Five New Bedford Students Awarded $35,000 Each for Science Studie

NEW BEDFORD — Five students in New Bedford have each been granted $35,000 to pursue science and tech-related studies in higher education through the SouthCoast Community Foundation's Jacobs Family scholarships.

Zachary Bois, Raven DeGrace, Samuel Thomas Jupin, Sabrina Rosa Costa, and Katherine Maldonado Montoya received the awards totaling $175,000 at the foundation's 21st annual Jacobs Family New Bedford High Schools Scholarships virtual reception on Friday.

The four-year scholarships are provided annually to seniors from the Global Learning Charter School, New Bedford High School, and Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School who plan to major in a STEM field.

Bois, DeGrace, and Jupin are all graduating from New Bedford High School this spring.

Later this year, Bois will begin pursuing a degree in Forensic Accounting at Franklin Pierce University, while Raven will major in Psychology at Gordon University and Samuel will study Zoology at the University of New Hampshire.

Costa is graduating from the Global Learning Charter Public School and plans to study Psychology and Psychiatry at UMass Dartmouth.

Meanwhile Maldonado Montoya will also attend UMass Dartmouth to study Computer Science.

“With these five new scholars, there are now 93 New Bedford students who are benefitting from the Jacobs’ kind spirit, generosity, and encouragement to use their college education and future careers to make the world a better place,” said new SouthCoast Community President and CEO Leonard Lee.

Mayor Jon Mitchell commented: “The Jacobs Scholarship event has become a rite of spring. The awards are a recognition of excellence and an acknowledgment of hard work."

"The Jacobs have been there for New Bedford and our students time and again," the mayor added. "Congratulations to the recipients. We will be watching you move along in your academic and professional careers and hope you will come back to New Bedford to share your talents, just like Dr. Irwin and Joan Jacobs do every year.”

Established in 2000, the Jacobs Scholarship comes from Dr. Irwin Jacobs and his wife Joan, who set up the fund to honor two New Bedford High School teachers who greatly impacted Dr. Jacobs: Philip Bronspiegel and Melver Felton, Jr.

“A big congratulations to the 2022 awardees. It is always exciting to meet the new scholars and reconnect with our past recipients every year," Dr. Irwin stated.

"While pursuing our education, Joan and I benefited greatly from scholarships. Without that support, we wouldn’t be in a position today to help others. It gives us great pleasure to do so and cheer them on as they progress through their academic and career paths.”