Scholarship Program

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Board of Directors of St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Cathedral is allocating a scholarship fund to be used exclusively by members of our church in pursuit of higher education. By doing so we hope to encourage the call for higher education recognizing the importance of such in advancing one’s career and in turn our church. We do hope that members apply and take advantage of this opportunity.

Introduction

Basis/Elements of the Program

The scholarship program will consist of the following three elements:

Scholarship Based on Merits: under this type of award, our young members of the parish would submit their credential for evaluation strictly based on merits/performance and achievements. This portion of the program will be designed to help encourage our youth to aim high in academic achievements. Recipients of this award will be publicly acknowledged and recognized for their high achievements.

Grant Based on needs: Under this type of award, applicants would submit their application for evaluation strictly based on financial needs. This portion of the program will be conducted in confidentiality and grants will be distributed in a discrete manner.

Youth Reward Program: Under this type of award, our junior youth members age 13 through 18 will be encouraged to perform various services/functions for the benefit of our cathedral and parish. These functions or services would consist of:

Tutoring
Alter
Sunday School
Data entry (historical documentation)
Choir
Scouts Service
Ladies Auxiliary
Church publications
Website Maintenance
Operating electronic media in church
Other Activities

In return, the youth member will be rewarded with a Parish Recognition Award and a small monitory reward for fulfilling the required number of hours.

Conclusion

The main purpose of this program is to encourage the call for higher education. Ways of accomplishing this great purpose is to encourage and recognize our high achievers and to help provide for those who are in financial need. More importantly is to invite the youth to participate in some of the parish function and provide them the sense of belongings by recognizing their participation and achievement along with their responsibility to help shape the future of our Parish.

The committee established an email to receive correspondence and applications and other communications regarding this program from applicant. The email is <stmarkscholarship@live.com>.

For inquiries, please email us on the above email address or contact any of the Committee members.

Eligibility

This is a Scholarship Program that is intended for students who demonstrate outstanding academic standings or for students who are in financial need.

Criteria of Eligibility

Applicants or their families must be paid pledge members of St. Mark’s Church.
All applicants must be enrolled or accepted into an accredited College, University, Community College, Junior College or Preparatory School in the United States as a full-time student for the entire academic year.
Students must be enrolled in a program that will lead to a bachelor degree (an undergraduate program).
A completed application form should be received by November 15.
Scholarship applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher from high school and or college.

Application Guidelines

All complete application packages and support materials must be received before a final decision is made. Early application in the school year is recommended, as funds are limited.

All applications must be mailed.

Application packages must include the following to be considered completed and ready for review (the list below should be used as a checklist, as each item is completed).

A completed application form
Official high school or college transcripts
Latest copy of SAT/ ACT scores (this is only applicable for high school students)
A minimum of 200 and a maximum of 250 word typed essay explaining why you should be considered for this scholarship (double spaced with 12 pt font).
Any additional information that would support your application material.
Deadline is November 15th of the current academic year.
Keep a copy of the application for your files.

All completed applications should be sent to:

St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Cathedral
ATTENTION: Scholarship Committee
260 Elm Avenue
Teaneck, NJ 07666

Please note:
You will receive a confirmation e-mail within two weeks after your application is received by the Scholarship Committee.
If you do not hear from us, please send an e-mail to stmarksscholarship@live.com