Meet Our Class of 2016 Scholars

Each year, Coastal Community Foundation releases a number of scholarships to deserving students in our nine-county service area. This year, 155 students received full or partial scholarships from our organization, receiving a grand total of $416,365 to attend more than 50 schools in and out of South Carolina.
More than 160 students completed CCF’s General Scholarship Application this year. 53 of these students received awards from our General Scholarship Fund, totaling $132,650 in scholarships from our unrestricted funds.
The remaining 102 students received scholarships from specialty scholarship funds, like the Charleston First Responders Scholarship Fund, which honored four students this year. Students are either first responders, or the daughters/sons of those who put their lives at risk to protect the lives and the property of the people of Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties every day.
The Jefferson Scholarship Endowment awarded eight students with scholarships this year totaling $28,880 who will or are currently pursuing degrees in nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina or the University of South Carolina at Beaufort.
Out of 72 applicants to the Reverend Pinckney Scholars Program, ten students were selected as finalists and our first class of Reverend Pinckney Scholars. In all, these scholars are expected to receive more than $320,000 in college funds over the next four years.
Of our 155 scholars, more than 60% will attend school in-state, with heavy preference for Clemson University, University of South Carolina, Winthrop University, the Medical University of South Carolina and College of Charleston. Out-of-state students will attend schools such as University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, Spelman College, Washington and Lee University, the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, University of Iowa and New York University.
Meet three of these scholars:
Porgy and Bess Scholar Ezekiel DiMaria was adopted from a war-ridden Liberia during his elementary school years. His interest in the violin was sparked by his adopted brother when Ezekiel was twelve, just two years into attending school in the United States. After hearing his brother play, Ezekiel wrote, “I fell in love with the instrument. I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to make music like that.’ Being from Liberia I had neither seen nor heard anything of the sort.” A soon-to-be sophomore at the College of Charleston School of the Arts, this student serves as concertmaster and violinist for the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra. Maestro Yuriy Bekker, College of Charleston professor and conductor of Charleston Symphony Orchestra shared, “Mr. DiMaria is talented, works very hard and has an incredible desire to master the instrument… I know that he will be a great success story.” Established by the Board of Directors of the Catfish Row Company, the Porgy and Bess Music Scholarship Fund is awarded annually to African American students with intent to study music or music education.
Emily Corbett, one of this year’s recipients of the Faith Jefferson Hohloch Nursing Scholarship is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina. After losing her father at a young age to a rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and her eldest sister to a fatal automobile accident, Emily’s draw to the field of nursing seems only natural. According to Emily, her father “redefined life living with cancer,” and instilled the positive values that her application exudes. When asked, one of the Scholar’s medical references said, “when Emily chose to pursue the field of nursing, I was happy for her but I was also happy for the patients and the families that she would serve… the impact a compassionate caregiver can have on a patient and a family; this is Emily’s gift.”
Anthony Carambia is a recipient of one of our General Scholarships. Third in the class of 2016 at West Ashley High School, this student is living proof that we can all find time to volunteer. While Captain of Track Team his senior year, he was also First Chair in West Ashley High School’s Band which made Regionals and All-State, held a part-time job to cover all of his living expenses and served as an active volunteer with Charleston’s Miracle League and Cross Missions. Son of a family broken apart by substance abuse issues, he has actively supported himself since his family deemed him physically able to. His calculus teacher said it best. “Anthony’s life at school is just the tip of the iceberg that is his life. Get to know him,” which we did. Currently declared homeless and covered under the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act, this act will not take Anthony to his chosen field of study in electrical engineering at Clemson University. But thanks to a number of scholarships, teacher recommendations and late nights working hard whether at work or studying, that is exactly where Anthony will be this Fall.
Coastal Community Foundation is honored to be able to award students like Ezekiel, Emily and Anthony with scholarships that highlight their academic success, talent and hard work put forth in the face of adversity. We look forward to learning and growing with these students.
CCF scholarship applications are posted on our website annually in January. To learn more about supporting or creating a scholarship endowment, please contact Steffanie Dohn at Steffanie@coastalcommunityfoundation.org.