burdened with heavy loans to pay back in these days when you can get a home mortgage at a rate that is less than half the percentage on a student loan.”

“Between them, PCV students have won $39,500 in scholarships from JAHMA and NAHMA,” said Mr. Johnson. Last year, nine PCV award-winners received $32,000 from the two programs.

“Everyone at PCV should be very proud of the outstanding academic achievements of these students. They are sensational,” said Mr. Johnson.