Kent seniors win leadership scholarships

For the Reporter

Kent residents Kiia Z. Brantley, a senior at Kentwood Senior High School, and Ruben Riordan, a senior at Charles Wright Academy, are among the 90 recipients of the Comcast Foundation’s annual Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program awards in Washington State, the Foundation has announced.

Brantley volunteers at an elementary school, interns with a judge and serves in student government. Her awards and distinctions include AAUW Science Scholar. She plans to study communications at the University of Southern California.

“Kiia came at a time when I was teaching a math intervention class,” Millennium Elementary School teacher Lisa Crow told the foundation. “She had finished a job for me and started walking around to see what the kids were doing. She came to me and asked if she could help some of the kids with a project. The outcome was amazing. She was able to explain fractions to a struggling group.

“I loved having her there. I appreciated her punctuality and her time commitment,” Crow said. “In addition to helping in my classroom, she helped our educational assistant with a project our school was participating in. Once a week she helped pack backpacks for our buddy program. She packed food in backpacks for children who often times went without food during the weekend.”

Riordan volunteers at several events and serves as captain of the cross country team, which won the state title. He has a varsity letter in track and field. He was co-captain of the yearbook and math club. He plans to study chemistry at the University of Washington.

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities. The program also demonstrates the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

“Each year, we are excited to provide scholarships for these talented students,” said Charisse R. Lillie, president of the Comcast Foundation and vice president, Community Investment of Comcast Corp. “Comcast seeks students who demonstrate leadership abilities in school activities and who reflect a strong commitment to community service. These students are our future leaders, and we hope these scholarships will help to power their dreams for success.”

To date, Comcast has awarded nearly $19 million to nearly 19,000 Leaders and Achievers Scholarship winners.

For more information, see www.facebook.com/ComcastLeadersandAchievers and www.facebook.com/WePowerDreams.