DeBartolo scholarships awarded to area grads

YOUNGSTOWN -- Denise DeBartolo York has awarded eight $5,000 scholarships to area graduating high school seniors in memory of her father, Edward J. DeBartolo.
The Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. Memorial Scholarship Foundation has awarded more than $375,000 in scholarships over the past 10 years.
"The goals of the foundation have been to reward Valley students, who have proven to be leaders by working hard academically and within their community, the opportunity to go to college," DeBartolo York said.
"My father believed that all students who have demonstrated intensity and desire, regardless of their financial situation, should be afforded the opportunity to receive a college education," she said.
The winners
This year's scholarship recipients are: Shahrazad Abdelrasul of Jackson-Milton, Joseph Gibson of Brookfield, Jonathan Hillman of LaBrae, Janine Marinelli of Cardinal Mooney, Ashley Nickolas of Newton Falls, Callie Oyler of Hubbard, Rachel Stanwood of South Range and Sierra Whitman of Woodrow Wilson.
Scholarship recipients are determined by financial need, scholastic achievement, extracurricular activities and community involvement.
Scholarship applicants wrote a short essay on a special teacher who has influenced their future.
This year's winner of the 2006 Special Mentor Award is teacher Kimberly Bauer of Jackson-Milton, nominated by Abdelrasul in her essay.