The Trenton Times published the following article on June 6, 2013. To read the full article click here.
TRENTON— Five seniors at Trenton Central High School will each get a chunk of a $6,000 prize for good citizenship.
The graduating seniors were awarded the annual Linowitz Citizenship Prize, which usually goes to just three students, but was granted to additional students this year because the caliber of work was so high, according to Marc Linowitz, president and chairman of the Rose and Louis H. Linowitz Foundation. Presentations were made last night at the high school.
“The judges had a really difficult time picking the winners, and in fact there was a tie for fourth place,” Linowitz said.
Nordia Bennett, class president, won first place and $2,500; class vice-president Arelys Cordero took second and received $1,500; third-place winner Michael Ortiz was awarded $1,000; and Barry Johnson Jr. and Montaniz Stills tied for fourth place and received $500 each.
“I’m happy, extremely happy because I have to pay $4,000 for school and this is going to go a long way,” said Ortiz, who will be attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut in the fall.
The students were nominated by a teacher, guidance couselor, administrator, coach, clergyman, or any other adult who was familiar with their citizenship work, and the students had to submit an essay about what citizenship is and why they are a good citizen.
First and second place winners Bennett and Cordero were both nominated by their AP U.S. history teacher William Pyper.
“Nordia does a lot of volunteer work with her church and is class president,” he said. “Her scholarship is excellent.”
Bennett will be attending Denison University in Ohio in the fall.
Cordero will be entering the honors program at Essex Community College this fall. She is currently ranked in the top five students in her graduating class.
“Her service work is outstanding,” Pyper said. “They’re great kids. They exemplify everything you want.”
The five winners also won free admission for themselves and a guest to the Trenton Thunder “Citizenship Day” on Sunday. They will also receive Thunder hats and food vouchers.
The Linowitz Foundation was founded in 2002 and the first citizenship prize to Trenton students was awarded in 2010.
“This prize was established in honor of my parents, Rose and Louis Linowitz,” said Linowitz, whose parents were residents of the city and requested a charity to improve the lives of Trenton children.
Linowitz himself is a 1967 alumnus of Trenton Central High School.
Cordero’s sister, Yulieth Cordero received the first place citizenship prize its first year in 2010 and went on to study at Rider University. Pyper also had Yulieth as a student.
“For the last few years, I’ve had winners of this award in my class,” he said. “This scholarship is really serving these kids well.”
Contact Kelly Johnson at kjohnson@njtimes.com