Woman’s Club of Upper St. Clair awards scholarships to 2021 graduates
Harry Funk/The Almanac
From left are Ross Gardner, Ross Hartley, Mia De Palo, Isabella Folino, Haley Qin and Mia Rossi.
Shirley Tadda chairs the scholarship committee.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Mary Ann Cunnigham holds a photo of her scholarship-receiving grandson, Jack.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Mia DePolo, left, and Haley Qin are graduating with the Upper St. Clair High School Class of 2021.
Mia Rossi, Franklin Regional High School
Ross Hartley, Shaler Area High School
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Isabella Folino, Peters Township High School
Ross Gardner, Central Catholic High School
Haley Qin, Upper St. Clair High School
Mia DePolo, Upper St. Clair High School
Two cousins were among the recipients at the annual Woman’s Club of Upper St. Clair Scholarship Awards Luncheon, held Tuesday at the McLaughlin Run Road Activity Center.
Mia Rossi and Ross Hartley, grandchildren of club member Jeanette Rossi, are among seven high school seniors to receive financial assistance in their pursuits of higher education.
Both traveled a distance to attend the luncheon, as Mia attends Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville and Ross, Shaler Area High School.
They join other scholarship winners in accepting their awards and introducing themselves during the luncheon: Mia DePolo and Haley Qin, Upper St. Clair; Isabella Folino, Peters Township; and Ross Gardner, who lives in Green Tree and attends Central Catholic High School.
Jack Cunningham, a senior at Cedar Cliff High School in Cumberland County, attended via FaceTime.
“All these students are so outstanding,” said Shirley Tadda, who chairs the club’s scholarship committee. “It’s so hard to make the final selections. We read every application word for word, to be fair to everyone.”
The scholarships are awarded to relatives of club members, and the 2021 recipients have complied promising résumés so far in their academic careers:
- Mia DePolo is a National Honor Society inductee who has been a member of Upper St. Clair’s varsity cheer, hip-hop and dance teams. She has participated in the school’s Natural Helper and Junior Mentor programs, and volunteered with Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based medical relief and development organization dedicated to supporting health improvement initiatives in resource-poor communities.
She is attending Penn State’s main campus to major in kinesiology, toward a career in prosthetics.
- Mia Rossi also is in the National Honor Society. She is on the Franklin Regional cross country and track teams, and has been on the majorette line for three years serving as captain this year.
At Clarion University of Pennsylvania, she will study medical imaging.
- Ross Hartley is a four-year letterman on Shaler Area’s varsity boys soccer team, and he plans to play the sport at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg while majoring in business.
- Isabella Folino has served as editor-in-chief of her school’s news magazine for the past two years, and she is an officer in the photography club. She will attend Penn State University and is undecided about her major, although she said she is leaning toward marketing or advertising.
- Ross Gardner has played for Central Catholic’s volleyball and baseball teams. A member of the National Honor Society, he is attending the University of Pittsburgh to study chemical engineering.
He also has been awarded an Army ROTC scholarship, starting his sophomore year, and plans to become an officer after graduation.
- Haley Qin, another National Honor Society member, is vice president of the UNICEF Club at her school, supporting the United Nations Children’s Fund’s mission of providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. She is a sprinter on the Upper St. Clair track team, and volunteers at the township library and the daycare program at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
She is studying applied economics and management at Cornell University.
Jack Cunningham is captain of his high school wrestling team and also is a member of the National Honor Society. He plans to attended either the University of Tampa, Fla., or the University of Pittsburgh.