YWCA Mahoning Valley Young Women with Bright Futures Awards announced

YOUNGSTOWN

Two area high school seniors were awarded a total of $20,000 in scholarship money at the 25th annual YWCA Mahoning Valley Young Women with Bright Futures Awards program on Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Boardman.

Kathryn Sharples, a senior at Girard High School, took home the $12,000 first-place scholarship. Sharples was also the winner of the YWCA’s Bright Futures Essay Contest. She plans to attend Cleveland State University and pursue a degree in pre-med.

Galena Lupochovsky, a senior at Poland Seminary High School, took home the second-place $8,000 scholarship. She intends to enroll in Youngstown State University’s BaccMed Program and focus on biochemistry.

The scholarships are funded by the Thomases Family Endowment of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and are awarded to two young women attending college or university in northeast Ohio or western Pennsylvania.

Twenty-eight senior high school women were nominated by the teachers and school administrators, and were recognized for their leadership skills, academic achievement, creativity, and volunteerism at the awards banquet. All participants in the Young Women with Bright Futures program received a $500 award funded by Denise DeBartolo York.

Major sponsors of the Young Women With Bright Futures event are Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, Compco Industries, Denise DeBartolo York, Home Savings Charitable Foundation, State Farm, Thomases Family Endowment of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, and The Vindicator.

The Thomases Family Endowment distribution committee works to promote righteousness, charity, and social action.