By DEBORAH A. MILES


among nearly 500 applicants. The winners were chosen not only for their academic achievements, but for their interests and community service.


I Scholarship Committee Chair and PEF


Region 2 Coordinator Bonnie Wood said, “I was thrilled to see the unique talents and academic excellence, but most of all the touching services offered by these students to their communities.” The winners will each receive $4,000


over the next four years, in annual $1,000 installments. Since 1988, when PEF launched the scholarship, the union has awarded nearly $900,000 to college-bound students. The scholarship program is named for


Scacalossi who was a PEF leader at the state Labor Department in New York City and remained a union activist until his death in 1988. The scholarship committee consists of


Wood, Janette Clark, Linda Collins, Debi Chowdhury and Maureen Hogle and is supported by Joanne Wright, PEF staff. The 2011 winners are: Rebecca Chandler heads to


Binghamton University to study integrated neuroscience. She was salutatorian at Clarkstown High School South, attained first place in the regional and state levels of the National History Day Competition, and received the highest average among her peers in honors biology, chemistry, and physics. She is an accomplished dancer, and a peer leader in the World of Difference program where she addressed bullying, stereotyping and intolerance. Chandler


Page 8—The Communicator September 2011


organized and distributed food packages to several food banks and worked at a home- rebuilding project in New Orleans. Parent: Steven Chandler at the state Department of Audit and Control. Kathryn Forti was valedictorian and


class president at Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School. She is the recipient of several awards ranging from a national 4-H Capital Area School Outstanding Scholar Award to a Scholar Athlete Team Award. She plans to major in biology at SUNY Oneonta. Her interests include competitive-trail horseback riding, playing the flute, and participating in band, chorus, varsity soccer and track. Forti has organized horse-related programs for 4-H and packages for soldiers, and she volunteered in the surgical intensive care unit at Albany Medical Center. Parent: Anthony Forti at the state Department of Health (DOH). Jinal Gandhi will major in biology,


economics and other pre-med courses when she attends Boston College. She graduated from the Roy C. Ketcham High School and ranked 11th in the country in a National World Affairs Competition. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction and won medals in the state’s Science Olympiad Competition in protein modeling, anatomy and physiology and disease detectives. She was president of the National Honor Society, volunteered at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, and has worked with the


Wappingers Falls Rotary Club. She enjoys playing the piano, reading and running. Parent: Vijaykumar Gandhi at the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Manvi Goyal is thrilled to attend Tufts


University where she will major in biomedical engineering. She is a Shaker High School graduate and earned the Smith College Book Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Leadership. She received the RPI Science and Engineering Fair Award of Excellence and the National Spanish Exam Award of Excellence. Manvi was chief editor of the school newspaper, The Bison, a varsity tennis player and performs traditional Indian dances. She volunteered as a student researcher for three years, tutored fellow students in math, and was chair of the Key Club Advocacy Committee. Parent: Anubha Goyal at the state Department of Taxation and Finance. Krysten Koktowski is a pre-med


student at St. Lawrence University. She was the 2011 salutatorian at Beekmantown Central High School, and was selected as the 2009 Hugh O’Brian youth leadership ambassador at an RPI conference. She was senior captain of her volleyball team, and plays soccer and tennis. During the past three summers, Koktowski volunteered at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital and local soup kitchens, and was a peer


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


n its 23rd year awarding Joseph Scacalossi scholarships, PEF’s scholarship committee was challenged with selecting 10 winners


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