{"id":16699,"date":"2024-06-06T08:23:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T12:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/?p=16699"},"modified":"2026-05-18T10:02:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:02:31","slug":"elizabethtown-college-announces-cohort-of-incoming-stamps-scholars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/2024\/06\/06\/elizabethtown-college-announces-cohort-of-incoming-stamps-scholars\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabethtown College Announces Cohort of Incoming Stamps Scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabethtown College recently announced its seven-member incoming cohort of <\/span>Stamps Scholars<\/span><\/a> for the 2024-25 academic year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled to welcome the Etown Stamps Class of 2028,\u201d Jean Pretz, Director of the Elizabethtown College Stamps Scholars Program and Professor of Psychology said. \u201cThis is a strong group of talented students who have already begun to make an impact on their communities. Not only are these students strong academically, but they share a commitment to service and a desire to make a positive impact on the world. They already fully embrace Etown\u2019s Educate for Service motto, and I am eager to see how they grow into that mission over the next four years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Stamps Scholarship is the most generous merit award offered at Etown. Each year, a group of first-year students receive the scholarship which covers full tuition for four years as well as an enrichment fund that can be used toward leadership development, study abroad, internships, and other student-driven initiatives. The Stamps Scholars Program recognizes and rewards exceptional students who exemplify leadership, perseverance, scholarship, service, overcoming obstacles, and innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stamps Scholars are leaders in student government, athletics, and campus organizations at Etown. In the spring of 2024, four currently enrolled Stamps scholars were recognized with campus awards, including the Distinguished Student Award and the Leader on the Horizon Award. During this summer, current Etown Stamps Scholars will be traveling abroad to Vietnam, Ireland, Prague, and Uganda. Several are conducting summer research through the<\/span> Summer Creative Arts and Research Program (SCARP)<\/span><\/a>, and others are completing internships in local companies and prestigious academic institutions, including Johns Hopkins University.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the addition of this new cohort, Elizabethtown College will have 26 Stamps Scholars on campus for the 2024-25 academic year, representing the most diverse group in the program\u2019s 13-year history, with over 40% identifying as people of color.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elizabethtown College Stamps Scholars \u2013 Class of 2028<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laire Cafirma \u201928 | International Business (Intended) | Parkville, Md. \/ Perry Hall High School<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laire is passionate about business and has already made significant strides in the field. She founded the Maryland chapter of entHERprise, an organization aimed at encouraging younger girls to enter the business world. Through this organization, Ronelaire led monthly classes and coordinated guest speakers for student members.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mechelle Johnson-Reeves \u201928 | International Business (Intended) | Waldorf, Md. \/ Saint Charles High School<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mechelle is a leader and advocate with diverse interests, She has served in student government and as a student representative at the county and state level, focusing on social justice issues. Mechelle is also a published author and was recognized for her screenplay at the International Beverly Hills Film Fest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Avonlea Lechleitner \u201928 | Biotechnology (Intended) | Sinking Spring, Pa. \/ Wilson High School<\/strong><\/p>\n

Avonlea has been a leader in both service and athletics, having led her high school\u2019s water polo team and serving as a leader in miniTHON. Avonlea is eager to engage in research on campus and hopes to address cultural competency in medicine as part of her future medical career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jonah McDonald \u201928 | Psychology and Digital Media Production (Intended) | Manchester, Pa. \/ Homeschool<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonah is an accomplished actor, having performed in local theaters and made an appearance in the CBS series \u201cBlue Bloods.\u201d His experiences volunteering at a homeless shelter inspired him to create a fundraiser for the shelter, starting with performances by a few friends and growing larger each year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercy Rao \u201928 | Occupational Therapy (Intended) | Columbia, Md. \/ Atholton High School<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mercy plans to become an occupational therapist due to her passionate advocacy for individuals with disabilities. She has experience working with Maryland state representatives to develop legislation aimed at increasing accessibility across the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kathy Saldana-Renteria \u201928 | Computer Science (Intended) | Harrisburg, Pa. \/ Harrisburg High School\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathy is a dedicated servant leader with significant involvement in service through the Rotary Club\u2019s Youth Community Development Team, the Latino Hispanic American Community Center, and Key Club. She was selected to participate in Penn State\u2019s EnvironMentors program, where she conducted and presented research at a national conference.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhriti Shah \u201928 | Biology (Pre-Med) (Intended) | Berwyn, Pa. \/ Conestoga High School<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dhriti is an ambitious first-generation college student. She completed a competitive internship in high school, accruing 450 hours of hospital experience, and is already a published author of a research paper. Dhriti has also been accepted into Penn State Hershey\u2019s Pre-Medical Primary Care Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the Stamps Scholars Program<\/strong>
\nThe Stamps Scholars Program was founded by E. Roe Stamps and his late wife, Penny, with the purpose of enabling extraordinary educational experiences. The program, which was established at Etown in 2011, is implemented at 37 other institutions, creating a community of bright individuals across the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elizabethtown College recently announced its seven-member incoming cohort of Stamps Scholars for the 2024-25 academic year.\u00a0 \u201cI am thrilled to welcome the Etown Stamps Class of 2028,\u201d Jean Pretz, Director of the Elizabethtown College Stamps Scholars Program and Professor of Psychology said. \u201cThis is a strong group of talented students who have already begun to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":16700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[197,1350,1576,1202],"class_list":["post-16699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-elizabethtown-college","tag-etown","tag-stamps-program","tag-stamps-scholars","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16699"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21699,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16699\/revisions\/21699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}