Five Smithtown High School East students will be receiving college scholarships, thanks to Smithtown native and Smithtown High School East alum, Ari Spar.
This is the second year in a row that Spar has given out scholarships to his alma mater. Spar worked with the one2one USA Foundation, an innovative organization that personalizes charitable giving. Spar, a successful businessman who came from modest means, felt a strong connection to his high school and recognized that similar lower-middle-class and high achieving students can fall through the cracks when it comes to scholarship funds. He decided to pay it forward with this program. Through his partnership with one2one, Spar was able to create the scholarships to meet his specific criteria and was presented with qualified candidates.
Through in depth Zoom interviews, Spar got to know each candidate, and ultimately decided to grant five students with a scholarship towards their college education. Each scholarship is $12,500 over four years.
The five students who are receiving these scholarships this year are:
• Angelina L. is a member of the Varsity Volleyball Team, a volunteer coach for Smithtown Little League, and an officer in the Italian Honor Society as well as a member of the National Honor Society. She plans to study Dentistry.
• Arianna R. is a member of the Spanish Honor Society, SADD, Friends of the Smithtown Library and Treasurer of Family, Career & Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). She plans on studying Criminal Justice/Pre-Law at Tulane University.
• Chadwick B. is a singer in multiple bands, a songwriter with over 1,000 original lyrics and a Teen Companion at Long Island Young Widows Group. He plans on studying Psychology and Music Engineering.
• Hannah A. is the Treasurer of the National Art Honor Society and a member of the National Honor Society, English Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. She also participated in the STEM program at Stony Brook University and is a Student Advisor on the Smithtown Youth Bureau. Hannah plans on studying Accounting, Architecture or Chemistry.
• Sydney A. is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and Math Honor Society, Vice-President of SADD and Treasurer of Athletes Helping Athletes. She is also a member of both the Varsity Lacrosse Team and Varsity Field Hockey Team as well as being an All-Division, AllCounty and Scholar Athlete. Sydney plans on studying Nursing.
Spar, a Smithtown native and avid philanthropist throughout his life stated, “It was the most personalized philanthropic effort I’ve ever done. I haven’t experienced joy like that from giving, and I do it a lot. I truly felt like I was part of the process. When you write a check to a university, you have no say in where it goes…this experience was different. It reflects how you’re feeling and how you want to give.”