Comcast invites principals to nominate seniors for scholarships

Date: 10/19/2009

SPRINGFIELD Comcast announced that it is accepting nominations from high school principals and guidance counselors for the 2010 Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program, which annually awards $1,000 scholarships to students to help support their pursuit of higher education.

One of the Comcast Foundation's signature community investment programs, the Comcast Leaders and Achievers program recognizes students who have demonstrated leadership skills, academic achievement and a commitment to community service. Comcast has distributed nomination packages to high schools in the communities it serves and established Dec. 11 as the deadline to receive nominations. One student per high school can be nominated.

"This is an exciting time of year for us, as we prepare to reward a new class of emerging young leaders in our area with Comcast Leaders and Achievers scholarships," said Doug Guthrie, Senior Vice President of Comcast's Western New England Region, which includes Western Massachusetts. "In these challenging economic times, we are more proud than ever to be able to provide assistance to local students to help them power their dreams for success."

A commitment to community service is an essential component in the selection of winners of Comcast Leaders and Achievers scholarships. Previous winners have participated in a wide variety of community service activities, such as mentoring and tutoring younger students, volunteering at local hospitals and participating in blood, food and clothing drives. Community organizations throughout the Bay State and Western Massachusetts, including Keep Springfield Beautiful, Homework House of Holyoke, Cell Phones for Soldiers, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America have benefited from the service and leadership of previous recipients.

Here's how the nomination process works:

Nominees must be selected by their high school principal or guidance counselor (principals and guidance counselors can request nomination forms by e-mailing comcast@applyists.com).

Nominees must be full-time high school seniors

Nominees must attend a high school located in a community served by Comcast

Nominees must demonstrate a strong commitment to community service and display leadership abilities in school activities or through work experience

Nominees must have a grade point average of 2.8 or higher

Nominees must plan to attend an accredited, non-profit college, university or vocational/technical school in the United States

Home-schooled students can obtain nomination forms by e-mailing comcast@applyists.com.

The deadline for the 2010 Leaders and Achievers nominations is Dec. 11

Winners will be notified by the end of January 2010

Each year, Comcast works with high school principals, guidance counselors and school administrators to select the scholarship recipients. The program is overseen by International Scholarship and Tuition Services Inc., an independent firm that specializes in managing sponsored scholarship programs.

For additional information, visit www.comcast.com/scholarships.