Randolph United PAC announced its inaugural scholarships, awarded to four graduating seniors from Randolph High School.

The Randolph United scholarships are awarded after review of the scholarship applications by six judges. The criteria for selection are that the student has actively participated in the Randolph community and that the judges believe the student will continue to represent the Randolph community during and after college.

• Naike Saint-Jean won the unanimous vote of all judges to study chemistry, nursing and Spanish. Saint-Jean came to America after the Haitian earthquake in 2010. Despite learning English as a second language a few years ago, she now volunteers for Teen Read Aloud to disabled kids.
• Trevor Daniel Ching was awarded a scholarship to study mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ching got near-perfect grades and SATs. He participated in a Red Cross blood drive and in volunteer service in the high school and in the community.
• Imare Clare Riebe was awarded a scholarship to study neuroscience at UMass Dartmouth to be a clinical psychologist. She volunteered at Boston Higashi — the Higashi school in Randolph that helps autistic children — as well as Big Steps Forward, and mentoring at the high school and Donovan Elementary School.
• Jefthai Jean was awarded a scholarship for business studies, and she is hoping to go to law school after that. She came to Randolph from Haiti two years ago with her dad, having lost her mom a year prior. She became part of the Randolph community and considers serving in business and the law to be her way to contribute long-term to the community.

Natacha Clerger, left, and Jesse Gordon, right, are founding members of Randolph United, the organization which awarded the four Randolph High School scholarships.

“We had so many strong applicants that we picked four instead of just one scholarship recipient,” said Jesse Gordon, a co-founder of Randolph United in 2017. “We hope to make this the first in a long annual tradition.”

“We awarded $400 for each of the four students,” said Judith Harris, the Randolph United treasurer. “The students receive their cash award when they finish their first semester at college and show us their report cards.”

This model follows the same method as the longer-standing tradition of scholarships from the Randolph Democratic Town Committee, of which Harris and Gordon are members. A certificate was presented to each student at an awards ceremony May 21 at Randolph High School.

“I’m very excited about this scholarship and how it brings together the communities of Randolph, which is, in fact, the purpose of Randolph United,” said Randolph Town Councilor Natacha Clerger, who is also a member of Randolph United. “I hope this becomes the first in a long annual tradition.”

The scholarship program was inspired by the March For Our Lives rally on March 24, 2018, at Stetson Hall.

“High school students organized that march and led that march — in Randolph and across the country — calling for common-sense gun legislation,” Gordon said. “We saw those students as the future of Randolph, not only on that issue, but applying that participatory spirit to other issues.”

Randolph United is open to donations, which can be mailed to P.O. Box 448, Randolph, MA 02368.