Comcast Awards $62,000 in Scholarships to Virginia High School Seniors

RICHMOND, Va., May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Comcast Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide charitable support to its local communities and to empower and enrich lives, is awarding 53 Virginia high school seniors scholarships through its annual Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program.  The program, one of the Comcast Foundation's signature community investment programs, recognizes students' leadership skills, academic achievement and commitment to community service.

Comcast was joined by Virginia State Senator Walter Stosch to recognize the students at a special event held at the State Capitol in Richmond yesterday.  Fifty-two of the Leaders and Achievers recipients received $1,000 scholarships and Marleny Giron of the Arlington Mill High School Continuation Program was awarded a $10,000 Comcast Founders Scholarship - instituted in honor of Ralph J. Roberts, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Comcast Corporation - for a total of $62,000 awarded to Virginia students this year.  After a prize drawing, three students were also given an iPad to use at college.

"It is important that our young people are provided equal access to quality education in order to gain the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive job market," said Senator Stosch.  "I commend Comcast for helping these fine students from across the state to achieve their dreams of higher education."

"Comcast is dedicated to providing our leaders of tomorrow not only with the support they need to succeed academically and professionally, but with opportunities to serve as catalysts for positive change in our communities," said Tom Coughlin, regional senior vice president for Comcast.  "It is an honor to recognize these outstanding students for their achievements across the board, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors."

The Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program provides one-time $1000 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 be prepared for the future, to engage youth in their communities, and to demonstrate the importance of civic involvement and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.

Since the program's inception there have been over 17,000 scholarship winners totaling more than $17.2 million.

2012 Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Winners from Virginia
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS (by County or Independent City where high school is located):

Arlington
Marleny Giron of Arlington Mill High School Continuation Program

Augusta County
Kayla Lowe of Stuarts Draft High School
Brittany Martin of Wilson Memorial High School

Chesterfield County
Dorothy Cartwright of Lloyd C. Bird High School
Julia Fournier of Chesterfield Community High School
Maya Henderson of Meadowbrook High School
Travis Klein of Matoaca High School

Colonial Heights
Tracy Akers of Colonial Heights High School

Danville
Naomi Stephens of Galileo Magnet High School
Tyesha Womack of George Washington High School           

Dinwiddie County
Jazmin Brown of Dinwiddie High School

Emporia
Alexis Williams of Greensville County High School

Fauquier County
Faith Walters of Liberty High School

Fluvanna County
Chancellor Chaney of Fluvanna County High School

Frederick County
Joseph Demski of Sherando High School
Kathryn Moss of James Wood High School

Greene County
Dustin Kramer of William Monroe High School

Hanover County
Samantha Armentrout of Atlee High School
Jena Gray of Patrick Henry High School
Anna Lockwood of Lockwood Homeschool

Henrico County
Adam Johnson of Varina High School
Christine Maina of Douglas S. Freeman High School
Garrett Parrilla of Hermitage High School
Bhumi Patel of John Randolph Tucker High School

Loudoun County
Benjamin Baker of Loudoun Valley High School
Cailey Barker of Park View High School
John Codde of Tuscarora High School
Betsy Flores of Broad Run High School
Beck Giesy of Freedom High School
Angel Nolasco of Potomac Falls High School

Lynchburg
Mardhani Aparajithan of Central Virginia Governor's School for Science and Technology

Petersburg
Sequioa Roscoe of Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology
Jasmine Wilson of Petersburg High School

Prince George County
David Mendoza of Prince George High School

Prince William County
Emily Ashtiani of Stonewall Jackson High School
Yossra Hamid of Gar-Field High School
Belen Osman of Freedom High School
Seth Opoku-Yeboah of Osbourn Park High School
Andrea Ruano of Potomac Senior High School

Richmond
Cameron Barlow of St. Christopher's School
Raven Baytops of St. Catherine's School
Shaquille Christmas of Franklin Military Academy
Dan-Khanh Dao of Saint Gertrude High School
Joclyn Harrison of Open High School
Kathryn Marqueen of Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government & International Studies
Shakear McFadden of Armstrong High School
Kia Watson of Richmond Community High School
Amy Woo of Thomas Jefferson High School

Rockingham County
Grace Zaylor of East Rockingham High School

Stafford County
Isaiah Brooks of Mountain View High School           

Sussex County
Ke'Ron Johnson of Sussex Central High School

Warren County
Jacob Schuster of Skyline High School

Waynesboro
Rebecca Eldredge of Waynesboro High School

About the Comcast Foundation
The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities.  The Foundation has three community investment priorities -- promoting community service, expanding digital literacy, and building tomorrow's leaders. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated over $108 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/community.

About Comcast Cable
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.

SOURCE Comcast Cable