SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

The Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship Foundation aims to provide support and assistance to outstanding students in the New York City area. Graduating seniors who have illustrated excellence throughout their high school career will be eligible to receive up to $10,000 towards their continuing education this coming Fall.

While there is no doubt that America is the land of opportunity, far too often children aren’t given the necessary tools to succeed. By providing financial assistance to high school seniors, our foundation can help open the doors to a world of opportunity.

The application for the 2023 ECC Scholarship is available here.
All applications must be submitted by June 30, 2023 to be considered.

2022 Recipient – Hang Chen

Hang Chen

We are excited to announce this year’s scholarship winner, Hang Chen! It is an honor to present Hang with this well-deserved award. Hang graduated Midwood High School at Brooklyn College this year with a 102 GPA. He will be attending Yale University this fall to study Environmental Engineering.

Alongside an exceptional academic performance, Hang impressed us with his commitment to sustainability through research, volunteer work, and environmental advocacy campaigns. He will continue his pursuit of environmental justice through public policy and advancing sustainable innovation. We are inspired by Hang’s commitment to making our world a better place and know his impact will be great.

Emerald Creek Capital is honored to support Hang in his higher education at Yale, and all his future endeavors to come. We cannot wait to see all he accomplishes!

2021 RECIPIENT – ANGEL LEE

Partners Mark Bahiri and Mark Penna with Angel Lee

We are honored to present Angel Lee with the 2021 Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship! Angel is receiving $10,000 towards her college education at Georgetown University where she embarks on a pre-med track.

Angel excelled at Staten Island Technical High School, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. Her numerous accomplishments go far beyond the classroom – Angel competed and placed in state, regional, and invitational competitions on the Science Olympiad Team, founded a Music Composition Club, and served as the girl’s Golf Captain, impressively leading her team to the 2019 City Championship.

Angel is passionate and proactive about giving back, founding her own nonprofit organization to raise money for children’s cancer research. She also volunteered in multiple hospitals in NYC and plans to obtain her EMT license at Georgetown. Her dedication to advancements in medicine and healthcare equality is admirable and will undoubtedly prove to be a gift to the world. We are so proud to support Angel on her journey and excited to see all that she accomplishes in the future!

2020 RECIPIENT – SHERRY CHEN

Sherry Chen

We were proud to congratulate Sherry Chen as the recipient of the 2020 Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship! Sherry is currently attending Yale College, where she is pursuing her passions in Ethics, Politics, and Economics.

Sherry attended Stuyvesant High School where she earned an outstanding cumulative GPA of 4.0. Serving as the president of the biomedical engineering group at her school, she worked to implement resin-based 3D printing into 30 Freshman Biology courses. Among her many achievements, she also served as a committee member for the National Honor Society and led several multicultural groups in her community.

After receiving the Emerald Creek Scholarship, Sherry is currently taking Chinese classes online and working alongside a Yale professor who focuses on rental markets. 

Emerald Creek Capital is honored to support Sherry on her higher-education journey, as she continues to foster supportive team environments through empathy.

2019 RECIPIENT – KRISTINA QOKU

Partners Mark Penna and Mark Bahiri with Kristina Qoku

We were honored to present Kristina Qoku with the 2019 Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship! Kristina is currently on a 7-year accelerated BS/MD program at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education at CCNY.

Kristina attended Staten Island Technical High School where she earned a cumulative GPA of 104% in addition to many other academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Among her achievements, she participated in the FBI Explorers program, where she trained in simulated law enforcement scenarios and completed over 180 hours of service to her community.

 

Kristina continues her pursuit of helping others through the study of medicine, and we are proud to support her in her journey.

2018 RECIPIENT – SAMANTHA SETTE

Partners Mark Bahiri and Mark Penna with Samantha Sette

We were proud to congratulate Samantha Sette, recipient of the 2018 Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship! Samantha is currently attending Duke University where she is pursuing a degree in Biology on a pre-med track.

