Last Wednesday at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School’s scholarship night, CCF welcomed 13 new Falcon Pride Scholars. It is the largest cohort in the scholarship’s history. Each will receive $10,000 over four years of college, with funds going directly to students.
We’re proud to welcome three new named scholarships to Falcon Pride this year, all funded by local donors: the Falcon Pride Wislande Pierre and Falcon Pride Karen Engels scholarships, which honor two CPS teachers for their work advancing education equity, and a second Falcon Pride Enroot Scholarship. Falcon Pride Wislande Pierre Scholar Damiyah Marshall is heading to UConn this fall to study human development and family sciences, specializing in early childhood education. “Going into college, there were financial barriers I didn’t think I could cross,” Damiyah says.
The scholarship was built to help address some of those barriers. Falcon Pride was founded in 2017 by three CRLS parents who watched classmates of their own children get into college and then struggle with the costs that financial aid does not cover: things like textbooks. The model is straightforward. Donors give through a fund established at their local community foundation. Funds go directly to students. Trust the recipients to spend it to advance their education. The first cohort had four scholars. By 2024 the program had grown to eight. Last year it expanded to 10. This year, 13.
“I feel like all the kids in my neighborhood are my kids,” says Susan Bernstein, a longtime Falcon Pride donor. “It’s natural to me that we should equalize the opportunities.”
CRLS Student Body President, Eagle Scout, and Falcon Pride recipient Elijah Bartholomew is heading to Howard University in the fall where he plans to study political science and write for the Howard newspaper, The Hilltop. He accepted his seat at Howard after hearing he got the Falcon Pride Scholarship. “It enabled me to look at my choices from less of a financial standpoint, and pick based on the reasons I was excited about,” he says. “It’s a beautiful thing that my community is helping enable me to go to college.”
For Damiyah, that connection holds past graduation. “I’m going to miss the community I have at school,” she says, “but I still feel connected to Cambridge and supported by the scholarship. I love being a part of so many different types of communities in Cambridge. There’s so much opportunity for every student. No matter what, there’s always something for everyone.”
CCF awarded two additional scholarships at this year’s CRLS scholarship night. Anoke Deitg Blanchard received the Walter Knight Sturges Visual Arts Scholarship, given each year to a CRLS senior pursuing a four-year degree in the visual arts.
Jasen Thomas received the Legends Live Forever Xavier Louis-Jacques Scholarship, named in honor of the late Xavier Louis-Jacques, a CRLS graduate, athlete, and artist, and awarded to a CRLS graduate with a preference for students enrolling at a historically Black college or university.
Our 2026 Falcon Pride Scholars:
- Emmanuel Alemu
- Elijah Bartholomew
- Joseph Derege
- Zihaam Jama
- Ashley Kim
- Madelyn Monestime
- Fatima Najri
- Nazrawit Napir
- Falcon Pride Bushner Breakthrough Scholar: Shakia Afrose
- Falcon Pride Enroot Scholar: Neicka Philippe
- Falcon Pride Enroot Scholar: Victoria Vivien
- Falcon Pride Karen Engels Scholar: Jannatun Tajrin
- Falcon Pride Wislande Pierre Scholar: Damiyah Marshall
Congratulations to all the recipients and thank you to the donors—neighbors whose collective giving builds this scholarship year after year.
