Carmichaels Area students receive Challenge awards
CARMICHAELS – The Challenge Program Inc., a regional nonprofit organization designed to provide high school students with incentives for success, recently kicked off the program with an orientation and awards assembly at Carmichaels High School.
The program partners with businesses to motivate high school students to excel, both in and out of the classroom. Chevron serves as the business sponsor at the school.
The assembly was titled “Carmichaels High School’s Got Talent.” Student volunteers participated in game challenges, which focused on the skills needed to succeed in school and in the workforce.
During the assembly, four sophomore and four junior students were awarded checks of $250 for their performance last year in The Challenge Program’s four award categories of attendance, academic improvement, academic excellence and community service. Senior award winners were awarded with their checks last spring. The total amount of awards is $3,000.
The STEM Award, a new Challenge Program award, is now being offered in pilot schools, including Carmichaels High School, and was introduced during the assembly.
Mary Dreliszak, director of program development for The Challenge Program Inc., said, “In further preparation for our region’s future workforce, the STEM Award represents exemplary achievement in a science, technology, engineering or math subject. With this fifth award category, the monetary awards will become $200 and sixteen total students will earn Challenge Program awards this school year.”
Since 2003, through the generous support of businesses, foundations, and individuals, The Challenge Program Inc. has been introduced to more than 330,000 students and checks totaling more than $2 million have been presented to over 8,000 high school students in more than 100 high schools in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.
For additional information about The Challenge Program Inc., contact either Mary Dreliszak at 724-984-0860 or Barbara Grandinetti, executive director of The Challenge Program Inc. at 814-533-7401.