Samantha attended Staten Island Technical High School where she earned a cumulative GPA of 105%. Among her many accomplishments, she served on the National Honor Society Advisory Council and gave back to her community through volunteer programs.

Samantha is dedicated to advancing global health and promoting wellness to help others. Since receiving the Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship, Samantha has volunteered her time through nutritional education programs at Durham elementary schools and has assisted a pediatric cardiologist in Staten Island, New York. We are very proud of Samantha’s accomplishments and can’t wait to see her future successes!

2017 RECIPIENT – BRIAN ARIAS

Brian Arias, State University of New York at Buffalo

Emerald Creek Capital was proud to present Brian Arias with the 2017 Emerald Creek Scholarship. Brian received $10,000 toward his college tuition at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Brian excelled at Acorn Community High School, graduating with a cumulative GPA of 94%. His passion for learning came to life in and out of the classroom, as he persevered to teach himself English while also self-teaching robotics and computer programming. Brian demonstrates his social consciousness in regularly giving back to his community and aspiring to solve humanitarian issues through technology. Emerald Creek is thrilled to support him in improving the world through innovation and entrepreneurship.

Since receiving the Emerald Creek Scholarship, Brian has joined the Marine Corps and is pursuing a master’s degree in Cyber Security. We deeply thank Brian for his service and continue to support all his endeavors. 

2015 RECIPIENT – MATTHEW AVIDON

Partners Mark Penna and Mark Bahiri pose with Matthew Avidon

Emerald Creek Capital was proud to present Matthew Avidon with the 2015 Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship. Matthew received $10,000 towards his college tuition at The University of Texas.

Matthew attended Syosset High School where he earned a cumulative GPA of 95. Matthew showed a great sense of altruism, volunteering in Costa Rica and developing a product to help limit automobile emissions called PURE (Preventing Unwanted Road Emissions). We congratulate Matthew on his many accomplishments and we’re sure he will have continued success at The University of Texas.

Emerald Creek has confidence in Matthew’s abilities and we’re sure he will go on to do great things!

2014 RECIPIENT – KELLY PELLEGRINO

Partners Mark Penna and Mark Bahiri pose with Kelly Pellegrino

Emerald Creek Capital was proud to present Kelly Pellegrino with the 2014 Emerald Creek Scholarship. Kelly received $10,000 towards her college tuition at Cornell University.

Kelly’s accomplishments are impressive. As a member of the Bronx High School of Science ARISTA Program Kelly displayed a strong desire to better her knowledge and understanding of the world around us. Her accomplishments include actively conducting research at New York University.

Under the supervision of Dr. Brice Kuhl, Kelly participated in original research on memory cells and the circumstances under which they are most accurate. Kelly was also retained by The Cambridge Business Institute after writing a proposal on training and certifying unemployed workers to lower unemployment. That proposal has recently been implemented.

More recently since receiving the Emerald Creek Capital Scholarship, Kelly has served as the head of outreach for her school’s student-run free clinic and created a food pantry, so her patients would have easy access to fresh produce. She also distributed produce to food insecure families in our surrounding area. We are very proud of Kelly for her altrustic endeavors and all of her accomplishments. We cannot wait to see her future successes. 

To be considered for this scholarship, you are required to submit data to Emerald Creek Capital electronically. Submitting an application for this scholarship means that you may be contacted by Emerald Creek Capital. Personally identifiable information required to be submitted Emerald Creek Capital may include, but is not limited to, your full name, address, email address and phone numbers, your parents’ full names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers, academic information such as grade point average, class rank and college entrance exam scores, involvement in work, school and community activities, personal essays and birthdate. Emerald Creek Capital uses your submitted information only for the purpose for which it was collected.  Emerald Creek shall maintain the confidentiality of all information, except that information which must be disclosed to (a) its affiliates, and to its and their partners, directors, officers, employees, agents, advisors and representatives; (b) to the extent requested by any governmental, regulatory of self-regulatory authority purporting to have jurisdiction over it or its affiliates and (c) to the extent required by applicable law.