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PALCUS 2020 Scholarship Winners

Announcing the 2020 PALCUS National Scholarship Winners!

In 2012, PALCUS launched a national scholarship program for Portuguese-American college students. As the scholarship fund has grown, so has the interest and number of awards that PALCUS has been able to present annually. PALCUS is proud to announce the five winners who were awarded a scholarship this year.

Congratulations to these outstanding scholarship recipients!
2020 Graduate Scholarship: Sergio Valente
Sergio Valente is a Portuguese-American first year student at Stanford Law School where he is studying to further his interests in public and foreign policy. He graduated in May of 2020 from American University with a double major in international relations and economics. He has studied in three foreign countries (Great Britain, Italy and Jordan), and on both coasts of the United States. During his undergraduate studies, Sergio interned with the U.S. Department of State as well as non-profits working on projects ranging from the creation of civil society institutions in Syria to analysis of election security within the United States. Sergio has a passion for learning and a strong desire to be a force for good in the world. 
2020 Graduate Scholarship: Stephanie Almeida Nevin
Stephanie Almeida Nevin is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Yale University. Her research and teaching interests are in political theory, the philosophy of education, and the history of political thought. The daughter of Portuguese immigrants, she speaks fluent Portuguese and was previously a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Lisbon. In 2016, Stephanie co-founded the Citizens Thinkers Writers program at Yale for students in the New Haven public schools. Before beginning graduate study and her work with CTW, she served as a Program Assistant, the Project Coordinator, and the Operations and Systems Supervisor for LASPAU, a Harvard-affiliated nonprofit that promotes opportunities for higher education in the Americas. She holds a B.A. in politics and English from Pomona College, where she served as student body president and was awarded The Ada May Fitts Prize.
2020 Undergraduate Scholarship: Michael Reckers
Michael Reckers is a junior at Santa Clara University, where he is an Economics and Pre-Med major. His ultimate goal is to study medicine and become a pediatrician. While at school, he works as a chemistry and organic chemistry tutor and is part of the university’s medical humanitarian volunteer program. His group recently traveled to Peru, shadowing medical professionals in small villages. Prior to moving to Santa Clara, he grew up in Fair Oaks, California where he lived with his parents, his two sisters and brother. When he is not studying, he enjoys playing video games, watching Netflix and eating Thai food. "I am incredibly honored to be receiving this scholarship that celebrates both my academic achievements and my Portuguese heritage. My maternal great-grandparents immigrated from the Azorean Island of Terceira in order to provide a better life for their family. It is their hard work and immense pride in their culture that I continue to celebrate their traditions and work to make them proud".
2020 Undergraduate Scholarship: Andrea Cerdeira
Andrea Cerdeira is a sophomore at the University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT, pursuing a degree in Secondary Education with a double major in English and History. She is an avid reader and enjoys dancing with her local Rancho folklore group. She also participates in her church's Youth Group. Her father, Paulo, is an immigrant from Tras os Montes. Her mother, Anabela, born in the States, traces her roots to Vale de Cambra.
2020 Alexandre António DaCosta Simões Scholarship: Hugh Bradley
Hugh is from Atlanta, Georgia. He started studying at the University of Georgia in 2018 and plans on graduating in 2022. He is majoring in Political Science and International Affairs while also minoring in Portuguese. He hopes to pursue law school after graduating from UGA.
The PALCUS Scholarship Program was established with the purpose of supporting Portuguese-American students in the pursuit of their higher education goals. The merit-based scholarships are awarded to students of Portuguese ancestry who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their academic careers and who show a commitment to completing an approved plan of study.
 
Since 2012, thirty-seven Portuguese-American graduate and undergraduate students from across the country have received PALCUS scholarships. 

The PALCUS Scholarship Fund is made possible through the generosity of the Rosa Family and the Graciette M. Simão Rosa Scholarship Fund with matching funds from Merrill Lynch, as well as donations from the community such as the Luso-American Fraternal Association of New Jersey which has sponsored a scholarship for a Portuguese-American student from New Jersey.

Alexandre António DaCosta Simões Memorial Scholarship

Established in 2019 in memory of Alexandre António DaCosta Simões, the award will be awarded to a Portuguese-American undergraduate or graduate student following the same criteria as the PALCUS National Scholarship Program.

If you would like to sponsor a scholarship, please contact PALCUS at palcus@palcus.org
Newsletter Archive

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Contact Information

Website: www.palcus.org
Phone: 202-466-4664

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Manassas, VA 20110