McCandless Democrats award scholarships, honorarium

Two North Allegheny Senior High School grads received scholarships from the McCandless Democratic Committee and another graduate received a $500 honorarium for use in continuing their education. The scholarships recognize students who have excelled academically, are engaged in the community and exemplify values of importance to Democrats.

The awards were presented June 1 at McCandless Town Hall.

The scholarship winners were Madi Eschenbach and Benjamin Quint.

Eschenbach will attend the University of Akron to study political science and psychology at William’s Honors College. During high school, she was a leader of Project Water, regularly volunteered in the community and was passionate about disability justice. She hopes to help make the world better for disabled people like her.

Quint will study global development at Cornell University in the fall, following a full-time research fellowship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has a deep interest in diplomacy, education, and public policy, which he explored through three years of involvement with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. Politically, Ben has volunteered for Emily Skopov’s campaign for the state House of Representaives.

Sierra O’Neil won the $500 honorarium. She is starting at the University of Pittsburgh this fall and will be studying digital narrative and interactive design. During her nearly 13 years at North Allegheny, O’Neil has participated in a range of clubs and volunteer activities. In her senior year, she began writing for her school’s newspaper—The Uproar. She was a member of the Interact Club. She was a Grandview mentor with Pittsburgh Public School students.