SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SUCCESS: Princeton Community Village celebrated winners of New Jersey Affordable Housing Management Association (JAHMA) and National Affordable Housing Association (NAHMA) scholarships. From left are Mary Ebong, Daniel Hanna, JAHMA and NAHMA Scholarship Foundation administrator Bruce Johnson, Princeton Community Housing Executive Director Ed Truscelli, Noah Daniecki, Thundar Tun, and Katherine Thompson. Not pictured are Alana Chmiel and Harsh Raythattha. (Photo Courtesy of PCV)

Seven talented Princeton Community Village (PCV) students have won scholarships from the New Jersey Affordable Housing Management Association (JAHMA) and the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA). 

In a ceremony earlier this month, Bruce Johnson, administrator of the JAHMA and NAHMA Scholarship Foundation, presented the winners to a large crowd of family, friends, and other supporters, acknowledging the students’ hard work, strong academics, high achievement, uniqueness as individuals, and diversity as a group.

This year’s winners included Mary Ebong, who will pursue a master’s degree at Rutgers University; Daniel Hanna, who will continue as a sophomore at The College of New Jersey; Noah Daniecki, who will start at Mercer County College this fall; Thundar Tun, who will be a freshman at Rutgers University-Newark; Katherine Thompson, who will be a senior at Rowan University; Alana Chmiel, who will continue her studies at Rutgers University; and Harsh Raythattha, who is currently in the Marines and will continue his college studies in computer science next year.

The JAHMA and NAHMA Foundation scholarships, ranging from $1,500 to $4,500, with a total amount of $30,000 awarded this year, have been awarded to PCV residents for the past 15 years. PCV is an affiliate of Princeton Community Housing (PCH), which is the largest provider of affordable housing in Princeton with 466 affordable homes for families and individuals.

“Everybody is aware of the increasing costs of higher education,” Mr. Johnson said, “and we want to help defray those costs. That’s important to us.”

He noted the long tradition of worthy applicants from PCV. “Many of the students from PCV over the years are fine students,” he said, “and we especially want to support students who are in a degree program, whether it’s an associate or bachelor’s degree program.”

Featured speakers at the scholarship celebration also included three past JAHMA and NAHMA recipients. “Only because of the scholarships was I able to attend Rutgers University and finish my undergraduate degree with much less college debt,” said Jackie Chmiel. “Because of the scholarships, I am able to plan what to do next in terms of continuing to graduate school.”

Ms. Ebong, who graduated from Rutgers this year and has started her master’s program at Rutgers Graduate School of Labor and Employee Relations, stated that the scholarship awards not only helped her financially, but also “encouraged me to work hard and maintain a high GPA.”

Joshua Hsieh, who will graduate from Richard Stockton University this fall, described the importance of the scholarships to him. “I am the first one in my family to attend college. I had the desire and determination, but the financial part was a struggle. What the scholarships have meant for me is community, love, and hope. Since my family comes from limited financial resources, I hope to break the low income status through a higher education and give back to others the way I have received from this community.”

As an additional facet of the scholarship program this year, JAHMA has partnered with the Electronic Access Foundation in Morristown to provide refurbished computers to four PCV JAHMA scholarship winners.